Sun., 8/2 C.C. Burnikel

[magus]

THEME:   phrases suggesting squareness
   
GOOD ONES:     
title: All Square   
Washington or Ford   ACTOR [Denzel & Harrison come to mind]   
Where most people get into hot water   BATHTUB   
Its mascot uses fowl language  AFLAC [I know, but groaners tickle me]   
Seasoned salts   TARS [sailors, not condiments]   
Holey pursuit?  GOLF [for some it's also holy]   
   
BTW:   
ESA is not used in English   
   
How some games are won, briefly   IN OT [the way I see it, that's when they're won]   
   
Quick squirt   SPRITZ [probably used only by those exposed to Yiddish --- most use spray even though it does not suggest a burst --- but I like it probably because I was exposed to a little Yiddish as a boy in the NYC projects]
   
3, 4, and 5   PARS [clue seems too vague --- needs "at times"]   
   
   
RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[Thomps2525]

Merl Reagle has several friends with the same first name and one of them is in the hospital this week. She likes to solve crossword puzzles so he created one just for her. The title is "First-Name Basis." Among the theme answers:

AMYGDALA
AMYLNITRATE
RALPHBELLAMY
IAMYOURFATHER
ITSAMYSTERYTOME
STEAMYWINDOWS
BRIGHAMYOUNG

See the name?

"Tube top honors" was a very clever clue for EMMYS. I initially wondered what type of honor would go to tube tops but I then realized that the clue refers to the top honors given to programs on the "tube."

The answer for "Sleep like ___" was ALOG. Being fairly certain that logs do not sleep, I consulted The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:

Sleep like a log. Also, sleep like a top. Sleep very soundly, as in "I slept like a log" or "She said she slept like a top." Both of these similes transfer the immobility of an object to that of a person who is sound asleep (since a top spinning quickly looks immobile). The first dates from the late 1600s; the variant is newer.