As was the case yesterday, my last two entries were merely educated guesses: The U of RUR (46D: 1921 play for which the word "robot" was invented), and the A of TARAS (13D: Gogol's "____ Bulba.") The former, I had put in immediately with LAOTZU, but removed the U after I read the down clue, because I know that the English spelling of the great philosopher's name can vary. And, not being especially enlightened myself, ARHAT was only very dimly on the horizons of my memory. Still, nice outcome. :)
The rest of the puzzle pretty much flew by like a Wednesday. The '70s sports references (ZAIRE, ALI, SANTO) were gimmies for this old man. I had "arkS" briefly at 1D: Bible supporters, often (PEWS), and TiNt at 37D: Shade (TONE), but those might have been my only two missteps, and they were quickly corrected.
The nine-stacks in the NW and SE were strong. POSTERIZE, WHATSMORE, and ARISTOTLE were my favorite three entries. EXCUSEYOU (35D: "How rude!") was fun, and NUDESCENE (43A: Hot take?) was cute. Also, "Real stunner," with no question mark, was a good clue for TASER.
Not much to bark at today. Just a smattering of PARA, IPO, and ASTI -type things. Overall, a bit quick, but a fun solve.
ITSAWRAP.
- Horace
15:23
ReplyDeleteBlisteringly fast for a Saturday, and a nice change for me after the last two days. I agree with Horace about the ARHAT/TARAS cross, but luckily knew of RUR from, I believe, an Asimov forward from one of his books, possibly one of the "Robot" series, which would be fitting. SANTO is unknown to me, as are OMAR, EDER and ZORA. I tried grayscalE at 1A, but quickly corrected it. ARISTOTLE went right in, as did PANTSUITS. ESCAPEPOD is OK, but fictional, even though that's how Joel got back to the Earth after Gypsy found one in a box labeled "Hamdingers." Well as they say, ITSAWRAP.
10:17
ReplyDeleteAbout half the time of yesterday's puzzle. Took me too long to remember Ron SANTO's last name. I figured ALI, but ZAIRE needed crosses. I did know TARAS Bulba was correct, but I couldn't pull it from the memory banks either. I am particularly amused by 36D: Crackerjack (ACES), as my roommates from just after college used it as a "golly gee" type phrase with irony.
Has anybody said ITSAWRAP yet?