Novelty B-52s song witih lyric Watch out for that piranha / MON 1-11-16 / Liquidy lump / Former New York senator Alfonse

Constructor: Howard Barkin

Relative difficulty: Pretty Easy, even for Monday


THEME:ERODED (50D: Eaten away, like the first words of 17-, 31-, 48- and 65-Across) — first words of theme answers are progressively smaller stones (so the process of erosion takes you from BOULDER to DUST):

Theme answers:

• BOULDER DAM (17A: Colorado River landmark dedicated by F.D.R.)
• ROCK LOBSTER (31A: Novelty B-52's song with the lyric "Watch out for that piranha")
• PEBBLE BEACH (48A: California locale of several golf U.S. Opens)
• DUST JACKET (65A: One covering a big story?)

Important crosswordese:

• OPEL (10A: European automaker)
• IDES (71A: ___ of March)
• Ron ELY (53A: Ron who played Tarzan) (man, when you don't know this guy, and then you get his full name in a grid, it is Confusing ... "Who the hell is this RONELY guy?")

Word of the Day: Ron ELY (53A: Ron who played Tarzan) —

Ronald Pierce "Ron" Ely (born June 2, 1938) is an American actor and novelist born in Hereford, Texas. Ely is best known for having portrayed Tarzan in the 1966 NBC series Tarzan and for playing the lead role in the 1975 film Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. (wikipedia)

Hello, solvers. Somehow, it is January again, which means it's time for my week-long, once-a-year pitch for financial contributions to the blog. The idea is very simple: if you read the blog regularly (or even semi-regularly), please consider what it's worth to you on an annual basis and give accordingly. In making this pitch, I'm pledging that the blog will continue to be here for you to read / enjoy / grimace at for at least another calendar year, with a new post up by 9:00am (usually by 12:01am) every day, as usual. This year is special, as it will mark the 10th anniversary of Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle, and despite my not-infrequent grumblings about less-than-stellar puzzles, I've actually never been so excited to be thinking and writing about crosswords. I have no way of knowing what's coming from the NYT, but the broader world of crosswords looks very bright, and that is sustaining. Whatever happens, this blog will remain an outpost of the Old Internet: no ads, no corporate sponsorship, no whistles and bells. Just the singular, personal voice of someone talking passionately about a topic he loves. As I have said in years past, I know that some people are opposed to paying for what they can get for free, and still others really don't have money to spare. Both kinds of people are welcome to continue reading my blog, with my compliments. It will always be free. I have no interest in cordoning it off, nor do I have any interest in taking advertising. I value my independence too much. Anyway, if you are so moved, there is a Paypal button in the sidebar, and a mailing address here:
Rex Parker
℅ Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton NY 13905

And here: I'll stick a PayPal button in here for the mobile users.

There. Hope that helps.
For people who send me actual, honest-to-god (i.e. "snail") mail (I love snail mail!), this year my thank-you cards are "Sibley Backyard Birding Postcards"—each card a different watercolor illustration by ornithologist David Sibley. You could get a Black PHOEBE. A California TOWHEE. Or maybe even a picture of some fabled SCARLET TANAGERS (15). Or give via PayPal and get a thank-you email. That's cool too. Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just say NO CARD.  As I say in every thank-you card (and email), I'm so grateful for your readership and support. So thanks, not A TAD, but A TON (partial fill! coming in useful!). Now on to the puzzle …

I always think of Howard Barkin as the Nicest Guy In Crosswords, and I don't think I'm alone in that. He is a speed-solver of the highest order—always in contention at the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament—and just a joy to be around. I've known him for the better part of a decade, and when I saw his name on the puzzle I thought, "Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen a Howard puzzle." But it turns out, I've never seen a Howard puzzle; not in the NYT, anyway. Turns out I missed his NYT debut (must've been on vacation). So how delightful that I get to congratulate a legitimately great human being on his first (to me) NYT puzzle, and I get to tell him that I thought the theme was perfect for a Monday. Simple, but original, with colorful themers throughout. Puzzle's got its share of crosswordese, but it never felt irksome, and besides, there are too many cool answers for the shorter stuff to make much of a difference today, one way or the other. A PAPER TRAIL of SMACKERS, a LONESOME bird with a giant WINGSPAN that you KNOW BY NAME (because you invent names for all the birds you see; you're a little odd). . . this puzzle was a delicious little treat. And even if the puzzle were none of the things I've said so far ... it has this, and this makes everything A-OK (OK?):


So, I finished this one in 2:45, which is somewhat fast for me, for a Monday—average is about ten seconds slower, and you wouldn't think those ten seconds would matter much, but the lower those numbers get, the harder it is to get them any lower. So every second is a big deal, and ten seconds is the difference between Medium and Easy-Medium. I've gotta be under 2:40 on Monday for me to call it "Easy." Even at that speed, I am very aware of the answers that "slow" me down. Today, the dreaded 24D: Ignoramus, 4 letters, starting with "D." DODO? DOLT? Nope, it's DOPE, you DOPE. I guessed DOLT. I also forgot the difference between LESSOR and LESSEE, so I had to fix that. The last themer (DUST JACKET) had a "?" clue on it, so even with "-ACKET" in place, I didn't get it at first glance. BEMUSE also eluded me until I had most of the crosses. And then, for reasons I don't quite remember, the ELY / ELOPED part made me sputter. Maybe I just read the ELOPED clue too fast and couldn't process it. The placement of the revealer was odd—not bad, just random-seeming. If daily puzzles had titles (like the Sunday puzzle) then some of this need for revealers would be obviated, and you wouldn't have to shoehorn one in like this (Newsday has titles, as does Fireball, and American Values Club; I like titles—it's your kid, why not give it a name?). But it's actually kind of cool that ERODED runs right through DUST like that. Kind of an emphatic, final statement. Ashes to ashes.

See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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