Constructor: Sam Ezersky and Byron Walden
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (12:28)
![]()
THEME:"Complimentary"— familiar phrases clued as if they were compliments (by reimagning the meaning of the first word in the answer)
Theme answers:
![]()
Really didn't care for this one, which is startling, given that I love almost every puzzle Byron Walden touches. This one, though, had a theme that I found corny and dull, and then fill that was just ... it was like someone got enamored of his deep wordlist and decided to let it explode all over his grid, with very little in the way of restraint or balance. Marginally famous pop culture names all over the place (well, concentrated in the NW, but all over the place). A Garth Brooks THE and then a gratuitous river THE (THE SEINE? Booooo). ASHCAKE *and* ASHE *followed immediately by* ASHEN? TESSES? IMRE? Holy crap, TARBES????!!?! This is the first time in my life I'm even hearing of this place's existence. If it were a crossworthy place, It Would Have Been In The Grid Before (oh, sorry, it *has* appeared in the grid before ... once ... just after the end of WWII (seriously)). I can accept PASTICCIO as something I should know, even though I didn't, but I'm never going to accept "THE DANCE," don't @ me about Garth Brooks' fame and sales etc. (12A: Song sung by Garth Brooks on Jay Leno's last "Tonight Show"). Oh really, wikipedia, it's his "signature song," is it? Look, I didn't spend the entire decade of my 20s assiduously avoiding that guy's music (and Jay Leno) for you to go shoving my face in it in my cranky middle age! OK, so "THE DANCE" is not objectively bad, just bad in my particular ears and nose and throat. If not for THE THE in THE SEINE, I probably would've let Garth go tbh. What the hell kind of non-word is NON-EGOS? See, you should exercise discretion, not just put in Whatever Fits. NON-EGOS is never going to be good fill (80D: Worlds external to the mind). Sometimes it's good not to GO ALL IN with your wordlist. Real words, please. DAREN'T!? Is that how they speak in TARBES (wherever that is)?
And then so many multi-word phrase, it got irksome after a while. TOOK AIM AT, TAP IN TO, ACT AS IF, GO ALL IN, SON OF A, DO ON ... I dunno, it was as if the puzzle knew its theme was pretty standard-issue NYT and so tried to zazz it up, but the zazz knob kind of broke and things ended up a bit of a mess. This is a very different problem from having your grid overrun with crosswordese, but it's a problem nonetheless. I did like the neat stack of three themers in the middle. Very Merl Reagle-esque. And some of the fill was interesting. I am never going to care about "Doctor Who," but I still didn't mind TIME LORDS (41D: Beings on TV's "Doctor Who"). And ONE-PAGER is some very in-the-language slang (IMPO) (in my professiorial opinion). I barely remember JARTS and don't even know what the portmanteau is there (77A: Banned game projectiles). I assume it's a portmanteau of something and darts. JORTS woulda been great. Jeans + shorts. Makes sense. JARTS? Oh ... looked it up. It's "javelin darts." LOL, did you know that? With a name like that, I'm shocked, Shocked that they had to ban them. I weirdly liked the clue on NIGER (95A: Major exporter of uranium). I mean, how would I know that ... except I'm old enough to remember the faulty intelligence that led to the Iraq War, so ... yeah. OK, it's hot and I want a FRAPPE, so bye.
P.S. I'll repeat my announcement from yesterday, since it's relevant to Sunday-solvers as well:
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (12:28)
Theme answers:
- OUTSTANDING BILLS (24A: Compliment to a lawmaker?)
- RADICAL MOVEMENT (36A: Compliment to a composer?)
- SWEET TALK (62A: Compliment to a lecturer?)
- STELLAR CLASSIFICATION (64A: Compliment to a taxonomist?)
- KILLER BEE (67A: Compliment to a champion speller?)
- SOLID FOUNDATION (87A: Compliment to a charity organizer?)
- SMASHING PUMPKINS (103A: Compliment to a vegetable gardener?)
noun
In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic. (wikipedia)
• • •
And then so many multi-word phrase, it got irksome after a while. TOOK AIM AT, TAP IN TO, ACT AS IF, GO ALL IN, SON OF A, DO ON ... I dunno, it was as if the puzzle knew its theme was pretty standard-issue NYT and so tried to zazz it up, but the zazz knob kind of broke and things ended up a bit of a mess. This is a very different problem from having your grid overrun with crosswordese, but it's a problem nonetheless. I did like the neat stack of three themers in the middle. Very Merl Reagle-esque. And some of the fill was interesting. I am never going to care about "Doctor Who," but I still didn't mind TIME LORDS (41D: Beings on TV's "Doctor Who"). And ONE-PAGER is some very in-the-language slang (IMPO) (in my professiorial opinion). I barely remember JARTS and don't even know what the portmanteau is there (77A: Banned game projectiles). I assume it's a portmanteau of something and darts. JORTS woulda been great. Jeans + shorts. Makes sense. JARTS? Oh ... looked it up. It's "javelin darts." LOL, did you know that? With a name like that, I'm shocked, Shocked that they had to ban them. I weirdly liked the clue on NIGER (95A: Major exporter of uranium). I mean, how would I know that ... except I'm old enough to remember the faulty intelligence that led to the Iraq War, so ... yeah. OK, it's hot and I want a FRAPPE, so bye.
P.S. I'll repeat my announcement from yesterday, since it's relevant to Sunday-solvers as well:
Some puzzle suggestions for you Saturday solvers. Peter Broda has a suite of Vowelless Crossword Puzzles available right now (ed. Andy Kravis). Vowelless crosswords are a really entertaining, and tough, variation on your favorite pastime. Seven puzzles, pay what you want. Get them here. Also, be sure to check out this past week's American Values Crossword second puzzle, a "labyrinth-style puzzle" by Francis Heaney, entitled "The Maze Ruiner." If you're not already a subscriber, just pay the $1 and get it a la carte. I promise you, you'll be wowed. It might take you half and hour, or an hour, or a day, or longer, but It Is Worth It. Really impressive work. Very clipboard-worthy. Get it here.[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]