Today's puzzle seemed to be in my wheelhouse. While I didn't know every answer ASAP, I was able to right my wrongs pretty quickly - the worst of which came early with "Like some cleaners." For some reason, I started with ALLsURfacE, which, thanks to the many letters that matched the correct answer (ALLPURPOSE), took the longest to correct. Elsewhere I tried vALES, but that was speedily corrected to DALES thanks to the nice DONTLOOKATME ("'Not my problem'").
I did get LOLA ("Lover of Tony in a hit 1978 song") right away - no surprises there! I also smiled at and dropped in ECHO for "Return some calls?" I enjoyed the aptness of the clue for SOAPOPERAS ("They're full of endless drama") - apt!
Really quite a HAUL of good clues throughout the puzzle, including the somewhat convoluted but clever "Kind of artist who's not very good?" (CON) and the pair of literary lights, "Hardy heroine" (TESS) and "Mother of Hamnet Shakespeare" (ANNE). I might also include in this group "Hogwarts house whose emblem is, surprisingly, an eagle" (RAVENCLAW). I hadn't noticed the birdscrepancy before.
Others I vant to VAUNT:
"One taking the high road?" (STONER)
"Lowest notes" (ONES)
"Greek spirits" (OUZOS) - ha!
I enjoy the appellation KITTENHEELS, but I wouldn't want to wear them. I'll also skip the ASPIC, despite its cold plate, thank you very much, but I will take advantage of my current location and go and enjoy a COOLBREEZE. I'll STOPBY again SOON to see what tomorrow WOOL bring.
~Frannie.
7:20
ReplyDeleteAs always, jealous when one of my esteemed co-bloggers gets to review a Weintraub confection. Such lovely work today by both creator and reviewer!
I agree. A delightful puzzle! Only -- and this has nothing to do with the constructor, but gee...I'm being stubborn and refuse to google it but -- wasn't LOLA's lover RICO??? I've been annoying my husband-slash-business parter (who insists "Tony" is the lover) by dancing around the office singing the song...and it was RICO -- wasn't it? -- who was in love with LOLA? At the Copa? Copabana? Where music and passion was always the fashion? No big deal, but we're both sworn not to google it. I'm pretty sure I'm right...and I hope so, because, according to the bet, loser does the dishes. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, Kelly, but Rico was the bad guy who came into the bar and paid unwanted attentions to Lola. Rico's bad behavior drove her lover, Tony, to fight Rico, who shot Tony dead in the ensuing brawl.
DeleteDrat! Looks like I'll be ON KP for awhile. :-)
Delete14:41
ReplyDeleteBoy, violent song, but catchy. Nice time, and review, Frannie. I agree with Colum in that there's quite a PILE of great stuff and RARETREATs in this offering. MONAD saved me from an FWOE, where I was wont to enter hOTELS at 40A. I don't take any ASPICS either, but I do enjoy a KIWI (not the bird variety) now and again, and of course, OUZOS. Also, I sometimes find EFLAT FIELDMOUSE in a corner of our garage. I asked Sue if she'd ever heard of KITTENHEELS and she assures me they're a real thing. Frannie seems to think they exist, too, but I've not heard of them and, like Kelly, don't generally Google things.