Theme: "Done to a T" - T is added to to the end of each familiar phrase.
22A. Naughty young athlete?: SPORTS BRAT. Sports bra.
24A. Materials on a king's palette?: ROYAL PAINT. Royal pain.
34A "Don't worry about that, Mr. Gingrich"?: IT'S NOTHING NEWT. It's nothing new.
52A. "The Alien Simpsons" character?: MARS BART. Mars bar.
55A. Watery world?: SEA PLANET. Sea plane.
77A. Defective phone download?: BAD APPLET. Bad apple.
79A. Large pub band?: BAR NONET. Bar none.
94A. Tiny golf course rental?: SUBCOMPACT CART. Subcompact car.
111A. Strategy using a heavily pine-tarred bat?: STICKY BUNT. Sticky bun.
113A. Tiff about a checkup?: HEALTH SPAT. Health spa.
We've
seen adding T or T sound puzzles in LAT before. Paul's has T's
consistently added in the end. And he has 10 of them. Heavy themage in a
142-word grid.
Across:
1. Name on toy vehicles since 1964: HESS. Most of rusty toy trucks are Tonka.
5. '50s first lady: MAMIE.
10. Architect Saarinen: EERO.
14. Become unhinged: SNAP.
18. Bridge toll unit: AXLE.
19. Whirlpool brand: AMANA. Just don't buy GE, so glitchy.
20. "Ah, me!": ALAS.
21. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.
26. Energy-saving tactic: POWER CUT.
27. AOL, e.g.: ISP.
29. Military chaplain: SKY PILOT. New term to me.
30. Platform for Siri: IOS.
31. Cons: ANTIS.
33. Biting: ACERB.
40. Less taxing: EASIER.
43. Pouts: MOUES. Like this.
44. Oxlike antelope: GNU.
45. Syndicate: CARTEL.
47. Chinese culinary general: TSO.
48. Fine things?: ARTS.
49. Cartoon flapper: BOOP.
50. Cabinet dept. with an atom on its seal: ENER.
51. 1995 court VIP: ITO. Lance.
59. Doo-wop syllable: SHA.
60. Big size, in a small way: LGE. Large. "in a small way" just indicates an abbreviated answer.
61. Operatic chorus: BRAVOS.
65. Chip features: RIDGES.
66. Organic fuel: PEAT.
67. Deprive of courage: UNMAN.
68. Ex-baseballer Martinez: TINO. Here he is with a more famous Yankee.
69. Photos, say: IMAGES.
72. Not diluted much, if at all: STRONG.
73. __ v. Wade: ROE.
74. Dusk, to Donne: EEN.
81. Deg. for a writer: MFA.
82. Red analog: BEET. There are also golden beets these days.
84. Trounce, down south: WHUP.
86. Global extremity: POLE.
87. Lulu: PIP.
88. "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind" author: CHOPRA.
90. "__ the fields we go ... ": OER.
91. Graf rival: SELES.
92. They may be driven: CATTLE. Nice clue.
98. Bailiwicks: AREAS.
100. Slogs: PLODS.
101. Bygone New Zealand bird: MOA.
102. Last of seven, for many: SATURDAY. Sunday in Chinese calendars.
105. UFO crew, in theory: ETS.
106. Curbside pickup places: BUS STOPS.
115. Recesses: NOOKS.
116. Miscellany: OLIO.
117. Stand in a studio: EASEL.
118. Adjutant: AIDE.
119. Envy and others: SINS.
120. Fill-in: TEMP.
121. Singer Springfield: DUSTY.
122. Word of medical advice: REST.
Down:
1. Door fastener: HASP.
2. Big show: EXPO.
3. Tedious: SLOW.
4. Arid: SERE.
5. Phillie Phanatic, for one: MASCOT.
6. Waylay: AMBUSH.
7. K follower: MART.
8. Minute or moment lead-in: IN A.
9. Consuming, as time: EATING UP.
10. Secret Service agent's accessory: EARPIECE.
I remember watching Chinese version of "In the Line of Fire". John
Malkovich killed this nice girl simply because she's from Minneapolis,
which I had never heard of then.
11. "Do Ya" rock gp.: ELO.
12. Bottom-feeding fish: RAYS.
13. 1970 World's Fair site: OSAKA. Where Osaka was born.
14. Way up: STAIRS.
15. Nervous habit: NAIL-BITING.
16. Cartoonist Peter: ARNO. The New Yorker.
17. Big East team: PITT.
21. Court loser's option: APPEAL.
23. Chamber groups: TRIOS.
25. École cousin: LYCEE. "Nice school" would be a Saturday clue. The answer could be either.
28. RR stop: STN.
31. Part of A.D.: ANNO.
32. Bittersweet farewell: SWAN SONG.
34. Mosque officials: IMAMS.
35. Judaic spiritual text: TORAH. Followed by 36. Buddhist spiritual text: SUTRA.
37. 1987 Costner role: NESS.
38. Gershwin's "__ Rhythm": I GOT.
39. "Poems are made by fools like me" poem: TREES.
41. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE. Their best product. So expensive.
42. Origins: ROOTS.
46. Song syllable: TRA.
49. Author Harte: BRET.
53. Obscenity cover-up: BLEEP.
54. Showing shock: AGASP.
56. Former: PRIOR.
57. Bedding: LINEN.
58. Big deal: ADO.
61. Flatter: BUTTER UP.
62. GI's furlough: R N R.
63. Latin lover's word: AMO.
64. Vehicle with sliding doors: VAN. We have a van. We hope to click this Santa Fe back home next year.
66. Links letters: PGA.
68. Under-the-sink assembly: TRAP.
69. High-tech debut of 1981: IBM PC.
70. Underworld society: MAFIA.
71. Novel's screen version, e.g.: ADAPTATION.
72. Oozes: SEEPS.
74. WWII bomber __ Gay: ENOLA. And 76. Desert trial: N TEST.
75. Fisherman with pots: EELER. Always think of this old fisherman. His eels are the best.
78. Debt-heavy corp. takeover: LBO. Leveraged buyout.
79. Pat on the back, maybe: BURP.
80. Crude gp.?: OPEC. Crude oil.
83. Place setting setting: TABLETOP.
84. Fuel storage structure: WOODSHED.
85. Does some tailoring: HEMS.
88. Store employees: CLERKS.
89. Exciting: HEADY.
91. Put away for later: STASH.
93. Rollers on the road: TRUCKS.
95. Bunk: COT.
96. Charm: AMULET. My friend Roberto wears an Evil Eye.
97. Like serious mistakes: COSTLY.
99. Cousin of a clog: SABOT.
102. IRS IDs: SSNS.
103. Yours, to Yvette: A TOI. One more French: 114. Évian water: EAU.
104. "Throw the __ Log On, Uncle John": P.D.Q. Bach madrigal parody: YULE.
106. Low pitch: BASS.
107. Peter the Great, e.g.: TSAR.
108. '60s sitcom boy: OPIE.
109. Stationer's stock: PADS.
110. Editorial "let it stand": STET.
112. Matchstick-removing game: NIM.
Glad Picard's surgery went smoothly. Liquid diet for 2 weeks sounds so hard!
Irish
Miss (Agnes) told me her nausea is under control, but the pain is still
here. She can now sleep in her own bed, so that's a bit of progress.
Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We need our corner sunshine back to the blog soon.
Light to Right : Anne, Agnes, Eileen, Mar, and Peggy (3/17/2019)
C.C.
44 comments:
Good God guys and Gals! It's Sunday again.
So far I've solved the NW cell, and am east of the Rockettes.
Thank you Paul Coulter for this challenging CW.
Thank you C.C. for your excellent review, and the positive reports on Picard's surgery and Irish Miss's nausea. I will keep each of them prayed for.
Ðave
Nailed this one quickly, after my fail yesterday. I soon caught on that a T would be added to the end of a familiar phrase for a punny answer, which was a big help. Only MARS BART was all perps.
Have a nice day.
Thanks, C.C. Irish Miss - I hope you're feeling much better soon.
Rich passed on this at first. Some that didn't make the cut were:
SCHOOLBUST - Raid on a classroom?
MOTORCYCLECOPT - Egyptian Christian on a Hog?
HIDDENFEET - Paws in Penny Loafers?
FEATHERBOAST - "I'm the lightest of all?"
But fortunately, there are many possibilities for tacking on a t to change a word. After some back and forth, we agreed on a set. The working title for this was Legal Tender (which should be parsed as t-ender.) I originally had DONETOAT in the revealer spot, but Rich liked it better as a title.
Funny story - another editor based in California has sent me a lot of work lately. I mentioned that I'd be away most of the week enjoying a family reunion at the beach, including my sister from California. He suggested I stop by if I was near his town, assuming I meant the reunion would be in CA. I jokingly informed him we have beaches on the east coast, too, which we think are pretty nice!
I know you want to know. It took forever, but I finally FIR.
Now off to break my fast.
Ðave
A very nice Sunday with Paul's customary wit, and the joy of some insight from C.C.
I knew that Marathon subsidiary SPEEDWAY had purchased all of the HESS gas stations so I was not sure about the continued sale of the toy trucks but I found this ARTICLE.
We also have a CSO to Oo and me with 35. Judaic spiritual text: TORAH. Followed by 36. Buddhist spiritual text: SUTRA..
My only unknown filled itself as I have never heard of the game NIM but I am sure our math people found it easy.
Paul, thank you for stopping by and sharing more of your experiences and for the fun exercise; C.C. thanks for everything. Best to Picard and Irish Miss.
Morning, all!
Fun theme that I grokked early on and I was able to guess most of the theme answers based solely on the clues with no crosses, so that was nice.
Mostly a smooth ride throughout, but I did almost go off the rails in the NE. I saw the clue "Military chaplain" and thought, "Oooh, I know this! It's... let me think... oh, yeah -- CHAPLAIN! Oh, wait..." Never ever heard of SKY PILOT before and really needed every cross before I could accept that it was a thing. And it didn't help matters that ARNO was also a complete unknown to me (at least today -- I may have known him in the past).
Good morning!
Wow, this one went fast. D-o even managed to get the theme. Nice seeing TORAH and SUTRA side-by-side. Not too many proper names, which are usually my downfall. This puzzle had lots to recommend it in my book. Thanx, Paul and C.C. (Why wait til next year? Strike while the bowling ball is hot.)
WHUP -- Always makes me think of this song. "Whup" @ 2:03.
WOODSHED -- Why was it always "behind the woodshed?"
DUSTY -- Dusty Springfield got her start in a family trio,
SKY PILOT -- We never used that expression when I was in the Navy. We had both Protestant and Catholic chaplains aboard the bird farm. The Protestant chaplain liked to hang out with us in the Public Affairs Office, because we didn't treat him like a preacher.
Slogged thru in 51 minutes. Caught the theme early and added the T to all the theme entries. Really helped with the perps.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Paul Coulter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
Started this last night via cruciverb. Got tired and hit the hay. Got up and finished it this morning.
Theme was good and a big help. The T worked. I liked IT'S NOTHING NEWT.
Tried MOPES before MOUES worked much better. Gave me SUTRA.
Never heard of CHOPRA. Perps.
Never heard of LYCEE. Five perps and I had it.
Of course I spelled CZAR the real way (IMHO). Then fixed it to TSAR.
Liked WOOD SHED. Was looking for some kind of tank.
Picard and Irish Miss. Hope you both are feeling better.
Off to my day. First, church, and then a summer picnic at the Shrine Temple. Raining, so the picnic might be inside.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Wow, our own -T gets a Sunday theme CSO!
FIW, missing MOpES x SpTRA. If only the clue had been "kama follower". Also erased xxl for LGE, TItO, La Lane for CHOPRA, carp for RAYS, par for PGA, sews for HEMS, rot for COT, pens for PADS, and I was taught that "lmno" followed K. Oh yeah, there once was KMART. (When I lived in LA, a friend returned from a trip back east and told everyone that "here we have K-MARTs, back there they have K-rogers too".
I suspect that the SEC will WHUP the other conferences (again) this football season.
Thought of Grandma Mazur at PIP. "You've got a pip of a life. Never a dull moment. Fast cars, fast men, fast food. I wouldn't mind having a life like that."
My favorite Dusty Springfield song was The Look of Love.
Thanks to Paul Coulter for the fun puzzle. And thanks to CC for the great review.
Eric Burdon and The Animals had a big hit with SKY PILOT.
Good morning.
Worked out SPORTS BRAT in the first minute or so. Based on the puzzle title, that pretty much confirmed the theme entries would end in a T. Put that theory to the test, scrolling through the clues, looking for those that ended with a question mark, and then entered a T in the last posistion. It worked for all of them except FINE THINGS ? There was also "CRUDE GRP ?" in the down clues, but it couldn't possibly the only down themer, and with 4 letters to fill, the answer was obvious.
Prefilling all of the Ts did not detract from the fun. Thanks, Paul. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and comments as well.
Thank you C.C. SKY PILOT wasn't new to me. There was a song that either had that as a title or part of a verse, but I don't recall ever having heard any one refer to the chaplain as a sky pilot.
Abejo, I also tried MOPES.
Irish Miss, get well soon.
Dash T (FLN), while you were gone, oc4beach asked about the following message on the Mensa site: "Note: On August 28th this game will be replaced with an updated version." I suspect that they will be moving to an HTML5 version rather than the Flash Player version. I have my web browsers configured to ask permission before Flash Player runs on any website. Been that way for years for the reasons you mentioned.
Jinx, that was it. Eric Burdon and the animals.
Burt Bacharach and Hal David create some great songs, and seemed to always match them to the perfect voices. "Look of Love' was one of them.
17 Down should have read "Former Big East team".
Musings
-NW unpacked slowly in this fun puzzle. Thanks Paul for the visit and great “also-rans”
-Some of MAMIE’s, uh, duties were taken over by this woman in WWII
-Note to self: “Gary, they’re going to keep using ENER, so get over it”
-The North POLE is leaning more from the Sun each day as we approach winter north of the equator
-The many NOOKS of our kitty’s ears make cleaning tedious
-I’ve had two professional SWAN SONGS. School started the next August anyway at both places
-Being behind the WOODSHED is to be avoided
@Jinx
WHUP? SEC? Hardly! At least not last year, lol.
The SEC bowl record was a pedestrian 6 wins and 6 losses, including their supposedly two best teams, Alabama and Georgia. Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas are predicted to challenge Alabama, LSU and Florida this year. Time will tell. Although the SEC should enjoy early season success as they prefer to schedule a cupcake schedule against such powerhouses as The Citadel, Tennessee-Martin and New Mexico State.
Husker and Avg Joe should enjoy wearing their Big Red garb again as their team should be back to playing quality football.
TTP. I read about the coming change in the Mensa LAT site quite a while ago, which is why I am not trying harder to get Flash Player. What will I have to do after the change to solve the LAT online from Mensa? Occasionally, I like to switch from pen and paper on the most difficult puzzles, when I need a red letter or two.
WC, FLN you wrote, "how poorly our memories operate and thus how unreliable oral transmission is." With six of us sibs, we have different memories of family events in our youth. The older three, although there are differences among us, have quite different takes on what the younger three remember. My memories of David's younger days are different from his.
Kmarts and Sears are rapidly disappearing here. It seemed to me the quality of variety of goods and services were in decline for a while before the closures happened. Just my opinion.
I have heard of sky pilot before for a military chaplain. From Wiktionary:
"Slang term (19th century, Western American) for a religious preacher
Slang term (20th century, British and American) for a military chaplain
Pejorative (20th century, Wobbly lingo) for a member of the clergy who counsels passive acceptance of existing sociopolitical structures."
Some think the lyrics of Burdons' song are pejorative against sky pilots.
OOPS, I meant quality AND variety of goods. I read the dang post 4 times and still missed the error.
Paul C. I liked your original choices. Fun puzzle. CC, interesting expo.
Many thanks for a delightful Sunday puzzle, and for checking in with us, Paul. I actually started in the southeast with this puzzle and worked my way up. It helped to get some names early on, like EERO and OPIE, and nice to see MAMIE Eisenhower too. ROYAL PAINT was the first place where I got the T ending theme. And, of course, my little dachshund DUSTY was delighted that his name appeared, even though I was unfamiliar with the singer. Wonderful write-up, many thanks, C.C., and I loved your picture of MOUES.
Dave, it's always nice to see yours as the first posting of the day.
Have a good Sunday, everybody.
Yellowrocks,
Currently, the Mensa site uses Adobe Flash Player that you and I are used to. It is the format I prefer, but I don't care for the associated vulnerabilities. Adobe is withdrawing Flash Player sometime next year (finally !).
These two sites use Arkadium to present the LA Times crossword puzzle. Same stuff, different sites (urls).
“Chicago Tribune Games”
“LA Times Games”
You can also get the LA TIMES puzzles at the Washington Post in a much larger format than the Arkadium version.
“Washington Post - Daily Games”
This is a different Chicago Tribune link to the same puzzle, but the format is different. Not Arkadium. I don't care for this version as much. The oher problem with this version is that it only had Mon - Sat LATIMES puzzles. If you want the Sunday LATIMES puzzle, you have to load the page, select More Games, and then select Sunday LATIMES.
“Chicago Tribune - Entertainment - Games”
No telling what the new puzzle format will look like on the Mensa site, but is highly unlikely that you will have to do anything special to solve puzzles there. We may not like the new format. We'll just have to wait and see.
If the forthcoming Mensa implementation of the puzzle is anything like the was the WSJ does its puzzles, I will switch over to the Washington Post Daily Puzzzle url to solve the LATIMES puzzles.
Musings 2
-Red analog(y) – BEET took some time for me to assimilate as I usually only see analog in analog/digital but I see omitting the “y” is perfectly fine. Anyone else?
-I bought a new bathroom scale two weeks ago and went with digital not analog but am not sure that was the right thing to do
-I too extend best wishes to Picard and Irish!
Paul, so sorry I'm not able to write you any l'icks today. In hospital, very woozy, and haven't seen a puzzle in a couple days. I'll post details at JumbleHints.
TTP, thanks for the tips.
OKL, sorry you are still under the weather. I am sending healing thoughts your way. Miss you.
Yellowrocks to you. I wish I could deliver them in person,
Yes, sorry I omitted it earlier. Get well soon, Picard.
And you, too OKL !
Owen- Sorry you're not feeling well. Hope you recover soon. Ditto for Picard, whom I forgot to mention in my earlier post.
I liked this puzzle. Once I figured out the Add-a-T process it made solving a bit easier, but it was still crunchy enough to be plenty of fun.
Never heard of a SKY PILOT. My reaction to that clue/answer was the same as Barry G's.
The Hyundai Santa Fe has some excellent reviews. It seems to be a good choice. LW and I seriously considered it, but our personal tastes and preferences steered us the Subaru Outback.
Good wishes to you all.
HG, 25 or 30 years ago I went to a conference on some technical topic, probably artificial intelligence. The first couple of speakers were interesting, but then some stuffed shirt started his turn with a story, ending it with "I trust you perceive the analog". At that point I collected my gear and went to the hotel bar.
This was a fun one. Struggled with NW corner as PITT is a “former” Big East member
I, too was confused about PITT being the answer for 17 down. Makes you wonder if the constructor did not know they’re in the ACC now, or if this puzzle has been sitting on the editors desk for 5-6 years ...
In Owen’s absence, here’s a limerick:
When in Java, and you need a part
To correct your computer, you’re smart
To go on-line and buy;
But it won’t let me. Why?
‘Cause I think I upset APPLET CART
LL
Paul, I love your X file. Egyptian COPt. Those Coptic Christians become the pawns in the big game
Not to speak of FEATHER BOA(t). Maybe the best of all.
The Marines referred to the chaplain as Padre. It quickly didn't fit. Btw…
Trying to keep track of who's in and out re. Big East is impossible. BC was instrumental in the formation and had a deal with Miami, both in, both out. So when ACC lured Miami away they were reluctantly forced to take BC too. As usual a benefit in the long run.
If y'all go to Washington Post I suggest you check out Evan Birnholz'Sunday xword. I wish there was a forum to chat about it. Also, I don't get to it until Monday.
I too extend best wishes to Picard and IM. I did more for Owen: I pinch-hit poesy wise.
I'll get to the xword in another post. I loved it, Paul and learned (re) who ITO was from CC.
WC
LL, your Haiku was terrific yesterday.
WC
Mea maxima culpa on the Pitt clue. I flat out got it wrong, and I guess Rich didn't notice my mistake.
I was thinking of eee/LGE and PAR/PGA. Really messed up that whole west Central area. I also thought of the Palette of the mouth not the artist. The theme saved me there.
I thought that obscenity cover up might be PLAIT* a la Lady Godiva. I thought that pub band was going to be one of those C&W BARN outfits right off the farm.
When BUNT perped in I wondered what Paul was going to do with it and then dropped the T and realized we had one of those gooey things on our hands.
WC
Oh yeah, I had a senior moment on that arcade pioneer. I knew it was ATARI but couldn't bring it up without three perps. I almost called Phil but I'd left the phone behind.
WC
I just asked him but he thought I said "Arcane pioneer". So his guess(are you listening Paul?) was PROMETHEUS
WC
Hola!
Thank you, Paul, for this t-time puzzle! I enjoyed the solve though didn't finish until late this afternoon. After lunch I went to the bookstore to buy books for my granddaughter to read to her new baby. That is an important ritual IMO.
I had left off with the NW corner unfinished. I had _BRAT and immediately saw that SPORTS was needed and so finished it. HESS took a long time to recall though I've seen it before.
AXLE was a naughty misdirection and took me too long to suss. BEET also made no sense to me until someone said "analogy" instead of analog.
Last week I bought some golden beets; they taste the same as the red ones.
C.C.
Why no GE appliances? All my appliances except my current refrigerator have been GE and have never give me any problems. My stove lasted over 20 years with good service. I miss it because it had the self cleaning feature which this one does not.
My current washer/dryer combo is a Frigidaire and after three years has already required repairs.
MARSBART was my favorite fill because I love MARS bars. Of course I can't eat them now.
I was proud of myself for remembering LBO! It's become common in CWDs.
Thank you, C.C., for your Sunday expo and helping me better understand some of the fill. UNMAN made me laugh. Is that really a term?
I hope you are all having an excellent day, especially our ill members: IrishMiss, Picard and OwenKL.
Nice puzzle, pretty easy I thought, but a fun theme.
With all the teams switching conferences in the past few years, I’ll forgive the Pitt error..lol....they, BC, Louisville and Syracuse don’t belong in the ACC. It’s all about the $$ in the professional, except in name, Power Conferences of the NCAA.
Owen, so glad you checked in, but so sorry you're not feeling well. I worried when there was no Jumble today, and hoped you were okay. So it's good to hear from you, however briefly. Take good care of yourself.
J, I posted earlier re. BC-Miami and ACC.
The ACC is primarily basketball and FSU in football. Louisville is the best overall in both. Syracuse is a traditional basketball power and was once a big football school.
BC has a traditional problem being in a big pro sports city. Another problem that most of the other schools don't have is that it's big on academics.
Ironically, some of the top NFL talent are Eagles
WC
Lucina, I've been meaning to ask you something. There is an ABC television station here locally with a young woman on their news team named Anabel Muñoz. She is very attractive (says me) but especially so when she identifies herself. She pronounces her name with her voice rising on the last syllable, almost like a question. Is that typical? I find it so appealing that I often replay her report just to hear her pronounce her name again.
Bill G:
I'm not surprised you find Anabel's pronunciation strange; she likely pronounces it correctly, unlike non-Spanish speakers do with most of those names. Most surnames that end in -ez require the accent on the first syllable. English speakers tend to accent the last syllable. With Perez, I hear people say, Pe-REZ instead of PE-rez.
I have heard MU-noz instead of Mu-NOZ. It might sound like a question because there is a slight lilt when saying it.
Super Sunday. Thanks for the fun, Paul (thanks for dropping by) and C.C.
Very late to the party after a busy weekend, and by now WEES.
But I wanted to send get well wishes to Owen, and speedy continued recovery wishes to Picard and Irish Miss.
Good night all.
After almost 50 years, I'm jus about to end my relationship with LAT and their inane puzzles. Second nadir in four weeks with their puzzles. Inane defs, meaning stretched, quirky constructions ... All sorts of trickery and obfuscations destroys the intent of puzzles: a challenge for your word knowledge, mastery of art, history, media, etc...but , no more. They are simply tests of your ability to use a computer to solve the puzzle. Here's a novel idea: let's all turn off our computers - constructors and solvers alike - and construct and solve a puzzle using only our innate intelligence!! A novel idea!! Any takers??
Wow, this was one of the better xwords. A seeable theme(unlike NYT) and lots of easy fill to establish perps for the hard stuff - and there were some of those.
I would grade this average difficulty. I talk xword with non-solvers and they have no clue. These are not for everyone.
And... We just talked about solving and in this Corner about one half or more use ink on paper. I myself never look anything up.
WC
I would add... Prior to doing these daily, I would have no hope of solving any LAT-XW later than a Wednesday. Later today I'll tackle Birnholz' Post Sunday xword. Generally tougher than LAT.
Yes, thank you! That had me messed up forever.
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