Even though this is only Monday, I didn't COAST to victory. I had some trouble - not PANIC-level but not IDEAL - in a couple of places. I didn't know PADMA ("Culinary personality Lakshmi"), HBO ("Network for 'Succession' and 'The Wire'"), or SCAR ("'The Lion King' villain") right off the bat, but the crosses were good, and there were many answers, such as ABBA, LUMET, EEL, and an easy one in my native language, Latin, (AMAT) that helped this OLDIE complete the grid. :)
A fun puzzle despite being filled with ICK - and I mean that in a letter-al way, not a repulsed way. The solver who GETSTHEICK has an easy time completing four the theme answers, including the perhaps dated-but-popular CHICKFLICK, the sturdy BRICKBYBRICK, the catchy-but-possibly-rarely-enforced CLICKITORTICKET mandate, and the classic PICKUPSTICKS game. Overall, slick, without too much gimmick. The opposite, perhaps, of this review. :/
Fill-wise, I enjoyed GALORE, FOBS, BELAY, and MOPTOP. I felt lucky to be aware of the theme revealer thanks to seeing the show "Nobody Wants This," which Horace and I watched on a whim in the winter. As it turns out, keeping up with current cinema, TV, and news is a good way to maintain cultural knowledge that helps solve crossword puzzles. A good grasp of geography doesn't hurt, either. You're welcome. Come back here soon for more hot tips on puzzle solving: ITSLIT.
~Frannie.
GETSTHEICK is a new one on me. And I'm not convinced, Frannie, that you're quite old enough to have Latin as a native language. Since MOPTOP generally refers to the Beatles' hairstyles, I suppose that people who know that term are close seconds to Latin native-speakers in age, as are people familiar with John OATES. ABBA had a second wind thanks, in part, to "Mamma Mia," so I won't include them in the list. I'm always happy with an AMENITYKIT; we recently stayed at a place that skipped the need to ask at the front desk, and just provided a toothbrush and two small packages of toothpaste that yielded a total of eight brush events. We didn't forget our supplies, but we're cheap enough to always use what's offered.
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