I find Mr. Lampkin and I have a few things in common. We're both familiar with the soap CAMAY, we think BUTTDIAL is an hilarious expression, and we both love jeux de mots. I think my favorite today is 51D. Range of the von Trapp singers (ALPS). Ha! But, 38D. Soft rock? (MAGMA) is also gneiss .
Another Frannie-friendly feature (or FFF) of this puzzle are the identical clue pairs with different answers. We have a nice twofer with Overplay (EMOTE and HAMUP). And we have a triple with Pub offering (ALE, BREW, and SUDS). There's probably a puzzle out there where all the clues are the same and the answers different - well, maybe a very small puzzle.
I had no trouble with 35A. Flabbergast [great word!] (BOWLOVER), but when I was running through the grid to write the review, I mis-read the answer as BOW LOVER. That would probably need a different clue (Robin Hood, say). Are clues that mean completely different things but result in the same-but-different answers ever used to create easier and harder clues sets for puzzles? I wonder.
Further fine fill: LOPE, SPARSE, STEED, SPYRING, and ASS.
The only difference between me and Mr. Lampkin seems to be that he has, apparently, heard of hair goop called GELEE, and I have not. That aside, I am giving the puzzle a RAVEREVIEW. I bet Mr. Lampkin didn't see *that* coming.
~ Frannie.
This Wednesday presented me with little difficulty and little pleasure. BOW LOVER would have been a start at improvement. Three "pub offerings" are three too many when nary a one is original or humorous. I'm getting tired of ASS clued as jerk, or some variant. Clue it as a body part and get back to me. BLOW crossing WEATHERVANE-- OHBOY! I found this LEADEN; it PAINED me. BLAH.
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ReplyDeleteCurmudgeon. Sign me up for the three pub offerings, especially SUDS. I mean, is that ever seen? And BUTTDIAL and ASS in the same puzzle? I have to agree with ET59's "body part" comment. But how about AENEID, which I dropped right in off of the clue, having only OPTIONAL as a cross. DIGDEEP, SPARSE, EMPTYCHAIR, DEADBATTERY, MISSACUE...all excellent answers. I agree with Frannie's RAVEREVIEW. BTW, I've never heard of GELEE, either.
And speaking of things clued the same way, it's today's theme, I think, with four ways of saying that something is free - 27D: It's free (EMPTYCHAIR), 53A: It carries no charge (DEADBATTERY), 10D: It's complimentary (RAVEREVIEW), and 19A: It's on the house (WEATHERVANE). Not bad!
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