It's Annabel Monday! But you totally won't be able to tell because I sound like Rex in this one! Aaaaaah!
Constructor: Evan Kalish
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: IT'S A SECRET— Bubbled words within the theme answers are all things that have "secret" versions.
Theme answers:
Word of the Day: TARO (33A: What poi is made from) —
That is one of the wildest and most botany-discourse-filled Wikipedia entries I've ever seen for a WOTD. I learned nothing about taro and everything about how much botanists fight about taxonomy. Which is way cooler anyway if you ask me.
So the good news about this puzzle is it did not make me go into a murderous rage over a tasteless clue or a theme that seemed like it was trying to be offensive to be funny (I was this close to linking to a recent example and then realized that would be a Bad Idea for the comments section), and there was only one grammar mishap (PANINIS rather than PANINI or SANDWICHES). The bad news is...let's just say I finished about 10 minutes faster than usual. It's not that there's anything wrong with the clues for OCEAN, AHA, ACT, HAN, TABBY, WEAK, et al individually; every puzzle needs some shorter words and some simpler clues (especially on a Monday). It was more like the sheer volume of fill that felt like filler. I love pasta, but if you serve me a plate of just plain pasta with no sauces or proteins--actually that's a bad metaphor because I would absolutely eat a bunch of plain pasta straight out of the pot. But not a bunch of too-easy crossword clues with not enough interesting vocab and few clever plays on words. Y'know? Plus, I love discovering little perhaps-unintentional "mini-themes" in puzzles, like when a constructor uses a lot of aquatic-related words and it makes me think they've been reading a lot about the ocean lately, but all I could find in this one was some Italian food.
On the bright side, if this was anyone's first puzzle, they probably had a great time! :) Monday is a hard balance to strike. You want new solvers not to tear their hair out and you want regular solvers to still be able to have fun. Evan Kalish erred on the side of the first, and I respect that. I hate to be too nitpicky, but I feel like some nits have to be picked. And some of the clues felt like they were just too easy even for new solvers; even little things like changing "Atlantic or Pacific"to "Atlantic, for example" and "Guerrilla ___ Guevara" with just "___ Guevara" would make me feel less like I was being talked down to. Oh man, I just read that again and it's sooooo nitpicky. Why is "nitpicking" even something with a bad connotation anyways? It means getting rid of lice! The English language just doesn't make sense, as usual. .....Aaaaaaanyways.
Despite my issues with most of the fill I actually loved the theme! I've never ordered off a secret MENU before but someday I'm gonna get the triple secret In-N-Out burger made entirely of onions or something*. And I kinda love juxtaposing the ominous-sounding secret STASH and secret AGENT with the more innocent secret SANTA. It was cute, fun, and light, perfect for a Monday theme! I wish the rest of the puzzle had been a little more exciting but I really have no complaints about the theme.
Bullets:
Quick addendum: I just realized this was Evan Kalish's debut. I'm sure he did his best and I'm excited to see his future puzzles! I really don't want to dunk on this one too hard, it's just that, like I said, some nits just gotta be picked. Okay, I've talked about nits too much. Uh, have a great month!
Signed, Annabel Thompson, tired college student.
*I highly doubt there's an In-N-Out secret burger made entirely of onions. Please do not ask for one.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
[Follow Annabel Thompson on Twitter]
Constructor: Evan Kalish
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: IT'S A SECRET— Bubbled words within the theme answers are all things that have "secret" versions.
Theme answers:
- PASTASHELL (16A: Italian food item that can be stuffed and baked)
- PEASANTARMY (20A: Militia of farmers, e.g.)
- WHATAGENTLEMAN (24A: "He's so polite")
- MARKUPLANGUAGE (44A: It may allow a text document to be displayed on a web page)
- PRIMENUMBER (49A: 3, 5 or 7, but not 9)
- IT'S A SECRET (59A: "Keep this between us"...or hint to the puzzle's circled letters)
Word of the Day: TARO (33A: What poi is made from) —
Colocasia esculenta is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corms, the root vegetables most commonly known as taro. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.[4]Linnaeus originally described two species which are now known as Colocasia esculenta and Colocasia antiquorum of the cultivated plants that are known by many names including eddoes, dasheen, taro and madumbi, but many later botanists consider them all to be members of a single, very variable species, the correct name for which is Colocasia esculenta.[5][6]
• • •
That is one of the wildest and most botany-discourse-filled Wikipedia entries I've ever seen for a WOTD. I learned nothing about taro and everything about how much botanists fight about taxonomy. Which is way cooler anyway if you ask me.
So the good news about this puzzle is it did not make me go into a murderous rage over a tasteless clue or a theme that seemed like it was trying to be offensive to be funny (I was this close to linking to a recent example and then realized that would be a Bad Idea for the comments section), and there was only one grammar mishap (PANINIS rather than PANINI or SANDWICHES). The bad news is...let's just say I finished about 10 minutes faster than usual. It's not that there's anything wrong with the clues for OCEAN, AHA, ACT, HAN, TABBY, WEAK, et al individually; every puzzle needs some shorter words and some simpler clues (especially on a Monday). It was more like the sheer volume of fill that felt like filler. I love pasta, but if you serve me a plate of just plain pasta with no sauces or proteins--actually that's a bad metaphor because I would absolutely eat a bunch of plain pasta straight out of the pot. But not a bunch of too-easy crossword clues with not enough interesting vocab and few clever plays on words. Y'know? Plus, I love discovering little perhaps-unintentional "mini-themes" in puzzles, like when a constructor uses a lot of aquatic-related words and it makes me think they've been reading a lot about the ocean lately, but all I could find in this one was some Italian food.
On the bright side, if this was anyone's first puzzle, they probably had a great time! :) Monday is a hard balance to strike. You want new solvers not to tear their hair out and you want regular solvers to still be able to have fun. Evan Kalish erred on the side of the first, and I respect that. I hate to be too nitpicky, but I feel like some nits have to be picked. And some of the clues felt like they were just too easy even for new solvers; even little things like changing "Atlantic or Pacific"to "Atlantic, for example" and "Guerrilla ___ Guevara" with just "___ Guevara" would make me feel less like I was being talked down to. Oh man, I just read that again and it's sooooo nitpicky. Why is "nitpicking" even something with a bad connotation anyways? It means getting rid of lice! The English language just doesn't make sense, as usual. .....Aaaaaaanyways.
Despite my issues with most of the fill I actually loved the theme! I've never ordered off a secret MENU before but someday I'm gonna get the triple secret In-N-Out burger made entirely of onions or something*. And I kinda love juxtaposing the ominous-sounding secret STASH and secret AGENT with the more innocent secret SANTA. It was cute, fun, and light, perfect for a Monday theme! I wish the rest of the puzzle had been a little more exciting but I really have no complaints about the theme.
Bullets:
- MR BIG (29D: Head honcho)— I still can never see this without thinking about Zootopia's personal spin on a Mr. Big figure, which had him as a small rodent. I think mob bosses in all media from now on should be small rodents. I won't watch the next James Bond unless the villain is a hamster.
- ROVE (50D: Wander about)— It's almost the Curiosity Rover's birthday. Talking about that funky little probe always makes me kinda sad, but I hope she's doing okay.
- AGGIES (37D: Texas A&M team)— I'm in Connecticut over the summer, and it's, like, agriculture central. Not really anything to do with the team or the team name but I swear there are more cows than people in my county. On the bright side, that means every day on the way to my summer job I can look out the window and yell "HEY THERE'S COWS!" I think yelling whenever you see a cow or horse outside your car window is probably the best way to preserve one's inner child.
- IT'S A SECRET (59A: "Keep this between us"...or hint to the puzzle's circled letters)— Okay, I've already posted two of my favorite "secret" themed songs, but this one is one of my favorites! Here, have some good Monday vibes.
Quick addendum: I just realized this was Evan Kalish's debut. I'm sure he did his best and I'm excited to see his future puzzles! I really don't want to dunk on this one too hard, it's just that, like I said, some nits just gotta be picked. Okay, I've talked about nits too much. Uh, have a great month!
Signed, Annabel Thompson, tired college student.
*I highly doubt there's an In-N-Out secret burger made entirely of onions. Please do not ask for one.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
[Follow Annabel Thompson on Twitter]