Constructor: Caitlin Reid
Relative difficulty: Medium (3:21)
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THEME: FISH (71A: Use the items found at the ends of the answers to 20-, 31-, 47- and 56-Across)— last words are fishing-related stuff
Theme answers:
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Slow today, for me, because ... well, several reasons. First, 1A: Part of a bed's base (SLAT) made No sense to me. I had SLA- and thought "they don't mean SLAT, do they?" I just couldn't process it, largely because I haven't seen or slept on a SLATted bed in a long time. I think my futon in grad school was on a slatted frame of some kind. Ugh. Also wrote in ANGRY for 16A: Livid, which is total amateur hour; of course it's IRATE, it's always IRATE. Then is it COLA or SODA at 40D: Fizzy, sugarless beverage (DIET SODA)? And is it IONE or IONA at 65A: College in New Rochelle, N.Y? Worst wound was totally self-inflicted, though. I wrote in OUTTAKE REEL at 47A: Series of funny outtakes (BLOOPER REEL). Yeah, that was wrong. It's called a GAG REEL. When that wouldn't fit, my brain (apparently forgetting the exact wording of the clue) just toggled to the next plausible answer that fit.
But let's leave my floundering aside for a moment and talk about the theme, which just doesn't work. On many levels. There's a decent, albeit dated and time-worn, concept here, right? Last words are all part of X group. Today, fishing. So first, FISH is a terrible revealer. I mean ... a boringish theme like this needs a zazzy revealer, and FISH is about the least zazzy imaginable. Then there's the set of last words. They are motley, at best. Having REEL but not ROD felt odd, but the bigger problem was SPINNER, which is not nearly as solidly iconic as the other fishing words (it's a kind of ... lure?). I mean, why not BAIT. CLICKBAIT, JAILBAIT, I don't know, be creative. Did you just want to get the pseudo-current but actually dated FIDGET SPINNER in there? But I haven't yet mentioned the biggest problem, and that's TACKLE. It's not a separate item, it is All The Other Items. They are all a subset of TACKLE. You can't list POLE *alongside* TACKLE when It Is TACKLE. Here's the definition of TACKLE:
Five things:
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Relative difficulty: Medium (3:21)
Theme answers:
- TELEPHONE POLE (20A: Holder of wires along a street)
- SLIDE TACKLE (31A: Aggressive defensive soccer maneuver)
- BLOOPER REEL (47A: Series of funny outtakes)
- FIDGET SPINNER (56A: Toy in a 2017 craze)
Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: אֱנוֹשׁ ʼEnōš; "mortal man"; Arabic: أَنُوش/يَانِش, translit. Yāniš/’Anūš; Ge'ez: ሄኖስ Henos), in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the first son of Seth who figures in the Generations of Adam, and consequently referred to within the genealogies of 1 Chronicles.According to Christianity, he is part of the Genealogy of Jesus as mentioned in Luke 3:38. Additionally, Enos is also mentioned in Islam in the various collections of tales of the pre-Islamic prophets, which honor him in an identical manner. Furthermore, early Islamic historians like Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham always included his name in the genealogy of the Prophet Muhammad, (Arabic: ’Anūsh أَنُوش or [commonly]: Yānishيَانِش). (wikipedia)
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But let's leave my floundering aside for a moment and talk about the theme, which just doesn't work. On many levels. There's a decent, albeit dated and time-worn, concept here, right? Last words are all part of X group. Today, fishing. So first, FISH is a terrible revealer. I mean ... a boringish theme like this needs a zazzy revealer, and FISH is about the least zazzy imaginable. Then there's the set of last words. They are motley, at best. Having REEL but not ROD felt odd, but the bigger problem was SPINNER, which is not nearly as solidly iconic as the other fishing words (it's a kind of ... lure?). I mean, why not BAIT. CLICKBAIT, JAILBAIT, I don't know, be creative. Did you just want to get the pseudo-current but actually dated FIDGET SPINNER in there? But I haven't yet mentioned the biggest problem, and that's TACKLE. It's not a separate item, it is All The Other Items. They are all a subset of TACKLE. You can't list POLE *alongside* TACKLE when It Is TACKLE. Here's the definition of TACKLE:
Fishing tackle is the equipment used by anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used for fishing can be called fishing tackle. Some examples are hooks, lines, sinkers, floats, rods, reels, baits, lures, spears, nets, gaffs, traps, waders and tackle boxes. (wikipedia)How do you let that one go, editors? You could've encouraged this constructor and shepherded this theme along into some kind of polished shape, but no. You just run with this broken theme. This is the kind of theme that someone like Lynn Lempel or Liz Gorski woulda *nailed* in the not-so-olden days. Don't submit unless you know you stuck the landing. That is the rule.
Five things:
- 1A: Shoot out, as 14-Across (SPEW)— Cross-referenced 1-Acrosses: Not a fan
- 49D: Like clarinets and oboes (REEDED) — If you want to get your name (kinda) in the grid, do it with an actual good answer. ;) This adjectivization of reed is awk.
- 44D: Apple tablet with an attachable keyboard (IPAD PRO) — yeah, this one hurt. I had IPAD AIR. Pffft. I mean, I'm all for being "current," but I hate how much "current" has come to mean "some brand name tech stuff."
- 63D: The laugh of someone who's up to no good (HEH) — really glad I never saw this clue because man [laugh syllable] is the worst clue genre
- 9A: Demanding that people do this and that (BOSSY) — only just now realizing that I totally misread this clue as [Demanding people do this and that]. I was like, "Wait, what? Is it the this or the that that you want?" Thought some "___ & ___" expression was involved. Again, self-inflicted pain.
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