Constructor:Kelly Clark
Relative difficulty:Easy
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THEME:none
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Word of the Day:DAVIT(43D: Hoist on a ship) —
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Very clean, very easy. Almost too much, on both counts. Only SICK AS A DOG, AGENT ORANGE, and maybe SOFT PRETZEL made me think "hey, nice," but never, not once, did I think "ew, gross," so on balance, I'm very pleased. There aren't any big traps, but there are several little ones. I guessed wrong two times, falling into the PLOTS / PLOYS trap (14D: Schemes) *and* the SCAN / SPAN trap (24D: Go over). Managed not to fall into the POLE / POPE trap (25D: John Paul II, e.g.), largely because POPE seemed way too easy, but also because I got the "L" from ALOT pretty quickly (33A: Tremendously). I had GENIE instead of PIXIE at first, and really struggled to come up with DAVIT (just forgot the word) and TEN (wanted NYG) (52D: Eli Manning, on the field). But when your 1-Across is a fat gimme like PETUNIA PIG (1A: Porcine paramour), as I've said in the past, chances are you're in for a fast ride. Not untrue again today. (No offense, Petunia, but you are a fat gimme)
I actually came to a hard stop coming out of the NW because SPROUT (24A: Little 'un) is not a word I'd use unless the context was Green Giant commercials. That's when I jumped to SCAN (whoops) and therefore had real trouble with 29A: Disappearing exclamations (POOFS). I couldn't make sense of the clue on any kind of level, and eventually I had COO-S (?) and then COOFS (??). Thankfully, I didn't accept that as a real thing and double-checked my crosses. Had to do the cross-check thing for PLOTS/PLOYS too. Why is [Comic's nightmare?] (BOO) question-marked? Is the "scariness" of a nightmare supposed to be connoted by "BOO!?" No one has ever said BOO! in my nightmares. They tend to be scary for other, less childish reasons. [Comic's nightmare] seems fine on its own, as a thing a comic dreads. I'm not getting the "?". Do VETS still "ALTER"—I thought "spay" and "neuter" were universal terms now. I only know ALTER from ... I don't even know. Seems dated. Or maybe it's progressive, as it's sex-neutral? All's I know is Bob Barker did not say "Have you pets altered." So there.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Easy
THEME:none
Word of the Day:DAVIT(43D: Hoist on a ship) —
nounnoun: davit; plural noun: davits
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I actually came to a hard stop coming out of the NW because SPROUT (24A: Little 'un) is not a word I'd use unless the context was Green Giant commercials. That's when I jumped to SCAN (whoops) and therefore had real trouble with 29A: Disappearing exclamations (POOFS). I couldn't make sense of the clue on any kind of level, and eventually I had COO-S (?) and then COOFS (??). Thankfully, I didn't accept that as a real thing and double-checked my crosses. Had to do the cross-check thing for PLOTS/PLOYS too. Why is [Comic's nightmare?] (BOO) question-marked? Is the "scariness" of a nightmare supposed to be connoted by "BOO!?" No one has ever said BOO! in my nightmares. They tend to be scary for other, less childish reasons. [Comic's nightmare] seems fine on its own, as a thing a comic dreads. I'm not getting the "?". Do VETS still "ALTER"—I thought "spay" and "neuter" were universal terms now. I only know ALTER from ... I don't even know. Seems dated. Or maybe it's progressive, as it's sex-neutral? All's I know is Bob Barker did not say "Have you pets altered." So there.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]