Wednesday, December 26, 2018, Howard Barkin

8:10

While I wouldn't call this puzzle a CINCH, exactly, I did seem to be on the same wave length as Mr. Barkin this morning. There were only three "knowables" that I didn't know (NAOMI, REESE, and JESSE). I even knew KFC (One of the Yum! brands) thanks to our friend's annual Kentucky Derby party. Although, I just read the Derby's sponsor is, as of 2018, Woodford Reserve. Now that's what I call apt. :) CHIA (___ Pet) and GINSU (Kind of knife in old infomercials) were squarely in my wheelhouse. If you're like me and you have a soft spot for the infomercials of old, check out this great song by Steve Goodman called "Vegematic".

I quite enjoyed the theme today, although I didn't fully appreciate its scope until after the solve. Each clue suggests a more appropriate star for a movie based on his or her last name for which the theme answer is a synonym. For example, "Movie that really should have featured Anne Archer?" is ROBINHOOD. My favorite is "Movie that really should have featured Vin Diesel?" (BEETLEJUICE). Ha! I thought SPIDERMAN for Weaver (as in Sigourney), while not a wreck(nid), was an itsy bitsy stretch. Too much?

One clue/answer pair I particularly liked was "Little untruth"(FIB). It's the kind of clue/answer pair I enjoy because the clue is written so that the answer must be what it is, if you see what I mean. In this case, one could guess another three-letter word that means untruth (lie), but the clue is written in such a way that you know the answer is FIB; even if you don't know it right away, you know it when you get it. I also enjoyed the couple of self-referential crossword puzzle clues "Ref. that added 'cruciverbalist' (a person who does crosswords) in 2006" (OED) and "Pencil after lots of crosswords" (NUB).

Other PROS:
"Unpleasant strain?" (ECOLI)
"American, Asia, and Europe (but not Africa)" (BANDS)
"Miner matters" (ORES)
"Bit of graphic language?" (EMOJI) - LOL.

I've got to ASIAGO and get to some ADULTING. Later.

~Frannie.