Sat., 3/14 Gail Grabowski

[magus]

THEME:   none, but only 28 blocks   
      
GOOD ONES:       
No-brainer?   IDIOT      
Pack leader?   SIX [and his more famous brother, Two-pack Shakur]      
Passing legislation?   ESTATE LAW      
Swap magazines   RELOAD [I thought publications until the correct meaning just shot into my head]      
It's not a complex number   BALLAD [I thought mathematics until the right note struck me]      
      
BTW:      
EL-HI is not used, except in X-words.  In the real world it's K-12 (which sounds like a spot remover).      
      
ALORS      Nous ne parlons pas français ici   
      
      
RATING: {despite my prejudice for themed puzzles}      
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun      

[Thomps2525]

"Two-pack Shakur." It's nice to know that I'm not the only one here who can make bad puns.

I, too, object to the word ELHI, although it does appear in most dictionaries. Merriam-Webster defines it as "informal Of, relating to, or intended for use in grades 1 to 12." Grey House Publishing has a catalog listing more than 190,000 textbooks. It's called EL-HI TEXTBOOKS & SERIALS IN PRINT 2015 and I assume the title is in capital letters because, when written with small letters, the second letter of "El-Hi" could easily be mistaken for a capital I.

http://www.greyhouse.com/bowk_elhi.htm

It was nice to see a reference to the 1938 Laurel & Hardy film Block-Heads as the clue to STANLAUREL. Unaware that the World War was over, soldier Stan had been guarding his post for 20 years. After he shot at a passing airplane and wound up finally being brought back home, his story appeared in the newspaper. Ollie saw the story and went to the Veterans Home, where..... Oh, the movie has to be seen, not merely described. A colorized Block-Heads is on good ol' YouTube. "Why didn't you tell me you had two legs?" "You didn't ask me. I've always had 'em."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd4QeD-6S5k

 

 

[Thomps2525]

The clue: "Player in eight Super Bowls."
The answer: PATRIOT.
My complaint: The clue gives the impression that one Patriots player has participated in all eight of the team's Super Bowl games. A better clue would be "nation's loyalist" or "Mel Gibson movie character."

[magus]

The clue: "Player in eight Super Bowls."
The answer: PATRIOT.
My complaint: The clue gives the impression that one Patriots player has participated in all eight of the team's Super

The point is to misdirect yet still be correct; thus, while one first thinks a certain player (8 Super Bowls!!??), the answer is generic in that "a Patriot has in fact appeared in 8 Super Bowls.

[Thomps2525]

Yes, the clue is deceiving...but a Patriot has appeared in eight Super Bowls, even though no one Patriot appeared in all eight. If generic answers can be considered correct, then I can legitimately say that a President has led the United States of America since 1789.