Spoiler alert: Groundhogs probably pay no attention to their shadows and, regardless, the activities of groundhogs have absolutely no effect on weather patterns. With that in mind, I enjoyed seeing a crossword that included GROUNDHOGDAY, PUNKSUTAWNEY, PHIL, SHADOW, WINTER and SIXMOREWEEKS.
However, the crossword had 42 black squares---too many!---plus another set of Roman numerals and several overused Crosswordese words (AGE, ANTE, ERE, ESS, EYE, OLIO, URN). It also included SNOOKUMS, a nickname which is pretty much obsolete. In the 13th century, a "snoc" was a promontory. The word evolved into "snook" and somehow came to refer to the gesture of thumbing one's nose. In 19th-century Great Britain, "Snooks" began to be used in reference to an unknown person, the way "John Doe" is used in the United States. In 1904, George McManus created a comic strip called The Newlyweds which featured a baby named Snookums. (McManus would later create Bringing Up Father which featured Maggie & Jiggs.) In the 1940s, radio performer Fanny Brice played a character named Baby Snooks. SNOOKUMS may have been a cute word a hundred years ago but it does not belong in a crossword in 2015. That's my opinion and you can have it.
