Constructor: Kathy Wienberg
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: ADD TO CART (63A: Message clicked by an online buyer ... or a hint for 17-, 24-, 39-, and 51-Across) — The first word of each themer can precede "CART".
Theme answers:
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Hi folks, it's day two of Guest Blogger Week here while Rex is away. And, like last Monday, it's another first-words-type puzzle. I suppose these sorts of Mondays are a symptom of having increasing difficulty over the week: the truly creative themes that twist your brain a little get kicked down to Wednesday or Thursday, while the old-school theme patterns that are easy due to familiarity get slated earlier. The best we can hope for with these is a well-executed version with some good fill.
I'm not sure that's what we got, though. The themers are perfectly fine, and there's some credit to be given for having four plus the revealer instead of just three. But in looking over the puzzle, it's not just the theme that's dated. Any of these clues and answers could have appeared in a puzzle twenty years ago and would have fit right in, save for the fact that Finding NEMO wasn't released until 2003. I don't need a hyper-modern puzzle to enjoy it, but when the cultural references bend in the opposite direction, with POGO and RHETT Butler and bridge terms (FINESSE), I think it's fair to complain.
Some long non-themers here in CAPRI PANTS, SOLAR PANELS, SEAPLANE, and FIELDERS, which are all solid, if not terribly exciting. We've got some rough fill in ONO, EBON, GTOS, ETH, and TRA. The irony is that the crosswordese helped the solving process for me, but in particular, the UNAGI / GTOS cross might Natick a casual Monday solver who hasn't seen either before.
I don't want to sound too cranky about this puzzle (although I guess with Rex gone, someone needs to fill that quota) - it's a perfectly adequate Monday. It just doesn't seem to rise above perfectly adequate.
Signed, Brian Amos, Serf of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: ADD TO CART (63A: Message clicked by an online buyer ... or a hint for 17-, 24-, 39-, and 51-Across) — The first word of each themer can precede "CART".
Theme answers:
- TEA GARDEN (17A: Locale for a traditional Japanese ceremony)
- SHOPPING LIST (24A: Slip of paper to take to the grocery)
- GOLF TOURNAMENTS (39A: The Masters and others)
- APPLE STRUDEL (51A: Classic Austrian pastry)
In contract bridge and similar games, a finesse is a card play technique which will enable a player to win an additional trick or tricks should there be a favorable position of one or more cards in the hands of the opponents. (Wikipedia)
• •
Hi folks, it's day two of Guest Blogger Week here while Rex is away. And, like last Monday, it's another first-words-type puzzle. I suppose these sorts of Mondays are a symptom of having increasing difficulty over the week: the truly creative themes that twist your brain a little get kicked down to Wednesday or Thursday, while the old-school theme patterns that are easy due to familiarity get slated earlier. The best we can hope for with these is a well-executed version with some good fill.
I'm not sure that's what we got, though. The themers are perfectly fine, and there's some credit to be given for having four plus the revealer instead of just three. But in looking over the puzzle, it's not just the theme that's dated. Any of these clues and answers could have appeared in a puzzle twenty years ago and would have fit right in, save for the fact that Finding NEMO wasn't released until 2003. I don't need a hyper-modern puzzle to enjoy it, but when the cultural references bend in the opposite direction, with POGO and RHETT Butler and bridge terms (FINESSE), I think it's fair to complain.
Some long non-themers here in CAPRI PANTS, SOLAR PANELS, SEAPLANE, and FIELDERS, which are all solid, if not terribly exciting. We've got some rough fill in ONO, EBON, GTOS, ETH, and TRA. The irony is that the crosswordese helped the solving process for me, but in particular, the UNAGI / GTOS cross might Natick a casual Monday solver who hasn't seen either before.
I don't want to sound too cranky about this puzzle (although I guess with Rex gone, someone needs to fill that quota) - it's a perfectly adequate Monday. It just doesn't seem to rise above perfectly adequate.
Signed, Brian Amos, Serf of CrossWorld