Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Tuesday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: December 1, 2020


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My time: 6:18, only about a minute faster than average.

Theme: "Community sports facility," or REC CENTER.  That is, the five themed answers contain the letter string R-E-C in their middles, or centers.

The fill boasts two automotive brands with oval logos — STP and AMOCO

The ACAI berry comes up a lot in the puzzle, but I don't think the fact that it's a "South American palm" has been covered.

I was puzzled by the clue "COLUMBIA, the Gem of the Ocean."  I thought, that's an odd nickname for a university.  But it's a patriotic song composed around 1843.  It's still an odd epithet for a country which isn't an island.

GINO Torretta is an NFL player who won the Heisman trophy in 1992 as quarterback at the University of Miami.

Lots of recurring answers I needed just a nudge to remember:

"The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Bartered Bride" are both OPERAS.  The latter is, of course, a Bedřich Smetana work, as discussed on November 10, 2018.

Timbuktu being situated in MALI came up as recently as August 3.

"Tennis score favoring the server," AD-IN, was in the blog way back on December 20, 2017.

I remembered sportscaster ERIN Andrews from her second appearance on September 18.

However, I forgot the musical based on Fellini's 8 1/2, "NINE," as researched on August 13, 2017.

"Wrestler in a mawashi," SUMO, was covered on October 1.

Clever clue: "Passing remarks?" is OBITS.

Well, WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?  ("That just about sums things up.")

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