Mon., 10/27 Jeffrey Wechsler

[magus]

THEME:   first words of four phrases begin with ONE through FOUR, respectively
   
BTW:   
ETES is not a word in our language   
   
RATING:    
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

I always admire anyone who can include several 15-letter phrases in a puzzle. I remember one crossword that contained nine 15-letter phrases: three at the top, three in the center and three at the bottom. I can never understand how anyone can find so many 15-letter phrases that can be stacked in such a way as to allow for 15 intersecting vertical words.

Such puzzles, unfortunately, tend to include a higher number of overused Crosswordese words. Today's included ACED, ADD, ATM, ECRU, EDAM, ETA, ETES, ICE, IRS, LCD, PAL, REF, SEE and SST. Oh yeah---SST. This is the sixth L.A. Times puzzle this month to include SST. This time the clue was "Former Air France jet, briefly."