What an odd theme. Odd, but kinda hilarious. FINISHINGSCHOOL, the revealer, explains what happened to every other theme answer, which is that the letters "SCH" have been added to familiar phrases, with amusing results.
Crotchety geezer with a heart of gold? - GRUMPYOLDMENSCH
"Home Sweet Home" needlepoint pillow, e.g.? - SEWINGKITSCH
Coup d'état that's been judicially suspended? - STAYEDPUTSCH
Hah!
My favorite is probably the last one, actually, because it's just so tortured.
So - good theme. Not too much, not too little. And the fill is strong too. GRUNTWORK (Labor that requires brawn, not brains) is a great phrase. LIPLINER (Cosmetic pencil) and SKULLCAP (Yarmulke, e.g.) are also good. I have a question about ALES (Drinks labeled "XXX" in comics) though. Usually I see XXX on a jug, and I'm pretty sure that's not ale. It seems like it's more used to label moonshine, but maybe I'm wrong about this. Anybody else got any opinion on it?
Here's a little thing about me - I often use a word from the puzzle as a seed word for Wordle. Today I used IDIOT, and I got it in three. Speaking of Wordle, I kinda hate it, but I do it every single day. I guess that's another thing about me. I much prefer Connections. That's a quality game.
Anywhooo, good Tuesday. Onward!
- Horace
Hi Horace,
ReplyDeleteSomehow I thought XXX on, say a jug or bottle in the comics meant hard liquor...not ale.
Yeah. That seems like an odd clue. I guess maybe the NYTX editors aren't heavy drinkers. :)
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