Another clever, unusual theme today. The revealer THEDOCTORISOUT explains the four odd answers:
As you will have noticed, they are all missing the letters "DR," but they still make sense - sort of - thanks to their wacky clues. The first three are common enough (although I'm pretty sure my father will not be aware of "two drink minimums" - and, well, maybe he doesn't think much about "drum machines" either ...) but "beat to the draw" is not something one hears much. "Beaten to the punch," sure, but this? Still, I was amused by it. Especially UMMACHINE. Hah!
The theme answers stand out today because there are no other answers longer than seven letters. I chuckled at the juxtaposition of SOEXTRA (Really overdoing it, in slang) and IWASHAD ("They conned me!"). One so modern, the other so old.
TEAMUSA (Olympic group with a red, white and blue insignia) always tricks me. I think of "America," then I see it doesn't work with crosses, and I start thinking of Russia, France, the Netherlands, etc. But then it's us after all! And I can't believe how long it took me to get STACKS (Library area). I work in a library, but all I could think of was "reading room," "circulation desk," and "book return." Sigh.
But really, I enjoyed this one. It's a fine Tuesday.
- Horace
Just ask your father about that "beat to the draw" thing. It's like a cliché, I think in Westerns.
ReplyDeleteThat might have been my favorite themer just because BEATTOTHEAW is just so silly (yet recognizable in its own way).
Nice to see a puzzle trying to be current with SOEXTRA rather than a celebrity I haven't heard of. At least someone who has never heard the phrase "so extra" would have a fighting chance rather than wondering "what's more likely, anne or anna" or all those "well it is a name but that's all I know" clues.