Daydreamer encountered by Odysseus / MON 9-24-12 / Old home for Mr. Met / Mel Torme's nickname / Ex-Yankee All-Star Martinez / Muzzle-loading tool / Perpendicular to keel

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: VAPOR TRAILS (59A: What airplanes leave in the sky ... or what 17-, 23-, 37- and 48-Across have?) — theme answers end with synonyms for "vapor"

• PICK UP STEAM (17A: Gather momentum)
• THE VELVET FOG (23A: Mel Tormé's nickname)
• "GET OFF OF MY CLOUD" (37A: Rolling Stones hit whose title follows the words "Hey you")
• STEP ON THE GAS (48A: "Hurry up!")

Word of the Day: POLITY (26A: System of government) —

n., pl., -ties.

1. The form of government of a nation, state, church, or organization.
2. An organized society, such as a nation, having a specific form of government: "His alien philosophy found no roots in the American polity" (New York Times).

[Obsolete French politie, from Old French, from Late Latin polītīa, the Roman government. See police.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/polity#ixzz27LJO7gej

• • •

Mostly very easy, which is no surprise on a Monday. I had to solve on the applet at the Times' site because (once again) the link to download the puzzle was broken at the time the puzzle was supposed to come out. This happens with a surprising amount of frequency, and should be embarrassing to an organization charging so much of its puzzle (compared to any other outlet) while continuing to pay constructors so little (in relation to the money that's ultimately made off their work). But I got my puzzle eventually, so it's not like they killed my dog or anything, so I'll stop complaining about their incompetence now. The puzzle is a very straightforward "last words"-type puzzle, with an interesting revealer, which was surely the inspiration for the whole puzzle. The only wonky thing about the answers is that all the vapors are well and truly vapors (however metaphorically employed) *except* gas, which, in the answer STEP ON THE GAS, is a liquid, not a vapor. No big deal. Just an anomaly.

Got slightly stuck in the mud a couple of times right at the beginning. CASINO wasn't an instant gimme for me, so I had to work crosses, and even when I got CASINO, I had all kinds of trouble seeing NAUGHT (5D: Nothing). I needed 3 or 4 letters before the answer became evident (I was secretly happy to see my wife have the same problem later in the evening). The word POLITY was somewhat unexpected on a Monday, and I didn't trust that it was right at first. Tried to confirm the "P" but nothing seemed to fit for 26D: One of 15, 490 in the first edition of the O.E.D., first because I figured the answer was some form of "definition" (even though that number is, in retrospect, very low for "definition" to fit), and second because I figured the answer was an abbrev. (O.E.D. in the clue seemed to signal that). PAGE is obvious in retrospect, but not so much as I was solving (very quickly). But once I got off the west coast of this puzzle, every answer went down pretty much as quickly as I could read the clues, and so my time was still pretty swift, even for a Monday.


Bullets:

• 54A: Perpendicular to the keel (ABEAM) — the A-BEAM's connected to the ... H-BOMB, the H-BOMB's connected to the ...
• 23D: Ex-Yankee All-Star Martinez (TINO) — my first instinct is *always* TITO. It just seems more ... namelike than TINO.
• 28D: Daydreamer encountered by Odysseus (LOTUS-EATER) — they're usually plural.
• 47D: Muzzle-loading tool (RAMROD) — "Tool" made me laugh. Really wanted answer to be "Revolutionary War reenactor."

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Read more...

Onetime Wisconsin-based insurance giant / MON 5-14-12 / Line of Canon cameras / Tolkien's talking tree race / Impatiently endure time passing

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: SYNS. (70A: Roget offerins (abbr.) ... or, loosely, the firsta nd last words of 20-, 28-, 48-- and 56-Across) — "[verb] THE [noun]" phrases where, yes, the verb and noun (when one of the two is converted from verb to noun or vice versa) are, loosely, SYNonymS

Word of the Day: WAUSAU (48D: Onetime Wisconsin-based insurance giant) —

[Near as I can tell, an insurance co. that was bought by Liberty Mutual in 1999, and then retired as a brand in 2009: "Wausau, founded in Wausau, Wis., in 1911, was one of the earliest writers of workers comp coverage. It adopted a train depot as its logo in 1954 and built a brand that became widely recognized over the next 50 years." (Business Insurance)]

• • •

Not a big fan of this one, first because the reveal is so weak (an abbrev. is never a great payoff), and second because it just wasn't interesting. Yes, I can imagine scenarios wherein the first and last words mean the same thing. In the case of WASH THE LAUNDRY, I really don't have to go very far to make them match up. I mean, imagining those words as SYNS. doesn't even require me to think outside the laundry room. The theme "works" just fine, but it's dull. Fill is mostly very solid, with a nice handful of long answers (except SUCH THAT (5D: So), which is a perfectly adequate phrase ... just not "nice"). I had several early missteps in this puzzle—way more writeovers than I normally have in a Monday puzzle. Right away, with 1A: Money owed (DEBT), I was off my game. Got DVD at 1D and then thought, re: 1A,  "... DUES?" Crosses, cleared this up quickly, as they generally will on Monday, but I went on to make several more wrong initial guesses in quick succession: DELAY for DETER (14D: Hinder); AMP for ADO (23A: Hoopla) (this is only because I had yet another misguess in place—BLOW PAST for BLOW OVER (3D: Pass without effect, as a storm); and DITZ for SIMP (5A: Lamebrain). So the puzzle wasn't hard, so much as it was (in parts, to my brain) vague. At least at first. Once I got out of the N / NW, except for a brief EOS / IOS dust-up (55A: Line of Canon cameras), I flew pretty quickly around the grid, stopping only at the end, in the SW, where WAUSAU was a complete mystery to me. There's something interesting about the relative symmetry of the OVER in BLOW OVER and the UNDER in UNDERWAY. Also, I enjoy TALL ONES (38D: Some brewskis). Other than that, this one's already fading in my rearview.



Theme answers:

• 20A: Impatiently endure passing time (WATCH THE CLOCK) — I'd've gone with PUNCH THE CLOCK
• 28A: Win by enough points, in sports gambling (COVER THE SPREAD)
• 48A: Perform a routine household chore (WASH THE LAUNDRY)
• 56A: Pass through a crisis safely (TURN THE CORNER)

First thought for 30D: Have a nontraditional marriage, in a way (ELOPE) was BE GAY (hey, it fits). That wayward thought was about the most entertaining part of the solve. This is perfectly acceptable work. But it's not gonna stick.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS if you are not a Sunday-puzzle type of person, you probably missed my announcement yesterday that I was featured on the CBS Evening News on Sat. night. You can view the clip here.

PPS—Attention: Constructors (and Would-Be Constructors) Under 30 — Ben Tausig will be editing a collection of crosswords called "Twenty Under Thirty"; crosswords will be selected by a panel that includes me. The selection process will be blind. Here is the official press release.


About "Twenty Under Thirty" 

"Twenty Under Thirty" will be a standalone app featuring crosswords by twenty of the top young puzzle constructors in the world. Submission is open to anyone under thirty years of age, regardless of where she or he has published work in the past. Payment for selected entries will be $250--more than any newspaper daily in the United States--and participants will be featured prominently in announcements and marketing campaigns for the app. We want selection to feel like the honor that it is, and hope also to help young constructors make a name for themselves. Although the judging process will be blind, "Twenty Under Thirty" encourages submissions from groups underrepresented in puzzlemaking, including women and people of color.

Selections will be judged by a panel of experts, including New York Times regulars Elizabeth Gorski and Brendan Emmett Quigley, and blogger Michael Sharp (aka Rex Parker at rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com). The winning puzzles will be edited by Onion A.V. Club and Ink Well xwords editor Ben Tausig, and the app will be produced by crossword app maker CRUX for iPhone and iPad.

Submission Instructions

-Entry is limited to one puzzle per constructor. Completed, clued puzzles should be emailed to twentyunderthirty@gmail.com by midnight, June 20, 2012. 

-IMPORTANT: In order for the judging to be blind, please make the file name of your submission (whether it is a .ccw, .puz, .doc, .pdf, etc) a random string of ten numbers and remove all indication of your own name from the puzzle and file information. You may submit from your personal email account, but I don't want any way of knowing that your puzzle is linked to you. If you have questions that might reveal your theme, simply email me from an anonymous (or a friend's) address.

-All submissions must be wholly original, and neither I nor the panelists can know that they are yours. (i.e., if you've workshopped an idea with Brendan, then come up with a different idea).

-We are looking for work in the range of Tuesday-Friday New York Times difficulty. Both themed and themeless puzzles will be considered, and judged within the same pool. It's up to you to decide which type best reflects your talents. Since we expect to receive upward of 40 puzzles for 20 spots, plan to submit your very best stuff. Genre-bending themes are strongly encouraged; feel free to extend grids and to do things that aren't seen every day. (The app can accommodate special grids and gimmicks). Add-a-letter and three-of-a-kind themes are very unlikely to be chosen unless they feature a truly excellent twist. Amaze us.

-In general, puzzles should be 15x15, but we will also accept 16x15, 15x16, and 16x16 sizes.

-Puzzles should conform to the usual high standards of construction--avoid excessive black squares, have no more than 78 words, stay away from lousy entries such as long partials and pluralized names, and try to weed out repetition in the grid. You know the drill. 

-Aim to submit work that feels fresh. No specific bad words or references are off-limits, but you'll get a lot more credit for cluing PUBES as "Strands below?" than dropping in QUEEF because you feel like it. Likewise, include literature, film, music, food, and sex content that skews young, but be sure to keep it clever, not just edgy.

-Crossword Compiler or Across Lite files are preferred, but any other reasonable format is acceptable. As long as we can see the completed grid with numbers and the corresponding clues, you're in good shape.

Good luck!

Ben

Read more...

Medical pioneer Sir William / SUN 3-11-12 / Actress Lee of Funny Face / Cager Baylor / 1955 Walter Lord book / Classic black-and-white film featuring gigantic irradiated ants / Old PC screen / 1887-1996 govt watchdog / Biblical kingdom where Moses died

Constructor: Victor Fleming and John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: 100 Years Ago — TITANIC (63A: Theme of this puzzle)

Word of the Day: I.C.C. (108D: 1887-1996 govt. watchdog) —

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory body in the United States created by theInterstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, includinginterstate bus lines and telephone companies. The agency was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board. [took a bit of googling to figure which "ICC" was meant—leaning toward International Cricket Council there for a while...] (wikipedia)

• • •

Back on my feet again today with a time well under 10. Hurray. This theme was supremely easy to pick up—didn't get it off the title alone (which I should've), but got it as soon as I hit the clue for JOHN JACOB ASTOR. With the exception of GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS, all theme answers were gimmes or near-gimmes. There was only the slightest amount of dreck, and the only part that made me pause at all was (*again*) the NE corner, where SNIT for PANT (15D: Big huff?) and a bit of I AM SO / ARE SO (14D: Kindergarten comeback) confusion kept me tied up for a few seconds. "Downton Abbey" famously begins with the house getting word that the TITANIC has sunk, with the heir (engaged to Lord Grantham's daughter Mary) aboard. This is what I think of now when I think of TITANIC. One more reason I love "Downton"—spares me from thinking of the dreadful, painfully overrated 1997 James Cameron movie and its even more dreadful soundtrack. There's a lot of theme material in play here, much of it intersecting, so as tribute puzzles go, this one seems pretty solid.




Theme answers:

• 27A: American millionaire lost with the 63-Across (JOHN JACOB ASTOR)
• 33A: With 88-Across, 1960 musical partly about the 63-Across, with "The" ("UNSINKABLE / MOLLY BROWN")
• 88D: With 13-Down, disastrous event for the 63-Across (MAIDEN VOYAGE)
• 96A: What the  63-Across crossed to begin her 88-/13-Down (ENGLISH CHANNEL)
• 3D: 2003 James Cameron documentary about the 63-Across ("GHOSTS OF THE ABYSS")
• 5D: 63-Across's destination on her 88-/13-Down (NEW YORK CITY)
• 65D: Where the 63-Across's 88-/13-Down began (SOUTHAMPTON)
• 38D: 1955 Walter Lord book about the 63-Across ("A NIGHT TO REMEMBER")

Started right up top with HAG and ended very nearby with lovely RUTA, mutamaid (10D: Actress Lee of "Funny Face"). I've seen "Ferris Bueller" many times but it always takes me several crosses to remember SLOANE (4D: Ferris's girlfriend in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"). SLOANE is kind of a nothing character—Jennifer Grey, as Ferris's sister, has the only good female role in that movie. One name I did not know was OSLER, though I'm 98% sure I've said that before (32A: Medical pioneer Sir William). Most other names I got easily. BELA, check (28D: Banjoist Fleck). MOAB, check (74D: Biblical kingdom where Moses died). PABLO, check (72A: Nobelist poet Neruda). ELGIN, check (55A: Cager Baylor). TINO, check (29A: Two-time All-Star Martinez). CRT is one of those answers that was bygone before I ever knew it existed, so I always have trouble with it (52A: Old PC screen). My favorite answer in this puzzle is probably "BRING IT!" (9D: "Give me your best shot!"), though I have a strange affection for PRINT AD (which took forever to come into view, but gave me a good "aha" feeling instead of the more typical "ugh") (84D: Newspaper or magazine offering).

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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1948 John Wayne western / TUE 12-27-11 / 1954 monster film setting / Linda Ronstadt hit co-written by Roy Orbison

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: WATER COLORS (61A: Some Winslow Homer art ... or what five answers in this puzzle are?) — all theme answers follow the model [color + body of water]

Word of the Day: James LEVINE (17D: James of the Met) —

James Lawrence Levine ( /lɨˈvaɪn/; born June 23, 1943) is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has conducted 2,512 Met performances. In 1997, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. (wikipedia)

• • •

Another very easy puzzle, and another puzzle saved by a great revealer. As I was doing this, I was like "oh, great ... colors." Then realized that they were attached to bodies of water. OK, mildly more interesting. Strangely, I *never* saw the answer WATER COLORS while I was solving. My eyes must have glided over the clue, but when it failed to register anything, I must have gone on and solved the entire answer via crosses. A good revealer is really valuable—it's an emphatic expression of the puzzle's organizing principle, and is successful to the extent that it is both accurate as a statement of what the puzzle's about and clever in its wordplay. Outside the theme, the grid is solid—vivid and interesting and light on junk. Very Scrabbly without feeling forced.


Theme answers:

• 16A: 1954 monster film setting (BLACK LAGOON)
• 22A: 1948 John Wayne western (RED RIVER) 
• 50A: City that's home to the winner of the first two Super Bowls (GREEN BAY)
• 10D: It's between Korea and China (YELLOW SEA)
• 32D: Linda Ronstadt hit co-written by Roy Orbison ("BLUE BAYOU")
  

I confess to having no idea who James LEVINE is (17D: James of the Met). I was not even sure if "James" was a first or last name. That answer, and the entire southern region, caused the only hold-ups in the entire solve. In the south, I had GO FOR instead of GUESS (50D: Take a stab), and that took some undoing. Took a while to get to GAPS from 67A: Reasons for braces. CREATOR took a few crosses to see (45A: Brahma, in Hinduism). Otherwise, everything else just fell into place quickly (hence my never seeing the most important theme answer of the lot).

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Busch Gardens locale / MON 11-8-10 / Late 1940s to about 1990 / Commonplace utterance / Rough tumble outdoor kids game

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: CATCHPHRASE (64A: Commonplace utterance ... or a description of 18-, 26- and 49-Across) — three theme answers are phrases beginning with synonyms of "CATCH"


Word of the Day: Larry MIZE (7D: 1987 Masters winner Larry) —

Lawrence Hogan "Larry" Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well-known for one career-defining shot — a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at Augusta to win the playoff for the 1987 Masters Tournament, which was his only major title. (wikipedia)

• • •

Really liked the long answers on this one (both Across and Down), esp. GRAB A BITE TO EAT (five words!) and COLD WAR ERA (3D: Late 1940s to about 1990). The theme revealer actually generated an "aha" (or at least an "oh") moment, as in "Oh, that's what's going on." Short stuff was inoffensive, and so, the verdict: Good. Simple theme idea, Monday-easy, but still interesting. Not much more to hope for. Weirdest thing about the puzzle was the way I solved it—or, rather, the path I took to solve it. Diagonal, right through the middle, starting in the NW and headed SE. I don't know how much of the grid I had done before I got a single theme answer, but it felt like a lot. The theme answers are arranged slightly unconventionally, in that usually the first one will be flush left, and today it's flush right. This meant that I bypassed it completely with my initial solving momentum. Feels like SEIZE THE DAY is hanging out up there in its own little treehouse. Had to climb up there and shake it down before finally finishing the puzzle off in the South. Sadly, I finished with a stupid error: Had PAT for PET (41D: Caress) and never checked the crosses (rookie mistake). Had to scan the grid before I noticed SAAL, which I first thought was a typo for Mort SAHL (42D: Comic Mort), but no.

[37D: Singer k. d. LANG]

Theme answers:

• 18A: "Carpe diem" ("SEIZE THE DAY")
  
• 28A: Quickly satisfy one's hunger (GRAB A BITE TO EAT) — Five words. Nice.
  
• 49A: Rough-and-tumble outdoor kids' game (CAPTURE THE FLAG)
  

I had no idea there was a Bush Gardens in TAMPA (33D: Busch Gardens locale). Sounds like an amusement park that belongs in St. Louis, Missouri, but there's one in Williamsburg, VA and TAMPA and that's it (except for another one planned for — you guessed it: Dubai). Had very, very mild trouble getting into the N and NE generally because I worked my way in from the bottom up and neither ON EDGE (8D: Fidgety) nor TAUT (19D: Fully stretched) were clear from their rear ends. Luckily, I remembered that Andrew JOHNSON was the one pre-Clinton impeachment (9D: First impeached U.S. president), and that was enough to get the ball quickly rolling up there. Also lucky to (somehow) remember Larry MIZE. Not sure why his name stuck, considering I don't care much about golf, but it did "Z" and all.

See you tomorrow. I'm going to try to squeeze in another "Mad Men" before bed. That, or keep (re-)reading "Lolita."

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Read more...

Explorer born 6/11/1910 / FRI 6-11-10 / Classic Bob Marley song that was 1973 hit for Johnny Nash / Easu vis-a-vis Jacob / Pharmaceutical liquids

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: JACQUES COUSTEAU (31A: Explorer born 6/11/1910) — He was a MARINE ECOLOGIST (8D: 31-Across, for one); today is his birthday.


Word of the Day: RATITE (39D: Kiwi, e.g.) —

A ratite is any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin, most of them now extinct. Unlike other flightless birds, the ratites have no keel on their sternum—hence the name from the Latin ratis (for raft). Without this to anchor their wing muscles, they could not fly even if they were to develop suitable wings. // Most parts of the former Gondwana have ratites, or did have until the fairly recent past. Their closest living relatives are the tinamous of South America. (wikipedia) [at least the word in the puzzle wasn't GONDWANAN]

• • •

Not much to this one. Guy was born 100 years ago. His name goes one direction, his job (or one way of phrasing his job) goes in the other. They cross in the middle. I would have called him a MARINE BIOLOGIST, but what do I know? Not a lot of interest in the rest of the grid. My favorite moment (in retrospect) was the very beginning, where I figured out the "Secret" of 1A: Secret target right away ... but drew the wrong conclusion. I submit that the "target" is not the UNDER ARM, as the answer turned out to be. What are you "targeting" when you put on Secret? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? That's right: BODY ODOR. Bam! What a great clue! And what a genius solver I am for nailing it right off the bat! Wait, how can Esau be anything that starts with a "Y"? ... dang! (ESAU ended up being ELDER — 4D: Esau vis-à-vis Jacob) I had to abandon the NW and go elsewhere for a real foothold. NW was actually the place I finished up — with the "I" in UPHILL (1D: Like an arduous battle) and ISLES (19A: 1980-83 Stanley Cup champs, in brief) being the last letter to go in. Current Stanley Cup champs, as of a day or so ago, are the Chicago Blackhawks (I know this from watching ESPN and from following (on Twitter) longtime crossword tournament champ Tyler Hinman — seriously he would not shut up! I mean, congratulations, T .... I call you "T" now, btw)



I don't think intersecting ONEs is a good idea (ONE IS crossing ONE TENTH). I don't think I mind those two answers sharing the grid, but a little space between them would be nice. Don't highlight the fact that you repeated a word.

Too bad there are no other theme answers... unless you count SAIL TO (I don't) or ISLES (nope).

Hardest answer for me to get: ONE TENTH (34D: Part given by the pious?). Hardest and bestest, because it essentially refers to a word that isn't there: TITHING. Clever. Hey, DIMES (20A: They have torches on their backs) are ONE TENTH a dollar. Nice coincidence. I also liked the clue on THANK YOU (14D: Phrase an overseas traveler should know how to translate), mainly because it was mysterious, and then, when I got it, it seemed obvious. Part of the reason it may have seemed mysterious is that I had HURRAY instead of HURRAH at first (16A: Exclamation of joy), and thought the phrase for an overseas traveler was actually going to be in a foreign language: "TYAN..." "Hmm, not Maori. Not Hawaiian. WTHell?"

Then, of course, there's this:


[53A: Classic Bob Marley song that was a 1973 hit for Johnny Nash]

[Flutes!]

I think I will go to my grave confusing SARATOGA and SARASOTA (13D: Site of Florida's first golf course), despite the fact that I live in the state where one of them is (I already forget which one). Melvin MORA (47D: Third baseman and two-time All-Star Melvin ___) is one of a handful of MORAs (MORAE?) one might see in the grid — all of them sports-related (the other two I know of are both NFL coaches named Jim). Whoa, Melvin MORA is a Colorado ROCKIE (ROCKY?) now!? Wow, I missed that one. I've still got him playing third for the (lowly) O's. I also had AQUAS as AQUAE (seemed righter—29D: Pharmaceutical liquids). And finished the puzzle that way. Only in the process of marking it up did I notice the unfathomable answer (TIAE) that it created. Andalusian aunts are, of course, TIAS. And GLUEY is, of course, the fourth nephew of Scrooge McDuck—the one he killed in order to show the others he wasn't @#$&ing kidding when he said the Money Room was Off Limits.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Read more...

Dirty Harry's employer / MON 3-29-10 / Shoulder muscle informally / Jon Bon Jovi Tina Turner Betty Boop Superman features

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: IN THE CROSSHAIRS (38A: Fixed as a target ... or a hint to four pairs of intersecting answers in this puzzle) — grid features four pairs of intersecting hair types, arranged symmetrically


Word of the Day: DINA Merrill (18D: Actress Merrill) —

Dina Merrill (born December 9, 1925) is an American actress and socialite. // Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton.^[1] She was educated at The George Washington University. // Merrill acted in twenty-two motion pictures [... and ...] appeared regularly on television in the 1960s [...] Merrill is a presidential appointee to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a trustee of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Foundation, a vice president of the New York City Mission Society. // She served on the board of directors and the compensation committee of Lehman Brothers for 18 years until 2007.

• • •

A very interesting theme idea, with an usual theme answer pattern. Conceptually, I loved it. Theme made the puzzle slightly harder than a normal Monday, though (3:24), as I had no idea what Mamie feature was supposed to be definitive and had no idea what Tina Turner and Jon Bon Jovi could possibly have in common. Also, don't know how a BRAID is different from a PLAIT (would never in a million years have associated PLAIT with Pippi). The cluing seemed a bit off in places — actually, more unnecessarily wordy than flat-out off. 29D: What tagging a runner and catching a fly ball result in is an eternal clue for OUTS (also, sometimes you tag a runner and he is not, in fact, out). Why not [Apartment payment] for RENT? Do we need "dweller's" in there? Isn't [Mosey] enough to clue AMBLE. Why [Mosey along]? Much SODA POP is not, in fact, "sugary." The clue on WREN is undoubtedly accurate (36D: Bird that perches with its tail erect) but did *nothing* to signal WREN to me. My wife knows more about birds than I. I asked, "Is that what you think of when you think of WREN?" She thought about it a bit. "No." Still, all these cluing issues were just annoying static — the core of the puzzle was sound and enjoyable.

A couple more issues, though, having to do with theme consistency. MANES is really generic as it applies to human hair. A POMPADOUR and BANGS and a BRAID are all fairly limited in their meanings, whereas MANES could be any old thick head of hair. Further, LOCKS is just ... hair. Rapunzel had looong LOCKS, but LOCKS is not a hair style. So it's an outlier. So is BEARD, as all the other hairs are on the top of the head; BEARD is the only facial hair of the bunch. Lastly, some answers are plural. Some are not. So it's a bit wonky, but it'll do. The imagination and ambition of the theme makes the wonkiness fade in importance.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Elvis Presley feature (POMPADOUR)
• 5D: Abraham Lincoln feature (BEARD)

• 19A: Mamie Eisenhower feature (BANGS)
• 11D: Jon Bon Jovi and Tina Turner features (MANES)

• 60A: Willie Nelson feature (BRAID)
  
• 51D: Pippi Longstocking feature (PLAIT)

• 62A: Betty Boop and Superman features (SPITCURLS)
  
• 53D: Rapunzel feature (LOCKS)
  

ATTIRED (30A: Clad) and APPAREL (49A: Clothing) are eerily similar words, and not just because both relate to clothing. Same length, vowels and consonants all in same places, "A" "R" and "E" all in the same places, and double-letter in same places. If your APPAREL is MESHY, it might be SAUCY. It might also be SO BAD that I have to leave the room. If you are ATTIRED in PARSNIPS, well, god help you.

Bullets:

• 23A: Shoulder muscle, informally (DELT) — just blanked on this. My brain went "LAT" then ... nothing.
  
• 1D: Dirty Harry's employer: Abbr. (SFPD) — There is just one fact that all solvers know about the SFPD. This is it. If you have to be known by one fact, it's not a bad one.

• 13D: They may be sordid (PASTS) — I thought TALES. Another reason why the NE took me much longer than the other quadrants.
  
• 28D: Real estate (LAND) — I thought LOTS.
  
• 31D: Give a shellacking (TROMP) — this word looks wronger the more I stare at it. Like it can't decide if it's TROUNCE or STOMP.
  

First day of my spring break, which I will spend, partly, on the phone with an Apple representative. Ugh. Words can't describe how much I despise dealing with computer glitches. Maybe I'll get lucky and the problem will be something small and stupid. That way, I'll just feel humiliated instead of humiliated, incompetent, and frustrated.

Oh, and congratulations to known crossworder Sherman Alexie on winning the Pen/Faulkner Award last week for "War Dances," a fantastic book with at least one story ("Fearful Symmetry") in which crossword-solving figures prominently. You should get a copy. That's A-L-E-X-I-E. Will Shortz, I'm looking at you :)

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

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MONDAY, Jun. 15 2009 — Currier's partner in lithography / Le Dejeuner des Canotiers painter / Willow for wicker / Commercial prefix with Lodge

Constructor: John Dunn

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: PR MEN (38A: Promoters ... or a description of 17-, 23-, 46- and 57-Across) — theme answers are men whose initials are "P.R."

Word of the Day: OSIER (65A: Willow for wicker) — n.

1. 1. Any of several willows having long rodlike twigs used in basketry, especially the Eurasian Salix viminalis and S. purpurea.
   2. A twig of one of these trees.
2. Any of various similar or related trees.

[Middle English, from Old English oser and Old French osier, both from Medieval Latin osera, osiera.]

I've got nothin' this morning. You know, I once had this idea for a puzzle — repurpose the crosswordy word CBERS (those who use a CB radio) as a theme, then have the theme answers be all people whose initials were "C.B." Charles Bronson, Carrie Bradshaw, whatever. But then I thought, "Nah, that's not clever at all." And then I did today's puzzle. The end. Here's a question — why does every single site I look at for RENOIR have his name as PIERRE-AUGUSTE? That's how his name exists in my head as well. Seems bad form at a minimum, and flat wrong at a maximum, to put him in the puzzle as simply PIERRE RENOIR. In fact, PIERRE RENOIR is a different guy entirely — PIERRE RENOIR was RENOIR's son, a stage actor, and the older brother of filmmaker Jean RENOIR. So many PR MEN in the world, you'd think you could find a sub here for PIERRE-Auguste.

Theme answers:

• 17A: "Portnoy's Complaint" author (Philip Roth)
• 23A: Founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network (Pat Robertson)
• 46A: "Le Dejeuner des Canotiers" painter (Pierre Renoir)
• 57A: He didn't really cry "The British are coming!" (virtually anybody, but here, Paul Revere)

I had one little slip-up on my way to the finish. Did the Downs in the NW without proper attention to the crosses. Clues like 3D: With 41-Down, seemingly will make me do that. Just wing it. So I had AS IF instead of AS IT. Then I spelled 4D: Be a wizard or an elf, say, in Dungeons & Dragons thusly: ROLL PLAY. You ROLL dice in D&D. That is my paltry defense. Then I looked up in the NW a bit later and saw that I had SIFL for 20A: Word after Web or camp (site). Otherwise, an ERROR-free (32D: Misplay, e.g.), EASY (37A: "Duck soup!") Monday.

Bullets:

• 14A: "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg" writer (Aesop) — had the AES- and without looking at the clue (!) wrote in AESIR. This is why I don't use pen.
• 52A: Currier's partner in lithography (Ives) — Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt IVES, in case you ever wondered. There's also a Burl IVES and a composer, Charles IVES.

• 62A: Three wishes granter (genie) — I'm just going to entertain myself this morning...

• 22D: They're worn under blouses (bras) — crossing a hosiery clue (22A: Hosiery hue). Nice.
• 29D: "Mum's the word!" ("It's a secret!") — this is probably just fine, but for some reason isn't striking me as a common exclamatory phrase. "It's a deal!" Yes. This one ... OK, maybe.
• 28D: Mulching matter (peat) — alliteration!
• 44D: Stock analysts study them (trends) — I had the "T" and threw down TRENDS as a first guess. Lucky.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

My L.A. Times puzzle write-up is here.

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