I started this one late last night, and got a pretty solid start in the North, but then fell asleep. Then this morning I started it again on a different device, and because we have very spotty internet, I began with a fully re-set timer. So the time is not correct, but still, I don't feel that this was terribly difficult.
The whole thing feels pretty chunky, with 8/9-stacks in the upper left and lower right, and 9-stacks in the other two. I like the SKIPJACKS/STETSONHAT/LAYSSIEGETO stack quite a bit, but DENTALEXAM/DATAMINERS/STAMPPADS is a little less exciting, the double P notwithstanding. And I just don't know what to make of ACTOFLOVE (30D: Selfless gesture) beside RATPOISON (31D: One use for arsenic). They're just so opposite!
I enjoyed the clues for STOOPS (9D: Gets down, in a way), SLAP (14D: Give an unexpected hand), and ADDER (25D: Summer). Tricky! "Private leaders" for CORPORALS was amusing, as was "Picked rock against paper, say" for LOST. Not especially tricky, that one, but I still appreciated it.
A solid puzzle, and a fine end to the week. I'll hand this thing off to Frannie tomorrow, and I'll see you in another few weeks.
- Horace
A bit surprising I found time to solve this puzzle (31:38) and then post here, since most of the day was taken up solving puzzles at Lollapuzoola (yah!).
ReplyDeleteLAYSIEGETO was perhaps my favorite answer and AQUAZUMBA wins the award for something I found improbable, in terms of whether that should even exist, but managed to get from only 3 or so crosses. Oh and the award for biggest contrast between my first answer and eventual answer was Blest versus BOXED.