Constructor: Timothy Polin
Relative difficulty: Challenging for a Monday (3:38) (that's 40-ish seconds longer than average, an eternity on a Monday)
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THEME: Periods— ordinary words ending in -AGE are imagined as phrases where the second word is AGE:
Theme answers:
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This puzzle has a few things going for it. Sadly, none of those things have to do with the theme, which is kind of [Period associated with clothing?]. There are lots of words that end in -AGE. You can do this dumb theme all day long and then some. The clues are corny, and the gag wears out quickly. A "?" theme on a Monday is unusual, and unusually tough, though all the -AGEs made up for that somewhat, but then much of the rest of the grid was harder than usual to solve, so the overall result was a Challenging puzzle. Not off-the-charts hard for a Monday, but definitely on the hard side. But I don't mind that. I mind AGE AGE AGE AGE etc ad infinitum ad astra forever and ever. I also mind the tame clues. [Period of fuzzy sweaters?] for PILL AGE!? Wow. Lots better options on the table, there.
Oh, but back to the few things this puzzle has going for it: all the flashy long Downs. On a Monday, those are pretty nifty. Abutting long answers like that definitely opens things up (and generally adds to difficulty). Nice to have so much colorful fill early in the week. In general, the fill is decent. Not sure how we're getting OWIE *yet again*, but here we are. Actually, the more I look at the shorter stuff, the less decent it becomes, so let's just look at DUCK BLIND and BEHEADED and ZIGGURAT et all. Major hangups for me today:
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Challenging for a Monday (3:38) (that's 40-ish seconds longer than average, an eternity on a Monday)
Theme answers:
- ANCHORAGE (17A: Period dominated by the likes of Dan Rather and Peter Jennings?)
- WRECKAGE (26A: Period when every car was a junker?)
- BONDAGE (39A: Period known for its 007 movies?)
- PILLAGE (41A: Period of fuzzy sweaters?)
- COVERAGE (50A: Period when tribute bands thrived?)
- SHRINKAGE (64A: Period when psychiatrists ruled?)
nounnoun: moue; plural noun: moues
• • •
Oh, but back to the few things this puzzle has going for it: all the flashy long Downs. On a Monday, those are pretty nifty. Abutting long answers like that definitely opens things up (and generally adds to difficulty). Nice to have so much colorful fill early in the week. In general, the fill is decent. Not sure how we're getting OWIE *yet again*, but here we are. Actually, the more I look at the shorter stuff, the less decent it becomes, so let's just look at DUCK BLIND and BEHEADED and ZIGGURAT et all. Major hangups for me today:
- Totally forgot IMDB existed. I just blanked. I never go there any more, so it went totally off my mental radar
- IMAC, IPOD, IDUNNO (at 1-Down)
- AMEN for AS IF (15A: "Yeah, right!") (note: "AS IF!" and "PHAT!" are both in "Clueless" (1995), which I just rewatched yesterday.)
- TEENAGER for TEENIDOL (22D: Elvis in the 1950s or Justin Bieber in the 2010s)
- I spelled ZIGGURAT all kinds of ways before the crosses helped me out with the vowels (25D: Stepped tower of ancient Sumer)
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]