Jean old-time French pirate with base in New Orleans / MON 3-21-16 / Coffee shop employee / Sink-side rack / Action star Jason

Constructor:Michael Hawkins

Relative difficulty:Challenging (3:45, i.e. a Medium Tuesday)


THEME:HUSH HUSH (66A: Top-secret ... or a hint to 17-, 25-, 39- and 56-Across (AND 66-Across!) — phrases contain "SHH"

Theme answers:

• SMASH HIT (17A: #1 success)
• RUSH HOUR (25A: Likeliest time for a traffic jam)
• TRASH HEAP (39A: Rubbish pile) (not RUBBISH HEAP?)
  
• FISH HOOK (56A: It's at the end of the line)

Word of the Day:Jean LAFITTE(21A: Jean ___, old-time French pirate with a base in New Orleans) —

Jean Lafitte (c. 1780– c. 1823) was a French-Americanpirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his elder brother, Pierre, spelled their last name Laffite, but English-language documents of the time used "Lafitte". The latter has become the common spelling in the United States, including for places named for him. (wikipedia)

I'm going to judge this as a Tuesday puzzle, since the constructor had nothing to do with what day of the week it ran on. But just for the record, I was almost a minute slower than (Monday) average on this puzzle. Its fill and clues make it manifestly un-Monday. LAFITTE is late-week stuff, STATHAM is a name I know but had no clear idea how to spell, understanding the clue and parsing the answer at 47D: Union agreements, informally? (PRE-NUPS) were both really tough to do, etc. Vague clues on UNWISE and UNTIDY, plus LAFITTE, plus IGNEOUS made that NE weirdly slow-going. Annoying when puzzle is so badly mis-slotted, but again, that has nothing to do with the puzzle's inherent quality. So ... quality. I mean, it's fine. I sort of like the SHHs (SHH is horrible fill on its own, but it's a neat little hidden element), and I like that the revealer also participates in the gimmick—nice trick. The fill is OK, but seems very 50-years-ago (despite Jason STATHAM crossing SAM Smith). I don't think people have given each other NOOGIEs in generations, DIG? Sorry if I sound like a FUSSPOT (another word no one has used in decades), but this just felt musty. It's like a nice-ish sweater that smells a little of mothballs: I'll keep it, but I won't find it too pleasant to ... wear ... in the near term. I think the simile fell apart a bit there, but you get the idea. Do WAH Diddy Diddy Dum Diddy old (60D: Do ___ Diddy Diddy" (1964 #1 hit)).


IN SPACE is kind of a weak stand-alone answer (44D: Where "no one can hear you scream," per "Alien"). I really dislike UNCAST, but I think that might just be personal taste (although, in my defense, it really really doesn't google well). Most of the annoying stuff is too slight to be too bothersome. I tripped all over the place. Took a while to remember DRAINER (3D: Sink-side rack). I call mine a "drying rack" and actually tried DRY RACK here, which is ridiculous, since "rack" in is in the clue. Had NEW DAY for NEW ERA (59A: Dawning period). Had CUT IT for CAN IT (63A: "That's enough out of you!"). I'm going to CAN IT now and get back to my laundry.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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