Constructor:Milo Beckman
Relative difficulty:Not sure ... Easy-Medium? (forgot to watch clock)
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THEME: GHOST ___— themers are phrases/words that start with "GHOST," but instead of "GHOST" being written in the grid, it is imagined as an adjective and then represented literally (i.e. everything following "GHOST" is not there). Downs only work with "ghosted" answer. But if you put the word in, the Downs are still real answers (just ... unclued)
Theme answers:
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This was interesting, but didn't really feel like a "crossword," in that the theme answers were not "crossed" at any point. You have to infer the ghostiness by the fact of blanks. There are no Downs to help, is what I'm saying. I guess the fact of blanks is functioning like the additional (i.e. "cross") information you'd get from a Down ... somehow? Also, with ghosts visible, Downs still make sense, but ... the puzzle can't really incorporate this fact in any interesting way, as those Nu-Downs remain unclued. You just have to ... notice that they are also words. In fact, they are almost always More word-like than the Downs that are clued. REGINAL, ugh. THR!? RNDS!? Oy. Good thing "GHOSTBUSTERS" was obvious from its clue (53A: Monster film hit of 1984). I was like "Oh, BUSTERS gets 'ghosted,' OK." Then I got the other "GHOST ___" answers, though GHOST TOWNS took me a few beats (24A: Some gold rush remnants). TOWN-as-"remnant" = pretty hard stretch.
Fill is pretty bad in lots of places, esp near middle, wow, oh wow, ouch. Almost every 3 in there is actively hurtful. Not sure why that had to be. I did like how fresh and current the puzzle felt. The constructor is quite young, so ... that probably has something to do with it. There's nothing in here an older person couldn't / wouldn't have put in his / her puzzle, but the up-to-date cluing and (especially) lack (mostly) of tired arcana was nice. This was creative. I enjoyed it. It was somewhat troubling in places but, I mean, it's HAUNTED, so ... maybe that's OK.
Bullets:
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Relative difficulty:Not sure ... Easy-Medium? (forgot to watch clock)
THEME: GHOST ___— themers are phrases/words that start with "GHOST," but instead of "GHOST" being written in the grid, it is imagined as an adjective and then represented literally (i.e. everything following "GHOST" is not there). Downs only work with "ghosted" answer. But if you put the word in, the Downs are still real answers (just ... unclued)
Theme answers:
- 22A: Like many celebrity memoirs ([ghost] WRITTEN) boo
- 24A: Some gold rush remnants ([ghost] TOWNS) boo
- 51A: Campfire entertainment ([ghost] STORIES]) boo!
- 53A: Monster film hit of 1984 (["ghost]BUSTERS")
Etymology
Blend of hate or hater and Gatorade (a brand of sports drink)Noun
haterade(uncountable)
- (slang, often capitalized)Hatred, as a metaphorical beverage. (wiktionary)
• • •
Fill is pretty bad in lots of places, esp near middle, wow, oh wow, ouch. Almost every 3 in there is actively hurtful. Not sure why that had to be. I did like how fresh and current the puzzle felt. The constructor is quite young, so ... that probably has something to do with it. There's nothing in here an older person couldn't / wouldn't have put in his / her puzzle, but the up-to-date cluing and (especially) lack (mostly) of tired arcana was nice. This was creative. I enjoyed it. It was somewhat troubling in places but, I mean, it's HAUNTED, so ... maybe that's OK.
Bullets:
- 37A: "Now I ain't sayin' ___ a gold digger" (Kanye West lyric) (SHE)— this made me literally LOL. Long way to go for SHE. "SHE" is also in the subsequent line of this song, but that line would never make it into a crossword clue. For ... reasons. Check the rhyme.
- 58D: Early fifth-century year (CDI)— Ugh, the RRN (random Roman numeral). NOT COOL, man. NOT COOL.
- 1A: Blu-ray ancestor (VCR)— "ancestor" made me laugh, but that was when I thought the answer was DVD. VCR still funny. Just not as.
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