My time: 5:32, two minutes faster than average.
Theme: not quite apt anagrams, these are "apt phrases" clued with the letters of the phrases, but without repeats, rearranged into a definition of sorts. So, for example, "just the letters of US Capitol" are used to make the phrase POLITICS AS USUAL. And the letters "unearths" can be rearranged and used multiple times to spell out TREASURE HUNTER.
It's a clever enough word trick. It didn't help me much because on a Tuesday I don't take the time to sit and think about what letters are used in a clue, but if someone was stuck it could definitely help to know the letters had to be from a certain set.
In the fill, I liked how "grade upgrade" was PLUS and "grade downgrade" was MINUS. Having put KISS for "Hershey's foiled confection" at the top I really wanted kiss to be the answer at the bottom clue "sleep disruptor in a fairy tale" (PEA), but I guess that would break some rule about not repeating words.
This year is year of the RAT and last year was year of the PIG. Next year will be the year of the OX. Know your Chinese zodiac!
I couldn't tell you right off the bat that Beyoncé voiced NALA in the Lion King remake, but it's a fairly easy thing to guess.
New to me is children's TV series "ESME & Roy." It's about two friends who babysit monsters in a town called Monsterdale.
FedEx alternative DHL appears often but I always have a hard time with it.
Disney queen ELSA's realm being Arendelle came up on April 19, 2018.
Clever clues: "Things you might open with a click" is PENS. "Safe space?" is BANK.
This was an okay Tuesday, but I thought the theme, while clever, was sort of detached from the puzzle. It showcases a fun fact about a phrase — its letters can be anagrammed into a definition of itself! — but there isn't any cohesion within the puzzle itself. I didn't dislike it, it just left me wanting a little bit more, a piece that would put it all together.
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