I don't think I've seen this theme before. At first I thought it was counting down, but in fact we have increasing fractions from one fifth to the whole. I like all of the theme answers, although FIFTHELEMENT requires the clue to carry the "The" of the title. Frankly, four out of the five answers really require that definite article to be complete, but only the first supplies it in the clue. I like WHOLESHEBANG the best of the lot.
1A: Cover during a rain delay (TARP) is once again a very reasonable start to the puzzle, and I'll give it a B. There are two very nice 10-letter down answers in 11D: Hawaii's nickname (ALOHASTATE) and 29D: Paintings with fruits and vases, often (STILLLIFES). I like the three straight Ls in that one.
I never liked ODIE, either in the comic strip or in a puzzle. Otherwise I have no quibbles. Nothing much to exclaim about in the cluing otherwise, so for my favorite clue-answer pair, I'm going with 22D: Like a squirrel's acorns (STASHED).
Overall, it's a NICEONE. And the Pats won, so that's nice also. Good night!
- Colum
10:04
ReplyDeleteThis took me a bit longer to complete than it took Colum, which isn't surprising. Having participated in many, I liked HALFMARATHON. I loved the theme, since it's MATH-related. I never saw "The FIFTHELEMENT," but perhaps I should add it to the queue. ALOHASTATE reminded me of a nice vacation. I didn't love EDITMENU, and shouldn't we be referencing Bob Crane for HOGAN? AIRLIFT is good, as are SESTET and MISSUS (67A Wife, informally), although I never use the term.
4:19 - Missed it by... that much!
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was a pretty nice Monday, and I'm glad to hear that the Patriots won, as we shut it off near the end of the third quarter.
The increasing fraction theme sure is weird, but I, too, give it points for novelty. And who doesn't love the WHOLESHEBANG? The FOURTHESTATE, too, is an excellent answer.
A high-quality Monday.