Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Michael Paleos

A fun one from LOOSEEND to LEGREST. This is a puzzle I actively enjoyed while solving it, by which I don't mean that I don't usually enjoy a puzzle while solving it, but with this one, I found myself thinking, "oh, nice", "that's a good one", or "ha!" repeatedly as I completed the grid. Plus, as a member of the genus PARTYANIMALS myself, I really related to the theme. I especially liked "Tot's mount" for ROCKINGHORSE, but the whole gang, WILDTURKEY, DRUNKENCHICKEN, and RAGINGBULL seem like they'd be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

A corral of merry makers isn't all that's on offer today. There was also a buffet of fun C/APs including:

"Willy Wonka prop" (CANE) - it works on two levels!

"Shake a leg, in Shakespeare" (HIE)

"Pitching statistic?" (NETSALES)

"Stretched to get a better look, say" (CRANED)

"'Right in the kisser!'" (POW)

I also really liked "Banjo spot, in song" (KNEE), but my favorite today is "Sound of spring?" (BOING) - ha! Fill-wise I liked ESTEEMS, EGESTS, and ESCALATES. 

I almost called the cops on ONCEOVER for "Cursory appraisal" but dialed it back when I refocused and stopped reading it as ON CEOVER. Given the question mark in the clue, "Streaming site?" I thought myself a real clever clogs when I entered ChEEKS, but a slug of WILDTURKEY finally helped me see straight. I also enjoyed "Like chewable calcium, often" (CHALKY) because what? 

Well, dear Readers, it's almost 9AM and I have got to get some sleep. :)

~Frannie.