THEME: ELIZABETH / TAYLOR (55A: With 17-Across, late Hollywood star)—several different roles and movie titles populate the grid
Word of the Day: METAZOAN (37D: Multicellular animal) —
(zoology) The multicellular animals that make up the major portion of the animal kingdom; cells are organized in layers or groups as specialized tissues or organ systems. (answers.com)
• • •
Not great as tribute puzzles go. This one feels hastily thrown together, with roles and partial titles and titles all cobbled together into a dense but arbitrary arrangement. "THE SANDPIPER?!" What the heck is that. It's certainly not a definitive Liz Taylor role, that's for sure. SUMMER feels like a pretty weak way to get a symmetrical answer for TAYLOR (it's also a bit weird to have her name divided up the way it is, with last name coming first ...). The best part about the grid was the numeral "8" in "BUTTERFIELD 8" / 8 TIMES. Otherwise, straightforward and kind of dull. Weak in theme answers as well as overall fill (though ACUTE PAIN next to WOMANIZE is nice, especially in a grid with this kind of theme density).
Theme answers:
4D: 1944 title role for 55-/17-Across (VELVET)
21A: 1963 title role for 55-/17-Across (CLEOPATRA)
27A: 1965 film starring 55-/17-Across (THE SANDPIPER)
45A: 1960 film for which 55-/17-Across won a Best Actress Oscar (BUTTERFIELD 8)
49D: How often 55-/17-Across was married (8 TIMES)
61A: "Suddenly, Last ___" (1959 film starring 55-/17-Across) ("SUMMER")
Bullets:
3D: Early Indian invader (ARYAN) — baffled by this one, which made the NW a bit harder than normal (esp. true give the intersecting theme answers—difficult to pick up if you don't know the theme yet).
29D: Feminizing suffix (-ENNE) — hate this clue, generally. First, I know it'll be a suffix (suboptimal fill). Second, it could be at least four different things. No way to know except from crosses.
47D: Protagonists in "Star Wars" (REBELS) — hmmm. I guess so, though "protagonists" doesn't sit quite right with me. HAN Solo is a protagonist. REBELS are a group he generally belongs to (by the end). Don't think of the collective as "protagonists."
THEME: TAILING OFF (59A: Waning ... or a hint to what is found by circling all the Ts in the completed puzzle) — circles spell out and form the outline of a KITE; circling the Ts in the grid provides the KITE's "tail"...
Word of the Day: Dan ISSEL (39D: Hall-of-Fame hoopster Dan) —
Daniel (Dan) Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948 in Batavia, Illinois) is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player and coach. [...] Issel accumulated over 27,000 points in his combined ABA and NBA career. At the time of his retirement the only professional basketball players to have scored more points than Issel were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving. He currently ranks #8 on the all time combined ABA/NBA scoring list.
• • •
Circles! Four of them. Well, nine if you actually circle the Ts ... which are "OFF" how? I didn't quite see how TAILING OFF was a "hint." I mean, I get the TAIL part, but the "OFF," not so much. Is the expression "TAILING OFF" related to a kite's tail? I thought, briefly, that the "OFF" was related to the fact that the *circles* had been left "OFF." Whatever, the reveal works well enough, I suppose. Not a very satisfying puzzle for me, but after yesterday's, it looks almost solid. Biggest issue was the center, where I took a long, long time to drop the "G" from "BLOWING" to get "BLOWIN IN THE WIND" (38A: Bob Dylan song ... or a hint to the object found by connecting the four circled letters in a diamond). I thought briefly that it was "BLOWING 'N THE WIND." Downs in there weren't immediately clear to me either—I'm talking about DRIEST (Least sweet, as wine) and HYATTS (25D: Some hotels), and especially NHS (36D: Selective high-school org.), which I only just now figured out—it must stand for National Honor Society. I have never seen that abbrev. in a puzzle. Ever. Appears to be a first-ever NYT appearance. Sometimes "fresh" is terrible. Rest of puzzle is mediocre, but nothing's terribly objectionable. Maybe a few too many crosswordy names like LEILA (26A: Role in Bizet's Pearl Fishers) and ILONA and HEDDA and NALA and RAE and SELA, and weird geographical partials like YORBA and ILE DE.
FLYING HIGH (17A: On cloud nine) has got "CLOUD NINE" stuck in my head, which is not so terrible.
The album "KITE" (1987) by the late, great Kirsty MacColl, is one of my favorite albums of all time. Should be much, much better known. Wall-to-wall awesome.
Not much else to say. Moving on.
Bullets:
21A: Commercially prized ducks (EIDERS) — I had no idea. I didn't know the down was rare enough to be "prized."
51A: Discontinued Chevrolet model (COBALT) — so COBALT goes the way of the ALERO ... I don't expect its afterlife to be as pronounced.
4D: Anti-honking ordinance, e.g. (NOISE LAW) — just had exchange with another puzzle blogger who didn't like this one. Seemed fine to me, but that may just be because the last two mornings, our (uh ... let's say "OCD") neighbor has been up before 5am, snow-BLOWING. The best part was when I looked outside and the snow blower was idling (loudly) while he cleared off his car. Nuts. So nuts that we don't even get mad anymore. His need to CONTROL his ENVIRONMENT is like a disease. Oh, and he Hates us, but that's another story. Anyway, we're pretty sure that running your snow BLOWer before 5am is against local NOISE LAWs, but we weren't about to call Code on him (as he has on us, multiple times, for stuff like ... chipped paint near a side attic window that No One but he can see; but, as I say, that's another story...).
52D: Letter before Peter in an old phonetic alphabet (OBOE) — alphabet used by U.S. forces in WWII, apparently. In "Peter and the Wolf," the OBOE is ... the duck, right? Yes! Memory!
THEME: V-2 — theme answers are two-word phrases where both words begin with "V"; further, the grid has two unchecked letters (both "V"), and black squares in the middle of the grid form a double set of "V"s...
Word of the Day: CHIVIED (13A: Annoyed with persistent petty attacks) —
CHIVVY or CHIVY
v., -vied, or -ied, -vy·ing, or -y·ing, -vies, or -ies. v.tr.
To vex or harass with petty attacks: political opponents who chivvied the senator.
To maneuver or secure gradually: "had spent two weeks chivvying this division toward combat readiness" (Tom Clancy).
v.intr. To scurry.
n., pl., -vies, or -ies.
A hunt or chase.
A hunting cry.
[Variant of chevy, a hunt, hunting cry, from Chevy Chase, title of a ballad about a border skirmish, from Cheviot Chase, a large unenclosed hunting tract in the Cheviot Hills.]
• • •
Unusual and mostly delightful Sunday puzzle. Nice change of pace in the grid structure, the unchecked letters, and the mostly vertical theme answers. A couple places in the grid seemed completely nuts to me, especially the NE, where CHIVIED (13A: Annoyed with persistent petty attacks), VINCA VINE (16D: Plant with purple flowers), and "OUT IN L.A." (22A: 1994 Red Hot Chili Peppers album) were entirely unknown to me (glad to see that the Red Hot Chili Peppers album was a rarities + demos album, and not an album of original material ... my '90s pop culture cred took a hit on that one). I can't really believe that much strangeness was allowed to live in one place in the grid, *but*, to the puzzle's credit, the theme came to the rescue and I worked it all out. Nearly spun out at SLIDE ON (40D: Use for skating) and SEVENS (40A: Common rolls)—had GLIDE ON, which caused a momentary freak-out. But I had the good sense to pull the "G," and, again, it all worked out. Had a bit of trouble in the west (mostly because I didn't bother to check the cross-reference in the MCCABE clue (57D: Warren Beatty title role with 56-Down), though also because I don't know my ELEVON (91A: Aircraft control surface) from my VINCA VINE), but it didn't last. Thornier than average, but I like that on a Sunday. Thumbs up.
Theme answers:
4D: The other way around (VICE VERSA)
27A: John McCain and John Kerry (VIETNAM VETS)
16D: Plant with purple flowers (VINCA VINE)
59D: Weekly since 1955, with "The" ("VILLAGE VOICE")
63D: Vessel seen just below the surface? (VARICOSE VEIN) — nice clue.
107A: Keepers of the flame? (VESTAL VIRGINS) — I work in Vestal. No idea what the virgin situation is there.
Interesting to see HUMVEES at 1-Across [Desert Storm transports], since I walked past a fleet of them at the local armory today while I was walking the dogs to the (snow-covered, completely empty) park. I have never seen anyone coming in or going out of the armory, but I've seen the HUMVEES and other vehicles around town, so ... something's going on. Binghamton's got upstate NY security locked down, America. Just so you know. The park was gorgeous because no one was around and so I could let the dogs go commando (no leashes!) on the little league field. Tried to go to our normal walk in the woods, but there was nowhere to park (lot snowed over, side of the road not plowed), so we went back and frolicked in the neighborhood. Here's me and my dogs, frolicking in our front yard. Well, the dogs are frolicking. I'm mostly just standing there:
Never heard of: HETH (1D: Eighth Hebrew letter) or IRONWOOD (9D: Tree with very hard timber). "IRONWEED," yes. Iron & Wine, yes. IRONWOOD, no. Also, no idea that Jude LAW was ever British P.M. He's had such a varied career (47A: British P.M. after Lloyd George).
There was a "Real World" joke on this past Thursday's episode of "Community," so that show was fresh on on my mind (57A: "The Real World" airer=>MTV). What was not fresh on my mind was the toy company DUNCAN—haven't thought of them in years (since the last time I played with a yo-yo, probably) (85A: Toy company behind yo-yos). I like how things get all Hebraic with HETH and MT. ARARAT (3D: Post-flood locale) and TEL AVIV (37D: Setting for part of 2005's "Munich") and TEACHER clued via rabbi, and then veer wildly in the center of the grid toward the pop cultural with "AVATAR" and then VINCE VAUGHN on top of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, former CO-ANCHORS of "Weekend Update" on SNL. Big fan of both Fey and Poehler: those women now anchor two of the only sitcoms worth watching: the Emmy-winning "30 Rock" and the amazing and highly underrated "Parks & Recreation," respectively.
Lastly, loved the clues on XENA (10D: TV title character who said "I'm not an Amazon") and SARCASM (54D: "Oh, joy!," e.g., typically). And I'm not even being sarcastic. Oh, joy!
THEME: LETTER / DROP (47D: With 9-Across, post office mail slot .. or a hint to this puzzle's theme) — answers are two-word phrases from imaginary quotations where second word = first word - first letter; dropped letters are all vowels, A through U, appearing (and disappearing) in consecutive order
Word of the Day: SMOLTS (56A: Young salmon) —
n.
A young salmon at the stage intermediate between the parr and the grilse, when it becomes covered with silvery scales and first migrates from fresh water to the sea. An 8-time All Star, he received the N.L. Cy Young Award in 1996 and is the only pitcher in major league history to top both 200 wins and 150 saves. (wikipedia)
• • •
I'm having trouble knowing where to begin today. I don't think this puzzle is up to NYT standards. I understand the theme, but I don't understand why it's ... good. The phrases are nonsense. The sentences they are supposed to be a part of aren't funny. The revealer has nothing but the most literal thematic connection to the theme answers, and even then, why first letters? Why vowels? Why? Why? That is the operative question. I don't even really know how hard this puzzle was because I kept stopping and asking "Why?" Sometimes out loud. Wife got bored and couldn't be bothered to finish, which sometimes happens on a Sunday, but a Wednesday? Maybe if the phrases were self-standing and clued funnily, like, I don't know, [Fowler?] => USAGE SAGE. God, now I hate myself for even playing that game. The whole puzzle feels like an idea that any constructor might have ... and test ... and discard. How this made it through, I just don't know. I am terribly sorry if this criticism seems extreme, but I'm trying to be objective here. I can't remember a puzzle that felt this substandard. Not in the NYT.
[Update: If I hadn't been on vacation in the summer of 2008, it turns out I'd have seen this theme before. And guess who (co-)constructed *that* puzzle? ... Unreal. If you're going to copy yourself . . . no, on second thought: no comment.]
We haven't even begun to talk about the fill, which is barely passable. Just a forced, uninteresting wreck, from stem to stern. I mean, what is there? LICORICE? (38D: Center of Good & Plenty candy) What else? The list of mediocre-to-bad fill is too long to list. It would be quicker to list the solid stuff. LAST, that's solid. OPEN, that's a word. For all of our sakes, I'm not going to go on ... OTTISLOBBERBEALLUNHATS ... sorry, spasm.
I mean, come on, [Doffs one's lid]?! What kind of phrasing is that? It's like the last part of the clue has never met the first part, and neither of them has met the answer.
Theme answers:
18A: "After the maid cleans out the ___ ___ going to polish the fireplace doors" (ASHES SHE'S) — you know what looks great in the grid? Not this.
24A: "The note accompanying the ___ ___ that all money should go to charity" (ESTATES STATES) — I submit that some of these sentences don't make any sense.
36A: "The reporter heard the New York ___ ___ his coach" (ISLANDER SLANDER)
49A: "At the organic market, the price of ___ ___ from moderate to ridiculous" (ORANGES RANGES) — at 36-Across, I saw the vowel progression and so filled in the "O" here and the "U" at 57-Across. Did make things easier.
57A: "The teacher found that ___ ___-a-longs helped her pupils remember their ABCs" (USING SING)
If you really have to put -ITE in your grid, I highly suggest you give it an unobtrusive clue. [Suffix with magnet] is not that clue. MAGNETITE? Of all the -ITES ... ISRAELITE, CARMELITE, SAMSONITE ... I mean, are you so enamored with [Suffix with magnet] that you thought it warranted using twice?? Also, don't understand how A HIT works for 30A: Take ___ (lose one). I know the phrase "TAKE A HIT," but what's this "one" in the clue. One what? Game? Pound? Girlfriend? SOLA? (45A: Alone, on the stage) What "stage" are we talking about? Is that a theater cue? I had SOLO, unsurprisingly. OTTIS / LOBBER / BEALL (17A: Start of an old Army recruiting line) sent the ick-meter into High very quickly, and it rarely if ever came down.
Ooh, I like the clue on BARTAB, for sure (20A: Zombies might be on it). That answer is total LICORICE (my new, yet now defunct, puzzle word for "sweet").
Bullets:
42A: One-quarter of "Whose woods these are I think I know" (IAMB) — This is almost clever. A little precious, maybe, but kind of thoughtful.
43A: Club for knights (MACE) — Childhood D&D-playing does come in handy from time to time (32D: Old Dungeons & Dragons co.=> TSR)
55A: John, to Paul, George or Ringo (LOO) — I vote we retire this clue, and any Beatles variants, right now. It was clever once. A long time ago.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go ASSESS some SSRS.
THEME: ALCHEMY (39A: Activity associated with the word ladder formed by 1-, 10-, 70- and 72-Across) — changing LEAD to GOLD via a word ladder: LEAD / LOAD / GOAD / GOLD; bonus theme answers include TRANSMUTATION (20A: Goal of 39-Across) and PSEUDO-SCIENCE (57A: 39-Across, for one)
Word of the Day: NUEVA Granada (15A: ___ Granada (old Spanish colony in the Americas)) —
The New Kingdom of Granada (Spanish: Nuevo Reino de Granada) was the name given to a group of 16th century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the Audiencia of Bogotá, an area corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, it became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada first in 1717 and permanently in 1739. It ceased to exist altogether with the Viceroyalty's end in 1819 and the establishment of an independent Republic of Colombia. (wikipedia)
• • •
It's 12:44 a.m. and I just got back from Colorado. Not much left in the tank, but I'll see what I can do.
I feel like I've seen an "ALCHEMY" theme in puzzles in recent years, possibly involving a word ladder, but also possibly involving the elemental symbols PB and AU. Databases aren't helping me turn up what puzzle I'm thinking of, so it's possible jetlag is already setting in with dire consequences, i.e. I have some form of brain disorder where I misremember things. My cat is currently meow-howling, or meowling, on repeat (he Always does this when we return from a trip), so it's very ominous up in here, and I'm willing to believe anything. At any rate, the theme is nicely executed, but not terribly exciting. Pretty underwhelming word ladder. But the grid holds a lot of interest, with COME TO PAPA (28D: Dice roller's exclamation) being the real highlight. I also like OPEN STANCE (11D: Batting position), DOWN PAT (4D: Rehearsed perfectly), WAR CRY (46A: Battlefield shout), and, for reasons I really don't understand, DULUTH (6D: Lake Superior port). Lots of short stuff means lots of ugly and/or forgettable fill, but overall I think the puzzle's a thumbs-up. Took me Much longer than normal to finish, but I took travel fatigue into consideration, divided by my computer's continuing slowness problems, carried the 1, and got something slightly harder (i.e. more time-consuming) than normal.
Word Ladder:
1A: Male ballroom dancer, traditionally (LEAD)
10A: Laundry unit (LOAD)
70A: Incite (GOAD)
72A: Olympic prize (GOLD)
I googled [LL COOL J ILLER] and got this:
[10D: Rapper born James Todd Smith / 18A: Cooler, to a hip-hopper]
["We ain't playin, we came here to get ill/ Iller than ill, LL youknowI'msayin?"]
LL is now, like SONIA Braga, "of Hollywood."
Thankfully, YANNI (41D: Greek New Age musician) is not (yet) "of Hollywood," or within earshot, so I haven't had to think about him much since discovering in the mid-90s that a potential girlfriend had a bunch of his CDs. *Potential* girlfriend...
What else to say? CEES is ugly, but the "letteral" clue, transparent though it is, redeems it somewhat (19A: Broccoli centers?). Some kind of alliteration is going on in the clue for (the also not pretty) NAES (52A: Glasgow negations). "Negations" is likely accurate in some sense, but feels weird. I figured the sclera was near the ULNA. This ended up being anatomically, and every other way, inaccurate (8D: Sclera neighbor=>UVEA). Lastly, forgot IRENE Ryan (68A: Ryan of "The Beverly Hillbillies"), who played Granny. The only IRENEs I really know are crossword staples CARA and ADLER. Oh, and Dunne. There's an IRENE Dunne, right? Yes. None of these women have worked in ANIME (5D: Manga-like art form), as far as I know.
Many thanks to my fill-ins this past week: Zeke, Caleb Madison (and Natan Last), Michele Humes, Ben Bass, and, especially, PuzzleGirl—my safety net without whom splat.
THEME: MIDDLE / SCHOOL (3D: With 44-Down, educational stage ... or a hint to the contents of 18-, 22-, 47- and 53-Across) — four "schools" can be found in (roughly) the "middle" of four theme answers:
SANDRAKES (18A: Golf groundskeepers' tools)
MILEHIGHSTADIUM (22A: Broncos' home, once)
CENTERICECIRCLE (47A: Place for an N.H.L. logo)
STAYALERT (53A: "Keep your eyes open!")
Word of the Day: DONNIE Walsh (2D: ___ Walsh, N.B.A. executive) —
Joseph Donald Walsh Jr., better known as Donnie Walsh (born March 1, 1941 in New York City) is a former professional basketball coach, and currently the president of basketball operations for the New York Knicks. [...] Walsh's first major signing came on July 8, 2010, when he signed Amar'e Stoudemire to a five-year, $100 million contract. (wikipedia)
• • •
There are a few high points in this puzzle, but they aren't enough to overcome a clunky, awkwardly executed theme. "MIDDLE" is a misnomer, for starts. Absolutely none of the "schools" are truly centered. Second, why these schools? What do they have in common? Were they the only ones that could be fit in the (putative) "middle" of phrases? Who knows? Lastly: CENTER ICE CIRCLE!?!? The term "CENTER (or CENTRE!) ICE" is incredibly common. I've literally never heard "CIRCLE" added to the mix. I have no doubt that there is a circle there in which one might find an NHL logo, but CENTER ICE CIRCLE is such a horrifically tin-eared answer, so outside common usage, that the vibrancy and coolness of the phrase / concept is just lost. Killed. The robots pretending to be humans would call it "CENTER ICE CIRCLE." Reminds me of when Apu tries to make himself seem as "American" as possible to keep from being deported, and so starts up a conversation with Homer about baseball; in a flat, Indian-accent-free, voice, he says: "What do you say we take a relaxed attitude towards work and watch the baseball game? The NY [he pronounces it "nye"] Mets are my favorite squadron."
I wonder if anyone else got MIDDLE SCHOOL and then got MILE HIGH STADIUM and thought "middle" words in theme answers would be kinds of schools, e.g. HIGH schools ...
Clear ambition toward Scrabbly letters today, though many are packed into the threes in the middle of the grid (not terribly impressive). Love QUANDARY (35D: Bind) and YUKS IT UP (11D: Has some laughs) and WENT SOUR (8D: Fell apart, as a deal). Did not know DOMINICA was a place (51A: Roseau is its capital). Is it related to The Dominican Republic? Apparently not—it's a small island in the Caribbean, only 291 sq. miles and a pop. of around 73K. Lots of random people who aren't that famous. Some guy whose middle name is TER!? (5D: Dutch painter Gerard ___ Borch). The guy who played Charlie Chan a million years ago (10D: Chan portrayer in film => OLAND). And then DONNIE Walsh, whoa. Weird to expect most people to know him, or even have heard of him. If I hadn't been following free agency news this summer, I sure wouldn't know him.
Bullets:
17A: Enchanted world in "Return of the Jedi" (ENDOR) — forest moon where Ewoks live. I didn't read clue closely enough at first and wrote in NABOO :(
32A: Rural musical instruments (JUGS) — First (possibly only) time I saw someone play a JUG was in The Country Bears Jamboree at Disneyland.
37A: "The Basement ___" (1975 Dylan album) ("TAPES") — Don't know the album, but that's a really familiar phrase. Perhaps someone else borrowed it ... Whoaaaaaooa. *This* must be how I first heard the phrase. How funny / sad / flashbacky:
40A: Flying Tiger Line hub, for short (LAX) — wrote in LAX only because of "hub," not bec. I have Any idea what Flying Tiger Line is (appears to have been a cargo line bought out by FedEx in the late '80s)
43A: It came out of Cicero's mouth (VOX) — Latin for "voice."
55A: Battle of Blue Licks fighter, 1782 (BOONE) — never want that guy to be anything but 19th-century. I think I'm getting him confused with Davy Crockett. Yes. Yes I am.
9D: Casino chain founder William F. ___ (HARRAH) — no idea. I mean, I've heard of HARRAH's, obviously, but never considered there was an eponym.
31D: Titter in a tweet (LOL) — Read it as [Twitter in a tweet], which makes no sense.
37D: Shout made with a raised arm (TAXI!) — first answer: TADA!
40D: "Mi Vida ___," gritty 1994 drama set in L.A. ("LOCA") — fans / enemies of Ricky Martin could simply intuit this one.
49D: Sorceress on the island of Aeaea (CIRCE) — AEAEA = evidence that some words have too many vowels even for crosswords (i.e. I almost never see AEAEA).
THEME: ... or not — theme answers are phrases that contain (circled) letters that spell out an opposing sentiment, e.g. EVERY BIT AN ANGEL features the circled letters "E,V,I,L"; every theme clue is followed by "... or not" as a way of cluing this embedded reversal
Word of the Day: NOLA (71A: Title girl in a 1922 hit) —
Vincent Lopez was born of Portuguese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York[1] and was leading his own dance band in New York City by 1917. On November 27, 1921 his band began broadcasting on the new medium of entertainment radio; the band's weekly 90-minute show on Newark, NJ station WJZ boosted the popularity of both himself and of radio. He became one of America's most popular bandleaders, and would retain that status through the 1940s. // He began his radio programs by announcing "Lopez speaking!".His theme song was "Nola," Felix Arndt's novelty ragtime piece of 1915, and Lopez became so identified with it that he occasionally satirized it. (His 1939 movie short for Vitaphone, Vincent Lopez and his Orchestra, features the entire band singing "Down with Nola.") Lopez worked occasionally in feature films, notably The Big Broadcast (1932). He was also one of the very first bandleaders to work in Soundies movie musicals, in 1940. He made additional Soundies in 1944. (wikipedia)
[Vincent Lopez Orchestra - Nola 1922]
• • •
Strange puzzle to solve. Felt extremely easy *except* for the theme answers, which I couldn't see at all — I just solved most of the crosses and waited for something recognizable to appear. Knowing odd crosswordese really helped me tear the puzzle up in parts — OTARU, for instance, was a godsend in that ugly center, where the preposterous TWO TO (34A: 58 minutes past the hour) stabs OTARU (31D: Japanese seaport) and (ugh) TOBIT (32D: Book of the Apocrypha) in the throat. Knowledge of crosswordese came in handy again in the SW: VETCH (51D: Climbing legume) has been a Word Of The Day before, and ELY Culbertson (54A: Bridge expert Culbertson) is crosswordese royalty—not being a constant solver would have made that corner quite tough (in addition to being quite unpretty). Apparently today we are pretending that ELY and ELI (47A: 2008 Super Bowl M.V.P. Manning) are completely different names. Not even an attempt to come at ELY as a *last* name, which would have at least made the ELI/ELY thing defensible on some level. Nope. Just two first names, pronounced (I think) identically, derived (I think) from the same Hebrew/biblical source [I'm being told ELY is pronounced "EELY" ... changes my opinion of its appearance here only a little]. Just ... one has an "I," the other a "Y." Frankly, even if Culbertson's ELY is derived from, let's say, Xhosa, and not Hebrew, I still call foul. Also, what is up with the cram-as-much-crosswordese-into-a-phonebooth stunt going on in the north. RAIL and LAPEL are the only things up there that aren't supremely tired. Always disappointing when short(er) fill is treated with such cynicism (i.e. "it fits, good enough").
But back to the theme—as circle puzzles go, this one wasn't so bad. Circles are inherently relevant to the theme, and are not completely arbitrary; only partially so, e.g. you could have circled one of three different Ls, and one of two different Is, in TELLS IT LIKE IT IS. Consistency is slightly off, in that circled words are three times bad, one time good; also two times verb, two times adjective. But the idea is a fine and solid one, overall. Decent theme, somewhat ugly fill. That is the story of this one.
Theme answers:
17A: Nice through and through ... or not (EVERY BIT AN ANGEL / EVIL)
27A: Really digs ... or not (HAS THE HOTS FOR / HATES)
48A: Most wretched ... or not (ABSOLUTE WORST / BEST) — addition of the qualifier "ABSOLUTE" makes this one wonky; WORST is opp. of BEST all on its own
63A: Speaks with brutal honesty ... or not (TELLS IT LIKE IT IS / LIES)
I don't know what a NIGHT RIDER is (11D: Certain vigilante). I know what a "KNIGHT RIDER" is (for one thing, it's what you get when you google [night rider]). And I know what a KNIGHT-RIDDER is. But NIGHT RIDER ... was just a phrase I put together from crosses. Wait, is this a reference to the $&%^ing Klan? For real? I can't find anything about "NIGHT RIDER" except for this:
Klan members adopted masks and robes that hid their identities and added to the drama of their night rides, their chosen time for attacks. Many of them operated in small towns and rural areas where people otherwise knew each other's faces, and sometimes still recognized the attackers. "The kind of thing that men are afraid or ashamed to do openly, and by day, they accomplish secretly, masked, and at night." With this method both the high and the low could be attacked. The Ku Klux Klan night riders "sometimes claimed to be ghosts of Confederate soldiers so, as they claimed, to frighten superstitious blacks. Few freedmen took such nonsense seriously." (wikipedia)
The taste of this puzzle in my mouth just got a good deal more sour. [Masked asshole] might have made this more palatable ...
Bullets:
25A: Levy on cigarettes and booze (SIN TAX) — lovely phrase, but I'd like an "or" instead of an "and" in that clue.
38A: Portland, Ore., college from which Steve Jobs dropped out (REED) — in an alternate universe, I went here. In this universe, I chose Pomona instead.
69A: Terse order to a chauffeur (HOME) — "Terse" = unimaginably, comically, olde-tymishly dickish.
[If you ever wondered what Willie would look like in '70s-era 'Stros gear ... now you know]
13D: Bygone communication (TELEX) — honestly, I'd never heard of this until seeing it in a crossword.
THEME: BLACK / AND / WHITE — 39A: With 41- and 43-Across, cop cruiser ... or a description of the five animals named in this puzzle
The animals:
SNOW LEOPARD (20A: Asian cat)
ZEBRA (13D: Equus quagga)
PANDA (30D: One of the 2008 Olympic mascots)
SKUNK (53D: Polecat)
KILLER WHALE (60A: Shamu, for one)
Word of the Day: TOCSIN (35A: Alarm bell) —
n.
An alarm sounded on a bell.
A bell used to sound an alarm.
A warning; an omen.
[French, alteration of toquassen, from Old French touque-sain, from Old Provençal tocasenh : tocar, to strike (from Vulgar Latin *toccāre) + senh, bell (from Late Latin signum , from Latin, signal; see sign).]
• • •
Doing some of my solving on paper now, so not terribly certain of the difficulty ratings as a result, but this one felt somewhat on the challenging side (for a Tuesday) and a quick glance at the leaderboard at the NYT puzzle site shows slowish times for a Tuesday. My time would put me at 12th (out of 100 as of right now), which, considering I solved on paper (significantly slower method), I'm quite happy with. The theme ... was B&W animals. And there they are. Only thing I can say is that I did not know SNOW LEOPARDs were black and white. And I didn't know the PANDA had been an Olympic mascot (though 2008 Olympics were in China, so that makes sense). Difficulty lay first in the theme clues, which were vague / odd (esp. the ZEBRA one), and second in the NE corner, which is crammed with hardish stuff (including ZEBRA). Corner is hard to get into because of LEONORA (who?) (25A: Heroine of Verdi's "Il Trovatore"), and then METZ (and not ST. LO, as you suspected) (10A: French city in 1944 fighting), and then TIMOR, which is familiar enough, but not when you're trying to fill it in w/ no crosses (12D: Island near Java). Luckily MAI and ARIE and IAMB and TOR were gimmes, so with some fussing and erasing, it all worked out. Just bogged me down. Also, TOCSIN (35A: Alarm bell) is only dimly dimly familiar to me, so I had to come at the eastern part from below. Otherwise, my only problems were stupid mistakes. Writing in SCRAWL for SCROLL (44A: Form of many a diploma) — I think I read it wrong — and utterly blanking on ___ WHALE. Seriously. Just stared at it, imagining what specialized name an orca could possibly have ... [headdesk].
Bullets:
1A: AARP or the National Rifle Association (LOBBY) — bad start. Wanted an abbr. because of "AARP" in clue. Spelled-out "NRA" should've clued me in.
6D: Potential enamorada (SEÑORITA) — again, not a Tuesday clue. A fine clue, but more Thursday.
8D: Like some exercises (NAVAL) — more vague/tough cluing.
38D: "99 Red Balloons" singer, 1984 (NENA) — weird coincidence: just caught about five minutes of an old "Family Guy" episode, in which there is a very strange "99 Red Balloons" joke. And then I walked directly upstairs and did this puzzle. That was my second weird coincidence of the day. The first was watching "Spectacle" (fantastic Elvis Costello-hosted show about music) this morning, and learning from Costello's interview with Clinton (sax player) that Robert Byrd was an accomplished fiddler. Got in my car afterward, turned on NPR, and learned that Byrd had died—NPR not only mentioned his fiddling, they also played a snippet from his fiddle album of the late '70s!
THEME: "TWIST AND SHOUT" (39A: With 41- and 42-Across, 1964 Beatles hit) — two other bands who had hits with this song are also in the grid: THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS (24A: With 41- and 54-Across, group with a 1967 ballad version of 39-/41-/42-Across) and THE ISLEY BROTHERS (40D: With 9-Down, group with a 1962 hit version of 39-/41-/42-Across)
A puzzle that likely came into existence through sheer amazement that these answers fit symmetrically into the grid in such a way that a workable grid could actually be constructed around them. Impressive theme density and lay-out, but the theme itself is pretty straightforward — unless there's an anniversary or birthday or something that I'm missing. Also, where are THE TOP NOTES?! (first group to record the song, which was written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell). Beatles get center stage (in the main theme clue), I guess because their version is the most famous. What's most annoying about this type of theme is running into *this* type of clue, right off the bat: 24A: With 41- and 54-Across, group with a 1967 ballad version of 39-/41-/42-Across; my wife and I (independently) did same thing—thought "ugh, I'm not looking at all those clues to try to figure out what the hell's going on" and instead just pieced it all together from crosses, as we got them. As a result, this puzzle took me a bit longer than a normal Tuesday. [as for the advert on the right—pretty sure it's authentic, and pretty sure that the guy is TWISTing AND SHOUTing at the FAIR SEX]
Good news is that the dense theme didn't destroy the rest of the grid (i.e. necessitate a bunch of ugly, bad little words). Really enjoyed OUTER EAR (28A: Audio input location), FAIR SEX (59A: Women, quaintly, with "the"), and STONER (which I'm surprised I haven't seen before — such common letters, such a common concept) (36A: One who can't keep off the grass?). Was all prepared to say that I've never heard of BAST, only to find out (in one Google search) that it was the Word of the Day in late '09. So much for this job's making me smarter. Oddly high number of "?" clues today. Well, there are 4. That seems high for a Tuesday puzzle. There's the STONER clue, then the ECHO clue (11D: Repeated message?), then the SLATS clue (58D: Strips in front of a window?), then the XRAY clue (72A: Look inside?). The SLATS clue is particularly nice.
Bullets:
26A: Word after "does" and "doesn't" in an old ad slogan (SHE) — another interesting clue. Had to think about it for a few seconds, and then the "does she or doesn't she?" came to mind—I know it's an ad from before my time, and I feel like it's for hair dye. Let me check... Yes. Clairol. Next sentence in the ad copy: "Only her hairdresser knows for sure." Copy written by Shirley Polykoff, who also wrote "Is it true blondes have more fun?" "Her copy for Clairol built the hair-coloring industry."
["If I've only one life, let me live it as a blonde"—HA ha]
27A: Glass on a radio (IRA) — yuck. Should be "the" radio. "A" radio is TTH (Trying Too Hard, in this case, to be tricky).
45A: Join the staff (HIRE ON) — counterintuitive. If I'm joining, I'm *being* hired. Weird.
35D: Bra insert (WIRE) — so many other thoughts here, some practical (KLEENEX, CASH), some racier (HAND).
55D: Old Testament prophet who married a harlot (HOSEA) — that's a hell of a way to go down in history. It's not often you see "harlot" used in this kind of straightforward, simply descriptive way, i.e. not modified by "dirty" or followed up by "whore," etc.
Not great as tribute puzzles go. This one feels hastily thrown together, with roles and partial titles and titles all cobbled together into a dense but arbitrary arrangement. "THE SANDPIPER?!" What the heck is that. It's certainly not a definitive Liz Taylor role, that's for sure. SUMMER feels like a pretty weak way to get a symmetrical answer for TAYLOR (it's also a bit weird to have her name divided up the way it is, with last name coming first ...). The best part about the grid was the numeral "8" in "BUTTERFIELD 8" / 8 TIMES. Otherwise, straightforward and kind of dull. Weak in theme answers as well as overall fill (though ACUTE PAIN next to WOMANIZE is nice, especially in a grid with this kind of theme density).
47D: Protagonists in "Star Wars" (REBELS) — hmmm. I guess so, though "protagonists" doesn't sit quite right with me. HAN Solo is a protagonist. REBELS are a group he generally belongs to (by the end). Don't think of the collective as "protagonists."
