Ahoy mateys! Today's crossword brings a bit of a nautical theme to the party. Six clues - two across and four down - are italicized - and they clearly have something seaborne in common, each referring to something to with boats, or the water on which they float. The Across answers were straightforward enough:
- "Unsecured artillery that can slide across the deck" : LOOSECANNON
- "Equatorial ocean area notorious for lack of winds" : THEDOLDRUMS
These are easily recognizable as non-nautical idioms. Much less straightforward are the Down answers:
- "Stand barefoot in formation along seams of deck planks" : TOETHELINE
- "Drift with the natural flow of currents" : TIDEOVER
- "Bosun's whistled call signaling a shift change" : PIPEDOWN
- "Flattened against the masts in a changing wind" : TAKENABACK
Neat! I didn't know the seafaring origins of any of these. Love it when I come out of the other end of a crossword having learned something! Incidentally, there is a revealer, dead centre in the grid : "Completely lost..." (ATSEA), identifying the literal origins of all these idioms. I think we could almost get away without it. What do you think?
What else did I make a note of... A couple of clever QMCs: "Worker who's behind the Times?" (EDITOR), and my favourite today for its cheekiness: "Character in Monsters, Inc." (COMMA). I liked the inventive cluing for OHIO ("Its three largest cities all have names starting with C")..
Since when is a bug's ear CUTE? Do bugs even have ears? I think they have, like, sensors on their appendages or something. And the hoary old standby EKED makes another guest appearance today..
On to Thursday!
-philbo
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