Sonatas have four of them / FRI 8-15-14 / Seed in Mexican cuisine / Wuornos Monster role / Location of William Tell legend / Lover of Orion in Greek Myth / Suffix with opal

Constructor: Jeff Chen

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: PANAMA CANAL — circles spell this phrase out. Circles also (like the canal) connect the CARIBBEAN SEA (20A: One end of the [circled letters], which opened on 8/15/1914) and the PACIFIC OCEAN (50A: The other end of the [circled letters])

Word of the Day: BLEB (7D: Air bubble) —

n.

1. A small blister or pustule.
2. An air bubble.

[Probably alteration of BLOB.]

blebby bleb'by adj.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/bleb#ixzz3AQVai9MO

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A nice visual representation of the thing it's supposed to represent, and published on the right day. So it was fitting, and well executed. But one big drawback: the theme was *super* easy to uncover, and once you grok it, you just fill in all the relevant squares and … done! Only not done, because there's a themeless puzzle kind of superimposed on top of the whole thing. So it's a bit Frankenstein's monstery (no, spellcheck, not "monastery"), only less scary. Theme part is elegant in conception, ho-hum to solve. Themeless part is slightly below average (probably because it's Not Actually Themeless, and thus compromises had to be made with the fill that never have to be made in themlesseses (even if they sometimes are)).

Some tough cluing in here, as well as some stuff I didn't know. In the latter category, ZAZU (still haven't even seen "The Lion King") (1A: "The Lion King" bird), and BABKA, which I wanted to be be BABA … BHABA? … BABBA? … (9A: Easter cake). NOURI might've been slightly hard for me to come up with, say, six months ago, but he's in the news, like, today. He just stepped aside for the new guy, whose name would Truly be hard, as I can't remember it (looks like it's Haider al-Abadi). Anyway, point is, NOURI was a gimme. Toughest part for me, by far, was the very far SW, where I finished the puzzle. I had everything but two squares. I had -I- for 53D: Peculiarity. This left -IRES for 53A: Sonatas have four of them and -LAPS for 60A: Gives it up, so to speak. None of this was computing. Had the wrong "Sonatas" in mind (an intentional trick, I'm imagining) and had no grasp of the idiom involved with the "it" was supposed to be giving up. You might've heard a host or emcee say, on introducing a musical act, "Give it up, for … Bread!" (actually, I think that's anachronistic, but you get the idea). "Giving it up," in that context, means clapping. But again, I couldn't see that at first. So I checked all my answers, and they all looked right, and then the Sonata/Hyundai connection kicked in, and boom TIRES bam TIC and (simultaneously) bam CLAPS. And the puzzle was solved.


Love the clues on THE PILL (36D: Medical product with no conceivable use?) and CHESS (29A: What a check might be delivered in). I did not know HAJJI (40A: One with a once-in-a-lifetime experience?) could be spelled like that, but if HADJ can be HAJJ (which I have seen), then why not? Would've been nice if the fill weren't so rough around the edges (especially in that little northern patch, but in other peripheral places as well). But the theme gives it a nice visual element, and the tough cluing made it relatively fun to solve.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. A word about Lollapuzzoola, the greatest crossword tournament in the country, which took place just this past weekend. If, like me this year, you couldn't make it to NYC this year but really want to see what the LPZ puzzles are all about, good news: you can get them for yourself via the Play At Home option. And it's cheap! Here are all the deets, from tourney cohost Patrick Blindauer:

Hope you're all having a great summer! I just got back from NYC where I cohosted the xword tourney known as "Lollapuzzoola 7: It Ain't Over 'til It's Over." If you missed it, don't worry: the puzzles are still available at www.bemoresmarter.com (until August 16th), and you can still compete in the At-Home Division, if you like. For $10, you can get a PDF which includes instructions, the 6 tournament puzzles, a tiebreaker puzzle, and a 6-puzzle mini-extravaganza that I wrote especially for the occasion. The other constructors this year were Cathy Allis, Mike Nothnagel, Tony Orbach, Doug Peterson, Brian Cimmet, and Patrick Berry, so you know you're in for a real treat.

Visit www.bemoresmarter.com to order a copy for yourself and/or a friend, and hopefully we'll see you at Lollapuzzoola 8, which is already scheduled for 8/8 in NYC next year! 

Puzzle on,

Patrick