Sunday, June 18, 2023, Joe DiPietro

MY TWO CENTS

Happy Father's Day! Just like opinions, everybody's got a father. Is that the saying? I think it's a little off. Regardless, don't forget to reach out to your father if you can, or remember your father otherwise.

And speaking of opinions, today's theme is all about reinterpreting phrases where the second word is a synonym for opinion, and cluing them with a quotation that is an opinion about the first word. Got it?

No?

Well, let's do an example. Take 118A: "Use it for Thanksgiving stuffing and saltimbocca" (SAGEADVICE). Here, the speaker is giving advice about the use of the herb sage. Hah! The other ones I liked were 116A: "Whaddya mean it's the pits? It's the best part of an apple!" (COREBELIEF) and 23A: "It's obvious the actors aren't doing these stunts" (DOUBLETAKE). I think the reason I like these ones better than the longer ones is that the brevity of the phrase requires more mental flexibility somehow.

Canterbury Cathedral, where ANSELM was Archbishop (Photo courtesy recent trip)

I have to bring attention to a remarkable spot in the grid, in the middle East portion. Here we see 43D: Glinda's reassurance to Dorothy on whether her dog can also return to Kansas (TOTOTOO) crosses 76A: Like some confrontations (TOETOTOE). That combination of answers really tickled my funny-bone. 

Other fun clues and answers included:

40A: "Y," as in Yucatán (AND). Not talking about the first letter of the name, but the word in Spanish. Very nicely done!

74A: They're never free of charge (IONS). Not lawyers, or ATMs, or some such.

STMARTIN is a place I'd like to go to. Sorry, I just got pulled into a rabbit hole of information about the island. It looks amazing, half-French colony, half-Dutch colony. Some day...

Anyway, this was a fun puzzle to start the week with. See you tomorrow!

- Colum