This one's got some PROs and CONs. Er... some CONs and PROs:
CONSUMERPROFILE (Need for targeted advertising)
CONTENTPROVIDER (Netflix or YouTube)
and
CONCLUSIVEPROOF (It settles a case)
and this theme is announced by 68-Across, "Disadvantages found in this puzzle's three longest Across answers ..." (CONS) and 69-Across "... and advantages found in them" (PROS).
The clue "Pizza size" for LARGE struck me as amusingly arbitrary. It also reminds me of an incident that Frannie and I had at a restaurant in San Gimignano a few years ago. We were considering ordering a pizza, but we wanted to know the size to see if we would want to split it or get one each. The waiter seemed shocked by the question and responded, almost scoldingly, "It's a pizza!" I guess in Italy they're all one size and everyone knows what size that is. As it turned out, it was pretty much individual-size.
MCING (Host's task, informally) looks odd (would I prefer "emceeing?" I don't know), and MOANER is a bit of a groaner. SKUNK (Ain't I a stinker?) gets an interesting clue (reminds me of Bugs Bunny more than an actual SKUNK), and "First thing in the morning?" for ALARM was unexpected. Hah!
Some of the answers seemed a bit dated - KYLE ("South Park" boy), OLGA (Gymnast Korbut), and our old friend NEHRU. And are VCHIPs still a thing?
The long Downs are good, especially MINDBENDER (Tough puzzle), and I guess it's fine. Interesting theme. How'd you like it?
- Horace
4:46
ReplyDeleteWell. I like the idea of a phrase having PROS and CONS. It's just that the three examples are so... uninteresting. Otherwise, it's a fine puzzle with the excellent UNBIRTHDAY.
I too was having trouble getting used to it being CONS and PROS rather than pros and cons.
ReplyDeleteBut a good occasion to wish everyone a happy UNBIRTHDAY!
6:55
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves an UNBIRTHDAY, judging from the comments above, from one of my favorite books. A fine theme. JETPOWERED, I thought, was a bit arbitrary. But happily, I was able to drop AMAJ right in off of the clue (5A Key of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7: Abbr.), even though it's a dreaded abbreviation. The puzzle was no MINDBENDER, but it was no MOANER and didn't ANNOY this solver; a fun enough romp for a Tuesday.