Constructor: David J. Kahn
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: THE OK CORRAL (GUNFIGHT AT THE) (28D: With 62-Across, renowned 1881 event that lasted about 30 seconds)— there is a "corral" of sorts in the middle of the grid made out of synonyms of "OK" (WELL, JAKE, FINE, FAIR); two of the gunfighters also make an appearance (DOC HOLLIDAY, IKE CLANTON) (17A: Deputy marshal at 62-Across, 11D: Outlaw at 62-Across)
Word of the Day: MACAO (1A: East Asia gambling locale) —
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This gag is so ridiculous that I like it. Better bonkers than boring. Just the idea that a simple four-sided figure is supposed to be a "CORRAL" is hilarious to me. Like, if you drew that shape on a board and asked people to guess what it is all day long, no one would ever say "CORRAL.""Square! Box! Frame! [ten minutes later] Room? Postage stamp? [three hours later] uh ... Wyoming?" Etc. But the puzzle tells me it's a CORRAL and I'm like "well, look at that, it *is* a CORRAL! Got no livestock or horses in it, but sure!" Themewise, the only part I didn't really like was GUNFIGHT AT. Wish that space could've been used for something else theme-related. The theme is really only about the corral. The shape and the synonyms. "Gunfight" could've easily been incorporated into the clue for THE OK CORRAL, which stand just fine on its own. Instead the revealer—the punchline!—has a clue that starts [See 28-Down...]. Oof. Not elegant. But I don't know what else could've gone is the GUNFIGHT AT space. None of the other participants fit, except MORGAN EARP, who isn't exactly, uh, the famous one. Anyway, despite the revealer issues, I think the theme is a winner.
The fill is rough, though. MACAO (not MACAU!?) at 1-Across tells you things are gonna get Old School right quick. I wouldn't know that place existed without crosswords. And I'm still not sure SALUTERs or SNARLERs or OCHRES (plural?) exist, ouch. ARB is among my least favorite pieces of crosswordese. See also KOD. LUI abutting ÉTÉ is just mal. Gotta have a lot of SANG / FROID to attempt that cruddy French combo. But I've seen much worse grids, and WILLOWY and MONIKER are nice little words. So the puzzle's got problems, but not enough to keep me from basically enjoying it.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: MACAO (1A: East Asia gambling locale) —
Macau (/məˈkaʊ/ (listen)), also spelled Macao and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous region on the western side of the Pearl Riverestuary in East Asia. Macau is bordered by the city of Zhuhai in Mainland China to the north and the Pearl River Delta to the east and south. Hong Kong lies about 64 kilometres (40 mi) to its east across the Delta. With a population of 650,900 living in an area of 30.5 km2 (11.8 sq mi), it is the most densely populated region in the world. A former Portuguese colony, it was returned to Chinese sovereignty on 20 December 1999. (wikipedia)
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The fill is rough, though. MACAO (not MACAU!?) at 1-Across tells you things are gonna get Old School right quick. I wouldn't know that place existed without crosswords. And I'm still not sure SALUTERs or SNARLERs or OCHRES (plural?) exist, ouch. ARB is among my least favorite pieces of crosswordese. See also KOD. LUI abutting ÉTÉ is just mal. Gotta have a lot of SANG / FROID to attempt that cruddy French combo. But I've seen much worse grids, and WILLOWY and MONIKER are nice little words. So the puzzle's got problems, but not enough to keep me from basically enjoying it.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]