Erik

@Barry Ancona Thanks for clarifying. I wasn't clear what original denoted in this context.

@Phil Sorry for the pedantry, but it's jibe, not jive. That said, I share your sentiment.

@Lewis Great choices. Do you mind if I ask how you distinguish between favorites and encore clues? Are the latter akin to honorable mentions?

@Francis I finished the puzzle; it was a Shark Tank reference said in jest. Nor am I from Texas or particularly fond of it (certainly not its Draconian policies). I came to earn my English PhD. That said, that's a fairly broad brush you're painting with. I'm not sure how much geographic correlation exists with puzzle-type affinity.

@Patrick J. I understand and agree that potential is also a noun, but there isn't a context where it can replace "possibility" in noun form. For example, "That's one possibility =/= That's one potential." Similarly, "He has great potential =/= He has great possibility." They aren't interchangeable as nouns.

@Steve L Thank you for the apt rebuttal. I had a hard time finding a context where both fit.

@Jon Onstot He had the possibility to be a great athlete?Steve's suggestion seems a bit more congruous.

@Michael Prefacing a pun with "no pun intended" suggests the contrary.

@B I agree, but in that case, wouldn't it make more sense if it were said after the pun instead of before?

@Francis Thanks. I defended last month. Just can't get my house to sell so I can at last escape this infernal wasteland.