Mon., 3/9 Carol Hacker

[magus]

THEME:   last word of phrase means incline
   
GOOD ONES:     
none   
   
BTW:   
Margarita condiment…   SAL [what's wrong with "My Gal ___" or "___ the Barber Maglie" or "___ Mineo" or "Dali, to his friends?"  --- instead we get a Spanish word not used in our language]   
   
Bueno's opposite   MALO [if I remember Spanish class, MALO means evil, not bad in the sense of a kind of headache or enchilada; so it's opposite would be good in a moral sense --- in any event, it's not English]   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

For the clue for MALO, Hacker could have said "Suavecito band, 1972." Then the answer would have been the name of a Latin-rock group from San Francisco instead of a Spanish word...although the band's name is the Spanish word.

"Christmas quaff" was NOG. I've seen NOG in quite a few puzzles but I have never heard anyone refer to the beverage as simply "nog" instead of "egg nog." Come to think of it, I've never heard anyone use the word "quaff" either!

[magus]

Our reading and writing vocabularies are far greater from our speaking vocabulary, so it's not unusual to read quaff but not hear it spoken. 

[Thomps2525]

Twice I've compiled lists of the most commonly-used words in crosswords. It might be fun to make a list of all the words that we see in puzzles but seldom hear spoken. Along with QUAFF, we can include ASEA and AROAR.....and when was the last time we heard someone holler "Egad" or "Yipes" or say that he "eked by"?

[magus]

when was the last time we heard someone holler "Egad" or "Yipes" or say that he "eked by"?

You're not paying attention, Rewind.

[Thomps2525]

'Sblood, Squire Magus, dost thou regard me as a knave or a varlet? Forsooth, I am well aware that we ofttimes use words in quotidian correspondence which we fain would seldom use in speech. By my troth, I shall verily strive to compile a list of the multitudinous appearances of the many words that oft appear in crosswords but are almost ne'er spoken aloud. I shall forthwith begin with EKE, IRK, ASEA, AROAR, QUAFF and CELEB. Thou mayest feel free to proffer suggestions. (Clean suggestions. )