Constructor:Damon Gulczynski
Relative difficulty:Easy (for me, slightly harder for others, I hear)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day:REGIS University(59A: Denver's ___ University) —
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Lucky this guy still consents to submit his stuff, because it's quite nice. I destroyed this puzzle, but Crossword Twitter is telling me it played rough, at least for some. Maybe because people don't know the word "baleful," or SCLERA, or were mistaken about the spelling of JUST DESERTS (25D: Comeuppance). OTHO (that is, On the Hand, Other), maybe I just lucked out with a couple of the answers I knew and had a statistically aberrant good day. Going over the puzzle, I see lots of places where I had trouble, but none of that trouble lasted very long. Plus, the long Downs provide incredible toe-holds, if you're able to infer them from just a small grouping of letters (which I was). After letting WELL WHADDYA KNOW? go, getting WELL SHUT MY MOUTH broke open that otherwise pesky SW corner (OTHO! Not NERO!?) (65A: Emperor after Galba). Got JUST DESERTS off just the first few letters, I think, which opened up the south. Solved SE corner and then rode YOU LOOK FAMILIAR easily up to the NE. See also the CHEESE in CHEESE PIZZA. With those pillars so easy to put into place, the rest of the puzzle's occasional impertinence didn't really matter much. Done in a little over 5.
I did not know JESSE JAMES from that clue. Ended up guessing it from _E_SE_____. Something about that letter pattern just said "JESSE!" and sure enough, success. Got REGIS off the "R" but don't really know why. Crossword memory reflex, probably. Most of my trouble came at the very end, in the north, where the ACETEN (?) LATE crossing refused to come together. Got it down to that exact square, and (failing to understand what sort of "blackjack" was meant) wrote in an "M"—so, ACEMEN and LAME. Is LAME a [Bad way to run]? Seems plausible. But ACEMEN just looked all kinds of wrong, so I pulled it and then the "T" became obvious. Done.
Best clue in the puzzle was 29A: Noted bomb in a longtime war (NEW COKE). Nice misdirection with the bomb/war thing. I'm now amusing myself by reading the central Across as THAT'S A BI GIF, so I should probably log off now and get some sleep.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Easy (for me, slightly harder for others, I hear)
Word of the Day:REGIS University(59A: Denver's ___ University) —
Regis University, formerly known as Regis College, is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic, Jesuituniversity in the United States. Regis College was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1877. It is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Based in Denver, Colorado, Regis University is divided into five colleges: Regis College, The Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, the College for Professional Studies, the College of Computer and Information Sciences, and the College of Business and Economics. The university is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 2013, the Regis University web site stated that it had obtained a top tier ranking as one of the best colleges and universities in the United States in the western region for 19 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. (wikipedia)
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I did not know JESSE JAMES from that clue. Ended up guessing it from _E_SE_____. Something about that letter pattern just said "JESSE!" and sure enough, success. Got REGIS off the "R" but don't really know why. Crossword memory reflex, probably. Most of my trouble came at the very end, in the north, where the ACETEN (?) LATE crossing refused to come together. Got it down to that exact square, and (failing to understand what sort of "blackjack" was meant) wrote in an "M"—so, ACEMEN and LAME. Is LAME a [Bad way to run]? Seems plausible. But ACEMEN just looked all kinds of wrong, so I pulled it and then the "T" became obvious. Done.
Best clue in the puzzle was 29A: Noted bomb in a longtime war (NEW COKE). Nice misdirection with the bomb/war thing. I'm now amusing myself by reading the central Across as THAT'S A BI GIF, so I should probably log off now and get some sleep.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]