Constructor: Peter Gordon
Relative difficulty: Easy (4:17)
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THEME: Morphological reduplication (as they call it in linguistics)— An idiom and the names of a person, a brand, and a Muppet repeat sounds (morphemes) in a rhyming pattern.
Theme answers:
Word of the Day: RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE (from the clue for FOREMAN [13A: Boxer George who lost the Rumble in the Jungle]) -- almost a reduplication!
The fill was neither fuddy-duddy nor hoity-toity. There's some kind of postmodern fusion cuisine suggested by WASABI (1A: Green condiment served with sushi), TACO BELL (42D: Fast food chain with the slogan "Live más"), and RONZONI (16A: Brand of pasta). You've got your Midwestern cities represented with ST PAUL (11D: Capital of Minnesota) and SHEBOYGAN (38D: Wisconsin city on Lake Michigan). And I have a teentsy-weentsy quibble with SLABBING (45D: Applying thickly, with "on") because it seems a bit hugger-mugger, but okey-dokey.
Bullets:
Signed, Laura Braunstein, Sorceress of CrossWorld
[Follow Laura on Twitter]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (4:17)
THEME: Morphological reduplication (as they call it in linguistics)— An idiom and the names of a person, a brand, and a Muppet repeat sounds (morphemes) in a rhyming pattern.
Theme answers:
- 28A: Ramen product -- OODLES OF NOODLES
- 56A: "Sesame Street" Muppet with wings and a magic wand -- ABBY CADABBY
- 6D: Competing with the goal of victory -- IN IT TO WIN IT
- 7D: Daredevil in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame -- EVEL KNIEVEL
Do you get enough noodles in your noodle soup?
Word of the Day: RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE (from the clue for FOREMAN [13A: Boxer George who lost the Rumble in the Jungle]) -- almost a reduplication!
The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing event in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30, 1974 (at 4:00 am). Held at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël), it pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali, a former heavyweight champion. The attendance was 60,000. Ali won by knockout, putting Foreman down just before the end of the eighth round. It has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century".The event was one of Don King's first ventures as a professional boxing promoter. (Wikipedia)
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Jeepers creepers! This super-de-duper puzzle was just chock-a-block with boogie-woogie. The nitty-gritty: Peter Gordon gives us a grid with left-right symmetry (as opposed to the standard topsy-turvy rotational symmetry), no doubt to accommodate a set of hodge-podge theme entries without symmetrical lengths. Add the hocus-pocus of crossing the 15-letter OODLES OF NOODLES with the two 11-letter down themers and that's evidence of some razzle-dazzle construction skills.  |
| I wonder if there's a Goth Muppet named AVER CADAVER |
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| EVEL KNIEVEL was IN IT TO WIN IT |
- 44A: Milo of "The Verdict" (O'SHEA)— Poor Milo. A long career in British cinema, and you are known forever to crossword solvers as the judge from a 1980s Paul Newman legal drama. I propose that from now on we clue O'SHEA as [Rapper and actor ___ Jackson, better known as Ice Cube].
- 70A: Molecule components (ATOMS)— Q: Why can't you trust atoms? A: Because they make up everything.
- 63A: Punk rock's ___ Pop (IGGY)— I'll let Iggy sing me out.
I see the stars come out tonight
Signed, Laura Braunstein, Sorceress of CrossWorld
[Follow Laura on Twitter]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]