Newswoman Cabrera / FRI 8-25-17 / Waters near Mount Erebus / Hallucinogen nicknamed embalming fluid / TV family from planet Remulak / Maker of Scentini fragrances

Constructor: Sam Trabucco

Relative difficulty: Medium? Maybe a tad harder than medium?

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: ALEWIFE (11D: Member of the herring family) —

The alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenusPomolobus of the genus Alosa. As an adult it is a marine species found in the northern West Atlantic Ocean, moving into estuaries before swimming upstream to breed in fresh water habitats, but some populations live entirely in fresh water. It is best known for its invasion of the Great Lakes by using the Welland Canal to bypass Niagara Falls. Here its population surged, peaking between the 1950s and 1980s to the detriment of many native species of fish. In an effort to control them biologically Pacific salmon were introduced, only partially successfully. As a marine fish, the alewife is a US National Marine Fisheries Service "Species of Concern". (wikipedia)

Wait, if an alewife is a fish, what's a fishwife?

This is a fine puzzle, but it left me a bit cold. None of the answers really sang to me. I like grids that sing, especially themeless puzzles, which, let's be honest, are easier to construct *well* than themed puzzles are, because, well, you don't have an onerous *theme* hanging around your neck. I have historically liked Friday and Saturday puzzles more than any other day of the week, but I think that's in large part because they aren't simply harder to f*** up. You can do what you want, bend the grid to your will. Themes don't force you into embarrassing fill compromises. So maybe our standards for themelesses should be higher. That, or I should take it easier on themed puzzles (unlikely). Today's puzzle was harder than any Friday I've done in a while (that I can remember), but I still finished in under 7, so... I think I don't know what's average for me on a Friday anymore. Or else I can no longer distinguish adequately between moderate but meaningful resistance and full-on hardness. Several sections of this (the NW, the SW, due east) were very very easy. But their symmetrical counterparts were all bears.


I just blanked on HEGIRA (25A: Muhammad's flight), and this was a crucial blanking, as that's a transition answer (taking me from one section of the grid to the next). With the first two letters in on a 6-letter word, I'm normally good to go, but ... nope. So I had to reboot to get into the NE, which ended up being bonkers, with PCP (10D: Hallucinogen nicknamed "embalming fluid") instead of LSDand a fish (ALEWIFE) I didn't know existed. Plus I went with HAVE A SNOOZE before TAKE A SNOOZE at first, oof.  In the west, I didn't know ANA (32A: Newswoman Cabrera), could Not get TAN (35A: Like much sandpaper) and forgot INDRA (39A: Hindu war deity), such that even with the (easy) BANANA PEELS in place, I got stuck for a bit over there. And then there was the SE, where the capitalization of Dumpster (49A: Raccoon in a Dumpster, e.g.) really, really threw me. I thought "Raccoon in a Dumpster" was a show or a meme or something. A title, at any rate. Certainly not a plain old raccoon in a plain old Dumpster-brand Dumpster. Argh. Again, a transition answer failed me, so I struggled a bit getting my teeth into that corner. So it felt hard, but my time seems pretty normal, but it's possible I have to recalibrate "normal." I can't pan (...) this puzzle—it's reasonably well made—but I think I'm gonna start demanding that themelesses be truly joyous and delightful experiences. I mean, it's the "best puzzle in the world," right? Seems appropriate to expect greatness.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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