Ones with X-genes in comics / THU 6-29-17 / Republic state toppled in 1933 / Thomas entertainer with Presidential Medal of Freedom

Constructor: Rich Proulx

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: country puns 

Theme answers:

• KENYA GIVE ME A HAND (18A: Request for aid in East Africa?)
• BAHRAIN WASH (27A: Call for cleanup in the Persian Gulf?)
• GHANA FLY NOW (49A: Slogan for a West African airline?)
• TAKE MY WIFE BELIZE (62A: Entreaty for a spouse's emigration to Central America?)

Word of the Day: ADELA Rogers St. Johns (37D: Writer ___ Rogers St. Johns) —

Adela Nora Rogers St. Johns (May 20, 1894 – August 10, 1988) was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. She wrote a number of screenplays for silent movies but is best remembered for her groundbreaking exploits as "The World's Greatest Girl Reporter" during the 1920s and 1930s and her celebrity interviews for Photoplay magazine. (wikipedia)

I can't even muster up the energy to RANT AT this one. Corny, sure, but really bad corny. Just bad. Like ... no consistency, no zing, no thought. Just really lousy country puns. Four of them. Why these four? No reason. None. And the fill? Half-century old, at a minimum. Stale as heck. The fill is playing EUCHRE with ADELA Rogers St. Johns. Wow. ANGE? SSA? There's no excuse for fill this bad in a puzzle with such a light theme. And it's 16 wide? No, no excuse. Poor. Fail. SPAIN, NEUTER YOUR PETS! BHUTAN YOUR LIP! BOLIVIA ME! HEARING LAOS! NAURU ESCAPE! NORWAY, JOSÉ! SPEED THE PALAU! STRANGE PERU! POLAND FOR COLUMBINE! WELCOME BACK, QATAR! SWEDEN THE POT! TAIWAN ON! Are you not amused? Here, here is a cool video from the "Hamilton Mixtape." Trust me, it is ~100 times more entertaining than this puzzle.


Sigh. Later.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]