Welcome to the work week! Hope your Monday is going smoothly. As smoothly as the solve on this early week puzzle!
Our constructors have offered up (or down) a theme where the first three long answers move DOWNTOASCIENCE, namely "physical," "social," and "earth" sciences. I enjoy puzzles which switch the theme answers to the down direction for a good reason. The theme answers are strong as well, with ANNUALPHYSICAL, ICECREAMSOCIAL, and LASTMANONEARTH. I particularly like the clue for the last: 7D: Whom one might not marry no matter what! Hah!
It's a smooth grid, with little in the way of bad answers. Sure, we have the old standbys that help keep a grid together like OPT, ODE, ADO. On the other hand, how about that stack in the middle north of IRAS, CASHBONUS, and DEBT? Seems like the first two should help protect against the last.
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Also apt (apt!) is the SW corner, where a CONARTIST practices his EVIL ways using ACES. I guess I'm thinking of three card monte, but there it's usually the queen which is trickily swapped to take people's money.
A very smooth offering, indeed, with a little surprise shoutout to a certain blogger on this site in the NE corner.
- Colum
Wow -- gorgeous grid! With 4 14s? I'm impressed! Sweet theme, nice fill, and super clues! (Psst..Colum, that shout-out is clued as "Male turkey" :-))
ReplyDeleteUm, yes, it is, in fact, the "Male turkey" clue, Kelly. At least I hope that's the one he meant, and not DOPE. :)
ReplyDelete15:34. Didn't have much trouble with this one. Put in SMELL rather than SCENT at first in the SW corner, but quickly corrected it after entering the rhyming EVENT. Didn't know of TONI, but got her thanks to the crosses.
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