Constructor: Xan Vongsathorn
Relative difficulty: Easy (4:21)
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THEME: COIN / FLIPS (65A: With 55-Down, actions that can be performed nine* times in this puzzle without affecting any of the clues?) — H (for heads) or T (for tails) can be entered in any of the circled squares and result in accurate answers (though you do have to make both circled squares the same letter in 10-Across, so you can't actually flip *9 times; you flip 8, because just one flip determines both those circled squares in 10-Across ...)
Theme answers:
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Seems like it's been a while since I've seen a puzzle by Xan. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that it took SEVEN YEARS FOR THIS PUZZLE TO SEE PRINT. Or he's just not making many crosswords anymore, who knows? But seriously—this puzzle was submitted seven years ago. Just ... sit on that info for a while. Chew on it. How does it taste? Like responsible editing, right? Right. Of course. Long live Dear Leader. Perhaps this got delayed because other puzzles like it have been published in the interim?? I know I've seen a coin toss theme before, though I'm not sure where. Still, maybe that accounts for a year. Two years? But seven years? Lord have mercy. What's weirder—in the course of finding out this information, I found out that one constructor had an ELEVEN-YEAR WAIT (which as of this moment is the unofficial record). That would be like a puzzle submitted before Obama was elected coming out ... now. But when you're the king, they let you do anything, so, sure, 7 years, 11 years, whatever. What're you gonna do about it? Nothin', that's what.
It's a clever concept, but I tore through this without giving the theme much thought at all. Wrestled a bit with the COIN / FLIPS revealer, but didn't stop to think about what it meant. I just assumed my "T"s and "H"s were correct. Because they were. The one I struggled with most was TIP-TOP, because that is not a phrase I'd use anywhere near something that's record-breaking. I think of it as almost always preceding "shape" or "condition," not things that you can measure, record-wise. HIP-HOP is even harder to justify—"breaking" here refers to "break-dancing," I assume. Which, sure, you can do to HIP-HOP"records," though there's popping and locking in "Uptown Girl," so ...
But I was done in my fastest time in months and months. Faster than yesterday's puzzle. Sadly, my software did not give me the Happy Pencil because it was counting my "T"s as wrong—totally bogus. But not really the puzzle's fault. I had a little bit of trouble with WIS(H)FUL, but I never doubted the "H" because the clue sounded like it wanted another -ING word, so I went with WISHING, then corrected to WISHFUL. WISTFUL never occurred to me. Probably the toughest answer for me to come up with in the whole puzzle was SAG (23D: Give a little bit). That ambiguous use of "give" really got me.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (4:21)
[Stupid Across Lite wouldn't accept "T" so ... anywhere you see "HT," I had "T"]
Theme answers:
- FISH / HIT LIST // FIST / TITLIST (1D: Something at the end of the hook? / 20A: Many people may be eliminated by one)
- SHOCK / HINT // STOCK / TINT (5A: ___ value / 6D: Slight coloring)
- HA HA / HEAT RAY / HOOT // TATA / TEA TRAY / TOOT (10A: Interjection heard when breaking up / 10D: Carrier of something that might burn / 12D: It's a blast)
- HEAVE HO / HIPSTERS // HEAVE TO / TIPSTERS (39A: Cry aboard a frigate / 40D: Ones in the know)
- RUSH / HEE // RUST / TEE (29D: It can take root in wet places / 46A: Giggle syllable)
- WISHFUL / BASHES // WISTFUL / BASTES (44D: Yearning / 56A: Wallops)
- SHAKE / HIC // STAKE / TIC (62A: An investor might want to get a fair one / 63D: Evidence of a little spasm)
- HIP-HOP / TIP-TOP (31A With 31-Down, breaking records, maybe)
Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) and Chicago White Sox (1981–1993). He was the first player to be unanimously voted American League Rookie of the Year (1972). Fisk is best known for "waving fair" his game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. (wikipedia)
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It's a clever concept, but I tore through this without giving the theme much thought at all. Wrestled a bit with the COIN / FLIPS revealer, but didn't stop to think about what it meant. I just assumed my "T"s and "H"s were correct. Because they were. The one I struggled with most was TIP-TOP, because that is not a phrase I'd use anywhere near something that's record-breaking. I think of it as almost always preceding "shape" or "condition," not things that you can measure, record-wise. HIP-HOP is even harder to justify—"breaking" here refers to "break-dancing," I assume. Which, sure, you can do to HIP-HOP"records," though there's popping and locking in "Uptown Girl," so ...
But I was done in my fastest time in months and months. Faster than yesterday's puzzle. Sadly, my software did not give me the Happy Pencil because it was counting my "T"s as wrong—totally bogus. But not really the puzzle's fault. I had a little bit of trouble with WIS(H)FUL, but I never doubted the "H" because the clue sounded like it wanted another -ING word, so I went with WISHING, then corrected to WISHFUL. WISTFUL never occurred to me. Probably the toughest answer for me to come up with in the whole puzzle was SAG (23D: Give a little bit). That ambiguous use of "give" really got me.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]