Constructor: Queena Mewers and Alex Eaton-Salners
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (not sure of my time 'cause I got suckered into reading the stupid Note, so the clock was running while I was trying to understand what the hell it meant) (actual solving time probably in the high 3s?)
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THEME: English / Spanish— Downs and Acrosses that share a first letter have an English word in the Across and the same word in Spanish in the Down (apparently in the paper the clues are all printed in one giant list (???). I don't see the point, but OK)
Theme answers:
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Lots of problems with this one, but the biggest problem is: Who cares? I don't understand the point. English in the Across, Spanish in the Down. So what? Random words, many of them actually just solid crosswordese (ESTE!? Why would anyone be glad to see that?). I sincerely don't understand how this puzzle could be pleasurable beyond the generally pleasurable feeling you have when you get the idea and the puzzle is doable. HALLOO? (11D: Call to the hounds) Terrible. I NEED A NAP!?!?! Yeah, well I ATE TWO COOKIES, but you don't see me putting that in a grid. Yikes. This puzzle's whole raison d'être is beyond me. You just do technically odd stuff ... just to do it? That's not constructing, that's noodling. ERIEPA, lol, no no no. I am not an ADORER of that answer. DIYER hurts my soul. And does a DIYER really "practice self-help"?? (52D: One practicing self-help, informally). Bizarre contention, or bizarre phrasing, at any rate. ALTE? ORI?!? The very existence of this puzzle is baffling. Perhaps the most irksome part of the puzzle, given how Spanish-centric it is, is its total middle-finger disregard for the importance of the tilde. ESPANOL? In a puzzle that is *about* Spanish, you're gonna go with non-tilde'd ESPANOL? ESPANOL? When I Google it, Google asks me "Did you mean ESPAÑOL"? I wish I did, Google. I wish I did. Again, I refer you to the aforementioned adjective "baffling." I also didn't appreciate the cheapness of the clue on NIGHT (54A: Prime-time time), which I initially had as EIGHT, of course. NIGHT is dreadfully non-specific and only there to trip you up. If you're gonna try to kneecap solvers, your actual answer (the correct answer) better be spot on. NIGHT ... is not.
My theme Downs all said [see notepad] so that was slightly confusing, but eventually I figured out that SUN was not crossed by SET or SON (?) but by the Spanish word for "SUN": SOL. After that, all themers were easy and boring, and since the fill was wobbly and weak in many places, there just wasn't much joy to be had. Had trouble with HALLOO (because what the *&$^?), and then later with NIGHT (as I said above), and then finally, in that SW corner, with a number of answers. Never heard of DIPDYE, and had TEACUP before TEAPOT (47D: It might be left holding the bag). DIYER also gave me some trouble (because dear lord look at it, it's a monstrosity). Still not over the un-tilde'd ESPANOL. Puzzles routinely disregard the tilde, but *this* one ... really shouldn't have. It's a glaring omission. Now *I* NEED A NAP. Good night.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld (Twitter @rexparker / #NYTXW)
PS With half a woman constructor today, the 2019 count of women constructors is up to .... 4! (out of 37)
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (not sure of my time 'cause I got suckered into reading the stupid Note, so the clock was running while I was trying to understand what the hell it meant) (actual solving time probably in the high 3s?)
Theme answers:
- SUN / SOL
- MOTHER / MADRE
- FIRE / FUEGO
- HELLO / HOLA
- CITY / CIUDAD
- NIGHT / NOCHE
- EAST / ESTE
- ENGLISH / ESPANOL :(
Dip dye (also known as "tip dyeing") is a hair coloring style that involves dipping the ends of the hair into dye. The dye used can be either a naturally colored dye or a bright colored dye, the latter being the more popular choice.The method has become increasingly popular as a result of social media and its usage by celebrities. Dip dye originates from the process of tie dyeing clothing (especially T-shirts). (wikipedia)
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My theme Downs all said [see notepad] so that was slightly confusing, but eventually I figured out that SUN was not crossed by SET or SON (?) but by the Spanish word for "SUN": SOL. After that, all themers were easy and boring, and since the fill was wobbly and weak in many places, there just wasn't much joy to be had. Had trouble with HALLOO (because what the *&$^?), and then later with NIGHT (as I said above), and then finally, in that SW corner, with a number of answers. Never heard of DIPDYE, and had TEACUP before TEAPOT (47D: It might be left holding the bag). DIYER also gave me some trouble (because dear lord look at it, it's a monstrosity). Still not over the un-tilde'd ESPANOL. Puzzles routinely disregard the tilde, but *this* one ... really shouldn't have. It's a glaring omission. Now *I* NEED A NAP. Good night.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld (Twitter @rexparker / #NYTXW)
PS With half a woman constructor today, the 2019 count of women constructors is up to .... 4! (out of 37)
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]