Wed., 11/12 C.C. Burnikel

[magus]

THEME:   the letter run D,A,T,A found in random phrases
   
GOOD ONES:     
NSA surveillance activity {& theme}  DATA MINING   
One of four in Minnesota: Abbr.   SYL [the name, not the place]   
   
BTW:   
Occupied, as a booth   SAT AT [nope, that's at a table --- we sit in a booth]   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

I don't give grins. I don't even play a grin-giver on tv. But can we award a half-grin for today's puzzle? The DATA theme was nice but there are 42 black squares, an amount that is becoming increasingly common. I prefer fewer black squares and longer answers. And today's puzzle may have set a world's record for the highest number of abbrebviations and foreign words in a 15x15 crossword: ABS, ALA, ATEST, DIEM, DSO, EDS, ELS, GTO, KAN, MIC, MRE, NUS, REBS, ROI, SER, STL, SYL, TDGARDEN, ULNAE and UVRAY. I want to see real words.