Monday, September 25, 2023, Lynn Lempel

Tap tap tap ... is this thing on? Frannie here, after what seems like an age to talk a little bit about today's NYT crossword puzzle. It won't be a DOTE or a RANT, the former of which I leave to Colum and the latter to Horace. :) Nor, I'm afraid, will it be an OPUS, numbered or otherwise, just some random thoughts, as is my WONT.

Theme-wise, this puzzle has all the elements of a good story: the second word of each theme answer spells out the necessary elements thereof: ARABICCHARACTER, SCATTERPLOT, EARTHTONE, and GOALSETTING. Added to these  fundamentals, the grid contains numerous classic fairy tale features like a MINARET, an EGG, an OGRE, an ORC, a MOAT, and AGOG, whatever that is. :)

There's plenty of other good story material here, too:

ATAHALT, BABOONS REND PORSCHE. 

SAMSON SATDOWN, ETON CRISP END PINTA LATTE.

RICH EMOTION LETS IDA PARDON NASSER. 

And they lived happily EVER after ...

~Frannie.