Monday April 22nd 2019, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 6:21
Monday Average: 8:14
Best Monday: 4:10

I'm fully supportive of a tennis-themed word play crossword. I'm actually a little surprised that none of these groaners have ever occurred to me, but I suppose that's not really how my brain works. Despite many years of playing tennis with my dad, somehow POP SINGLES never once came to me. CONTEMPT OF COURT is a strong central answer and the remaining GIMME A BREAK, WHAT A RACKET, and FALL IN LOVE are consistently real phrases that do indeed work in the sense of tennis situations. OH MY, it's back to back excellent NY Times puzzles!

The other night I stopped by our local pinball bar and, as always happens, there were people who didn't know how pinball machines work. They tend to understand the INSERT COIN instruction, but it's wild how regularly they won't know to push the blinking start button. I've been getting free games out of that my entire life and now that drunk people have been added to the equation, I think I'll be able to continue to count on it in the future.

Did anyone else enjoy seeing Tormund Giantsbane CHUG that horn of mead (I assume) in last night's Game of Thrones episode? 

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