Well Hello there. I learned a few things with yesterday's blog post. First, I can be kind of a mean drunk. Sorry about that. (And apologies for the cheap shots, Rex.) Second, I shouldn't probably hint at things when there's a chance that the country's (world's?) leading enigmatologist might read it and then immediately call me on it. :)
So anywayyyyyy.... WHATSTHEBIGDEAL? Maybe we three and Rex should have a MEGAMERGER. YOLO! Heh. Sorry. There I go again.
I like this triply-imagined "big deal" theme. FIFTYPERCENTOFF is a pretty big deal, a MEGAMERGER is so by definition, and a ROYALFLUSH, well, that's the biggest non-wildcard deal there is. :)
Luckily, we've been watching a lot of BritBox, and we hear more about BAFTAs than we do about OBIES these days. So that BODEd well for getting 1-Down. Or is it "bade well?" No, that's the perfect of "bid," right? ... Luckily, there were no questions about awkward past tenses.
And speaking of not knowing things, were you as surprised as I was by 23-Across, "Country with the second-most Portuguese speakers" (ANGOLA)? I bet you know that Brazil is number one, but guess where Portugal is - fourth!
Another thing I don't think about much is RHENIUM. It was, apparently, the last stable, non-radioactive element to be discovered (in 1925), and it was named after the Rhine river (Rhenus in Latin), whence the earliest samples came. We've said it before and we'll say it again (for a while anyway. ;)), learning things from crosswords is one of the things we like so much about them.
Finally, I enjoyed the crossing of FWORDS and SALTY. Heh.
Fun Wednesday puzzle. It is Wednesday, right? Right. ... maybe that's another reason for us to keep doing this - so I can keep track of what day it is.
- Horace
Nice puzzle, nice review. RHENIUM gave me pause, but the cross-words rescued me.
ReplyDeleteAfter a short STINT away, I'm back now. I can confirm that it's Wednesday. RHENIUM also stumped me, having never heard of it, but like Ms. Clark, the crosses saved me from an error on that front. Surprising about Portugal's place in Portugese-speakers. Does Fall River come in third? Enjoyable theme and clean fill today. Horace's review has me curious about his rant from yesterday, so I'm off to read that now!
ReplyDeleteYesterday's blog and commentary was a highlight of my year. So drink and blog more often, maybe!
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