Constructor:Ellen Leuschner and Jeff Chen
Relative difficulty:Easy
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THEME:[Double __?]— all theme clues follow that model (familiar two-word phrases beginning "Double..."), and answers are familiar "___ AND ___" phrases where both blanks are filled with words that mean roughly the same thing as the ___ in the clue. Thus:
Theme answers:
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Wow, that is a lot of wordplay for not very much excitement at all. Still kind of hung up on how NULL = "space," but I'm sure I'll get over it. Easy and dull, with some decent longer answers here and there, but also with some dreadful fill right where you'd expect it (i.e. in the thematically tight spaces—see DELA next to BRYN adjacent to IS SO, for example). The only thing I'm going to remember about this puzzle is Holy Crap there's *another* ADLAI Stevenson. I kept wanting and not wanting ADLAI because it fit and it's the epitome of crosswordesey names so likelihood of its being in this puzzle seemed high, but the date ... the date ... ADLAI ran against Ike so No Way he was Veep in the late 19th century!? But then the answer *was* ADLAI, so I looked it up and whaddyaknow? ADLAI I (now that would be some terrible fill) was Grover Cleveland's running mate the second time around (Cleveland won popular vote three times in a row, but got beat by Benjamin Harrison in the middle there). The two-time loser to Dwight ADLAI (ADLAI II, which would be really Amazingly bad fill!) was the grandson of ADLAI I. I had no idea. None zero none. History!
OVOIDAL is a painful word. Sounds like part of a disease name. The clue on EVA (4D: "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" heroine) is 19 kinds of preposterous. Forget that it's a gratuitous opera clue (the snootiest, most elitist and exclusionary kind of crossword clue), it expects me to have heard of it, and to know who composed it, when it's from, etc. I know none of these things. Buncha German words ... heroine. EV_? No idea. Luckily, the puzzle was so easy that this absurd clue didn't matter. Something about [On-schedule] cluing TIMELY feels off. Word means "appropriately timed," or "relevant to the times," which is not something you'd say about a train or bus. Those things run "on time." Also, what does "stink eye" mean. I think of LEER as an action that's sexual and somewhat lurid, whereas "stink eye" ... I don't know. Sounds like a face you'd make at someone you don't like. "Stink eye" cuts out all implications of lasciviousness, which seems wrong. I think my favorite answer was DRAWS STARES, just because it seems unusual and original. The rest was mediocre and over quickly.
Goodbye, March.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Easy
THEME:[Double __?]— all theme clues follow that model (familiar two-word phrases beginning "Double..."), and answers are familiar "___ AND ___" phrases where both blanks are filled with words that mean roughly the same thing as the ___ in the clue. Thus:
Theme answers:
- 17A: Double solitaire? (ONE AND ONLY)
- 21A: Double space? (NULL AND VOID) — not sure how "space" = "null," but ... moving on
- 33A: Double take? (SNATCH AND GRAB)
- 50A: Double life? (VIM AND VIGOR)
- 55A: Double back? (AID AND ABET)
Deer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the Wasatch Range, located 36 miles (58 km) east of Salt Lake City, in Park City, Utah, United States. The resort, known for its upscale amenities, is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America. // Deer Valley was a venue site during 2002 Winter Olympics, hosting the freestylemoguls, aerial, and alpineslalom events. It also regularly hosts competitions for the International Ski Federation. (wikipedia)
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OVOIDAL is a painful word. Sounds like part of a disease name. The clue on EVA (4D: "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" heroine) is 19 kinds of preposterous. Forget that it's a gratuitous opera clue (the snootiest, most elitist and exclusionary kind of crossword clue), it expects me to have heard of it, and to know who composed it, when it's from, etc. I know none of these things. Buncha German words ... heroine. EV_? No idea. Luckily, the puzzle was so easy that this absurd clue didn't matter. Something about [On-schedule] cluing TIMELY feels off. Word means "appropriately timed," or "relevant to the times," which is not something you'd say about a train or bus. Those things run "on time." Also, what does "stink eye" mean. I think of LEER as an action that's sexual and somewhat lurid, whereas "stink eye" ... I don't know. Sounds like a face you'd make at someone you don't like. "Stink eye" cuts out all implications of lasciviousness, which seems wrong. I think my favorite answer was DRAWS STARES, just because it seems unusual and original. The rest was mediocre and over quickly.
Goodbye, March.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]