WAIT, WHAT?
Today's title seems appropriate for this past week. This past quadrennium. It certainly was good to finally get some sense of closure yesterday. The President-elect's speech was positive and hopeful, and it would be great if somehow he and his administration were able to bridge the divide and focus the energies on both sides toward a common cause. I sometimes think of Bob Newhart's joke:
"I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'."
And it's easy to ridicule those who appear, on the surface, to be out of their minds, but I'm going to try to not think that way anymore. To not paint with a broad brush. It's not easy, but if I can't do it, how can I expect others to? How can I expect our president to?
OK, that's enough on that. IKNOW this (and the NYTX itself) is supposed to be a way to ELUDE the POISON of the daily grind. So LETSNOT dwell on politics. I'll try not to MORALize.
The title today, once again, elucidates the theme. The "ai" sound is changed to an "uh" sound in all theme answers. YOUGOTTHATSTRUT?
I especially liked CUSSSENSITIVE (Easily offended by foul language?) because, in a way, I am, sometimes, and also because: details. WHYTHELONGFUSS (Question to a tantrum thrower?) was also good. And timely! (Because: the past quadrennium!)
Really, they're all quite good, and it ends with the double-barrelled THENUMBOFTHEGUM (Title for an oral surgeon's handbook?). Hah! That's quite good.
In other entries, I initially dropped POISON in at 6-Down (Like apple seeds, if eaten in huge quantities), but changed it to LETHAL even before I got to 58-Down "Downfall in many an Agatha Christie novel" (POISON). Still, it's interesting that either would have been appropriate for 6-D, but not for 58-D.
I'll close now, without discussing much more of the fill, but overall, I thought this was a fun Sunday. I hope you enjoyed it too.
- Horace
32:34
ReplyDeleteI thought it started out strong right at 1A with MICROLOAN as opposed to the usual "SBA" that would normally be clued like that. I was unaware that SERENA has a slam named after her, but we learn something each day. CAPUCHIN looks odd right next to CHACHING. I tried eApoe at 96D, which gave me CHASER but nothing else, but with the gimme at 116A, INGA, I quickly changed it to KAFKA. I knew I didn't recognize the title as a Poe story, but I've not read much KAFKA and so couldn't readily come up with it. HOOKAHS was tricky, and I needed a few crosses for it, as I've never been to a bar where there would be one. Nice to have SUE in the grid.
I liked that both TRUE and LIAR were in the puzzle. It felt like a nod to the past quadrennium. But we're not political at all on this blog.
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