Here's a theme which has been really carefully and thoughtfully worked out. Not only are the letters of "London Bridge" literally FALLINGDOWN, they are placed perfectly across the four long down answers (rows 1-3, 5-7, 9-11, 13-15). I always enjoy a puzzle with the long themed answers going down like this, because it's both a change of pace, and because it creates different grid patterns.
Of the long answers, LONGSTEMMED and SOCIALLUBRICANT both work well. WENTOVERTHEEDGE is fine. STANDONONESHEAD is that dreaded thing, a "one's" phrase. It's an accepted phrase though, so I'm okay with it. So overall, thumbs up for the theme.
I have some problems with the fill. The worst comes in the section moving from the NE to the E, where INTR crosses RVPARK crosses XKES. That was a tough section, especially for a Monday. I got them all from crosses or careful guesses, but I could see some solvers hitting a major roadblock.
I also really don't like REDHEN. I like the folk tale, where the little eponymous character does all of the work necessary to make bread. But making it a partial is not great. SUZI crossing ZWEIG has all the makings of a Natick. I just looked up "Stumblin' In", and I'm glad to have never heard it before now.
On the plus side, NYGIANTS is nice and chunky, with a good clue, and who doesn't like a SHOWCASE showdown on The Price Is Right?
1A: Makes eyes at (OGLES) gets a D+, both for the crosswordese and for the tone deaf clue. Really? Ogling is creepier by far than flirtatious glances, in my book. It was, even so, the first answer I put in.
Overall, I appreciated this puzzle.
- Colum
8:53
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was fine, especially with JODIE Foster showing up. OGLES is a terrible way to start, I'll concur, but OFFED is at least a nice down off of it. I don't mind a "one's" phrase too much, and thet questionable fill is somewhat expected on a Monday. Once I had the "B" of the third set of circled letters, though, I went ahead and wrote in the "RIDGE," which (I'm sure this couldn't be guessed at from my time) helped me out an EENSY bit with the affected fill. I loved SOCIALLUBRICANT and thought SUP (38A "Yo") was pretty good.