Start of recuperative word ladder / TUE 9-27-16 / Taiwan-based computer maker / Orbital high points / Service symbolized by blue white eagle / brand of bubbly familiarly / Andrea ill-fated ship / Morsel for aardvark

Constructor: Robert Cirillo

Relative difficulty: Challenging (For. A. Tuesday.)

THEME: SICK to WELL word ladder — clue on SICK = 1A: Start of a "recuperative" word ladder ending at 73-Across; Word ladder = SICK SILK SILT WILT WELT WELL

Theme answers:

• AN APPLE A DAY (30A: How to avoid becoming 1-Across, so they say)
• CHICKEN SOUP (49A: Aid for getting 73-Across, so they say)

Word of the Day: DAKAR (53A: Capital of Senegal) —

Dakar (English pronunciation: /dɑːˈkɑːr, ˈdækər/;^[5][6] French: [da.kaʁ]) is the capital and largest city of Senegal. // It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city in the Old World and on the African mainland. Its position, on the western edge of Africa, is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth into a major regional port. // According to 31 December 2005 official estimates, the city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 2.45 million people. // Dakar is a major administrative center, home to the Senegal National Assembly and the Presidential Palace. (wikipedia)

• • •

Hello darkness I mean Tuesday, my old friend. You've come to be terrible again. Was really hoping for a pleasant diversion (I am current solving / writing in the middle of a self-imposed news blackout 'cause I just can't deal with the debate stuff right now), but this was painful. First, word ladder? What year is it? Always a terrible, boring, old, played-out idea—unless you do something truly remarkable with it, I suppose. That's the thing about Great puzzles: they can sometimes take an old idea and make it new. This ... is not one of those puzzles. Unremarkable word ladder that simply takes up space—and with unclued words (this largely accounts for the "Challenging" rating). Also, AN APPLE A DAY does not fit the word ladder. At all. Sorry. No. Give me another "cure" or give me nothing. And the non-theme stuff, just dreary. Old and stale. KOP THOS ONS. BONA MORA ORA DORIA. LESE AER ECRU ELLA ERIE ELI ERLE. TSETSE TSO OREOS OLIO oh oh oh please dear god send help. The two longer Downs, fine. The rest, scrap.


I fell into one very dark hole, which is the *other* reason (besides the unclued words in the word ladder) that this played harder-than-average for me. With --LEAS- in place, I wrote in RELEASE at 22D: Let loose (UNLEASH). What are the odds you're going to have four letters in place, come up with an answer that fits perfectly, and botch it. Low, I'd say. But today, I botched it. Not an easy pit to climb out of. OUT TO WIN was vicious to parse (21A: Seeking victory). [Socially unacceptable] and NON-PC are not the same. In fact, I don't think NON-PC is a thing. Most "socially unacceptable" things have Zero to do with whatever PC is (and usually "PC" is just what bigots call it when their bigotry gets pointed out). Farting in an elevator—socially unacceptable, nothing to do with "PC." On the flip side, in plenty of social contexts, being so-called "NON-PC" is perfectly acceptable, even encouraged. I hate UNPC and NONPC as answers, generally. Would never ever use them. Bad fill in every way. Delete them from your word lists, please.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. ATWT STES TOR GUNG MCI IANS (so many IANS...)

P.P.S. my wife is SICK and I wish she were WELL, not least because today is our anniversary.

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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#2 hit by Richard Harris / 3-31-14 / Jane Fonda sci-fi / Ars Poetica

Yay! We're back!  Just like the first ray of sunshine after a long, gray, endless winter. For those who don't know us, we're Liz and Jenny, aka Rex's BFFs. Here's a little more about us: Our spirit animal is an ELK (31A - Antlered animal); our celebrity soulmate is Brad (29A-Of "Moneyball") PITT; if we were a snack food, we'd be a (14A-Triangular chip) DORITO; if we could have any hairstyle, we'd have an (40A-Bushy hairdo) AFRO; the place we should live is (53D- Jakarta's Island) JAVA; if we were a constellation, we'd be (51A-The handle of the Big Dipper is its tail) URSA MAJOR. (Rex hasn't begged us to blog in a while, so we've been killing time taking BuzzFeed quizzes. Don't judge...you know you take them too).

Constructor: Robert Cirillo

Relative difficulty: So easy, even we can do it! (Oh right...that's why we're here)

THEME: MA and PA — All starred clues are 2-word (except for one that is 3-word) phrases where the first word starts with "MA" and the last word starts with "PA"

Word of the Day: SEINFELD

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998. It lasted nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself. Set predominantly in an apartment block in Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City, the show features a handful of Jerry's friends and acquaintances, particularly best friend George Costanza (Jason Alexander), former girlfriend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and neighbor across the hall Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).

We know, we know, it's not in the puzzle. But, in addition to taking BuzzFeed quizzes, we've been watching a lot of Seinfeld reruns on the the TV. There are so many references to Seinfeld in the answers. Is Mr. Cirillo a fan? All clues point to YES!

Speaking of Seinfeld...last April, Liz went to LA. On the flight out, she told her husband "If I could meet any star in LA, I'd want to meet Larry David."

Look what happened at baggage claim!!

Theme answers:

• MAsquerade PArty (16-A: *Where Romeo and Juliet meet)
• MAssage PArlor (24-A *Often-seedy establishment)
• MAcarthur PArk (42-A *1978 #1 Donna Summer hit that covered a 1968 #2 hit by Richard Harris)
• MArdi Gras PArade (56-A *New Orleans event with floats)

Ma and Pa reminds us of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer makes Jerry take his shoes to the Ma and Pa shop to be cleaned or re-soled or something. And Kramer gets a nosebleed, puts his head back, and sees wires sticking out of the ceiling. Somehow the fire marshall gets involved and Ma and Pa can't afford to fix the wires and they skip town with all of Jerry's shoes. Oh, and guess what??!! They don't even have kids! So they're totally not even a Ma or a Pa!!

Seinfeld clues:

• MAandPA (35-A Rural couple...or what the respective halves of the four starred clues start with) — see above
• MAssage PArlor (24-A *Often-seedy establishment) — George gets a massage from a male masseuse, and he thinks "it" moved
• MAcarthur PArk (42-A *1978 #1 Donna Summer hit that covered a 1968 #2 hit by Richard Harris) — Jerry has a box of stuff from his grandparents and in it, is a statute that George wants because, when he was a kid, his parents had the same statue, and he used it as a microphone to sing "Macarthur Park" and accidentally threw it during the finale and it broke.
• PITT (29-A Brad of Moneyball) — Elaine worked for Mr. Pitt!

That's all for now. For those in the Mid-Atlantic area, join Rex's BFF Liz at the 12th annual Annapolis Book Festival on April 5 from 10-4:30. Until next time, just remember, if we were a 1968 Jane Fonda sic-fi film, we'd be (10D) BARBARELLA; if we were a breakfast food, we'd be an (59A-Yolk's place) EGG; if we were a car, we'd be a (60A-famously available in any color, as long as it was black) MODEL T; and if we were a song, we'd be (46D-a 1961 hit) RAMA LAMA DING DONG!

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Haile Selassie disciple / TUE 10-29-13 / Regulatory inits since 1934 / Priest's garment / Yule libation / Sharer's opposite

Constructor: Robert Cirillo

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: HOUSE (37A: Word that can follow both halves of 18-, 20-, 32-, 40-, 54- and 57-Across) — just what it says

Theme answers:

• 18A: Military muscle (FIREPOWER)
• 20A: Sign of change at the Vatican (WHITE SMOKE)
• 32A: Functional lawn adornment (BIRD BATH)
• 40A: Take every last cent of (CLEAN OUT)
• 54A: "Go" signal (GREEN LIGHT)
• 57A: Using all of a gym, as in basketball (FULL COURT)

Word of the Day: ALB (33D: Priest's garment) —

The alb (from the Latin Albus, meaning white), one of the liturgical vestments of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and many Methodist churches, is an ample white garment coming down to the ankles and is usually girdled with a cincture. It is simply the long linen tunic used by the Romans. In early Medieval Europe it was also normally worn by secular clergy in non-liturgical contexts. (wikipedia)

• • •

Seen it. Sort of. Here's a 2008 version of this same theme (with fewer answers and a longer but more absurd reveal).

I have advocated that this theme type ("both halves of phrase can precede X") be retired, and this puzzle only strengthens my opinion. Theme answers are in the service of a concept that a. is not appreciable while solving and b. is not really "aha"-worthy after solving. If you just look at the grid, it looks like the world's dullest puzzle. Maybe not dullest, but up there in dullness, for sure. As I've said before, the bar seems to have been raised in terms of theme density required for this theme type, but why is theme density good when the theme answers aren't entertaining and don't add any real value? Also, HOUSE? You could go on for an eternity with ___ HOUSE phrases. That 2008 puzzle shares only one theme answer with this one, and this one has several non-theme words that can precede house. DREAM. OPEN. ICE. Without a sensational revealer and very interesting theme answers, this theme type is just an exercise. A ho-hum curiosity. Doesn't help that the fill in this one is PRETTY AWFUL. Five mediocre to bad answers before I even get out of the NW. Seriously. Come on, man. ASPERSE? Don't blow your longer answers on junk like that.


Clue on FULL COURT is phenomenally tone deaf, sports-wise. [Using all of a gym]? I can't even conceive of a context in which that phrase has meaning. Does your gym have only the one court? No other parts? Like stands or sidelines or a locker room or something? "Gym" is, in no universe, synonymous with "court." FULL-COURT press is a type of basketball defense. But as far as I know, the defense uses the court, not The Whole Gym (also, if the game is going on, you are technically "using" the whole court at all times). Gym is the building, court is in the building. Here, I'll let Homer explain it to you.


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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First woman to sit in British House of Commons / MON 8-20-12 / Help for newbies / Parisian girlfriends / Caustic alkalis

Constructor: Robert Cirillo

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: LUCK (52D: Word that can follow the starts of 20-, 26-, 43- and 52-Across)

• BEGINNER'S GUIDE (20A: Help for newbies)
• DUMB QUESTION (26A: There's no such thing as this, according to a saying)
• TOUGH AS NAILS (43A: Really strong)
• LADY NANCY ASTOR (52A: First woman to sit in the British House of Commons)

Word of the Day: LADY NANCY ASTOR —

Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor, CH, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was the first woman to sit as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons.^{[Note 1]} She was the wife of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor. (wikipedia)

• • •

I say all of the following in the context of having finished the puzzle in roughly 3 and a half minutes.

Of all the ladies in the world, dear lord. No idea who LADY NANCY ASTOR is, so that alone made this tougher than usual. DUMB QUESTION is a good answer, but not Monday-easy to get to today. But I could've just been in some kind of Pimm's & Cider stupor because I couldn't see BEGINNER'S GUIDE until I had about 12/14 of it filled in. So it was on the tough side for a Monday, theme-wise. Otherwise, fairly normal I guess. Several long Downs, none of them interesting. Ordinary fill all around. Adequate, but a bit subpar as "Word That Can Follow" puzzles go.

I have to get back to enjoying the public roasting that Todd Akin is getting right now on all social media. His comments about "legitimate rape" were abhorrent, but the resulting push back has been tremendous, not to mention hilarious. Heartening to know there are apparently *some* limits to the nonsensical shit you can say with impunity. Here's a pic (re-)tweeted by actress Rashida Jones earlier this evening, marked "Akin's knowledge of science extends to this..."

Bullets:

• 5D: Former German chancellor Konrad (ADENAUER) — "der ALTE" to crossword aficionados everywhere.
• 57A: Home of Lima and Toledo (OHIO) — I was the sucker whose first thought was "they're in totally different countries!"
• 60A: The Who's "___ Get Fooled Again" ("WON'T") — embarrassingly, I waffled between WON'T and DON'T for a while. I knew the lyric was WON'T, but ... bah. I have no excuse. 
• 63A: Caustic alkalis (LYES) — had -YES and ... and ... wanted DYES, I think. OK, now I'm starting to think it was damn miracle I finished this as fast as I did. Clearly at least one cylinder was not firing. Ah well. Tomorrow is another day and all of that.

Reminder: still reviewing the grids / theme ideas of aspiring crossword constructors thru Aug. 25. No charge. Got a nice little team of constructors helping me out. We've fielded submissions from somewhere between 15-20 constructors so far. They seem pleased with the feedback. Submissions to rexparker at mac dot com.

OK, bye for now.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Israeli statesman Abba / TUE 2-9-10 / Irish patriot Robert / Pipe material for Frosty snowman / Movable article personal property

Constructor: Robert Cirillo

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: 3x3 — theme answers end with a three-letter string appearing three times in succession.

Word of the Day: Abba EBAN (30D: Israeli statesman Abba) —

From 1966 to 1974, Eban served as Israel's foreign minister, defending the country's reputation after the Six-Day War. Nonetheless, he was a strong supporter of giving away the territories occupied in the war in exchange for peace. He played an important part in the shaping of UN Security Council Resolution 242 in 1967 (as well as UN Security Council Resolution 338 in 1973). Among others high level contacts, Pope Paul VI received Foreign Minister Abba Eban in 1969. (wikipedia)

• • •

I've seen BONBON, CAN CAN, etc., played with in similar ways before. Theme answers are bouncy and entertaining enough, I suppose, but I really wish they cohered more. I was happy at first, as I thought they would all relate to foreign lands or their inhabitants. The puzzle very nearly pulls something close to that off, with Iberia and Africa and South America represented, but then there's BOTTOM TOM TOM, where the clue refers to no place in particular. Shrug. Wasn't as if the theme were tight to begin with, but it would have been nice to have something other than the repeated letter string.

Bigger issue today is an incredibly sloppy, even lazy grid.

Tired old xword denizens, drinking at the bar and wallowing in nostalgia for the glory days: ALETA, THAD, EBAN, CAHN, STAHL, EMMET (53D: Irish patriot Robert)

Things that are parts of words or barely words: BATE, ERST, ROTO, CAVA, HEMI, PHILE

But worst of all — not two, not three, not Four, but FIVE partials: TO A, GET A, ON OR, NO MAN, and (worst of all) A SON. Most good constructors try to have as few partials as possible in their grids, with three being, for most, an absolute outer limit. I don't know if I've seen four in a puzzle. Maybe. But five!? Five says "I don't &$^%ing care." Further, "A SON of the Sun" is an exceedingly minor work in the London corpus. It doesn't even have its own Wikipedia entry. By comparison, "The Son of the Sun," the first Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa, does.

Theme answers:

• 20A: Chocolate candy from Portugal? (LisBON BONBON)
• 32A: African nomad who hasn't had a thing to drink? (soBER BERBER)
• 41A: Lively Indian dance? (InCAN CAN-CAN)
• 54A: Drum that's under all the others? (botTOM TOM TOM)

Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
Bullets:

• 24A: Missing link, possibly (apeman) — slowed down here. Wasn't sure if the clue was being used metaphorically or not.
• 46A: "High Hopes" lyricist Sammy (Cahn) — this guy will always remind me of getting yelled at in ALL CAPS by a reader who insisted Sammy CAHN wrote "It Had to Be You" (that was actually Gus KAHN).
• 62A: How a bride and groom leave the altar, metaphorically (as one) — just in case you thought the clue was suggesting that they left the altar actually fused together.
• 64A: "Treasure Island," for one (tale) — ugh. [Any story ever published or told, for one].
• 4D: Filled with trees (timbered) — I kind of like this odd word.
• 5D: Pipe material for Frosty the Snowman (lead) — from his rarely-discussed time as muscle for the mob.
• 6D: Acrobat software maker (Adobe) — the kind of word I'm surprised I don't see more often.
• 43D: Movable article of personal property (chattel) — had -LE spelling at first.
• 51D: Fragrant oil (attar) — I always hesitate at a clue like this, trying to decide between ESTER and ATTAR.
• 60A: See 61-Across (unit) — yeah, this gambit? Doesn't pay off. UNIT just isn't interesting enough to cross-reference *twice*, both times for cruddy little words (ATOM, BYTE).

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

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