Constructor: Robert Fisher
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME:"That's One Way to Put It"— euphemisms? I guess?
Theme answers:
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Stunning. Actually, I shouldn't be stunned anymore. I should've lost my capacity. It's should be stunning that a puzzle this dated, unfunny, and clunky could appear in the NYT, but it's sadly become pretty standard in the late Shortz reign (I hope it's "late"—it could very easily just be "middle," god help us all). Just six answers (despite an oversized 22-wide grid), and all of them non-phrases that are incredibly awkward, and not in the least funny. There are no such things as ... any of these things. These aren't phrases one utters in any context. It's like the constructor isn't quite sure how either English or humor works. It feels like a robot from another planet came up with these answers. Who tests gravity? ["CAREER SHIFT OPPORTUNITY"] gets 161 hits total on google. For reference ... that's terrible. ["BUDGET REINFORCEMENT"] only gets 3300. So ... not funny, not clever, not in-the-language. Not good. Is this some kind of weird October Fools! puzzle, where the theme is, like, horror, or something? It's the best defense I could think of.
And the fill does nothing to help matters. It's laden with weird abbrevs. and German and god knows what else. THE O!? (92D: Where to accent "Laotian"). Hilariously, it has crosswordese AMALIE (18D: Charlotte ___, Virgin Islands) and crosswordese ADELIE (107D: Antarctic penguin) in symmetrical positions, so I *almost* want to applaud that. Hardest part by far was the south, from ENJOIN (109D: Officially prohibit) to AM DIAL (112D: It goes up to about 1700), the latter of which was brutal (haven't thought about the AM DIAL since, let's say, 1980). Then JET (122A: Take off quickly) and LIT OUT (134A: Took off quickly) were both very hard to pick up and very close together. And of course the themers were zero help, being dumb nonsense phrases (see above). So that little southern patch, rough. The rest, not too hard. There should be a word for "easy but deeply unpleasant." Maybe a German word? Sunday puzzles have fallen into a disgraceful state. I'm astonished to learn that they are now my most-disliked day of the week. I did not know one could be "worse than Tuesday," but here we are. I think I'm done.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- TESTING GRAVITY (24A: Falling down)
- AWARD FOR FAST DRIVING (32A: Speeding ticket)
- ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH (61A: Lying)
- CAREER SHIFT OPPORTUNITY (87A: Layoff)
- BUDGET REINFORCEMENT (114A: Tax increase)
- POST-RETIREMENT (130A: Dead)
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (German: Otto der Große), was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973.[b] He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda. // Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his father's death in 936. He continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom and greatly expanded the king's powers at the expense of the aristocracy. Through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdom's most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, to royal subjects under his authority. Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. // After putting down a brief civil war among the rebellious duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, thus ending the Hungarian invasions of Western Europe.[3] The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom and secured his hold over the kingdom. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realm's borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called "Ottonian Renaissance" of arts and architecture. Following the example of Charlemagne's coronation as "Emperor of the Romans" in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. (wikipedia)
• • •
And the fill does nothing to help matters. It's laden with weird abbrevs. and German and god knows what else. THE O!? (92D: Where to accent "Laotian"). Hilariously, it has crosswordese AMALIE (18D: Charlotte ___, Virgin Islands) and crosswordese ADELIE (107D: Antarctic penguin) in symmetrical positions, so I *almost* want to applaud that. Hardest part by far was the south, from ENJOIN (109D: Officially prohibit) to AM DIAL (112D: It goes up to about 1700), the latter of which was brutal (haven't thought about the AM DIAL since, let's say, 1980). Then JET (122A: Take off quickly) and LIT OUT (134A: Took off quickly) were both very hard to pick up and very close together. And of course the themers were zero help, being dumb nonsense phrases (see above). So that little southern patch, rough. The rest, not too hard. There should be a word for "easy but deeply unpleasant." Maybe a German word? Sunday puzzles have fallen into a disgraceful state. I'm astonished to learn that they are now my most-disliked day of the week. I did not know one could be "worse than Tuesday," but here we are. I think I'm done.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]