Constructor:Timothy Polin
Relative difficulty:Easy-Medium
![]()
THEME:ON THE ROCKS (56A: How this puzzle's three drinks have been served?)— themers all have liquor names in them, then underneath those names, in circled squares each time, there are the letters ICE...
Theme answers:
![]()
First of all, easyish. 20 seconds or so easier than yesterday's. Second of all, fatally flawed at the thematic level. D.O.A. One of the answers is not like the others, and it's a dealbreaker. SCOTCH ... used non-alcoholically. BOURBON ... used non-alcoholically. TEQUILA ... not only used alcoholically, but clued as a damn cocktail, which totally interferes with the whole "ooh, look, it's over ICE now" thing. The ICE is supposed to pull the word out of its answer and into a liquor context. That's the magic. If the word is already in a liquor context, no magic. This is especially jarring when the other two themers are playing by the rules, doing their jobs, being good soldiers. Maybe if the clue had gone with the Gibson/Pfeiffer movie, things would've been better, but I think you just need a third themer like GIN RUMMY or the like, where the liquor word is used in a non-liquor context.
The grid, however, is really quite good. Lots of long, cool words (I'm partial to OBSEQUIOUS—as a word, not as a thing one should be). I think BLOT UP is ridiculous (you just BLOT a spill), but really even the medium-length fill in this one is solid-to-sparkly. HILLEL CANTORS NO-LOOK ... all fine. SEA CARP was by far the hardest thing to come up with (morwong!?). Good ole SNERT, faithful SNERT. Always there to help out (27D: Hägar the Horrible's dog). I keep reading MEWED as ME, WED? [Incredulous question from a bachelor?]. EPHEMERA is a really pretty word. It is late and I need to sleep now. I just had gin ON THE ROCKS and it was great. COTTON GIN! See, there's another. RUM TUM TUGGER. CATCHER IN THE RYE! PA RUM PUM PUM PUM (14) actually gives you a simple switch-out, as it's the same length as TEQUILA SUNRISE! Come on, the answers are out there!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. Good think they got this in to print before the inauguration. That clue on 7D is not gonna be true for much longer.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty:Easy-Medium
Theme answers:
- SCOTCH TAPE (17A: Clear adhesive)
- HOUSE OF BOURBON (28A: French royal line)
- TEQUILA SUNRISE (43A: Cocktail usually served with an orange slice and a cherry)
Morwongs (also called butterfish, fingerfins, jackassfish, snappers, and moki) are perciform fishes comprising the family Cheilodactylidae. they are found in subtropical oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. // Morwong is also used as a name for several unrelated fish found in Australian waters, such as the painted sweetlips, Diagramma pictum. (the word "carp" appears nowhere in the "morwong" wikipedia entry, just to be clear) (wikipedia)
• • •
The grid, however, is really quite good. Lots of long, cool words (I'm partial to OBSEQUIOUS—as a word, not as a thing one should be). I think BLOT UP is ridiculous (you just BLOT a spill), but really even the medium-length fill in this one is solid-to-sparkly. HILLEL CANTORS NO-LOOK ... all fine. SEA CARP was by far the hardest thing to come up with (morwong!?). Good ole SNERT, faithful SNERT. Always there to help out (27D: Hägar the Horrible's dog). I keep reading MEWED as ME, WED? [Incredulous question from a bachelor?]. EPHEMERA is a really pretty word. It is late and I need to sleep now. I just had gin ON THE ROCKS and it was great. COTTON GIN! See, there's another. RUM TUM TUGGER. CATCHER IN THE RYE! PA RUM PUM PUM PUM (14) actually gives you a simple switch-out, as it's the same length as TEQUILA SUNRISE! Come on, the answers are out there!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. Good think they got this in to print before the inauguration. That clue on 7D is not gonna be true for much longer.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]