Constructor: Tom McCoy
Relative difficulty: Easy-ish
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THEME: “Counterproductive" — Theme answers are defined by the number of letters they contain.
Theme answers:
Alex Eylar here -- I bumped into Rex on the subway; I said “Excuse me”; he said “Hey do you want to cover the puzzle today”; I said “Yeah why not”, and here I am.
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This puzzle seems... expository, I guess is the word. Take ARGON’S ATOMIC NUMBER, for example: it contains 18 letters, and argon is atomic number 18, and, well, that’s it. It’s definitely accurate, but it’s not really an Aha! moment.
It doesn’t really help as you’re solving it, either. I run across 22A first and I see it references a later clue, and I think to myself, “Welp, guess I’m not filling that in, tra la la la la” And then I think those same thoughts for the next five theme answers. So it’s not as if I’m working out the trick -- I’m just waiting until I get enough crosses that I can maybe figure out what the F these phrases are.
Except, they're not phrases (with the exception of MIDNIGHT HOUR and REAL LOOKER) -- they’re just descriptions of the connotations of a number. And the sentence “descriptions of the connotations of a number” doesn’t inspire a lot of excitement.
It reminds me of this puzzle from April: self-reflexive, but not really in an astounding way. It doesn’t elicit a “Wow!” or an “Oh, I get it!” -- it’s more of a “Huh, all-righty then.” That feeling, combined with the inescapably-fuzzy language of the clues (“Something to count to understand...”) makes the puzzle a bit flat, in my opinion. An interesting idea on paper, but there’s some oomph missing in practice.
I also don’t quite see the point in including the circled FOUR, which has four letters, and yeah. It’s a number describing itself (the only number to do so, fun fact!), but it feels like an afterthought. I appreciate the symmetry and the cascading arrangement of the letters, but what does it add to the puzzle?
That said, this puzzle was definitely on the easier side; finished just two minutes over my best time.
Words of note:
Signed, Alex Eylar, Serf of Crossworld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-ish
Theme answers:
- MIDNIGHT HOUR (22A: This clue’s 110-Across, timewise)
- DIVER’S GOAL (28A: This clue’s 110-Across, at the Olympics)
- VOTING AGE IN AMERICA (49A: This clue’s 110-Across, as is relevant each November)
- BAD LUCK SYMBOL (64A: This clue’s 110-Across, to the superstitious)
- ARGON’S ATOMIC NUMBER (81A: This clue’s 110-Across, in chemistry)
- REAL LOOKER (102A: This clue’s 110-Across, in terms of attractiveness)
and then:
- ANSWER LENGTH (110A: Something to count to understand 22-, 28-, 49-, 64-, 81-, and 102-Across)
Word of the Day: TOUCAN SAM (77D: One with a large bill at breakfast?)—
Toucan Sam is the cartoon toucan mascot for Froot Loops breakfast cereal. The character has been featured in advertising since the 1960s. He exhibits the ability to smell Froot Loops from great distances and invariably locates a concealed bowl of the cereal while intoning, "Follow your nose! It always knows!", sometimes followed by "The flavor of fruit! Wherever it grows!" Another version of this phrase in a string of commercials in the late-2000s presents the character at the end of the commercials saying "Just follow your nose!", followed by a group of children retorting, "For the fruity taste that shows!"
• • •
It doesn’t really help as you’re solving it, either. I run across 22A first and I see it references a later clue, and I think to myself, “Welp, guess I’m not filling that in, tra la la la la” And then I think those same thoughts for the next five theme answers. So it’s not as if I’m working out the trick -- I’m just waiting until I get enough crosses that I can maybe figure out what the F these phrases are.
Except, they're not phrases (with the exception of MIDNIGHT HOUR and REAL LOOKER) -- they’re just descriptions of the connotations of a number. And the sentence “descriptions of the connotations of a number” doesn’t inspire a lot of excitement.
I also don’t quite see the point in including the circled FOUR, which has four letters, and yeah. It’s a number describing itself (the only number to do so, fun fact!), but it feels like an afterthought. I appreciate the symmetry and the cascading arrangement of the letters, but what does it add to the puzzle?
That said, this puzzle was definitely on the easier side; finished just two minutes over my best time.
Words of note:
- TO ARMS! (115A: Dramatic battle cry) — I had CHARGE! at first, which I yell every time I pull onto the 405.
- HOP IN (6A: Words said through a car window) — For some reason, I pictured the window to be rolled-up, and was searching for a phrase you’d yell through a closed window, all of which are profane. (Perhaps you’re sensing a theme here)
- EVITABLE (24A: Not definitely going to happen)— I mean... I guess it’s a word, but the opposite is far more friendly.
- NEVERMORE (12D: Old-fashioned “That’s absolutely the last time”) — The lack of a Poe reference is a gross failure in my book; I love that poem.
- HOME MOVIE (76D: Family Night entertainment) — I grew up in a boring family too.
Winners: TOUCAN SAM, TARTARE, MAN ALIVE, PHONE IT IN, NEVERMORE, COVER ME, ALI BABA, and I’M LOVIN’ IT (apostrophes for everyone!)
Losers: PEELEand PEELER, GOLAN (looks like five random letters to my uncultured eyes), ONMARS (helluva partial), NBAERS (‘ae’ is the ugliest thing ever, trust me, they’re my initials).
Signed, Alex Eylar, Serf of Crossworld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]