What started out as a B week for yrs truly as a solver has not shown any promise of turning around. My error? Well, it came at the cross of 39A: Partygoers may get a kick out of it (THECONGA) and 40D: Words of enlightenment (AHISEE). I tried an O, which actually works well in the down answer, but in the across answer is referring to an entirely different other thing. By the way, my first attempt at answering 39A was THEpuNch.
In the meantime, IDECLARE, what a remarkable puzzle this one is. Definitely my favorite of the week. The oddities abound - 31A: Oxymoronic skiing condition (DRYSNOW) in the same grid with 46A: Freeze that extends out from a coastline (FASTICE). Some people (people other than myself) might feel compelled to take a VIENNACOFFEE to fight off all those winter conditions.
Then there are all those Ss in the middle of the puzzle. BASSSOLO, GLISSANDO, and LOESSER (all of which contribute to this week's non-canonical music theme). I do really really love Guys and Dolls. The music is delightful, the plot is silly, and the humor outrageous. Just watch Adelaide's Lament...
Right. Anyway, I love INBOXZERO, just for the craziness of the Scrabble tiles. Similarly, MGMIDGET is a great collection of letters. DRAWMEN I'd never heard of. If you Google it in the singular, it comes up first, but with only a single hit.
At 17A: Modest article of swimwear with a portmanteau name (BURKINI), I had tanKINI first, assisted in my mistake by REran instead of REDUX, but I got OVERIT.
- Colum
12:04
ReplyDeleteYeah, DRAWMEN is questionable, and I've never heard of FASTICE... and ONLINETV seems a bit ad hoc. But I enjoyed SPRITZED, LOWBALLS, HIDEOUTS, and EGOTRIP, among others.
32:00
ReplyDeleteI tried tanKINI first, too, and tried pAckICE where FASTICE goes (never heard the term). Can we still say MGMIDGET? AFTERSIX reminds me of the "30 Rock" episode when Liz Lemon asks Jack why he's wearing a tux (since he's not going anywhere that requires it) and he replies "Its after six. What am I? A farmer?"