DLKDMV
Fairfax County, Virginia
I always thought that the expression "But will it play in PEORIA?" meant whether the performance would appeal to or be understood by a stereotypically bland, unsophisticated, white bread, conservative, Midwestern, middle-American demographic. If the PEORIA audience was "tough", this meant that no one in the audience understood or appreciated humor or references more familiar to big city dwellers on the East Coast. Perhaps I'm wrong about this--it wouldn't be the first time.
Because I don't play video games, I have never encountered WARIO. MARIO, which I do encounter in crosswords, seemed just as likely as a cross with MARSONG, which I mistakenly assumed was crosswordese for "martial song". I never thought of or sang the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as a war song, but, of course, it is.
@Andrzej I'm a native speaker and I fell for the same trap. For some reason my mind on this Monday morning was not programmed to see plurals. In my defense, I thought "applet" might make sense, if only because we've been conditioned to see so many crazy, questionable, or corny crossword answers that it somehow seemed plausible, a "little apple" no less.
One nit. In naval parlance, at least, a submarine (SUB) is referred to as a boat, not a ship.
@Nancy I agree. I know this will sound snobbish, but in the last few years NYT crossword arcana have become increasingly middle-to-lowbrow and even crass. I'll continue to live with broken streaks rather than play video games or binge watch TV.
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