Constructor: Tom McCoy
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
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THEME:"The Short Form"— familiar phrases have a single word abbreviated; phrase is clued as if the abbreviation were a stand-alone word:
Theme answers:
There appears to have been miscommunication with my substitute blogger today. I am leaving town now, so I have no time to do a proper write-up. This puzzle was hard for me. Took me and my wife a long time to grok the theme. Wasn't til I got to the LOOK OUT FOR NO ONE that I saw that the theme wasn't just lopped off letters—it was abbreviations (that could be read as words themselves). Puzzle also clued hard. Not the most satisfying solve, though core idea is clever.
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Gotta go. You may get a fuller write-up from my sub in a few minutes (or hours). Or you may not. I don't know.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Facebook and Twitter]
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
THEME:"The Short Form"— familiar phrases have a single word abbreviated; phrase is clued as if the abbreviation were a stand-alone word:
Theme answers:
- FIRST PERSON SING (23A: "Belt it out, Adam!"?)
- DON'T GIVE AN IN (38A: "I forbid you from providing special access"?)
- POP DENSITY (42A: Your father's blockheadedneses?)
- TURN OF THE CENT (66A: Coin flip with a penny?)
- APT COMPLEX (92A: Emotional problem that is surprisingly fitting?)
- CUT QUITE A FIG (94A: Prepared some amazing Mediterranean fruit?)
- LOOK OUT FOR NO ONE (112A: Do a bad job as a watchman?)
Paulie is a 1998 Germany/American adventurefantasy film about a disobedient bird named Paulie, starring Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, Hallie Eisenberg, and Jay Mohr. Mohr performs the voice of Paulie and also plays a minor on-screen character. (wikipedia)
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There appears to have been miscommunication with my substitute blogger today. I am leaving town now, so I have no time to do a proper write-up. This puzzle was hard for me. Took me and my wife a long time to grok the theme. Wasn't til I got to the LOOK OUT FOR NO ONE that I saw that the theme wasn't just lopped off letters—it was abbreviations (that could be read as words themselves). Puzzle also clued hard. Not the most satisfying solve, though core idea is clever.
Gotta go. You may get a fuller write-up from my sub in a few minutes (or hours). Or you may not. I don't know.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Facebook and Twitter]