Good evening. Horace here, with a gin-soaked review of today's puzzle.
Before I started doing crosswords, I would have called today's theme a rebus. But now let's just call it visual wordplay? Does that work?
CRACKFALLSCRACK (Gets overlooked, literally) demonstrates the theme well. The word "falls" is nestled between two instances of the word "crack," and if you were to describe that situation, you might say "falls between the cracks" which is equivalent to "gets overlooked." Similarly literalized are, "slips between the sheets" (rawr!), "hits right between the eyes," and "reading between the lines."
This is a kind of wordplay/puzzle/game that I enjoy. So thumbs up on the theme.
You know, since I'm a little drunk, I'm just going to tell you that I started this blog as a foil... an alternative ... a response to the Rex Parker blog. I thought his was too negative all the time, and I thought there might be room for a kinder, gentler blog. I'm not trying to normalize George H.W. Bush with those words. Despite the fact that once W. came in, his father seemed like a better guy. And then when that moron got elected, everybody got nostalgic for both of the Bushes. No. I don't want to say that any of that was good. Or that Rex was good. Is good. But he's been doing it a long time, and he's made a living on his negativity. Just like that moron.
Ahem.
Anyway, I thought of Rex today so I looked at his blog. And what do you know, he was disappointed with the puzzle. I can't remember how to spell "Nicene creed" or "go karts," or Brendan Fraser's name, or the former king of Norway, even though I've been doing crosswords my whole life... and I don't like it when there are two words that kind of mean the same thing. I hate language and its beautiful variations... waah waah waah. (And I know he'd complain about my spelling of "waah." Why not "waahh?" or the simpler "wah?")
I know we haven't reached many people, and I know it doesn't amount to a hill of beans, but no matter the viewership, I believe that we have offered an alternative for a while. ... who knows how long that 'while' will last...
So anyway... I'm not CROSS. I'm just OVOID after TWELVE drinks that ERODE my senses. My PLUM thoughts have PERISHED - OHMYGOD! - my PRIMARY functions are no longer working!
- Horace
Hi Horace— Will Shortz here. Just a quick note to say I read your blog every day. It’s thoughtful, interesting, gentle, and fair-minded. Sometimes funny. Always witty. Please keep doing what you do. —W.S.
ReplyDeleteHello Mr. Shortz. Thanks for commenting. It is gratifying, humbling, surprising, and just plain great to hear that you continue to check in on our little blog. And you make it very difficult for me to go through with my plan of giving this thing up at the 10-year mark... We three will be getting together soon, and we will give your request the attention and consideration it deserves. :) Thanks again for reading, and for putting out great puzzles day after day after day.
DeleteI told you -- or maybe I just thought I told you, but I really think I did. Tell you, I mean. Speaking o' Will, he's the one who recommended your blog to me when I complained about the other ones. And it was good advice.
ReplyDeleteYou did tell us, Kelly. And he's told us himself in Stamford, but it's still a little hard to believe sometimes. :)
DeleteBest. Blog. Ever.
ReplyDeleteAwww... Philbo.
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