Friday, March 26, 2021

Friday, March 26, 2021, Daniel Larsen

Quite a few twists in today's puzzle, from the shape of the grid to the many clues that could be considered from a number of angles. Some of the cleverly ambiguous clues had me saying, WHATSTHEBIGIDEA? when my first guesses turned out wrong. I discussed a few of the clues of this type with Horace and it was interesting to see which ones we caught on to right away and which had us headed down the wrong PATH. Here's my list:

"One with a nest egg" (HEN) - twigged
"Result of a good pitch" (SALE) - twigged (good one!)
"Not fast" (EAT) - did not twig (my favorite)
"Give a hand" (DEALIN) - did not twig
"Filled in some gaps" (CAULKED) - twigged
"Bugs" (NAGS) - did not twig

Sometimes you have to LEGO of your first TRIS or end up with a SADFACE. 

51A: EDNA

The puzzle featured significantly fewer QMC's. I found "Pop around a lot?" (STAYATHOMEDAD) mildly amusing, whereas I liked "Mower handle?" (DEERE) quite a bit. The C/AP "Voluptuary" and HEDONIST is very good. Did TENUTO put anyone else in mind of Menudo, or is that just me?

~Frannie. 
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2 comments:

  1. Kelly ClarkMarch 26, 2021 at 3:01 PM

    FWOE

    Whew, this a beauty of a construction, isn't it? I really appreciate the way the constructor was able to create a grid so RICH in real words with nary a gluey bit in sight, as far as I can see. And the clues are fantastic. Nice review, Frannie, thank you!

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  2. HuygensMarch 27, 2021 at 9:00 AM

    I think the puzzle started off strong with SECRETFILES and never looked back. EVENTENOR is great, as is the related TAKEADEEPBREATH. SERGEANTBILKO runs a little on the older knowledge side, but I dropped it right in, sadly. Nice mention of RICH in the grid, which we don't see all that often. I did not think of Menudo at all, Frannie. 14:48

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