Hello! As a solver who's only ever dreamed of trying his hand at crossword creation, I'm always so impressed at the seemingly inexhaustible list of inventive themes that the setting community comes up with. That said, today's theme particularly tickled me with its cleverness, bringing together four theme answers..
- BADAPPLES ("Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor")
- SPOILEDBRATS ("Nightmares for nannies")
- ROTTENTOMATOES ("Movie review site with a percentage rating scale")
- FUNKYCHICKEN ("Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping")
...and ties them together with "Heading the wrong way..." (OFFCOURSE). Of course - delightful! I particularly loved SPOILEDBRATS, which requires a second look before even being food-related, and FUNKYCHICKEN, which in its common sense uses FUNKY in a whole other way. This is quality stuff. My only nit might be, I don't think the revealer clue needed to say "interpreted culinarily" - it slightly diluted the "aha" experience, I thought.
Random other notes .. Shrek's beloved FIONA brings back fond memories... I loved REN and Stimpy in my (relative) youth... ALA mode, literally "in the fashionable style", is pretty much synonymous nowadays with "with a scoop of ice cream on top". I frown on this practice. My family teases me for it, but I find it makes my desserts soggy...
Favourite non-theme clue is the excellent "Slice of Life or nick of Time" (PAPERCUT)... In"Supportive advocate, as for L.G.B.T.Q. rights" (ALLY), surely the qualifier in the clue is a bit gratuitous? ... I've always wondered about the origins of DOXing, one of the many wonderful things made possible by social media. Looking it up - turns out it's just a neologism based on "docs". Ho hum.
That's it for me. Nice work Gus and Bharati! "See" ya tmrw..
-philbo
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