Sunday, December 12, 2021, Daniel Okulitch and Doug Peterson

JOB SHARING

Kind of a funny theme today using job titles that can be interpreted in a new way to suggest a different profession. As in, LOCKSMITH (Side hustle for a hairstylist?). Heh. Not bad. NAILTECHNICIAN (Side hustle for a carpenter?) might be the best one, but BAGGAGEHANDLER (Side hustle for a therapist?) is right up there. Solid Sunday theme, in my opinion. Not great, but good.

 The non-theme starts out well, with a Niels Bohr clue for ATOM (Research subject for which Bohr won a Physics Nobel) and ACLU ("Because freedom can't protect itself" org.) at 1D. POGOSTICKS (Bouncy toys) and TOODLEOO (Cheery "Ciao!") were fun, GHETTO (Its etymology may derive from the diminutive of "Borough" in Italian) and "National gemstone of Mexico" (FIREOPAL) were interesting, and I chuckled at "Sub groups?" (NAVIES). There was a bit of ARCANA in AXILS (Leaf-to-branch angles) and OVIEDO (Spanish city north of León), but not too much. 

SLOUGH on top of SLUED was interesting, and the best housepet option is well-represented with MOUSER (Rodent-catching feline) and TOMCAT (Avid bird-watcher, say). It took me far too long to realize what was going on with "Part of a gig" (BYTE), and in that same region of the puzzle, I FWOE'd at the end because I mixed up another 70's song ("Sailin'" which is actually spelled "Sailing") for the Commodores SAILON. I should have noticed that iVIEDO looked odd, but, well, sometimes that happens.

Tomorrow Frannie takes over. I've had a fun week, and I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season. By the time I see you again, it will be 2022. Let's hope that next year is a good one for all of us.

- Horace