Monday morning

Delight of delights, the New York Sun puzzles for the week were available bright and early today. I just gorged on all five, and boy, is there a helluva Friday puzzle in store for those of you who haven't done it already. (It took me about twice as long as a typical Saturday NYT, so it is one meaty bastard.)

The Monday NYS by Charles Gersch had a cute kosher theme. I imagine there were plenty of other possible theme entries on the constructor's list, but I like the assortment that made it into the grid (RABBIT EARS? Who knew?). I've been on a bit of an anti-3-letter-entry kick lately, but this puzzle's plethora of short answers were just fine. Having once been a dental editor, I especially liked the intersection of DDS ("one who might diagnose gingivitis") and GUMDROP (gingivitis = inflammation of the gums, and sticky candy like gumdrops are deplored by dentists).

I also liked Harvey Estes' CrosSynergy tribute to the late Bob Denver and his "Gilligan's Island" pals. I watched an awful lot of that show when I was a kid, whereas "Get Smart" was a little before my time—Roy Leban's tribute to the late Don Adams didn't resonate with me the same way. If only Lovie Howell had made the cut...

I haven't managed to access today's LA Times puzzle—anyone else get it yet?

NYS 3:51
CS 3:29
NYT 3:04
LAT tba