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
