Frannie and I each did this puzzle on our own, but we ended up with the same mistake at the end. We both entered DArN for 23D: "Aw, hell!" (DAMN), which we chalk up to our New England prudishness. ABrS didn't particularly bother me, but it should have. Obviously.
That little coincidence aside, we both quite enjoyed this puzzle. The five theme entries are all perfectly normal phrases, and they are also punny answers to clues like "17A: Amused the singer of 'Raise Your Glass'?" (TICKLEDPINK), "25A: Enchantment of the singer of 'Raspberry Beret'?" (PRINCECHARMING), and "35A: Favoring the singer of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'?" (PROBONO). That's good stuff, and it's especially welcome on a Wednesday!
So what do we pay for such a fun theme? Not much. The rest of the grid is filled with such amusing entries as TATERTOTS, DYNAMICDUO (11D: Nickname for a high-achieving couple), RABBITHOLE, and DRIVETHRU. Add to that ten-cent words like HOAX, POSIT, and ADVENT, and you've got a winning combination. Sure, we get ULAN, OOP, and LRON, but I do not care! I loved it! Frannie, what did you think?
Horace, I enjoyed this puzzle. I thought Mr. Lim really brought it with the theme today. I don't know Seal from Adam, but 57A. Coached the singer of "Kiss From a Rose"? (TRAINEDSEAL) made me LOL. Sure, PKGS could have been rerouted, RECT reshaped, and ABMS diffused, but the lion's Cher of the puzzle was quite nice.
~Frannie
5:15
ReplyDeleteHooray Frannie! Even typing one-handed, you manage to get your own share of puntastic comments in!
I did not fall prey to the same mistake you both did, but only by chance. I left that square empty, not knowing which letter to put in, M or R. And then I decided that the NYT was not so prudish as it once was, and that the M was the way to go. Happy days when the Congratulations message appeared. Overall a fine puzzle. Not great, because of the large number of 3-letter answers necessitated by the 5 theme answers. And ABMS is terrible. I also thought that ALIS and INALIE was close to a Natick when the crossing was not yet filled in. I had to run the _IE words to get it, but once I saw the L, I got what Mr. Lim was getting at.
I meant to mention that ALIS cross! The L was the last thing I put in before the correction. Very tough!
DeleteI also want to note how nice it is that all 5 pop stars are single named.
ReplyDelete9:30
ReplyDeleteWell, the clue had a curse in it ("hell"), so the answer would, of course, be a curse (DAMN); the clue for "darn" would have used "heck." No shout-out for STINGOPERATION? I agree that DYNAMICDUO was clued top-rate. I noticed there was no rating for 1A Painter Chagall (MARC), but I'd give it a D for having a proper name in that slot, especially one for which a non-sophisticate such as I needed all of the crosses to get. I enjoyed the cross of JEEZ/ZEE down there in the SW. Excellent puzzle.
JEEZ! I forgot about the rating. I'd give it a C+, I guess. Points off for proper name, but points on for at least picking a good one. The stained glass, by the way, is his work.
ReplyDeleteWell that's pretty good, I guess.
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