Ow, my everything.

Date: 6/30/07 (Saturday)
Author: Byron Walden
Paper or computer: paper
Solving time: 1:25:03
Overall difficulty: hard... for a Saturday
Main problem: vocabulary/just not getting it
5 problem fills: AMARILLO, POLEMICS, GIGGLETEST, OLAV, AMUDARYA

At one point, I really didn't think I was even going to finish this puzzle. Half an hour into it, I had less than half the grid (closer to a third) filled in and nowhere to go. Most of it came down to vocabulary and just not really understanding this constructor's style.

I liked a lot of the answers when I finally got them. TATERTOT made me smile, GIFTEDKIDS was a good match for "small wonders", CLARET was nicely clued as "shade of red", and DARK ARTS was a neat match for "black magic."

There were a few things I didn't quite buy. GIGGLETEST? I'm going to have to GOOGLE that.

Overall, I didn't find this puzzle to be very enjoyable. Too much pain for too little reward, at least for me.

Need to take a break from this puzzle before writing up the fill, so that my brain starts working again. Back in a bit.

EDIT: Okay, after doing a Weavers puzzle in Twisted Crosswords and going on a brief shopping excursion to get good hiking shoes, I'm back and ready to finish the job. ( Let's talk about five of the fill that stumped me most today. )