Constructor: Trenton Charlson
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (5:17)
![]()
THEME: none
Word of the Day: DANAE (51D: Mother of Perseus) —
![]()
This was definitely a puzzbro puzz. Trying very, very hard to let you know it's NEXT GEN, man. Look at all the lingo and argot and very-now (or at least very-this-century) turns of phrase. It's made for FRATBROs who go to the gym a lot and say things like "yo, bro, this one time when I was ON VACAY in SYDNEY, showin off my SIX PACK by the OCEAN, you know [high five] I met this girl ASHANTI and we stole this shitty COROLLA and just drove around listening to oldies like NE-YO and J-LO but then the POPO started chasing us and we were like 'SEE YA!' and led them on this long chase to the EDGE of the city until eventually we ditched the CAR down this DEAD END street and just ran for it, and all of this definitely totally actually happened ... bro. Hey you wanna go catch the latest APATOW movie? Cool." Whatever, I'll take aggressively "hello, fellow youths!" over tired and stale any day.
I really don't like when tech stuff stands in for "fresh fill." Generations used to be defined by music, style, etc. and now it's just operating systems or devices or whatever. You can shove your NEXT GEN IO DEVICE (whatever that is), Ugh. I am an Old-in-training, this is my attitude toward the uncritical embrace of all things tech, and it will Never Change. BOO HISS! The SE corner here is one million times harder than the rest of the puzzle, which (for me) was quite easy. First off, did you all know how to spell SMEAGOL?! Dear lord, that name looks Nuts. I never made it through all the Tolkien books (and regretted making it through the interminable Tolkien movies) so his name looks bonkers to me. Also we call them FRAT BOYs, so that messed me up. All the Acrosses in the SE were not easy for me, especially EASY TEN (63A: Roll of 4 and 6, in craps). Maybe FRATBROs with a ratpack fetish (the fratpack!) know that term. Anyway, all of my struggles were in this general region, but they weren't that struggly, honestly. Ended up with below-average time, and that's with the early-morning solving disadvantage. So I'm old enough to be irked by the youthful pretension, not old enough to be fazed by it. Sweet spot!
Gotta run. To the gym. Not to get RIPPED, but to engage in a futile struggle against body fall-apart and eventual death. It's fun!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (5:17)
Word of the Day: DANAE (51D: Mother of Perseus) —
In Greek mythology, Danaë (/ˈdæneɪ.i,-ii/, as personal name also /dəˈnaɪ/; Greek: Δανάη, Ancient Greek: [daˈna.ɛː], Modern: [ðaˈna.i]) was the daughter, and only child of King Acrisius of Argos and his wife Queen Eurydice. She was the mother of the hero Perseus by Zeus. She was credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium during the Bronze Age. (wikipedia)
• • •
I really don't like when tech stuff stands in for "fresh fill." Generations used to be defined by music, style, etc. and now it's just operating systems or devices or whatever. You can shove your NEXT GEN IO DEVICE (whatever that is), Ugh. I am an Old-in-training, this is my attitude toward the uncritical embrace of all things tech, and it will Never Change. BOO HISS! The SE corner here is one million times harder than the rest of the puzzle, which (for me) was quite easy. First off, did you all know how to spell SMEAGOL?! Dear lord, that name looks Nuts. I never made it through all the Tolkien books (and regretted making it through the interminable Tolkien movies) so his name looks bonkers to me. Also we call them FRAT BOYs, so that messed me up. All the Acrosses in the SE were not easy for me, especially EASY TEN (63A: Roll of 4 and 6, in craps). Maybe FRATBROs with a ratpack fetish (the fratpack!) know that term. Anyway, all of my struggles were in this general region, but they weren't that struggly, honestly. Ended up with below-average time, and that's with the early-morning solving disadvantage. So I'm old enough to be irked by the youthful pretension, not old enough to be fazed by it. Sweet spot!
Gotta run. To the gym. Not to get RIPPED, but to engage in a futile struggle against body fall-apart and eventual death. It's fun!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]