The air blows through five homophonic variations in the Tuesday, July 8 puzzle (answers) by Andrea Carla Michaels. Ms. Michaels is an early-week specialist and this one is polished and smooth.
Who is your favorite politician to despise? No matter who you choose, it's unlikely she or he is worse than the late Mobutu Sese Seko whose middle name appears again today. He was President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years and nearly ran the country into the ground. That's him on the 20,000 Zaire note.
GOITER makes its NYT debut today. If you find your neck starting to swell in a disgusting way, make sure you're getting enough iodine. It would be the yuckiest answer in the puzzle if Mr. Seko wasn't there.
Two basketball answers intersect today on the letter J but they refer to different personages. AIR JORDAN is a Nike sneaker endorsed by Michael Jordan who mostly played for the Chicago Bulls. DR. J. refers to Julius Winfield Erving II who played professionally for the Virginia Squires (yes!), the New York Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers. If you're keeping score, Mr. Erving scored 30,026 points and Mr. Jordan managed 32,292. Those high numbers sure put a so-called star like Pele in his place! And speaking of high, HONALEE makes its first appearance in nearly a decade. QUI vive is French for "who goes there" so if you're on the qui vive you're alert and watchful, just the opposite of those magic dragon puffers.
Update: Orange today includes this link to show that while Puff may have been later usurped as a pothead anthem, it's original intention was innocent. I had always assumed that but it's nice to see the story explained.
