Brenda Bronner
Jerusalem Israel
“Phonetical” reminds me of a concept I first came across in “Gödel Escher Bach,” the Pulitzer-prize winning book by Douglas Hofstadter. The word “short,” being short, is self-referential, while “long” is not. Is “phonetical” phonetical?
@Moira In both senses of the word, bias means a leaning. A biased person tilts to one side of an issue instead of being impartial. The confirmation words in the puzzle are leaning, tilting to one side, rather than being straight.
Hunched under the sink, the plumber then rose with aplomb. “That will be $900 for today.”
@Søren Thustrup It’s un cognac a l’orange, somewhat like pie a la mode, where we wouldn’t say “the pie a la mode.”
I did see a mini-theme in the puzzle: double or nothing—play, play, Barbie, doll, talc, rock, accelerate, dial it back.
@Jim The hint was “too,” meaning that there was someone else in the picture. “Not I” doesn’t reflect that aspect of the clue. “Nor I” alludes to the other person who is demurring.
@Nancy J. There are many variant spellings because they are all transliterated any which way from the Hebrew. Always an iffy endeavor. Note that the Greek expression mentioned in the wordplay isn’t palindromic when transliterated into English.
@Darren I hope that was a joke.
@Weak Before the icon turned into a little picture on a screen, it was a representation of a holy figure, often seen in houses of worship.
@Wendy I can’t leave this unanswered. Were there ever any hospitals in Gaza, or were they all covers for Hamas tunnels? Why did so many Gazans come to Israel every year for medical treatment (aided by the magnanimous kibbutzniks who were killed on October 7)?
@Grumpy Replace “be” with “is,” the present form of “be.” Is down in the dumps =mopes. Be down…=mope.
I once taught my teacher to say “even better “ instead of “even worse “ (meaning “what’s more “). It’s always good to see the sunny side (up). I’d rather be on the up and up than down in the dumps. So-bravo for a great puzzle.
@Thomas Bar graphs don’t always depict a function. For instance, population by state.
@Catherine Patterson See the clue for 1 across to discover where the “g” goes.
The clue for “selfie” reminds me of a conundrum that I may have come across in “Gödel Escher Bach.” Everyone in a certain town has his hair cut by the barber, except those who cut their own hair. Who cuts the barber’s hair? Don’t lose any sleep trying to figure it out.
@sotto voce Do I detect a hint to a Passover song? Not even sotto voce.
@Jeff Z I am so happy for you!
@Eric Hougland mondegreen
@Steve L It’s not obscure, features in the blessings given to a bride and groom, many times in psalms…
@OsteoSynth The clue was “in a trend line,” not “on.” For me, that means in the vicinity of. Happy solving.
@Michael I think it’s comic-ese for “yank,” meaning “pull.”
@Ben Glad that I wasn’t the only one thinking parcel carrier instead of aircraft carrier.
@Megan Never heard of that restaurant; ivs makes much more sense than ins for hookups.
@Andrzej I read it as a magic wand that casts a spell.
@Darren I don’t know you, but I probably like the version of you before you posted this comment. Cheer up.😀
@Francis Andrzej, if I understand you correctly, we shouldn’t be doing the puzzle at all; we should be helping the poor of the third world survive. Maybe you are right.
When the student was caught cheating on the exam, the proctor told her to give him her exam papers. “Do you know who I am?, she huffily asked. Upon his reply, “I don’t know and I don’t care,” she quickly stuffed her exam into the middle of the pile and left the room.
@Peter G. Cheer up, you’re not the only clot with the blot.
@John If you have a crush on someone, you moon over them.
@Andrzej I certainly didn’t mean to offend you. I was taking you seriously and applying your perspective to my own situation. Maybe I should be doing more for the world instead of playing word games!
@Mean Old Lady I think the reference to the best of all possible worlds is from Pangloss in Voltaire’s Candide.
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