Constructor: Bruce Greig
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: animal + gait— theme answers follow the pattern [animal + type of leg locomotion]
Theme answers:
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Just one question: how does this puzzle *not* have CATWALK?!?!? I mean, BEAR CRAWL?! Wth is that? CATWALK is much much more—fantastically more—in-the-language, and colorful, and etc. And it fits the theme perfectly. And it could've sat dead center. And it might've taken a little pressure off the grid, which is straining a bit under all the whiteness, especially in the NE and SW corners. I've eaten plenty of BEAR CLAWS in my time, but this BEAR CRAWL"exercise" is new to me, and I can't believe it's as generally familiar as *any* of the other themers, and certainly not more familiar than CATWALK. Does CATWALK not fit the theme? 'Cause it really seems like it fits the theme. And it's objectively better than BEARCRAWL. I mean, CATWALK is just an objectively good answer, period. You know what I mean? On the CATWALK. On the CATWALK. Yeah.
I think the theme is a very reasonable one, BEAR CRAWL notwithstanding. The grid construction needs work, though. This is a low 74 words. Additional black squares in the NE / SW corners probably would've allowed you to come in much, much cleaner. I mean, I see you got cheaters up there (and down there) (the black squares before 9A: BALD and after 65A: ERGS, respectively), but they clearly weren't enough. You get away with it OK in the SW (though SOUTHER's not great), but BOSONS / OSMIC is yeeeesh. A little rough, esp. for a Tuesday. I had a good second or two of panic as I wondered what letter went there (I've heard of BOSONS, so ... bingo). [Relating to element #76] is really not the kind of clue you want to encounter on Tuesday, or ever.
It took a while for the puzzle to earn back my trust after foisting ABBÉS on me right off the bat. It was the first clue I looked at (1A: French clerics), and I filled ABBÉS in immediately while shaking my head and going, "Oh, god, no, not one of These puzzles..." But the puzzle did make it back. Back to neutral, anyway. A decent theme, not ideally executed, with a grid that could've used rebuilding, but resulted in an overall tolerable fillscape. In conclusion: CATWALK, I'm telling you.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. also this
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Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: animal + gait— theme answers follow the pattern [animal + type of leg locomotion]
Theme answers:
- FROG MARCH (16A: Forced walk with arms pinned behind the back)
- CHICKEN RUN (24A: Hit 2000 animated film set on a farm)
- BEAR CRAWL (34A: Core-strengthening exercise performed on all fours)
- TURKEY TROT (50A: Old ragtime dance)
- GOOSE STEP 60A: Straight-kneed military movement)
n.
• • •
I think the theme is a very reasonable one, BEAR CRAWL notwithstanding. The grid construction needs work, though. This is a low 74 words. Additional black squares in the NE / SW corners probably would've allowed you to come in much, much cleaner. I mean, I see you got cheaters up there (and down there) (the black squares before 9A: BALD and after 65A: ERGS, respectively), but they clearly weren't enough. You get away with it OK in the SW (though SOUTHER's not great), but BOSONS / OSMIC is yeeeesh. A little rough, esp. for a Tuesday. I had a good second or two of panic as I wondered what letter went there (I've heard of BOSONS, so ... bingo). [Relating to element #76] is really not the kind of clue you want to encounter on Tuesday, or ever.
It took a while for the puzzle to earn back my trust after foisting ABBÉS on me right off the bat. It was the first clue I looked at (1A: French clerics), and I filled ABBÉS in immediately while shaking my head and going, "Oh, god, no, not one of These puzzles..." But the puzzle did make it back. Back to neutral, anyway. A decent theme, not ideally executed, with a grid that could've used rebuilding, but resulted in an overall tolerable fillscape. In conclusion: CATWALK, I'm telling you.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. also this
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