It's a puzzle for all you cave-people who still eat lots of meat. Bangers and mash, franks and beans, beer brats ... me, I'm more of a smart dog and sauerkraut kind of guy. Meat is like a leaf blower - unnecessary.
Anywho ... if I haven't alienated you yet, read on. I probably will. :)
As a crossword theme, the cylindrical meat products hold together well. I wasn't familiar with the name LISAFRANK (Brand of school supplies known for its dazzling rainbow designs) (Is she related to Paul Frank?), but Frannie tells me that our nieces have actually given us a few LISAFRANK items, so I have only myself to blame for not knowing it.
The many seven-letter answers in the corners are all solid. MARSHAL, IRELAND, EMBASSY, MACRAME, STOOGES, MAGNETS ... all good. Ms. Seikel has thrown in several sporting answers, with NCAA, GOLFTEE, SPLASH (Reason for an Olympic diving demerit), NET ("Nothing but ____!"), and the volleyball pair of SETTERS and SPIKES. I was less sure about the pair of PANTY and "Underwear irritant, at times" (TAG). And although PHLEGM is a great-looking word, the "Cough it up!" clue made it extra gross.
My favorite mistake today was entering "Aga" instead of SAL (Khan who founded Khan Academy). Heh. Different Khans.
Overall, a solid theme and a lot of good entries. I'd say the week is starting off well.
- Horace
I did AGA too! 5:46 for me today..
ReplyDeleteARRIVAL was a good movie, based on a short story by Ted Chiang, whose works I highly recommend if you're into sci-fi/speculative fiction.
I didn't guess aga, since he probably didn't start too many academies as he was a bit busy. I'm with Horace on the meats and leaf blowers: will not eat the former and will not use the latter. I also never heard of LISAFRANK, but all of the other entries were fine. I am generally suspicious of a THERAPYDOG, though (please don't write to me about them; I know some people actually benefit from them). Decent time, but no scorcher (6:57).
ReplyDeleteOh and one way to blow your time-score is to blithely go thru the grid having put EEG and not MRI in 1A. #frownyFace Personal note: to me, every dog is a therapy dog. If I'm in my front yard when a dog walks by, it must pay a mandatory toll of a scrootch behind the ears.
ReplyDelete