Constructor: ROBYN WEINTRAUB
Relative difficulty: Medium (until the bitter end, when things got ... frustrating)
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THEME: Themeless
Word of the Day: TANEY (13d: Roger ___, fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court) —
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You know that feeling, when things are all going smoothly, and then suddenly *WHAM* you come to a crashing halt?
Well, that's about how I can summarize my run through this puzzle (and my only explanation to the Cubs early playoff exit. There's always next year.) I got off to a torrid pace by my Friday standards, throwing down most of the 5–7 letter acrosses in the middle of the grid without so much as a second thought. And once HAIRDYE, CAPONE, COLD ONE, TINKERED and GENERAL TSO were all firmly in place, I was able to parse the long downs without much trouble. Aided by the all-too-familiar ALBA, APSE, ET AL, I cruised through the rest of the grid and was sure my screen would play the *NYT Puzzle Success* jingle ...
... until it didn't. Something was wrong. And it took me some truly excruciating extra innings before I found a fatal flaw in the SW which brought this otherwise smooth-sailing Friday endeavor to an unglamorous end. CLEAN and ONES are both words! Of course! But alas, not those we needed today.
I enjoyed this puzzle all the way down to the last DRAM. The triple stacks in the NW and SE are pretty original (though I was ~shocked~ when IN THE CLOSET didn't fit for 56a: Waiting to come out), the long downs (with the exception of the bit-too-clunky SET A RECORD) are great, and there's a happy blend of generational answers — from "Family Ties" to FLASH MOBS. Though we can all agree that the DAB is for all ages.
And while I did feel like I actually learned a lot from this puzzle, I do wish that the clue on TANEY (see above) captured more of his grave historical significance — especially given ... well, all of American history since Dred Scott.
Bullets:
[Follow Matthew on Twitter for podcast recs and countdowns until the 2019 baseball season]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium (until the bitter end, when things got ... frustrating)
THEME: Themeless
Word of the Day: TANEY (13d: Roger ___, fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court) —
Roger Taney delivered the majority opinion in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), that ruled, among other things, that African Americans, having been considered inferior at the time the United States Constitution was drafted, were not part of the original community of citizens and, whether free or slave, could not be considered citizens of the United States. This ruling created an uproar among abolitionists and the free states of the northern U.S.
• • •
Hello lovely solvers and T.G.I.F. from your podcast-enthused, baseball-distraught cruciverbalist companion filling in for Rex today.You know that feeling, when things are all going smoothly, and then suddenly *WHAM* you come to a crashing halt?
Well, that's about how I can summarize my run through this puzzle (and my only explanation to the Cubs early playoff exit. There's always next year.) I got off to a torrid pace by my Friday standards, throwing down most of the 5–7 letter acrosses in the middle of the grid without so much as a second thought. And once HAIRDYE, CAPONE, COLD ONE, TINKERED and GENERAL TSO were all firmly in place, I was able to parse the long downs without much trouble. Aided by the all-too-familiar ALBA, APSE, ET AL, I cruised through the rest of the grid and was sure my screen would play the *NYT Puzzle Success* jingle ...
... until it didn't. Something was wrong. And it took me some truly excruciating extra innings before I found a fatal flaw in the SW which brought this otherwise smooth-sailing Friday endeavor to an unglamorous end. CLEAN and ONES are both words! Of course! But alas, not those we needed today.
I enjoyed this puzzle all the way down to the last DRAM. The triple stacks in the NW and SE are pretty original (though I was ~shocked~ when IN THE CLOSET didn't fit for 56a: Waiting to come out), the long downs (with the exception of the bit-too-clunky SET A RECORD) are great, and there's a happy blend of generational answers — from "Family Ties" to FLASH MOBS. Though we can all agree that the DAB is for all ages.
And while I did feel like I actually learned a lot from this puzzle, I do wish that the clue on TANEY (see above) captured more of his grave historical significance — especially given ... well, all of American history since Dred Scott.
Bullets:
- DEAD LINE (35d: Newsroom concern) — Super relevant, especially for my work tomorrow! Check out Apple Podcasts in the evening for my show's newest episode.
- PERIWINKLE (15a: Purple-blue shade or the flower it's named after) — My proudest achievement as a colorblind person was knowing how to spell chartreuse and what it was.
- CLICHE (41a: Like a kid in a candy store, e.g.) — Love the cluing on this. But as a radio producer and sports fan, *hate* cliches. My personal pet peeves are "take it one game at a time" and "blood, sweat and tears." Let me know yours in the comments.
- ARIL (48d: Seed case) — As a precocious kindergartner, I memorized a song about different plant parts and performed it for my parents. Yes there is video evidence, and yes it was an all-time great song.
[Follow Matthew on Twitter for podcast recs and countdowns until the 2019 baseball season]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]