Constructor:James Tuttle
Relative difficulty:Easy
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THEME:Second verse, enclosed in the first— two-word phrases where letters of second word can be found (in non-consecutive order) inside the first. Circles indicate the letters in the second word:
Theme answers:
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This was not bad, but it felt familiar, like a puzzle I might've done fairly recently. The fill did *not* feel very recent, and was rough in ways you can all see quite clearly, so I won't rehash it (much). The themers all do what they're supposed to. There's a cleverness there. There just something lacking—a punch, a snap, a zing. The themers dutifully follow a pattern; none of them is that interesting or impressive. ESTIMATED TIME is a teeny bit weak as a stand-alone phrase, but it didn't bother me much. This puzzle just ... was. I like DECREPIT very much as a word (2D: In bad shape). I like EDAMAME very much as a food (27A: Soybean snack). So some delight there. But between the vanilla theme and the reddi-wip (i.e. I'll pass) fill, I was mostly glad not to have struggled much, and just to be done with it.
Time was very fast today. Well under 5. I fell into one pretty bad pit—fittingly, the pit was TORTURE (instead of the milder TORMENT). Elsewhere, that [___it!] style of clue that I do not like at all made it very hard to see DRUM SET (30D: Beat it!). Then even when I got the gist of the clue, I wanted DRUM KIT. Also had [----ERS market] at 43A and wanted SELLERS (after BUYERS wouldn't fit). It is FARMERS. Dum duh dum dum dum dum Dum. I wish this puzzle had just said NOE to ALOES and SRTAS hanging out by the STOA with RST (whoever that is). SE is a bit of a wreck all around. But honestly I didn't wince or groan that much. It was all very typical stuff. I do wish typical were better, but here we are.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Easy
THEME:Second verse, enclosed in the first— two-word phrases where letters of second word can be found (in non-consecutive order) inside the first. Circles indicate the letters in the second word:
Theme answers:
- MARATHON (17A: 1976 Dustin Hoffman thriller)
- WRESTLING (22A: Stage for Hulk Hogan)
- TRANSPARENT (34A: What 3M's Scotch is a brand of)
- ESTIMATED (51A: Arrival or departure approximation)
- ABSTRACT (57A: Rothko's field)
Aloe ferox (known as the Cape Aloe, Bitter Aloe, Red Aloe and Tap Aloe), is a species of arborescentaloe indigenous to southern Africa. It is one of several Aloe species used to make bitter aloes, a purgative medication, and also yields a non-bitter gel that can be used in cosmetics. (wikipedia)
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Time was very fast today. Well under 5. I fell into one pretty bad pit—fittingly, the pit was TORTURE (instead of the milder TORMENT). Elsewhere, that [___it!] style of clue that I do not like at all made it very hard to see DRUM SET (30D: Beat it!). Then even when I got the gist of the clue, I wanted DRUM KIT. Also had [----ERS market] at 43A and wanted SELLERS (after BUYERS wouldn't fit). It is FARMERS. Dum duh dum dum dum dum Dum. I wish this puzzle had just said NOE to ALOES and SRTAS hanging out by the STOA with RST (whoever that is). SE is a bit of a wreck all around. But honestly I didn't wince or groan that much. It was all very typical stuff. I do wish typical were better, but here we are.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]