Role for Daveed Diggs on "Black-ish" / WED 9-14-22 / Theme song of a classic western visually suggested six times in this puzzle's grid / Tik-Tok's 3-D musical eighth note, e.g.

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "HAPPY TRAILS" (35A: Theme song of a classic western, visually suggested six times in this puzzle's grid) — I don't know the title of the "classic western" without looking it up, but I'm gonna guess "The ROY ROGERS Show" ???? ... yep, that's it. The show starred ROY ROGERS and his third wife DALE EVANS. Today, the "HAPPY TRAILS" are meandering strings (or "trails") of letters that spell out synonyms of "happy":

The HAPPY TRAILS:

• ELATED
• GLAD
• JOYFUL
• JOLLY
• CHEERY
• MERRY

Word of the Day: "The ROY ROGERS Show" —

The Roy Rogers Show is an American western television series starring Roy Rogers. 100 episodes were broadcast on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951 and June 9, 1957. The episodes were set in the prevailing times (1950s) rather than the old west. Various episodes are known to be in the public domain today, being featured in low budget cable television channels and home video. 

• • •

Wow, we're really going back today. Though their show was bygone well before I was born, these two were still in public consciousness when I was a small child, as was their song, so I was not completely in the dark. I have no idea how I know the song, or at least the part of the song that goes "HAPPY TRAILS to you / Until we meet again ..." Must've been a superfamiliar cultural tidbit, or pre-digital meme, or what have you. Maybe "Looney Tunes" picked it up, that's certainly how I learned about most music / culture from before my time. I think ROY ROGERS went on to found a chain of restaurants, as did DALE EVANS ... no, wait, that's Bob Evans (any relation to Dale? I have no idea). Looks like ROY ROGERS and DALE EVANS have the same number of letters in their names, and somebody decided to make a puzzle about it. The idea probably sounded good. In fact, it kinda sounds good now. Put the stars' names in symmetrical positions, then put their theme song in the middle as a revealer and make a bunch of "happy" "trails" around the grid. If I'm describing it, sure, you might buy it. Seems clever. In practice, however, "trails" (or answers that go off the normal Across / Down directions) do what they always do: put tremendous pressure on the fill and make it predictably mediocre-to-painful. I was wary right away, at O'MEARA (the crosswordesiest golf name of all in the "Longer Than 4 Letters" category), and by the time I had ridden the bygone cowgirl DALE EVANS over to the bygone Mac app ICHAT, I was starting to make faces. The bygone names kept coming: EBAN ... LEEZA ... Then the fussy made-up little phrases ILOSE and ILLGO. By the time I got to that SE corner, with the ACEY G-MAN and *especially* THE ICE (!?!?!), I wanted to stop. I didn't not care about the handful of "HAPPY TRAILS" that awaited me. I wanted to take the horse back to the barn and go get some coffee.

The thing that happens when you take an answer off the Across / Down axes is that ... say you've got a standard (STD!) 8-letter Across answer. Put it in, and now you've got eight Downs that run through it, and each one now has one fixed letter. That's eight fixed letters. Now put that 8-letter on a diagonal instead of an Across and what do you get: the same eight fixed letters for the Downs that have to run through it, *plus* eight more fixed letters for the Acrosses that have to run through it. Locking letters in place really restricts your freedom to fill cleanly, and you essentially double the pressure on the grid when you run an answer on a diagonal. Plus, all those answers with pressure on them are all adjacent to one another. The grid is still fillable, but the results are not likely to make anyone truly ... happy. Today's answers aren't perfect diagonals, but the same idea applies—there's hardly an answer in the entire grid that isn't affected by the theme. I see a handful of Acrosses here and there. And as for Downs, KNOSSOS and WIT are the only Downs in the whole puzzle that doesn't run through at least one theme square. With a theme this dense, it's very hard to make the fill sing. Considering the level of difficulty, this grid is probably filled reasonably well. Basically we get a BUSLOAD of theme instead of CAPFULS, and so the fill creaks throughout. The theme is quaint, and will bring back nostalgic (possibly happy) memories for some portion of the solving audience, but for many others it will be a "????" and so the fill will be all they really have. And at best it's just OK. 

I struggled only in the middle, where I didn't know which -SAT was at issue (28A: Princeton Review subj.), and I couldn't remember Mrs. POTTS (28D: Mrs. ___, "Beauty and the Beast" character), and worst of all I had SPREE for SPEED (32D: Tear). Ironically, I *knew* the [Suburb of Boston], LYNN being far more grid-common than that other infamous suburb of crossword-destroying fame (which remains a ONER in the Shortz Era):

Until we meet again ...

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Austrian city where Kepler taught / WED 10-5-16 / Salem witch trials accuser / Canonized fifth-century pope / Graphics-capturing device / Caffeine laden nut

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: A AND W (65A: Classic root beer brand ... or a hint to the answers to this puzzle's starred clues) — two-word phrases, first word starts with "A," second with "W" ...

Theme answers:

• AD WAR (1A: *Mac-vs.-PC during the early 2000s, e.g.)
• ACID WASH (6A: *Give a worn appearance to, as jeans)
• APPIAN WAY (22A: *Road to ancient Rome)
• ARIZONA WILDCATS (36A: *Tucson collegians)
• ALTAR WINE (49A: *Holy Communion drink)
• AIR WAVES (64A: *Radio medium)
• ABIGAIL WILLIAMS (6D: *Salem witch trials accuser)

Word of the Day: ABIGAIL WILLIAMS —

Abigail Williams (September 15, 1680 – c. 1690s) was one of the primarily initial accusers in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of more than 150 accused witches. (wikipedia)

• • •

Wow, NYT has lapsed into some kind of theme-type funk. Really dusting off the oldies of late. This theme is flat like bad rootbeer. A ... and ... W. And ... that is all. An assortment of A/W phrases, crammed into a poorly filled grid. The end. Pretty POOR. And so much of it. When you try to make up for a weak theme by cramming a lot of it into the grid, you make the problem worse, first because increasing bad never equaled good or even better, and second because your cramming efforts end up causing the rest of the grid to suffer. Terribly. DIR ERNANI ASAMI RENTS before I even got out of the damned NW corner. Problems continue from there. I won't bother enumerating them. They're everywhere. Surprised this one was thought to be NYT-worthy, either in concept or in execution.


Gotta get back to the AL Wild Card game, as it is tied in the top of the 9th, so ... drama! Luckily, I don't have too much to say about this puzzle. I tore through it, with only ABIGAIL WILLIAMS (whom I didn't know) holding me back at all. GRAZ was another mystery. ATIVAN I've heard of, vaguely, but couldn't have told you what it did. ST LEO I is really really bad. Usually it's just STLEO or LEOI, but STLEOI, hoo boy, wow. Two terrible tastes that taste terribler together. I somehow remembered "ERNANI" (not sure how, but it's good to know that 25 years into my solving habit, opera answers are finally beginning to stick). My errors today were stupid and boring, e.g. ATRA for AFTA (22D: Mennen product), OLAF for OLAV (54D: Norway's patron saint) ... I think that's it. Happy to move on from this puzzle. See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Allen whose #3 was retired by 76ers / MON 8-31-15 / Heroine of Purim

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: diving stuff, I guess — three idioms related to diving

Theme answers:

• DIVE IN HEAD FIRST (17A: Attack an endeavor vigorously)
• TAKE THE PLUNGE (37A: Get hitched)
• GO OFF THE DEEP END (58A: Lose one's mind)

Word of the Day: Allen IVERSON (20A: Allen whose #3 was retired by the 76ers) —

Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for four different teams (Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies) during 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iverson was an eleven-time NBA All-Star, won the All-Star game MVP award in 2001 and 2005, and was the NBA's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2001. (wikipedia)

• • •

There's nothing here. There are only three themers, they barely hold together, the fill is from ... well not MEDIEVAL times, but olde tymes for sure. It's a mystery how something this ordinary and unplayful and unambitious is being run in the "greatest puzzle on earth" or whatever it's calling itself this week. The whole thing today is thin to the point of transparency. Pointless. Filler. I don't think there's even anything to say about this puzzle. I asked for help on Twitter and one of my Followers said "I guess the public pool is closing for the winter and the constructor is really sad about it?" Sure. Why not? Who knows? The longer answers are fine, so there's that. But yeesh. It took all my will to go on after I hit this bit, ten seconds in:

A HOER and his OLEOS are soon parted. I need a drink. Good day.


Hey, if you want to remember greatness, listen to me talk about Merl Reagle on the radio. Segment's about 20 min. long, and starts right at the top of the show, around the 1:20 mark.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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French WWI general Ferdinand / MON 3-23-15 / Old Russian autocrat / Hit TV drama starring Gary Sinise / Egyptian cobra / Boat with double-bladed paddle / 1977 hard-rock hit by Ted Nugent / Hajj destination / What bracketologist is caught up in

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (for a Monday)

THEME: All The Rage — two-word phrases (mostly) where second word is a kind of public uproar:

Theme answers:

• KLEPTOMANIA (17A: Compulsion to steal)
• MARCH MADNESS (23A: What a bracketologist is caught up in)
• "CAT SCRATCH FEVER" (37A: 1977 hard-rock hit by Ted Nugent)
• FASHION CRAZE (48A: Miniskirts or oversize sunglasses, once)
• MEDIA FRENZY (59A: What a major scandal results in)

Word of the Day: Ferdinand FOCH (26D: French W.W. I general Ferdinand ___) —

Marshal Ferdinand Foch (French pronunciation: ​[fɔʃ]), (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French soldier, military theorist and the Allied Généralissime during the First World War. (wikipedia)

• • •

This theme is somewhat timely, given that it's currently the season for MARCH MADNESS, and it's also (coincidentally) the day after I rewatched this 1980 classic for the first time in probably thirty years:

[This movie came out in 1980. MIT Mystery Hunt started in 1981. Coincidence? Ha.]

It's pretty straightforward, as themes go. Far more straightforward than most NYT themes. But Monday can be a good stepping-on point for tyros, so if the theme is excessively graspable, no big deal. The grid as a whole is sufficiently lively, so "easy" does not mean "dull" today. I really disliked FOCH in this grid, largely because he seems like a massive outlier, familiarity-wise (in that he lies outside my familiarity entirely, and is probably the least recognizable / generally known answer in this grid by a long shot … though ANYA Seton's fame is sustained almost entirely by crosswords, I think). But I ran my "FOCH sochs!" theory by constructor friends and no one had a problem with it, so it now seems entirely possible that I'm the one who's the outlier. Hmm. The tables are turned. Not sure I like this.


I flailed (!) a lot around the tail-end of FASHION CRAZE. FASHION didn't trigger any familiar phrases in my brain. I guess FASHION CRAZE is a thing. You gotta get to the "A" in "CRAZE" before google actually recommends the phrase FASHION CRAZE, but it seems familiar enough. Fill is a little crusty around the edges (EEK IBEAM ABATH ONA OKIE ETE USOFA CSINY MGT ANYA CZAR), but it holds up.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Mythical king of huns / WED 4-16-14 / Yellowstone bugler / Cuddly sci-fi creature / What scientists use to predict rates of chemical reactions / Arkansas footballers informally

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (again, no idea, as the AcrossLite file at the NYT site was Once Again "corrupt") (it's kind of an embarrassment how bad they are at the tech stuff over there) (oh hey, look, I bugged the right person and the file is no longer corrupt. Too late for me, but …)

THEME: "TITANIC SINKS!" (58A: Headline of April 16, 1912) — theme answers are, in whole or, in the case of one answer, in part, related to the sinking of the Titanic...

Theme answers:

• MAIDEN VOYAGE (20A: Post-christening event)
• COLLISION THEORY (28A: What scientists use to predict the rates of chemical reactions)
• TIP OF THE ICEBERG (49A: Small part that's visible)

Word of the Day: ATLI (45D: Mythical king of the huns) —

n.

A legendary king corresponding to the historical figure of Attila. In the Volsunga Saga he is the second husband of Gudrun. (thefreedictionary.com)

• • •

This doesn't work. First, there's the not major but still significant problem of this "tribute"'s having been done before—and recently, at a time that made much more sense, i.e. just two years ago, when it was the 100th anniversary of the disaster. Second, there's the tepidity of this theme execution. Weak, obvious, untricky answers, including one (COLLISION THEORY) that has a word in it  (THEORY???) that has Zero relationship to the disaster (the collision is not a theory; what caused the collision is not a theory … boat hitting iceberg caused the collision; there were theories about what caused the ship to sink … at first … but … now we know it was an iceberg, right? So ...). Just so weird / awkward to have all the other theme answers be spot-on and literal (to the point of dullness) and then have this lone outlier, totally unrelated to the Titanic except in a half-metaphorical kind of way. I'm baffled. Why was this even accepted? Further: fill is very much subpar. ATLI is ghastly, bottom-of-the-barrel crosswordese. In fact, it's almost definitive in its crosswordesiness. AGER and EDO and KAT, not much better.


I did like OH BOTHER, appropriately/ironically. Had LEAP for [Bound] at 1A, so not the fastest start. I had MAGI for MARY at 10D: Crèche figure—kinda knew I was wrong, as MAGI are figures, plural, but MA- + "Crèche" = MAGI in my brain. Wanted I GOT IT before I DID IT (50D: Cry of success). Odd coincidence (I assume) that I have seen ECLIPSE (5D: Sun block?) at least three times in the past few days, considering there was a lunar ECLIPSE, what, just yesterday? Thought [Globe's place] as a clue for BOSTON was pretty clever. But outside of that answer and the Pooh answer, there's not much here to love.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Singer Hendryx / WED 2-19-14 / Vermont winter destination / Archipelago constituent / Hungry hungry game creatures / Object of ancient Egyptian veneration

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: Drill sergeant commands, reclued — things a drill sergeant might give, with an added three-part "response to a military command" (SIR / YES / SIR)

• FORWARD MARCH (20A: Overly bold member of the "Little Women" family?)
• COMPANY HALT (29A: Result of bankruptcy?)
• PRESENT ARMS (44A: What blood donors do?)
• READY, AIM, FIRE (51A: Motivational words for a boss at layoff time?) — not sure what AIM is doing here. Is that the boss's name? "Ready, Aim? FIRE!"

Word of the Day: Hungry Hungry HIPPOS (34A: "Hungry hungry" game creatures) —

Hungry Hungry Hippos is a tabletop game made for young children, produced by Hasbro, under the brand of its subsidiary, Milton Bradley. The idea for the game was published in 1967 by toy inventor Fred Kroll and it was introduced in 1978. The purpose of the game is for each player to collect as many marbles as possible with his or her 'hippo' (a toy hippo model). The game is marketed under the "Elefun and Friends" banner, along with Elefun and Gator Golf. (wikipedia)

• • •

This seems competently made, though I found it quite boring. I like the idea of recluing the themers as "?" clues (cute), and the "SIR,  / YES / SIR!" bonus was a nice touch, but there's nothing terribly interesting about the theme answers themselves (kind of monotonous) and there is nothing interesting about the puzzle outside the theme (except maybe DIPHTHONG, a great word). Lots of dull fill—stuff most people aren't really going to notice because they've come to accept it as normal. In today's NYT, dull fill is the stuff you tolerate in order to enjoy the juicy thematic center. What's another OMOO, OTOE, ERE, TEHEE, ESME, etc.? We're largely inured to this parade of crosswordese. So there's really nothing out-of-the-ordinary about the fill here. It's right where the NYT's standards are. Would've been great if you could've avoided NONA, which is highly avoidable proper noun crosswordese, and DIAG., which is just ugly, but honestly there's nothing egregious here.


Yes, SIR gets repeated, but that's part of the theme phrase, so it can hardly be considered a fault/flaw. I always have trouble spelling SAGET, in that I can't decide on the final vowel: A or E. SAGAT always looks very right, but that may just the influence of ZAGAT talking. Didn't have much trouble otherwise, except in the N., where I didn't register the capital "Y" on "Yodels" in 14A: Relatives of Yodels (HO-HOS) and so kept trying to think of other kinds of alpine wails (unsuccessfully).

See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Fragrance of roses / MON 1-9-12 / Doughnut shapes mathematically speaking / Fantasy realm of C.S. Lewis / Like Dubai's Burj Khalifa

Constructor: Michael Dewey

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: blank LIKE A bird of some kind

Word of the Day: SCALAWAG (4D: Rapscallion) —

In United States history, scalawag was a derogatory nickname for southern whites who supported Reconstruction following the Civil War. (wikipedia)

• • •

Another very slight theme. 76-word grid, decently filled. All in all, fine. Completely forgettable, but fine.

[42A: Rockers Clapton and Burdon] 

Theme answers:

• 20A: Soar (FLY LIKE AN EAGLE)
• 38A: Tell everything to the coppers (SING LIKE A CANARY)
• 51A: Carefully guard (WATCH LIKE A HAWK)

Weird thing about solving experience for me was getting all the way to the bottom of the grid before I had a single theme answer or any idea of what the theme was. Had the SCA- of SCALAWAG but couldn't do anything with it, so I ended up riding ICICLE down to ISAAC over to ASIAN down to SNOB over to BUTANE (with some small detours along the way, I'm sure). All very quickly. Then got WATCH LIKE A HAWK, but it wasn't until a bit later, with SING LIKE A CANARY, that I picked up the (very) slight theme. Had some confusion along the way. Started with ILLS for WOES. Read [Number after a © symbol] as [Number after a @ symbol] and so YEAR made No sense. Clue on TALL is pretty ridiculous (11D: Like Dubai's Burj Khalifa). Michael Jordan is TALL. Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. TALL is bathetic in the extreme. Calling that building TALL is like calling the Great Wall of China LONG. Understatement. Clue out of proportion to answer. Absurdity.



I like how SLIP and KNOT(TY) are right next to each other. I also like how this puzzle has no J. Yes I do.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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