Constructor: David Steinberg
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
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THEME:"Shell Game"— the grid seems to want to imitate a shell game, where you (me, you, someone?) tried to guess which shell the PEA is under (there is a rebused PEA square in the top half). So there are various shells up top (in circled letters) and then those same shells in a different order below, but then instead of a "PEA" under a shell, we get an "F"—I have no idea why—and then also there are answers which are alternative clues for if the "F" *had* been the "PEA" ... so SWIFT becomes SWIPE AT if you go with the clue ATTACK WITH A PAW (86A: The clue for 127-Across, if this shell game weren't a scam) and FRY becomes PEARY if you go with the clue ARCTIC EXPLORER (65A: The clue for 128-Down, if this shell game weren't a scam)
Word of the Day: EMO RAP (104D: Hybrid music genre of the 2010s) —
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This is simultaneously elaborate and ridiculous. There are two reasons why the design concept here is a failure. The first is the most important one—what "shell game" is played with Three Different Kinds Of Nut Shell!?!?! I can't get my head around this. The second design flaw is the "F" ... why "F"? What the actual (actual!) "F"?! I get that if I take the "F" out and put the "PEA" in (i.e. "if this shell game weren't a scam") I'd get SWIPE AT / PEARY, but, on a literal level, what is the "F" that is under the "walnut" shell? I get that the PEA has disappeared but what is this "F" that has appeared in its place? A fake? A failure? Fluorine? Between the clues-as-answers (always more difficult / more ugh-some) and trying to figure out how they related to the "F" thing, this one felt really slow. It's also 22 wide, which is weird / odd. I am baffled at how much (apparent) work went into the architecture of this thing when the basic concept just dies such a hard death. I am on Twitter with others trying to fully understand the PEA and the "F" and we can't seem to agree or fully understand, so ... that is not a good sign. I think "F" is supposed to be *nothing* but ... it's an "F" ... and it's in a circle ... so instead of nothing being under the "walnut" (scam!) there is a circled "F." It just makes no sense. Better to design a puzzle where there is Literally Nothing there (SWIT / KING, e.g., turning to SWIPE AT / PEAKING when you mentally supply the "pea").
The rest of the grid is whatever it is. It is nice in parts, ZAGREB CROATIA is a little ridiculous as long answers go. I don't say "egg" with a SHORT E sound. It's more like the "a" in "cake" than the "e" in "heck." This is to say that I got totally stymied by SHORT E (41D: Egghead?). Really wish "?" clues, and esp. ones with letter answers like this (hard by nature) would always be Precise. When you get into pronunciation, things get regionally dicey, fast. ACCUSALS is brutal (in America, we call them "accusations"). Also, COACT? I'm sure it's a word, but no (act). Jennifer EGAN is great and I'm saving her new book for winter break. Had BUS RIDE for BUS TRIP and LATINO for LATINA and just couldn't remember how to spell Loch LOMOND. The grid is mostly solid. CRACK TEAM over GAG REEL = solid work. It's just that the theme is a total bust.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. believe me, I *understand* that if the shells weren't different, then the whole idea of their being mixed up couldn't be visually conveyed very easily, if at all. But when your "fix" is to make them all different kinds of shells, i.e. a kind of "shell game" found nowhere in the history of the universe, then ... back to the drawing board.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
Word of the Day: EMO RAP (104D: Hybrid music genre of the 2010s) —
Emo hip hop (also known as emo rap, emo trap, and sad rap) is a subgenre of hip hop fusing beats common in hip hop music, and more specifically trap music, with lyrical themes, vocals, and musicianship common in emo music, along with elements of other closely associated genres like indie rock and nu metal. Prominent artists of the genre include Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, and nothing,nowhere.(wikipedia)
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The rest of the grid is whatever it is. It is nice in parts, ZAGREB CROATIA is a little ridiculous as long answers go. I don't say "egg" with a SHORT E sound. It's more like the "a" in "cake" than the "e" in "heck." This is to say that I got totally stymied by SHORT E (41D: Egghead?). Really wish "?" clues, and esp. ones with letter answers like this (hard by nature) would always be Precise. When you get into pronunciation, things get regionally dicey, fast. ACCUSALS is brutal (in America, we call them "accusations"). Also, COACT? I'm sure it's a word, but no (act). Jennifer EGAN is great and I'm saving her new book for winter break. Had BUS RIDE for BUS TRIP and LATINO for LATINA and just couldn't remember how to spell Loch LOMOND. The grid is mostly solid. CRACK TEAM over GAG REEL = solid work. It's just that the theme is a total bust.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. believe me, I *understand* that if the shells weren't different, then the whole idea of their being mixed up couldn't be visually conveyed very easily, if at all. But when your "fix" is to make them all different kinds of shells, i.e. a kind of "shell game" found nowhere in the history of the universe, then ... back to the drawing board.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]