Constructor: Erik Agard
Relative difficulty: Honeybee (see below)
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THEME:nope
Word of the Day: POLICE BOX (18A: Cop's station in England)—
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Hey there. It's your long-lost friend Amy filling in for Rex tonight. Sometimes I think about the daily puzzle and how it would fall on the Schmidt Insect Pain Index, hence the difficulty rating above. The puzzle was Friday-level mean in spots, but the pain subsided quickly enough and didn't linger or itch unnecessarily.
Erik Agard is a rising star in CrossWorld and this puzzle is a fine example of his work. He rarely falls back on formula answers and throws in some interesting phrases without being show-offy.
I dig the mixture of old and new in this puzzle. You need some old-school knowledge to enjoy an Edwin STARR (17A: Edwin of 1960s-'70s R&B) reference, but even the youngest among us should enjoy him this classic video:
It was great to see JANET MOCK (29D: Transgender rights activist and best-selling author of “Redefining Realness”) in a puzzle and I especially loved the KIBBUTZ/ZAMBONIS cross. That's some hot "Z" action, dude.
I didn’t love the “Scene + Roman numeral” obviousness of SCENE XIV (25A: Part of Act 4 of “Antony and Cleopatra in which Antony attempts suicide) or “the abbreviation nobody ever uses”EPS (6A: Series installments, for short), but those tiny clunks don't take away from the general resonance of this puzzle.
Nicely done, sir.
[Amy is the Executive Producer of Oculus' VR for Good Creators Lab Program]
Relative difficulty: Honeybee (see below)
THEME:nope
Word of the Day: POLICE BOX (18A: Cop's station in England)—
The Police Box was introduced in the United States in 1877 and was used in the United Kingdom throughout the 20th century from the early 1920s. It is a public telephone kiosk or callbox for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police. Unlike an ordinary callbox, its telephone was located behind a hinged door so it could be used from the outside, and the interior of the box was, in effect, a miniature police station for use by police officers to read and fill in reports, take meal breaks and even temporarily hold prisoners until the arrival of transport. (wikipedia)
**ALSO!**
Doctor Who has become so much a part of British popular culture that the shape of the police box has become associated with the TARDIS rather than with its real-world inspiration the original police box. (wikipedia)
• • •
Erik Agard is a rising star in CrossWorld and this puzzle is a fine example of his work. He rarely falls back on formula answers and throws in some interesting phrases without being show-offy.
I dig the mixture of old and new in this puzzle. You need some old-school knowledge to enjoy an Edwin STARR (17A: Edwin of 1960s-'70s R&B) reference, but even the youngest among us should enjoy him this classic video:
It was great to see JANET MOCK (29D: Transgender rights activist and best-selling author of “Redefining Realness”) in a puzzle and I especially loved the KIBBUTZ/ZAMBONIS cross. That's some hot "Z" action, dude.
I didn’t love the “Scene + Roman numeral” obviousness of SCENE XIV (25A: Part of Act 4 of “Antony and Cleopatra in which Antony attempts suicide) or “the abbreviation nobody ever uses”EPS (6A: Series installments, for short), but those tiny clunks don't take away from the general resonance of this puzzle.
Nicely done, sir.
[Amy is the Executive Producer of Oculus' VR for Good Creators Lab Program]