Constructor: Kathy Wienberg
Relative difficulty: Challenging (for a Tuesday) (4:07)
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THEME: ATHLETIC CUP (60A: Protective sportswear ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across)— ends of themers are all words that can proceed "Cup," each cup being a sports championship of some kind:
Theme answers:
"Beetlejuice" coulda gotten you GEENA DAVIS *and* WINONA RYDER.
Wow, nowhere near my wheelhouse, despite having a couple of '80s movie stars in it. I do not mind the theme at all, despite its groin-oriented revealer, but the fill and clues, oof. So many issues, both with my ignorance and the puzzle's own awkwardness / ugliness. So I don't really know FLAT STANLEY. At all. Maybe I've seen it referred to somewhere, but ??? So I had FLAT STEPHEN. Which fit perfectly with RTE for 6D: GPS display. ETA!? OK, but ugh. Ugh for a Tuesday. [Band at a royal wedding] is a TIARA!? Oh, *that* kind of band. Not musical. Not a sash or a ring. I can't really connect "band" and TIARA. At all. And I own a TIARA that I got once as a Worst Handwriting award in a crossword tournament. Not seeing how it's a "band." And then RAYED!?!?! Jeez (thelma &) louise! What a dumb word and dumber clue. If I'd had all day to come up with words to describe Lady Liberty's crown, I'd never hit RAYED. And what is with the simplistic and stupid clue on ENEMIES (21A: Communists and capitalists, e.g.). There is No Necessary Reason those two groups should be ENEMIES. That's a war term. We (nominally "capitalist" USA) are often friendly with countries that have very different economic and political systems from our own. Take the SAUDIS, for instance (seriously, please take them, far far away—super bad timing on that clue, man):
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And we normalized relations with Vietnam decades ago, and they're still technically a communist country, right? ENEMIES is some jingoistic bullshit.
More trouble in the SW, where I couldn't get RED despite having one and then two letters (59A: What might bring you to a screeching halt). Letting RED stand on its own, with no mention of "light," is not inaccurate (we certainly use it as a substantive adjective all the time), but also Not Tuesday. See also COULEES, yikes. WE TRY is ridiculously contrived—not hard, as it was my first guess, but absurd, which caused me not to trust it. Then there was [Tops] for ACMES, when [Tops] can mean roughly a million things and ACMES is a plural you'd only ever see in crosswords. Very rough.
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Relative difficulty: Challenging (for a Tuesday) (4:07)
Theme answers:
- FLAT STANLEY (17A: Kid-lit characgter who travels via envelope)
- GEENA DAVIS (24A: Thelma's portrayer in "Thelma & Louise")
- WINONA RYDER (36A: Co-star of "Stranger Things")
- SMALL WORLD (51A: "I can't believe we both know him")
Flat Stanley is an American children's book series written by Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 – December 3, 2003). // Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures is an American children's book series written by different authors such as Sara Pennypacker, Josh Greenhut, and David Ross. The summary is about Stanley traveling the world in some places. // The [original] book recounts the adventures of Stanley Lambchop after surviving being crushed while sleeping by a falling bulletin board. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, being rolled up to go out to the park and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. One special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends in California by being mailed in an envelope. Stanley even helps catch some art museumthieves by posing as a painting on the wall. Eventually, Stanley wearies of flatness and Arthur restores his proper shape with a bicycle pump. (wikipedia)
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"Beetlejuice" coulda gotten you GEENA DAVIS *and* WINONA RYDER.
Wow, nowhere near my wheelhouse, despite having a couple of '80s movie stars in it. I do not mind the theme at all, despite its groin-oriented revealer, but the fill and clues, oof. So many issues, both with my ignorance and the puzzle's own awkwardness / ugliness. So I don't really know FLAT STANLEY. At all. Maybe I've seen it referred to somewhere, but ??? So I had FLAT STEPHEN. Which fit perfectly with RTE for 6D: GPS display. ETA!? OK, but ugh. Ugh for a Tuesday. [Band at a royal wedding] is a TIARA!? Oh, *that* kind of band. Not musical. Not a sash or a ring. I can't really connect "band" and TIARA. At all. And I own a TIARA that I got once as a Worst Handwriting award in a crossword tournament. Not seeing how it's a "band." And then RAYED!?!?! Jeez (thelma &) louise! What a dumb word and dumber clue. If I'd had all day to come up with words to describe Lady Liberty's crown, I'd never hit RAYED. And what is with the simplistic and stupid clue on ENEMIES (21A: Communists and capitalists, e.g.). There is No Necessary Reason those two groups should be ENEMIES. That's a war term. We (nominally "capitalist" USA) are often friendly with countries that have very different economic and political systems from our own. Take the SAUDIS, for instance (seriously, please take them, far far away—super bad timing on that clue, man):
More trouble in the SW, where I couldn't get RED despite having one and then two letters (59A: What might bring you to a screeching halt). Letting RED stand on its own, with no mention of "light," is not inaccurate (we certainly use it as a substantive adjective all the time), but also Not Tuesday. See also COULEES, yikes. WE TRY is ridiculously contrived—not hard, as it was my first guess, but absurd, which caused me not to trust it. Then there was [Tops] for ACMES, when [Tops] can mean roughly a million things and ACMES is a plural you'd only ever see in crosswords. Very rough.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]