Wilber's puzzle, by the way, also kicked butt. Just like yesterday's by John Farmer. It hasn't been a good puzzle week for me, but it hasn't been a good week all around.
We have triple stacks of 10-letter entries running horizontally in the northeast and the southwest--all excellent answers--as well as 9-letter vertical stacks in the northwest and the southeast.
Starting in the northwest:
1D: Shakespearean character who introduced the phrase "salad days" (Cleopatra). I didn't know that, but once I had the EO it was easy to guess.
2D: Tattoo remover (laser beam). I've only known one person who's had a tattoo removed. Most people are just getting more and more. I'm trying to picture a heavily-tattooed arm or leg on a 75-year-old.
3D: Coffeehouse menu subheading (espressos). I've recently switched from all caffeine Americanos to half-caff. My coffee shop refers to it as a Schizo. I'm not taking it personally.
Horizontally in the northeast:
5A: Blow-drying problem (heat damage). The easiest of the three to get.
16A: Slipping frequencies (error rates).
18A: Steering system components (front axles). I had the second word, thanks to knowing 11D: Sports champ depicted in "Cinderella Man," 2005 (Max Baer). Most clues about boxing refer to Baer. His son, Max Baer, Jr., played Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies.
In the southwest:
51A: Factor in a home's market value (curb appeal). Are housing prices skyrocketing everywhere? Houses in our neighborhood are going for four times what we paid for ours twenty years ago...and I don't think I'm making four times what I earned back then.
56A: Carried by currents, in a way (oceanborne). Harder for me to get than it should have been.
58A: Serenity (heart's ease). I thought this would begin with peace. I had the A from 46D: Chick playing a piano (Corea)...one of only four gimmes in the puzzle...as well as an erroneous E from 52D: Symbol of industry. I had bee, rather than the correct ant.
Wrapping up the stacks were the vertical southeast offerings:
31D: "Elijah" and others (oratorios). I was able to guess that with a few letters in place, but I don't get the answer.
32D: Bridle parts (nose bands).
33D: Piercing glance (gimlet eye). I seem to remember that we had this in the not-too-distant past. Unfortunately, I didn't get it this time.
There were some really good words scattered throughout, including:
22D: Contortionist's inspiration? (pretzel). It helped to know 20D: Fitch who co-founded Abercrombie & Fitch (Ezra)...a regular in the NYT puzzle.
24A: Aquavit flavorer (caraway). I don't have a clue what Aquavit is, but I had the WAY, so it was a pretty sure thing.
30A: Off by a mile (dead wrong). My favorite answer in the puzzle. It so aptly describes my often feeble attempts at solving, although I got it with only the EA in place...from 28D: Material used in making saunas (cedar) and 24D: Novelist Potok (Chiam).
37A: Setting of Camus's "The Fall" (Amsterdam)...a good guess with only the AM in place.
43A: Marina accommodations (boatel)...a word that caused a lot of comments when it last appeared. Boatels were common in south Florida, but many solvers had never heard the word.
Interesting to see 14D: Theme (essay). Yesterday we had assay, clued as [This is a test]. I had essay for that answer, as did several others...a foretelling of a Saturday answer.
I didn't know that risible (clued at 27A) meant absurd. That's worth remembering.
My favorite clue in the puzzle is 38D: It's raised after a payment is collected (toll bar). I scratched my head a few times on that one, but once I finally got it...d'oh!
And I just now saw the answer to 15A: Liner's locale (lash). I was thinking liner as in a ship.
That's it for tonight. Here's the grid...I didn't check it, so please let me know if you spot any errors.
See you tomorrow.
Linda G
6 comments:
Even though it's too late, out here in syndication-land, 40 Across is "afternoon ora." ORA would be "mouths" in Latin. Spanish for HOUR is "hora." The H is silent, of course. Someone should have caught this elementary error to prevent my losing my mind trying to come up with three-letter words for MOUTH>
Anonymous, it's never too late to post in syndication-land. I'd still see it, as would others who are doing the six-week-ago puzzle.
I subscribe online, where the clue (fortunately) was correct. Sad that your paper erred and made you crazy ; )
hi Linda....found todays puzzle far easier than Thursday's or Friday's...perhaps because it was more "googable"...Aquavit is a Sweedish liquor...not nearly as good as Grappa....housing prices in certain markets have risen considerably, mostly because interest rates are far lower than they were....sorry that you have not had a good week...hope the weekend is better...if it means anything your blog always makes my day better!!!!
Bob
I did a ton of googling on this one & was still stymied by SE sector; 47A 43A 33D. Will have to put boatel & gimleteye in the old data base....
So glad to know that you don't mind the late comments; this didn't land in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette until 10/27. Gimleteye. What the hayell? Lash really threw me. I don't wear liner, but doesn't it go on the lid? Love the blog.
I'm glad others struggled, too (so that I am Not Alone.) But I got many pieces that had others blocked. I don't know why "gimlet eye" came easy, after which I had "bee" (not ant) and numerous other half-right answers. I guess I am sorry to say that for the "blow" problem, I wrote "hairricane"-- well, it kind of fit! I was punchy by then.
Better luck to me next week!
Elaine in Arkansas
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