One of my first entries today, even though I couldn't actually believe it would be true, was bWAHAHAHA (2D: Villain's cackle). I was a little off (MWAHAHAHA), but still, it was a fun beginning. 8-Across, "String of churches?" (ROSARY) didn't fool even this non-Catholic for a second, and emboldened by what I thought was going to be a cakewalk, I foolishly entered "bAnAnA" off the A from 2D for 38A: "Fruit with a yellow rind" (CASABA). Yeah... that would have been too easy and I knew it, but still I dared.
How many of you, like me, paused at 5D: "Man's name that spells a fictional people backward" to consider "Iole," and then "Kowe?" It took quite a while, really, for IVAN to become clear. And it's funny, because Frannie and I just saw a painting of Prince in a shop window last night that made him appear kind of like a Navi. (The blue people from "Avatar.")
My error, if you are interested, came at 47A: "Conjunction in a rebus puzzle" (OAR). I found the clue very odd, but did not think about it long enough to see that they were playing on the crossword standard "oer" by adding an extra trick. Very nice, but I wish I had known for sure that the capital NNE of Marrakesh was RABAT and not ReBAT. Oh well.
The eleven-letter Acrosses were uninteresting, but I did enjoy ANACONDAS and RAINDELAY well enough. "Mob rule?" (RIOTACT) was fun, as was INEEDANAP (34D: Words yawned in the afternoon). And maybe it's time for me to get an AARPCARD, because I actually smiled at the old stalwarts HIES, VENI, and ALEPHS (61A: Hebrew leaders).
Not the most exciting Saturday, but acceptable. It's Market Day today in Utrecht, so we're heading out to see what we can find for dinner.
Tot Ziens!
- Horace
35:18
ReplyDeleteSince ARIEL was obvi, rabbiS was right out at 61A, so ALEPHS naturally went in (eLderS was a possibility, but it was too vague). BHUTANI required all of the crosses, and was slowed since I tried Med where MRI belongs. I was just in OAKLAND, and in fact, filled the tank of our rental there. WWIIVET is nice, and I tried both of the fictional peoples mentioned by Horace above before coming to IVAN. VENI, however, went right in, as did MODEM and, oddly, BAYTREES off of the "B" in BURL. I had ABC, so CASABA also was an easy fill for me. The long-ish time for me was solely due to the tricky SW. This sci-fi fan never heard of ORPHANBLACK and, therefore, wanted "Battlestar Galactica" in there, but 1) it's off by a decade and 2) it's too long an entry. RABAT saved me from a FWOE because I, too, wanted OeR at 45A. SEXTAPE is too soon, given the recent Kraft news.
5:14
ReplyDeleteI guess Mr. Ezersky and I are on the same wavelength. I'm joking, because I had not chance at all in his fiendish ACPT final crossword puzzle last year. I started with AHA and MAVS, which gave me ZIKAVIRUS, and the rest of the NW fell into place quickly. RAINDELAY got me into the SE corner. The hardest for me was the NE, where I had to think for some seconds about which Nissan was the right one. But not for too long, I guess.