I got hung up for quite some time in the north west, but, as I remarked to Horace, when I did get the answers, I said, "ooooh" rather than "uuugh". I think that's the sign of a good puzzle. :) I ooohed in particular at 1A: "Point of no return" (FINALSALE) and 15A: "Sole mate" (ODOREATER) - I was at sea with the fish definition for ever.
And how about the unassuming 1D: "Kit" (FOXCUB)? IWASHAD! It didn't help that I initially went with baNkERS at 8D instead of LENDERS ("People of interest?). And, if that wasn't enough, XIJINPING didn't do me any favors, despite all his power. And UTA Hagen and Mr. BINET were no help either. ERG.
Fortunately, the RESTSEASY, thanks to a number of answers that were right in my wheelhouse, including ARTEMIS (Apollo's twin sister), HOI (polloi), and H. JON Benjamin (a school friend of Horace's who made it big!), and, of course, SITSIDLE. :)
I enjoyed "Illegal sweeteners" (BRIBES), "Like the moon's landscape and many olives" (PITTED), "Zip" (ENERGY), and "When doubled, 'For shame!'" (TUT). ADLIBBING, YOURULE, IDIOTIC, and NOJEANS add some mad SAPOR to the grid.
I thought the clue/answer pair "Most cookies, essentially" (DISCS) was a little odd, and IRIS I could have had a faster solve time, but overall, a fun Friday.
~Frannie.
5:37
ReplyDeleteOutstanding puzzle. XIJINPING was excellent. I was very uncertain about that corner when I had X_J_____. I very much liked 21A: Western outfits (POSSES). Great clue.
29:18
ReplyDeletePOSSES had me fooled for a little while. I wanted ponchos in there, but there weren't enough spaces. The remainder was pretty easy, all-in-all. My slowdown was also in the NW, which is normal for me for some reason.
17:49 (FWTE)
ReplyDeleteGoodness, what a time, Colum! Not that we ever notice this kind of thing, but you beat Amy Reynaldo by about half a minute!
Me, I had trouble with the GAVE/GIBE cross. I put in jIBE, and also CARoMIA (and yes, I see the M/F contradiction now...) so anyway, it was a mess over there. Other than that, though, I enjoyed it.