Constructor: Bruce Haight
Relative difficulty: Easy (I think ... I stopped in disappointment / disgust after the first themer, and then came back to it, so I don't have a valid solving time, but it felt fast)
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THEME: some stupid ****ing food puns
Theme answers:
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This is a genuine train wreck. Puns are one thing—they may not be my cup of tea, but if done well, they're certainly a legitimate form of crossword wordplay and a fine concept to hang a puzzle on. But these ... this ridiculous, motley assortment of nonsense ... I'm at a loss. The first pun is so tired, so dumb, so old, I actually lost the will to go on once I filled it in (and I filled it in with just IT'S NAC- in place). "That's nacho cheese!" hahahahaha we all laughed in 3rd grade, which for me was the late '70s. So I literally took a time-out—something I almost never do mid-solve—and came back after a few minutes of trying to regain my will to go on. The next themer almost made me walk away again. It stayed in the Mexican food arena, so that's good, I guess, but in the process it just invented a word like it was no big deal. BOUT? You can't have BOUT just sitting there on its own. NACHO = "not your"; PIZZA = "piece of"; CANNOLI = "can only"; TACO = "talk a-" ... what the hell is free-standing BOUT supposed to be. LET'S TACO BOUT IT sounds like you're challenging someone to a fight using only hurled tacos. TACO BOUT! And then somehow, in the bottom portion of the grid, the food puns go Italian. Why? Who knows? They just do. Unbelievable how dashed-off, dumb, and lazy this is. Again, to be clear, this is not about whether pun puzzles are good or bad—they're totally acceptable as a form. It's just that *this* particular version of the form is an abomination. Puns are lazy / nonsensical, theme assortment lacks any kind of reasonable coherence. Blech.
How is VARIABLY the answer for 8D: Hit or miss, say!? I don't see how you get to an adverb from that clue.** I also don't get how CHIMP is acceptable as an answer for 26D: Pioneer in space. I mean, I know that we sent a damn CHIMP to space, but ... just CHIMP? Is [Pioneer in space] also an acceptable clue for DOG? HUMAN? Was anyone on duty when this thing got edited / proofed? The fill on this one is largely unremarkable. Dull, but not abysmal. Can't believe INONE couldn't have been avoided. You can see how INANE would get you TAN crossing TANS, but ... I mean, that's a problem *you* created, and one that you could *uncreate* if you really wanted to. But I don't feel like anyone involved with the creation of this puzzle *really wanted* anything except to just crank another puzzle out and hope no one notices the shoddiness.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
**someone looked it up and :(
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Huh. OK.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (I think ... I stopped in disappointment / disgust after the first themer, and then came back to it, so I don't have a valid solving time, but it felt fast)
Theme answers:
- 16A: "Don't worry about my cheesy chip"? ("IT'S NACHO PROBLEM")
- 24A: "We should discuss your Qdoba order"? ("LET'S TACO BOUT IT")
- 42A: "Should we settle this dispute over toppings outside"? ("YA WANNA PIZZA ME?") [YA????? man, that is weak]
- 55A: "That Italian dessert truly boggles the mind"? ("I CANNOLI IMAGINE")
Cato the Elder (/ˈkeɪtoʊ/; Latin: Cato Major; 234 BC – 149 BC), born Marcus Porcius Cato and also known as Cato the Censor (Cato Censorius), Cato the Wise (Cato Sapiens), and Cato the Ancient (Cato Priscus), was a Romansenator and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write history in Latin. // He came from an ancient Plebeian family who were noted for their military service. Like his forefathers, Cato was devoted to agriculture when not serving in the army. Having attracted the attention of Lucius Valerius Flaccus, he was brought to Rome and began to follow the cursus honorum: he was successively military tribune (214 BC), quaestor (204 BC), aedile (199 BC), praetor (198 BC), junior consul (195 BC) together with Flaccus, and censor (184 BC). As praetor, he expelled usurers from Sardinia. As censor, he tried to preserve Rome's ancestral customs and combat "degenerate"Hellenistic influences. His epithet "Elder" distinguishes him from his equally famous great-grandson Cato the Younger, who opposed Julius Caesar. (wikipedia)
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How is VARIABLY the answer for 8D: Hit or miss, say!? I don't see how you get to an adverb from that clue.** I also don't get how CHIMP is acceptable as an answer for 26D: Pioneer in space. I mean, I know that we sent a damn CHIMP to space, but ... just CHIMP? Is [Pioneer in space] also an acceptable clue for DOG? HUMAN? Was anyone on duty when this thing got edited / proofed? The fill on this one is largely unremarkable. Dull, but not abysmal. Can't believe INONE couldn't have been avoided. You can see how INANE would get you TAN crossing TANS, but ... I mean, that's a problem *you* created, and one that you could *uncreate* if you really wanted to. But I don't feel like anyone involved with the creation of this puzzle *really wanted* anything except to just crank another puzzle out and hope no one notices the shoddiness.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
**someone looked it up and :(
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]