Robert S. Greenfield author page
1 puzzle by Robert S. Greenfield
with Jeff Chen comments
| T | A | R | P | C | R | A | G | S | O | P | T | S | ||
| A | L | E | E | H | A | G | E | N | D | A | R | E | ||
| H | A | T | E | T | O | E | A | T | A | N | D | R | U | N |
| I | N | A | R | O | W | R | I | P | O | S | T | E | S | |
| N | O | I | S | O | M | E | T | O | T | I | D | O | ||
| I | N | N | T | E | C | H | N | A | S | C | A | R | ||
| S | I | L | O | S | B | O | L | T | ||||||
| C | O | I | N | A | P | H | R | A | S | E | ||||
| C | O | D | E | T | I | R | E | D | ||||||
| C | A | M | E | R | A | N | E | H | I | R | O | D | ||
| O | R | B | O | R | S | D | A | D | T | O | B | E | ||
| Z | O | O | M | L | E | N | S | S | E | A | T | E | R | |
| Y | U | V | A | L | N | O | A | H | H | A | R | A | R | I |
| U | S | E | S | A | R | G | U | E | T | R | O | D | ||
| P | E | R | K | S | E | A | M | S | S | Y | N | E |
Kicking off a themeless with a great clue provides such a lift. Like when they lift up a TARP to cover all the bases in a baseball diamond! I was pleased to get even more right off the bat, with a "bettor better know" the ODDS. The wordplay revved further up with NASCAR as an organization with a "strong track record." So groan-worthy!
Anyone else remember that "Gilligan's Island" episode where Gilligan accidentally changed SOS to SOL? Makes a lot of sense to form something simpler but still noticeable, like an X or a V. Neat trivia.
Neat crossing of HATE TO EAT AND RUN and CHOW MEIN. That's NOT A BAD IDEA at all.
I hadn't heard of YUVAL NOAH HARARI. Jim Horne has given me many great book recommendations over the years, so I'm adding "Sapiens" to my list.
Featuring a long name in a themeless can be tricky. I waffled on the HARARI / OBERON crossing, weighing HARATI / OBETON and HARALI / OBELON. I tend to psych myself out, trying to guess what Will Shortz would do. If it was OBERON, wouldn't Will use a Shakespeare? Or would he try to trick me by making me think that's what he would do?
Luckily, I've built up an immunity to iocaine powder.
Solid debut, with some outstanding cluing. [Part for a balding man?] made me laugh, as my (identical twin) brother is still clinging onto the last of his dwindling hairs.