Everybody loves the WATERCYCLE. This is a lovely theme:
OCEANSPRAY (Co-op responsible for more than two-thirds of cranberry production in North America)
VAPORWARE (Tech product that's promised but never delivered)
CLOUDNINE (Hog heaven)
RAINMAKER (Business-generating partner at a law firm)
RIVERCARD (It might make or break a hand in Texas hold'em)
That pretty much covers it. And I enjoyed the cluing. I hadn't known that definition of RAINMAKER, and VAPORWARE is a good one too. And we get the cranberry sales data... It's all good.
In other news, I'm not much for religion, but who doesn't enjoy the look of the word PSALTER? (See also: COWLS.) CMERE (Slangy summons) is one of those that makes me smile. I mean, everybody knows it, but how many would include it in a crossword grid? But what about DEADRUN (Sprint at top speed). Is that a thing? I haven't heard it before. Dead heat? Sure. Dead lift? Yes. But DEADRUN? You tell me. And listen puzzle editors, "Foamy iced drink" sounds awful. A FRAPPE is a wonderful, ice cream drink. And if you put a scoop or two of malt into it, it becomes one of my favorite treats ever. "Foamy iced drink..." of all the ... hmph!
When I was in college someone accused me of cutting a RIP (Feature of some jeans) into my dungarees. Why would I ever do that? I needed those.
Lastly, the NYTX loves its LSD. Today they clue ANTIWAR with "Drop Acid, Not Bombs." Hah! Well, I suppose "Make Love, Not War" would have duplicated the "war" part... but still. It's always "microtab" this and "hallucinate" that. They're the ones who should be worried about a RAID. Hah!
- Horace
With you on this one, Horace, as usual. Especially FRAPPE. It's a *milk shake,* for Heaven's sake! Which means *ice cream,* sheesh! But maybe that's a New England thing? As for PSALTER, indeed it is a lovely word. Only it's not a "book of hymns." That would be a "hymnal." A PSALTER is filled with -- well, Psalms! [Liturgical book] or [Certain prayer book] would've worked.
ReplyDeleteRight! Is Will on vacation this week?
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