Hi Amy and fellow fiends

Finally found the time + head-space to unravel Mr Blindauer on the day of publication. (Been swamped lately.) Loved the novelty - aren't setters getting canny with their grid patterns?!

Two luscious clues - one from PB2 and the other from today's UK Times cryptic:

Wheels of fortune = LIMO

Point of no return? = TAX HAVEN
DA | Homepage | 08.01.08 - 12:04 am | #

I'd love it if you could post a link to the video of the Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch, brought to mind by the Norwegian Blue.
larry | 08.01.08 - 3:25 am | #

Had good times (for me) on both puzzles today--lost a minute though on the NYT with TUGS for TUBS and having a hard time parsing HONE STAGE. I contemplated HOME STAGE, but LEOMA sounded too strange, even for a current singer.
Evad | 08.01.08 - 6:01 am | #

NYT was a struggle for me today... not just TUGS/TUBS but also STEERED/MOTORED/SPURRED, EVADE/ELIDE, WENTRED/BEETRED, REAMS/RAFTS, LLAMA/BURRO, COAT/BOOT, TEARINGUP/ CHOKINGUP... The snake-in-a-tree, on the other hand, I knew right away, for some reason.
Matt | 08.01.08 - 7:19 am | #

Larry, there's a link in my post—where it says "See the sketch here," the "here" links to a video.
Orange | Homepage | 08.01.08 - 8:20 am | #

Any Friday that features both PB and PB2 is a good day in my book. I fell into some of the same traps mentioned above. Also guessed MACAU for PALAU at first.

- Pete
Pete M | 08.01.08 - 9:04 am | #

Thanks, Amy! I couldn't understand the #20 in the puzzle title... can't believe I totally missed the huge ? in the black squares! I didn't even think to look at it. You're the best - as always - and so are Patrick and Peter! Great puzzle day today.
Karen | 08.01.08 - 10:50 am | #

Amy,

A vicarious rant. I haven't done the SUN, but is the clue actually PITCHER for seven iron? I know that it is intended to be deceptive, but the seven iron is not a pitching club, it is a chipping club. Pitches are high lofted shots hit with wedges. This would be a case of tone deafness from a golfer's standpoint, but defensible by a non-golfer.

Friday's NYT was one of the easiest this year, but with several excellent entries, especially free spirits.

Steve
Steve Manion | 08.01.08 - 10:51 am | #

Thanks for posting the Norwegian Blue link-- watched it late last night along with a few others. Forgot all about that sketch, but remember laughing pretty hard years ago. Thought I was getting better at puzzles after solving this one in an hour, which included putting some kids to bed and reading some Ramona Quimby, but then realized that others would probably rate it as easy. Am somewhat embarrassed to say I knew PALAU. Yes, I do watch a few mindless reality shows.
Cinedina | 08.01.08 - 11:20 am | #

two beautiful puzzles today. we are blessed today! neither one of them was a speed solve for me but i thoroughly enjoyed both. the ?s in PB2's puzzle were a wonderful twist, and i loved the plethora of ? clues. and i always love a PB puzzle, especially a super-smooth themeless. NORWEGIANBLUE made me smile (and i re-watched the original sketch). "listen my good man, this parrot wouldn't voom if you put 10,000 volts through it!" great stuff.
joon | 08.01.08 - 1:00 pm | #

Count me in for the mixup on TUGS/TUBS. I stared at something ending in -STAGE and couldn't figure out the political tie-in, until RESEARCH set me straight.

Then, I was convinced that a "spaying customer" was a VET (yep, got that backwards) then a CAT.

On the Sun puzzle, I lost a good 5 seconds by solving it back to back with the Times.

I had the WO in WONK and figured it couldn't be WONK, since we already had WONK in another part of the puzzle.

Except WONK was in the Times. What are the odds? (question mark added for ironic effect.)
John B. | 08.01.08 - 3:39 pm | #

mohenjo daro! it's the site of one of the world's oldest civilizations, on (you guessed it) the INDUS river. i believe the name literally means "mound of the dead" in some subcontinental tongue, and there are writings that were recovered there that have not yet been deciphered. i think of mohenjo daro as being only slightly less famous than mesopotamian civilizations like sumer and babylon. indeed, it's the only reason i know about the indus river. (i had a good 10th-grade world civ class.)
joon | 08.01.08 - 5:18 pm | #

Here's your virtual dollar, Joon!
Orange | Homepage | 08.01.08 - 5:56 pm | #

let's see, what can i buy for one virtual dollar and 158.3 bonus points?
joon | 08.01.08 - 10:50 pm | #