I admit it, I prefer themeless puzzles. Sure, sometimes there's a really clever idea, and sometimes those clever ideas are well done, but there's nothing quite so enjoyable than working through a themeless. Clues like "Tales are related about them," that seem so opaque, suddenly bring a smile when enough crosses allow you to see CAMPFIRES. Or "What might come with a twist or two," which gets you thinking about cocktails, but really refers to BALLOONANIMALS. And then there are clues like "Colonial group" are old standbys, but still maybe take the beginning A to remind you that they want ANTS.
And then there are the answers like "You're warm" where you know what they mean, but you're not sure if it's going to be GETTINGnearER or GETTINGCLOSER.
It's always nice to get an OGDEN Nash quote "The cow is of the bovine ilk; / One end is moo, the other, milk." I think the first Nash I can remember learning, back when I was under ten, was "If called by a panther / Don't anther." Which I see now comes from a slightly longer poem:
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