Constructor: Caitlin Reed
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (5:09)
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THEME: DEAD CENTER (51A: Bull's-eye ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme) — black square at CENTER of puzzle represents the word "DEAD"; all answers leading into or flowing out of that center square require that "DEAD" to make sense:
Theme answers:
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This was very easy once you picked up the theme. Picking up the theme might take you no time, or a little time, and so the puzzle is either Easy or Easy-Medium. I floundered in the NW at first, having *nothing* to do with the theme, so I kinda dug myself a hole. I also got a little back on my heels because, looking at the grid, I was thinking rebus, largely because there was no clear set of longer theme answers. There are some longer Across answers, but they didn't look long enough for a normal set, and when I struggle in the first corner I hit *and* the grid looks unusual, then I think rebus. And since I was thinking rebus (which wasn't *entirely* wrong in the end), I was going a bit slower than I might've been otherwise, poking around, trying to find the trick. Sadly, there's just one trick in the puzzle, and poking's not going to help you.
I got lucky, though, because I stumbled by chance down to the area where the revealer was, very early on. Still flailing, I wrote in ON A BET and RAT, and then figured 34D: Rifleman's ___ (part of Marine training) was DRILL (!?). The point was I put *something* in there, because putting *something* in meant I looked at the cross at 42A: Gaelic language, which I knew had to be ERSE, and then from the "R" cross got RIESEN, then ENS, and so finally got really decent traction, largely by accident, right where the revealer was. Got DEAD CENTER and still didn't think much about what it meant. Stumbled over to the east via TREVOR and finally saw it with OR ALIVE. Then I promptly went around and filled all the others in. And then the theme was just ... done. After that, just swept up the rest. That's the main problem with this theme; once you get it, it's got, and it goes down fast, and then there's ... nothing left but a kind of themeless. It's kinda nice that ON THE MONEY at least vaguely parallels DEAD CENTER in its meaning, despite the fact that it was nothing to do with the theme per se. Anyway, I have mixed feelings about this one, but ultimately I think it's a fine, cleanish grid, and the gimmick, such as it is, is interesting.
Maybe maybe it's a little over-reliant on the crosswordese, though I can't be too mad, as ERSE is what got me going. God bless ERSE. Fewer blessings, though, for ENS and EGADS and ORIEL ETA and EERIE ENT ABODE and NTH IBAR ISP and EELS O'ER ERIKA! It kinda adds up. I sorta like the colloquialness of REAL SOON, and I wanna like AA TEAM because I go to watch one play regularly, it's just ... "double A" is the phrase, and while I know that's what "AA" represents here, on paper it just looks like the local chapter of your recovery group has a softball team or something. Themewise, there's something depressing about DEADBEAT dad and something morbid about LEFT FOR DEAD. That's not a fault, but I could've used some kind of pick me up, somewhere in the grid. Anyway, I CAME, I FOUND IT, ISP. The end.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Explainers:
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Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (5:09)
Theme answers:
- KNOCK 'EM (DEAD) (33A: "Break a leg!")
- LEFT FOR (DEAD) (7D: Abandoned while there still might have been hope)
- (DEAD) OR ALIVE (35A: In any condition, as an outlaw)
- (DEAD) BEAT DAD (40D: Certain absentee parent)
noun 2.(in medieval architecture) a large bay window ofa hall or chamber. (dictionary.com)
• • •
I got lucky, though, because I stumbled by chance down to the area where the revealer was, very early on. Still flailing, I wrote in ON A BET and RAT, and then figured 34D: Rifleman's ___ (part of Marine training) was DRILL (!?). The point was I put *something* in there, because putting *something* in meant I looked at the cross at 42A: Gaelic language, which I knew had to be ERSE, and then from the "R" cross got RIESEN, then ENS, and so finally got really decent traction, largely by accident, right where the revealer was. Got DEAD CENTER and still didn't think much about what it meant. Stumbled over to the east via TREVOR and finally saw it with OR ALIVE. Then I promptly went around and filled all the others in. And then the theme was just ... done. After that, just swept up the rest. That's the main problem with this theme; once you get it, it's got, and it goes down fast, and then there's ... nothing left but a kind of themeless. It's kinda nice that ON THE MONEY at least vaguely parallels DEAD CENTER in its meaning, despite the fact that it was nothing to do with the theme per se. Anyway, I have mixed feelings about this one, but ultimately I think it's a fine, cleanish grid, and the gimmick, such as it is, is interesting.
Maybe maybe it's a little over-reliant on the crosswordese, though I can't be too mad, as ERSE is what got me going. God bless ERSE. Fewer blessings, though, for ENS and EGADS and ORIEL ETA and EERIE ENT ABODE and NTH IBAR ISP and EELS O'ER ERIKA! It kinda adds up. I sorta like the colloquialness of REAL SOON, and I wanna like AA TEAM because I go to watch one play regularly, it's just ... "double A" is the phrase, and while I know that's what "AA" represents here, on paper it just looks like the local chapter of your recovery group has a softball team or something. Themewise, there's something depressing about DEADBEAT dad and something morbid about LEFT FOR DEAD. That's not a fault, but I could've used some kind of pick me up, somewhere in the grid. Anyway, I CAME, I FOUND IT, ISP. The end.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Explainers:
- AFTRA = American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (18A: SAG partner). SAG-AFTRA is the name of the union (which is a member of AFL-CIO, if you wanna go all the way with the acronyms, initialisms, and crosswordese)
- Lefty O'DOUL (50A: Baseball's Lefty) died in San Francisco 11 days after I was born ... also in San Francisco. Oh, and he was a pretty good ballplayer who went on to manage the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League for better than 15 seasons. He's in the Japanese Baseball Hall-of-Fame because he was instrumental in establishing pro baseball there. He has the highest career batting average (.345) of anyone eligible for the HOF who is not actually in it—4th all time behind Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, and Shoeless Joe Jackson. There's a restaurant and piano bar named after him on Union Square in S.F. Wow, I am learning a lot about Lefty O'DOUL tonight
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