Muzak or "elevator music" removes all tension from music rendering it a virtual non-entity. I suppose it is done on purpose, though what that purpose is is not entirely clear. And I suppose this puzzle (and yesterday's) is the same: it's here, but hardly noticeable.
Hardly noticeable. There was "Fake drake" for DECOY, and that was a plus --- the only one. But there was:
AVEC
"Da" and NYET
SCHLEPS
TIO
OLES
"Cinco y tres" for OCHO
This puzzle had a French word, two Russian words, a Yiddish word, and five Spanish words. I'm not sure why, and while I'm no xenophobe, I think Xwords, with an ocassional exception, should be done in English. (OLLA, LOUPE, and PER SE are English words --- with a decided foreign caste.)
