The Wednesday Jan 9 puzzle by John Farmer includes the answer word OLEO. Not too surprising. It's the 138th time since late 1996. The letters are way too convenient. I forgive constructors for traveling well-worm routes, but only if they give good clue. John (or Will, we'll never know) met my bar.
My favorite is way back in 1996 when Fred Piscop clued it "Pat on the buns". John Farmer's "Sub in a tub" is nearly as good. Technically I should whine because sub means substitute and the abbreviation should be indicated with a period, but it's clever enough that I'll let that pass. The clue's not original but it's been nearly ten years so it's time to spread it around again.
The puzzle takes advantage of elegantly symmetrical circled boxes whose meaning isn't revealed until the last clue in the bottom right. It unravels quickly but it's still fun. That gives me a great excuse to point out the new circle graphics. Aren't they pretty? Robin probably doesn't want me mentioning her name because she finds the rest of the site artistically, uh, dreadful, but that lovely contribution is hers. And really, now. You can't even tell that xwordinfo.com was designed by a geek, right? Don't answer that.
