Constructor:Timothy Polin
Relative difficulty:Normal Monday, but maybe slightly harder
![]()
THEME: PRESIDENT (59A: Title held by the people who lent their names to 17-, 24-, 38- and 49-Across) — just what it says …
Theme answers:
![]()
The basic theme idea seems OK, but … man, that is the most anti-climactic revealer I've ever seen. I mean … thud. PRESIDENT? Yes, it was evident very quickly that the theme answers had presidents' names in them. How in the world do you waste real estate on a revealer? PRESIDENT!? I mean, really. I just stared at PRE- going "No…" in disbelief. Also, BUSHISM feels like an outlier. It's just stuff that Bush said. "Apparently fatuous" stuff, but still, not a general term. The other terms refer to genuine socio-cultural phenomena. BUSHISM are, presumably, finite. And not something you see in the wild. They're just too single-person-specific to be in the same group as these other answers. The slight wonkiness of the theme and the truly bathetic (yes, bathetic) revealer are really too bad, because much of the grid is quite lovely, especially for a Monday. It's pretty low word-count (74, when most themed puzzles, esp. early week, are 76-78), which allows for a lot of snazzy longer answers. SOFT-BOILED is *terribly* clued (29D: Sentimental), as no one but no one would ever say that. I've read a lot of *hard-boiled* fiction, and no one says "soft-boiled" to mean "sentimental.""Soft," sure. Or someone could be a "sap" (by far the most common slang for the sentimental guy). Should've gone the egg route with this clue. But the answer itself is good, as are SWAGGERS and INFIDELS and IT'S ON ME. Loved the contemporary clue on TROLLED (42D: Baited with incendiary remarks). So, all in all, mixed feelings for this one.
Heading back home from beautiful Vermont today. Today I discovered Vergennes Laundry, which, despite having "laundry" in its name, is an Incredible bakery / cafe. I am not saying this idly. I have no stake in their business. I just know that we loved it so much, we ate back-to-back meals. Like … screw this "brunch" stuff. We ate a breakfast of scones and cardamom buns and assorted baked goods (and coffee) and then, THEN, had a lunch of baguette w/ gravlax and leeks, and celery soup (and more coffee). Breakfast, then lunch, without ever even leaving the premises. Then we bought more stuff to go / take home. The clientele was straight out of an LL Bean catalogue. Whole families, impossibly photogenic and well-dressed. But nevermind that. That is neither here nor there. The food, the coffee, the chocolate, etc. Oh my. You. Should. Go.
Have a nice day.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Normal Monday, but maybe slightly harder
THEME: PRESIDENT (59A: Title held by the people who lent their names to 17-, 24-, 38- and 49-Across) — just what it says …
Theme answers:
- OBAMACARE (17A: National health insurance overhaul)
- REAGANOMICS (24A: Supply-side fiscal policy popularized in the 1980s)
- BUSHISM (16A: Statement such as "They misunderestimated me")
- HOOVERVILLE (49A: Depression-era shantytown)
n
• • •
Heading back home from beautiful Vermont today. Today I discovered Vergennes Laundry, which, despite having "laundry" in its name, is an Incredible bakery / cafe. I am not saying this idly. I have no stake in their business. I just know that we loved it so much, we ate back-to-back meals. Like … screw this "brunch" stuff. We ate a breakfast of scones and cardamom buns and assorted baked goods (and coffee) and then, THEN, had a lunch of baguette w/ gravlax and leeks, and celery soup (and more coffee). Breakfast, then lunch, without ever even leaving the premises. Then we bought more stuff to go / take home. The clientele was straight out of an LL Bean catalogue. Whole families, impossibly photogenic and well-dressed. But nevermind that. That is neither here nor there. The food, the coffee, the chocolate, etc. Oh my. You. Should. Go.
Have a nice day.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]