Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Wednesday, June 24, 2015, Ian Livengood and J.A.S.A. Crossword Class

0:09:35

I like the FIVESTAR theme today, even though I've never heard of THE PIERRE (17A: Luxury hotel overlooking Central Park). It was familiar to Frannie once she got a few crosses, but I'm more of a Motel 6 kind of guy, I guess.


INSTATE (20A: Like some cheaper tuition) is a decent answer (I'm the son of a state school teacher), but it's a little odd and didn't come easily. Also, 2D: Puts the brakes on (INHIBITS) doesn't seem an exact match, so that was tricky, too. And lastly, in the NW, Frannie and I both would have preferred "Incan" to INCA for 14A: Quechua speaker, but that, of course, would not have fit.

On the other hand, we both liked FEEBLE (21A: Weak), which Frannie says is a word that sounds feeble. SCRAPE (41D: Predicament), BORNE (24D: Shouldered), SCENARIO (3D: Plot outline), and ANTEATER (9D: "B.C." animal that goes ZOT!) (somebody at the NYT really loves Johnny Hart!), too, were all good. As for TRUETHAT (34D: "I agree"), Frannie says: "'True dat,' or forget it."

Didn't love PARER or FADERS, and Frannie dislikes any mention of UGGS, but that's more of a personal thing. I guess it was kind of Wednesdayish. Is that a thing? Can we make that a thing?

- Horace




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4 comments:

  1. Colum AmoryJune 24, 2015 at 9:34 PM

    7:57
    Definitely Wednesdayish is a thing. I thought the theme was really good. I had to figure out the revealer answer because FDA and SRS wouldn't come to me (and I had SALESman for a while). So when I got it, it was extra nice.

    I had Synopsis for SCENARIO, which fit just fine. I also had 25A: Labor Day deliveries as bIRthS instead of VIRGOS. That seemed weird as I put it in: I could justify the capital L but not the capital D. The NE and SW corners were good except for ETS and STD, both of which I discovered just now because I'd filled the corners almost entirely using the down clues. Richard RODGERS won a lot of awards, didn't he? Better than an EGOT - he had a EGOPT! or a PEGOT. Or something.

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  2. HuygensJune 25, 2015 at 8:30 AM

    12:23
    The capital D is justified because (not that I pay attention to such nonsense): 1) VIRGOS are considered to be those born (not BORNE, necessarily) between August 23 and September 22; and 2) Labor Day is the first Monday of September; always after 8/22 and before 9/23, of course. I thought it was a nice mid-week clue/answer. OMARBRADLEY came in with just a few crosses, and the SOUTHERNCROSS is something I look forward to seeing first-hand in a few months, even though I heard that it's smaller than one might expect. Nice pairing of CAPO and THEMOB (we're set to start Season 5 of "The Sopranos" tonight). Good Wednesdayish puzzle.

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    Replies
    1. Horace FawleyJune 25, 2015 at 9:54 AM

      I think Colum was simply saying that he knew something was off because he couldn't justify the capital with "bIRthS" in place.

      Delete
    2. Colum AmoryJune 26, 2015 at 3:16 PM

      Indeed

      Delete

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