Theme music for TV's Dating Game / MON 6-30-14 / Dismissive term for chronic fatigue syndrome / Handbag monogram / Dashing Flynn of old films / Thin Man pooch / Great Expectations boy / Stimpy's TV pal

Constructor: Ed Sessa

Relative difficulty: Medium, leaning tougher than usual (3:09)

THEME: FL-+ — vowel sound progression, from long A to long U:

Theme answers:

• BOBBY FLAY (17A: Celebrity chef and host of the Food Network's "Boy Meets Grill")
• SPANISH FLEA (25A: Theme music for TV's "The Dating Game")
• TSETSE FLY (39A: Insect that causes sleeping sickness)
• TRAFFIC FLOW (55A: It's typically slow during rush hour)
• YUPPIE FLU (66A: Dismissive term for chronic fatigue syndrome)

Word of the Day: COROLLA (48D: Flower part) —

n.
The petals of a flower considered as a group or unit and usually of a color other than green; the inner whorl of the perianth.

[Latin corōlla, small garland, diminutive of corōna, garland. See corona.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/corolla#ixzz364kpAK00

PERIANTH — n.The outer envelope of a flower, consisting of either the calyx or the corolla, or both.
[French périanthe, from New Latin perianthum : Greek peri-, peri- + Greek anthos, flower.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/perianth#ixzz364l3zN7N

CALYX — n. pl. ca·lyx·es or ca·ly·ces (kl-sz, kl-)1. The sepals of a flower considered as a group.2. A cuplike structure or organ, such as one of the cuplike divisions of the pelvis or of the kidney.3. A collecting structure in the kidney. (thefreedictionary.com)

SEPAL — n.One of the separate, usually green parts forming the calyx of a flower.
[New Latin sepalum, perhaps blend of Greek skepē, covering and Latin petalum, petal; see petal.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/sepal#ixzz364lTHXRy 

• • •

This is a nice little vowel progression puzzle. Three of the five theme answers are quite fresh and lovely (1, 2, 5), and the others are just fine (3, 4). The trick with this simple concept is to make sure your theme answers don't just fit the pattern, but charm, amuse, and entertain. If they're not fresh and interesting, then your progression comes off as a sad little yawny exercise. The fill here is a net plus, with the banks of biggish words in the corners providing something in the way of unusualness, and with not a lot of terrible short stuff gunking up the grid. There is some tepidity here and there (USERFEE, TOPSEED, SERENER), but surrounding fill more than makes up for it. Any time a Monday puzzle takes me more than 3 minutes, that means it's leaning tough for me. Today, the longer Downs (which required a few crosses in most cases) were enough to ensure a little slowage, and then there were some clues that seemed less-than-straightforward. [Flower part] was vague enough that I had to cross it many times to pick it up. Had to think about both "Dating Game" clues (what a weird, wonderful little clue pairing that was). [Disentangled] didn't get me to UNDID without almost all of the crosses. I don't (readily) think of a "You Are Here" MAP as a "Poster" … But overall, it evened out to normal Monday difficulty level. Solid stuff. Thumbs up.



Enjoy the hot week ahead (at least in the NE). I will be spending my days in library coolness, except when I'm yelling at soccer, but at least then I'll have my friend beer.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld