Where to begin? How about at 1A: Artificial eyelashes, informally (FALSIES) (C). To me, FALSIES means an entirely different set of artificial items, and I am unaware of the term being popularly used SOEVER [SIC] other than that. HAHAHHAHAHHAAAA "So ever...." Terrible. And here's another terrible thing, BASSSAX (26D: Big wind). I offer this from Wikipedia: "The bass saxophone is not commonly used in any music." What's next? Tubax?
On the other hand, I enjoyed the clues for ELEVEN (31A: It may represent November), ALIASES (40D: Things you can assume), and DERRIERE (36D: Behind). BARTABS (8A: Things with round numbers?) is cute if you don't think about it too much. ABSOLUT (12D: Screwdriver selection) is better, but I prefer Finlandia.
So overall I found it ERRATIC. I appreciate that Mr. Steinberg is getting in some more youthful fill like CHILLAX, DUBSTEP, BELIEBER, and ECOCIDE. And I guess that since it's Friday I can't argue too much with some of the more specific fact-answers like ENID (35A: Seat of Oklahoma's Garfield County) (You don't say.), RUSS (10D: Bygone sportscaster Hodges), and REYES (25A: Point ____, Calif.). It wasn't for me, but I'm betting others ended up liking it. Here's hoping so.
- Horace
12:57
ReplyDeleteI got a little stuck after filling in the NW and a few other stuff, but Hope came to the rescue! She got ELEVEN, and that opened up the entire SW and into SE. I love CHILLAX, and CHEWTOY next to HAMBONE is very nice. BASSSAX is acceptable, but I agree that it's rarely used. There's a lovely song by Bjork on one of her early albums with a saxophone quartet, which might indeed use one. Hope also got ABSOLUT after I suggested the alcoholic definition, and she also got EXURBAN. Definitely helped get the short time.
27:46
ReplyDeleteThe RUSS/EXURBAN cross was the last to fall, but the only other choice was an "o," which would have caused the utterly nonsensical EXoRBAN, so I rejected that idea. LOVINS, GUYCODE (I'd heard "bro code") and TOSPARE, in addition to the nice answers mentioned by both Horace and Colum, were excellent. "Philips" fit right in where ABSOLUT belonged, which caused a small slowdown, but not too bad. Nice that BARTABS crosses both AbsoLUTE and SNORTED (since a "snort" once indicated a shot, usually whiskey). Also, BATROPE - very timely.