A cute little tennis theme today, and if you're a bit flexible with your imagination, you can see the long central entry, CONTEMPTOFCOURT (37A: Dislike for tennis?) as a net, and then the two theme entries above and below, touching opposite sides, are kind of like a volley going back and forth. And the CALLS (51D: "Let" and "Fault," from a chair umpire) come in right at the center edge, where the umpire sits! I like it a lot, and the silly cluing is just icing on the cake.
The two long Down answers are both solid. INSERTCOIN (10D: Arcade game instruction before playing) brings me back to my youth. Ahh... remember arcades? Do they even still exist?
BIGAMY (6D: Problem with more than one marriage?) and PISA (39D: Italian city you might be "leaning" toward visiting) were amusing, and a brother of mine is in Seoul at this very moment, so KOREA (12D: Locale for Pyongyang and Seoul) was fun to see.
Nothing much that I got HUNG up on, and nothing to WHINE about. Overall, a solid start to the week!
- Horace
10:43
ReplyDeleteNicely done - compact and decent fill and a fine theme!
BTW - there is still 1 archade in downtown Portland, OR. I was in it a couple of years ago on a geocaching challenge. I played the Ms Pacman machine - until a young lad showed up and stood "in line" behind me waiting for HIS machine. Some things never change! haha
~MLou
Thanks Horace! Clever of you to pick up on the hidden grid art! The NYT editors sent me an email not long ago saying something like "don't listen to what Rex wrote- read the Horace and Frances blog!". Keep up the good work team! Bruce
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bruce! And thanks for the kind words from the NYT editors!
DeleteYes, I'll second that! :)
Delete5:21
ReplyDeleteNice-looking puzzle, and excellent theme, even though I'm not a big fan of tennis as yet. I may FALLINLOVE with the game eventually, (NEVER say NEVER).