I think I was primed for this puzzle by my mistake in yesterday's (I entered "eTS" instead of "OTS"), and by the time I got to the revealer TRIPLEOVERTIME, I had already uncovered the "OT" at the end of ITHINKN[OT] (9D: "Doubtful"), so I was ONALERT for some kind of explanation. I like the idea, and like that the middle OT is split between words in all but D[OT]D[OT]D[OT] (4D: Continuation indication). I enjoy the vertical and horizontal aspect of the theme, and I actually like that the revealer doesn't use the trick. Thumbs up!
Funny thing about that logo - I was picturing the caduceus when I dropped in AMA, but they changed recently from two snakes to one, and I don't know about you, but I think that's always the right decision.
1A: Popular tablet (IPAD) - D.
Favorite: 62A: Request for a high-five (UPTOP). Could you imagine seeing this in a Maleska puzzle?
Least: [OT]TOS (61A: Chemistry Nobelist Hahn and others). Tried to make it interesting with the Nobel Prize, but "and others" is such a let down.
I was fooled by 2D: Alternatives to cabs (PIN[OT]S), and actually took out IPAD for a while to try "uberS" in that spot. Another tricky one was YODEL (7D: Swiss air lines?). That whole North section was tough for me, with its five Os. Luckily, I was pretty certain of SMETANA (14D: So-called "father of Czech music") which helped a lot.
TITER, AGITA, and ZBAR are a bit outré, but for the most part, the fill is good. Thumbs up!
- Horace
8:09
ReplyDeleteAgree on the theme. And who doesn't love a rebus, anyway? Nobody, that's who. Great to have unpredictable squares with the rebuses also. The theme answers themselves are reasonably good. Best is certainly ONEP[OT]AT[OT]WOP[OT]ATO. I likewise had difficulty for a little while with the center N section. Like you, SMETANA was a nice entry. I wasn't sure about SHOO vs Scat, and I had "eye" for SPY.
In other sections, I dip into a salsa, not a SALSADIP. But I liked it overall.
26:28
ReplyDeleteEDKOCH makes another appearance, and SMETANA went right in, of course. I, too, loved the theme and a rebus. MEZZO is excellent (and corrected iBAR for me), as was TITER (previously mentioned). For some reason, I entered AamCO where AMOCO goes in the SE, but not for too terribly long, although that was a major slowdown in that area. I agree with Colum regarding ONOP[OT]AT[OT]WOP[OT]ATO; definitely the best. Every time that I see MEAD, I think of having a night featuring that and "Beowulf" (the Jolie one, even though she appears but briefly). Naturally, I have that in Blu-ray format.