Constructor: Dan Margolis
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (harder, slightly, than avg Monday)
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THEME: Equines— themers end with equines
Theme answers:
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Nah. It's just not good enough. The theme is too loose: there's no progression or revealer or anything. Just ... equine types? No. Not NYT-worthy (or shouldn't be). Also, that ASS answer is ridiculous. I am an English Ph.D. and have no idea what this quote is doing. PAIN IN THE ASS totally fits—why would you not go with that infinitely better / more in-the-language phrase? Please don't give me any prim, well-I-never type answers. If you can have THELAWISAASS, you can have PAIN IN THE ASS. Wake up and smell the coffee and get with the times, etc., NYT. Yeesh.
CGI(51A: Staple of sci-fi filmmaking, for short) x/w GIGS(52D: Play dates?) was the last square I got, and it was tough, as both clues were deeply unclear about what they were after. Beyond that, the main problem was (duh) that ridiculous LAW/ASS answer. I mean, really. Come on. You want ASS in there, do a little work to come up with something familiar / Monday-ish. And BERM? Blargh. I call that the shoulder, as do road signs. I think my NZ wife calls it the "Verge"? Weird that none of the above definitions (see "Word of the Day," above) contain the word "shoulder." It's almost as if "shoulder" and whatever BERM is are different things. ALOT is overly common, as opposed to ALOG, which is just terrible. Do you like OHMS *and* ERGS in your puzzle? Lucky you, today. I don't understand why this puzzle exists. Tepid filler. "Holy mackerel" is American. EGAD isn't. Try Harder, Everyone. God bless the people of Houston. Good day.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. New episode of my crossword podcast, "On the Grid" (w/ Lena Webb) is now available for your enjoyment.
P.P.S. Here are a couple of newish indie crossword puzzle sites that are very much worth checking out, both of them run by *very* young people (literal infants! well, teenagers, anyway). Paolo Pasco's "Grids These Days" and Jenna Lafleur's "Jenna Sais Quoi." Give 'em a try and spread the word.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (harder, slightly, than avg Monday)
Theme answers:
- STUBBORN AS A MULE (17A: Extremely obstinate)
- ONE-TRICK PONY (26A: Person who's talented but not versatile)
- THE LAW IS A ASS (44A: Notable (and grammatically incorrect) declaration by Mr. Bumble in "Oliver Twist")
- ON ONE'S HIGH HORSE (57A: Acting haughtily and pompously)
nounnoun: berm; plural noun: bermsa flat strip of land, raised bank, or terrace bordering a river or canal.
• • •
CGI(51A: Staple of sci-fi filmmaking, for short) x/w GIGS(52D: Play dates?) was the last square I got, and it was tough, as both clues were deeply unclear about what they were after. Beyond that, the main problem was (duh) that ridiculous LAW/ASS answer. I mean, really. Come on. You want ASS in there, do a little work to come up with something familiar / Monday-ish. And BERM? Blargh. I call that the shoulder, as do road signs. I think my NZ wife calls it the "Verge"? Weird that none of the above definitions (see "Word of the Day," above) contain the word "shoulder." It's almost as if "shoulder" and whatever BERM is are different things. ALOT is overly common, as opposed to ALOG, which is just terrible. Do you like OHMS *and* ERGS in your puzzle? Lucky you, today. I don't understand why this puzzle exists. Tepid filler. "Holy mackerel" is American. EGAD isn't. Try Harder, Everyone. God bless the people of Houston. Good day.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. New episode of my crossword podcast, "On the Grid" (w/ Lena Webb) is now available for your enjoyment.
P.P.S. Here are a couple of newish indie crossword puzzle sites that are very much worth checking out, both of them run by *very* young people (literal infants! well, teenagers, anyway). Paolo Pasco's "Grids These Days" and Jenna Lafleur's "Jenna Sais Quoi." Give 'em a try and spread the word.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]