Ryan is back and solves the NYT, Mon 5-26-8
The theme for this Mark Sherwood puzzle is all about dentistry. I have been avoiding going to the dentist for far too long and now I’m at the point where I’m afraid the dentist will yell at me. By the way, I think a general anesthetic should become standard for teeth cleaning. I think it would make it much more pleasant.
I completed this puzzle in a time that will impress only the very slow and very addled so I won’t even bother revealing what it was. But you can rest assured it was slower than your time. The theme was revealed in:
- 29A. Experts with the ends of 17- and 55-Across and 10- and 24-Down (DENTISTS) and rest of the theme answers were:
- 17A. Strap-on leg supports (KNEEBRACES). This is absolutely not the first thing that came to mind. I mean it really, really wasn’t.
- 55A. Mincemeat, e.g. (PIEFILLING)
- 10D. It sets things off (BLASTINGCAP)
- 24D. Feat for Secretariat (TRIPLECROWN)
Other clues of note:
- 14A. Old Big Apple restaurateur (SARDI). If this turned out to be Toots Shor again I’m not sure what I would have done with myself.
- 35A. Biblical flood survivor (NOAH). I actually put in LEAH here. I think the things I am learning about the bible are pushing out what I had known before.
- 39A. Fox’s “American ___” (IDOL). Never, ever seen it. Reality TV has got to have mommy-swapping to generate any interest for me.
- 47A. Football refs (ZEBRAS). They’re really called Zebras? Man, I don’t know anything about football.
4D. Poem often titled “To a …” (ODE). I read this clue wrong. I thought it was “To a ___”. Hence ODE made no sense to me and the clue took me way too long.- 13D. Baseball’s Hershiser (OREL). Dodgers play the Cubs today. They are currently 1-0 when mentioned in the puzzle. Well, 1-0 since I’ve been keeping track.
- 41A. Cancel, at Cape Canaveral (SCRUB). I put in ABORT which totally screwed up the left middle section.
- 57D. Debt-incurring Wall St. deal (LBO). Somebody’s going to have to explain this one to me.
Ok, in 5 minutes Brian and I are going to attempt to podcast long distance with Skype. If all goes well Episode #12 will be up by midday.
