MOTHER'S DAY CONCERT
Hey everyone! Glad to be back this Mother's Day for another week of blogging. As it turns out, we have two mothers in the house this weekend, as my sister-in-law's family are visiting, along with their new dog. So that means we have three dogs under one year of age in the house. Asking for trouble? Not so much. Just a lot of happy puppos.
So after making egg sandos for today's honorees, I sat down to polish off the puzzle. Can I just say that this is the kind of puzzle I wish we saw every Sunday? The theme is cute (and there's a lot of it), and the clues are peppered with the sort of humor and misdirection I love. It took me longer than a typical Sunday as well, by about an extra 50% or so.
The theme is straightforward: it tells the story of the journey from pregnancy to the birth of - surprise! - twins. Although I don't suppose many mothers are surprised by carrying more than one baby nowadays. Cleverly, though, the story is told through song titles. I most enjoyed 66A: Mom's remark as contractions grow stronger? [The Ramones, 1978] (IWANNABESEDATED) for the humor, and for the song. I'm impressed that Mr. Wiegmann managed to squeeze PUSHIT and SCREAM in as well.
The fill has an unusual density of QMCs. Some favorites include 2D: Venue for trill seekers? (OPERAHOUSE), 5D: Beginning that leads to a sum? (COGITO) - that's very nice, and 60D: Wind down? (SLALOM). But my favorite for the day was 84: Sun follower? (MON) - referring to abbreviations for the days of the week.
But I also had to puzzle through other clues, such as 71D: It's broken off (SECT) - tough! 21A: More than half of humanity (ASIANS) - a nice piece of trivia. Also, I briefly considered putting in"female." How about this one? 29A: They're used mostly on corners (STAPLERS). I had no idea where that one was going.
In other news, I've never sniggled or EELED. Don't imagine that I ever will either.
- Colum
Too many dogs. I thought this was an easier-than-typical Sunday, as I finished in 21:13. Normally I like it to take at least a half-hour for maximum enjoyment. Unfortunately I FWTEd at the DORIC/DOC/REM crosses because I'd entered iOnIC off of the clue and never read the across clues. But the clues and fill, as Colum points out, were very good for the most part. I knew, at least a little bit in a couple of cases, all of the songs, so that helped out. I never like seeing a reference to ZOOANIMALS, though. Isn't it time to end it with the zoos?
ReplyDeleteA puzzle celebrating motherhood and childbirth...beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo clever and apropos! Extra points for the chronological aspect of the themed clues, as Colum points out. I came in at 14:30. No hard-to-find typos today, happily, though I did have a cat walking on my keyboard at one point. Happy Day to all you mothers out there!
ReplyDeleteOoh, you got me by 8 seconds, Philbo! Even with the cat! Still, 14:38 is definitely one of my fastest Sundays, so I'll take it.
ReplyDeleteThat COGITO clue was great, and I was completely fooled by Sun follwer? Very nice.