Riffing off of FANTASTICBEASTS / AND / WHERETOFINDTHEM (nice job finding how to make that fit into a symmetric grid, Mr. Trudeau!), we get three examples of "cryptids," also known as "animals whose existence or survival to the present day is disputed or unsubstantiated," and where they are rumored to be living.
In order to make these fit in the symmetry, some have "the" in the name, while others don't. I mean, if you have THEKRAKEN, shouldn't it be the Loch Ness Monster instead of LOCHNESSMONSTER? And conversely, it's just HIMALAYAS, but THESCOTTISHHIGHLANDS. But this is nitpicking. I enjoyed the fun of the creatures on the top half of the grid (where the first half of the revealer is) and the locations in the bottom half. That's cleverly done.
There are plenty of nice long answers in this puzzle. I particularly liked PENICILLIN and AMAZONECHO (not that I like the product, but it's a good phrase), as well as CHAMELEONS.
And how about 15A: Starbuck's order giver (AHAB) - that apostrophe is important! MOOG is a fun throwback. I was amused by 20A: Best seller subtitled "The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English" (WOEISI).
On the down side, I'm never going to like OZS or ONES (clued as a plural of the button on the telephone...).
In any case, the puzzle went by super fast for me, at around 2/3 the typical time for a Sunday. I enjoyed it enough while finishing it, although it didn't have too many aha moments for me.
- Colum
Yeah, this whizzed by, but it was fun. That AHAB clue was great! And it got me for a long time.
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