Ooh, ooh! It's a Wednesday rebus puzzle! Bonus!
I figured something was going on when I hit 18A: Marx with a curly wig (HAR[PO]). I then noticed 9D: Dr. Seuss book that introduces phonics (HO[PO]N[PO]P). I initially had just "hoppop" there, thinking it might be a literalization of the title ("hop" on top of "pop"), but then figured out how to make the two puzzle answers work together. After figuring out the trick I was able to retcon the NW corner and figure out what was going on there.
I appreciated the six answers that doubled up on the PO rebuses, particularly [PO]R[PO]ISE and [PO]M[PO]US. It's a good revealer as well, in POBOX, although does anybody else think the PO in this answer should also have been a rebus?
I also liked 44A: Underworld boss? (SATAN) and 49A: Underworld boss (CA[PO]). My favorite clue came at 1D: Something to keep in a band? (TEM[PO]).
I am perhaps less convinced by ARSONS. Is this a term that anyone can actually pluralize? "Yesterday, I committed two arsons." In my humble opinion, I think that would be committing arson twice.
But I don't want to [PO]LLUTE my review with too much negativity. I enjoyed this puzzle a good deal, and give it a nice thumbs up.
How weird is it that ERICA Jong shows up twice in a few days?
- Colum
9:35
ReplyDeleteI love it, having a surprise rebus puzzle. I figured it out with TEM[PO] and its cross [PO]LLUTE, so the solve went pretty quickly, but it was still fun. And yes, I think that the POBOX "PO" should have been a rebus, but that's a small gripe. I regret that I've never heard of the Amazing RANDI, but I assume that's his photo in Colum's review. Lots of proper nouns in here: ERICA, HAR[PO], MAGNETO, TAR[PO]N, SATAN, NIA, AMAL, SOTO, ROLOS, ALAMO, MONET, XACTO, SAUDI, RANDI, SOSA and METS (did I miss any?). I'll say my favorite rebus-containing answer is [PO]R[PO]ISE, although the surprising GS[PO]T runs a close second!
11:49
ReplyDeleteMy time would have been very close to Huygen's, except that I had simply left out many of the Ps, and had to go back and put in all the rebuses - and there were a ton of them!
Fun puzzle. Mmmm.... MALTS...