Tenet of chivalry / MON 10-4-10 / FF's opposite / Early synthesizers / Sicilian spewer / Drinker's next day woe

Constructor: Adam G. Perl

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: Flip-Flops — theme answers are two-word phrases; phrases in top half of the grid are reversed in bottom half


Word of the Day: MOOGS (36A: Early synthesizers) —

Moog synthesizer (pronounced /ˈmoʊɡ/, mohg; often anglicized to /ˈmuːɡ/, moog) may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled analog synthesizer systems in the early 1950s. The technological development that led to the creation of the Moog synthesizer was the invention of the transistor, which enabled researchers like Moog to build electronic music systems that were considerably smaller, cheaper and far more reliable than earlier vacuum tube-based systems. (wikipedia)

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Barely noticed this one. I felt almost guilty about how easy the theme answers were to get in the bottom half. Theme is cute, though STATE POLICE (23A: Highway troopers) and POLICE STATE (45A: Oppressive regime) aren't divergent enough for my taste—both firmly in the realm of law and order, while the items in the other pairs are from fairly different universes. Despite little oddities like SAPOR (6A: Taste) and the hard-to-parse DOORDIE (that's DO OR DIE, 28D: Like a dire situation), I flew through this in record time. Under 2:30, which, for me, is insane, even on a Monday.

Other theme answers:

• 17A: Michelle Obama and Laura Bush (FIRST LADIES)
  
• 56A: Tenet of chivalry (LADIES FIRST) — keep thinking this is "LADIES' NIGHT," probably because I want to play the Kool & the Gang song ... maybe I can find the Queen Latifah / Monie Love song "LADIES FIRST" ... yep, there it is. Mmm, college:

• 31A: Drinker's next-day woe (HANGOVER) — I've had a beer and a scotch today. HANGOVER unlikely.
  
• 39A: Eave (OVERHANG)
  

Love gin & TONICs, so it was with great irony that I blanked at 12D: Gin's partner until I had something like three crosses. FLOOR IT (22D: Put the pedal to the metal) [and not the PETAL to the medal] is probably my favorite non-theme answer of the bunch. Grid is a bit dull overall. A little heavy on Wheel Of Fortune letters (RLSTNE). I mean, just look at the SE corner, for example. Cheater squares in the east and west help keep the answers short and (largely) uninteresting.


A note on the clue for LADIES FIRST — [Tenet of chivalry] is an example of how debased the concept of "chivalry" is in contemporary culture. The paradigmatic example of "chivalry" now is a man's holding a door open for a lady. That's pathetic. Where are the elaborate rituals of courtesy!? The armor!? The horsemanship!? "Chivalry" when used in the modern sense is always at least mildly ironic. The word "tenet" makes the clue doubly laughable: "Thou shalt hold a door open for a lady, lest thou be thought a beast."

Bullets:

• 40D: Drunk's outburst (HIC!) — I was expecting this to be a lot more profane.
  
• 55A: Beachgoer's shade (TAN) — that's one of them. I prefer to stay pasty white—perhaps a mild ECRU, at best. Some people I've observed (namely Scandinavians on Greek vacations) go for red.
  
• 20A: Sicilian spewer (ETNA) — and not your uncle Tony after he's had too much to drink (speaking of [Drunk's outburst]...)
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Facial recognition aid / TUE 9-21-10 / Goodnight girl of old song / River that drains more than 20% of France / Pioneering anti-AIDS drug

Constructor: Adam G. Perl

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: STROKES (39A: Pets ... or what the starts of 17-, 25-, 50- and 61-Across are all kinds of) — First words of theme answers are all kinds of swimming STROKES

From Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle

Word of the Day: IDENTIKIT (35D: Facial recognition aid) —

IN BRIEF: n. - A likeness of a person's face constructed from descriptions given to police. (answers.com)

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Pretty vanilla. "First words are types of ..." Right over the plate. Seems more of a USA Today-type theme. Grid is solid (w/ the exception of that "ORY/CTS/SHH" up north, yuck), but theme feels like something that should have, must have been done a million times. Theme answers are all decent, except BREAST OF CHICKEN, which is weak (three words to the others' two, bland and non-specific, awkwardly phrased). What's the difference between BREAST OF CHICKEN and chicken breast? Is the first one offered at a "banquet" because it sounds "fancy?" At any rate, puzzle is competent, but not too interesting—at least not theme-wise.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Entree on many a Chinese menu (BUTTERFLY SHRIMP)
  
• 25A: Cramped alternative to a basement (CRAWL SPACE)
  
• 50A: Old New Yorkers, e.g. (BACK ISSUES)
  
• 61A: Basic hotel banquet entree (BREAST OF CHICKEN)
  

This one took me slightly longer than the average Tuesday, for three reasons. First, FRODO instead of BILBO at 1A: "The Hobbit" hero. My daughter would mock me. She is having a "Lord of the Rings"-themed birthday party this weekend. Anyway, after some confused moments, BABAR (1D: King of the elephants in a children's book series) forced me to erase FRODO and eventually BILBO (Baggins) came into view. The next slowdown was IDENTIKIT—complete unknown, needed every single cross, and even then wasn't sure I didn't have an error. There appears to be a brand name of facial recognition software called "Identi-Kit," but the word seems to have a general meaning as well. Lastly, in the speed bump category, we have the front ends of BACK ISSUES and BREAST OF CHICKEN, neither of which came easily, the latter for reasons I've already been over, the former because I (I'm guessing by design) misread the "New Yorkers" in the clue as human beings, not magazines. NOKIA (44D: Mobile phone giant) and CRETE (52D: Where Minos reigned) got me back in business. Then I just went back up to the north, where I'd left some squares blank, and that was that. Took me about 5 seconds longer than yesterday's puzzle.



Bullets:

• 20A: Pioneering anti-AIDS drug (AZT) — weird that this answer feels dated, even though AIDS clearly isn't. Media seems to expend much more time on ... other things these days.
  
• 43A: Tabriz residents (IRANIANS) — speaking of plummeting media coverage. Two years ago the fraudulent elections were big news. Now: well, it's Iran, whaddyagonnado? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go learn more about Christine O'Donnell's stance on masturbation.
  
• 68A: River that drains more than 20% of France (LOIRE) — I'm not sure I understand the clue. Drains it of ... Water? The will to live? Is this by geographical area or sheer water volume?
  
• 70A: Labor's partner (PARTS) — Went looking for something birth-related here. PAINS, maybe.
  
• 3D: "The Loco-Motion" singer, 1962 (LITTLE EVA) — pretty sure I learned this from xwords, via clues for EVA
  
• 27D: Feature of many a bodice (LACE) — would've wanted STAY if I hadn't had the "L" in place already.
  
• 18D: Fabled fliers (ROCS) — gimme. Seen that clue a gajillion (i.e. probably 6) times.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]