Thursday bundle

Nice batch of puzzles for a Thursday, as usual. I love Thursdays because the puzzles get more interesting and because Friday and Saturday puzzles are drawing nigh.

I whizzed through the NYT puzzle last night, and enjoyed being faster than the other usual suspects. Except for sarameon (I know who she really is, but I don't know if she wants everybody knowing)—she doesn't usually show up right at 10:00, and when she does, it's to give me a whupping when I am attempting to give everyone else a whupping. The nerve! (Are there really people who still don't think women are as competitive as men?) Apparently Joe DiPietro had some sort of constructor's block for a year or two, but it's great to have his puzzles regularly. Now, the NYT forum's 12:00 spoiler rule is not in effect here. So if you don't want specifics, come back later. The theme was quirky. The middle two entries were more fun to read aloud—reminded me of the old SNL skit with the Chicago sports fans, speaking of "Da Bullss" and "Da Bearss" and also "Rick Mearss" (with the [s] sound being used in lieu of a [z] sound). Even better than the theme entries, in my opinion, were the 9-letter entries crossing them: FULLMOUTH, TABLESALT, KEPTHOUSE, PLACETOGO. Not to mention a great set of clues overall.

This morning I tackled the LAT, CrosSynergy, and NYS, setting a goal of 13:30 for all three. Darn it all! Took me 14:01. I liked the Chinese theme of Rich Norris's CS puzzle, particularly YANGTZEDOODLE. Perfect timing for the puzzle to come out just before the big Yankee Doodle holiday, the Fourth of July, so we can all change the lyrics. (I'm sticking with "stuck a feather in his cap," though. No "hat.")

I finally got back to my stack of puzzle books and did a few puzzles from the NYT Omnibus. Sixty down, just 941 to go!