Sunday December 16th 2018, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 52:41
Sunday Average: 49:00
Best Sunday: 21:55

I’m back on Indiana time after the red eye flight back home, a couple of whiskey sours in, and trying to make my way through a Sunday with some trickiness. As the revealer AT THE DROP OF A HAT shows, there are five shaded squares that have types of hats dropping down that are part of the across answers. There’s “toque,” “beret,” “tam,” “kepi,” and “fez” making up parts of CALLING INTO QUESTION, CYBERETHICS, WHAT AM I?, SNAKE PIT, and BOOK OF EZRA. It was difficult for me to catch, but that’s probably just because I’M SPENT from travel and mixed drinks.

Once I’d figured out the theme, the Northeast was the last region giving me trouble, with AGLET (apparently that’s what the thing at the end of your shoelace is called) crossing IRENIC, which relates to reconciling Christian sects or means, as it’s clued, “peaceful.”  And Lake Volta is in GHANA.

I’m sure I wouldn’t have been so SLOW under better mental conditions, but solving a Sunday while buzzed and watching “Face/Off” is a perfect way to wrap up a weekend. WHAT AM I? I’M EASY.

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