Constructor: Will Nediger
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME:"Places, Everyone!"— circled-square answers are all two-part answers, where first part must be inferred by the answers place in the grid: for the Acrosses, LEFT, MIDDLE, and RIGHT; for the Down, TOP up top; MIDDLE in the middle; and BOTTOM down below.
Theme answers:
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In retrospect, it's all reasonably logical, but while solving, none of the "places" made any sense to me. It all seemed very haphazard, and I just inferred the answers the best I could. Had trouble at first because I couldn't believe that the fact that the theme answers *crossed* each other meant nothing, but ... yeah, it means nothing. Nothing as far as the execution of the theme itself goes. Means a lot in terms of theme density, which is, on the one hand, impressive, and on the other, troublesome—as with all dense themes, it puts a lot of pressure on the fill. Don't believe me, just ask the ALAEPLANER, or, uh, just PUPATE the ETHELS, if you've got the nerve. Well do ya, punk? The theme works fine, but it wasn't any great delight. Also, the "Right" answers seemed particularly weak. Right-HANDER, Right-MINDED, Right-Clicks ... none of them very snappy. No ANGLES or WINGERS. Also, what is "Bottom BRACKET"? I've heard of teams being at the top or the bottom of the bracket, but the adjective (?) "bottom-BRACKET" ... wait, is it an adjectival phrase? [Where teams ... are found?] They're found bottom-BRACKET? That is awkward.
We need to talk about a few of the answers in this puzzle. First, ASHINE (3D: Glowing). I literally LOL'd and then looked around for someone, anyone, to confirm that that is the single dumbest / most ridiculous A-anything word. AREEL, AGAZE, ALOP ... all of them are ordinary, everyday words compared to ASHINE? I mean ... ASHINE makes AGLEAM look good. This ASHINE's third time *ever* being in the NYT crossword. Amazingly, it even appeared once during the Rex Parker era. I clearly and smartly suppressed this memory. So there's that. Then there's the serious, Natickulous trauma of SAUK, which *also* makes only its third ever appearance today (77D: Fox neighbor). I ... do not know this tribe. Which is fine, I don't know a lot of things. But to cross this obviously not-commonly-known tribe name with _-TESTS!?!?! (82A: Mushroom makers) That could be three different letters. That *has been* three different letters. This is why crosswordese suuuucks and why editing is an important skill. That is a godawful crossing. How did the constructor not know this, the editor not know this, the testers not comment on this. Just dire. SAUK> SNUK or SHUK, I'll grant you, but not by a lot,and by no means definitively. It's not like I look at SAUK and think "o yeah, it's *gotta* be that." This is in the same area where people are going to have KISS instead of BUSS (at least for a bit), so ... blargh city.
Important Crossword Event News:
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THE INDIE 500 crossword tournament is happening SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017 (i.e. *in three weeks*), in Washington, D.C., and registration is open open open. This is one of two tournaments I try never to miss (the other is Lollapuzzoola, in NYC, in August). Indie is such a welcoming, fun place to be, and the puzzle constructor slate for the tournament this year looks amazing (talented *and* diverse!—check it out!). This a great tournament for veterans and rookies alike. Don't be afraid of your own nerddom. Register now. You'll be happy you did.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- LEFT SCHOOL / MIDDLE AMERICA / RIGHT-HANDER
- TOP STORIES / TOP SIRLOIN / TOP BANANAS
- LEFT BEHIND / MIDDLE MANAGER / RIGHT-MINDED
- MIDDLE CHILD / MIDDLE CLASS / MIDDLE RANGE
- LEFT TACKLE / MIDDLE ENGLISH / RIGHT CLICKS
- BOTTOM BRACKET / BOTTOM DWELLER / BOTTOM FEEDING
The Sac or Sauk are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group. Their autonym is oθaakiiwaki, and their exonym is Ozaagii(-wag) in Ojibwe. The latter name was transliterated into French and English by colonists of those cultures. (wikipedia)
• • •
We need to talk about a few of the answers in this puzzle. First, ASHINE (3D: Glowing). I literally LOL'd and then looked around for someone, anyone, to confirm that that is the single dumbest / most ridiculous A-anything word. AREEL, AGAZE, ALOP ... all of them are ordinary, everyday words compared to ASHINE? I mean ... ASHINE makes AGLEAM look good. This ASHINE's third time *ever* being in the NYT crossword. Amazingly, it even appeared once during the Rex Parker era. I clearly and smartly suppressed this memory. So there's that. Then there's the serious, Natickulous trauma of SAUK, which *also* makes only its third ever appearance today (77D: Fox neighbor). I ... do not know this tribe. Which is fine, I don't know a lot of things. But to cross this obviously not-commonly-known tribe name with _-TESTS!?!?! (82A: Mushroom makers) That could be three different letters. That *has been* three different letters. This is why crosswordese suuuucks and why editing is an important skill. That is a godawful crossing. How did the constructor not know this, the editor not know this, the testers not comment on this. Just dire. SAUK> SNUK or SHUK, I'll grant you, but not by a lot,and by no means definitively. It's not like I look at SAUK and think "o yeah, it's *gotta* be that." This is in the same area where people are going to have KISS instead of BUSS (at least for a bit), so ... blargh city.
Important Crossword Event News:
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]