I wondered how many consecutive constructor debuts we'd have this week. The answer to that riddle is two.A four-part riddle (at 20-, 28-, 48- and 56-across) asks, "What implement/ can be produced/ from potassium/ nickel and iron?"
The answer, which appears in the circled squares, is knife. (It took some time for me to think periodic table of elements...K/Ni/Fe. I'll bet I'm not alone.)
In addition to the riddle theme, there were two more riddle clues/answers:
23A: "Who __?" (common riddle ending) (am I) and 64D: "Riddle-me-__" (ree).
Things I didn't know and couldn't have gotten without crosses:
18A: Turns around, as a mast (slues).
39A: Fortuneteller (sibyl). Have never heard the word used. Ever.
3D: N.H.L. team at Joe Louis Arena (Red Wings). I need a cheat sheet that lists all of the teams--hockey, basketball, football, soccer...I think I'm okay on baseball.
11D: Tuscany city (Siena).
I had never heard of Brian Eno B.C. (before crosswords), but I've seen him in enough puzzles that I now know his name. But I did NOT know that he created the Windows 95 start-up sound (40D). In fact, I never stopped to think that someone had to create that and other computer sounds. I take so much for granted.
I like the connection between 9D: "Odyssey," for one (poem), although I initially had epic, and 47A: Movie featuring Peter O'Toole as Priam (Troy).
Words I liked seeing in the grid:
60A: Like worms (icky). It was the first word that came to mind when I thought about worms, and it turned out to be right. I loved its cross at the K. 48D: Changeable on a whim (fickle).
61A: Computer unveiled in 1946 (ENIAC). For those who don't know, that's an acronym for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
6D: Fine metal openwork (filigree).
19A: Abbé de l’__, pioneer in sign language (Epee). We see epee in the grid on a fairly regular basis, but it's never been clued this way. Definitely a Thursday kind of clue for an everyday kind of word.
It's interesting to see 38D: Plan for nuptials (set a date) so close to 62A: Cold feet (fear). It reminds me of a scene in Runaway Bride. Maggie (Julia Roberts) has just left her groom standing at the altar, and has jumped aboard a FedEx truck. A woman asks Fisher (Hector Elizondo), "Where is she going?" He replies, "I don't know, but she'll be there by 10:30 tomorrow."
And I need to be somewhere by 10:30 tomorrow, so I'm calling it a night.
Hope to see you tomorrow.
Linda G
5 comments:
saw your writings this week on Rex's blog and liked what I saw.
It's always nice to get feedback. It's especially nice to get the good kind. Thank you. I hope you'll continue to visit and comment ; )
Love your crossword blog, especially the comments and thought process in obtaining the answers.
I noticed that you now include the crossword puzzle at the top. What a bummer... Oftentimes, I just need a little help on a letter (or word) or two, and now I am bombarded with the full answers. Anyway you could put the results at the bottom??
Thanks
Andy G
Andy, I actually tried that, as well as putting the solution behind a link that you'd have to click on. I couldn't make either work.
I'll keep practicing. In the meantime, I'll make the grid small enough that the answers aren't in your face...easier to avoid looking at them that way.
Hi Linda, nice write-up! BC, I didn't know BRIAN ENO either, but he shows up so frequently in the grid that early-solve, with only the "A" in place, I saw that he would fit and so wrote him in! I haven't the first clue what kind of music he makes. I also filled in SIENA for the same reason, again with only the "A" in place. Guess I'm a little dull tonight, as I missed the deeper meaning of theme AND noodled for a long while over how YOUR could be a "watch-step connection"! I liked ICKY and EGGY. Toodle-oo! :)
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