Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Reader! If you are like me, this puzzle will have taken you less time than a Thursday grid usually does, leaving you plenty of time to both cook, and eat, a lot of turkey! But first, since you blew through this so quickly, let's take a minute or two to review it. That way, you'll be prepared when the table talk turns, as it inevitably will, to the New York Times crossword puzzle.
The theme revolves around pronouncing both letters of STATE POSTALCODES before a regular word to make a common expression. That sounds more cumbersome than it really is, so let's show an example. My favorite is 44A: *Air passenger request, maybe (ILLINOISSEAT). That's I-L-seat, or "aisle seat." Get it?
So there's the main course. What about the sides? Well, there are lots of good ones on this table. First of all, who knew Gregory Peck was in the OMEN? And I thought 33D: Victim of murder one (ABEL) was cute. RATFINKS (4D: Stoolies) and ALLSMILES (11D: Happy as a clam) are both strong, and I enjoyed the SASSY-ness of SMELLTEST (34D: Basic scrutiny), GOTOTOWN (40D: Really have at it), and ONPAPER (42D: In theory). Not to mention NOT (65A: "As if!") and BEEF (20A: Gripe).
1A: Male hedgehogs (BOARS) is somewhat interesting. I'll give it a B. My first confident answer was ROSSI (22A: Martini's partner). Overall, I enjoyed this Thursday puzzle. Now go enjoy some turkey, goose, tofurkey, duck, stuffing, or whatever you like most to eat!
- Horace
12:39
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
I spent a long time thinking the answer at 59A was a starred clue, so I didn't understand that the revealer in the middle wasn't a standalone. Once I figured that out, the puzzle went quickly. Great theme. I liked MONTANANEST best, maybe because I'm halfway there. Enjoyed the puzzle.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks! And nice time! :)
Delete10:53
ReplyDeleteOMG...I bested the both of you! "...who knew Gregory Peck was in the OMEN?????" (Added indignant question marks my own.) Perhaps Horace should re-watch that classic (Peck is the main character, IMO). BTW (my third text trio, none of which I use in daily life since IDT), once this grid was solved so quickly, I thought that maybe the reason for the quickish puzzle on a Thursday was so that people could get on with their lives on this holiday, in agreement with Horace's assessment. Of course, since Sue works holidays (sans most summer holidays), my own consisted of the usual "Doctor Who" party followed by a hot tub with two fingers. Today, the two fingers were a new pleasure: Ezra B. Single Barrel 12-Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. I detected some wonderful notes of butterscotch. Tofurkey with all the fixings on Saturday, as is our tradition.
It's a Thanksgiving miracle!
DeleteAnd though the main character Gregory Peck may be, it's unlikely that I will ever see The Omen.
That's unfortunate.
DeleteAnd I assume that you're referring to the bourbon as the "miracle."
Delete