– There were so many other bonus entries too that made the puzzle feel modern and extra fun, including CHIA OBAMA, LABOR OF LOVE, AND THEN, PARTY POOPER, HOTPOT, and TEMPT FATE. – 39D: ANECDATA – What a fun debut entry! – 1A: NEON – What a fantastic clue and a great way to start the puzzle!

I also really enjoyed how smooth this puzzle felt! It was a quick solve for me for sure – the bottom half felt a bit tougher than the top half, but it was quite the motivating Sunday puzzle to work through. Clever! I really enjoyed these reimaginings and the consistency with which the theme was executed. It took me an extra beat to figure out the first one, but I think that to bus (act as a waiter) is to clear things (like crystal) from a table. (Make) pretty, like a picture = Photoshop.

I think the easiest way to describe it is to replace “as” in each of the similes with “, like” and consider the first word in each simile as a verb. This was a fun theme that I’m having a tough time putting into words.

Jack hamm golf clu s