I'm a big fan who adores silly examples of inane redundancy which repeats. Horace and Frannie have collected a number of examples of acronyms which are often used with the last word repeated unnecessarily, such as ATM machine, or PIN number.
All of today's theme answers are examples of this sort of thing. 17A: Experience, redundantly (PASTHISTORY) is a great example. CASHMONEY is another. The others are not exactly the same thing. Certainly both "taxi" and "cab" refer to a vehicle for hire, but TAXICAB is such common usage that it doesn't have the same ring, and RATFINK and BUNNYRABBIT feel similarly to my ear.
Dr. Haight always throws in some fun extras in the cluing. Today, we get 1A: So far (ASYET) and 55D: At this point (BYNOW). I also like 26D and 40D: "You got that right!" (AMEN and YEAH). That last one reminds me of Trading Places.
It's nice to see both TONI Morrison and Gloria STEINEM in the puzzle. On a related and completely unrelated note, I want to be Megan Rapinoe when I grow up.
Some things to be a BOOER about (slightly different than my boorish behavior yesterday) include ENDWISE, SEACOOK, odd little partial ANA, and PSY, the abbreviation nobody uses for psychology. Also, I've never heard of YUBAN coffee, but then I don't take a coffee myself, so perhaps that's just my blind spot.
Finally, I've always loved NOYES' "The Highwayman":
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
Up to the old inn door.
- Colum
Nice Highwayman quote - loved it!
ReplyDelete9:16 (paper)
ReplyDeleteOne thing that almost never fails to make me laugh is the simple imagined title "Department of Redundancy Department." Ha! I liked this theme, and I thought all five were strong.
I didn't know NOYES, but if, however, you had asked me what folk singer sang a song called The Highwayman, I would have quickly answered "Phil Ochs." That song used to haunt me in my teens, when I'd listen to my brother's albums...
Hoof beats ringing clear
Watch for me by moonlight
Were they deaf that they did not hear..
7:16
ReplyDeleteVIN number is another. I tried VjDAY at 44A from the clue, which slowed me slightly, but no problems beyond that. FIE is an excellent three, but SEACOOK is definitely nothing that's ever been said. I liked the BOSS/SEEME pairing, and the puzzle as a whole. (Due to a visit to the YBH of my brother, niece and nephew from FL, I'm behind on commenting, but I'll endeavor to make that up now.)