Material for Book of Dead / FRI 3-1-19 / Second longest US #1 hit after American Pie / I.Q. test pioneer / World's most powerful person per 2018 Forbest list

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (6:54)

THEME: none

Word of the Day: HYACINTH (37A: Bloom with showy clusters) —

Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous, fragrant flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. These are commonly called hyacinths /ˈhaɪəsɪnθs/. The genus is native to the eastern Mediterranean (from the south of Turkey through to northern part of the region of Palestine).

Several species of Brodiea, Scilla, and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with the word "hyacinth" in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genus Muscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths. (wikipedia)

Happy March! Nice to see C.C.'s name today—without her, the female constructor count would be truly abysmal (she's got three of the eight woman-constructed puzzles so far this year). I usually enjoy her work, but today's puzzle felt dull and sloggy. Fridays should glisten and sparkle, and while there are a couple of winners today (XI JIN PING and "YOU RULE!"), most of the rest of the grid felt like filler, and OLD, STALE filler at that (note: don't put [Hackneyed] as a clue in your puzzle *twice*—it gives people ideas). I could not have been less on this puzzle's wavelength if I'd tried, making wave after wave of mistakes because I just couldn't figure out what the clues were going for, or figure out what some of the phrases even were. FINAL SALE is probably my least favorite themeless 1-Across of all time. I had FINAL SA-E before I had any idea what it could be (1A: Point of no return?). Of course I thought tennis at first, but after that, after FINAL ... nothing. Even looking at it now, I don't see how this is a good term. What context do you even use it in? "All Sales Are Final" is a concept I know. But FINAL SALE, not so much. And it's over a single, sad, lonely (though presumably fresh-smelling) ODOR EATER. It's just sad up there. SAPOR is sad (I had TASTE) (6D: Flavor). ATILT is very sad (I had FALSE) (7D: Not true). LENDERS, boring (I had BANKERS) (8D: People of interest?). NO JEANS may be right but oof does that sound off. It's phrased like a posted warning sign, but presumably there are no such warning signs posted around your office. SITS IDLE, RESTS EASY ... this is soporific stuff. PINE OIL SEASIDE ... nothing to get excited about here. Like "HEY, JUDE," it just kept going when I wanted it to be over.


So in addition to the three consecutive Down mistakes I made in the NW, I also did TSK / JAKARTA instead of TUT / ANTIGUA (I know I know I know JAKARTA is not in the "West Indies," it was the "K" from TSK that got me, man, the "K," I'm only human) (48A: When doubled, "For shame!" / 39D: Island in the West Indies). Also GET BACK before HIT BACK (37D: Retaliate). Also I could not have picked a HYACINTH out of a line-up before today and needed the "Y" before I could see it. Also, How *you* DOIN'? :/


See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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