Constructor: Mangesh Ghogre and Brendan Emmett Quigley
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: JULY (59A: What the beginnings of 17-, 25-, 40- and 52-Across are each a fourth of, phonetically)— each "beginning" is a FOURTH OF 'JULY.' Get it?
Theme answers:
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This puzzle does what it says it does, so it's got that going for it. There's some rough fill, but overall, it floats. I mean, it does an interesting word-play-y thing with "Fourth of July," so, mission accomplished. I am having this creepy, eerie feeling (opposite of the Eagles'"Peaceful, Easy Feeling") that I have seen this theme before. A theme identical to this one. Same concept. Same holiday. Same. Maybe different themers, but otherwise, same. I can't be bothered to track it down, if it even exists. I know we just had a puzzle (last week?) that involved spelling out letters in some way, but that's not what I'm remembering. It's this J, U, L, Y, "fourth" thing ... maybe someone knows. Or (more likely) maybe I just *think* I've seen it before. [Update: holy crap, was I right! This theme is nearly identical to the NYT 7/4 puzzle from ... LAST YEAR!?!?!? Same. Concept. Same. Gag. How does an editor Forget That?!?!!?!??!] [P.S. I should add that this puzzle was accepted over a year ago and was going to be published in 2016 (!?!?!), except the editor I guess forgot he already had one for 2016 (!?), so he held it for a year ... anyway, again, I ask, how do you (A) accept a theme for 2016 that you have Already Accepted For 2016 and then (B) after realizing you have done this dumb thing, decide to run the duplicated theme the very next year!?!?!? Stunning.]
It's not that festive. I think it will be less than / harder than Easy if you don't know who ELLE MACPHERSON is. I had to explain her to my friend Lena (whose house I am at). "She was big like 20 years ago." That was my best explanation of her. "She was in movies ... a little ... I think." That was my follow-up, more specific explanation of her. YOU ARE NOT ALONE is weird, in that people are more likely to say "YOU'RE," I think. And ["I'm here, too"] is an insanely, stupidly literal clue for something people say *figuratively* all the time. "I don't like Pumpkin Spice things!""Brother, YOU ARE NOT ALONE." You are not telling the guy, "Brother, I am standing in this room with you." You are indicating solidarity of spirit, a oneness of general feeling or purpose. Bah and feh. I would accept "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" as a lesser Michael Jackson song.
Hardest for me was 1D: Big name in camera film, because crossword brain went "what's that dumb film name you never remember Oh Right, AGFA!" And then, as I will do from now til kingdom come, I confused FUJI and FIJI. After that, all was easy, though I had ELSE for 6D: In addition (ALSO) and didn't trust FLUME at first (even though it's the first thing I thought of for 43A: Amusement park water ride) and mildly barfed at VETOER and needed most crosses to get THRU (48D: Directional word, for short). I am not fond of SEAEEL (10D: Anago, at a sushi restaurant) because it's just a vowel orgy, but I did have eel for lunch today, and even though my dish was Unaju and not Anago, I felt spiritually and psychically bonded to that clue somehow. Have a safe and festive 0.25.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- JAY GATSBY (17A: Title bootlegger in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel)
- YOU ARE NOT ALONE (25A: "I'm here, too")
- ELLE MACPHERSON (40A: Model with the most Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition covers (5))
- WHY BOTHER? (52A: "What's the use?")
adjectivederogatoryadjective: modishconforming to or following what is currently popular and fashionable."it seems sad that such a scholar should feel compelled to use this modish jargon"
synonyms: fashionable, stylish, chic, modern, contemporary, all the rage, in vogue, voguish, up-to-the-minute, à la mode, du jour; informaltrendy, cool, with it, in, now, hip, styling/stylin', happening, phat, funky, kicky, tony, fly"modish outfits for spring" (google)
It's not that festive. I think it will be less than / harder than Easy if you don't know who ELLE MACPHERSON is. I had to explain her to my friend Lena (whose house I am at). "She was big like 20 years ago." That was my best explanation of her. "She was in movies ... a little ... I think." That was my follow-up, more specific explanation of her. YOU ARE NOT ALONE is weird, in that people are more likely to say "YOU'RE," I think. And ["I'm here, too"] is an insanely, stupidly literal clue for something people say *figuratively* all the time. "I don't like Pumpkin Spice things!""Brother, YOU ARE NOT ALONE." You are not telling the guy, "Brother, I am standing in this room with you." You are indicating solidarity of spirit, a oneness of general feeling or purpose. Bah and feh. I would accept "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" as a lesser Michael Jackson song.
Hardest for me was 1D: Big name in camera film, because crossword brain went "what's that dumb film name you never remember Oh Right, AGFA!" And then, as I will do from now til kingdom come, I confused FUJI and FIJI. After that, all was easy, though I had ELSE for 6D: In addition (ALSO) and didn't trust FLUME at first (even though it's the first thing I thought of for 43A: Amusement park water ride) and mildly barfed at VETOER and needed most crosses to get THRU (48D: Directional word, for short). I am not fond of SEAEEL (10D: Anago, at a sushi restaurant) because it's just a vowel orgy, but I did have eel for lunch today, and even though my dish was Unaju and not Anago, I felt spiritually and psychically bonded to that clue somehow. Have a safe and festive 0.25.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]