Let me be the first to say that today I'm glad there's no revealer. Is one needed? Ever? I suppose it can add something. A splash of humor. But the ludicrous nature of today's answers goes beyond any revealer.
I didn't love ARTIFICIALCHART, neither the clue nor the answer. It's okay. But things definitely got rolling with 26A: Sliced serving with ritzy crackers? (CHEESESOFINE). I mean, that's just silly. And I love how "He's" turns into "cheese". That's fun. IMOUTOFCHEER is fine, as is CHAINSUNDERWEAR, which I liked because I didn't get the Hanes for several beats after filling it in.
But the concept is great, and I enjoyed it.
Meanwhile, we no longer have to wonder "Is Barack Obama MUSLIN?" Instead, we can decide if Donald is an ERROR ("Oh, SNAP!").
I like FLEE crossing FLEA, as well as IKEA crossing IPHONES. I am not a fan of ISUZU crossing SHAMWOW. Don't know why the first pair of brand names works for me, but not the second.
29D: It gives a little hoot (OWLET) wins for best clue.
1A: Hawaiian greeting (ALOHA) gets a C-. It's not a D, because I felt like I was being welcomed into the grid. It was also my first confident answer.
- Colum
10:02
ReplyDeleteAnything Hawai'i-themed should automatically not get under a B, but ALAS, that's not my call. Yes, no revealer necessary, and CHEESESOFINE is certainly the best of the bunch. I didn't love the OWLET clue, but that's probably because the answer is such crosswordese. And I liked the SHAMWOW/ISUZU pairing better than the IKEA/IPHONES because I loved the SHAMWOW commercials and am not a fan of either IKEA or any i-products (I'm indifferent regarding ISUZU). And how about how HILO is in the grid along with the aforementioned ALOHA? And what about the "Lima's home" pair of OHIO (who knew?) and PERU? Very nice, IMO. OOZE next to POUR is a nice touch. Decent Tuesday.
6:42
ReplyDeleteSHAMWOW is a thing? The theme is silly, but I lol'd. And Gene AUTRY was one of Mom's favorites, so that's nice.
And I liked the OWLET clue. How can you be mad at an OWLET?