New York Times, Tuesday, March 10, 2015
| Author: | Allan E. Parrish |
| Editor: | Will Shortz |
Generally I like a revealer; an entry that ties the puzzle nicely together. But for themes like today's, I really appreciate having to go back after finishing to figure out what was going on. Nice little moment when I pulled out the LANDAU from memory as a type of transport. CARRIAGE and COACH are also nicely disguised.
Going down to 72 words allows Allan to give us many long pieces of fill. So much potential when you have six 8-letter slots — and six 7-letter ones to boot! Some of them hit the bulls-eye for me, BABUSHKA, TOSHIBA, LAPDOGS all bringing me a smile.
I did like the challenge presented by a more wide-open grid, although entries like the outdated-sounding PASSBOOK (note: Jim points out that Apple announced today that their new watch supports its Passbook feature, so maybe this term is making a comeback?), and the neutral SPEEDIER and PARENTAL felt a bit like missed opportunity. Often I'll start my own grids with six 8-letter slots but eventually break up a set so that I can get four stellar ones instead of two stars plus four placeholders. It's a tough call, because some people may really love PASSBOOK or even GRASSLE, for example. Trying to guess what a majority of solvers is going to enjoy is a tough business, indeed.
Nice integration of the J and K up in the NW corner. I like the Scrabbliness there, and if the minor price is a KEA and A PIN, I think that's a reasonable trade-off.
The Z down south though … NAZI? Yes, it's clueable to a modern movie, but my guess is that many solvers really don't want to see NAZI as they're enjoying their crossword over a coffee break.
Finally, GROK may be out of many people's wheelhouse, but I think it's a really useful word. If you haven't read Stranger in a Strange Land (where the term "grok" originated), it's well worth it.
1 K | 2 E | 3 A | 4 J | 5 A | 6 B | 7 S | 8 C | 9 O | 10 B | 11 A | 12 L | 13 T |
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14 I | L | L | 15 E | P | I | C | 16 A | C | A | C | I | A |
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17 S | P | E | 18 E | D | I | E | R | 19 R | E | B | E | L | S |
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20 M | A | R | T | I | N | L | A | 21 N | D | A | U | |||
22 E | S | T | A | 23 M | A | I | N | S | 24 T | 25 A | 26 Y |
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27 T | O | S | T | 28 A | 29 D | 30 A | 31 T | O | S | H | I | B | A |
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32 G | I | N | 33 S | U | 34 K | N | E | W |
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35 P | 36 A | 37 P | E | R | C | A | R | 38 R | 39 I | A | G | E | ||
40 M | A | M | A | 41 I | P | A | D | S | ||||||
42 G | R | A | S | 43 S | 44 L | E | 45 L | A | P | 46 D | 47 O | 48 G | 49 S |
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50 M | I | S | S | P | E | N | 51 T | 52 C | R | O | C |
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53 B | A | T | T | I | 54 N | 55 G | 56 C | O | A | C | H |
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57 R | 58 E | 59 S | O | R | T | 60 P | A | R | E | N | T | A | L |
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61 E | X | P | O | S | E | 62 I | Z | O | D | 63 E | R | E |
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64 S | O | A | K | E | R | 65 N | I | K | E | 66 S | T | P |
| Across | Down | |
| 1. Mauna ___ (Hawaii landmark) : KEA 4. Barbed comments : JABS 8. Shade of blue : COBALT 14. Bedridden, maybe : ILL 15. Grander than grand : EPIC 16. Thorny tree : ACACIA 17. Like express mail vis-à-vis regular mail : SPEEDIER 19. Freedom fighters, e.g. : REBELS 20. "Ed Wood" actor : MARTINLANDAU 22. "Cómo ___?" : ESTA 23. Primary supporter : MAINSTAY 27. Tex-Mex dish : TOSTADA 31. Electronics giant : TOSHIBA 32. Big name in knives : GINSU 34. Was in on : KNEW 35. Typewriter part : PAPERCARRIAGE 40. Who "said knock you out," in an LL Cool J hit : MAMA 41. Some tablets : IPADS 42. Karen of "Little House on the Prairie" : GRASSLE 45. Toadies : LAPDOGS 50. Squandered, as youth : MISSPENT 52. Swamp menace, for short : CROC 53. Expert on swings : BATTINGCOACH 57. 59-Down, e.g. : RESORT 60. Part of PG : PARENTAL 61. Big story from a journalist : EXPOSE 62. New Jersey's ___ Center : IZOD 63. Before, to Byron : ERE 64. Super ___ (summer toy) : SOAKER 65. Greek goddess seen on many trophies : NIKE 66. Longtime Nascar sponsor : STP |
1. Fate : KISMET 2. City in a 1960 Marty Robbins chart-topper : ELPASO 3. "Someone may have accessed your account" and others : ALERTS 4. Sci-fi knight : JEDI 5. Neat as ___ : APIN 6. Jessica of "The Illusionist" : BIEL 7. "Butt out!" : SCRAM 8. What spin classes provide, informally : CARDIO 9. Large quantities : OCEANS 10. Russian grandmother : BABUSHKA 11. Team's best pitcher : ACE 12. Rap's ___ Wayne : LIL 13. Classroom aides, for short : TAS 18. Division politique : ETAT 21. Quick learner : NATURAL 24. Sound of a fork on a wineglass : TING 25. Busy as ___ : ABEE 26. Veer off course : YAW 28. 10, for 1973 Oscar winner Tatum O'Neal : AGE 29. Hollywood honcho: Abbr. : DIR 30. Like the Dead Sea Scrolls : ANCIENT 33. Deplete : SAP 35. ___-mutuel betting : PARI 36. You love, to Livy : AMAS 37. Obsolescent bank item : PASSBOOK 38. Cereal box info : RDA 39. MSN, for one : ISP 40. Las Vegas's ___ Grand : MGM 43. Like people in Yukon Territory : SPARSE 44. Athletic recognition : LETTER 46. Brand of mouse poison : DCON 47. Speechifies : ORATES 48. Racing vehicle : GOCART 49. Lug (around) : SCHLEP 51. Easy two-pointer : TIPIN 54. "Inglourious Basterds" figure : NAZI 55. Understand, slangily : GROK 56. Turn over (to) : CEDE 57. Follower of hi or lo : RES 58. Prefix with skeleton : EXO 59. Vacation destination : SPA |
Answer summary: 4 unique to this puzzle.
Found bugs or have suggestions?