Remember what I said yesterday about the pinwheel shape? Hoo boy. I was in for it today. Sometimes you and the constructor think alike, and other time, GOSHNO.
I did fine with the NW corner, where SCOTUS popped to mind immediately, and was confirmed by good ole John TYLER, the first president to take over when the elected person died in office... one month after giving his two-hour long inaugural address in the pouring rain. I'm certainly not convinced by SPATUBS - and Google supports me - you can have a spa or a hot tub.
The next section I was able to complete was the SE corner, GNC led to CRYPTS and GOAWAY, and then REDDIWIP fell into place. Mmmmmm... spray whipped cream...
Do Victorians say GDAY? I'm joking, of course. There are no Victorians alive today. But did they? Feels more Australian to me. Once again, Google supports me. It seems to date from the 1880s, but is primarily Australian. What, you say, there were no Victorians in Australia? Well, yes, but not in the sense we would typically think of the word's definition.
| Sterling Cooper DRAPER Price |
I only had scattered entries in the NE and SW corners. Putting in Adept for AGILE slowed me down, as did trying RockIEs at 14A: It reaches Washington heights (RAINIER). I should have known better. The Rockies go into Washington state, but nobody would describe them as "It." It's a clever clue though.
Finally, I had to conquer the middle section. I don't really love any of the long answers here. EMOJIKEYBOARD is a nice looking answer, but awkward. WAGELABORERS is kind of boring. RAGGEDYANDY is fine in its full form. 16D: They go around in circles (LOOPDELOOPS) is the best clue here.
Perhaps I'm just reacting to the large number of "huh?" answers. AGADIR... CRAIGS Wife (I mean, yes, it won the Pulitzer... in 1925)... others I have mentioned. I did like 29D: Lent feature (EAR) - as in "Lend me your ear."
Sometimes you enjoy a puzzle, other times you have sour grapes. 18:07.
- Colum
Don't feel bad Colum! I struggled mightily with this one, especially the SE corner, which I chewed on like a piece of gristle for about 10 minutes before it finally yielded --> 20:02 but I enjoyed every minute of it. I think the GDAY thing is a reference to Victoria *the Australian province*. There. Let that be my value-add of the day.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend all!
Oh wow. I can't believe I missed that, Phil! You are so correct. Victoria as in Australia. Oof.
DeleteOof! Permit me to go into Karen-mode for a bit here...
ReplyDeleteWhere's the editor?!? I DEMAND to speak to the editor!!!
Thank you. I feel better now. :-) ANYHOO...I started out feeling so darn smug, dropping in LALIA ALI right off the bat and never even questioned it. That spelling mistake kept me in the NE for...sheesh, several days, I think. (Ironically, I spelled REDDI-WIP without hesitation.) But back to the NE, the *last* type of bagel I expected was PLAIN! Yikes. Devilish cluing in this one, but gee, I thought the grid was pretty amazing.
Oof indeed. My trouble was right in the middle, too, Colum. I had BeANbagTOSS for a long time, and CRAIGS was never going to come without every cross. LOOPDELOOPS was, indeed, a good one, but it took me forever. I never watched Mad Men, so even though I've heard the name Don DRAPER, I didn't realize he was a principal. I should have, of course, but then...
ReplyDeleteBut a hard Saturday is what we want. Right?? 30:55.