Constructor:Sam Ezersky
Relative difficulty:Medium
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THEME:DAVID / BOWIE (35D: With 43-Across, singer of the lyric formed by the first parts of 20-, 24-, 40-, 51- and 58-Across) — A tribute puzzle that spells out the opening lyric of his song "Space Oddity" (1969): "GROUND / CONTROL / TO / MAJOR / TOM"
Theme answers:
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This is a decent, basic Bowie tribute. That lyric certainly makes a nice cohesive unit, and you've got Bowie's name in the middle there, however awkwardly staggered ... Bowie's work was itself so visionary and strange that I can write off any wonkiness as appropriately thematic, I think. Today, we'll just call it "artistic" or "avant-garde." First-words quote themes aren't the most exciting things in the world, but it's a Tuesday, so why not? Very accessible, and gives Everyone a nice "aha" moment, as well as an opportunity to fill in lots of grid real estate very easily. I wrote in TO and MAJOR and TOM without even reading their respective clues — strangely, this did not seem to help my solving time much. I was a little on the high side, even. I blame ST. LUCIA (4D: Caribbean island whose capital is Castries), for which I drew a complete blank (that clue was zero help). Not getting that meant rounding a corner in either direction (into the N, into the W) got somewhat harder. Later, ILIA slowed me right down, because WTF? (37D: Heroine princess of Mozart's "Idomeneo") I just changed ILIA DKNY to IDEA DUTY and already like it better. And then NUMLOCK, yikes (46D: Key near the upper-right corner of a PC keyboard). Have not seen that. My keyboard has a "caps lock" and that's it. So despite the lyrical giveaway, my time was no better than average for a Tuesday. Slightly worse, actually.
I like the loose, colloquial feel of this grid, all those KINDAs and I HEAR YAs and NO LIEs. I also like that you might carry DAVID / BOWIE music on your IPOD NANO, and that Bowie sang about TABLOIDS in "Space Oddity," at least indirectly ("And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear..."). So the theme is basic, and there are rough patches in the fill, but it's hard for me to be anything but pleased with a Bowie puzzle.
See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Medium
THEME:DAVID / BOWIE (35D: With 43-Across, singer of the lyric formed by the first parts of 20-, 24-, 40-, 51- and 58-Across) — A tribute puzzle that spells out the opening lyric of his song "Space Oddity" (1969): "GROUND / CONTROL / TO / MAJOR / TOM"
Theme answers:
- GROUND OUTS
- CONTROL FREAK
- TO TASTE
- MAJOR PROBLEM
- TOMFOOLERY
Saint Lucia ... is a sovereignisland country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries. (wikipedia)
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I like the loose, colloquial feel of this grid, all those KINDAs and I HEAR YAs and NO LIEs. I also like that you might carry DAVID / BOWIE music on your IPOD NANO, and that Bowie sang about TABLOIDS in "Space Oddity," at least indirectly ("And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear..."). So the theme is basic, and there are rough patches in the fill, but it's hard for me to be anything but pleased with a Bowie puzzle.
See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]