Sharp's counterpart / MON 8-12-19 / Image in Jurassic Park logo informally / Mountaineering spike

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Medium (2:59)

THEME: O, B — all the themers begin with the sounds of those letters being said aloud:

Theme answers:

• OBIE AWARD (17A: Theatrical honor)
• OBI-WAN KENOBI (24A: "Star Wars" role for Alec Guinness)
• OBEDIENCE SCHOOL (38A: Where education is pursued doggedly?)
• OB/GYN DOCTORS (49A: Delivery people?)
• "OH, BE QUIET!" (62A: "Hush, you!")

Word of the Day: "Blue SKIES" (22D: Irving Berlin's "Blue ___") —

"Blue Skies" is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin in 1926. // The song was composed in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical Betsy. Although the show ran for 39 performances only, "Blue Skies" was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star Belle Baker. During the final repetition, Ms. Baker forgot her lyrics, prompting Berlin to sing them from his seat in the front row.

In 1927, the music was published and Ben Selvin's recorded version was a hit. That same year, it became one of the first songs to be featured in a talkie, when Al Jolson performed it in The Jazz Singer. The song was recorded for all of the major and dime store labels of the time. Another version of the song was recorded by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra in 1935 (Victor 25136). 1946 was also a notable year for the song, with a Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire filmtaking its title along with two recorded versions by Count Basie and Benny Goodman reaching #8 and #9 on the pop charts, respectively. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye performed the song in 1954's White Christmas. Crossing genres, Willie Nelson's recording of "Blue Skies" was a #1 country music hit in 1978. It was a major western swing and country standard already in 1939, by Moon Mullican, and in 1962 by Jim Reeves.

Thelonious Monk's 1947 composition "In Walked Bud" is based on the chord changes to "Blue Skies."

"Blue Skies" is one of many popular songs whose lyrics use a "bluebird of happiness" as a symbol of cheer: "Bluebirds singing a song—Nothing but bluebirds all day long." The sunny optimism of the lyrics are undercut by the minor key giving the words an ironic feeling. (wikipedia)

• • •

Pffffffft, no, not really, no. Just a bunch of the same sounds? There's not a real progression, no climax, no revealer, the central answer has the stress on the "B" unlike all the others, OB/GYN DOCTORS is hella redundant and also said by no one. Just a big "what the hell?" sigh from me. Not sure what is ailing this paper that it can't deliver on Mondays Every Single Week. I mean, for how much they talk themselves up, they should deliver every day, but a disappointing Monday is a particularly sad sight, somehow. The fill on this one is supremely, unnecessarily mediocre and stale. AABA should not be in any puzzle unless the situation is desperate. Rhyme schemes aren't great, and this one in particular, ugh. ACTUATE is a gross word that is gross, bury it in the yard. MOPEDS just gets [Two-wheelers]?!?! Doesn't exactly conjure up MOPEDS. Motorcycles, bicycles, some luggage ... all [Two-wheelers]. At least *try* to make your clues interesting. LOWLIT ... just looks wrong to me every time I see and/or say it (5D: Darkish, as the interior of a restaurant). This puzzle has no ear at all for the English language. I mean, [Sperm targets]!? That is definitely defensible, on a literal level, but why? Why would you? ELEC ASIN EIRE ESTEE WEENY OCOME!? OCOME on! BOO! (45A: "You stink!") Be more entertaining!


I really want the clue on OBEDIENCE SCHOOL to be [Where education is doggedly pursued?] instead of [... pursued doggedly?]. My way gets eight times more google hits. Also, if you google "pursued doggedly" in quotation marks, your first hits all refer to this here puzzle, which suggests awkward phrasing. I guess from a "comedic" (cough) standpoint, maybe you want to hit that "pun" (cough) word last? But I think the "joke" (...) comes across just fine with the actually sounds-better phrasing. Do SAGAS have "chapters"? That seems like a feature of novels, to me. I guess in the metaphorical sense of "chapter," sure. Still, that was one moment that slowed me down, especially since that answer contained the mystery which-bomb-is-it!? letter (N!? H!? Nope, it's A!) (12D: Detonation of 7/16/45) (actually the H-BOMB wasn't tested (by the US) until the '50s, so I guess that possibility was out from the jump, but who's thinking in such specific terms on a Monday!? Go go go!). Oh, um, just realized that the "A" in A-BOMB, that ... that stands for ATOM, right? Or "atomic," which contains ATOM. Right? The same ATOM that is actually also in this grid?? (27D: Quark's place). Ugh, this puzzle is fired!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Eponymous physicist Ernst / WED 3-13-19 / Mythical figure known for ribaldry / Legendary Manhattan music club / Lineage-based women's grp

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Medium (oversized 16x15 grid, 4:46)

THEME: OBLIQUE REFERENCE (60A: Indirect comment ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters) — reference books run "obliquely" (diagonally) through the grid: ATLAS ALMANAC DICTIONARY and THESAURUS

Theme answers:

• There are none besides the revealer ... :/

Word of the Day: AURIGA (10D: The Charioteer constellation) —

Auriga is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. Located north of the celestial equator, its name is the Latin word for “the charioteer”, associating it with various mythological beings, including Erichthonius and Myrtilus. Auriga is most prominent during winter evenings in the northern Hemisphere, along with the five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism. Because of its northern declination, Auriga is only visible in its entirety as far as 34° south; for observers farther south it lies partially or fully below the horizon. A large constellation, with an area of 657 square degrees, it is half the size of the largest constellation, Hydra. (wikipedia)

• • •

Today and tomorrow's write-ups are gonna be pretty short, as I have horrible time crunches in this week leading up to my Spring Break (Spring Break!). Today's puzzle is a good example of a concept that works perfectly but a puzzle that is not all that interesting or pleasant to solve. Actually, as my friend Matt pointed out on Twitter last night, the bottom half of the grid is far more enjoyable than the top half, where all of the theme constraint lies. That is, all those circled reference book squares are *dense*  toward the top and relatively sparse through the bottom. This allows the grid to breathe, which (magic!) better fill. The grid up top is also horribly segmented. It is never ever going to be fun to solve a little 6x6 or 4x4 or 6x6 section that has no real connection to the rest of the grid (see the top three sections of this puzzle). Even the middle section has no real connectivity—though he got that part to work out OK (too bad he had to rely on a celebrity accused of "unwanted sexual aggression," but I guess the court of public opinion hasn't turned on that guy yet). The real problem, though, from a solving angle, is that this is a giant grid with only one theme answers. I can't count those circled squares, since they don't have clues. They might have helped you work out some of the thornier parts of the grid, but for me they were just words to look at once I was done. Never felt like there was a proper theme. So kudos to the execution of the theme, but the solving experience was pretty mediocre.


Last thing: really? ASSAD *and* ALEPPO, the most notable site of his many war crimes?? (10A: Longtime Syrian leader + 56D: City under siege from 2012 to '16). And ALEPPO is crossed by PELT? And your ALEPPO clue emphasizes the brutality without naming ASSAD. The *one* time I would have actually *appreciated* a (finger-pointing) cross-reference! I'd rather never see ASSAD, but if I have to, maybe don't emphasize the war crimes content so much. Not like the NE corner is so great (I mean, AURIGA? IBEAM? SSS?). You could probably refill it all kinds of ways. All kinds of ASSAD-less ways. ALEPPO is great. Ditch ASSAD, and the puzzle all of a sudden becomes *far* less of a downer. OK bye.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Old Chevy model renamed Sonic / WED 9-12-18 / Literally small ovens / Literally thousand leaf / Attribute for my girl after five foot two in 1920s tune / Historic political visitor to Pearl Harbor on 12/27/16 / Like about 17% of land in Holland

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Challenging (5:23) (3rd slowest recorded Wednesday since April)

THEME: FRENCH CHEF (63A: Julia Child's PBS show, with "The" ... or one associated with the answers to the starred clues) — French food that "literally" means something unfood-sounding when translated into English

Theme answers:

• PETIT FOURS (18A: *Literally, "small ovens")
• HORS D'OEUVRES (30A: *Literally, "outside the works")
• BOUILLABAISSE (39A: *Literally, "boil and lower")
• MILLE FEUILLE (46A: *Literally, "thousand-leaf")

Word of the Day: PETIT FOURS (18A) —

A petit four (plural: petits fours, also known as mignardises) is a small bite-sized confectionery or savoury appetizer. The name is  French, petit four (French pronunciation: ​[pə.ti.fur]), meaning "small oven". (wikipedia)

• • •

This will be fairly quick: Nope. First, this is just some French food, and then the rather boring FRENCH CHEF as a revealer. Second, despite the whole "Literally..." thing linking all the theme clues together, there is really nothing of substance holding the theme clues together. You can see this just by looking at the revealer, which, again, contains nothing that would relate it to the whole "Literally..." cluing gambit. A Thud-revealer if I ever saw one. Lastly, BOUILLABAISSE is Not Like The Others. The others are *Literally* literally what they say they are, whereas BOUILLABAISSE does not not not "literally" mean "boil and lower." It contains those roots, but that is very (Very) different from what is being claimed here (i.e. literalness), and it makes that clue stand out badly from the others, where the clue translations are, in fact literal. Literally literal. To recap: nope.

[j'aurais toujours faim de toi]

This felt harder than usual, partly because of tricky French spelling, and partly because the parallel longer Downs in the NW and SE made those corners potentially weird. I could not have opened worse, in the NW. Just a disaster. Got ENDO and then eventually guessed ASHE (though that is a bad clue ... I think it's trying to say that ASHE- is a "lead-in to 'ville'" in North Carolina (also), but that is not, grammatically, what is happening in the clue (unless "North Carolina" is being used adjectivally to modify "lead-in," which would be bonkers). Anyhoo, I had Lao-TSO (ouch x 2) and then dropped in AKIN TO at 1A: Just like. Brutal. But not as brutal as what I was about to do next, namely compound the one long error with Another Long Error: faced with H---O---- at 3D: Want really bad, I decided to try out HAS TO HAVE. It's a bad answer because 3rd person present singular verb doesn't work with the clue, but that didn't keep it from feeling right for a few seconds. So I had a mess up there. I had to leave the corner and then back into it with HORS D'OEUVRES before I could even begin to extricate myself. Other big trouble spot was down south, where I couldn't get either LATHS or LOW-CUT to fall, and so the SW was something I had to jump into with no help from crosses. I also couldn't spell FEUILLE because I thought it had to be plural. Gah. Oh, and RECLAIMED was hard for me to see. I guess Holland RECLAIMED the land ... from the sea? Or from Prussia, one or the other.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Alice's cat in Through Looking Glass / WED 6-20-18 / Small Eurasian songbird / Goes by livery taxi / Firecracker goes in one / Religious leader usually sporting beard / Real dogs eat meat sloganeer

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Medium (4:59, slowish for me, but I'm getting over a cold and my eyes are dry and the fan was irritating them etc. ...)

THEME: OU -> U — phrases with "ou" words have the "o" removed, creating good old-fashioned wackiness...

Theme answers:

• PROPER NUN (17A: Well-behaved sister?)
• FUR ON THE FLOOR (23A: Evidence of a cat fight?)
• CURSE CORRECTION (37A: TV bleep?)
• CURT REPORTERS (45A: Impolite press conference attendees?)
• PALACE CUP (59A: Part of the queen's tea service?)

Word of the Day: Jacques PÉPIN (48D: TV chef Jacques) —

Jacques Pépin (French pronunciation: ​[ʒak pepɛ̃]; born December 18, 1935) is an internationally recognized French chef, television personality, and author working in the United States. Since the late 1980s, he has appeared on French and American television and written an array of cookbooks that have become best sellers.

• • •

I just don't care about this. It's not trying to be anything but a warmed over puzzle from 1982. There's not even a clever revealer. Take out the "O" ... tada? Besides BULLFINCH (9D: Small Eurasian songbird) and GOOD FAIRY (3D: Tinker Bell, e.g.), there's nothing good here. HIRES A CAR made me want to SHUT A COMPUTER, namely my own. Super-choppy grid with infinite 3-to-5-letter words, most of them repeaters. Proper n(o)uns are mostly from the olden days (e.g. GARBO, PÉPIN). Alice's cat??? And any puzzle that contains UEYS is going to get multiple NAYS from me. Puzzles simply must be more colorful, more current, and more ambitious than this. Demand better. Sorry I can't do more for you today, but this puzzle just doesn't warrant it.


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Game animals to some / THU 7-27-17 / Out of place obstetric / Nabisco brand since 1912 / Genre for Philip K. Dick / Singer DiFranco / Cleopatra's Mines / Right-hand page / Sunshine Skyway Bridge / "Wind in the Willows" creature / "Playboy of the Western World" playwright

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Medium (10:00 exactly)

THEME: HOLD DOWN THE FORT -- three across entries "hold down" the word FORT into corresponding down entries in the grid.

• 16A: Enjoying first-class amenities, say (TRAVELING IN COMF[ORT])
• 33A: Wind speed metric (BEAUF[ORT] SCALE)
• 40A: One looking to become rich (F[ORT]UNE HUNTER)
• 59A: Have charge temporarily ... or a hint to answering this puzzle's three starred clues (HOLD DOWN THE FORT)

Word of the Day: ORESTES (66A: Euripides tragedy) —

[SPOILERS] In accordance with the advice of the god Apollo, Orestes has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the death of his father Agamemnon at her hands. Despite Apollo’s earlier prophecy, Orestes finds himself tormented by Erinyes or Furies to the blood guilt stemming from his matricide. The only person capable of calming Orestes down from his madness is his sister Electra. To complicate matters further, a leading political faction of Argos wants to put Orestes to death for the murder. Orestes’ only hope to save his life lies in his uncle Menelaus, who has returned with Helen after spending ten years in Troy and several more years amassing wealth in Egypt. (Wikipedia)

• • •

As the constructor put 25D: Expenditures of time and energy (EFFORTS) into this puzzle, I was determined to 40D: Sally ___ FORTH into solving it, which was only moderately challenging, given that I have found Thursdays to be my 18D: Strong point (FORTE) -- or at least, my favorite puzzles of the week. There always a moment in these "spillover" (my term) themes when you're all, I know the answer and it won't fit into that space in the grid, and for me that moment was when I thought, I know what the wind speed scale is called, and BEAUFORT isn't fitting there. But will it be a rebus or something else? I liked the way the FORTs were at different positions in each themer: end, middle, beginning.

The NW was last and toughest quadrant for me -- didn't feel like STAVE (3D: Fend (off)) and COVE (4D: Small bay) should be next to each other. RECTO (38A: Right-hand page) in the middle of the grid is a handy (ha!) word from descriptive bibliography. (The left-hand page is the VERSO because it's on the back of the RECTO.) LAND SALES (32D: Some real estate business) -- is that a thing that people say? Or sell? Not much that was tremendously trendy in the fill, but it felt classic rather than dated. There was some dependence in the AFORESAID (12D: Mentioned previously) fill on little bits to hold things together -- RUS HAB EEN UTE HOR RDS MDS -- TIL OMG that's a lot all at once.

I get too hungry for dinner at eight
I like the theater, but never come late
I never bother with people I hate

Bullets:

• 15D: Things mined in Cleopatra's Mines (EMERALDS) — This is name given to an archeological site near Aswan Dam in Egypt, discovered in the early 19th century. Almost made it Word of the Day, but felt like spoiling the plot of Greek tragedy instead.
• 64A: Blues-rock group that grew out of Jefferson Airplane (HOT TUNA) — They're still touring.
• 57A: Bill of Southwest legend (PECOS) — Apparently, Pecos Bill wasn't truly a legend that grew out of folk culture, but a character invented for a series in the early 20th-century magazine The Century (published in New York City), and as such, he is considered fakelore.
• 13A: Out of place, in obstetric parlance (ECTOPIC) — A very, very, very common complication of pregnancy, not serious if treated promptly. I'm a little surprised this passed the "breakfast test" -- but perhaps that's a sign of progressiveness. 

Signed, Laura Braunstein, Sorceress of CrossWorld, who will 59A for another three days.

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Why Japanese tipplers anticipate afterlife / THU 4-20-17 / Designation for UK vessels / 1952 Bernard Malamud novel / Organic jewelry material

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: Eh? — familiar phrases are clued as if one of their silent Es were accented; enter wackiness.

Theme answers:

• FOR HEAVEN'S SAKÉ (20A: Why Japanese tipplers anticipate the afterlife?) (I woulda said "look forward to" rather than the blander / less enthusiastic "anticipate"; they're tipplers, for pete's saké!)
  
• WHACK-A-MOLÉ (31A: Pound on some Mexican food?)
• LAMÉ EXCUSE (39A: "I didn't know you disliked shiny fabrics!," e.g.?)
• RUN FOR THE ROSÉS (48A: Quick trip to pick up white zinfandel and blush?)

Word of the Day: TOPE (25D: Emulate a 2-Down (WINO)) —

verb

archaicliterary

verb: tope; 3rd person present: topes; past tense: toped; past participle: toped; gerund or present participle: toping

1. drink alcohol to excess, especially on a regular basis. (google)

• • •

This mild-chuckle concept, like much recent NYT fare, feels dated, but honestly today it feels dated in a comfy sweater kind of way. It's a consistent, cute, well-made puzzle, with fill that skews old (i.e. familiar / slightly crosswordesey) but not painful. Solving this thing was a completely pleasant experience. Wait, there is one inconsistency, which is that the altered word is the last word in all the themers ... but one. That's a bit wonky. Not uncoincidentally, that is the one themer I had trouble with, the one that I flubbed at first. I had the last two letters (-SE) and once I dropped the "X" from LEX (33D: Law of ancient times), I took one look at 39A: "I didn't know you disliked shiny fabrics!," e.g.? and -----X--SE and (with the theme already known to me), confidently made that last word EXPOSÉ. I like the idea that some investigative reporter has figured out that you dislike shiny fabrics and is going to tell the world about it. Aha! Gotcha! EXPOSÉ would've made the theme execution thematically consistent. Coulda used OVEREXPOSE as the base answer and clued OVER EXPOSÉ ... some type of way, I don't know. [Having moved on from embarrassing press coverage?]. Something like that. But instead it's LAMÉ in the *first*-word position. Shrug. OK. Not a big deal.


Here are a few assorted thoughts I had while taking my leisurely springtime stroll through this grid:

Assorted thoughts:

• 7D: Certain trank (LUDE) — this took me multiple passes, mostly because I just kept wondering what kind of word "trank" was. Sincerely thought it was a clothing portmanteau (trousers + tanktop?)
• 1A: Departed (AWAY) — LEFT. Later, DEAD.
• 11D: Went to night school (TOOK A CLASS) — This is green paint. This is "EAT A SANDWICH." This isn't great.
• 42D: Reach by air (LAND AT) — needed every cross. Just didn't compute.
• 60A: Antihero of "A Clockwork Orange" (ALEX) — because it's a crossword, I flubbed the spelling (ALEC).  
• 61A: Influence for Enya, historically (CELT) — wait, so there's just this one CELT who influenced her? Like, just this one guy named Angus who's like "You should really make some ethereal New Age music, lass"?

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Early historian of ancient Rome / WED 3-22-17 / Fresh air's opposite / Kid's transport literally / Present location when visiting boondocks / Figure of underground economy / like n r phonetics / brief period in nuclear physics / big brand of kitchen knives

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (theme easy, fill ... ?)

THEME: "literal" depictions of TRI- QUAD- and PENTA- words 

Theme answers:

• CYCLECYCLECYCLE (3x cycle = tricycle)
• RANTRANTRANTRANT (4x rant = quadrant)
• GONGONGONGONGON (5x gon =pentagon) 

Word of the Day: CUTCO (4D: Big brand of kitchen knives) —

Cutco Corporation, formerly Alcas Corporation, is a multi-level marketing company that sells knives. It is the parent company of CUTCO Cutlery Corp., Vector Marketing, KA-BAR Knives and Schilling Forge. Its primary brand is the name Cutco. // The company was founded in 1949 by Alcoa and Case Cutlery (hence "Al-cas") to manufacture knives. The management purchased the company from Alcoa in 1982, and the company acquired Vector Marketing Corporation in 1985. (wikipedia)

• • •

Joyless. Almost literally painful. The theme concept is not clever—I've seen it before. Also, it was transparent. So, nothing fun in figuring out the themers (note that the grid has been made larger to accommodate the central 16-letter answer). So all there is here really is the fill—and extra fill because of the wide grid. And there was not one place on this grid where I was enjoying myself. It's as if the puzzle knew its theme was thin-to-nonexistent, and so it tried to make the clues harder to compensate, but since the fill itself was mostly tiresome, the "hard" (often just awkward) clues just made the whole experience a chore. The offness and vagueness of the clues was what made the solve so unpleasant. [Cold War threat] for RED CHINA, for instance. A. that's incredibly vague, B. that sounds like a slang term and I see no slang indication in the clue, C. I don't remember this being a "threat." Soooo many more "threats" more closely associated with the Cold War. Further, what is CUTCO? I can tell you it's never been in the NYT before. So ... introduce a marginal knife brand on a Wednesday? Sigh. You should be able to handle your not-hard-to-fill grid better than that.


Hardest part for me was OUT HERE (!??!) (36A: Present location, when visiting the boondocks). Seems much more likely that a *resident* of the "boondocks" would use that phrase when explaining something about the "boondocks" to a condescending asshole visitor she heard using the term "boondocks." "OUT HERE, we value politeness, jerkface." I had NOWHERE in there for a while. Stupid "British" clue on RUMP (28A: ___ steak (British term for a sirloin cut)) meant I could do nothing with RU__ (I know "RUMP steak," but had No idea it was "British"—and there are so many non-British ways to clue RUMP, ugh), so that middle got bogged down. Mainly this thing was just a drag. Just an avalanche of stale fill, AVER SETTO ANO ALI REA ITRY OVA ESL UNIS APACE ADO etc.


Finally, I think there is a really bad editing error at the 10A/10D crossing (10A: Figure of the underground economy? (MINER) / 10D: Brief period in nuclear physics: Abbr. (MSEC). If I get a "brief period" in a science clue, that answer is going to be NSEC. Always. I accept that there are other SECs, but you're gonna have to prove it to me in the crosses. Only here ... NINER works perfectly (esp. in a "?" clue). I figured a NINER was slang for a Forty-Niner (because, in football, *it is*). And the Forty-Niners were ... miners, so ... NSEC / NINER. I do not accept that that's wrong. So the editing here is ugh. Just ugh. Not as bad as the horrible editing involved in the E-CLASS / E.C. SEGAR crossing a few days ago, but bad. Bad. Negligent.


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Batman villain known as queen of cossacks / THU 9-22-16 / Palazzo architectural gem of Renaissance / Summit on Crete where Zeus was born

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: puns involving foreign numbers —

Theme answers:

• SEPT PIECES (17A: A number of stage items in a French play?)
• DREI MARTINIS (23A: A number of cocktails in Berlin?)
• SECHS THERAPISTS (37A: A number of Freudians in Freiburg) 
• TRES ELEMENTS (46A: A number of chemical rarities in Madrid?)
• HUIT FIELDS (57A: A number of grain-producing sites in Normandy?)

Word of the Day: Palazzo FARNESE (31A: Palazzo ___, architectural gem of the Renaissance) —

Palazzo Farnese (Italian pronunciation: [paˈladdso farˈneːze; -eːse]) is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French embassy in Italy. // First designed in 1517 for the Farnese family, the building expanded in size and conception when Alessandro Farnese became Pope Paul III in 1534, to designs by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. Its building history involved some of the most prominent Italian architects of the 16th century, including Michelangelo, Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola and Giacomo della Porta. // At the end of the 16th century, the important fresco cycle of The Loves of the Gods in the Farnese Gallery was carried out by the Bolognese painter Annibale Carracci, marking the beginning of two divergent trends in painting during the 17th century, the Roman High Baroque and Classicism. The famous Farnese sculpture collection, now in the National Archeological Museum of Naples, as well as other Farnese collections, now mostly in Capodimonte Museum in Naples, were accommodated in the palace. (wikipedia)

• • •

The basic idea here is promising, but the execution is a gangly mess. If you're gonna do a theme, Do It Right, not just Good Enough. The numbers and languages are without logic—2 German, 2 French, 1 Spanish, who knows why. The bigger problem, though, is the cluing, which is just ... dumb. Boring and dumb. The phrases are in no way what someone "in a French play" or "in Madrid" etc. would say. They are ridiculous hybrids. "A number" could not be a more boring, inexact, and unfunny way to set up these clues. Man, I miss Merl. He could've made something magical out of a concept like this, because he would've been patient, found the Right answers, nailed the comical cluing, had a logical answer progression. I miss artistry. Further, I don't think the constructor or editor knows what sex therapists are. That clue is ridiculously inexact. There is literally no mention of "Freud" on the wikipedia "sex therapy" page. For a reason. There seems to have been some confusion of Freud's concern with sex and the more pragmatic, functional work that sex therapists do. Calling sex therapy "Freudian" is cheap and lazy. Also, again, inexact and unfunny. YOU HAVE A SEX PUN, FFS! DO SOMETHING WITH IT!


FARNESE is terrible fill. Foreign, partial, not exactly super-famous. Ugh. Sore Thumb City. And clue on ODES is just ridiculous. What the hell are ODES of Solomon? You know what else fits there and googles a bajillion times better? Yeah, you do. I know you do. "Oooh, what a clever trap," somebody thought. No, I have have heard of the damn trap for it to register as "clever" when I fall into it. ODES of Solomon, my eye. Rest of the fill is just fine. Ordinary. Decent. How in the world, though—How In The World—do you think it's OK to put *another* foreign number in the grid. Just ... randomly. Shoved in there. "Hey, maybe no one will notice if I shove a non-theme foreign number in my foreign-number pun puzzle!?" C'mon, man. I'll allow EIN, but DIECI I will not allow under any circumstances (6D: Italian ten). Again, where is the elegance? The attention to detail? Oh well. So much promise, so little payoff.


In superior puzzle news—big announcement from the American Values Club Crossword:

We have a big announcement [see?]. Nearly four years after leaving the pages of the Onion A.V. Club, later this month the AVCX will move under the auspices of Slate.com. Specifically, the weekly puzzle will be offered as part of the site's premium "Slate Plus" platform. We couldn't be prouder and more enthusiastic about this partnership! We'll kick it off in the coming weeks with a free puzzle by AVCX superfriend Angela Halsted. It's a big moment in our history, and we're grateful to all of our subscribers for your support.

You can (and should) still subscribe to AVCX directly—archives, bonus puzzles, etc.—but this is a cool extension of their media footprint, or whatever bizspeak is appropriate here. Hurray!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Bygone Ottoman rulers / THU 1-14-16 / Immortal flower in Paradise Lost / Dog attacking newsstand / Longtime Law order actor / Boyfriend singer to fans / Features of urban ancient Rome

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: THE BEATLES (53A: Group whose songs get spoonerized in 18-, 23-, 32- and 46-Across) — just what it says:

Theme answers:

• "TRAY DIPPER" (18A: One who might cause a spill at a cafeteria?)
• "PAPER RACK BITER" (23A: Dog attacking a newsstand?)
• "SHE'S HEAVING LOAM" (32A: Answer to "What's her job in the garden supply store"?)
• "LEIGH SHOVES YOU" (46A: What happens after getting in Vivien's way on a movie set?)

Word of the Day: HALON (47D: Fire-suppressing compound) —

any of a class of chemical compounds derived from hydrocarbons by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms by bromine atoms and other hydrogen atoms by other halogen atoms (chlorine, fluorine, or iodine). Halons are stable compounds that are used in fire extinguishers, although they may contribute to depletion of the ozone layer (dictionary.com)

 

[cruciverb.com database]

• • •

SPECIAL MESSAGE for the week of January 10-January 17, 2016

Hello, solvers. Somehow, it is January again, which means it's time for my week-long, once-a-year pitch for financial contributions to the blog. The idea is very simple: if you read the blog regularly (or even semi-regularly), please consider what it's worth to you on an annual basis and give accordingly. In making this pitch, I'm pledging that the blog will continue to be here for you to read / enjoy / grimace at for at least another calendar year, with a new post up by 9:00am (usually by 12:01am) every day, as usual. This year is special, as it will mark the 10th anniversary of Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle, and despite my not-infrequent grumblings about less-than-stellar puzzles, I've actually never been so excited to be thinking and writing about crosswords. I have no way of knowing what's coming from the NYT, but the broader world of crosswords looks very bright, and that is sustaining. Whatever happens, this blog will remain an outpost of the Old Internet: no ads, no corporate sponsorship, no whistles and bells. Just the singular, personal voice of someone talking passionately about a topic he loves. As I have said in years past, I know that some people are opposed to paying for what they can get for free, and still others really don't have money to spare. Both kinds of people are welcome to continue reading my blog, with my compliments. It will always be free. I have no interest in cordoning it off, nor do I have any interest in taking advertising. I value my independence too much. Anyway, if you are so moved, there is a Paypal button in the sidebar, and a mailing address here:

Rex Parker
℅ Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton NY 13905

And here: I'll stick a PayPal button in here for the mobile users.

There. Hope that helps.

For people who send me actual, honest-to-god (i.e. "snail") mail (I love snail mail!), this year my thank-you cards are "Sibley Backyard Birding Postcards"—each card a different watercolor illustration by ornithologist David Sibley. You could get a Black PHOEBE. A California TOWHEE. Or maybe even a picture of some fabled SCARLET TANAGERS (15). Or give via PayPal and get a thank-you email. That's cool too. Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just say NO CARD.  As I say in every thank-you card (and email), I'm so grateful for your readership and support. So thanks, not A TAD, but A TON (partial fill! coming in useful!). Now on to the puzzle …

• • •

OK, it's hard not to laugh a little, or at least smile, at the last two themers, particularly "LEIGH SHOVES YOU," which is the clear winner of the day. Was "She's Leaving Home" a single? The other songs are very, very famous. That one, by comparison ... less so. But there really aren't that many Beatles songs that will spoonerize well, so I think it's fine. There's only one really good Beatles spoonerism that this puzzle missed (or just couldn't accommodate): [Competitive sunbather's goal?] => MAX TAN! You could also go with [Sensation experienced by one solving a corny crossword?] => PUNNY HIGH, [Casino exhortation to actor Marvin?] => "BET IT, LEE!", or [Nickname of Comedian Bruce, back when he was a mob enforcer?] => LENNY PAIN. But I think MAX TAN is the one you could actually get away with. There are some unfortunate aspects to this puzzle. One big problem is the flat, dull revealer—my kingdom for a puzzle title (which obviate the need for space-hogging, cruddy revealers like this). When I first encountered trouble up top with the themers, I just went looking for the revealer clue (usually the last long answer), saw "Group..." and just filled it in instantly. Your revealer should never be that transparent. There's also the issue of this puzzle's less-than-great fill. HALON is of course bananas, but the bigger issues are ICER and DEYS and both ERS and ORS and EVO, AINTI, ELY, LAPP, STE. And there's no color in those big banks of Downs. MISUSERS? Side-eye + frowny face there. If you always start explanations with "SO...", you have SOITIS. That's how I'm reading that answer, at any rate.

[the only acceptable clue for BLING in 2016]

Always nice to see crossword constructor Tony ORBACH's dad in the puzzle (41A: Longtime "Law & Order actor), and I really like the misdirection on the RAPPER clue (11D: Drake, e.g.)  and the punny (!) clue on BERRA (6D: The catcher in the wry?). Get it? 'Cause he played catcher. And his humor was ... wry? I guess? Sure. I need to go to bed now, as I've been up since 4:15am due to screeching carbon monoxide alarm (malfunctioning battery, said the team of firemen in our house before sunrise). So, yeah, that's all, folks.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Tourist island in Gulf of Naples / WED 5-13-15 / Marijuana psychoactive component / Donna of Clinton's cabinet / Piedmont wine / Akio who co-founded Sony / Alternative to boeuf or jambon / Bake as shelled egg / Eyelashes scientifically / zoom zoom sloganeer

Constructor: Jeffrey Wechsler

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: ORSON WELLES (61A: Noted director/actor born in May 1915) — his name is in the puzzle and then the names of some of his movies / roles / radio shows are also in the puzzle the end.

Theme answers:

• 19A: Directorial triumph for 61-Across (CITIZEN KANE)
• 24A: Film featuring 61-Across (THE THIRD MAN)
• 32A: 61-Across's role in 24-Across (HARRY LIME)
• 39A: With 43-Across, panic inducing production of 61-Across (THE WAR OF / THE WORLDS)
• 52A: 1958 film by 61-Across (TOUCH OF EVIL)

Word of the Day: ISCHIA (5D: Tourist island in the Gulf of Naples) —

noun

plural noun: ischia

1. the curved bone forming the base of each half of the pelvis.

Ischia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈiskja]) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal, it measures approximately 10 km (6 miles) east to west and 7 km (4 miles) north to south and has about 34 km (21 miles) of coastline and a surface area of 46.3 square kilometres (17.9 sq mi). It is almost entirely mountainous, the highest peak being Mount Epomeo at 788 metres (2,585 feet). The island has a population of over 60,000 people. Ischia is the name of the main comune of the island. The other comuni of the island are Barano d'Ischia, Casamicciola Terme, Forio, Lacco Ameno and Serrara Fontana. The main industry is tourism, centering on thermal spas that cater mostly to European (especially German) and Asian tourists eager to enjoy the fruits of the island's natural volcanic activity, its hot springs, and its volcanic mud. (wikipedia) 

• • •

Had a rotten day yesterday and so went out and drank and had woodfire oven pizza at this new place called Citrea—spring onion pizza! Astonishingly good, especially for this area. Anyway, I came home and found out, after about five pages of Far From the Madding Crowd, that there was no way I was staying awake past 9pm (!?), and since the puzzle comes out at 10pm … here I am at 6:30am, doing the write-up. Rested and ready! … and disappointed. First, the puzzle was easy if you've been paying attention to the news or use social media at all. ORSON WELLES's 100th birthday was actually a few days ago, so the world gave me a big Heads-Up on this one. Do the puzzle on the right day or don't do the puzzle. Come on. But the (much) bigger issue is how dull and uninspired the concept is. I'm astonished that the NYT is even doing these exceeding straightforward "tribute" puzzles anymore. Just putting a person's name in a puzzle and adding a bunch of movies he made, or starred in, or songs he sang, or books he wrote, doesn't feel like a tribute. It feels like "Today, we've actually Lowered the bar for puzzle standards, just so we could boringly list an arbitrary number of The Honored Person's works." The layering of THE WAR OF over THE WORLDS was pretty nifty. Else, blah. He deserved more than this.


This puzzle is 81 words. Why is this puzzle 81 words? Oh, it's 16 wide, I see. That makes sense now. Let's see, what to say … I do like KITTENISH. Not much else in the "Like" column, though (except the WELLES movies, of course—"THE THIRD MAN" is one of my favorites). Fill is probably average (with some THC baked in). When the lead answer (1A) is ALKA, well, that is not promising, but things improved slightly from there. I'm guessing many of you still don't know who NEYO is. Hell, I had to stop and flip through my mental rolodex of still-alive four-letter singers until he popped up, as the song title in the clue is meaningless to me. ISCHIA seems like a profound outlier today. Never heard of it. Turns out it's pretty damn small. But it's bigger than adjacent CAPRI, which I *have* heard of. Also bigger than adjacent PROCIDA, which I haven't. So ISCHIA (5D: Tourist island in the Gulf of Naples) made me laugh with its desperate exoticness. So at least I laughed. Once. SHA LA LA (la).


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Facebook and Twitter]

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