Saturday

SLIP RINGS?? Not being an expert in "electrical connectors," that was the last entry I filled in in Bob Peoples' Saturday NYT. Although I do not care for lemon desserts, I liked the clue, "sweet little thing," for LEMON TART; I was thinking terms of endearment more than baked goods. I've always liked the word HULLABALLOO (though usually spelled with one L in the back half); there may not be a consensus on the etymology, based on the first three definitions I found. Great assortment of phrases, including GEEK CHIC, IN A LATHER, LAST STRAW, ROCK STARS, and UNION REP, as well as HONKYTONK and the quaint TINCTURE and AMPHORAE. And look! Plenty of solving times that would not be out of place on a Friday, in contrast to the Friday puzzle's distinctly Saturdayish vibe. Pooh. I was hoping for two distinctly Saturdayish NYTs in a row.

Updated:

You know how the NYT daily puzzle runs 6 weeks behind in syndication? The March 3 post (scroll down) on Bob Peoples' previous Saturday puzzle is getting a lot of hits—the clue “1994 literary autobiography whose first chapter is titled ‘Infant Prodigy?’” (for I ASIMOV) is vexing the bizarro puzzle-solving nation today...

NYT 6:01
Newsday untimed
LAT 5:21
CS 3:45