Woansdei (Frisian Wednesday)

Count me among the esteeming masses who thoroughly enjoyed Richard Silvestri's NYT puzzle, even if there was no place for the fabulous duo of Sonny and Escher, or Escher's Farewell Tour. I liked the theme, yes (particularly ESCHEW THE FAT), but also the clues, which mixed it up a little more than the Monday/Tuesday clues.

In the Sun, Oscar week continues with "The African Academy Awards," by AJ Mass (new?). As you may recall, I have a weakness for geography-related wordplay, so I liked this one, too. CAMEROON DIAZ has been waiting in the wings for years for this theme to arise. There's one entry that was utterly new to me: the Hyundai AZERA is, apparently, a new car model. And I've always liked the word ORNERY, but why must so many people pronounce it "onnery"? Why? Just one of my mispronunciation pet peeves. Sherbert, nucular, onnery. Aagh!

Barbara Olson's LAT has a funky theme that I liked. And today's Ben Tausig puzzle, "Tee Time," has a fun theme, fun clues, and sparkling fill. My favorite clue was "The Chicago ___" (5). Plenty of obvious answers come to mind (but are wrong). "The point of a male?" and "whale Dick" go nicely together, too.
NYS 4:26
NYT 3:40
LAT 3:35
Tausig 3:34
CS 3:32
Newsday tba