I feel like I've seen a theme like this in the past, but it's been well executed here. We take standard adjectives of the style ____LESS and reinterpret them as describing an individual lacking in something somewhat amusing. None of the theme answers made me laugh out loud, but I chuckled at HELPLESS. There are seven of them, which is impressive.
On the other hand, with all of those theme answers, there's little room for longer fill answers, and very little that sparkles. For example, in the SW corner, all three 6-letter answers going down are proper names (ALBERT, SHANIA, and PASCAL), and the fourth answer is also a proper name (GISELLE)! I never would have remembered the name of that character, but it's preferable to referencing the classic ballet.
10D: It has a tip for players in the game room (POOLCUE) was a clever, if wordy, clue. I like the pair of 7-letter answers in the staggered stack in the middle. ASARULE has a welcome resonance in our little group, it being a favorite saying of Frannie's. I've been reading about the British Isles in the years from 400-650, so PICT came very easily to me.
1A: Reaction to a crack (HAHA) gets a C+. But it wasn't the first entry I was sure about: that came at 1D: Sot's sound (HIC).
My error came at 19A: I mistyped OHMu instead of OHMY, and TRuSTS looked right, so I didn't check it against the clue. Silly mistake.
Anyway, overall, I thought it was solid, just not anything amazing.
- Colum
11:45 (Ha! Pride goeth... eh?)
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one. And I also very much enjoyed "Enchanted," but, like you, would never have remembered that name. Maybe I should watch it again!
RUTHLESS got a chuckle, and I enjoyed the Massachusetts vernacular of THECAPE. I also thought TIMES (V and X on a sundial) was amusingly random. And I enjoyed the word FUSTY. Never heard of COTY, but then, I'm married to a woman who pretty much hates all frippery, into which category she includes perfumery.
Untimed.
ReplyDeleteCOLLARLESS is excellent. I never saw "Enchanted;" maybe I should. Loved INHELL, AURAL and FUSTY. I even liked seeing PASCAL and COMSAT in there. Nice Tuesday, although both REAMS and TRYSTS could have been clued a bit more racily.