Constructor: Bruce Haight
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: words / phrases that can mean their own opposite:
Theme answers:
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All the themers came from a Mental Floss list / article. You can see it here. I mean, the English language does cool things, sure, woo hoo, fun. But you get No credit for simply finding a list and then cherry-picking the list for words that fit symmetrically in a grid, particular when you totally fail to mention that fact in your self-serving Constructor Notes (on the NYT's in-house blog). No. Credit. Also, the fill is somehow still dull-to-bad. I practically choked on ESS / SHH / HEHS (the worst), to say nothing of OEN- -INI ETDS AGARS. And then there's almost nothing genuinely fun or entertaining. I do like "WE COOL?", and to a lesser extent "SURE DO!" and HAS-BEEN. But I can't endorse this cut-and-paste approach to crossword themes, especially when it's not acknowledged, and overall there's just too much mediocrity in the grid. MAY I GO? Pfffffft, OK, maybe I can write a little more.
Isn't it the chicken that's CRUSTED?? (7D: Like Parmesan on baked chicken, typically). I got terribly hung up on this answer because I had no idea what word would be modifying the damn cheese. "I'm going to crust the Parmesan?" What? The Parmesan forms the crust *of the chicken*. Panko-crusted salmon is salmon CRUSTED with panko, come on! Didn't have many other struggles, except WHOA for WHEW (25D: "That was close!"). Also, I wouldn't know anything about what you do with FURS in the summer, since I don't know anyone who wears them, so coming up with that answer was a minor struggle. Clue on REARMOST seems awfully wrong (16A: Like nosebleed-section seats, usually), since you might be emphatically in "nosebleed" territory but very much in the frontmost part of your section; that is, "nosebleed" indicates altitude and REARMOST, well, doesn't. Should tossed that clue out. Or sanctioned it. Or fought with it. Who knows?
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- HOLD UP (1A: Support ... or impede)
- CONTINUE (7A: Go on with ... or postpone)
- FIGHT WITH (23A: Go to battle alongside ... or struggle against)
- TOSS OUT (40A: Offer for consideration .k.. or remove from consideration)
- WEATHER (42A: Withstand ... or deteriorate)
- OVERSIGHT (53A: Watchful care ... or careless mistake)
- SANCTION (71A: Give approval to ... or express disapproval of)
- RESIGN (72:A Quit ... or agree to keep going)
nounnoun: koi; plural noun: koi; noun: koi carp; plural noun: koi carp
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Isn't it the chicken that's CRUSTED?? (7D: Like Parmesan on baked chicken, typically). I got terribly hung up on this answer because I had no idea what word would be modifying the damn cheese. "I'm going to crust the Parmesan?" What? The Parmesan forms the crust *of the chicken*. Panko-crusted salmon is salmon CRUSTED with panko, come on! Didn't have many other struggles, except WHOA for WHEW (25D: "That was close!"). Also, I wouldn't know anything about what you do with FURS in the summer, since I don't know anyone who wears them, so coming up with that answer was a minor struggle. Clue on REARMOST seems awfully wrong (16A: Like nosebleed-section seats, usually), since you might be emphatically in "nosebleed" territory but very much in the frontmost part of your section; that is, "nosebleed" indicates altitude and REARMOST, well, doesn't. Should tossed that clue out. Or sanctioned it. Or fought with it. Who knows?
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]