Jim MCCUNN
San Francisco
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Loved every aggravating bit of it. Went for AÇAÍ rather than ALOE for quite a while. I learned about Miss La La and chess boxing. While I did know about the Turing Test, I didn’t know it related to CAPTCHA. I’m a better person than when I woke up!
@NYC Traveler - me too. I was kind of surprised when I saw my time. I kept thinking, “I’m getting nowhere”. Then I was done. I think partly because the NW corner, where we all start, was the toughest for me.
I’m with you all. Very tough and ultimately satisfying. I felt like I picked up speed once I realized that nearly every clue was going to be tricky. I stopped expecting any gimmes. A
Did anyone else put INC at 12D? Never been to Peru, but a train to Machu Picchu might be nice! Pawi was clearly wrong, but pawl seemed only slightly better. I loved the theme. I would argue that the masterpiece’s referenced should be common knowledge. As for ALB not being the official abbreviation, this is not unique to clues about provinces. We’ve had many a SDAK to contend with.
@Sam Lyons same here. First I tried to make it Cat Seer - as in feline psychic.
NE corner really held me up. I’m 64 years young and never heard of a tenrec. I kept staring at the three “e”s in 18 across and just couldn’t come up with it. Finally Crocker (as in Betty Crocker) dawned on me, and the clouds lifted.
So glad to see at least a couple others held on to Nepal. I was sooo sure. Got it in the end.
I agree with others that it was a tough one. Having VAL and NORA side by side seemed mean - especially since they could have been clued with more familiar names. Likewise FELIX, but the crosses were fun. I persisted and finished with a smile on my face. I do think Saturdays should be challenging, so no complaints.
@Justin Yes! I had FTD - Follow The Dream apparently.
@Mitchell Arikara was new to me as well, but don’t forget Acela - it shows up pretty often. I guess it’s the East Coast bias. Thanks to crosswords, I’m probably one of few Californians who knows the name of that train.
I was starting to adjust my Saturday schedule to allow time for a super tough puzzle. This was fun, but I do think we should have a mountain to climb once a week. Judging from the comments I’m in the minority - I should mention that I’m retired and don’t have reason to think too hard during the week. 🕺🏻
@HeathieJ Thanks. I never saw that before. I’ll give it a try.
Another tough Sunday - in the best way. Took a while, but finally got it. I can never remember the spelling of Tae Bo. And hip for hep slowed me down. Cat’s ear and Arikara were both new to me. Otherwise I loved the challenge.
@Patrick J. I have an Estonian friend who is an absolute gem. I always smile when her homeland shows up. I don’t have the heart to tell her it’s only because of the proliferation of vowels.
Even though I’m not AWARE of an actor named J R SIMMONS, it seemed plausible. (For the record I definitely have enjoyed many of JK Simmons’ performances).
@MB Agreed. Although “send” is not exactly current. Check out “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke. 1957
@FH. Definitely weird. Maybe someone else will come up with an explanation. Especially since the whole concept seemed sort of shaky to me.
Went quick for me, but very fun.
Help. Once I caught on to the gimmicks it went pretty fast, but apparently something is wrong. I’m doing it on my phone. Anyone else having trouble? I’ll keep scanning for typos…
@Vaer YES!! Also UNI instead of UNO This made LIFESTIRP - which my mind turned into Life’s trip (whatever!) The list view worked like a charm. Thanks chat.
@David Goldfarb me too!!
I got that Gen Y could be parents of Alphas, but I don’t get the use of “Demo”.
@Puzzled Brit I was about to, but Eli is never anything else. I kept going back and scratching my head. Didn’t help that I had Ute in 6 down.
@Sue absolutely. I had the same issue.
@Laura Stratton, THANK YOU! I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It seems like the app is usually more forgiving.
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