Constructor: Andy Kravis and Erik Agard
Relative difficulty: Easy (3:01)
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THEME: wacky wardrobe— familiar phrases are clued as if their last words were articles of clothing:
Theme answers:
OK, now *here* is an example of an old-fashioned theme type that is executed perfectly. Last words reimagined. Get a nice thematic grouping, write some wacky "?" clues, and bam, there's your Tuesday. Just fine. You know what makes this work? Judicious Restraint! There are just four themers here. This is an acceptable amount, but not a showy amount. You know what showiness would've got you here. A forced JACKET answer and then a whole lot cruddier class of fill (because you put added strain on the grid with your dumb fifth themer). As is, the grid can Breeeeathe and so the fill is impressively smooth. Like ... look at your average early-week NYT; it just can't compare. It's not that the fill is terribly showy (though INCINERATE and CRAZY HORSE are solid entries); it's that there are no potholes, not groans, no ughs, no EWWs, except for EWW, which I despise, spelling-wise (you can't pronounce a double-W, come on). It's just glossy, this thing. I wish I hadn't *finished* on EWW—terrible way to end an otherwise lovely solve (also, between spelling that and hesitations around THREE-WAY TIE, that answer cost me a couple of seconds that would've put me under 3, grrrrr). My only non-EWW gripe is PBJ, which is not a thing. I see where the grid is trying to get all cute with its bookend [Three-letter sandwich] clues (see the first and the last Acrosses), but only BLT is truly three letters. It's PB *AND* J and will never be otherwise no matter what you say. More importantly, it's literally never BL *AND* T, and so the attempt at symmetry with those clues only highlights the asymmetry. Boo and hiss and EWW. Otherwise, hurray.
I think that's all I have to say about this one. I'm surprised I didn't break a speed record on this one, as the only places I remember hesitating at all were 1. right away, when I put BLT in 1-Across, like a normal human; 2. with ANN Peebles, whom I did not know was one of the Peebleseses; and 3. the multiply-aforementioned EWW. Every other answer I wrote in immediately or nearly immediately after reading the clue the first time.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (3:01)
Theme answers:
- BLASTING CAP (18A: Article of headwear for an explosives engineer?)
- THREE-WAY TIE (35A: Article of neckwear for the Stooges?)
- PEOPLE WATCH (42A: Wrist accessory for a celebrity magazine editor?)
- BORSCHT BELT (60A: Waist accessory for a Russian cook?)
Ann Lee Peebles (born April 27, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s for Hi Records. Two of her most popular songs are "I Can't Stand the Rain", which she wrote with her husband Don Bryant and radio broadcaster Bernie Miller, and "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down". In 2014, Ann Peebles was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. (wikipedia)
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| OSSIE's always in the grid Nice to see RUBY DEE here for once |
I think that's all I have to say about this one. I'm surprised I didn't break a speed record on this one, as the only places I remember hesitating at all were 1. right away, when I put BLT in 1-Across, like a normal human; 2. with ANN Peebles, whom I did not know was one of the Peebleseses; and 3. the multiply-aforementioned EWW. Every other answer I wrote in immediately or nearly immediately after reading the clue the first time.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]