No longer the Mr. or Ms. POTATO / HEAD of my youth? What is this world coming to?!
Actually, I'm fine with it. Today's puzzle is an homage to the OVOID toy, with a central nearly completely separated section colored a light tan on the iPad version in that same shape. In addition, scattered around are the INTERCHANGEABLE parts which are so classic. You can find a [SMILE], a [NOSE], a [HAT], an [EAR], two [EY/ES], and a [HAND]. These are shaped like what they represent, so nicely done there.
In the end, I'm not convinced it's entirely Thursday-worthy. I would rather have had yesterday's puzzle today (although it was likely a little too easy) and today's yesterday (although at 15 x 16, it played harder). What do you think?
All of the triple-checked letters made a challenge for Mr. Grillo, which he has managed nicely. The only answer I'm not so fond of is TARDIER. I think most people would plump for "more tardy," but it's acceptable. Perhaps POETRIES as a plural of a GENRES is a little odd as well.
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| Barry GIBB |
I'm a big fan of the Keats poem referenced in 12A (To Autumn). I tried setting it to music in my college years, with mixed results.
What do people think of these clues which come from hidden words or anagrams? It's a well-accepted type of clue in our cousin puzzles, the British crossword puzzle. 37A: Synonym found after deleting half the letters of EXHILARATE (ELATE), or 57D: Pulitzer-winning author whose name is found in nonconsecutive letters of "page turner" (AGEE) are examples today. I find them inelegant, and a bit of a gimme.
A fun puzzle but a little disappointing for a Thursday.
- Colum
I'm with you on the "found in" clues. I find them tedious. As for this puzzle, when I saw the revealer I thought maybe the circled letters themselves would all be interchangeable within the puzzle somehow, but that would be a big ask.
ReplyDeleteWas there a big anniversary of the toy formerly known as Mr. Potatohead recently? And even if there were, is it puzzle-worthy? Oh, what do I know. I suppose they keep needing new themes...