Buff, and then some / SAT 8-13-2022 / Pieces of some pies / How couples elope / Leave a small tip / Cameron of Hollywood

Constructor: John Westwig

Relative difficulty: Easy (13:10, more of a typical Friday time for me)

THEME: THEME — none

Word of the Day: ZAXBY'S (Southern fast-food chain with "Zalads" and "Zappetizers") —

Zaxby's is an American chain of fast casual restaurants offering chicken wings, chicken fingers, sandwiches, and salads. The chain operates primarily in the Southern United States and has more than 900 locations. Most Zaxby's restaurants are owned by franchisees, but 123 locations are owned by Zaxby company.^[1]

• • •

Hello hello, it's Rafa here again filling in for Rex on another themeless puzzle -- a Saturday this time! As a constructor, solver, and generally somewhat-active member of the Online Crossword Community™, I sometimes struggle with talking publicly about puzzles. All my puzzle takes are (obviously) informed by my own very specific biases and opinions and experiences which may or may not reflect other people's tastes. So I was SECRETLY hoping that I would either absolutely love or absolutely hate this puzzle, which would make the write-up easier, but instead it was a journey with valleys and peaks and ... plains? Ok, this metaphor didn't work. Let's get into it.

First, some zings. (Yes, I'm adopting Malaika's "zings" and "dings" verbiage, in an act of cross-guest-blogger solidarity.) I'm always a fan of conversational entries in my themeless puzzles, so things like GIMME A SEC, I'M AFRAID SO, OH GEEZ, and even HMM, I SEE (somewhat arbitrary? Maybe! But I still liked it!) were highlights. I also enjoyed WIIMOTE and DECAF TEA, but probably my favorite entry was APTONYM. I dropped it in without any crosses, which made me feel cool and smart (95% of the reason I solve crosswords) -- it's always fun to insta-get a lesser-known term in a puzzle.

I believe this is a "Zalad"

The short stuff was mostly super solid (maybe EXT is a ding). The middle was a bit proper-heavy -- JIM, JOON, DIAZ, IOLANI, SOMA, PAIGE, EREBUS but all mostly (we'll get into my trouble spot soon) crossed fairly, I thought. My controversial crossword take of the day is that I quite enjoy the name wordplay clues that don't reference a specific person! (e.g. the clue [Good name for a librarian?] for PAIGE.) Many point out that they prefer referencing actual people, especially for predominantly-female names since women are already underrepresented in puzzles. I understand/respect (and even agree with?) this, but I still like these clues!

I may or may not have accidentally flung this across the room many times back in the day

The only real trouble for me was that I had AVERAGE joe (a slightly more in-the-language expression, I daresay?) instead of AVERAGE GUY and that caused a *lot* of trouble because OH jEEZ (it's my preferred spelling, I daresay?) works just as well as OH GEEZ and I was hopeless on the volcano and the Yiddish. So spent a solid few minutes thinking of every possible meaning of "pit" (there are many! -- this very fact was even made into a crossword theme earlier this year) until I was able to get myself out of that mess.

Iolani Palace looks pretty

In general the clues were fun and tricky, with lots of wordplay. Maybe even too much wordplay? Some of it felt a bit tortured ([Where spring might be just around the corner?] for SPA and [What runs about a meter?] for TAXICAB, e.g.) but there were also some bangers ([Leaves totally drained of energy?] for DECAF TEA and [Buff, and then some] for MEGAFAN). The clue for ANTI-UNION, [Like those who refuse to be organized], felt a bit off to me, too. I feel like it's usually the bosses who retaliate against the workers for organizing, not the workers themselves who are against it! .... did capitalism write this clue?

Last ding-ish comment is that some of the long and mid-length stuff felt like they could have been a little more fun! Things like SECRETLY and MEATHEADS (this is a bit of a downer for a long slot, maybe?), I LOVE LA (maybe people who were alive in 1983 enjoyed this, but I was -12 years old in 1983), AGAINST, ARIDITY, ACTED ON, etc. All fine entries, but I would have loved a tad more zing!

Bullets:

• AP GERMAN [H.S. class with ein Lehrer] — This is very specific to me, but I'm not a fan of AP___ type entries. A popular wordlist that many constructors use to make puzzles lists these entries with the highest possible score, so I feel like they're overrepresented in puzzles.
• EL CHEAPO [Stingy sort] — I have never heard or seen this expression outside of crosswords -- I wonder if it's a regional or generational thing, or if I've just been living under a rock.
• PATTY [Ground round] — I was gonna say I was a bit iffy on a PATTY being a "round" but Google lists "a circular piece of a particular substance" as a definition for "round" so ... what do I know?
• PBS ["Antiques Roadshow" airer] — I truly don't think I've ever been able to plop one of these 3-letter networks in immediately
• SOMA ["Brave New World" drug] — SoMa is also a neighborhood in San Francisco, where I live.

Signed, Rafa

[Follow Rafa on Twitter]