It's a dog's world. Today the puzzle is full of them - Boxer, Pointer, Shepherd, and Lab - all found at the end of Down theme answers, exposed by the revealer: DOWNWARDDOG. I enjoy a vertical theme. The staggered lines of color that light up when you reach 28-Down are quite pleasing. If you've never tried solving directly on the NYTX Web page, you really should at least once. I mean, I like solving on paper, don't get me wrong, but there are little perks available online, one of which is the "light up" theme.
It's a very clean grid today, in my opinion, with only UAE and ITO ("How was ____ know?") looking a tad odd. But even then, I'm happy the latter is no longer being clued with an O.J. trial reference. I suppose I could argue that Horace was more than an ODIST. He wrote poetry in other styles too, but really, it was in an ode that he claimed his work would outlast the Pyramids (exegi monumentum aere perennius / reglalique situ pyramidum altius), so perhaps I should just leave that one alone.
There's a somewhat troubling "illness" theme running through the grid - ACHY (Feeling fluish, in a way), POX (Contagious viral infection), ONSET (First appearance, as of symptoms), SPRAIN (Common ankle injury), UNIT (The "U" in I.C.U.) - I hope Ms. Gray is feeling ok!
I like thinking about LATH (Plasterwork backing) (might come from living in a 125-year-old house), and I enjoyed the up-to-date BAE (Slangy "sweetheart") and AGAME (Best effort, informally).
A solid start to the week. The Horace ABIDES.
- Horace
6:46
ReplyDeleteYup - this one moved right along - or is that it moved on down just fine!
My house is not quite that old - only 114 yrs - but I have seen the lath and plaster whenever I have to dig into the walls.
I loved the pair - GNOME and GNASH. And now that I see the actual beef definition for PRIME, I have seen twice in other places! Wow - fast timing there!
Lovely pansy picture. Thanks
~MLou
3:33
ReplyDeleteBeat me by a hair, Horace! Nice time. And fun theme.
4:52
ReplyDeleteHey, I'll take an under-5! That doesn't happen too often for me. Nice theme. I guess I'll try to solve online one of these days, perhaps in ME. Across Lite doesn't have any of the special features; it's just like solving on paper, which is why I enjoy it. I use a green LASERPOINTER at times when showing people various attractions in the night sky. I'm careful about making sure there are no airplanes in the vicinity, though.