Barry Boone's Monday puzzle may very well be his New York Times debut. I spent a good ten minutes Googling him and didn't find anything.The theme...more than entertaining enough for a Monday...was revealed at 7D: What the starts of 22-, 36-, 41- and 50-Across comprise (the four elements).
Theme answers:
22A: Heater or repeater (firearm).
36A: Revolutionary pattern of the moon (earth orbit).
41A: Non-oil painting method (watercolor).
50A: TV Guide info (air date).
Some pretty snappy fill rounded out the puzzle, including 10A: Evil organization in "Get Smart" (KAOS)...here's Siegfried, a/k/a Doc from Love Boat, 20A: Church bell ringer (sexton), 24A: Japanese maker of watches and calculators (Casio), 39A: Sex researcher Hite (Shere)...not Sheri, 43A: Fashion's __ Saint Laurent (Yves), 46A: Treaty of __-Litovsk, 1918 (Brest), 57A: Olympic sport from Japan (judo), 4D: The Civil War, for the Confederacy (lost cause), 10D: Telly Savalas role (Kojak) and 36D: Lazy person's stairs? (escalator).I drew a complete blank at 9D: Predecessor of Katie Couric. Because I had a wrong answer at 5A: Group of eight (octet, rather than the correct octad), I couldn't think of a name that started with T. I finally had enough letters to realize that it was Dan Rather.
An interesting double blast from the TV past...58A: Lone Ranger's companion (Tonto) and 37D: Trigger man? (Roy Rogers).I was totally clueless on 15A: Conductor Zubin (Mehta). It didn't help at all that I didn't know 6D: 1970s Dodgers All-Star Ron (Cey). Also didn't know 8D: Yours: Fr. (atoi). I can tell you...it was pretty humbling to have to Google on a Monday puzzle.
We got quite a bit of yard work done on our no-driving weekend. Don worked on the flagstone patio today, while I worked on the steps. Sadly, I neglected to take my own advice about sunscreen (I did have it on my face, though), and my back and shoulders got pretty burned. Jeez! [19A: "Man, oh, man!"]
Here's the grid...
...and I'll see you tomorrow.
Linda G
7 comments:
Easy peasy, but fun and clever. Had to correct AIRtime, and that was about it. Why would a "lone" ranger have a companion?
I never thought about that before. He's not so lone, is he?
I suppose "Ranger who only hangs around with one other guy" doesn't quite roll off the tongue...
OCTAD ISNT IN THE DICTIONARY
BUT WE ALL KNOW IT WAS DAN RATHER, SO WHATS A LITTLE MISPELLING NOW AND THEN!!!
No Matching Entries Found.
The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary.
Spelling Suggestions for OCTAD:
OC
TAD
OCT
AD
OCTAL
ACTED
OCTET
OCT
OCTANT
OCTANE
OCTAVE
OCTAVO
ACAD
SCTD
ACCAD
COATED
OOTID
OPTED
I was curious that Yves Saint-laurent's death was announced last night---and he showed up in today's puzzle. Does Shortz have the turnaround to alter a clue to include a prominent obituary, or was it mere happenstance that this clue was used today?
Fun puzzle today.
Wasn't the Lone Ranger the lone survivor of a massacre of his ranger companions? It was a long time ago but I seem to remember something about to that effect in his back story.
Hmm, guess a lot depends on what dictionary you're using and whether it's online or in book form. Octad is in mine, the Random House Unabridged.
Linda, you may just have got me hooked on that design your own purse site. ;)
I never questioned the Lone Ranger, but I like Anna's explanation. I'll run that by Don...he may remember something about it.
OCTAD is in my dictionary, but I'd have chosen OOTID from the options listed ; )
I'm sure it was just coincidence that Yves Saint Laurent died the day before the puzzle came out. Rather an eerie one, though.
Anna, I've had more compliments on my purse than I can count. I'm eagerly awaiting my new one.
And I received an email from Barry Boone today...I'm sure he won't mind if I share it.
********
Hi Linda,
I love your image of the four elements chart up on your site today. And I'm glad you enjoyed the puzzle!
And you're right, it was my debut.
-- Barry Boone
Without any prompting, Don confirmed what Anna said about the Lone Ranger. He also added that calling him "The Sole Surviving Ranger" wasn't as snappy.
Just finished the blog for the Tuesday puzzle...off to bed.
Post a Comment