Another quick one - 40 seconds off my all time best for a Wednesday. That probably means that Thursday is going to be a nightmare to make up for it?
Some thoughts
The theme was: puns? Didn’t really seem cohesive in any other way or add a lot to the puzzle.
PESACH wasn’t in my vocabulary. But I thought it was interesting because the Spanish word for Easter is “Pascua”, and sure enough Pascua is derived from PESACH! A little etymology fun - still needed all the crosses but I could see it coming into form as I filled them out.
Of the long fill, I liked TINSELTOWN, especially clued in relation to " La La Land". PITACHIP was ok too.
Thankfully my geography is pretty good - double landlocked counties in Africa!
No clue who Dada artist Jean ARP was. Really screams “I couldn’t get the crosses to work” when you see it in the completed puzzle. But still an opportunity for some learning.
Hooray for Bill Watterson making an appearance (the [email protected] is great! Daily strips). But boo to CARTOONING. I’m sure it’s a real word but it just looks weird. At least get it to CARTOONIST, which is the actual profession.
Didn’t like the ambiguity of Z[I/A]G and TR[EA/IC]K. It’s annoying when the cluing makes you wait for a cross to decide between two perfectly fine answers and, if you don’t get the cross, it can be even more frustrating. I think that Rex Parker in his blog calls these kealoas, after the classic “Mauna ___” type clue (KEA or LOA)
CALZONES are fun. Makes me think of Parks and Rec and Ben Wyatt.
Yeah, I like the blog. He is a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes but the insights are really interesting. The commenters are adorably quirky too. There are also occasional guest bloggers of different levels of expertise who are a good change of pace from a high-level solver like Rex.
Another quick one - 40 seconds off my all time best for a Wednesday. That probably means that Thursday is going to be a nightmare to make up for it?
Some thoughts
The order in which Rex solved the themed clues is the order I did them in as well.
I’ve heard the name before but didn’t look them up until now. He seems like a great resource to add to my crossword explainers list. Thanks!
Yeah, I like the blog. He is a bit of a curmudgeon sometimes but the insights are really interesting. The commenters are adorably quirky too. There are also occasional guest bloggers of different levels of expertise who are a good change of pace from a high-level solver like Rex.