Hoo boy. Two areas took me at least a third of the time, and that was with Cece's help. In fact, I owe the completion of this puzzle entirely to my daughter's assistance.
1A: Tricky spot to be in? (MAGICSHOP) was one of the problem areas. I had MAGICSHOw. Which led to the impossible wORSCHES as an answer for 9D: Taycan and Macan. I had no idea these were cars. Parrots, possibly? Mayan names? Regardless, Cece pointed out the alternate answer at 1A.
I also incorrectly had pOtATOBASE for 11D: What makes clam chowder "Manhattan" rather than "New England." To be fair, I initially had TOMATOBASE instead, but took it out due to a faulty apprehension. 10A: COPY, perhaps (STAMP) was completely opaque until my daughter suggested going back to my first idea.
This is a great puzzle though. I love 2D: "Ain't it so?" (AMIRITE) and 60A: Is shocked or horrified by the image of, jocularly (CANTUNSEE).
How great is the combination of ATHLEISURE and SEVENTHSON? One contemporary, the other mythical, and they fit so well next to each other. Taking it even further back, we get 35D: Renaissance-era cup (CODPIECE). Not goblet, or chalice, mind you. Nope, much further south.
Some good C/APs:
22A: What makes the short list? (ETC)
1D: Latin music duo (MARACAS)
I also tip my hat to the use of the word "Lickspittle" as the clue for YESMAN.
I had a fun week! Horace will take over tomorrow.
- Colum
I enjoyed it, even though it was quite a challenge for me. Had the TOMATO in the Manhattan clam chowder, but it took me forever to get to the BASE. Love the clues . CODPIECE is new to me...now I CAN'T UNSEE IT! :-) Thanks for the week, Colum!
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