2002 Hugh Grant dramedy / FRI 11-18-16 / Site of Dostoevsky's exile / Category for un Premio Nobel / Close relative of elephant garlic / Noted 1983 graduate of Columbia / Blue symbol of Delaware

Constructor:Peter Wentz

Relative difficulty:Medium-Challenging (proper noun gauntlet!)


THEME: none 

Word of the Day:TYRESE(34A: Rapper/actor in several "Fast & Furious" movies) —

Tyrese Darnell Gibson (born December 30, 1978), also known mononymously as Tyrese, is an American Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, actor, author, television producer, former fashion model and MTV VJ. He is best known for his roles as Joseph "Jody" Summers in Baby Boy and as Roman Pearce in the Fast and the Furious series. After releasing several albums, he transitioned into films, with lead roles in several major Hollywood releases. (wikipedia)

This fall, I have somehow almost fully switched over to old people time. That is, I fall asleep ridiculously early and get up before 5. This is partly my schedule (start early *every* weekday), possibly the fact that I started going to the gym 4x/week (my appetite for both food and sleep, way up), and partly the general malaise of the country (can't deal ... must sleep). The puzzle implications of this new sleep schedule are that I am solving in the strange wee hours. 3:45. 4:15. And I am still a crap morning solver. So I think I might have to adjust my difficulty ratings accordingly. Felt like I really struggled with this one—second time in a row that's happened to me with a Wentz puzzle, which I normally crush. Clock said difficulty was just a tick more than average, so I might have been judging myself again my Wentzpectations as opposed to my Friday expectations. Anyway, this grid is bright and lively and current (and, it's worth noting, remarkably, anomalously, black—the fact that I would say that about a puzzle with four black people in it tells you something about the norm), but So Many Names. So many proper noun rocky shores to crash your ship on. NW is probably the rockiest, with COLMES KULIK crossing ABOUT A BOY BILLY ZANE, with "BABALU" and STYX thrown in for good measure. I personally slipped on ORTHO / ZENO (shakes fist at ORKIN!) and then fell right down at the very end, where I tripped on J COLE. Because of LOADS at 46A: A lot, I had him as JOOLE. "Who the hell is JOOLE? No, not Jewel. JOOLE! Damn it, I ask for more black representation in the grid and it bites me in the ass!" But it was J COLE, whom I have heard of. Much more familiar to me than SHAD, actually (46D: Source of valuable eggs).


I do think my 1-Across Theory of Speedsolving applies here, as 1A: Go over again, as one's writing? was a no-hoper for me (without crosses). Not only that, it seemed to beg for the RE- prefix, which I tried for a bit. If 1-Across is a gimme, I'm gonna crush the puzzle. If it takes a few crosses, I'll be OK. If it's really intractable, I'm in trouble. The most dispiriting moment for me came when I read the clue at 8D: One of Augusta National's first two female members and thought, "That's Condi Rice! Let's see CONDOLEEZA ... wait, it doesn't fit. Damn it!" Two Zs, Condi!? Come on! It's just not fair that there should exist in the world both a one-Z LEEZA Gibbons and a Two-Z CONDOLEEZZA Rice. No justice, no peace!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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