DrewT
Portland, OR
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Portland, OR
After 40 years in the law I am pretty confident that "INTENT" is a subset of mens rea, not vice versa. There might be a jurisdiction somewhere that uses these terms otherwise, but I doubt it. And "ATTN" is not part of a *subject* line. But apart from those two stumbling blocks I have only myself to blame for taking way too long on this one.
Hated this one. I don't think I've ever looked at an answer key before. Way, way, way over my average time. I hope we don't get more like this or I'll have to start skipping Sundays.
@Zaphod Thank you! And I was right -- I hate myself. I had "bat cub" and couldn't see the right answer even though it was right there in the caption at the top of the column. To quote an outstanding American, "Doh!"
These puns were so good I had to read them to my wife. Guffaws ensued.
The themed answers were so funny I had to read them out to my wife as I solved them.
I can't remember a clue/answer that made me laugh as hard as I did at 80A. Thanks for a fun Sunday morning!
This puzzle was hell on my average time. I enjoyed the multiplication trick, but had to fill the rest of the puzzle before coming back and getting it. Unfortunately that's when the real fun (not!) began. Wayyyyy more people I've never heard of than usual
Great puzzle, though I needed some help from the net on 47D and 51D (which is embarrassing, 'cause I love sparkling wine). And I didn't understand 52A until it percolated for over 12 hours (also embarrassing, 'cause I can, like, read music and everything).
@Andrzej STEADED is a questionable entry. The usage described in the puzzle is characterized as "rare" in the Oxford English Dictionary. (Related meanings are "archaic" or "obsolete.") The most recent cited example is 146 years old. IDIOLECT on the other hand is a term I have known for at least 20 years, and while I enjoy words very much I have never studied linguistics.
@Mike R Not only would it be more elegant; it would have saved me precious minutes flyspecking my answers before deciding that, indeed, the puzzle needed microscopic text entries in the (double) rebus squares. Feh.
As I understand the term, an unadorned reference to a "guitar" (as in 16A) means a six-stringed instrument in the tenor range, while the answer to that clue refers specifically to a (usually) four-stringed instrument in the bass range. Kinda surprised this one got past the editors.
@Cloudy Rockwell I also wanted it to be OLDASDIRT, having somehow acquired that status myself. OLDASTIME will take a little longer.
@Renegator I came here specifically to make the same point. A moat deters a direct assault, not a siege. And while "moat" occurred to me immediately, that quadrant of the puzzle would have gone faster if the clue had fit the answer.
@Daniel Aaron You mean you didn't think it was logical to just *leave out* the color letters? Me neither. And I still don't. Yet another puzzle whose poor design put me way over my average time.
Could not figure out what I had gotten wrong until I realized that there was no way STRATS could be deemed "Guitar cords." Not too sure about the right answer either, but it makes more sense than mine.
Another victim of 53A and 53D here. I thought AGH was a reasonable Peanuts reference, though a brief web search now suggests I was thinking of "AUGH!" And BATH for "Way to go" was so cute I really didn't want to give it up.
@VJZ If so it is a usage I have never encountered before, and I hope never to encounter it again.
I know I'll hate myself in the morning, but could somebody explain 38A (Increases ---> UBS)? I've been poring over the finished-but-no-finished puzzle for what seems like hours and this is the only weird thing I can find. (And I've read all the comments as of maybe 15 minutes ago so I've got my rebuses all in text.)
@Dan It means the mental element necessary to constitute a crime. Sometimes that is intent, sometimes it is knowledge, sometimes it is reckless disregard, sometimes it is wrongful purpose. This is Criminal Law 101 stuff, which may mean that a lot of lawyers have forgotten it.
@Jay A combination amp and speaker is not a speaker. It's like cluing CAR as "An engine on a road, maybe." Another vote here for just plain wrong.
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