Not Around the Bend

To say this was not in my wheelhouse would be a gross understatement. I finally got everything except one square. Decided not to go to the trouble of running the alphabet and just to accept the Red Triangle of Shame. I should have run the alphabet, since the correct letter was a B--where UBS crossed UNOBTAINIUM.

Many of the same problems as others, except maybe more so. Problems with not speaking the language: Got the ASCII, but the ART part took a while. NERD CULTURE makes sense, but I've never heard it. Likewise PARADROP. HULA HOOP in a circus? I've never noticed LINENS in a Pottery Barn. There's a flick named "ANACONDA"?

Glad I wasn't alone on MEDICI and MARRED.

After solving and reading Caitlin's comments, I went to xwordinfo. Jeff's "Constructor's Notes" were reprinted there, with a second "Jeff Chen notes" wherein he offers his original clue for ANACONDA. It was even less understandable to me than the surviving problem areas of the puzzle.

I feel very, very old.

Best wishes for a better-than-the-last-one new year.

HAGUE is unacceptable, the city is named "The Hague". It's like having the Argentinian place "La Plata" referred to as "PLATA" - no Argentinian would know what you are talking about.