I thought I was in deep doo-doo after scanning the top half of the NYT puzzle and getting only a couple of entries... but the bottom half was much friendlier & I was soon making significant progress-- also, in a lot of cases in the top half, I had kinda-guessed right answers -- like EMAG, LATE, LONE, URN,... so, once I'd gotten a foothold and worked my way back, the formerly tough spots fell easily. About DELOUSE-- there's a funny essay from Emily Yoffe about, uh, head lice in the EMAG Slate. Really.
Matt | 12.29.06 - 8:12 am | #

Matt-

Not only that, but the Slate article first appeared today. Quite a coincidence.
Elbee | 12.29.06 - 10:45 am | #

"Hey, why isn't the puzzle you're discussing the same one that's in my paper? Mine just has this little number at the bottom ... what does it mean? Blah blah blah..."

April Fool's!

I loved today's NYT, if only for its being Easy, which I needed after wrestling yesterday's puzzle (which I did in an Actual NYT Paper that I picked up at the Denver airport ... so retro). I liked all the complete sentences in today's puzzle: THAT'S SO LAST YEAR, LOVE CONQUERS ALL, WHAT'S YOUR POISON?, I CAN'T SEE, SO AM I, and TRY IT!

Michael
Michael | Homepage | 12.29.06 - 11:08 am | #

See, now I really loved the NYS theme...once I figured out what was going on. Each one was a little present from Santa with a bow on top. [Son of a batch?] really cracked me up...but maybe it was the nog. I do wish the title had been less direct, even though I might never have glommed onto the concept.

As for the NYT, I stumbled down the wrong path several times on SOAMI, first putting in METOO, then SODOI. It was still one of my fastest Friday finishes, but I must get better at seeing around incorrectly entered letters. I suppose the best solution is to not put them in in the first place!

In other news, my family watched "Wordplay" the other night, which got me all psyched for Stamford. Who knows? With all the puzzles I've done since last year's tourney, I may actually finish one corner of Puzzle #5 this time!
pauer | 12.29.06 - 12:40 pm | #

Nice long phrases today...I find "NAME YOUR POISON" a little more familiar than "WHAT'S YOUR POISON," and ditto for "YOU AND WHAT ARMY" as opposed to WHOSE...but those are just small nits to a masterful construction.
Evad | 12.29.06 - 4:07 pm | #

Oh ... LOVECONQUERSALL. That side of the puzzle -- most of LOVE CONQUE -- actually had me stumped. Thanks!
Anonymous | 01.02.07 - 1:42 pm | #