Happy Monday to all! I hope your weekend was restful. Mine was lovely because I celebrated my birthday with family and friends.
Today's puzzle is composed by the incomparable Lynn Lempel, an expert at making smooth and enjoyable early week grids. The theme is HUMANNATURE, which has been interpreted in the themed answers as [body part][natural phenomenon].
I've been to the FINGERLAKES several times now, a perk of living in upstate New York. Not only are the lakes simply lovely to look at, but also due to the glacier movements that created them, there are astonishing gorges and canyons around. We really enjoyed the hike up Watkins Glen, which I recommend to anyone who enjoys natural beauty.
I suppose I could cavil at the fact that none of these body parts are peculiar to homo sapiens. Feet and heads are found liberally throughout the animal kingdom, while palms and fingers are all over the place in the simian families (c.f. APE). But no matter.
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| OLLIE |
The only answer in the fill that I take issue with is LOUDEN. I don't know that this is ever used in regular conversation. I had to leave that one open even though I suspected it might be the answer, just because I was hoping it wouldn't be. Silly of me, but then, I'm not going to the ACPT this year.
Otherwise, I liked WINESAP, JESUITS, and BUNGLER in the fill. No particularly clever clues today, although I chuckled at 54A: Go down a slippery slope? (SKI).
2:54.
- Colum
Lynn Lempel is my hero. She makes creating a Monday puzzle look easy...and it isn't. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteWell, I nipped you today Colum with my 2:36. TEN gave me a bit of a TAILWIND of course :) A pleasant bit of Monday fun, not too challenging today..
ReplyDeleteNice one, Philbo! I wish I could compete directly with you this year at the ACPT...
DeleteWe've also been to the FINGERLAKES region several times now; once on our own and twice visiting family that previously lived in Ithaca. Great not only for the hikes and lakes, but for the wineries, a few of which have passable offerings and nice restaurants. (I keep forgetting to comment on this site, but I'll try to make it a daily habit again, as I enjoy reading the blogs themselves as well as the comments.) This ran a little harder than normal for me on a Monday, coming in at 6:55. Definitely smooth fill. Nice clue for EBERT.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you speak up again, Huygens!
DeleteI broke the five minute barrier for the second time ever with this puzzle, which may be why I didn’t notice LOUDEN - oof. In medias solve, however, I did notice the fun BUNGLER and the lovely REVERIE. I also love a SALTINE. SAMOA like this at the ACPT, please. :)
ReplyDeleteClassic Frannie, even in the comments section!!
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