I like the theme revealer today, GETCRACKING, but while great as an answer for the clue "Hop to it," I found it less than exactly apt for "what to do to the various eggs in this puzzle's shaded squares." Maybe I'm being too literal, but there are no eggs in the shaded squares, only three birds and one prehistoric reptile. I suppose we could assume "eggs" understood, but I don't take an egg, if I can avoid it. I do like the popped up letter that creates the crack in each theme answer. If you get rid of the "S" from DINO[S]AUR, the popped up letters spell ROC - not even scrambled - and then you could add a mythological egg to your basket. I also wondered if ROE could be considered bonus theme material.
In the lower half of the grid, I enjoyed the sweet run of COCOA, TOBERLONE, LATTE,and KIMCHI, mmmm, Kimchi... Too bad TOASTING wasn't clued with marshmallows for the pig out pentfecta! As it happens, not one of these fine treats calls for an egg.
Boy, oh boy there are a lot of men in this puzzle. There are at least 18 males, both IRL and fictional: OLAF, Red ADAIR, ICHIRO Suzuki, MRT, Peter RODINO, ANDY, LEIF Ericson, Jon SECADA, LAD, DOC, Clark KENT, NATE Silver, FOUR Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alexander PAYNE, ISAAC, Citizen KANE, Ang LEE, and, as a bonus, GILLETTE ("'The best a man can get' solganeer"). Maybe they are cheaper by the dozen.
~Frannie.
6:36 (paper)
ReplyDeleteNice review, and ROC (or even ROCS) is an interesting find. SCOR!
Yeah... lotsa names. And I would argue that RODINO, at the very least, has no business being in a NYT Monday puzzle in 2019.
I do take an egg. In fact I just at two hard-boiled chicken eggs for lunch, but I agree that the "cracked" theme is a stretch at best.
Finished with one error (more about that later) in 12:06.
ReplyDeleteI liked the cracked eggs well enough, although after I saw GO[O]SE I was sort of wondering whether they would all be from egg-laying animals or whether we'd get answers like "nest egg" (although I guess that whole concept would work much better if the eggs were clued).
I did notice the large number of names, and well a surplus of men might not be great but my biggest objection is more parochial—I didn't know many of them.
Anyway, another successful puzzle. I'm going to go lie on my SEALe mattress and read a biography of Alexander PAeNE.
6:59
ReplyDeleteI agree that the theme was a bit off, but there were some nice entries, like ASTUDENTS, ONACID, and even ANDORRA. And yeah, RODINO on a Monday? That's definitely Saturday fill.