Fri., 8/15 Jeffrey Wechsler

[magus]

THEME:   ID interruption
   
GOOD ONES:     
Bouncer's demand {& theme}   LETS SEE SOME ID   
Cause of brittle cigars?   DRY HUMIDOR [dry humor]   
Tolerate a Midwest capital?   ABIDE LINCOLN [Abe Lincoln]   
Classic beginning or ending?   HARD C [getting good at these, finally]   
Artistic surroundings   FRAMES   
Red head   LENIN [two words]   
Camp sight   COT [two words & homonym]   
7Up's opposite? and 7Up, e.g.   COLA and SODA  [7Up was the "Uncola" in ads; hence, "opposite"]   
   
BTW:   
quote from Housman   YON [really, an arcane line from a largely unread poet?  I'd go with "Hither and ___."]   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

Classic beginning or ending?  HARD C

I've noticed an increasing number of puzzles using HARD C or HARD G as an answer. Do puzzle makers crib from each other? It seems that every time someone comes up with a new "fill word," it won't be long before the word starts appearing in other puzzles.

[magus]

We learn from each other.  Don't suppose we'd have puzzles otherwise.

[Thomps2525]

"We learn from each other." That's a polite way to say we plagiarize.

Lately I've seen several other unusual words in puzzles. Two that I thought were particularly odd were UMYES for "hesitant agreement" and EAPOE for "author of Gothic short stories, for short." I guess if puzzle makers can't find any better words, they have to settle for non-words but make them sound legitimate by using an apt clue. Um...yes, I really believe that.