NYT (whiteboard) 7:10 ... LAT 2:09 ... CS 1:41 ... ND 5:31
Oops (and yay), I forgot the house we're staying at has wireless!
morning update: while I wait for coffee and brunch to be procured, some comments on the Lollapuzzoola final-turned-NYT Saturday...
--I'm a little shocked that Will didn't change a single clue, except cosmetically. It shouldn't be because my solving time was included - solving on a big greaseboard takes much longer than solving on paper, so it's a bit apples-to-oranges anyway. By the way, I never found out at the tournament what my actual solving time was...
--Don't forget, it was very close - Francis Heaney was seven seconds behind, and I continue to believe that the podcast-related entry PAPELBON was my key to catching up...
--I'll get some photos of the final round up on Facebook, showing that I had to reboot three times before getting any connectivity. Started with SEL and educated guess ATALE in the SE, but stood pat there even though I suspected REPEL. Found the gimme GIJANE crossing SINEW in the NW, but got stuck again. Then I threw down OESTE (instead of the entirely possible NORTE) in the SE, which led to EDNA, RAN, and some long gimmes that filled in the whole quadrant fairly quickly... but I still couldn't move into the center section. So I jumped to the SW, with its friendly "Sweeney Todd" clue (it's only my favorite musical) and the knew-it-even-before-crosswords SPAHN, which led to his colleague PAPELBON. From there I don't remember my solving "route", but after the SW fell, it was smooth sailing. I did try to rush through the rest of the puzzle, since I figured I was behind after the slow start.
--sorry, I keep updating this as I remember more. I had two wrong letters while solving, possibly frightening my "fans". ON HAND for IN HAND, which didn't get corrected until the crossing entry was DOEOF; and EDBERG for ENBERG -- a trap that apparently Nothnagel didn't set intentionally! -- which didn't really cause problems either.
--Anyway, very exciting to have my name next to the NYT crossword, though I'm still hoping for a byline at some point! (It may be more exciting -- it's definitely more amusing -- that the word "Lollapuzzoola" is in the NYT.) Thanks again to Ryan, Brian, Mike, and Will...
3 comments:
Thanks for the recap, Dan.
(Sweeney is a fav of mine, too. But any Sondheim clue will do!)
dan, i've got some photos of you up on the L2 facebook page. i've got you with the entire SE, A TALE/SEL, GI JANE/SINEW, and ... PAPELBON. (luckily, not the way crosscan spells it.)
You don't remember your solving "route" but do you remember your solving "syst"?
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