Friday, January 15, 2021

Friday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: January 15, 2012








 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My time: 15:17, a whole three seconds faster than average.  There wasn't a whole lot of new material today, just some deviously ambiguous clues.  That's the kind of challenge I like!

Kudos for cramming SQUATTERS' RIGHTS into the grid!

I am not too familiar with the phrase EGO DEATH, I'll give you that.  It's a term used in Jungian psychology as well as mysticism.  It can be a transformation of one's own self through psychology or a loss of sense of self through psychedelics. 

Another thing I've never heard of is Marillenschnaps, a German fruit brandy distilled from APRICOTS.

Although I've watched and enjoyed a little bit of "Modern Family," I couldn't come up with the name of Julie BOWEN, who plays Claire Dunphy.  And she was on "Boston Legal," another show that I quite enjoyed way back in the day.

"Prominent part of a pump" is HEEL.  I kept thinking of a pump, not a pump!

County TYRONE, Northern Ireland, is in the province of Ulster.

I have heard of PATTIE Boyd, at one time or another.  She apparently inspired Eric Clapton's "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight."  She is also said to have inspired George Harrison's songs "If I Needed Someone," "Something," and "For You Blue."

I like "kind of manual" (HOW-TO) and "uses a manual, say" (SHIFTS) being close together.

For "captured, in a way" I put *ON RECORD but it turned out to be ON CAMERA.

"Fashion designer's portfolio" is LOOKBOOK, which is a funny word.  

COE College, in Cedar Rapid, Iowa, was most recently in the blog on October 12, 2020.

YEP, there was a long list of clever clues today: "Ballpark figure" is BAT BOY.  "There's often a lot of them for sale" is a dad joke punchline involving USED CARS.  "Nested layers?" is HENS.  I like "breakneck... or something to break" for FAST.  "One getting fired up for competition?" is quite literally STARTER PISTOL.  And then there's "shower heads, perhaps" — MAIDS OF HONOR, as in bridal shower managers; that one was tough.  I also like "where one might hear a call for action" for MOVIE SET.  "Peels off?" is ZESTS.  "Frost accumulation" is POEMS — that's a good one!

Whew, that's a whole GOB of puns!  Frankly, I don't CARROT all for such groaners.

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