NAME DROPPING
Is it Thursday or Sunday? The trick today is a lovely vertical theme where names in the gray (when solving online anyway, maybe there are circles in the paper?) need to be dropped all the way down below the Down clues just under them to make sense. So, in 90D, "Title woman who has children at her feet, in a 1968 hit," there are only enough spaces to enter LADYMA, but if we drop the "DONNA" from 28D's CHARDONNAY, we get the full "Lady Madonna." Furthermore, the clue for 28D is "Cautious (of)" which is not answered by CHARDONNAY, but by what is left when DONNA is removed from it - "CHARY."
I think it is quite lovely that each clue containing a name is a comprehensible answer with AND without the name. It's quite an elegant trick, and I am willing to forgive such things as REDCOD (Colorful seafood) (How is it that I have never heard of this?), HEROIZE (Put on a pedestal), and FLORAE (Botanists' specimens).
In addition to the lovely theme, this puzzle sports all manner of fun clues. "Homophone of vowels not found in this answer" EWES. It's tortured, and would maybe have been better if the U were not found in the clue, but I still liked it. And how about "Burst of sonic ecstasy" (EARGASM). I would like this more if it were not true that my own ear has been ringing since last night. Sigh...
I really liked "Angels can be found in it" (SNOW), and speaking of winter, "One whose boss laughs a lot (ELF) got a Ho Ho Ho from me. :) "Can you dig it? Yes, you can!" was cute for DIRT, and "Ones getting hit on at parties" (PINATAS) - ha! Nice.
Solid Sunday. That's how you DOIT.
- Horace
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