Sun., 3/1 Pam Amick Klawitter

[magus]

THEME:   common phrases redefined
   
GOOD ONES:     
"Edison was born in 1847…"   LIFE SENTENCE   
"Heart, liver, kidneys…"   ORGAN RECITAL   
"I survived boot camp!"   PRIVATE MESSAGE   
"Do you know how to copy this disk?"   BURNING QUESTION [copying in computerese is BURNING]   
Ring bearer, often   SPOUSE [I thought at weddings: best man, daughter]   
Word from a pro   YEA [I thought professional, not voter]   
They're deliberately broken so they can be fixed   EGGS [fixed = prepared]   
Start to foam?   STYRO   
Words before many words   IN SO MANY words   
Bk. reviewers?   CPAS [I thought literary, not financial]   
   
BTW:   
Econ. yardstick   GNP [not any longer; GDP is thought more accurate]   
Oft-swiped item   ID CARD [ID cards are not credit cards and are not often swiped, either way you look at it.  We use driver's licencenses to identify ourselves because of the picture.]   
FDR and JFK   INITS [and the initials of our best presidents since TR, IMHO]   
Texting shrug  IDK [come on, that's a stretch, IMHO]   
Diez squared  CIEN [come on, that's too foreign]   
Aggravates   VEXES [aggravates = worsens; irritates = annoys=VEXES]   
Chip source   POTATO [of course, but I thought computers --- man, I've been trained]   
Muppet monkey Minella   SAL [didn't know he was a Muppet, but I think Sal played third base on my Little League team]     
   
   
RATING:    
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[rbe]

In some workplaces, an ID CARD is swiped to gain entrance.

[Thomps2525]

Every loyal Muppets fan knows that Sal Minella is a hot-tempered monkey who acts as bodyguard for Johnny Fiama, an Italian-American singer patterned after Frank Sinatra. And where did Johnny Fiama's name come from? The first name came from  Sinatra-like character Johnny Fontane in The Godfather and the last name is an anagram of "mafia."

[Thomps2525]

Merl Reagle's puzzle in today's Los Angeles Times is titled "You Can Say That Again." Merl Reagle's puzzle in today's Los Angeles Times is titled "You Can Say That Again." (See what I did there?) Each theme answer is a common phrase but with a different pronunciation of one of the words. Examples:

Sonogram? BABYSHOWER
Play a violin without rosin, perhaps? BOWANDSCRAPE
How They Get Graphite Into Pencils? THELEADSTORY
Evidence of my state of mind as I file my tax return? TEARSONTHEDOTTEDLINE

Yeah, yeah, lead is not the same as graphite, Anyway, today's crossword had a clever theme and it was fun to solve.

[magus]

Yes, RBE, I know sometimes ID cards are swiped, but I wrote not often.  I know you've caught me before, but this time you'll simply have to forgo your usual gotcha credit.