Stared for 2 minutes at the 34A/23D crossing in the Puzzler and still got it wrong, because I had fallen for the clue trap at 32A. That's the most devious crossword deception since Stan's BEVEL/LEVEL ruse in the 2007 ACPT finals.
I agree, which is why I went for the J; it still fits the down clue (albeit more obliquely), and makes the across answer inferrable due to it being a known surname. As it stands, it's not quite a Natick crossing, but it's close.
I found the 32A clue especially devious since the alternate reading (adjective, instead of verb) worked pretty well with an O instead of the I. With that O looking solid to me, I could never come up with 23D, and 34A was a Natick for me.
Hook's 12D is Maleskan crosswordese - I must have done enough old puzzles that it didn't faze me a bit. Don't know why we haven't seen the incredibly useful 62D more often - for 12 years he's costarred on the (one-time) most popular TV show in the country. (I also don't know why nobody's used the first or last name of the female star of "Castle"!)
I find the Globe puzzle tends to be more tolerant of obscure entries, perhaps because they're self edited (at least I believe they are). Managed to guess the 12D/27A crossing, I may have heard 12D somewhere before. 77A is one of those older personalities I can remember watching as a kid (yes, I admit it, I watched "Hee-Haw"). These days, that entry is usually clued as his daughter Pam. Also in the I-know-some-old-stuff-better-than-current-stuff category, I'm more used to 62D being clued in reference to the St. Louis bridge.
12 comments:
Stared for 2 minutes at the 34A/23D crossing in the Puzzler and still got it wrong, because I had fallen for the clue trap at 32A. That's the most devious crossword deception since Stan's BEVEL/LEVEL ruse in the 2007 ACPT finals.
Last square for me in the Puzzler was 45 A/D; great clue on 45-D.
Al, same problem here - though I got it eventually.
I figured out that one, but ended up with an error at 49 A/D; I thought 49D was referring to a somewhat obscure card game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevens_(card_game)
@David: I wonder why Mike didn't go for the J in that square. Makes both entries better, esp. 49A, though I do like the clue on 49D.
I agree, which is why I went for the J; it still fits the down clue (albeit more obliquely), and makes the across answer inferrable due to it being a known surname. As it stands, it's not quite a Natick crossing, but it's close.
I found the 32A clue especially devious since the alternate reading (adjective, instead of verb) worked pretty well with an O instead of the I. With that O looking solid to me, I could never come up with 23D, and 34A was a Natick for me.
i had the same error as al, except that i figured out 32a. so, no excuse, really, except for not knowing 34a at all. yikes.
another error on 27a/12d in the hook.
oh, and hey, another one in the hook, 77a/62d. geez. i'm actually surprised there were only two.
Hook's 12D is Maleskan crosswordese - I must have done enough old puzzles that it didn't faze me a bit. Don't know why we haven't seen the incredibly useful 62D more often - for 12 years he's costarred on the (one-time) most popular TV show in the country. (I also don't know why nobody's used the first or last name of the female star of "Castle"!)
I find the Globe puzzle tends to be more tolerant of obscure entries, perhaps because they're self edited (at least I believe they are). Managed to guess the 12D/27A crossing, I may have heard 12D somewhere before. 77A is one of those older personalities I can remember watching as a kid (yes, I admit it, I watched "Hee-Haw"). These days, that entry is usually clued as his daughter Pam. Also in the I-know-some-old-stuff-better-than-current-stuff category, I'm more used to 62D being clued in reference to the St. Louis bridge.
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