Joey Dee's backup group in 1960s pop / FRI 7-17-20 / Game played on 90-foot long court / Annual three-day celebration / Pinball player's undoing / Tokyo-based carrier / Woman's name in English that's man's name in Catalan

Constructor: Rich Proulx

Relative difficulty: Medium (6-something)

THEME: face — actually, none ... but the grid is a creepy face, for some reason

Word of the Day: GESSO (5D: Painter's mixture) —

Gesso (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒɛsso]; "chalk", from the Latin: gypsum, from Greek: γύψος) is a white paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum, pigment, or any combination of these. It is used in artwork as a preparation for any number of substrates such as wood panels, canvas and sculpture as a base for paint and other materials that are applied over it. (wikipedia)

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With so much short stuff cutting through the longer answers, this really looked like it was going to be a cinch, but those longer answers were so odd or off my wavelength that I was actually slower than usual. I don't understand what this grid is trying to do. I don't understand the grid-art face. I don't understand why, when you are making a themeless and can do *anything* you want, you go with *these* longer answers, none of which are in any way interesting. The one with the strongest claim to interesting is TILT MECHANISM, but ... what?? (33A: Pinball player's undoing). I've heard of "Tilt!" of course, but the phrase TILT MECHANISM is something I've never heard or seen. Did this come from somebody's wordlist? Why would you choose to put this in your grid? I mean, AUTO PARTS STORES ... what is that doing for you? (8D: Hose and belt sellers) How is that enlivening things? You have so much Freedom when filling a grid like this and AUTO PARTS STORES and STATE LEGISLATORS are your marquee answers? That's how you use your Freedom? The fill isn't really bad, but it's definitely not good either, and again, you have No constraints from a theme, so you have No excuses. Did you think smiley-face grid art would make it all OK? It just makes it all a little bit more insipid.


I have no idea who Joey Dee is, so you can be damn sure I don't know who the STARLITERS are (10D: Joey Dee's backup group in 1960s pop, with "the"). That whole center area was a near disaster as NEAR DISASTERS was very hard to see—had the NEAR; it didn't help, since it's just a synonym for "close." I assumed [Close ones] were relatives or friends. Kept wanting some version of "near and dear." And then there's the ART TEACHER clue (11D: One who might grade on the curve?). Even now, that "?" clue is inscrutable to me. She might grade on "the" curve? Not "a" curve? The phrase is "grade on *a* curve." Why is it "the"? Is that supposed to make it more like an art thing? I get (I think) that the teacher is grading you on the curves in your drawing or painting or whatever, but ... is that really what you're graded on in art class? And just the one curve? If you're going to get cute with the "?" clues, there shouldn't be room misinterpretation when all is said and done—hit your DAMN mark. Speaking of DAMN, that answer probably held me up more than anything else, as both DRAT and DARN seemed somehow more probable (45D: "Nuts!"). Having wrong answers there meant SOLO PERFORMER was really, really hard to see (54A: Person with no one to play with) until I finally had the front end (i.e. the SOLO part). In the end, this was disappointingly anemic. GERITOL crossing STARLITERS tell you much, if not all, you need to know about this one. Nothing new / fresh / current / sparkly about it. What a waste of a Friday.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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