Prelate's title /THU 9-2-10/ Dashiell Hammett hero Beaumont / Initials 1967 Beatles song / Nautilus leader / Active volcano near Messina

Constructor: Patrick Blindauer & Andrea Carla Michaels

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: EVERY ACROSS / ANSWER READS FROM / RIGHT TO LEFT (24A: Start of instructions for solving this puzzles) — just what the instructions say; note that with the exception of the instructions, all the answers look just fine in the grid (i.e. all non-theme Across answers look like regular crossword entries, reading *left to right* just fine)


Word of the Day: RT. REV. (11D: Prelate's title: Abbr.) —

abbr.
Right Reverend

• • •

Well, I'm not a huge fan of stunt puzzles most of the time, because the stunt tends to be an architectural feat accomplished only by gutting the puzzle of solving pleasure. Today, I feel that way a little—got the gimmick early, in the NW (where I started), and then spent the rest of the puzzle simply dutifully filling in a grid with lots of short and mostly ordinary fill. It's just that I was entering the Across fill backwards. Would have been an "Easy" puzzle had I done it on paper, but because of the way the cursor works on my software, I couldn't simply enter stuff backwards; I had to imagine how it was spelled backwards, and then enter it that way. This is an important difference. If I'd done it on paper, I wouldn't have lost time thinking of how to spell something backwards. I'd just have started the answer on the right and written leftwards. Anyway, this is immaterial, really. The point is, I was not thrilled. Then I finished and noticed that all of the backwards Across answers also made perfectly good non-backwards words (or abbrevs. or other xword fill). *That* impressed me. But still, it was a belated impression. Not a lot of grid interest when you've got no non-theme Across answer longer than 5 letters. PATRON SAINT (6D: Denis, to France) and CHOREOGRAPH (25D: Stage) are nice, but otherwise, this is just a dull puzzle that's been flipped around.

Biggest struggle was in and around RT. REV., and abbrev. I've never seen. I have *heard* the term "Right Reverend," which is the only thing that allowed me to leave that corner as is. I could imagine a valid answer, and everything else looked good, so I moved on. Never heard of a few things: PER curiam is new to me (33D: ___ curiam (like some court rulings)), as is this clue for RAJA (AJAR in the grid) (63A: The Blue ___ (Hank Azaria's "Mystery Men" role)). That is not a movie most people saw, and today, I am most people. Wanted ANAT. for ASTR. (26D: College sci. class), and needed almost every cross to understand LOFT (27D: Overhead cost for an artist?) — I had LAMP at first. It makes (a kind of ) sense, I swear.

Bullets:

• 44A: Dashiell Hammett hero ___ Beaumont (NED) — "The Glass Key" is an interesting, strange novel. NED Beaumont is *always* referred to as "NED Beaumont," full name.
  
• 68A: Divisions politiques (STATE, i.e. ETATS) — Love this one. French word for "states," spelled backwards, is "STATE."
  
• 35D: Much-discussed initials of a 1967 Beatles song (L.S.D.) — I have no idea what was "much-discussed" or why. I wasn't alive. Aah, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," of course. Here's snopes.com's take on the alleged drug reference.

• 15D: John who co-starred in "Sands of Iwo Jima" (AGAR) — whoa, that's a new AGAR clue (to me). Six movies with John Wayne, but then a lot of B-movies, including such promising titles as "The Mole People" and "Tarantula."
  
• 46D: Bit of A/V equipment (MIC) — slowed me down a bit. I wanted MAC, and before that I didn't know what I wanted because I had ALTI (ITLA) instead of ACRO (ORCA) (56D: Height: Prefix).
  

If you don't know about it yet, be sure to check out Patrick Blindauer's new puzzle website—he's one of the most consistently entertaining constructors around, and his site offers a new free puzzle every month.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Read more...

It has ringers on its team / WED 9-1-10 / French CD holder / Irish county north of Limerick / Restraints for writer Flagg / Number after sieben

Constructor: Michael Torch

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: ADD A PINCH OF SALT (61A: Cooking instruction hinting at this puzzle's theme?) — "NACL" is added to familiar phrases, creating wacky phrases, clued "?"-style


Word of the Day: CLARE (31D: Irish county north of Limerick) —

County Clare (Irish: Contae an Chláir) is one of the twenty-six counties of the Republic of Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, being located in the province of Munster. Located on the west coast of Ireland, Clare is northwest of the River Shannon covering a total area of 1,215 square miles (3,147 km²). The population of the county is 126,194 according to the 2006 census. Clare is the 8th largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 19th largest in terms of population. (wikipedia)

• • •

Without the theme, this thing's D.O.A. Dull as a post. But the theme is clever, with some nice, long, weird answers, so it's not a total loss. Very slow getting started as I had No Idea what to do with that first theme answers. Needed virtually every cross to make any sense of it. In fact, I needed Every cross, as I recall thinking, briefly, "BARNACLE CRESTED?" Second theme answer was almost as weird, but for whatever reason, I could see the base phrase clearly (i.e. SCOTCH PINE), so I could see "NACL" had been added, and the theme was mine! Second half of the puzzle went Much faster as a result. Once again, we have a puzzle with a surfeit of short stuff, which makes for some rough, unpleasant, and overly familiar fill. Plus the longer stuff isn't doing anyone any favors. Both ONE NAME (43D: What Shakira or 25-Down [CHER] goes by) and SENT COD (4D: Not yet paid for, as a mailed package) are less than great. Didn't get SENT COD at all — every letter from crosses — and when I first saw it on reviewing the puzzle, I thought I had an error. Since when is mailing fish a gridworthy activity. Then I got it: not COD. C.O.D. Ah (so). I see.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Like a sunken treasure? (BARNACLE-CHESTED)
  
• 28A: High place near Aberdeen? (SCOTCH PINNACLE)
  
• 46A: Restraints for writer Flagg? (FANNIE MANACLES)
  

6-letter or shorter answer that gave me the most trouble: NUCLEI (8D: Centers). Why!?!? Well, many reasons. Vague clue, non-"S"-ending plural, etc. Also, I completely blanked on ERIN's name despite being a regular viewer of "The Office" (26A: Secretary on "The Office"). Wondered if JENA was spelled thusly, but then remembered that she hasn't been the secretary for a while. I was just having a conversation with someone about whether or not "Real Genius" was a movie one could reasonably ask puzzle solvers to know. With today's 6D: Kilmer of "Real Genius" (VAL) and with that wacky '70s chase movie no one had heard of a few Sundays back ("The Gumball Rally!?!"), I think that question has been answered. "Real Genius" is an important movie in my life. First, I loved it, and second it was filmed largely on my college's campus, and third, I'm not sure VAL Kilmer has ever been better. Highly recommended for light '80s college movie fun.

Did not have a great day on Tuesday— feeling both explicably and inexplicably blue— so I'm going to play a song that makes me exceedingly happy. Warning: the title, and chorus, *is* profanity. So just Don't Press Play if that sort of thing bothers you, OK? OK.


Coincidentally, a new live-action video for this song was released just today. Same song, same warning:


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Read more...