Constructor: Andy Kravis
Relative difficulty: Medium (10:33)
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THEME:"Parlor Tricks" — familiar phrases clued as if they were orders at an ice cream parlor:
Theme answers:
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Here's to a challenging, entertaining, representative, and inclusive NYT crossword experience in 2019! (Hey, I can hope!). Now on to the puzzle!
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I love this type of theme—it's the good kind of whimsy—but this one in particular got very confusing to me because ... well, there are not one not two but three valences for ever themer. There's the ice cream order word, the final word (1), which is repurposed in the context of the overall phrase (2), but then there's the repurposing of the *first* word in the phrase, which often took things into yet another context. At first, I thought it was gonna be a simple two-context deal, because a float is an ice cream parlor order as well as something in a parade. A grand marshal might also ride a PARADE FLOAT. So, two contexts—ice cream shop, and parade. But then the others. A malt is an ice cream parlor order, and a SINGLE MALT is a kind of scotch, but then there's this bachelor ... he's just single. No necessary connection to the scotch. So ice cream, scotch, unmarried dude: three contexts. I kept getting turned around, wondering what, for instance, a dental hygienist had to do with SUCTION CUPs (nothing, of course—the hygienist provides suction; nothing in the clue relates to the plain meaning of the answer in the grid). So this is all misperception on my part; since the first themer had a clear connection between the person ordering at the parlor and the *complete* answer in the grid, I kept wanting subsequent answers to do the same, and they just wouldn't. It was weird.
Also there were names that were just beyond me. All supermodels? Beyond me. Don't care. Do not follow, do not care. Don't even like the dumb term "supermodel." I guess I know some classic supermodels, like say IMAN or GISELE, but the rest, pfft, pass. So ADRIANA? No way. Also no way (for a bit): ASHLEE Simpson. How long has it been since she had a hit. I barely remember. 2004 hit? Wasn't really paying attention back then. Also, didn't know SULLIVAN at all. Is that the SULLIVAN of "Gilbert and Sullivan?" Yup, it is. "Yeomen of the Guard" = meaningless to me. I assume it's from "HMS Pinafore" or some such musical. COHIBA totally eluded me (weirdly, I know ELROPO much better). There's a HARD ROCK *HOTEL*? LOL, I was like "Cafe.... nope." And that was the end of that. No idea. What is an EYEPIT? What (I mean *whaaaat*) is a BOATLIFT? Oof, that was the worst. I had BOATLINE (I mean, why not, makes as much sense) and thus TRANSIT CONE (!@?!?!?!0) for a while. Rough. It's not that the puzzle was hard; it wasn't. It just felt bumpy and odd to me. Not bad by any means. I just didn't groove on it the way I wish I had.
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Five things:
P.S. here are some ballerinas backstage at the NYC ballet solving the recent NYT Super Mega Crossword (photo via Brendan Emmett Quigley)
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Relative difficulty: Medium (10:33)
Theme answers:
- PARADE FLOAT (23A: At the ice cream parlor, the grand marshal ordered a ...)
- SINGLE MALT (39A: The confirmed bachelor ordered a ...)
- TRAFFIC CONE (42A: The crossing guard ordered a ...)
- KARAOKE BAR (67A: The amateur singer ordered a ...)
- SUCTION CUP (70A: The dental hygienist ordered a ...)
- HARLEM SHAKE (92A: The Apollo Theater usher ordered a ...)
- BAKING SODA (97A: The pastry chef ordered a ...)
- INSIDE SCOOP (115A: And the homebody ordered an ...)
(now rare) The eye socket; the concave area of the face around each eye. (wiktionary)
• • •
THANK YOU to all who contributed to my blog this past week. It's been lovely to hear from so many different people from around the country (the world, even). I really appreciate the support, as well as the warm words, not-so-warm words, encouragement, comments, suggestions, memories, and the occasional cartoon!
I have no good way of gauging how many readers I have or where they are, so it's nice to have a week where people check in from all over. You are of course free to contribute at any time during the year—you can always find the PayPal button and snail mail address in the sidebar of this blog. But this is the last time I'll put this info in the body of my write-up until 2020 (!):
Rex Parker c/o Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905
Here's to a challenging, entertaining, representative, and inclusive NYT crossword experience in 2019! (Hey, I can hope!). Now on to the puzzle!
• • •
I love this type of theme—it's the good kind of whimsy—but this one in particular got very confusing to me because ... well, there are not one not two but three valences for ever themer. There's the ice cream order word, the final word (1), which is repurposed in the context of the overall phrase (2), but then there's the repurposing of the *first* word in the phrase, which often took things into yet another context. At first, I thought it was gonna be a simple two-context deal, because a float is an ice cream parlor order as well as something in a parade. A grand marshal might also ride a PARADE FLOAT. So, two contexts—ice cream shop, and parade. But then the others. A malt is an ice cream parlor order, and a SINGLE MALT is a kind of scotch, but then there's this bachelor ... he's just single. No necessary connection to the scotch. So ice cream, scotch, unmarried dude: three contexts. I kept getting turned around, wondering what, for instance, a dental hygienist had to do with SUCTION CUPs (nothing, of course—the hygienist provides suction; nothing in the clue relates to the plain meaning of the answer in the grid). So this is all misperception on my part; since the first themer had a clear connection between the person ordering at the parlor and the *complete* answer in the grid, I kept wanting subsequent answers to do the same, and they just wouldn't. It was weird.
Also there were names that were just beyond me. All supermodels? Beyond me. Don't care. Do not follow, do not care. Don't even like the dumb term "supermodel." I guess I know some classic supermodels, like say IMAN or GISELE, but the rest, pfft, pass. So ADRIANA? No way. Also no way (for a bit): ASHLEE Simpson. How long has it been since she had a hit. I barely remember. 2004 hit? Wasn't really paying attention back then. Also, didn't know SULLIVAN at all. Is that the SULLIVAN of "Gilbert and Sullivan?" Yup, it is. "Yeomen of the Guard" = meaningless to me. I assume it's from "HMS Pinafore" or some such musical. COHIBA totally eluded me (weirdly, I know ELROPO much better). There's a HARD ROCK *HOTEL*? LOL, I was like "Cafe.... nope." And that was the end of that. No idea. What is an EYEPIT? What (I mean *whaaaat*) is a BOATLIFT? Oof, that was the worst. I had BOATLINE (I mean, why not, makes as much sense) and thus TRANSIT CONE (!@?!?!?!0) for a while. Rough. It's not that the puzzle was hard; it wasn't. It just felt bumpy and odd to me. Not bad by any means. I just didn't groove on it the way I wish I had.
- 28A: Weak-minded type (DOTARD)— had the D- and wrote in .... DIMWIT! I really really didn't want to let that one go.
- 92A: The Apollo Theater usher ordered a ... (HARLEM SHAKE)— LOL six-year-old memes that were popular for a nanosecond (i.e less than two months). Nice. I'm all for being "current," but this ... we need a name for this. Something that's current but then becomes decidedly dated almost before you can finish putting it into a puzzle...
- 56D: Writing of W.S. Gilbert (LIBRETTO)— Oh, hey, look ... a little hidden Gilbert & SULLIVAN dealie. (I struggled a bit with this one, too, shocker)
- 22A: I.S.P. option (AOL) — I get ISP and IPO confused. I would like to think that is why (having the "L" in place) I wrote in URL here, but ... honestly URL doesn't make sense either way
- 78A: Home planet of TV's Alf (MELMAC)— again? Again with MELMAC? That is two times in less than two months. And ... I mean ... that last time (in November) was 27 years (!!!!) after its last appearance (a 1991 debut—Gene Maleska at his wildest!). Let's put it back in the time capsule. ORK is more than enough 80s-sitcom-home-planet knowledge for one solver to have to carry around.
P.S. here are some ballerinas backstage at the NYC ballet solving the recent NYT Super Mega Crossword (photo via Brendan Emmett Quigley)
