As always, when I see Mr. Collins's byline, I know I'm going to get a tough and enjoyable puzzle with an interesting up to date vocabulary. And today does not disappoint!
Thanks be to my Neurology training, because my first foothold came in the middle of the East section. APHASIA and AUEL, along with my Sopranos knowledge for DREA helped get me going. But it wasn't enough to move me up into the NE corner. Instead, LIFT and IRENE allowed me to complete the SE corner instead.
BEESKNEES is always a fun answer. I think we saw it in this exact same location not so long ago. ONTHEALERT and NOENTRANCE are fine. But DAPHNE is a lovely name, even if the character wasn't all that interesting on Scooby-Doo, to my memory. I always wanted to see Shaggy and Scooby do their thing instead,
At this point I got STREETPROPHETS, which finally helped me with the NE corner. Part of my problem was 10D: It's played with a few strings (BLUEGRASS). I had ____ASS, and assumed the word would end with "bass." As always, when something just doesn't seem like it's working, take out the questionable letters. 11D: Art of cutting cards? (BARBEDWIT) is an impressive bit of cluing legerdemain. And how about 29D: Mares, e.g. (SEAS). Didn't expect the Latin there.
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| Shirley EATON |
Next I restarted in the SW corner with SESTET. In the ROI section, who knew that GALVESTON was the capital of the Republic of Texas? Now it's a suburb of Houston. I'm not sure I entirely get the clue for DEATHTRAP. Why is it an "attraction?"
Finally, RIGHTONRIGHTON gave me access to the NW corner, the toughest part for me. I should have known AMBIEN off the bat, but couldn't draw the name out of my memory. 8D: "Saint," elsewhere (SAO) was fairly straightforward, in retrospect. Also making this rough was ENNA in Sicily, not EtNA.
1A: Directive for the board (DONTERASE) is a really tough get! Not just the misdirection of a corporate board, but also the negative at the start. 13A: Popular pubs for college grads (ALUMNIMAGS) is also hard. I managed to move away from drinking establishments eventually.
Fun stuff. HAVEAGOODONE! Horace takes back over tomorrow. 13:20 for me.
- Colum
13:20! You have to be kidding me! That was my time exactly! Boding well for a neck-and-neck finish at the ACPT this year, even more so than last year!!! I too was tripped up by DEATHTRAP, as I thought it had to be DEATHWISH, and I didn't twig to the other meaning of 'pubs' until the very very end. Oh and a shout-out to DONTERASE as well! Seems like we hit the same peaks and valleys, Colum!
ReplyDeleteSad news though - I won't be able to make the ACPT this year. Family commitments and job commitments have made it so that weekend is too difficult to clear for travel away from home. But I'll raise a glass of rye to all of you from Albany!
DeleteNooooo!!!! Aah that's too bad Colum, I was looking forward to hanging out with you again. There's always next year though!
DeleteThat is sad news, Colum. :( Now who’s going to give Philbo a run for his money? :)
DeleteIt ain't gonna be me! I finished this beast in 20:50! But I still look forward to being there. :)
DeleteLoved it! The last to drop for me was BARBED WIT, with it's amazing clue. RIGHT ON, RIGHT ON, took me back to Detroit and Marvin Gaye's opus "What's Going On." The entries are all terrific, the clues wonderful. Thanks for the week, Colum!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting!
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