Monday August 27th 2018, NY Times Crossword

Time: 6:14

Average Monday: 8:53

Best Monday: 4:51

First Name + First Name = Someone else’s First and Last Name. As themes go, I’m not sure it gets any more straightforward. I like quite a few of the names involved, especially STEVE MARTIN and JAMES TAYLOR. My dad told me growing up that he wrote “Sweet Baby James” for me and I believed him for an embarrassingly long time and I still kind of believe it in my heart. 

I can never remember how to spell Elaine BENES and had an I as the fourth letter, which cost me a few seconds. 

Outside of the fairly boring theme, I’d say this is exactly what one should expect from a Monday puzzle. It’s easy and hums right along. There really isn’t any garbage fill beyond some overused 3 letter words like TKO, SLO, and SAX. Those are reasonable. Also, AERATE seems to be making an awful lot of appearances lately.

I’m not crazy about the low-grade cleverness of “where a mole shouldn’t be, in brief” for CIA, but maybe that’s because I’m reading Legacy of Ashes and am feeling even worse about that particular agency than usual. 

It’s shaping up to be another long work day in Delhi. However, last night I was thrilled to find that Delhi has a Taco Bell that serves Tikka Masala Nachos and beer. Just knowing that has improved my life.