Toluca lucre / SUN 12-25-22 / Nickname of Looney Tunes animator Ben Hardaway / Grilled cornmeal cake popular in Latin America / Purple-crayon-carrying boy of children's literature / Cat breed with a shabby-sounding name / Animal whose name comes from the Narragansett word for twig-eater / The Rose City so nicknamed for its pink sandstone

Constructor: John Martz

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Novel Thinking" — ordinary phrases are clued as if they related to famous novels:

[not by RLS!]

Theme answers:

• HOME PAGES (24A: "Little House on the Prairie," e.g.?) (because it's "pages" ... about a "home") (!?!?)
• GHOSTWRITING (26A: "The Haunting of Hill House," e.g.?) (because it's "writing" ... about a "ghost")
• FLUID VOLUME (40A: "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," e.g.?) (because it's a "volume" ... set in "fluid" (i.e. the sea)) 
• SECOND STORY (45A: "Back to Treasure Island," e.g.?) (because it's the "second" part of the "Treasure Island" "story") (?!?!?!)
• PRISON SENTENCES (61A: "Crime and Punishment," e.g.?) (because it's "sentences" about a "prison") (there's not really a prison in this book, I don't think, but ... OK)
• ADDRESS BOOK (80A: "If Beale Street Could Talk," e.g.?) (because it's a "book" about an ... "address")
• ANIMAL PRINT (89A: "Fantastic Mr. Fox," e.g.?) (because it is a "print" (well, printed material, anyway) about an "animal")
• WORKING TITLE (99A: "The Help," e.g.?) (because it is a "title" about people who are "working")
• BUZZ WORDS (105A: "The Secret Life of Bees," e.g.?) (because it is "words" about creatures that "buzz")

Word of the Day: "The Haunting of Hill House" (26A) —

The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 gothic horror novel by American author Shirley Jackson. A finalist for the National Book Award and considered one of the best literary ghost stories published during the 20th century, it has been made into two feature films and a play, and is the basis of a Netflix series. Jackson's novel relies on terror rather than horror to elicit emotion in the reader, using complex relationships between the mysterious events in the house and the characters' psyches. (wikipedia)

• • •

So much Christmas disappointment. First of all, the holiday *actually* falls on the crossword's big day (literally, the biggest day), and you ... pass? I've seen so many holiday puzzles published on holiday-adjacent days, but here you have the opportunity to hit it right on the money and ... nothing. But OK, you're not feeling festive, that's fine, but it's a big holiday, lots of people sitting around doing nothing, avoiding family, whatever, so lots of people are going to be doing this one; surely you're gonna put forth your "A" game—something really impressive. But ... no. It's an ordinary, workmanlike effort that stretches the concept of "wordplay" too thin and generally yields no laughs, chuckles, guffaws, or other gleeful noises. The "novel" concept just doesn't work here, in that so many of these "novel"-related terms are only horrifically vaguely related to actual novels. "Book," "volume," great, "story," OK, but after that the connection becomes tenuous and the words become fragments of novels so small that they could relate to any piece of writing. Like "writing." Or "title." And "sentences?" "Words?" The whole "Novel" conceit just doesn't hold up. 

And yet ... if the theme answers were themselves snappy and fun and clearly novel-related, I would still have been happy. But ..."HOME"?? The connection to "Little House on the Prairie" is just ... HOME? They're PAGES about ... HOME? Because ... what, "house" means "HOME?" The whole thing is literal to a painful degree, such that it doesn't even matter what the novels are actually about. A fox *is* an animal, the help ... work, I guess. So you don't even get the spark of some real thematic connection between novels and theme answers. In the case of PRISON SENTENCES, it's like there's no connection at all. I just read a summary of "Crime and Punishment" and (as I thought) there's no "PRISON" in it at all, except in the epilogue. But I guess that "punishment" for "crime" is (often) "PRISON," so ... good enough?  In the case of SECOND STORY, the content of the novel really really Really doesn't matter. Nothing particularly "Treasure Island"-y at all there. Could've used literally any sequel in that clue. Sigh. I love novels, but I just don't get this theme. Or I do get it, but I cannot feel whatever it is that's supposed to make it joyful to solve.

The puzzle was not hard, but it was slow-going with the theme answers, mostly due to issues discussed above (i.e. I could not make sense of the answers because their connections to the novels in question seemed so wispy). I'd get the front end of an answer and still have no idea about the back end, and then vice versa. But this just meant hacking at crosses—never really getting stuck. I could easily have finished with an error, since I had *no* idea what the animator's nickname was supposed to be at 1A: Nickname of Looney Tunes animator Ben Hardaway (who???), so I had to get it all from crosses, and let me tell you, GONG seemed like a very good answer to 1D: Hit it! When that gave me GUGS for the animator's nickname, I figured it must be right—obscure clue for an obscure answer. But then my brain went, "yeesh, why didn't they change that first letter to something like [rolodexes through -UGS words] BUGS ... oh ... oh, hang on! BUGS ... BUGS Bunny ... and then BONG for [Hit it!] ... yeah, that must be it. And now we're back to 'yeesh'." If you'd had a reasonable clue on BUGS, then you wouldn't have had "Ben" in the clue and *then* you could've turned 76-Across from BON to BEN, which is better, but also much Much better in the cross (changing NOONS :( to NEONS :). 

Part of the puzzle I loved was the clue on T-BONE STEAK (69D: Cut with a letter opener?). That is all kinds of devilish and brilliant. Just a great double misdirect, with both "Cut" and "letter opener" knocking you off balance. That answer next to BAD VIBES was the highlight of the puzzle for me, for sure. LOOT BAGS threw me, as I know them as MONEYBAGS, if I know them at all. And PETRA really threw me, as there was no "ancient" in the clue and the only "Rose City" I know (I thought!) was Portland, OR. Yes, I remembered correctly: Portland is the "City of Roses" or "Rose City" (per wikipedia). And it's an actual city that still exists, whereas PETRA is more UNESCO site than city now. What else? I had TEMPLE before CHAPEL (14D: Place of worship), but that's the only real mistake I made (besides GUGS, of course, LOL). Hope you liked this one more than I did, and that you are having a lovely Christmas or just a lovely Sunday, whichever is more meaningful to you. See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Old televangelism org. / SAT 12-24-22 / Sockeye relative / Ancient arts venue / 1979 J.D. Souther hit with a rhyming title / Constantly evolving social phenomenon / Old pad holders / Letters used in absence of a letter / Roman emperor who overthrew Galba

Constructor: Trenton Charlson

Relative difficulty: Easy (very)

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: Pontiac (33A: Pontiac, for one => OTTAWA) —

Pontiac or Obwaandi'eyaag (c. 1714/20 – April 20, 1769) was an Odawa war chief known for his role in the war named for him, from 1763 to 1766 leading Native Americans in an armed struggle against the British in the Great Lakes region due to, among other reasons, dissatisfaction with British policies. It followed the British victory in the French and Indian War, the American front of the Seven Years' War. Pontiac's importance in the war that bears his name has been debated. Nineteenth-century accounts portrayed him as the mastermind and leader of the revolt, but some subsequent scholars argued that his role had been exaggerated. Historians today generally view him as an important local leader who influenced a wider movement that he did not command.

The war began in May 1763 when Pontiac and 300 followers attempted to take Fort Detroit by surprise. His plan foiled, Pontiac laid siege to the fort, where he was eventually joined by more than 900 warriors from a half-dozen tribes. Meanwhile, messengers spread the word of Pontiac's actions, and the war expanded far beyond Detroit. In July 1763, Pontiac defeated a British detachment at the Battle of Bloody Run, but he was unable to capture the fort. In October, he lifted the siege and withdrew to the Illinois Country. Pontiac's actions contributed to the British Crown's issuance of the Proclamation of 1763, which prohibited any settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains to preserve an area for Native Americans.

Pontiac's influence declined around Detroit because of the siege but he gained stature as he continued to encourage the various tribal leaders to fight against the British. Seeking to end the war, British officials made him the focus of their diplomatic efforts. In July 1766, he made peace with British Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson. The British attention to Pontiac aroused resentment among other tribal leaders, as the war effort was decentralized. Pontiac claimed greater authority than he possessed. He was increasingly ostracized and in 1769 he was assassinated by a Peoria warrior. (wikipedia)

• • •

["SO CLOSE / SO CLOSE
and YET SO FAR"]

Nice way to be welcomed back from the hinterlands—with a fantastically easy Saturday puzzle. There's a bit more emphasis on architecture than content (i.e. it's showing off a bit with those pairs of 15s around the perimeter, which end up being the only interesting parts of the grid), but several of the 15s are strong enough, and the grid is clean enough, for an overall enjoyable solving experience. Truthfully, it was going to be hard for the puzzle to lose my goodwill after the first bunch of 15s opened up in a way that felt like a personal love letter to me. My first long answer, the gimme that opened the puzzle right up, was J.D. Souther's crooning late-70s pop rock classic, "YOU'RE ONLY LONELY" (13A: 1979 J.D. Souther hit with a rhyming title). Such an underrated / underheralded songwriter, that guy. He co-wrote many of the Eagles' hits, including the beautiful "New Kid in Town" (1976), as well as the similarly wistful (and gorgeous) "Her Town Too," which he sang as a duet with James Taylor (it went to #11 in 1981). Songs about loneliness and towns—he had the market cornered on those circa 1980. I'm a big fan.

The next 15 that felt like it was aimed right at me came right after "YOU'RE ONLY LONELY"—it was similarly easy, and when I got it, I knew the ride was going to be over almost before it had begun. That answer: EUCALYPTUS TREES (3D: Bush growths). Really *really* helped to be (currently) Down Under, where (even in NZ) "the bush" is the term for all wild areas. With the answer starting "EU-" there was really only one direction it could go, and it went there. After those easy 15s, the short crosses proved simple, the parallel 15s followed, before I knew it (!) I had done an easy lap around the track. I just filled in the missing spaces from there, no sweat:

You can see from this screenshot that I botched the ATL clue at first (21A: N.L. East team, on scoreboards). That was just casual negligence—I know very well STL is in the N.L. Central. My brain just glitched. That error was easily spotted and fixed. It was a very St. Louis-y puzzle, what with the L.A. RAMS being clued via their former St. Louis home (45A: Team that moved back from St. Louis in 2016, informally), and CST being clued via St. Louis as well, and ... I dunno, ATL and PTL kinda dressing up like STL a little. I don't think I had any struggles after the opening 1A: Ancient arts venue (ODEON), which I wanted to be AGORA. I wasn't sure what was going to follow FLY- at 6D: Casting choice (FLYROD), but it wasn't hard to find out. I'm not as big a "Mockingbird" fan as some of y'all, so EWELL is not in my primary storehouse of literary (or cinematic) names, but it came to me, eventually, from somewhere, so thank you, crossword gods. I forgot ROSA Bonheur despite having seen her ... feels like just a month or so ago ... Yes! She was Word of the Day on Nov. 18! I feel bad that I forgot her but clearly I didn't *completely* forget her, so maybe next time. Only other real trouble spot (and it wasn't too real) came at 59A: Takes credit, in a way (OWES), which I had as OWNS. Not in love with "take credit" here, but I guess if a lender *extends* you credit, then ... you take it, sure, OK. 

Explanations and what not:

• 50D: Roman emperor who overthrew Galba (OTHO) — I know OTHO (exclusively) from Crosswords of Yore. I love that this clue thinks enough of my learnedness that it offers me Galba as a hint (I have no idea who Galba is, sorry) (LOL he ruled for one, count 'em, one year, but he was Nero's immediate successor, which is probably why people remember him)
• 22D: Actor George of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (SEGAL) — brilliant comic actor probably best known for his role as Jack Gallo on the long-running sitcom "Just Shoot Me," or as Pops on the more recent "The Goldbergs," but I like him best paired with the great Elliott Gould in Robert Altman's "California Split" (1974):

• 48A: ___ Productions, media company since 1986 (HARPO) — "Oprah" spelled backwards is ...
• 25A: Edmond ___, a.k.a. the "Father of Whist" (HOYLE) — this clue made me literally LOL ("Father of Whist," timely and relevant! Now do "Father of Euchre," "Father of Écarté," and "Father of Ombre"!!). No way do I know him by his alleged title, but as a guy who gave his name to a book of game rules ... yeah, I know him.
• 47A: Letters used in the absence of a letter (NMI) — "No Middle Initial"
• 39D: "Things Fall Apart" novelist (ACHEBE) — absolute gimme. This is like cluing TWAIN as ["Huckleberry Finn" novelist]. Surprised Chinua ACHEBE is not more prevalent in crosswords (in both first- and last-name versions).
• 46D: 1970s-'80s sitcom setting (MEL'S) — from the sitcom "Alice." Not to be confused with "Al's" from the sitcom "Happy Days."
• 57A: Symphony originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte (BEETHOVEN'S THIRD) — otherwise known by that crosswordiest of symphony names, "EROICA"—fun fact, this is the record on Norman Bates's turntable in "Psycho"!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. [Axe target] is ODOR because Axe is a body spray / deodorant (in case that wasn't clear)

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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