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Crossword 136: Defeat

Evelyn de Morgan, Cassandra
Evelyn de Morgan, Cassandra

Do you ever wonder what common crossword clue/answer combination annoys me the most?  No?  I’ll tell you anyway, even if by doing so I spoil this puzzle’s 1 Across:  it’s UTAH clued as “Jazz site” or “Jazz spot” or “Where to see a jazz group” or “Jazz-lover’s home” or something like that.  We’re thinking music, but it’s actually sports!  We’re thinking a vast and varied genre of music, associated with many of our country’s most talented people and most interesting locations, but it’s actually just a basketball team!  What a painful letdown.  And it’s not as though there were some hidden, surprising resemblance between jazz the music and jazz the basketball team—the latter was simply named for the former. And if the misdirection was ever amusing, after the thousandth iteration it isn’t amusing anymore.  Everybody please stop it!


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136 Defeat