May 2, 2011
Robyn Weintraub
Sorry, guys. I couldn't get the puzzle in the usual place last night and completely forgot about the applet on the L.A. Times site until now. D'oh! So here's the grid, but I need to get to work so that's all you'll get today. See you back here tomorrow.
23 comments:
Follow the Yellow Brick Road, as Toto did.
Excellent Monday puzzle, with 6 theme answers, and little that made me cringe.
Seems to me that you now have 1 of 2 songs stuck in your head. Either you're singing about the Wizard of Oz, or like me, you're singing The Beatles: Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on...
For me it was, "Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, let me say it once again..."
I hate the LA Times applet so much that I've never been able to enjoy a puzzle where I had to use it. Today's may be an exception, as it was a remarkably clean Monday with a perfectly serviceable theme.
I truly meant that in a much nicer way than it sounded.
Hmm, I thought the theme was fine but there was a lot of crosswordese and otherwise substandard fill, I thought. ELL, EDENS, YALIE, TREO, SSGT, EEL, ALF, RNA, DEM, ERST, IWO, ENL, AMA, GEO, etc. ENL is the one that puzzles me the most.
But, I guess after reading everyone else's comments here and at the other blog I agree that having 6 theme answers including one full-length one is a good payoff.
@Catechist - ENLargement, as a 10x14 is generally considered an enlargment of a standard sized photo print.
5 8+ letter theme answers automatically forces tons of three letter fill. You can't have tons of three letter fill without crosswordese, so I didn't get too upset about that
Nice puzzle! The Yellow Submarine is my earworm....
Nice clue for lush. Does anyone still use the word "settee"? Needed all the crosses for treo, not crosswordese to me.
Smooth, easy puzzle that was enjoyable to solve.
For me, the song this puzzle got rolling through my head was "Rosanna" by Toto. My brain does not like me sometimes.
I'm with Pete re: that applet. I think the puzzle took me twice as long to fill in as it should, just because the cursor never went where I expected it to!
Would've liked one of the two-legged Oz adventurers instead of boring little easy-to-put-in-a-grid TOTO.
For me, this early week level theme did its job. I worked my way down to TOTO in the SE with some gaps, and could quickly slap in FOLLOW ME and BRICK OVEN. YELLOW SUBMARINE and OBLADI were gimmes, although I wondered if I would have to strike over the I with an A.
Until I got to the little dog, I thought the puzzle might have a (weak) compound word theme, what with FLIP CHART and FOOD COURT, plus some of the (real) theme answers.
My dad was a Master Sergeant, and I am always a little disappointed when the NCO is a Staff SGT.
No problem with the puzzle but got the annual dress-up event from the crosses and couldn't figure out why I'd never heard of THEO'S CARS. Took me the longest time to figure out, duh - THE OSCARS.
Nice way to start the week. I can only echo the comments above. Yellow Submarine has submerged into my mind for the day. Had NODeal instead of NODICE but otherwise a clean solve.
@John Wolfenden: another cool letter in LAT Opinion page. Keep up the good work!
I'm with Mary on "Gary Indiana". 6 theme answers here, 7 in the NYT on a Monday!. Very depressing for a rank amateur constructor.
Well done Robyn.
Thanks, Mokus. Don't get me started about John Bolton. It was cool seeing the Times breaking out the 120-point headline today.
I thought this was one of the best Monday puzzles I've seen. Smooth and fun, a novice puzzler's dream.
Had a chuckle when briefly considering if "Bridal shower pile" could be GIRLS. I guess it depends on the shower.
A bit of symmetry today as my wife and I went to the Wicked Tour show in Eugene, OR last night. Highly recommended. So, yeah, I really liked the puzzle today.
Hand up for Gary Indiana ear worm, I am hopeful to be rid of it by noon.
Fun and easy Monday fare.
Gary indianna,gary indianna,gary indianna why can't the LAT use across lite? Please? If it isn't unwanted is it still graffiti?
Puzzle girl how do you know if I'm not an Android?
Syndy, I get the .puz file that opens in Across lite from cruciverb.com. Well, I usually do. This morning I was redirected somewhere, but it worked this afternoon. I'm pretty sure I paid a nominal fee to them, though I can't remember now, but it was small for reliably being able to solve in a medium I like.
Really great Monday both here and at the NYT. This one had a very large and varied song list that came with, always a plus in my book. Thanks, Robyn!
And right along with @syndy, I'm wondering what happened to your captcha?
@Sydny, JaxInLA - Cruciverb is free (as long as all you want is the puzzles, there is pay content), you just have sign up.
This was not the puzzle in my L.A. Times on monday.
pretty good one for me as I just started doing crosswords. though I had clergy instead of cleric and flow instead of flip-chart.
also, never heard of erst or onek before
Nick, One K. As in one kilometer race/walk. If my math is correct, 10k=6.2 miles, so 1k would be .62 miles.
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