We start the week with a fun "hidden word" theme. Three different oceans are found split across two rows and read from top to bottom, giving us ADROPINTHEOCEAN. Cute. I do sometimes wonder if I would ever notice this sort of thing without the shading. I would imagine that when these puzzles are submitted, that the constructors don't shade or circle the squares for the review team. (Do they? Anybody up there want to comment on that?) But I get it. And I appreciate it, because really, I don't know if I would figure it out on my own.
And it certainly seems appropriate on a Monday. What does seem a tad un-Mondayish, however, are entries like WICCAN (One who worships the Triple Goddess and Horned God), RETICENT (Not inclined to reveal one's feelings), SARIN (Deadly nerve gas), and especially WYVERN (Dragonlike creature of fantasy). Every single letter of that last one was obtained through crosses for this solver!
I enjoyed seeing JOANOFARC (Teenage military leader canonized in 1920), and when I got to "Tell someone who gives a hoot" my first reaction was "Got a dime?" I used to love that expression. But would anyone under the age of 30, or maybe even 40, know the follow-up line "Call someone who cares." Hahaha!
I liked the two "Bogus" clues (PHONY and SHAM), but was surprised that REAL wasn't clued with "Not bogus" instead of "Genuine." Also, were you as far off as I was when you first saw "In the 70s or 80s, say" (WARM). I think thinking of GIJOE and ads for OLDSPICE had me guessing "eras" or something similar. Nice misdirect!
Overall, a fine start to the week.
- Horace
Ha, ha, HA! I'm laughing at your "Got a dime?" line...terrific! Maybe I'll use it, just modifying it to something like "You got that phone, right?" I liked the puzzle but was held up a bit by SARIN and WYVERN which I didn't know. Oh, and yes, constructors will circle squares in their submitted grids.
ReplyDeleteYeah, looking at those words you cite, I suppose this should have been harder, but, for me, it was possibly a Monday record of 6:09. (I'm not a speed-solver like Colum and Philbo). WICCAN went in with all crosses, RETICENT was easy for this English major, and by the time I got down to WYVERN I had switched to downs, and the unknown word dropped right in. I agree that this is a very elegant start to the week. Definitely with you on "In the 70s or 80s, say" I thought decades first, then my mind turned to "aged," or something. Might WACKO over ILHAN be a political commentary? Not one I necessarily disagree with, if so (and she is, in fact, my Rep).
ReplyDeleteDefinitely did not see WARM coming. Fun puzzle with a unique theme and great revealer.
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