Sunday, September 15, 2019, Andrew Kingsley

GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER

Please excuse the lateness of this review, Dear Reader, because although I finished the puzzle "this morning" (about 16 hours ago) in Milan's Malpensa airport, I did not have enough time before boarding to write and publish a review. Happily for me, however, even though it is an hour or so into Monday back in Malpensa, Frannie and I are now back in America, where I have ... well, I'm not really sure right now because my computer clock is still on European time ... five hours maybe? Yes, let's say five hours, to complete the daily blogging work. So let's get right to it, shall we?

This is a STEEPROAD sign we saw recently.

The title says it all - we need to keep our minds out of the gutter, but on the lane - the bowling lane. We get six phrases found in the wild that are forced into the alley by their clues. NOTIMETOSPARE, for instance is set up with "Comment when you need a serious comeback at the end of a bowling game?" (Umm... Bowling "game?"). ALLEYCATS roll in as "Hip bowling enthusiasts." My favorite might be FRAMERATE (Pace at which bowlers complete their games?) because it's just so true, but SPLITDECISION (which I just heard said on TV during "Sunday Night Football") is also pretty good, because, again, "Whether to aim at 7 or 10, in bowling?," is a real question!

But that's not all, there's a revealer way down at 109D: Bowlers' targets ... 10 of which can be found appropriately arranged in this puzzle (PINS). That is, the letters "PIN" appear in formation under the bowling ball that is rolling in from the top. What's that? You don't see a bowling ball up in the North, just a weird 3x3 block of black squares? Well, that's where the put a picture of a Big Ball (We prefer candlepin here in Massatucky) bowling ball in the Web version. It's really quite a beautiful thing once you see the PINs standing there, waiting to be knocked down.

So that's the theme. I'll just mention a few other things, since I really need sleep. First, MASERATIS, because in addition to Quattroportes and GranTurismos, we saw a MASERATI hearse in Italy a couple weeks ago! Talk about going out in style! LIMPETS (Marine mollusks that cling to rocks) because they're cool. And finally, SHINER (What a slug might leave behind) because A. It's got a great clue, and B. Thanks to a slight mishap on some marble stairs, I have one of my own!

Good to be back, America! See you tomorrow.

- Horace