Sun., 2/1 Gail Grabowski

[magus]

THEME:   one letter of a phrase is changed to U
   
GOOD ONES:     
Flea?   DOGGIE BUG [doggie bag]   
Prospector's close attachment to his helper?   MULE BONDING [male bonding]   
Reservation for an upper berth?   BUNK DEPOSIT [bank deposit]   
Corkers?   IRISH [I thought comedians, not those from Cork]   
Blood line   VEIN   
Follower of directions?   ERN [as in western or northern]   
First name in architecture   EERO [both ways]   
Confirmation, e.g.   RITE   
Cell user   PRISONER   
Subway selection   ONION [I thought trains, but BMT was too short]   
Where to find stories on Friday?   DRAGNET [TV's Joe Friday]   
Fresh bean sprout?   IDEA [bean = head]   
Driving need?   TEE   
Pitchers may hold them   ICED TEAS [I thought baseballs]   
Season opener?   ESS   
   
BTW:   
I believe this puzzle has set the all-time record for clever entries.   
   
My newspaper had the title "You Must be Joking," but I wonder if it was supposed to be "U Must be Joking."   
   
Dull thing to be in   A RUT [used to be forbidden to use the indefinite article in an answer that didn't need it]   
   
1970 Poitier title role   TIBBS ["They call me Mister Tibbs!"]   
   
ELHI in the real world is "K-12," which I guess sounds like a spot remover.  Elhi sounds like a biblical name.   
   
Is down with   HAS [as in "has the flu"; hipsters might use it to mean "has no objection"]   
   
Macbeth's burial site   IONA [the real MacBeth died there; I believe Shakespeare's Macbeth died at Scone at Malcom's hand]   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

Yes indeedy, that puzzle had a lot of clever entries. A lot of clever clues, too. "Where to find stories on Friday"---brilliant!

I agree that the title should have been "U Must Be Joking." The title of Merl Reagle's puzzle in today's Los Angeles Times should have been something else entirely. The theme answers were phrases with rhyming words: MADEINTHESHADE, SHOPTILLYOUDROP, FOURONTHEFLOOR, ANTSINYOURPANTS, ROCKAROUNDTHECLOCK, CRUISINFORABRUISIN, NERVOUSFROMTHESERVICE and HOSTESSWITHTHEMOSTEST. The title, "Four Little Words," doesn't make sense. Each answer contains four words but not all of the words are little. "Rhyme Time" sounds dumb but it still would have been a more appropriate title. Does anyone have a better suggestion?

And how about three-letter words? The puzzle included ten of the most overused Crosswordese words: ACT, APE, ARE, EAT, EEL, ERE, ESP, OLE, SEE and SPA.