Oil-producing matter in shale / TUE 3-1-16 / 2000-03 Disney Channel series with Shia LaBeouf / Sumatran swinger informally

Constructor:Freddie Cheng

Relative difficulty:Easy-Medium ("Medium" only for KEROGEN !?)


THEME:ALL ABOUT EVE (56A: 1950 Bette Davis film hinting at something found 15 times in this puzzle) — Well, I'm not counting, but apparently the letter string "EVE" appears 15 times in this puzzle.

Theme answers:

• "EVEN STEVENS" (19A: 2000-03 Disney Channel series with Shia LaBeouf)
• EVEL KNIEVEL (26A: Daredevil who survived more than 400 bone fractures)
• SEVEN ELEVEN (44A: Place to buy a Slurpee)
• ...and the rest! 

Word of the Day:KEROGEN(37A: Oil-producing matter in shale) —

Kerogen (Greek κηρός "wax" and -gen, γένεση "birth") is a mixture of organicchemical compounds that make up a portion of the organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It is insoluble in normal organicsolvents because of the high molecular weight (upwards of 1,000 daltons or 1000 Da; 1Da= 1 atomic mass unit) of its component compounds. The soluble portion is known as bitumen. When heated to the right temperatures in the Earth's crust, (oil window c. 50–150 °C, gas window c. 150–200 °C, both depending on how quickly the source rock is heated) some types of kerogen release crude oil or natural gas, collectively known as hydrocarbons (fossil fuels). When such kerogens are present in high concentration in rocks such as shale, they form possible source rocks. Shales rich in kerogens that have not been heated to a warmer temperature to release their hydrocarbons may form oil shale deposits. // The name "kerogen" was introduced by the Scottish organic chemistAlexander Crum Brown in 1906.

I guess the "ALL ABOUT" means "strewn all over the grid"? I only noticed that there were two in each (apparent) themer, i.e. long Across answer, and didn't think the revealer worked for a 2 x EVE puzzle, but I guess if it's ubiquiteve we're talking about, then yeah, on some level, it works. This is another example of the NYT trying to cover up a pretty flimsy concept with theme Density: an EVE in each long Down, two in each Across (excepting the revealer) and then assorted EVEs strewn about. There is some noticeable effect on the fill: there's a lot of iffy / old short stuff (AMATI ENERO ORANG ERTE STEN OLEO ANO HEXA, etc.), and then two outer-space answers: "EVEN STEVENS" (!?!?!?!?) (19A: 2000-03 Disney Channel series with Shia LaBeouf) and KEROGEN, which stand light years apart from the other answers in terms of general familiarity. KEROGEN is far too unfamiliar / technical for a Tuesday puzzle. I like that the puzzle is weird and kind of ambitious; its "flaws" are almost endearing. The inclusion of so many long Downs livens up an otherwise dull grid. So this puzzle has its charms. I'll just leave it at that.


Mistakes? I made a few. SPADE for SIEVE (2D: Forty-niner's tool). Actually, that might be the only outright mistake.  I was very unsure of spelling of KOPECK, so had to work all the crosses there (8D: Fraction of a ruble). No other struggles of note (except the aforementioned KEROGEN disaster). I need to go get coffee and properly wake up. Have a nice day.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS HEXA is junk, but I must admit I like [Tri and tri again?] very much. 

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