Particles proposed by Michael Faraday in the 1830s / THU 6-15-23 / Mary-Louise Parker show about a suburban mom dealing pot / Campaign to influence emotions and morale, informally / Where you may go after reaching an impasse / Inappropriately jocular / Blowhard's exhalation / River whose celestial mirror is the Milky Way, in ancient myths

Constructor: David Harris

Relative difficulty: Extremely easy

THEME: BACK TO SQUARE ONE (37A: Where you may go after reaching an impasse ... or a hint for solving this puzzle's 12 starred clues) — the answers to starred clues make sense only if you tack on the endings found at SQUARE ONE (i.e. 1-Across (IOUS) for the starred Across clues, 1-Down (IONS) for the starred Downs):

Theme answers:

• FACET(IOUS) (15A: *Inappropriately jocular)
• SPEC(IOUS) (19A: *Misleadingly plausible)
• TED(IOUS) (43A: *Dullsville)
• CONTENT(IOUS) (54A: *Likely to cause an argument)
• VICAR(IOUS) (59A: *Experienced through another)
• STUD(IOUS) (62A: *Earnestly hitting the books)
• PASS(IONS) (6D: *Fiery feelings)
• FACT(IONS) (13D: *Political groups)
• STALL(IONS) (27D: *Male zebras)
• MISS(IONS) (51D: *Video game quests)
• CAPT(IONS) (54D: *Descriptive lines under photos)
• TENS(IONS) (57D: *Causes of stress)

Word of the Day: MAC PROS (51A: Apple varieties) —

Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals that have been designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of four desktop computers in the current Mac lineup, sitting above the Mac Mini, iMac and Mac Studio. (wikipedia)

• • •

This is undoubtedly a clever idea, but as an actual puzzle it goes nowhere. That is, the concept is fine, but no one has given any consideration to what it's actually like to solve the thing—TED(IOUS), for sure. I took one look at the grid, before I'd even started solving, and thought "well this won't be good." Looks like a very easy puzzle from a lesser outlet, all 4- and 5-letter answers and only that one long Across (so, nothing that looks like proper theme answers). And it starts out playing So easy that I thought something was very, very wrong. What, five to ten seconds to fill in that NW corner? I kept tentatively creeping forward, waiting for the hammer to drop, but finding nothing but simple Monday-level stuff. And then, when I finally found the "tough" part, it was flagged for me?! Starred clues? It's Thursday, why are you signaling where the tough stuff is? Let me stumble my way into discovering the theme answers! It may not make the solving experience more *fun*, but at least it will give the whole puzzle a little more bite (which the puzzle definitely needed). Instead, the puzzle waves a big caution flag with that little star on 27D: *Male zebras, so I know "OK, something will be off here, just gonna have to figure out what..." and then five seconds later I hit the revealer clue, and I've already got "B-C-" in place, so the whole thing goes right in...

...and then I look back at STALL, look up at "Square One," mentally add the -IONS, say "Oh, STALLIONS, OK" ... and then ... well, that was it as far as fun or excitement or interest or anything was concerned. Oh, I guess I eventually realized that Across themers were involved too, and they'd take -IOUS and not -IONS, but who cares? Once you make the very easy-to-discover discovery of what the theme entails, you are back to solving a dull Monday puzzle again, made duller (and Mondayer) by the fact that You Now Have Four Letters In Place For Every Starred Clue You Encounter. I encountered 11 of 12 starred clues this way today. You just get handed those answers. There's no trickery or cleverness or anything left once you get the "joke." The grid is void of remarkable or original entries. The clues don't even seem to be trying that hard to be playful. There's the revealer and then there's: listlessness, all around. It's nice that all the answers to starred clues are actual words even without their "square one" suffixes, but that's kind of a bare minimum feature of a theme like this. The puzzle would be ridiculous if those answers were gibberish as written. I definitely see how BACK TO SQUARE ONE would be seductive as hell as a revealer, what with its being a perfect grid-spanning 15 letters, and having the very concept of "squares" built right into it. But as executed, from the solver's end, there's very little there there. One moment of "aha" and then ... just the mopping up. 

I didn't even get to have interesting screw-ups, struggles, or failures. The worst thing that happened was I read the CHESS clue as having a star on it (that is, misread the opening quotation mark in that clue as a star) (46A: "A foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time," per Shaw), and so I had real trouble making an -IOUS word out of it and ended up wondering what the hell CHESSIOUS could possibly mean. Then I squinted harder at the clue and realized my error. I like the Shaw quote, if only because it's low-key subtweeting you (i.e. me), the solver. That is, what he says about chess could just as easily be said about crossword puzzles. 

What else? I had PULL OUT before PUSH OUT, but that's not very interesting, is it? (22A: Forcibly remove). I somehow remembered / came up with PSYOP (26A: Campaign to influence emotions and morale, informally); it's not a term I come across much outside of crosswords. Very pleased that it occurred to me so quickly, with just the -OP in place. The term itself sounds so much more nefarious than the clue makes it out to be. PSYOP sounds like part of an alien invasion, while the clue makes it seem like a pleasant, largely subliminal pep rally. I had no idea MAC PROS were a thing, so that was weird. I'm working on a MACBook PRO right now, and I know there are iPad Pros, but just a straight-up Mac Pro? News to me. This is because it's more computing power than most people need for their home office. Anyway, that's it for anything resembling resistance in this puzzle. My favorite part of the puzzle, besides that little "oh" moment when I got the revealer, was that clue on HAN (29A: Multiple-episode pilot?). He (HAN Solo) is indeed a pilot in many of the "Star Wars" episodes (most notably, for me, Episodes IV, V, and VI, even though we never called them that because they came first why would we call them that!? ... but that's a can of worms. The clue is brilliant. Not sure why they used "Multiple-episode" instead of "Multi-episode," which sounds much more natural as an adjective, but whatever. Still works. Applause for that clue. And on that (high) note, I'll wrap things up. See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

Read more...

Relative of a cor anglais / WED 2-17-21 / Turnblad role for Divine in Hairspray / 2013 title role for Scarlett Johansson / Never-ending offerings at Olive Garden

Constructor: David Harris and Evan Kalish

Relative difficulty: Easy (unless you've never heard of one or the other of the actresses up top, in which case probably much harder)

THEME: MONKEY [in the] MIDDLE (43A: With the circled letters and 46-Across, playground keep-away game) — circled squares containing "I N T H E" form a lob arc from one side of the grid (MONKEY) to the other (MIDDLE). Those circled squares represent the arc of a ball (presumably) that's being kept away from the titular "monkey in the middle," who is represented by the letters "APE" in DIAPERS (APES can be found in (sorta) the middle of four other themers). APES is also the revealer (65A: Animals found in 16-, 20-, 35-, 51- and 58-Across):

Theme answers:

• RHEA PERLMAN (16A: Portrayer of Carla Tortelli on "Cheers")
• AMANDA PEET (20A: "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" co-star)
• DIAPERS (35A: Huggies, e.g.)
• BANANA PEEL (51A: Cause of a comedic slip)
• ON A PEDESTAL (58A: Where idols might be placed)

Word of the Day: AMANDA PEET (20A) —

Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. After studying at Columbia University, Peet began her acting career with small parts on television, and made her film debut in Animal Room (1995). Her featured role in the comedy The Whole Nine Yards (2000) brought her wider recognition, and she has since appeared in a variety of films, including Something's Gotta Give (2003), Identity (2003), Syriana (2005), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), 2012 (2009), and The Way, Way Back (2013). On television, Peet has starred in Jack & Jill (1999–2001), Togetherness(2015–2016), Brockmire (2016–2020), and the second season of Dirty John in 2020. (wikipedia)

• • •

Had to look up the game after I was done because I couldn't remember what it was. Didn't play it as a kid, as I recall, though "keep-away" is familiar enough. MONKEY in the MIDDLE sounds like a more formally organized version of "keep-away" which seems like a more spontaneous (and possibly cruel) "game" where the "monkey" is an unwilling participant. Couldn't figure out why DIAPERS were "in the middle" (is the monkey a baby??) but then saw APE there in the exact MIDDLE. Seeing the APE in DIAPERS (!) was a real aha moment. It was only afterward that I noticed both the APES "hiding" in the theme answers and (well after that) the revealer. Never saw the revealer. The puzzle was so easy, I just filled it in from crosses, not even noticing it. Feels very redundant and anti-climactic. I mean, yes, I did not see the other APES at first, it's true, but I did *find* them when I went looking, and that was at least mildly entertaining. And then the extra APES ... I mean, I get it, you feel like you *should* have more theme material in the puzzle, but none of those APES have a ball going over their heads and, most crucially, none of those APES are actually "in the (exact) middle" of their answers. They're in there, but off to one side or the other. So in order to fulfill some assumed obligation to cram the grid with theme material, we get imperfectly executed theme (no ball overhead, no "middle" placement). The APE in DIAPERS, great. All the rest of it, all the stuff not involving the nice visual gag "in the middle," is excessive window dressing. Too much. Mars the elegance of the concept.

As for difficulty, there wasn't much. RHEA PERLMAN is pretty famous from all those years on "Cheers" (and all those Emmys (4)). AMANDA PEET, while well known, at least to me, is a far less familiar name (or at least I think she will be, to most NYTXW solvers), and so it's possible she caused some difficulty. Unknown proper nouns often do. But no other spot in the grid should've caused much trouble. I had a few minor hesitations, that's all. Not sure what is going on with the clue for AMANDA PEET—I have never heard of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and it's not even mentioned in the first paragraph of her wikipedia bio. For me, her iconic role is as the owner of the minor-league Morristown Frackers in "Brockmire":

Five things:

• 14A: Greeting in an inbox (E-CARD) — had the "E-" and then ... so many places to go from there. I choice "-VITE" ... [incorrect buzzer!]
• 43D: Order from Tony Soprano, e.g. (MOB HIT) — kinda tired of the puzzle's obsession with mob violence. ICE as "murder," HITMAN, HITLIST, etc. I get it, it's a significant part of the tv / movie landscape blah blah blah, but I'm finding murder and violence in my grid more and more unpleasant these days. Same way I've lost patience for flippant, wacky clues about alcoholics (another NYTXW obsession). "The Sopranos" is a great show. "The Godfather" is a great movie. It's just that romanticizing the mob (and particularly mob violence) is, in general, one of my less favorite aspects of popular culture.
• 3D: Had drinks before going out, informally (PRE-GAMED) — I had PREG- and thought, "wow, that is a dark clue for PREGNANT, what the—!?"
• 45D: Sharp rejection ("NO NO NO!") — Is it "sharp," though? It's repeated, that's for sure. Had the first "No!" and then went looking for a four-letter word like "DEAL" or "DICE" or something. But it's just a bunch of "NO"s.
• 12D: "Never-ending" offerings at Olive Garden (PASTAS) — pretty sure it's "Never-Ending Pasta Bowls," hang on ... (checking) ... yep. There's even a "Never-Ending Pasta Pass" (for Olive Garden superfans, I guess). But nowhere is there PASTAS with an "S." If you're going to use advertising language, get the wording right. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. did enjoy the BEER clue, gotta say (49D: The missing letters in _UDW_IS__)

P.P.S. so sorry I posted this late (9:40am). I was done at 6am but for some reason walked away from my desk and never came back to hit "Post." This is probably the latest posting date for the blog in ~14 years. My apologies for failing you.

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

Read more...