Christopher
Columbus, OH
This was thoroughly unpleasant. I filled in the revealer without even thinking, but even after finishing the puzzle I still had no idea what was going on. I had to read the explanation offered here twice -- once before and once after I went back to look at the grid. You have to mentally add the word "insurance" to both "dental" and "health" to torture those answers into thematic conformity. But you cannot even do THAT with "wellness," which of course is a broad concept. The puzzle title means nothing to me either, as I recall the existence of the show "Friends," but I can never remember if I'm thinking of that show or Melrose Place, which iirc isn't even the same genre. So a coffee shop? Get out of here. Now. This puzzle is what happens when you try to divide fun by zero.
No. No, no, no. I used simple pattern recognition/repetition to fill in the three theme answers, but didn't get the theme itself at all, even after I was done solving. Reading the explanation, I'm beyond exasperated. If tomor + row = tomorrow And sor + row = sorrow Then g + row = "gee-row" ... which I is just "gyro," mispronounced.
@Francis Explain to a native Turkish speaker like my spouse how to fill in "Turkish bigwig" (AGHA) or "Turkish inn" (IMARET), and then wait for the blank stare.
@Barry Ancona The puzzle was easy. I guessed the revealer from the clue, without any downs. Easy to fill and enjoyable to solve are two very different things.
@Christopher Astonishing to me how many people don't see the grave inconsistency with the theme answers. If there was a B row (brow) and a C row (crow) Then I'd accept a G row for grow.
@B Crazy (and more than a little sad) how even a crossword puzzle can be made political. Good lord.
@Nancy J. In that example, WELLNESS is a category of benefits, not a benefit. DAYCARE is a benefit, on its own, in the same way insurance is a benefit. A car allowance is a benefit. But just DENTAL? Adjective. Not a benefit. Besides, even if I capitulate on this, unless I'm missing the 4th dimension in this constructor's attempt at 4D chess, the only relationship between a character in the show and the crossing "benefit" is the coincidence of sharing a letter of the alphabet. Or was Monica a dental hygienist and Joey a travel agent?
@MP Rogers I said (caps added), "TRY to divide fun by zero." That fails, like the concept of this puzzle.
@Barry Ancona I misunderstood, obv. :) Hope you enjoyed it more than I did.
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