Constructor: Mary Lou Guizzo and Jeff Chen
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: RIJKSMUSEUM (49A: Home of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch") —
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RIJKSMUSEUM is a perfectly good answer. Looks great in the grid. How. Ever. With a proper noun like that, especially one that is not LOUVRE / PRADO / MOMA-famous, you have to watch the crosses. Now the crosses on the MUSEUM part, maybe you can be less careful about, because if you get just part of MUSEUM, the rest is inferrable. But the crosses on the *&$^% Dutch part better be very fair, very clear. I now call your attention to 46D: Time of surrender in '45. And I now call your attention to the definition of V*E* DAY (per wikipedia):
I then call your attention to the fact that that definition has both "1945" and "surrender" in it. And then I rest my case, my case being "man you people really don't take design as seriously as the self-styled Best Puzzle in the World should." I mean, yes, the "J" is Dutchier-looking, I guess, but ... that is a stupid thing to have to go on. Again, the museum's name isn't the problem. The terrible vague clue on VJ DAY is. Proper nouns (esp. foreign ones, esp. not-universally-famous ones) require special editorial attention in the crosses. Failure to give such attention here meant that my solving experience went from mostly delighted (it's a very nice grid) to eye-rollingly disappointed yet again.
God bless NPR's LAKSHMI Singh, the only LAKSHMI I know (32A: Hindu goddess of prosperity). I didn't know that was a goddess's name, but I had the LAK-, and I've heard Ms. Singh say her name so many times over the years, that I figured it was worth a shot; and it was. I always think it's KIMONO Dragon (41D: Island after which a lizard is named), so between that and the odd MAYBES, I had a small amount of trouble getting down into the SW corner. I have no idea how I remembered the term IDEAL GAS. Residual chemistry knowledge somewhere in my brain, I guess. Thought I really gunked things up at first in the NE when I had PHS- at the beginning of 6A: 7 is in the middle of it. I'd had the PH- and thought it was going to have something to do with a PHONE (the keypad, maybe(s)???). But the "S" was undeniable and I quickly realized "ah, PH SCALE." Nice, tricky consonant pile-up. Hardest part for me was that SE corner (that museum!). I had to dive into that corner with zero help from crosses (always daunting). But I got ARTE quickly (47A: Musica o danza) and guessed UBER (though LYFT also seemed possible) (52D: 9-Down [i.e. CAB] alternative), and then things really broke open with the obvious 55A: San Luis ___ (OBISPO). Cal Poly San Luis OBISPO was on my daughter's potential college application list for a while. Plus I grew up in CA so I just know the place. So the SE corner worked itself out. Then I was left to deal with the stupid VE/VJ DAY problem. So I'll leave you there as well. Good day.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy
Word of the Day: RIJKSMUSEUM (49A: Home of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch") —
The Rijksmuseum (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈrɛiksmyˌzeːjʏm]; English: National Museum) is a Dutchnational museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the boroughAmsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw. (wikipedia)
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RIJKSMUSEUM is a perfectly good answer. Looks great in the grid. How. Ever. With a proper noun like that, especially one that is not LOUVRE / PRADO / MOMA-famous, you have to watch the crosses. Now the crosses on the MUSEUM part, maybe you can be less careful about, because if you get just part of MUSEUM, the rest is inferrable. But the crosses on the *&$^% Dutch part better be very fair, very clear. I now call your attention to 46D: Time of surrender in '45. And I now call your attention to the definition of V*E* DAY (per wikipedia):
Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, VE Day or simply V Day, was the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces.
I then call your attention to the fact that that definition has both "1945" and "surrender" in it. And then I rest my case, my case being "man you people really don't take design as seriously as the self-styled Best Puzzle in the World should." I mean, yes, the "J" is Dutchier-looking, I guess, but ... that is a stupid thing to have to go on. Again, the museum's name isn't the problem. The terrible vague clue on VJ DAY is. Proper nouns (esp. foreign ones, esp. not-universally-famous ones) require special editorial attention in the crosses. Failure to give such attention here meant that my solving experience went from mostly delighted (it's a very nice grid) to eye-rollingly disappointed yet again.
God bless NPR's LAKSHMI Singh, the only LAKSHMI I know (32A: Hindu goddess of prosperity). I didn't know that was a goddess's name, but I had the LAK-, and I've heard Ms. Singh say her name so many times over the years, that I figured it was worth a shot; and it was. I always think it's KIMONO Dragon (41D: Island after which a lizard is named), so between that and the odd MAYBES, I had a small amount of trouble getting down into the SW corner. I have no idea how I remembered the term IDEAL GAS. Residual chemistry knowledge somewhere in my brain, I guess. Thought I really gunked things up at first in the NE when I had PHS- at the beginning of 6A: 7 is in the middle of it. I'd had the PH- and thought it was going to have something to do with a PHONE (the keypad, maybe(s)???). But the "S" was undeniable and I quickly realized "ah, PH SCALE." Nice, tricky consonant pile-up. Hardest part for me was that SE corner (that museum!). I had to dive into that corner with zero help from crosses (always daunting). But I got ARTE quickly (47A: Musica o danza) and guessed UBER (though LYFT also seemed possible) (52D: 9-Down [i.e. CAB] alternative), and then things really broke open with the obvious 55A: San Luis ___ (OBISPO). Cal Poly San Luis OBISPO was on my daughter's potential college application list for a while. Plus I grew up in CA so I just know the place. So the SE corner worked itself out. Then I was left to deal with the stupid VE/VJ DAY problem. So I'll leave you there as well. Good day.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]