LAT Tue. 1/5 Donna S. Levin

[magus]

 
Superman's make-up   STEEL ["the man of steel"]
 
There seems to be a relatively large number of decades old references today that I'd be hard-pressed to find in current parlance:
The Big One: Abbr.   WWII
Texas ___: oil   TEA
Lyrical lament of lost love    TORCHSONG
Telegram    WIRE
Lay a wet one on   SMOOCH [catching up to bus]
Two score    FORTY
Like a wet blanket, so to speak    NOFUN
Garbo, by birth    SWEDE
However; there a number of more contemporary entries like: Hip-hop headgear for DORAG, and Racing legend Earnhardt for DALE; and Xbox 360 competitor for WII.
 
In case you missed it, the theme today involves bright expressions: LIGHT, TORCH, SUN, and CANDLE.
 
Not sure why "Marital partner, perhaps" for WIFE is not simply "Marital partner."  It's either four letters for wife or mate.  Am I missing something?  With "perhaps" we could see "LOVE" or  "PAIN" ...

 

[RickNovy]

I suspect that wife is perhapsed because women don't generally have one.

[magus]

Hi, Rick---

Women don't have one what?

[SJS]

...a wife.

They tend to have a husband.

[magus]

Yes, I see.  Most interesting, indeed! 

However, not to be mulish, why was the word "perhaps" included in the clue "Marital partner" when the answer is WIFE --- nothing special or clever about it?

If for example the clue were "Seltzer, perhaps" and the answer were DRINK.  Is the "perhaps" offered because the answer could conceivably be something else, maybe WINE SPILL CLEANER?  In other words, the word "perhaps" suggests WINE SPILL CLEANER, not the ordinary DRINK.  If the answer is simply DRINK, there's no ned for "perhaps."

Rick, I didn't mean to drive you and everyone else as crazy as I seem to be.