Thursday August 23rd 2018, NY Times Crossword

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Time:36:52
Average Thursday: 26:37
Best Thursday: 10:18

I'll take a certain amount of satisfaction in this one despite my poor time because I'm sure that this is precisely the puzzle that I would have not have finished a year ago. Rebus squares of an unknown quantity, undefined spaces, and different words present a definite challenge to a novice like me. A friend of mine recently asked how I knew when there were rebus squares and I just said that after you've done enough crosswords, you just start to sense when something's wrong. That takes doing multiple crosswords everyday for a year or so, at least.

This CROP ROTATION theme is enjoyable and well-executed. As you can see above, we have three rebus squares crops (rye, rice, corn) that cause the answers to make a ninety degree turn. Rice was probably the simplest, with ELECTRIC EEL  just begging to be plopped in 3-down but not fitting. 46-Across' vague STORY EDITOR was trickier, especially since it required "rye," which I would consider the least common of the crops. As I mentioned earlier, with so many unknowns about the rebus squares, it can take a bit more searching. Fortunately, I had several hour-plus drives through Mumbai today, which gave me time to hack away. I was embarrassed at how long I thought about how there's no slang for third base, until HOT CORNER, a phrase I love, finally came to me. Speaking of baseball, I guess we can just talk about a singular ASTRO World Series champ, but which one?

However, I have to say that it's painful to me to have IT'S A TRAP in a puzzle without a Star Wars clue. I was thinking something along the lines of "Ackbar exclamation," but I'm sure you all can do better.

I'm quite fond of Erykah BADU and GUSTAV Mahler, but I'm never happy to see A-ROD.

Anyway, this one made me sweat and gave me a mild scare, which is just what I need to keep me invested in blogging these crosswords. If there is anyone out there depending on me for the answers, I'm sorry that this entry is coming a bit late in the day and probably a bit drunkenly composed. Sometimes school visits lead directly to beers and that leads directly to smoky whiskey cocktails at a Chinese restaurant in Mumbai hotel. I have no regrets. 

Comments

  1. momAugust 23, 2018 at 2:23 PM

    I wondered where you were! Out having multiple beers and whiskeys! Sounds good.

    ReplyDelete

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