Constructor: Jeff Stillman
Relative difficulty: Harder than usual Tuesday by a little
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THEME:Compliment for a ...?— theme answers are common complimentary phrases, clued as if they had some literal aptness for their recipients. Thus:
Theme answers:
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The humor here is corny, but maybe you're into that. What I hope you're not into, however, is the strange and often inapt cluing on these themers. Too often, the "pun" involved was not clearly related to the entity being complimented at all. Fruit-of-the-month club? For "bad"? First, why not just a fruit stand? You know, a thing that normal people experience on a regular basis? Second, "bad" just doesn't say "fruit." Part of the reason this puzzle played harder than normal was that the clue / answer connections seemed so weak or odd. I had NOT BAD and then needed every cross to get AT ALL and then had no idea what was going on. How is that appropriate for a ... fruit-of-the-month club? Later, I "got" it, but the connection is still weak. WELL DONE, by contrast, is spot-on as a compliment for a steakhouse. You see that, right? How the play on words with the steakhouse is Perfect, whereas with the fruit ... not so much. Anything can be "bad." Most things, in fact. And why would the charcoal *seller* be on fire? A "charcoal seller" doesn't feel like a thing, actually. The "YOU'RE" part of "YOU'RE ON FIRE" weirdly personalizes it—makes it sound like some poor guy has been accidentally set aflame. These theme answers stuck the landing only about half the time, and none of them are actually funny.
The grid, on the other hand, is a cut above most Tuesdays. Very kinetic, what with the BARREL ROLL and the TRAMPOLINE. CAM'RON seems pretty obscure for a Tuesday, but I'm not too mad about that. I also liked seeing KWAME Kilpatrick, even though he's in jail now. I can't ever remember seeing any KWAME in the grid before—oh, wait, I think I probably have, in the form of KWAME Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. The only other KWAME I can think of is Brown—the first number one NBA draft pick to be selected straight out of high school. He had a long if not terribly noteworthy career. I also liked the SPLASHY / LAMBADA pairing. LOW RES gave me fits. Needed every cross. It was a weird, slightly toughish, occasionally enjoyable Tuesday (which, honestly, makes it better than most Tuesdays).
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Harder than usual Tuesday by a little
THEME:Compliment for a ...?— theme answers are common complimentary phrases, clued as if they had some literal aptness for their recipients. Thus:
Theme answers:
- NOT BAD AT ALL (18A: Compliment for a fruit-of-the-month club?) [because fruit sometimes goes "bad"...] [etc.]
- STELLAR (24A: Compliment for a planetarium?)
- KEEP IT UP! (29A:Compliment for an airline?)
- WELL DONE (46A:Compliment for a steakhouse?)
- WAY TO GO (50A: Compliment for a GPS manufacturer?)
- YOU'RE ON FIRE (60A: Compliment for a charcoal seller?)
Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron (formerly Killa Cam), is an American rapper, actor and entrepreneur from Harlem, New York. He is the de facto leader of East Coast hip hop groups The Diplomats (also known as Dipset), and U.N. (Us Now). Cam'ron was also a part of the group Children of the Corn before they disbanded in 1997. // In 1998 Cam'ron released his debut album Confessions of Fire on Epic, the album would achieve gold status by the RIAA. In 2000 Cam'ron released his second album S.D.E. (Sports Drugs & Entertainment). In 2001 Cam'ron signed a new label deal with Roc-A-Fella Records and released his critically acclaimed, third studio album Come Home with Me. it achieved platinum status by the RIAA, and also contained Cam'ron's highest charting Billboard single to date, "Oh Boy," featuring his artist at the time Juelz Santana. In 2002 Cam'ron starred in the Roc-A-Fella films Paper Soldiers and Paid in Full. In 2004 Cam'ron released his fourth studio album Purple Haze to critical acclaim reaching gold status by the RIAA. // In 2005 after disbanding his record label, Diplomat Records, from Roc-A-Fella Records due to business disagreements, Cam'ron signed the label to a distribution deal with Asylum Records. In 2006 Cam'ron released his fifth studio album, Killa Season. Though it did not chart higher than his previous albums, it still managed to go gold status by the RIAA. The album also contained a movie of the same name, in which Cam'ron made his director/screenwriter debut and starred as the main character. In 2009, after taking a hiatus due to his mother's health, Cam'ron returned to music and released his sixth studio album Crime Pays. It reached #3 on the Billboard 200. (wikipedia)
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The grid, on the other hand, is a cut above most Tuesdays. Very kinetic, what with the BARREL ROLL and the TRAMPOLINE. CAM'RON seems pretty obscure for a Tuesday, but I'm not too mad about that. I also liked seeing KWAME Kilpatrick, even though he's in jail now. I can't ever remember seeing any KWAME in the grid before—oh, wait, I think I probably have, in the form of KWAME Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. The only other KWAME I can think of is Brown—the first number one NBA draft pick to be selected straight out of high school. He had a long if not terribly noteworthy career. I also liked the SPLASHY / LAMBADA pairing. LOW RES gave me fits. Needed every cross. It was a weird, slightly toughish, occasionally enjoyable Tuesday (which, honestly, makes it better than most Tuesdays).
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]