Friday, June 5, 2026, Kelly Morenus

I could blame it on any number of things – a slightly drugged state, lack of sleep, jet lag, or the fact that I’d just landed in Rome – but one thing is for sure, I had a tough time with today’s puzzle. I looked at clues at random (see drugged state above) and found none that I could drop right in and very few that I had a guess for. I’m not complaining – it is Friday after all – just describing the situation as I experienced it. About the third time through, and after a caffè ristretto, things began to look up.:)

Loyal readers of this blog know I don’t favor “quotation” clues and we have two grid-spanning whoppers almost right out of the gate (not to mention another one in the bottom half). I chipped away at the crossing Downs and finally made some enough headway so I could guess the answers. The S from EMTS forced me to consider SIS for “Gal pal” but, as something of a woman myself, and a sister several times over, I found that an odd clue/answer pair. Also, DIAPERS must have been upgraded some since I last changed ‘em. My only experience was with pins and tape, not snaps. And GRR for [Get away]” was odd, unless it was vocalized from the point of view of a dog, maybe? 

Anyhoo, here are a few of the clues that lead me down the garden path: “Lecture setting” (DAIS) - I had hall - “Round striker” (PEEN), “Something you could see right through” (IRIS), Not so rich, so to speak” (LITE), "Fjji, e.g." (REDAPPLE), “Kind of figure” (PLANE), and “Summons” (HAILS). Also odd-to me was the clue “Destination” for AIM. Add all that to the variety of “fact” clues that I didn’t know (CAVA, the so-called Champagne of Spain, ROALD Hoffman, ANNA Arnold Hedgemen, etc.) and you have a recipe for disaster, at least until this reviewer GOOSES themselves up with some strong coffee. 

I did enjoy Where 22-Across is” (HERE). Heh. Also “Canal entry” (EAR) because ERIE. Ha. I thought the QMC “Coat on a tip?” POLISH was trixy.

I’ll close with a shout out to local Clover restaurants in the Boston/Cambridge area. Their last day was  going to be Thursday, May 28 due to financial difficulties, but we learned yesterday that due to an outpouring of support, they REOPENED this week. 

~Frannie