Dinosaur whose name means swift seizer / MON 4-4-22 / Handy Andy by another name / One-named singer called Queen of Pop / Loops into an online convo

Constructor: Derek J. Angell

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: it's just ... dinosaur names (!?) — well-known dinosaur names, clued by what their names mean (in Greek, presumably):

Theme answers:

• VELOCIRAPTOR (20A: Dinosaur whose name means "swift seizer")
• PTERODACTYL (36A: Dinosaur whose name means "winged finger")
• TRICERATOPS (42A: Dinosaur whose name means "three-horned face")
• BRONTOSAURUS (58A: Dinosaur whose name means "thunder lizard")

Word of the Day: BRONTOSAURUS (58A) —

Brontosaurus (/ˌbrɒntəˈsɔːrəs/; meaning "thunder lizard" from Greekβροντή, brontē "thunder" and σαῦρος, sauros "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, B. excelsus, had long been considered a species of the closely related Apatosaurus and therefore invalid, researchers proposed in 2015 that Brontosaurus is a genus separate from Apatosaurus and that it contains three species: B. excelsus, B. yahnahpin, and B. parvus. (wikipedia)

• • •

But why, though? Seriously, why? All dinosaurs have names that mean ... something. That's how the Greek naming process works, as I understand it. They aren't out here naming new dinosaurs "Jeff" or something. Greek names, meaning ... stuff. Things. How is this a coherent theme? Yes, these are the best known dinosaurs. And yes, there's no repetition of name parts (no other -sauruses, for instance). But ... so? I genuinely don't understand how this amounts to a coherent NYTXW-level theme, for a Monday or any day. And the fill isn't even strong, which is kind of unforgivable with a theme that is both flimsy *and* not particularly dense. Just four themers—you should be able to populate your grid with answers better than the wearisomely common APBIO, EDIE, PRNDL, ECIGS, ADAGE, SELA, OCD, etc. The last two weeks have featured several puzzles like this—puzzles with themes that were not so much Bad as Insufficient. Just not clever enough or wordplayish enough or anything enough for the puzzle that has touted itself as the best puzzle in the world. This is a placeholder. Running-on-fumes stuff. Baffling.

Weird to see ODOR clued as a specifically bad smell (10D: Bad smell). ODOR = smell. "Bad" is just, like, your opinion, man. I wrote in SERBS instead of SLAVS, as I (too) frequently do (1D: Many Balkan inhabitants). Aren't SERBS "Balkan inhabitants"!? [checks anxiously ...] phew, yes, Serbia is indeed a Balkan state, so my initial answer, while wrong, was not Wrong wrong. When you are forbidden from tipping your hat, you are in a NO DOFF zone (4D: Fall asleep on the couch, perhaps). I just read the BRONTOSAURUS entry in my "Webster's Word Histories" book last week and thought I'd remembered reading that BRONTOSAURUS had been found to be a species of APATOSAURUS after all and thus invalid. But my "Webster's Word Histories" is from 1989 and it seems that in the intervening years BRONTOSAURUS has had its separate genus status restored. I am the farthest thing from a paleontologist, I'm just reading "Webster's Word Histories" and also the wikipedia entry for BRONTOSAURS (see above). 

I solved this one's Downs first, then Acrosses, just 'cause I was bored, and there were a bunch of Downs I couldn't get at first glance. NOTOK (25D: Unacceptable) and "TRYME!" (26D: "I might, if you're willing to ask") wouldn't come without help, and same with EYEROLL (43D: Reaction of silent but obvious disapproval) and DAUBED (50D: Applied, as foundation or powder). Most other answers came pretty quickly, though. I spelled SUSIE with a "Z" at first (SUZIE), just as I spelled "SPYS" with a "Z" at first in Sunday's puzzle ("SPYZ"). I will probably continue to make both mistakes for the rest of my life. Some things you just have to accept about yourself. Good day.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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It debuted on 1/6/1975 / THU 11-19-20 / Peaceful rustic scene / Long-running TV series set in Las Vegas / ADA compliance option / Noted retiree of '03 / Country that has no rivers / Memorable hurricane of 2017 / People who are tight in modern lingo / Room opposite kitchen on Clue board

Constructor: Derek J. Angell

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (untimed)

THEME: "Wheel of Fortune" — theme answers have no vowels, central Down answer = "CAN I BUY A VOWEL?" (13D: What you might cry when trying to answer the six starred clues?)

Theme answers:

• MRV GRFFN (18A: *Creator of 55-Across) (Merv Griffin)
• VNNWHT (20A: *Co-host of 55-Across) (Vanna White)
• RSTLN (30A: *Group of six given for free on 55-Across) 
• PTSJK (41A: *Co-host of 55-Across) (Pat Sajak)
• BNKRPT (52A: *Bad place to land on 55-Across) ("Bankrupt!")
• WHLFFRTN (55A: *It debuted on 1/6/1975) ("Wheel of Fortune")

Word of the Day: NEAL McDonough (23D: Actor McDonough) —

Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor and producer, known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on Boomtown (2002–2003), Sean Cahill on Suits, Robert Quarles on Justified, William Parker in Mob City, and Dave Williams on ABC's Desperate Housewives (2008–2009). He also appeared in films such as Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report, Walking Tall, The Guardian, Flags of Our Fathers, Red 2, The Marine 3: Homefront,  Traitor, The Hitcher, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Proud Mary, and as Dum Dum Dugan in various Marvel Cinematic Universe films and TV series. He appeared as Damien Darhk on Arrow, and in Legends of Tomorrow. He also plays as Malcolm Beck on Yellowstone. He is also known for voicing a variety of comic book characters, most notably Bruce Banner in the animated TV series The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997). (wikipedia)

• • •

Last day of actual (virtual) face-to-face classes today, so I gotta get to it, ergo this will be brief. Speaking of brief—it did not take me long to figure out this theme, and thus (pretty much) take any kind of theme energy, any chance of future surprise, completely out of the puzzle. I mean, once you get the gimmick, the rest of the theme stuff is obvious (except BNKRPT—totally forgot that was a SPIN possibility ... haven't watched this show since high school, i.e. for decades). Anyway, here's where I was when the puzzle was basically over for me:

I took one look at that "MRVGR-" combo up top, then I took another look at it, then I realized, "nope, those letters are all solid, something weird is clearly going on with the theme." Then, since the MRVGR- clue referred to 55-Across, I looked at 55-Across, and though the date didn't tell me much, the fact that I was dealing with a "creator" and a "debut" told me a TV show was involved, and Merv Griffin came right to mind (I wonder if younger people are as familiar with his name as I am. He had his own afternoon talk show when I was a kid). And that was that. You've got that vowel question as your anchor. The concept here is cute, but in the end the theme is something of a miss, first because I was basically done before I began, which made filling in most of the other themers a rote exercise. But the bigger problem is the phrasing of the question. Really feels like "I'D LIKE TO BUY A VOWEL" is the phrase that people say. Really really feels that way. Here, the phrase has been fudged into a question, purely for structural reasons (so it can be 13 letters long and sit dead center, and so the "N" and "W" can sit in positions that allow for the symmetrical crosses (MRVGRFFN, WHLFFRTN). Over before it began, and *clank* on the marquee answer. OK idea, iffy execution.

[This was somehow a radio hit when I was in high school.

I don't remember it being sung by some Cheech Marin knock-off (!?!)]

Only a couple trouble spots. Weirdly, the answer that fought me the most was SEEDBED (25A: Groundwork of a plant manager?). Had -EED- and went for WEEDING. Then, later, WEEDBED (!?). Is a SEEDBED just an area that has been recently seeded? Oh, I see that it's the ground that has been prepared for seeding. Ok. I have heard the term. But I still like WEEDING, which is definitely work that a "plant manager" does, and it's a word in common use. No idea who the NEAL actor was, though looking at pictures, I've seen him in things a bunch. He's basically the "hey, *that* guy" of contemporary TV (I have a lot of these in the older movies I watch). Had -ETFISH and honestly no idea what that first letter was supposed to be (41D: Aquarium denizen). Thought there might be a species called the JETFISH. But no ...it's a PET ... FISH :( Pat Sajak helped me there, which helped me finish off the eastern section. SST gave me trouble (24A: Noted "retiree" of '03). Never flew on one, really shaky on the dates they were operational. I actually refused to anagram WINTER'S O'S and got SNOW TIRES from crosses (9D: Apt anagram of WINTER'S O'S). Something about having to stop my solve to rearrange letters felt insulting. Because I forgot "Bankrupt!" was a SPIN option, not knowing FAN (60A: Geisha's accessory) had me struggling slightly in the SW. After OBI, I'm fresh out of ideas for 3-letter Geisha accessories. FAN, you say? OK. The end. (Somehow this write-up wasn't any shorter than my regular write-ups; habit is a strong force...)

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. I liked UP VOTES (43A: Online endorsements)

P.P.S. the A.D.A. in 12D: A.D.A.-compliance option (RAMP) is the Americans with Disabilities Act, not the American Dental Association, in case you were confused

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