Constructor: Gary Cee
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: ___ in ___ — phrases following that pattern show up in the grid as intersecting words, such that the first word in the phrase is literally "in" (that is, intersects) the last word in the phrase
Word of the Day: Ronan TYNAN (34D: Tenor Ronan ___) —
I found this one fussy and rather unpleasant to solve. I get that the intersecting words form a visually literal representation of the phrase that they're part of, and I acknowledge that that is indeed clever. Still, as a solving exercise, having to work out a lot of niddling 4x4s, with their "with this"s and "see that"s, is not my idea of a good time. I should add that "TAKE in VAIN" is a reeeeeeal outlier, thematically, as it does not stand alone as a phrase At All (where the other theme answers all very much do). But my feelings today are mostly just a matter of taste—I didn't enjoy the puzzle that much, but I do think it's well put-together.
Theme answers:
With the exception of ATLI (ugh) (54D: Literary Hun king), the fill is mostly good, *especially* considering the thematic strain that it's under (those theme answers are made up of very short words, but they're Everywhere). I got hung up in various places, mostly toward the bottom, for no particularly good reasons. I had something like a 5-second blank-stare moment when looking at 50D: What a gourmand eats to, seeing EX-, knowing that the answer was easy, feeling it, but ... not retrieving it. It was like my brain was doing one of those rainbow spinning wheels of death (Mac users know what I'm talking about). And then I was back online. EDIFY also wouldn't come (43A: Give moral guidance), despite seeming obvious in retrospect. Didn't know TYCO (40D: Classic model train brand). Knew TYNAN, but not well, so needed crosses to verify. Needed -RVENT + a few seconds to come up with FERVENT (44D: Impassioned). Nailed "SATIN DOLL"(37D: Duke Ellington classic), but then second-guessed it when the only "gavel wielder" I could imagine was a judge ([Gavel wielder's word] = "RISE"??? No ... "SOLD!")
I just got a little LOGY toward the bottom of the grid (57D: Feeling sluggish). Time ended up normal (5-ish), so I don't feel that bad.
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: ___ in ___ — phrases following that pattern show up in the grid as intersecting words, such that the first word in the phrase is literally "in" (that is, intersects) the last word in the phrase
Word of the Day: Ronan TYNAN (34D: Tenor Ronan ___) —
Ronan Tynan (born 14 May 1960) is a singer in the classical Irish style.Irish audiences recognise him as a member of The Irish Tenors, while American audiences consider him most famous for his renditions of "God Bless America" at Yankee Stadium during important New York Yankees games, such as Opening Day, nationally-televised games, the last game at the old Yankee Stadium, and playoff games. (wikipedia)
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I found this one fussy and rather unpleasant to solve. I get that the intersecting words form a visually literal representation of the phrase that they're part of, and I acknowledge that that is indeed clever. Still, as a solving exercise, having to work out a lot of niddling 4x4s, with their "with this"s and "see that"s, is not my idea of a good time. I should add that "TAKE in VAIN" is a reeeeeeal outlier, thematically, as it does not stand alone as a phrase At All (where the other theme answers all very much do). But my feelings today are mostly just a matter of taste—I didn't enjoy the puzzle that much, but I do think it's well put-together.
Theme answers:
- HAT in HAND
- JUST in CASE
- BEST in SHOW
- NEXT in LINE
- LIE in WAIT
- TAKE in VAIN
- SNOOZE in EXCESS
- TACO in YODA
With the exception of ATLI (ugh) (54D: Literary Hun king), the fill is mostly good, *especially* considering the thematic strain that it's under (those theme answers are made up of very short words, but they're Everywhere). I got hung up in various places, mostly toward the bottom, for no particularly good reasons. I had something like a 5-second blank-stare moment when looking at 50D: What a gourmand eats to, seeing EX-, knowing that the answer was easy, feeling it, but ... not retrieving it. It was like my brain was doing one of those rainbow spinning wheels of death (Mac users know what I'm talking about). And then I was back online. EDIFY also wouldn't come (43A: Give moral guidance), despite seeming obvious in retrospect. Didn't know TYCO (40D: Classic model train brand). Knew TYNAN, but not well, so needed crosses to verify. Needed -RVENT + a few seconds to come up with FERVENT (44D: Impassioned). Nailed "SATIN DOLL"(37D: Duke Ellington classic), but then second-guessed it when the only "gavel wielder" I could imagine was a judge ([Gavel wielder's word] = "RISE"??? No ... "SOLD!")
I just got a little LOGY toward the bottom of the grid (57D: Feeling sluggish). Time ended up normal (5-ish), so I don't feel that bad.