tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post5271113059518664978..comments2024-03-29T03:05:05.578-04:00Comments on Horace and Frances discuss the New York Times Crossword Puzzle: Tuesday, July 21, 2015, David PhillipsHorace Fawleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04676932991883111336noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post-79789847721897707292015-07-22T03:46:40.772-04:002015-07-22T03:46:40.772-04:0019:56
I liked JAMESKIRK in the grid, and enjoyed t...19:56<br />I liked JAMESKIRK in the grid, and enjoyed the clue (although, as Colum says, it was somewhat of a gimme), and also starred BACH. And what, Colum doesn't like tea? I have at least two cups per day (green after lunch and ginger following dinner). And I agree with ET59 on the poor cluing for SANDCASTLE, made even worse with that question mark. The SW is awful-looking: ORA, ARG, RYE. The puzzle was OK, but I come down more on the side of thumbs-down for this one.Huygenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14539030936919012404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7869983234842507044.post-86172409736095241582015-07-21T22:27:35.803-04:002015-07-21T22:27:35.803-04:00LIS (not LyS) is back, as well, and with the exact...LIS (not LyS) is back, as well, and with the exact same boring fill-in clue. Couldn't some constructor think of a different way to clue the French "lily"?<br /><br />Nice review, though. I too found this to be a mixed bag. I wasn't crazy about the clue for SANDCASTLE; I associate "ground" more with dirt, mud, or rock. "Pueblo" would be a better answer for that clue. SESS and ASSNS should never be together in the same puzzle. Perhaps they should never be separate in the same puzzle, especially the ridiculous latter. It looks absurd; plus, I've always thought of the abbreviation of "association" as assoc. One thing you didn't mention about this thing is how old it skews. Consider: BURMA, BOOKEMDANNO, GEOFFREY, SIR, LADD, AENEAS, ARCHIE, BUT, FINNEY, DEVO, JAMESKIRK, FLICKA, DRRUTH, BACH, and SATIE. I'm probably forgetting a couple. About all we have to counterbalance the olden days are TMZ and Tosh.0, which, incidentally, is not a very favorable reflection on contemporary culture. Here are a few things I liked (in addition to the handful you gave a shout to in paragraphs 3 and 4): ICKIER isn't the greatest fill maybe, but if we have to see it, let it come with a clue involving cooties. BOONE provides a nice, specific datum of trivia. Speaking of deja vu, have I mentioned lately that I look favorably on any reference to the Batman TV series? And, finally, if we have to have opera, let it be clued in a way similar to "Dido and ____," so non-opera folk have a good chance at filling the answer in without crosses too.<br /><br />I suppose OOZY is a word, but those 3 x 3's in the NE and SW are not pretty<br /><br />This took me about twice as long as Monday's, thanks in large part to my never having heard of ICEROADTRUCKERS, which made for slower going across the middle. englishteacher59https://www.blogger.com/profile/16790678319090827125noreply@blogger.com