Wednesday October 10th 2018, NY Times Crossword

Time: 19:48
Wednesday Average: 17:40
Best Wednesday: 7:24

I worked on today's puzzle in the car while riding through the streets of Dhaka, where it was a good traffic day and time so it only took about an hour to go five kilometers. Everything went smoothly except for the SW where I got stuck for an extended period of time with just nothing other than LES Misérables to give me purchase. I took a swing with ON AIR for "Live," just because it's a common answer even though I can think of dozens more words that would fit. ANA "Gasteyer of 'Mean Girls'" sounded plausible and turned out to be correct. Then, I finally remembered HAILE "Selassie of Ethiopia," mostly from my days of playing Civilization VI. From there, NAIL GUN fell into place and I wrapped up without incident, if a bit slow for a Wednesday.

Today's theme is the tune of the ALPHABET song, which apparently starts out with the notes DO DO [BIRD], SO SO [REVIEWS], LA LA [LAND], and SO [HELP ME GOD].  It's a neat bit of trivia that I, not being terribly musically inclined, wouldn't really have picked up on and likely won't remember.

I still remember Elisha OTIS, so that bit of crosswordy trivia seems to have stuck.

RIHANNA's real name is Robyn? That sounds like the beginning of a good dance party for me!