Sun., 2/15 Amy Johnson

[magus]

THEME:   Presidents' names found in non-presidential phrases --- or looking for presidents where they ain't
   
GOOD ONES:    
Presidential teams?   BUSH LEAGUE [I'd say that is politically a propos]   
Presidential resistance?   GRANT IMMUNITY   
Bigger fish to fry?   KEEPERS [not those too small to keep]   
Practice with dolls   VOODOO [I thought CPR, etc.]   
Fourth grade?   DEE   
   
BTW:   
Key of Beethoven's "Fur Elise"   A MINOR [she was a minor]   
   
"Writing on the wall" word   MENE [where did she find that one? … and crossed with the psychobabble EGO IDEAL]   
   
   
RATING:    
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

MENE is a Hebrew word and appears in Daniel 5:25 as part of an inscription on a wall: "Mene, mene, tekel upharsin." It means "Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided." Daniel interpreted the words as predicting the end of the Kingdom of Balshazzar.

If MENE was confusing, what do you think of METAS? That word appears in Merl Reagle's Los Angeles Times puzzle today. The clue is "Movies about movies, or puzzles within puzzles, in modern slang." Huh! That's a new one to me! Reagle also clued GLOBALWAR as "Tiff's opposite...in the extreme." Wouldn't the clue make more sense if it said "Tiff...in the extreme"? A tiff can escalate into a war but I fail to see how any kind of war can be the opposite of a tiff? And what exactly is the opposite of a tiff? I have no idea.

The title of Reagle's puzzle: "Funny Business." The theme answers are humorous business names found on the Internet. Reagle assumes that all of these really exist. Among them:

Bouquet shop's name? FLORISTGUMP
Fromage shop's name? CESTCHEESE
Coffee shop's name? BREWEDAWAKENING
Ambulatory equipment store's name? CANEANDABLE
Vintage record store's name? VINYLRESTINGPLACE
Antique store's name? JUNKANDDISORDERLY