Constructor: Gary Cee
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (2:56)
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THEME: DRINKS ARE ON ME (35A: "I've got this round!" ... or a literal hint to this puzzle's theme) —Drinks (not clued as drinks) sit literally on top of the word "ME" (in circled squares) four times:
Theme answers:
The hardest part of this puzzle by far was the themers. Every one of them except SIDECAR is best known as a drink name, so cluing them otherwise was rough. But nothing about this puzzle was rough in the least, so it ended up being snugly in Monday difficulty territory. GAVOTTE is maybe not quite a Monday word, but it's featured in one of the better known songs in pop music history, so I figure people at least know it that way. (I always thought she was saying that he watched his "silk cravat")
Putting short drink names on ME is not technically so difficult, but I like the concept. I think it works. The grid is way too crammed with repeaters (a nicer word for "crosswordese"), largely because it's constructed in a super-choppy way, creating tons of 3- and 4-letter answers. So that part was less than pleasant. But for all that, the grid was pretty smooth, and there are some nice moments (LOOK ALIVE! TIDE OVER), and so, especially in the wake of yesterday's disaster, I will take this.
UPIEMI BMI RPI REI UPS ... only two of these were actually in the puzzle, but a lot of these answers bleed into one another in my head. I got UPI and EMI right, but I feel like it was dumb luck. My fingers just instinctively entered my first guesses and then the crosses confirmed them. Not really much to talk about in this one. ONE YARD is absurd, as it opens the floodgates for [insert number here] YARDS. Well, probably a number 100 or less. Still, ONE YARD, harrumph. Never did get the whole WREAKS / WRECKS (havoc) thing straight. Actually, I know it's WREAK, but I feel like people pronounce it "wreck," which makes me wonder if that's a mistake or if that's its actual pronunciation, spelling be damned. Anyway, it's WREAK, and the past tense is just WREAKED, if you somehow didn't know and find yourself needing this info in the future.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (2:56)
Theme answers:
- SIDECAR (17A: Motorcycle attachment)
- MIMOSA (21A: Tropical tree with hot pink flowers)
- GIMLET (53A: Hand tool for boring holes)
- MARTINI (61A: Danny DeVito's role in 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") [why is "1975's" in this clue???]
noun
• • •
The hardest part of this puzzle by far was the themers. Every one of them except SIDECAR is best known as a drink name, so cluing them otherwise was rough. But nothing about this puzzle was rough in the least, so it ended up being snugly in Monday difficulty territory. GAVOTTE is maybe not quite a Monday word, but it's featured in one of the better known songs in pop music history, so I figure people at least know it that way. (I always thought she was saying that he watched his "silk cravat")
Putting short drink names on ME is not technically so difficult, but I like the concept. I think it works. The grid is way too crammed with repeaters (a nicer word for "crosswordese"), largely because it's constructed in a super-choppy way, creating tons of 3- and 4-letter answers. So that part was less than pleasant. But for all that, the grid was pretty smooth, and there are some nice moments (LOOK ALIVE! TIDE OVER), and so, especially in the wake of yesterday's disaster, I will take this.
UPIEMI BMI RPI REI UPS ... only two of these were actually in the puzzle, but a lot of these answers bleed into one another in my head. I got UPI and EMI right, but I feel like it was dumb luck. My fingers just instinctively entered my first guesses and then the crosses confirmed them. Not really much to talk about in this one. ONE YARD is absurd, as it opens the floodgates for [insert number here] YARDS. Well, probably a number 100 or less. Still, ONE YARD, harrumph. Never did get the whole WREAKS / WRECKS (havoc) thing straight. Actually, I know it's WREAK, but I feel like people pronounce it "wreck," which makes me wonder if that's a mistake or if that's its actual pronunciation, spelling be damned. Anyway, it's WREAK, and the past tense is just WREAKED, if you somehow didn't know and find yourself needing this info in the future.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]