Natan Last’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 10/5/24 – no. 1005
5:25? Yeah, I’d expect that more on a Friday than a Saturday. Is it me (and my avowed fondness for Natan’s New Yorker puzzles) or does this one feel easier than you’d have expected?
I got off to a surprisingly quick start on this puzzle by having learned 1a earlier today in a Sporcle quiz. Newcastle-under-LYME was listed as a possible wrong answer for Shakespeare’s birthplace. Possibly the name refers to being “under” the Forest of Lyme? Seems like it would be hard for a castle to be under a brook.
Fave fill: GOOD KARMA, SUBWAY ADS, DREAM DATE, TOUCH-TONE phones, BLOOD TEST (it’s a lifestyle here), LIP-READER (ditto), SKOSH, “YOU FOOL!”, MOB BOSS, BAYARD RUSTIN (you should know him if you don’t), SAME OLD STORY.
New to me: 8d. [Seventh and final “Chronicles of Narnia” book, with “The”], LAST BATTLE. Have probably seen this listed before, but the Narnia stuff never appealed to me so *shrug*.
Fave clue: 33d. [Epitome of completeness], DOTTED “I.” Needed so many crossing letters here!
Four stars from me.
NYT: I found this easier than Friday’s NYT, possibly because this time, DREAM DATE was 100% correct instead of a bit better than half right. Things that I didn’t know, like the “Narnia” title and MARSEILLE, were easy to get with a few crosses.
It’s interesting to see that the debut entries include such familiar phrases as GOOD KARMA and TOUCH-TONE. Those, plus clever clues like the one for SUBWAY ADS, show that puzzles don’t have to be the SAME OLD STORY.
NYT felt quite hard but finished it in a Friday time. Maybe because the longer entries were often guessable. Good puzzle.