Grammar corrections made to ad campaigns is today's theme. Apple's famously controversial "Think Different" slogan is corrected to THINKDIFFERENTLY. And Staples' "Yeah, we've got that" is changed to YESWEHAVETHAT. Both slogans were officially retired more than a decade ago. And Sara Lee, which is officially defunct as of 2012, apparently had the slogan "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee," which is here amended to EVERYBODYLIKESSARALEE.
Now, I appreciate proper English as much as the next guy, but I don't particularly like this type of pedantry. Slogans are slogans. They're almost designed to be provocative so that you'll remember them - any publicity being good publicity, and all that. So I didn't love the theme. I know, it's just a theme, but, well... I didn't like it.
For those who did enjoy it, though, I suppose it's nice to see DATIVES (24D: Indirect objects, grammatically speaking) and RETRONYM (32D: "Acoustic guitar" or "terrestrial radio") in a puzzle whose theme is grammar. I wonder if they also enjoyed the uncommonly used LATEN (54D: Approach evening), CELLI (61D: Ma uses them) (Ha!), and SKED (109D: Short timetable?). And what about SINTAX? ;)
I don't know... maybe you liked it. Maybe I've just had too busy a weekend. I hope you're all having a lovely holiday season.
1A: Chipped beef go-with (TOAST). C
Favorite clue/answer - 57D: It makes a turn at the entrance (STILE). Runner-up "29A: Keeper of the flame? (WICK). That's good stuff.
- Horace
I found the theme somewhat humorous, but the fill ran on the difficult side for me, with this puzzle taking over an hour for me to complete. I'd never heard of DATIVES or the term RETRONYM. I enjoyed the "Gambit" pair and starred CELLI because it stumped me for so damned long. AXELS and AXLE in the same puzzle...hmmph. I was slowed in the NE because I entered rutH off of the "H", but of course it was LEAH, and the west was held up because of my entry of nobodydisLIKESSARALEE, but both were corrected in due time.
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