Happy Monday morning, and happy birthday to my wonderful wife, Hope. Possibly 66A is a birthday shout-out!
Today's puzzle is a straightforward one: four phrases which end with words that also describe roles on the baseball field. There's no revealer to tie things together, but that's okay. The concept is clear enough that no extra step is needed to make the theme comprehensible. All four phrases are solid as well, including the full name of NATHANFIELDER. If you've never watched his shows, he is a deeply odd comedian who is willing to take his jokes to a place of meaningfully stressful discomfort. I'm not sure how much I enjoy it, but he is committed to his concepts.
Some good entries in the fill, including ITSADRYHEAT. I also liked HOTTAKES and NIRVANA.
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| ARIANA Grande in the upcoming Wicked |
The clue for 34D: 2, 4, 6, 8, how do these numbers relate? (EVENS) is so close to working, but doesn't quite. The problem is in the scanning of the second half. It only has three feet, and needs four. And, they're dactyls rather than trochees. Perhaps "How do these four correlate?" What do you think?
Otherwise, nothing much to report in the grid. It's a good example of a Monday level puzzle, and it sped by for me.
- Colum
Happy Birthday, Mrs. Colum!
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the puzzle clue and your alternative, Mr. Colum (which I agree is an improvement meter-wise) is they both clue EVENLY...not EVENS. EVENS is either a verb, or a plural noun...the latter an archaic form of "ends of days."
I'm glad the party went off well, despite all the challenges!
Hmmmmm... "What are these four numbers' state?"
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