.png)
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: none
Word of the Day: — IRT (30-across: Bygone operator of N.Y.C’s Second Avenue El)
Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of the original underground New York City Subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City.
• • •
Hi, blogosphere! My name is Anna Shechtman, and I'm subbing
in for Rex tonight. Somehow even though
I’m the college student, Rex is the one drinking the night away…
For the sake of full disclosure, I will admit
off the bat: I'm a first-time blogger.
My blogging frames of reference are Rex Parker and Carrie Bradshaw,
which I suppose means I should aim for snarky girl-talk (no offense, Rex!)….I
will do my best.
I found this puzzle pretty easy for a Saturday. The upper left contained some odd bedfellows
(odder than Rex and Carrie?): PORTIA
from Merchant of Venice and Joe
Friday. Stranger was that Joe Friday’s IM A COP (3-down: Start for Friday)
crosses with DRAGONET (17-across:
Colorful marine fish with spiny, finlike fins)….Is that a pun on DRAG(O)NET or
just a strange cruci-coincidence?
In keeping with Joe Friday, it would be fair to deem this
the “Just the facts, ma’am” puzzle. It
was filled with definitional/fact-based clues that easily broke open the grid
for me:
- 20-across: Miami Heat player who was the 2006 N.B.A Finals MVP (DWYANE WADE). I'm pretty sure my dad would disown me if I got that one wrong.
- 36-across: Dr. Seuss book (THE LORAX). No mention of the recent 3D film adaptation (which is probably for the best….). Watch Dr. Seuss get corporate -- and your childhood innocence get shattered -- below.
- 47-across: Bug (BEETLE). Something really bothers me about this clue. It doesn’t even seem Monday-worthy. Am I missing something?
- Strange to see ANNAS clued as (44-across: Christie and others). It strikes me as pretty obscure (despite its Pulitzer Prize), especially when “Shechtman and others” was an option…
In addition to the “facts,” this puzzle was filled with
risqué puns (some better than others) that felt like they should have been
clued not with a ? but with a ;)
Highlights include:
- 9-down: Pull up a seat for (MOON)
- 48-down: Hunk noted for streaking (METEOR)
- 34-down: Non-PC choice (IMAC). I had the IM- and was about to fill in IMUS…
“Clue of the day” definitely goes to 5-down (It makes mist
moist). I spend 10 minutes online trying
to find ANO, some obscure chemical?, in the dictionary; it turns out the answer was AN “O”….I’m in the
middle of an English paper and feel compelled to say something about how this
clue really foregrounds the materiality of the word…I’ll show some restraint.
Overall, I’m glad this was a fairly easy Saturday. I was sure I was going to miss Rex’s
deadline, stumped by Joon Pahk and Brad Wilber.
I should probably get back to my paper -- I'm trying to stay on my 35-down….
Thanks for the blog opportunity, Rex!
Anna
Just about perfect for a Sat. Quite a bit of crunch with some zip...DONTJINXIT, IMACOP, HEY... I found this harder than Anna did (charming write up BTW). It was medium-tough for me. NE and SW medium, NW and SE tough.
ReplyDeleteWhat really helped is that BEQ used DWYANEWADE a while ago so I knew about the odd spelling. Hmm, BEQ and Joon are known to hang around together, I wonder...?
I suspect I'm not the only one to go with FIdo.
How many ways can ENA be clued???
Great puzzle guys. Really liked the cluing!
A very neat puzzle -- some really great answers (UP IN ARMS, DON'T JINX IT, DWYANE WADE, CHAT ROOM, MANX CAT, THE LORAX, PAYING UP), with very little crud (ELIS and STERE are probably the worst of the bunch, but that's about it). I'd rate it as Medium if only for this reason: Everything in this puzzle felt easy except for the northwest corner, which took me three times as long as the rest of the puzzle combined. What made that corner such a death trap for me?
ReplyDelete* I wanted a ST. [insert something like THOMAS here] instead of DOMINICA at 15-Across -- never heard of the real answer, but could infer it as though it were part of the Dominican Republic.
* I had CASUAL instead of I'M A COP -- didn't know that was part of Sgt. Friday's catchphrase.
* DRAGONET -- huh?
* MCEWAN -- huh, Part II?!
* SATYRIC -- huh, Part III?!!
* PORTIA -- not quite a "huh?" moment, but I've never read nor seen the play she's in. I'm more familiar with the Portia in "A Fish Called Wanda."
* The clue for UDDER seemed way, way too easy for a Saturday, so I resisted writing it in.
* I liked ETCH as soon as I saw its clue, but couldn't shake ABUT as a possibility for a long time.
* UP IN ARMS was what finally bailed me out -- but not until I spent way too long considering UNNERVED.
At first I, too, thought that the clue for BEETLE was missing something -- an "e.g." or "for instance." But I think it makes sense if you picture the Volkswagen BEETLE: It's also known as a Bug.
Well done subbing, Anna!
Much harder-I don't know from basketball but I got everything except the nw corner eventuallybut...I bottomed out and dead stalled there.I'M A COP??????never said that .I had RINDS but nothing else.googled PORTIA didn't help.googled MCEWAN battery still wouldn't turn.came home in a cab.I enjoyed the rest of the puzzle though!
ReplyDeleteStan Freberg made a comedy record, impersonating Jack Webb, called "St. George and the Dragon-net."
ReplyDeleteWith @Evan, NW corner took 3x longer than rest, tho MCEWAN was first answer in.
ReplyDeleteKnew there was something FREAKY (which I tried for the Friday answer) about how DWYANEWADE spelled his name, but unsure what specifically...so had DWuANE which is just as silly as the Y...but the Y finally made SATYRIC click.
Hand up for FIdo. Wanted ONEzIp...a little zippier, but their JINX made up for it.
I would count an ANNA blogging a puzzle with ANNAS in it lovely synchronicity...and lovely writeup to boot.
With her, ANO stumped me for longer than it should have, but pleased me to no end once I got it.
Great job, Joonber!
Anna! Solid work!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to know I've got someone who will respond when I drunk-text at 5pm, already two pints to the wind, desperately seeking a designated blogger.
Best,
RP
Clerk: [Reads]
ReplyDeleteYour grace shall understand that at the receipt of
your letter I am very sick: but in the instant that
your messenger came, in loving visitation was with
me a young doctor of Rome; his name is Balthasar. I
acquainted him with the cause in controversy between
the Jew and Antonio the merchant: we turned o'er
many books together: he is furnished with my
opinion; which, bettered with his own learning, the
greatness whereof I cannot enough commend, comes
with him, at my importunity, to fill up your grace's
request in my stead. I beseech you, let his lack of
years be no impediment to let him lack a reverend
estimation; for I never knew so young a body with so
old a head. I leave him to your gracious
acceptance, whose trial shall better publish his
commendation.
DUKE: You hear the learn'd Bellario, what he writes:
And here, I take it, is the doctor come.
[Enter PORTIA, dressed like a doctor of laws]
The Merchant of Venice > Act IV, scene I
ReplyDeleteDon't wanna be a Debbie Downer, but as pleasant as this was, it was just too easy for a Saturday. I finished it last night and thought "Really?". The only tricky part for me was accepting the spelling of DWYANEWADE, since I don't follow basketball.
ReplyDeleteVery nice write-up, Anna. Hope Rex continues his debauchery so that we may see more of you. I'm with you on Bug-Beetle ... I assume the puzzle creator had the VW auto in mind, but still ... duh.
ReplyDeleteMore like medium for me but enough of a challenge to remind me what day it is.
ReplyDeleteLots of nice cluing
When Joon Pahk and Brad Wilber team up for a Saturday Times puzzle, Will should steal a thought from Dante and post a lead in note of “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here” because you should be forewarned that solving could be hazardous to your mental health.
ReplyDeleteAnd, they don’t disappoint today, but they do reveal a trait that I hadn’t much noticed previously in that some clues are trying so hard to be cunning that they become obvious; case in point, “Hunk noted for streaking” in all its cutesiness had to be METEOR and, nearby, “Something in a crumbled state in Greece?” was FETA, for sure, nothing else even needed to be considered.
Other clues of the same ilk included the ACNE clue and the “Mist/moist” for AN O entry but two notable places where they got me were at the excellent MOON clue and also the one whereby Joon and Brad were hoping you would think of the one person who would make your life miserable if he thought your college application essay was dreadful when, of course, our constructors actually had their sights set higher, looking for STPETER.
Having read up on THE LORAX after yesterday’s clue that asked about the Seuss character The Once-Ler, it took no imagination to write in THELORAX for the “Dr. Seuss book” (especially since I couldn’t think of any other eight letter Seuss title) and it proved to be a major plus for solving this beauty.
Terrific puzzle; as crunchy as those CRUDITES they were serving!
Anna, good to hear from you again; nice review!
Not too tough, although I confess that I finished with LAUDER for LAUREN and was going to come here and demands what the hell INRS were. Shame on me!
ReplyDeleteNice clue for ANO -- better than the standard "Year in Yucatan" or something like that.
I actually laughed out loud at the clue for STPETER -- absolutely brilliant.
How funny that we have THELORAX today after having the (Once) LER from that book yesterday.
Nice Saturday, if a bit breezy. Thanks, Joon and Brad!
I enjoyed this puzzle, which I thought was pretty typical for a Saturday, medium for me, definitely not easy. For the longest time I couldn't get any traction anywhere in the grid. FETA was the first thing I was sure of, though several "suppose it's. . ." turned out to be right. My biggest problem was in the NW. I had xxxxxx WADE, but it turned out that I didn't know how to spell DWYANE (I'm not a big BB fan). SATYRIC finally bailed me out (though that's a step or two away from "wanton"). DWYANE's mother must have been a friend of Jhonny Peralta's mom.
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up, Anna! I loved your "materiality" comment - I'm retired now so thankfully don't have to go there anymore.
ReplyDeleteMASSES of fauna today with the octopi, dragonet, beetle, dog, Manx cat, the Lorax, Fifi, Ena, and (cow via) udder (retired so long I've forgotten that word for "a part standing for the whole"!).
For me the puzzle was pretty easy circling clockwise from "masses" to "schedule," then hard when I had to face the NW. I did happen to know MCEWAN but had OlivIA for a long time until I got my plays straight.
Liked the Joe Friday clue very much - except that I hear the start as "This is the city..." - and the St. Peter one, too (another sort of cop, maybe, directing traffic....).
Is no one bothered that to moon someone one must lower one's seat rather than "pull up a seat" which would cover the moon!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm a cop was not a start to Friday, it was an "end." My name is Friday came first.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was pretty hard but I managed to figure it out eventually.
ReplyDeleteHad SAMEPAGE for SCHEDULE for a while, and thought DONTJINXIT was going to be DONT(something)YET. Also had THESANDS for TANGIERS at first.
--Twangster
Another hand up for FIDO before FIFI. Also, at 4D, NEAR before NIGH.
ReplyDelete(Aside to @Carola: synecdoche.)
Oh, you can search far and wide
ReplyDeleteYou can drink the whole town dry
But you'll never find a beer so brown
As the one we drink in our hometown
You can keep your fancy ales
You can drink 'em by the flagon
But the only brew for the brave and true
Comes from The Green Dragon!
I'm pretty sure the answer for 58D is incorrect. FIFI is a classic name for a toy poodle with a bow in her hair and polish on her nails - not for a DOG.
ReplyDeleteI found it more challenging than most of you, but a good Saturday workout. Thanks, Joon and Brad. On to quiltmaking.
ReplyDeleteAnna...you were great! Wonderful job. Rex needs to promote you from pinch hitting to filling in more of that utility role.
ReplyDeleteIt was so nice to find this Saturday's puzzle both perplexing and fun. A lot of times I grind through just grateful to finish. Today I finished happy.
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of the same hiccups as others have mentioned. When I saw "Experts at jet propulsion" I immediately thought SQUIDS! So I was pleasantly surprised to find the proper answer sort of a malapop with OCTOPI.
I was glad to see EPIDURAL show up because for the longest time I was pondering what could one possibly what to take a picture of in delivery room!
Again, fun, fun Saturday, thank you Joon and Brad ... and you, too, Anna, great write up!
That should be "want" to take ...
ReplyDeleteWas solving on SCHEDULE and hoping IDONTJINXIT til I made a U-TURN in the NW territory.
ReplyDeleteWas UPINARMS and made an UDDER mess...then DOMINICA fell in.
"HEY, I'M ON IT now," I thought.
My INPUT on the spelling of MCEWAN, DWYANEWADE, and DRAGONET??
was an ANOMALY I'd like to forget...
Joon and Brad- you got me! And I rooted for you on Jeopardy...
I also got slowed down by that NW corner. I had never noticed the odd spelling for Mr. Wade's first name.
ReplyDeleteA number of isles would have fit at 15A: Suriname, Trinidad, St Thomas.
People used to tell me I looked like Jack Webb. Not sure it was meant as a compliment. Now they just tell me I look like Hell.
@mel -- yes you do! (just kidding)
ReplyDeleteGood writeup, fun puzzle. Jackj, some of those puns might be obvious to you, but not everyone has a mind that thinks like that.
Where's @Evil been?
I needed three Googles, but this had pop. I enjoyed it.
ALITALIA was my carrier before I had to board AEROFLOT.
ReplyDeleteI think having read many Joon posts here some time ago put me on the right wavelength.
Can't see the "cherry ice-cream smile" clue without singing it in my head!
ReplyDeleteLove the mini-DeNiro theme we had with RONIN and TANGIERS. That car chase seen is awesome, especially in a movie theater.
I know some don't like that this was on the easier side for a Saturday, but I really enjoyed the whole thing. OK, I wish I hadn't put in brEWS for STEWS, and I wish I had known MCEWAN, it would have made things go a little easier, but it was a lovely solve.
Nice job, Anna! Rex can use you anytime he is drinking from now on.
Carola @9;36, would that be synecdoche?
ReplyDelete@joho: Who would want to take a photo? Well, consider the current vogue for recording births on film, presumably for the sake of posterity. I'm wondering whether anyone here might have thought of placenta before realizing that the answer had to be EPIDURAL. My kids were born before anyone other than hospital staff were allowed in the delivery room, which suited my husband just fine.
ReplyDelete@Bob Kerfuffle - Thank you! To be honest, that's a term I've always had trouble retaining for some reason. I decided to check the etymology now, to see if that would help me. Well, no, but I was interested to see how early the first citation was: the prologue to Wyclif's Bible of 1388 - "Bi a figure clepid [=called] sinodoches, whanne a part is set for al, either al is set for oo part."
ReplyDelete@GLR - You're so right about FIFI!
Can't help but give a thUmbsUp to Anna. Always enlightenin' to have a risque bullets section. Did Anna also brew some black coffee for the Stinkosaurus Rex? Might be a sight sometime to see a blog written up by 31 while he's a few pints above the lethal limit. Especially if it's a pangram.
ReplyDeleteFelt kinda ganged up on, having to do battle with both the Wilber and joon doods. Especially with that nasty opening NW corner. Got UDDER --figuring guys that classy would open up with a U-- and then had Near subbing for NIGH, so was off to the races in the wrong direction.
Rather than be beaten silly, brought in the PuzEatingSpouse. Always a good plan B on a SatPuz. She knew CRUDITES, among many others. We got the whole stinker done in about an hour. Thought it was a fun and fair fight.
@Anoa Bob - Thank you, too! Our posts must have crossed just now.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Didn't notice Bob Kerfuffle had already answered it. Read all the comments, just flat missed it.
ReplyDeleteEasy for a Saturday. A lot easier than last Sunday's puzzle. Is there no order in the world?
ReplyDeleteHad more difficulty than many of you but it was an enjoyable effort. Liked OCTOPI, STPETER, and CHATROOM. (Grr, does anybody else remember when the keyboard had two commas and two periods above each other?) Anyway voids in both NW and SE. Great cluing all around. Thanks Joon and Brad. Nice job Anna.
ReplyDelete@bobk - great recall on synecdoche! I saw the movie with philip seymour hoffman, which was kind of a mind blower - and remember looking up the word then, and not really fully understanding the concept - still don't..
ReplyDeletePuzzle had lots of happy associations - including DOMINICA, "the nature island" which i highly recommend to adventurous sorts; my '68 and '99 BEETLES, the SPIREA near my mailbox. Also I like to say DONTJINXIT for various superstitious reasons when I'm watching the Braves.
Lovely Saturday for me.
Well done, Anna! One of my favorite writeups of the year.
ReplyDeleteTried TOY for FIFI - DOG is no worse than TOY. My image of a FIFI is a standard poodle, not necessarily a toy. The standards are in the non-sporting group.
DEW for 5D for too long. Big NBA fan that I am, I did not know the really weird spelling of DWYANE and had to google it. would never have written it that way otherwise, but YSTRA made no sense.
Lots to like here. Sure, BEETJE, METEOR and FETA are gimmes on a Saturday (or otherwise), but ST PETER, OCTOPI, APIA, I'M A COP (you have to be 60 or over to remember the classic Jack Webb original series), and others made me smile.
All in all a Saturday with just enough bite. Thanks, Joon and Brad. I too rooted for you on Jeopardy. So did non-puzzle wife and Jeopardy partner once I explained who you were.
What's all this talk about synechdoche? It's a city in upstate New York.
ReplyDeleteThis week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio, the higher this week's median solve time is relative to the average for the corresponding day of the week.
ReplyDeleteAll solvers (this week's median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)
Mon 5:39, 6:48, 0.83, 1%, Easy (2nd lowest median solve time of 166 Mondays)
Tue 8:29, 8:57, 0.95, 41%, Medium
Wed 11:58, 11:48, 1.01, 59%, Medium
Thu 17:34, 18:49, 0.93, 43%, Medium
Fri 18:47, 24:33, 0.77, 14%, Easy
Sat 29:16, 29:20, 1.00, 55%, Medium
Top 100 solvers
Mon 3:23, 3:41, 0.92, 16%, Easy
Tue 4:49, 4:39, 1.04, 64%, Medium-Challenging
Wed 6:32, 5:56, 1.10, 79%, Medium-Challenging
Thu 9:37, 9:21, 1.03, 63%, Medium-Challenging
Fri 10:24, 12:12, 0.85, 28%, Easy-Medium
Sat 16:55, 16:37, 1.02, 56%, Medium
@M & A, U crack me Up!
ReplyDeleteI had "FIDO" instead of "FIFI".........messed me all up!
ReplyDeleteCruised from the northeast through the heartlands to the southwest, then struggled in the southeast but finally prevailed. Unfortunately I decided to stick with dairy at 1d and casual at 3d, so the entire northwest remained a mystery, and since I was way past my two hour/two bourbon limit I decided to call it quits. Still not ready for prime time, I guess.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else have to move their moderator at 40a from a plATfOrM to a CHATROOM?
That NW was a killer for me. The sports figure with the crazy name was something I'd never seen before, and nothing else provided a decent handle. Eventually a guess on RIO got me moving.
ReplyDeleteBut is "livid" really UP IN ARMS? Seems like one is passive and the other active. Like, if I'm sitting here pissed off I'm livid. If I stand and do something about it I'm up in arms. No?
I feel like I'm living in an alternate universe. I thought this was awful.
ReplyDeleteDRAGONET
NITTI
CRUDITES
AEROFLOT
MANXCAT
SPIREA
Just could not get any traction and slogged through this one. Ugh.
Tyler, you are not alone. I even missed the "Y" in Wade's name. Duran Duran to me are two professional boxers, and Cherry ice cream smile is something you get when you eat a popsicle too quickly. Never heard of dragonet, crudites (my wife knew it) don't know who Gobo and Faline (in children's lit) are, if not for the film would never have heard of another children's lit reference, the Lorax, and the knowledge that Green Dragon is an inn may be possible if one is a true Frodo devotee, but obscure and meaningless if one is not. Finished with just one error in average time, but I am with Tyler, really disliked this one. Fortunately, since my comments are being written the next day, no one is likely to read them...
ReplyDelete@Tyler and @OISK, this is a full two days later, but thank you for posting, because I have never felt so alienated from my online peeps as I was reading the descriptions of how easy Saturday's puzzle was. I don't think I have ever failed to fill in almost anything, but that was my experience with this puzzle. I guess everything was out of my wheelhouse.
ReplyDeleteGreat Saturday puzzle which I only got to at breakfast on Sunday....
ReplyDeleteSurprised we haven't had the octopus/octopedes discussion again.
Lucky for Rex to have such a good stand-in on short notice!
Great writeup. How does a college student know about Dragnet? I misspelled McEwan, even though I just saw his name yesterday, as I was putting novels in alphabetical order while placing books in my wondrous new bookcase.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Mr. Wade and still wonder how his first name is pronounced. Thought of Euro before Feta as something crumbling in Greece. "what makes mist moist" was a gimme for me. Interesting how various sets of knowledge and frame of mind allow getting to correct answer w/o googling.
Maternity wards really, really do need full-time spell-checkers...
ReplyDeleteI really liked the puzzle. I would rate is as EASY because
ReplyDelete1.) I completed it
2.) It was all correct
3.) ITS A SATURDAY.
I guess I just was on the same wave length as Mr. Pahk and Wilber.
@Ginger - Thanks
@Dirigonzo - Yes, NM is for New Mexico. When I first started reading this blog there was a Robin that commented. I did not want to be mixed up with him/her.
This blog has really helped with doing the crosswords.
I didn't think it was such a great write-up. Okay, rate it easy (????)-medium if you must, but then don't mention twice more how easy it was for you. This really stings one who couldn't even finish. I just could not get any traction in the north half.
ReplyDelete"Start for Friday" = IMACOP? Ridiculous. I was a Dragnet fan and I never got it.
Couldn't make Mr. Wade fit with the downs at 8 and 21. I look at the result and it says DWYANE (sic). Who, if they're HALF-literate, would name their child that? Double-ridiculous.
Never heard of CRUDITES. The name sounds very unappetizing to me; this food needs a new PR man.
And just for icing, the capchas have become illegible again. WHY is this BULLS**T even necessary?
Finished the puzzle with one google (McEwan) and enjoyed it. I'd rate it "hard" because of the time to finally crack it open. Mr. Spacecraft, take a chill pill. Thanks Mssrs. Pahk and Wilber.
ReplyDeleteRon Diego 10:50 AM PDT
Just could not get on the same wavelength as this puzzle. I got about half and threw in the towel. It was a blow to come here and find everyone complaining that it was too easy for a Saturday. So, I was glad when @Tyler and @OISK spoke up, expressing, exactly, my struggle in an "alternate universe. Have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteAnna, how could someone so young catch DRAG(O)NET crossing IMACOP. Good writeup, girl!
ReplyDeleteHad "theclock" for 35D. Finally got SCHEDULE with crosses. Also had drYINGUP before PAY. FIdo before FIFI. It helped that my wife knew CRUDITES. ONEone before ONENIL.
DWYANE's mom couldn't spell.
Shouldn't MOON be clued "Pull down a seat for?"? Just asking.
Gonna hop on AEROFLOT and fly to TANGIERS.
Fun Saturday.
Just the facts, ma'am. No way I'M A COP is a start for Friday. SGTJOE would be but, alas, wasn't...
ReplyDeleteHaving been in the delivery room twice in the early '70's whilst Mrs. Waxy gave birth, EPIDURAL will never be a word I forget so at least didn't need to STEW in the NE.
Elsewhere, had BOTHER before BEETLE, THESANDS before TANGIERS, EXILES before EXPELS, GOTTI before NITTI, MARXIST before MANXCAT and CHAIRING before CHATROOM. Not UPINARMS but many a UTURN today.
And just how cool was it that our guest blogger even had her name in the puzzle. Well done, Anna!
Captcha is DOILDROP. Don't need to dwell on what this is and exactly where it's dropping from.
It's plain silly of me to comment, because the Mon-Sat puzzles are 5 WEEKS behind the rest of youse, but I gotta. First of all, lovely write-up, Anna, and I'm amazed you recognized Joe Friday, and the eye-catching crossing of IMACOP with DRAGONET (yes, thank you Stan Freberg). Even if Friday didn't start out with I'm a cop, close enough. I had no trouble with that quote, got Dragonet on crosses, pretty much had to Google everything else, or interrogate my daughter and son-in-law on the newer cultural stuff ("RIo" - okay, Duran Duran isn't technically "newer" but newer than a SONATINA which I didn't need any help with). I liked STPETER but kept yelping, "No Fair" at everything else. I had to read a million reviews of "Casino" before someone told me the casino was the Tangiers. I feel bone stupid but at least I got STPETER all by myself with only the "T" from "Tantra" , and don't ask me how I knew that! On to the captcha.
ReplyDeleteSE was a real slog for me, mostly because of starting off with so many wrong answers - TOGA for FETA, RANTS for LASTS, THESANDS for TANGIERS, ICON for ICBM, FIDO for FIFI, plus AIRCHINA, ALITALIA, and AERODART for AEROFLOT. That's a lot of scribbles in one little corner! Oh, and isn't it Spiraea, not Spirea?
ReplyDeleteI'm working through the archived puzzles, so I'm three years late posting on this one. Didn't anyone else have "classic name" FIFE for a DON??? Ha!
ReplyDelete