Saturday, April 28 - Sherry O. Blackard

I'm in love! That's my favorite answer in today's puzzle by Sherry O. Blackard (32D: Cry after falling hard?). I must admit, though, that I first thought of some choice obscenities that might pass NYT muster.

Another themeless puzzle with a 13-square answer smack in the center. I looked at the clue for 32A: Wallet loser's concern and had an immediate aha! moment. Identity theft not only fit, but it was right, and that opened up all kinds of things for me.

This wasn't as difficult for me as Friday's, although it had very little black space. Lots of stacked 8-squares and 6-squares, with a few 7-squares thrown in for good measure.

Some things I didn't know:

15A: Cosmetics dye: Var. (eosine)

31A: Last name of Dickens's Little Nell (Trent). Didn't think she had one.

40A: Praise to the heavens (ennoble)

43D: Knighted Scottish singer Harry (Lauder). Would have much easier if clued in reference to Estee.

They didn't fool me twice with 41D: Russia's Rostov, e.g. (oblast). Thanks to Rex Parker for that one. Sometimes I remember what I've read.

Other gimmes:

13D: Ratatouille ingredient (eggplant). We wanted my then 6-year-old nephew to try this, so we made a game out of it. If he could pronounce it, he could taste it. He gave it a few extra syllables, something like rat-a-tat-a-touille. He's in his thirties now and still remembers that...and my sister and I still call it that. Anyway, this opened up the whole NE corner.

9D: Absorb (soak in).

38A: Barely eats (picks at). Ties in nicely with 14D: Something a loser may skip (dessert).

46A: Cry of facetious innocence (moi)

Things I liked:

42D: Top of a closet? (blouse). We bought our house because the then-owner had my favorite blouse hanging in the closet. I thought it was an omen. Well, there were things we really liked about the house, and we probably would have bought it anyway, but that just sort of cemented the deal. In my mind, anyway.

26D: Be just right for (suit to a tee). We had to a T in the last few days.

25A: Mats (tangles). I was thinking of exercise mats at first, then noticed my dogs are in need of a good brushing because they have...mats.

5D: Hostile territory is behind them (enemy lines). I am definitely not pro-war, but I thought this was a clever clue, and the long answer opened up another area.

57A: Alternative to a box of chocolates (red roses). Some argue that roses don't last very long. True, but neither will a box of chocolates, and roses have never made me gain an ounce. Digression following...my mother loved yellow roses. The first Valentine's Day after she died, my husband sent me a bouquet of twelve red roses with one yellow rose in the center. Over the last 20 years, he has always included a yellow rose whenever he sends me flowers.

37A: Far from laid-back (Type A). This one shows up often, and I'm no longer confused when I see a word ending in A. I used to wonder what I had wrong.

Better wrap this up and get on with my weekend. My puzzling and blogging (along with my reading) has kept me from my household duties, and I'm a bit behind on laundry, the plants need to be watered, I need to prune a few things...and so on.

Enjoy your Saturday.

Linda G