Constructor: John Guzzetta and Michael Hawkins
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (5:29, still half-asleep)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: John BONHAM (1D: Drummer John of Led Zeppelin) —
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This puzzle was trying very hard to be current and now and fully of whimsy, and on occasion it succeeded. "FOR THE WIN" isn't terrible "modern" any more, though I guess if you're measuring time by centuries, then sure, it belongs to the "modern" era, insofar as it belongs largely to the Internet (33D: Modern cry of success). I liked seeing it, at any rate. I less liked seeing FUNEMPLOYED, which is one of those grating cutesy euphemisms for terrible things that Americans invent to mask their deep dark misery (2D: Between jobs and loving it). Thumbs-up for FLAT BROKE right next door, though (3D: Busted). Give me good ol' plain talk any day. Overall, I never really connected to this one, possibly because the puzzle was just too name-y with names I didn't care too much about, possibly because the clues kept trying awfully hard to be sort of half-tricksy, and that gets irksome after a while. "Ha ha, our clue is a verb! You thought it was a noun! Isn't that clever!?"—yeah, I guess (18A: Piques = WHETS). The longer answers didn't provide much of a thrill, and there was too much shorter stuff (the grid feels oddly choppy and full of short stuff for a late-week themeless). It's by no means a bad grid, but aesthetically it just wasn't for me. I think they lost me at EAR OF CORN (57A: Something to shuck), which is somewhere between PILE OF DIRT and HEART OF DARKNESS on the "___ OF ___ Acceptability Scale." It's a stand-alone phrase ... but barely.
Forgot what Pfizer was (thought they made faucets?) (note: that's Pfister, ugh) and since the clue was one of those horrible non-specific ones, I needed a bunch of crosses to get VIAGRA (42D: Pfizer product). Had AWAKE before AWARE and so took way to long to get CLAIM TO FAME and the whole SE. Don't care about "Dr. Who" or (more so) "Top Chef," and never heard of READY ROOM (14A: Military pilot's waiting area), so the puzzle was probably entertaining someone, but it wasn't me. I mean, [Big name in yo-yos]??? (DUNCAN). Yeah, extremely not-for-me. Oh, NOT COOL—I did like that (38D: "That was totally out of line"). That answer was cool and not totally out of line. I have to go to the gym now. Bye.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (5:29, still half-asleep)
Word of the Day: John BONHAM (1D: Drummer John of Led Zeppelin) —
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer for the British rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast bass drumming, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove,[1] he is regarded by many as the greatest and most influential rock drummer in history.[2][3][4] Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number one in their list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time". (wikipedia)
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Forgot what Pfizer was (thought they made faucets?) (note: that's Pfister, ugh) and since the clue was one of those horrible non-specific ones, I needed a bunch of crosses to get VIAGRA (42D: Pfizer product). Had AWAKE before AWARE and so took way to long to get CLAIM TO FAME and the whole SE. Don't care about "Dr. Who" or (more so) "Top Chef," and never heard of READY ROOM (14A: Military pilot's waiting area), so the puzzle was probably entertaining someone, but it wasn't me. I mean, [Big name in yo-yos]??? (DUNCAN). Yeah, extremely not-for-me. Oh, NOT COOL—I did like that (38D: "That was totally out of line"). That answer was cool and not totally out of line. I have to go to the gym now. Bye.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]