"If a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Of course it does, unless you want to engage in a sophomoric debate on what the meaning of "sound" is. But I digress. Today's theme is a sylvan one, with four Down answers beginning with the various constituents of a tree:
- ROOTSFOR - "Supports from the stands"
- LEAVESALONE - "Lets be"
- TRUNKSHOW - "Traveling fashion sale featuring the work of a specific designer" (this one was new to me)
- BARKCOLLARS - "Neckwear for noisy dogs"
Revealing the theme is "Common spots for eagles' nests" = TREETOPS. Being in the Down direction, the theme answers are indeed "topped" with tree-ish things. I like how each is clued with a different, tree-unrelated meaning. I also like the pluralization of ROOTS and LEAVES, which is natural in an arboreal context.
There were no real problem areas today, aside from the slight hiccup of MANY instead of MOST for "More than some". As a Led Zeppelin fan, I enjoyed "Whole LOTTA Love", while acknowledging that part of that song, and several others, were uncredited lifts (at least originally) from the Willie Dixon canon. BSCHOOL ("Wharton or Sloan, informally") and BEHAPPY ("Cheer up!") were amusingly stacked on top of each other. Mixed opinion on the QMCs today. "No-win situation?" (TIEGAME) was worthy; "Okay boomer?" (TNT) was meh. "What's needed to make bale?" (HAY) was both groan- and smile-worthy, so well done on that one!
Incidentally, a pair of bald eagles nested here in Toronto this spring, for the first time in memory, and they now have eaglets! As a bit of a birder, I would love to bear witness, but the city is being mum about where exactly the nest is to avoid undue harassment, and I respect that.
Away wi' me. "Talk" to you tomorrow!
-philbo
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