Sunday April 21st 2019, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 34:10
Sunday Average: 47:13
Best Sunday: 21:55

Sometimes I have to be impressed with crossword themes and this may well be the best NY Times Sunday I've come across in my limited experience. The theme is PICTURE IN PICTURE and, as you can see, the shaded squares of each answer are famous films and then if you read the answer without those shaded squares, that spells out another well-known picture. Maybe slipping E.T. into THE LITTLE METER MAID (The Little Mermaid) isn't the most difficult, but there's something deeply satisfying about Get Out in GETS CREAM OUT surrounding 90s horror classic Scream. OK, PETITER PAN ("Smaller piece of cookware?" with It and Peter Pan) could probably have been cut. I SAID NO. The goofy phrases and similarly wacky clues are fine, maybe could use a tad more humor, but overall this is an extremely well executed theme. As always on a Sunday, I'm sad to be going back to your run of the mill 5 minute Monday puzzles.

I have never heard of the song VOLARE by Domenico Modugno, apparently a big hit in 1955. I also didn't know DRE from "Black-ish" and had AcES instead of ALES for "Draft picks," so that northern chunk was the main thing slowing me down. 

Anyhow, the beautiful weather here in Bloomington cannot be OVERSTATED, so I'm off to continue to enjoy that with my dog, who will no doubt plant a WET ONE on my sweaty face. 

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