Wed., 10/15 C.C. Burnikel

[magus]

THEME:   phrases containing PLAN spelled backwards
   
GOOD ONES:     
"Just in case" strategy {& theme}   BACK UP PLAN   
Take turns?   STEER   
Vulgar language?   LATIN [Vulgate]   
Malibu mover   GAS [Malibu the car not the West Coast furniture carrier]   
Bricks-and-mortar workers   MASONS [not salespeople]*   
Yard sale?   ALE ["a yard of ale"]   
Winter air   CAROL {she's not a "hoar"}     
Big brass   TUBA [not military personnel]   
   
BTW:   
* Never liked "bricks-and-mortar" when shop or store do fine.   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

Today's Los Angeles Times puzzle had 40 black squares. That's too many, all you crossword crafters. Stop it! No more than 36! Thirty-two or fewer is even better. One clue was "Storytelling nom de plume." The answer is SAKI. That one sent me to Wikipedia. Saki was the pen name of British short-story writer Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916). Biographers are not certain why Munro picked that name. It can refer to a South American monkey or to a cupbearer in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam.

Today's New York Times puzzle included four long phrases. The sentence formed by the last word of each phrase can be found on a TSHIRT. Those words formed "Been there, done that." What sense does that phrase make when it's printed on a t-shirt? Who has been where and done what? Am I supposed to ask the t-shirt wearer what it means?