Tue., 12/16 Jerry Edelstein

[magus]

THEME:   last word of a phrase is a type of light
   
GOOD ONES:    
Understand {& theme}   SEE THE LIGHT   
   
   
RATING:    
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

This was a very impressive crossword. A lot of puzzles include phrases that begin or end with a word that fits the theme but today's puzzle included four two-word phrases---FLASHFLOOD, GASSTOP, GREENSTREET, STARSEARCH---and LIGHT could be appended to each of the eight words. And yes, I know GREENSTREET is an actor's last name but I think it still counts as a two-word phrase---especially for anyone who lives on a Green Street somewhere.

Forty black squares meant there were a lot of three- and four-letter words, and that meant that there were a lot of the usual Crosswordese words: ADO, AGE, ALEE, AOL, APE, EAT, IOTA, OGRE, TEE, USES.....and ESS, clued with "Superman's symbol." The correct answer is "S," not "ESS." Many puzzles include CEE, DEE, ESS, or VEE. Who ever decided to turn certain letters into three-letter words? I'm guessing a crossword creator came up with the idea. Does anyone know for certain? I'm sending out an ESS-O-ESS.

[magus]

You're right about each word modifying light.  Still, the puzzle was flat and not much fun to solve.

As for CEE and DEE, etc., these are the correct spellings of letters of the alphabet.  Check the OED for the date of entry into the lexicon.

[Thomps2525]

"Cee" and "Dee" might be legitimate spellings...but why do certain letters even have such spellings? Why isn't "C" simply spelled "C"? Why isn't "D" simply spelled "D"? Each letter spells itself, without the e's being added. And when I ask why, I mean "W-H-Y," not "Double-yoo-aitch-wye."