All four of today's theme answers have the same clue, "[Get my innuendo?]" the answers differ (obvi), but each is an action designed to give one's interlocutor the idea that there's more to what one is saying than meets the eye - or rather ear. The first two, NUDGENUDGE and WINKWINK immediately called to mind the Monty Python sketch, of course. The other two were HINTHINT and COUGHCOUGH. Funny that all four ways to indicate a double meaning involve doubled words.
Aptly, on a Monday, some fill was "see and spell" like "Front's opposite" (BACK), "Beech or birch" (TREE), "Acorn producers" (OAKS), "Open-air lobbies" (ATRIA), and "Painter, Degas" (EDGAR), but several others left room for rumination, like "Long, cylindrical instrument" for OBOE, the response to the Little Red Hen, which had to be excavated from the memory archives (NOTI), the multivalent clue "Worked" which turned out to be TOILED, and the unexpected ENSHROUD for "Cover completely".
Doing the puzzle under less than ideal conditions while on the road this morning, my solve time blew up from just under six minutes to over seven while I searched for a FWOE. I eventually discovered that my entry of NOVAe for "Exploding stars" should have been NOVAS instead.
Interesting fill included TOUSLE, GIGANTIC, SWATH, and BEATTHEHEAT. ENIGMA is always fun.
I'll take my cue from the Python skit here and say no more. :)
~Frannie.
Nice outro.
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