Geoff Brown’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “There’s Nothing Left”—Jim P’s evaluate

Theme: Homophones of “right” change that phrase in acquainted phrases. The revealer is SOUNDS RIGHT (59a, [“Seems correct,” and a hint to 17-, 27- and 44-Across]).

Wall St Journal crossword resolution · “There’s Nothing Left” · Geoff Brown · Wed., 11.2.22

• 17a. [Advice to see Fallingwater as part of an architectural tour?] FIT WRIGHT IN.
• 27a. [Advice from an accountant to a baseball memorabilia collector?] WRITE OFF THE BAT.
• 44a. [Advice to have a formal church wedding ceremony?] DO THE RITE THING.

Not a nasty set. I didn’t know the title Fallingwater, however as soon as I obtained sufficient crosses, all of it made sense. And trying it up post-solve I acknowledge the home from having seen images of it previously.

My solely little nit with the theme is that I hear “Sounds about right” (slangily) or “That sounds right” (extra formally) extra usually than simply SOUNDS RIGHT.

Wright’s Fallingwater

The fill alternatively was lower than easy with crosswordese all through the grid: RUHR crossing OUTRE, a French ONCLE, IST, partial I THE, URI, ANON, STOA, and ILO. With solely 4 theme entries, I’d hope there can be fewer of those kinds of entries.

There are particular highlights, although: RACETRACKS, ON THE BRAIN, HAWAII, MENSCH, SCARAB, and RUB OUT. Those are nice, however the shorter, clunkier entries stole their thunder.

Clues OF NOTE:

• 4d. [State whose flag includes the Union Jack]. HAWAII. The solely state flag to incorporate a international nation’s nationwide flag. Blame these kooky imperialists Captains Vancouver and Cook.
• 6d. [Marked by speculative investing]. GO-GO. Brand new to me. Apparently the time period refers to “a portfolio of high-risk securities that attempts to provide investors with above average returns.”

3.25 stars. A effective theme, however an excessive amount of distracting clunky fill.