Constructor: Andrea Carla Michaels and Mark Diehl
Relative difficulty: Normal Monday
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THEME: SAW (57D: Wise old saying ... like the first words of 20-, 32-, 41- and 52-Across) — first words of those answers spell out "STILL / WATERS / RUN / DEEP"
Theme answers:
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Placeholder. Nothing happening here. This is an old theme type, and a SAW is an old saying, and the fill was pretty old, and while there is nothing godawful about the grid, neither is there anything remarkable. It's a shrug. A pale three minutes. Maybe if the revealer hadn't been this sad, randomly-placed little three-letter thing, I could've mustered up some affection here. I do like how SMOLDERS kinda sidles up to AIR KISS(hoping for more?), and I kinda like GREW UP ON (despite the fact that it was the answer that gave me the most fits), but this is all just too ho-hum and basic and dated. OH GEE dated. John TESH dated. MILLI Vanilli dated. SAABS dated. Not trying hard enough, not living in this century enough. Not enough.
Flew though it quickly, but stumbled badly in two places. There was the aforementioned GREW UP ON, which I didn't even understand until I'd finished the puzzle (39D: Enjoyed frequently as a child). I think it was the "enjoyed" part that was throwing me. Growing up on something does not necessarily mean "enjoying" it; "enjoyed" led me to think of the expression "grew on," as in "the farther I got in the puzzle, the more it grew on me" (i.e. "the more I *enjoyed* it). But then of course there were four letters after GREW, not two, and then OR WORSE happened (very tough to pick up that snippet of a phrase) and so, yeah, I flailed a little, and what might've been a very fast time ended up just north of normal. I also got slowed down earlier when the the "H" in the second position at 32D: Where ships dock led me to SHORE (?!), which I then "confirmed" (??!) withROE (43A: ___ v. Wade). Blargh. Turning SHORE into WHARF cost me dearly. The rest of this puzzle was phenomenally easy, though, so it all came out to pretty normal Mondayness—yet another way in which the puzzle was utterly unremarkable. Bye.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Normal Monday
Theme answers:
- STILL KICKING (20A: Not dead yet!)
- WATERS DOWN (32A: Dilutes)
- RUN ERRANDS (41A: Pick up dry cleaning, go to the post office, etc.)
- DEEP THOUGHTS (52A: "What is life?,""Why are we here?," etc.)
Katherine Marie Heigl (/ˈhaɪɡəl/; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before turning her attention to acting, making her film debut in That Night (1992) and later appearing in My Father the Hero (1994) as well as Under Siege 2: Dark Territory(1995). Heigl then landed the role of Isabel Evans on The WB television series Roswell (1999–2002), for which she received nominations for Saturn and Teen Choice Awards.From 2005 to 2010, Heigl starred as Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, a role which brought her significant recognition and accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007. Her best known film appearances include roles in Knocked Up (2007), 27 Dresses(2008), The Ugly Truth (2009), Killers (2010), Life As We Know It (2010), New Year's Eve (2011), The Big Wedding(2013), and Unforgettable (2017). Heigl has also starred in several films that have seen limited releases, including Jackie & Ryan (2014), Home Sweet Hell (2015), and Jenny's Wedding (2015). She also portrayed the lead role on the short-lived NBC television series State of Affairs from 2014 to 2015, and has lent her voice to the animated film The Nut Job (2014) and its 2017 sequel.Additionally, Heigl has established herself as a cover model, appearing in numerous publications including Maxim, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan. She is married to singer Josh Kelley, with whom she has one son and two adopted daughters. (wikipedia)
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Flew though it quickly, but stumbled badly in two places. There was the aforementioned GREW UP ON, which I didn't even understand until I'd finished the puzzle (39D: Enjoyed frequently as a child). I think it was the "enjoyed" part that was throwing me. Growing up on something does not necessarily mean "enjoying" it; "enjoyed" led me to think of the expression "grew on," as in "the farther I got in the puzzle, the more it grew on me" (i.e. "the more I *enjoyed* it). But then of course there were four letters after GREW, not two, and then OR WORSE happened (very tough to pick up that snippet of a phrase) and so, yeah, I flailed a little, and what might've been a very fast time ended up just north of normal. I also got slowed down earlier when the the "H" in the second position at 32D: Where ships dock led me to SHORE (?!), which I then "confirmed" (??!) withROE (43A: ___ v. Wade). Blargh. Turning SHORE into WHARF cost me dearly. The rest of this puzzle was phenomenally easy, though, so it all came out to pretty normal Mondayness—yet another way in which the puzzle was utterly unremarkable. Bye.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]