Cute theme today of cluing four "foods" with their cooking instructions, as in "18A: [Place in crisping sleeve; microwave for 2 minutes]" (HOTPOCKET). For that one, I prefer Jim Gaffigan's comic instructions: "Remove from packaging, place directly in toilet." The others, though, I can fully support. Even RAMENNOODLES (24A: [Boil contents for 3 minutes; stir in seasoning packet]). I haven't eaten them since I was in college, but man oh man did I love them back then. Maybe someday, when it's cold and rainy, I'll cook one up for old times' sake.
1A: Hip-hop's Kendrick ____ (LAMAR) gets a B-. I didn't know the name, but at least it's somewhat current (I presume), so that moves it into the Bs. The first thing I put in confidently was probably ACE (15A: It's not returned on the court). I'm still not fully aware of this new statistic while solving, but I'll try to make it part of the routine.
I like the look of HBOGO (16A: Way to stream "Game of Thrones"), and I want to find a way to work BETIDE (8D: "Woe ____ him, and her too": Jane Austen) into my regular speech. Especially at work. In meetings. "Woe betide the one who tries to implement this proposed workflow!"... And speaking of BETIDE, what's up with THRICE (37D: How often Daniel Day-Lewis has won Best Actor)? The oddness of the word, and the oddness of the way it was clued, made me smile. It's these strange little things that can sometimes give one a warm feeling about a puzzle.
And with that, I give this a thumbs up.
- Horace
p.s. I looked up EDM (58A: Genre for much Top 40 radio, for short) for you. It's Electronic Dance Music. And with that, I no longer understand radio. :)
p.p.s. It's a debut puzzle! Congratulations, Mr. Haddad!
Somewhere around 5:15 - my app does this thing sometimes where after I finish the puzzle, it sets the timer back to some random time and goes up. Each time I put a "last" letter in, it gives me the congratulations but also starts the timer again at that same point. Annoying.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I too loved BETIDE and THRICE. I too shrugged at EDM. That particular bit, along with ION, is at the awkward spot where two theme answers are separated by only one row.
I really wanted Kraft to be in the MACANDCHEESE row. I made my life harder by entering CARe at 41D: "We ____" (convenience store sign) (CARD). The reality of the world is a lot harsher than I want it to be, apparently.
8:05
ReplyDeleteHey, I put CARe in at first, too! My last entry was the cross of MIC/MIMI since I'd entered all where MIC belongs at first and changed it from the end forward as the crosses came in. For some reason, even with the _IC there, I still wanted all. I loved the theme. I don't, however, agree with a B-range scoring for LAMAR. I mean, a proper name of some hip-hop thug? The rest, save for LARD, is great, especially HOTPOCKET (which may contain LARD), and who doesn't think of Mr. Gaffigan when one sees that?