I thought PFFT ([scoff]) was a funny start today. I didn't get it without crosses, but when it did come in, I chuckled at the self-deprecating beginning, because the puzzle was definitely not a dud. It was filled with snappy, in-the-language phrases, like the good, grid-spanning TAKETHEHIGHROAD (Be above pettiness) and POLARBEARPLUNGE (Quick swim in freezing cold water). My oldest brother has done such things (the second, I mean. We all try to do the first.), and a co-worker took a wintertime dip in the Atlantic dressed in a narwhal suit earlier this year, but me, I like to wait until the summer to go into the ocean water.
WHATABOUTBOB (Hit 1991 film starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss) was a blast from the past, but PHONETAG (What happens when two people miss each other a lot), SPECIALSAUCE, and ONTHEREBOUND, are still current, right? FAKEMEATS are positively so (their time has come), and LOLCATS are timeless. :)
I had forgotten about the WALTONS (The world's wealthiest family) (I guess those re-runs bring in a lot! HEH), and STANDBYS (Last bunch to board, typically) took me way too long! I don't really think of "Ballyhoo" as a verb (HYPEUP), but, well, it worked out.
Favorite clue? Probably "Performer with a single fan?" for GEISHA. Favorite entry? NUTSO.
- Horace
I didn't know EYEBEAM, but got PATE right away, so filled in EYE____ off of the clue. I will never take a POLARBEARPLUNGE. Living on a lake, I have taken dips in all months from March to November inclusive, but lately stick with May through September. I don't think I've seen WHATABOUTBOB, or taken part in GROUPTHERAPY or REHAB, though I probably could use both of the latter. I saw honest-to-goodness GEISHAs in Kyoto since there was a school for them there. 23:39
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