My time: 13:48, pretty disappointing but still slightly faster than average.
Theme: GRAY / AREA. The gray squares are [WHITE], as in EGG [WHITE], TELLING A [WHITE] LIE, SNOW [WHITE], and so on. An obliquely-related answer is OTHELLO, clued as "game whose dual-colored pieces are apt for this puzzle's theme." [Edit: I'm wrong; as user the Hammer points out, these grey squares can be read as BLACK or WHITE depending on the clue. Stupid me.]
One of the first clues, "run for it!" jammed me up for the whole puzzle. I put *SCAT confidently (now realizing that it doesn't quite fit the joke clue, which when it includes an exclamation point means it's a joke and a definition). But it's SEAT. My wrong answer meant I was stymied at the crossing, "counselor to Job." That's ELIHU, a young but zealous fellow who tells Job and his three friends that God is benign despite suffering, and that suffering may have its good points.
"Political party founded in 1966," THE [WHITE] PANTHERS, stumped me as well. It was an antiracist group that was inspired by Huey Newton. [Edit: Oops, the squares can be read as black or white. So it's the BLACK panthers, which were indeed founded in 1966. The White Panthers were founded in 1968.]
I guess I forgot or never heard the U.S. MARINE nickname "Devil Dog," because I spent a long time staring at _SMERINE (I spelled SALMA Hayek wrong) wondering what obscure animal that could be. The nickname is claimed to come from a German term for the Marines dating from WWI.
The woman's name IONE has come up a few times, as a sea nymph, as the heroine of an Edward Bulwar-Lytton novel, and as the actress Skye. I don't think it's been clued as a name meaning violet before. It's from the Greek word for the flower.
I'm familiar with the street type known as blacktop, but [WHITE]TOP ("many a country road") is new to me. The term seems to mean a road that's paved with concrete. Are country roads paved with concrete? [Edit: no, it's [BLACK]top.]
ROLLING [WHITE]OUT "may prevent an overload of the power grid." That one had me guessing for a fair bit as well. I may be missing some technical jargon, but my research indicates this isn't a power company strategy, but power going out under snowy conditions. A bad clue? [Edit: No, it's rolling [BLACK]out after all.]
LEN Wiseman directed Total Recall. That is, the 2012 remake. Come on, that clue is misleading and he's not well-known.
Judith IVEY is a two-time Tony-winning actress. Also not extremely well known.
I enjoyed the clue "DC reporter" for LOIS LANE. "Starter course?" for PLAN A is also good.
I sure had a hard time with this puzzle. Well, time to LEAVE.
The gray squares are “white” for the across answers and “black” for down answers. ie it’s not the white panthers, it’s the black panthers
ReplyDeleteOh, I see! Except it isn't as clear as across vs. down. BLACK panthers is across. Egg WHITE is across. Snow WHITE is down but telling a WHITE lie is across. They just change. Thanks for cluing me in!
ReplyDelete