Today's theme takes us on quite a ride as we hop from one means of public transportation to another as we progress through the grid. We travel by means of SUBWAYSANDWICHES, METROAREA, TUBESOCKS (remember those?), and UNDERGROUNDFILMS. A trolley good job, I say.
There were a number of fun stops along the way including "Received quick cash for, in a way" (PAWNED), which I liked because it put me in mind of "Perry Mason," an old TV show in which people are pawning stuff left and right. I also enjoyed "Story that's not to be believed" (MYTH), but my favorite today was "Habitat for humanity?" (EARTH) - ha!
HOOHA for "Commotion" is fun. GLEE and the rarely seen WHUP are also fine fill. AUGER is nice, too. I liked the TRIO minus one of space pioneers, YURI and OCHOA, as well.
I missed the boat on my first tries for a couple of clues: 33A: "Cube or sphere" where my error took Shape before becoming SOLID. I started to SCrub at 45A ("Clean vigorously") but when the Downs weren't working I had to SCOUR my brain for an alternative.
I thought the clue "Smear on, as makeup" was a little off the mark. I don't go for makeup myself, but smearing it on seems counter productive. Maybe I'd understand it better if I applied myself. Additionally, we have a case of one of my common puzzle ROOS. I know it's Monday, but clues like "Opposite of NNW" still seem to take the idea of EASY a bit too far.
In long-awaited Wordle crossover news (no real spoiler alert), since July I have been choosing a five letter word from the crossword puzzle as my starter word. I won't say which word I chose today, but I will say that it worked out pretty well for me. The word I chose came back with two greens and a yellow. With that info, I was able to guess the Wordle word in two. Maybe this can be like a reverse puzzle where you GOTTA now do Wordle and then back trace the answer to figure out which word from today's puzzle I started with. Soon, it will be sweeping the nation. :)
~Frannie.
Love the constructors, and loved the puzzle. And how appropriate for me! This morning I ventured forth on the Alternative to The Orange Line, expecting the fiasco everyone was predicting and finding myself, while wet with rain, otherwise pleasantly surprised. Everyone was cheerful, the shuttle bus "ambassadors" were friendly...and then to come back to the office for this treat? Splendid!
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly, I hope the rest of your week on the T went smoothly. Some of my co-workers experienced a bit more "tram-a" than you did.
DeleteLOL, Frannie! No, though, but really...all week was a joy! I wish these out-of-towner shuttle bus drivers would stay around for awhile, even when the Orange Line gets its TUBESOCKS on, to train the MBTA folks on stuff like courtesy...no kidding, it was an EASY experience!
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