Oh, when a Sunday theme hits on (over) half of its answers, it feels like a missed opportunity. I loved some of the answers today, but others were just meh at best.
It's an anagram bonanza! Standard phrases have one word anagrammed, and the resulting phrase gets clued appropriately. As we love to say around here, wackiness ensues. When the anagrammed word is particularly long, the results are definitely more interesting. Nobody's interested in TALESOFOWE (anagramming "woe"), are they? And HAVENOFARE (anagramming "fear") is just blah.
Better though is 25A: Assault involving a hatchet? (TINYAXEATTACK - for "anxiety"). Runner up is 82A: "The king really wants to be around people right now"? (MYSIRELOVESCOMPANY - for "misery"). And the winner today? Running away with it, 44A: "Stop insisting Ra doesn't exist!"? (CURBYOURSUNATHEISM - for "enthusiasm"). This had to be the seed entry, didn't it? I just love imagining the conversation where that phrase came up.
Oh, wait! I just realized that the anagrammed words are all feelings: thus the title. That's fun! It makes the less exciting entries a little better. Not great, but better.
1A: Word before "Ooh, didn't mean to make you cry" in Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (MAMA) has to be the longest clue for that word ever dreamed up, and nets it a full increase of one grade from C+ to B+. Because who doesn't love "Bohemian Rhapsody?" Nobody, that's who. I dare you to find one person. ONE!!!!!
Um.
Sorry. Anyway, in other news, some nice long answers like SAKEBOMB and the unexpected ALEATORY (there's a fair amount of aleatoric music from the 1950s through 1990s in modern classical music). I liked the clue for DAHLIA and even more for MOMJEANS.
I don't love SHERIF (strange spelling - I wanted SHaRIF). I'm also not convinced by 100A (ANIMALS) - some SHED, others don't.
Over all, I enjoyed it.
- Colum
34:02
ReplyDeleteMost of this puzzle was great for a Sunday. I enjoyed the mention of the Eugene ONEILL Theater, where we enjoyed "The Book of Mormon" a little while back. We haven't heard much from CHARO lately. The last I saw her was as a guest star on "The Love Boat." NOODGE is excellent, but I've not heard of a SAKEBOMB; I'll have to try one on Friday at the Kaizen restaurant.