Jazzman Montgomery / SAT 10-29-16 / Jugged old British delicacy / Affirmed's rival for triple crown / Air spirit in folklore / Compiler of 1855 reference work / Ticket waster / Winemaking byproduct

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: GOANNA (37D: Australian monitor lizard) —

A goanna is any of several Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as certain species from Southeast Asia. // Around 30 species of goanna are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous reptiles ranges greatly in size and fills several ecological niches. // The goanna features prominently in Aboriginal mythology and Australian folklore. // Being predatory lizards, goannas are often quite large, or at least bulky, with sharp teeth and claws. The largest is the perentie (V. giganteus), which can grow over 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length. // Not all goannas are gargantuan. Pygmy goannas may be smaller than a man's arm. The smallest of these, the short-tailed monitor (Varanus brevicuda) reaches only 20 cm in length. They survive on smaller prey, such as insects and mice. // Goannas combine predatory and scavenging behaviours. A goanna will prey on any animal it can catch and is small enough to eat whole. Goannas have been blamed for the death of sheep by farmers, though most likely erroneously, as goannas are also eaters of carrion and are attracted to rotting meat.

• • •

Haters gonna hate, and GOANNA gonna GOANNA. [Cheer on actress Paquin?] => GOANNA! I love this lizard's name. The punssibilities are endless. Who you GOANNA call? [_____] BUSTERS! (shout-out to Thursday's puzz). I fixate on GOANNA—a fine, upstanding word—because it was the only answer in this whole puzzle that felt a bit recherché. The puzzle otherwise feels phenomenally obscurity-free.* It is also smooth as &$^%. This is one of those increasingly rare NYT puzzles where I wanted to stop and smile and take pictures mid-solve. Pure enjoyment. Delightful answers and clues around every turn—and so many turns! Felt like I was looping and swooshing around the grid. No sad corners to get boxed into. All curves and waves and flourishes. This is the kind of puzzle for which I have the most respect—it's expertly crafted, but hides its artfulness. There's nothing terribly glitzy or showy about it on the surface. There are no stunts. It's not loaded with Xs Qs Zs etc. It just hums. It's fun. It's smart. It's a pleasure to solve. It could've been a bit tougher (felt more like a Friday), but no matter. It was a pleasure to watch the answers come into view. There's an effortlessness to the whole affair that makes it delightful to solve, but makes it unlikely, I think, that a solver's going to go "WOW!" But constructors, I assure you, are going "WOW!"


There's one little crutch I want to point out. Nah, I don't wanna say "crutch," because it implies some kind of laziness or cheapness that I don't think this puzzle possesses. But it's a ... thing ... that allows the constructor to pull the puzzle off so smoothly. Note how often "S" appears as the last letter of both an Across and Down. There are three lines of such "S"s, running NW up from the end of WES, the end of RAMRODS, and the end of CULTS, respectively (though that last line is just two long ... throw in the "S" at the end of BANTERS and you get your third set of three "S"s). You can stick an "S" on the end of most answers and make an acceptable answer, so terminal-S'ing it like this is a way of making filling a grid smoothly easier. To PB's enormous credit, those "S"s are of all different types—plurals, 3rd-person verbs, name endings—so you never really feel a sense of sameness. In fact, I doubt most solvers notice "S"-ending pile-ups at all. But "S"s make it easier. Of course, if that was the only trick to smoothing out themeless puzzles, we'd all be Patrick Berry.


I don't know who "foreign-owned company" immediately made me think NISSAN at 1A: Pickup trucks from a foreign-owned company made and sold only in North America, but it did, and that sent me rocketing into the puzzle (as correctly guessing all or part of 1A often does). Got NO-SHOW (1D: Ticket waster) off the "N" and filled in that NW corner easily.

Which brings me to my first mistake, and my first "Nice clue!" Somehow 6D: "This is ___" took me to NEW. Something you'd say when admiring changes to someone's house or hair ... or an understated response to some shocking change of any kind. I don't know—it felt right. Often when I guess wrong, I groan at the right answer, but "NPR" made me laugh. Seems a really hard clue for NPR, but also a perfect one, as anyone who listens has heard that exact phrase a ton. Anyway, ONCE UPON A TIME made me see the error, and off I went. Had TANNIN for TARTAR (16D: Winemaking byproduct), but otherwise had no problem coming around the far end of the puzzle, clockwise.

This puzzle might've been harder if the crossword itself hadn't taught me the correct spelling of Jack LALANNE's name earlier in the week (34D: "The Jack ___ Show," 1959-85). I had some minor struggles in the remaining parts of the grid. Got ROSEANNE easy but blanked on the family's name (CONNER). And in the west, I wavered between NYMPH and SYLPH for a few seconds, before finally deciding on the correct answer (35A: Air spirit, in folklore). Caught two lucky breaks over there, with proper noun gimmes on both ELOISE (33A: "___ in Moscow" (1959 children's book)) and ALYDAR (30D: Affirmed's rival for the Triple Crown). Finished up with a MOANing GOANNA. Favorite clues include 29A: They're put in barrels for RAMRODS (oh, *those* kinds of barrels...) and 28D: Bready bunch? for CARBS. That's all for tonight. See you Sunday.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

*OK, jugged HARE is slightly obscure, but HARE isn't.

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