Wed., 10/22 Jerome Gunderson

[magus]

THEME:   last word of one phrase is WAR, the other PEACE
   
GOOD ONES:    
Epic novel {& theme}   WAR AND PEACE [and LEO TOLSTOY]   
Pique condition?   SNIT   
What's always in poetry?   EER   
Knight crew?   PIPS   
Camel's undoing   STRAW [it broke its back]   
Cigar butt?   ETTE   
   
BTW:   
Ones who no longer have class?   ALUMS [we don't think of someone with class as having lost it, so the clue might better be "Ones without class?"]   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

The answer to "Musical ineptitiude" is TINEAR. I can understand gold in the teeth and silver in the hair but I didn't know the origin of "tin ear." This is from the Everything2 website:

"The exact origin of the idiom is debatable. Merriam Webster gives 1935 as the date of first citation without giving a source. AWordADay simply stated that it was 'from the idea of metal being incapable of sensation,' but several readers wrote in to offer further ideas. One said that the use of tin particularly had a connotation of low value (as in tin-pot, tin-pot dictator, tin pan alley, tin god, or Tin Lizzie) compared to other metals---it's certainly less complimentary than heart of gold or silver tongue--- and said that the phrase had the additional meanings of 'slang for a disfigured ear, an eavesdropper, and a slow telegrapher.'  Another reader offered the idea that ear trumpets for the hard of hearing had once been made of steel plated with tin to prevent rusting."

More information is at http://everything2.com/title/tin+ear

[magus]

I cannot sing to save my soul, but I can hear the difference between the sound from Tommy Dorsey's trumpet and anyone else's.  Same for Stachmo's trumpet.  If I note is a hair off, it registers.  So for me and people like me, it's tin voice, not tin ear.