ASISEEIT, this is a clever and interesting theme: Find two words that have the same consonants, in the same order, put them together, and provide an appropriate (wacky) clue. For example, MISQUOTESMOSQUITOES (Says "Quack" instead of "Buzz"?). Sure, one's got an extra (silent) vowel, and the clue is completely absurd, but still I find the constant consonants pleasing. FRONTIERFURNITURE (Tables in an Old West saloon, e.g.?) is almost not wacky at all, and OVERSELLSVERSAILLES (Claims that Louis XIV's palace is better than all the other buildings in France combined?) is the most surprising. And finally, I especially love the clue for BRONTOSAURUS/BRAINTEASERS ("What walks on four dino legs in the morning, four dino legs at noon and four dino legs in the evening?" and other riddles?) because it is the most absurd, not least because the necessarily altered text (Brontosaurus didn't ever walk on two or three legs, as far as we know) is no longer much of a riddle at all. It's devolved into pure silliness, which I think we can all applaud. Much like the government. Hah! (sob.)
In addition to the positive theme, we have many strong entries: SOBRIQUET (Nickname), ORDNANCE (Artillery), ARMOIRE (Large wardrobe), GLUTS (Oversupplies), VIDIOT (Portmanteau for a TV addict), and RAKISH (Debonair), to name but six. I was not familiar with Claude FROLLO, and I didn't know Scarface's real (movie) name, so those took a while. "Mobile home not seen much nowadays" (TEPEE), reminds me of the words to "Home on the Range" -
The red man was pressed from this part of the west / 'Tis unlikely he'll ever return / To the banks of Red River, where seldom, if ever / His flickering campfires will burn.Ahh, "the viewless wings of POESY"...
Overall, IMAFAN.
- Horace
I'm all in favor of pure silliness. It's a nicely done Sunday puzzle, with the right amount of challenge and wackiness. I suppose I might pick a nit with ASISEEIT and ASAUNIT, but that was the only issue I had.
ReplyDelete32:08
ReplyDeleteWell, I just received a call to ski, but just as I headed toward the boat (the Malibu), two other boats with tubes started around the lake, as well as a pontoon boat, so skiing's off for now. Anyway, this was a well-done puzzle, and it took just the right amount of time for me. HOTLANTA is something I'd not heard until the recent football playoffs, but now I seem to hear or see it all of the time. Nice that the entire CHIAPET makes an appearance. VIDIOT is the best of the non-theme answers, IMO.