Title Roman tribune of early Wagner opera / FRI 7-7-17 / European textile city that gave us word denim / Thimble Theatre surname / Actress Kate of House of Cards / Show on which Key Peele got their start

Constructor: Andy Kravis

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME:none 

Word of the Day: RIENZI (47A: Title Roman tribune of an early Wagner opera) —

Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen (Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to Rienzi. Written between July 1838 and November 1840, it was first performed at the Hofoper, Dresden, on 20 October 1842, and was the composer's first success. // The opera is set in Rome and is based on the life of Cola di Rienzi (1313–1354), a late medieval Italian populist figure who succeeds in outwitting and then defeating the nobles and their followers and in raising the power of the people. Magnanimous at first, he is forced by events to crush the nobles' rebellion against the people's power, but popular opinion changes and even the Church, which had urged him to assert himself, turns against him. In the end the populace burns the Capitol, in which Rienzi and a few adherents have made a last stand. (wikipedia)

BIB! (24D: Lobster catcher?). Where was this clue *yesterday*, when I needed it!?

This puzzle is, by and large, gorgeous. The kind of puzzle that I was admiring mid-solve, the kind of puzzle where I'm nodding along like there's a great summer song on the radio. Wide-ranging, surprising, impeccably clued. I am never going to think INSTA or PEAT is great fill, but those damned clues had me actually *enjoying* INSTA (18A: Photo app, slangily) and PEAT (14D: Three follower, in sports). I look forward to the Further Adventures of Insta & Peat. I also love a puzzle that can go very high (brow) ... RIENZI wtf!? (47A: Title Roman tribune of an early Wagner opera) ... and then dive right down and buzz the control tower ... VAGUEBOOKS wtf!? (31A: Posts an intentionally mysterious status update on social media) ... and do so in a way that allows me to appreciate all of it: crosses fair, answer parts inferrable. Proper nouns properly handled, crosswordese minimal, and minimalistically clued. A very nice way to wake up (I'm doing the puzzle upon waking today, instead of promptly at 10pm, because yesterday was filled with a two-hour ice cream tour of Binghamton, with many failed attempts to track down the "popular" RUM RAISIN flavor (from yesterday's grid), and many successful purchases of RUM RAISIN alternatives—basically I had six kinds of ice cream for lunch ... and so later, after watching my wife get sworn in as the newest member of the school board ... got very sleepy ... like out-before-nine sleepy ... and so this puzzle was the perfect cure for my ice cream hangover. Speaking of: I am issuing a RUM RAISIN challenge. Is RUM RAISIN truly "popular" in your neck of the woods? Can you even find RUM RAISIN where you live? Does it exist? If you are so inclined, please go in search of RUM RAISIN in the next couple of days and send me a picture of yourself eating (or Refusing to eat) it. Tweet me at @rexparker or just send it to my rexparker at icloud address. I'll post the results of Rum Raisin Quest 2017 (#RRQuest2017) in Sunday's write-up.)


Some other puzzle—possibly a different (i.e. not yesterday's) Erik Agard puzzle?—prepped me for "MOONLIGHT" (which I still haven't seen), and its new-clue-for-ALI actor (6D: Mahershala ___, Best Supporting Actor for 17-Across). Forgot the actor's name, remembered the movie ... which gave me the actor's name. That was the answer that dug me out of an early hole—the French textile city hole. When you do way too many crosswords, the European textile city reflex is LILLE. Or it is for me, anyway. Yes, here's a nice wikipedia paragraph about LILLE: "The 16th and 17th centuries were marked by a boom in the regional textile industry, the Protestant revolts, and outbreaks of the Plague." But at least I knew NÎMES existed. That helped. Had RISK-TAKER before RISK-PRONE (which is my bad, as the clue clearly calls for an adjective, not a noun) (12D: Like someone who invests in volatile stocks). Realized I'm not actually that familiar with TOP CAT (49A: Hanna-Barbera feline), despite getting the answer pretty easily. I'm more familiar with the slew of other cartoon felines, your Sylvesters and your Snagglepusses and your Pink Panthers and your Toms and such. Only solving snags of note involved proper nouns (shocker)—RIENZI and MARA (I know Rooney, I do not know Kate) (54D: Actress Kate of "House of Cards"). Just a delightful solving experience, overall. One final ovation for the cluing, please. BOT! (42D: What may have a strong net effect?) NO-FLY ZONES! (27D: Dimension without planes). Just great.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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