Mahi mahi by another name / SAT 10-6-18 / Oscar-winning 1974 documentary about Vietnam war / Hungarian-born mathematician / Galvanized chemically / Counterpart of pizzicato in music

Constructor: Lewis Dean Hyatt

Relative difficulty: Medium (7:19)

THEME: none

Word of the Day: SZA (10A: Singer with the 2017 #1 R&B album "Ctrl") —

Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1990), known professionally as SZA (/ˈsɪzə/ SIZ-ə), is an American singer and songwriter. SZA was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, later relocating to Maplewood, New Jersey. In October 2012, SZA self-released her debut EP, See.SZA.Run, which she then followed up with her second EP, titled S, in April 2013. In July 2013, it was revealed that she had signed to the hip hop record label Top Dawg Entertainment, through which she released Z, her third EP and first retail release, in April 2014.

SZA's debut studio album, Ctrl, was released on June 9, 2017, to universal acclaim from music critics. It debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album and its songs were nominated for four Grammy Awards, while SZA was nominated for Best New Artist at the 60th annual ceremony. Ctrl was ranked as the best album of 2017 by Time. (wikipedia)

This grid was weird, in that when I looked at it, I thought it was a mid-week grid—looks like it's got 74 words or so, but actually has just 66 (?!). It's that choppy middle, and the lack of discrete segmentation, that makes it look more themed than not. I was a little worried we were gonna get a themed puzzle on Saturday, and you know how I feel about that (I'm against). But nah, it's just a themeless, and a pretty ordinary one to boot. Nothing special going on here. It all felt very safe and OK, very ... lowest common denominator—not too much of the olden, not too much of the new, not too much of the highbrow, not too much of the pop ... lots of familiar phrases that the whole family can enjoy. There are some high points and low points, but overall ... it happened, and I ZINCED (er, I mean WINCED) hardly at all.


Speaking of ZINCED, this is the single stupidest moment of the entire puzzle. And I say this as someone who loves that SZA album and is generally happy to see her in my puzzles. But you cannot opt for the ludicrous ZINCED over more common and non-insane words like WINCED or MINCED. First, because the latter two offer so many more (and better) options for cluing (this is one of the most important reasons you don't go the narrow, technical route with your fill If You Don't Have To); second, because you've put a pop culture name in the grid that is completely uninferrable *and* you've crossed it with a ludicrously technical word. If you don't know SZA (and I know you people and have been knowing you for a long time now, so ... yeah, LOTTA you people did not know her), it's totally plausible that you end up in a weird guessing game with that middle square. The clue is not clearly asking for "zinc" (not "clearly" to a non-chemist, anyway). So you have needlessly added a stupid word and needlessly created a potential pop culture Natick square, all so that ... what, you could get a "Z" in the grid. Again, love SZA, pro-SZA, but in this instance, ugh. Also, this smacks of an editorial change (just a gut feeling—but this grid seems like it woulda had "M" there to begin with, and someone in editorial decided to get cute trying to avoid the crosswordese of SMA. Shoulda gotten cute trying to avoid the horror that is DORADO, imho).


Wait, no, there is something worse than that "Z" square. I forgot about the clue on DEAF. Again, talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Why would you clue DEAF as [Unmindful]!?!?! Do you really have no idea how this is going to land with a good segment of your solving population. Here's a taste.

And before you get all "well, actually..." on me, here you go:

Don't come at me with your tertiary dictionary definitions. You had an opportunity here to clue DEAF any number of ways, any number of neutral ways, any number of "let's use a DEAF person as a clue" ways. But you did this casual, sloppy thing where you equate disability with deficiency. This is a cruel world, a world where cruelty seems to be the very gas in the tank, and it would be great if we had an editorial team that was at least half-aware of the cultural context, that could read the room, and that could really watch out for racist / sexist / generally discriminatory baloney. 

Five Things:

• 18A: Like some pans (SCATHING) — I had such an unhappy face on when I was trying to piece this answer together. Once I had no choice but to go with SCATHING, I realized this was not the "pans" of "pots and pans," but the "pans" of "his reviews of crosswords are more often pans than raves."
• 25A: Hungarian-born mathematician Paul (ERDOS) — er ... ok. I don't know this, but it's hauntingly familiar. I managed to make EULER known to myself. ERDOS has yet to get assimilated to my brainscape.
• 55A: Mahi-mahi, by another name (DORADO)— DOR, A DO, a female d'oh! (what the hell is happening here!?)
• 54A: Prone to sarcasm (IRONICAL) — no one but no one is saying this word except, fittingly, IRONICALly. 
• 15A: Cookie for the calorie-conscious (OREO THIN) — I went with OREO LITE (if you're actually "calorie-conscious," whatever that is, try OREO NOT-AT-ALL). I also thought about THAT'S THE TICKET for 16D: "Now you're talking!" I think those were my only notable missteps.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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