My time: 6:37, three minutes faster than average.
We have an appropriate theme for this Inauguration Day, especially for a president who has pledged to unite the states (although the damage done by the orange guy may be irreparable, his people are so far removed from reality). It's THE UNITED STATES!
Basically, the four themed answers are phrases that include words related to being united: pairing, joint, melding, etc. But wait, there's more. The second word of each of these phrases is made up of two US postal codes. For example, in JOINT PAIN, pain is PA and IN, noted in the clue as "arthritis symptom [Altoona, South Bend]". Altoona is a city in Pennsylvania, and South Bend you'll find in Indiana.
MIND MELDING is "sharing thoughts like a Vulcan [Detroit, Fargo]," indicating the mind part of the clue is made up of MI (Michigan) and ND (North Dakota).
So you see, the states are being united, quite literally, in the puzzle. Quite clever!
Okay, fill time. Let's WOK right INN to it!
"God is the perfect POET," wrote Robert Browning in (apparently?) the subtitle of his book-length poem, The Ring and the Book.
"Wise alternative" is UTZ, a brand of snacks. In this case, then, Wise is a maker of chips. Its logo is an owl eye in yellow.
I've watched some "Shark Tank," but didn't know it was an ABC show. I can't keep track of such fripperies.
CESSNA is a familiar aircraft company — actually a brand under the Textron Aviation company — but did you know it's headquartered in Wichita, Kansas?
I feel like the phrase "one up" should mean that you're ahead by one, shouldn't it? Like, we're one up on you. But it apparently means the score is TIED? Sports are weird.
The Gulf of SIDRA is on the northern coast of Libya and has been mentioned in the Bible (Acts 27, as Syrtis). It has been the site of a few international incidents. Gaddafi declared it the Line of Death, the crossing of which would invite a military response. In 1981 two Libyan fighters were shot down by American Tomcats over the gulf.
The name CRISCO is derived from "crystallized cottonseed oil." Cooks who know trust Crisco.
If I'd known that the radial nerve is located in the forearm, I'd have known quicker that it controls the TRICEP.
"Sports grp. founded by Billie Jean King" is the WTA, or Women's Tennis Association, in 1973.
The Hill of TARA, in County Meath, Ireland, is traditionally the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland. Tara consists of numerous monuments and earthworks, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, including a passage tomb (the "Mound of the Hostages"), burial mounds, round enclosures, a standing stone (believed to be the Lia Fáil or "Stone of Destiny"), and a ceremonial avenue.
Clever clues: "An oil, maybe" is ART. "They might click on the dance floor" is CASTANETS.
There was quite a lot of new stuff today, but I still was only about a minute away from my record! I'm getting somewhat okay at this solving thing.
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