Constructor: Peter A. Collins
Relative difficulty: Easy (8:12)
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THEME:"Help!"— the theme is three-word phrases that follow the first-letter pattern "S.O.S." (109A: Critical message that's a hint to the six longest entries in this puzzle)
Theme answers:
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Well this theme has been done. Repeatedly. How do I know. Because I did it, in my debut NYT puzzle back in 2010. Mine was a regular 15x15 grid (as the theme did not seem like it could support a Sunday puzzle...). After mine was published, Peter Gordon sent me a version of the theme that *he* had done years before me. So I'm not claiming ownership of the theme. And I'm not even claiming my puzzle was any good—it was my debut, and it had some horrible fill, and even a little Scrabble-f***ing going on in the SW corner. I am claiming, though, that in this era of easy access to massive crossword databases, and in this era of veteran constructors (like today's) being paid special higher rates for their work, a constructor should not be floating recycled themes, and the editor should not be okaying them. This one does have the "bonus" feature of black squares that seem to spell out "S.O.S." (a feature I noticed only after I saw my screenshot of the grid as a thumbnail). But still, this kind of rehashing should be embarrassing. Of course no one involved actually *will* be embarrassed. Not really their style. I actually have lots of sympathy for constructors who unknowingly replicate themes. Happens all the time. But your minimum due diligence is searching your revealer in the xwordinfo database. That is the barest of minimums. And either no one did that or no one cared. Best Puzzle In The World!!!!
This puzzle was very easy, so it had that going for it. I have never ever heard "SAIL ON, SAILOR." Wait, have I? Hang on [calls up Spotify...] Oof, no. Absolutely not. What in the world is this???
It peaked at No. 79 (!?) on the American singles chart. Very weak S.O.S. answer. I had this answer as "SAILOR, SAILOR"! and thus DAR for 106D: Skilled judoist (DAN), which seemed, and was, very wrong. I fixed it eventually. I know DAN only as a skill level? Like a belt, in karate?? Or that's what I thought, anyway. That whole SW corner was kind of a train wreck on many levels. It's got AVE crossing AVENUE, which, I see you trying to make AVE Latin there (117D: "___, Imperator!"), and nice try, but no. RSTLNE is pretty godawful as fill. If I'd heard of SNOOK before today, I forgot it. So yes, much roughness, of all kinds. But overall the puzzle was incredibly easy. My second fastest Sunday in the record-my-times era.
What else? I don't know. There are answers. Some good, some not. Nothing remarkable. MODISTE is a pretty odd word (52D: Dress seller). I would've thought that word meant something closer to "fashionista," not a mere dress vendor. I thought the best clue was 32A: Rock maybe (PUT TO SLEEP), though it's a bit on-the-nose for this puzzle, which might very well have put me to sleep had I not been in speed mode (I could tell I had a shot at a personal best, so I was pretty amped for most of the puzzle; I didn't even know the puzzle had a theme until I was finished). Going with the proper Greek plural on the robot spelling? Bold (20A: Robots => AUTOMATA). Domo AUTOMATA, Mr. Robota!
Hey, so, two things. The New Yorker expanded its crossword team to include Aimee Lucido and Erik Agard, and they're publishing two puzzles a week now: a Weekly and a Weekend. The first Weekend puzzle just came out on April 5, and it's by Erik. The puzzles at the New Yorker are always first rate. They have managed to secure an extraordinary pool of constructing talent. It's such a promising sign that they are expanding the crossword. I hope they keep building the puzzle and increasing its visibility. Now if they would just put the puzzle(s) in the damned paper magazine! Do the puzzles here, and be sure to watch this video of Anna Shechtman and Erik Agard talking about crosswords because they are brilliant, funny, and adorable (and young!).
Also, The Atlantic has a crossword now! It's called ... The Atlantic Crossword! (bold!). It's a daily mini puzzle that gets harder as the week goes on. The puzzles are made by Caleb Madison, and they are sweet little treats—very contemporary, packed with current, popular, colloquial, newsworthy stuff. Take a few minutes each weekday and solve them here!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld (Twitter @rexparker / #NYTXW)
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (8:12)
Theme answers:
- START OUT SLOWLY (3D:: Not exactly hit the ground running)
- STRUTTED OUR STUFF (?!?!) (7D: Showed 'em what we've got)
- SNAKE OIL SALESMAN (41D: Slippery vendor)
- "SULTANS OF SWING" (56D: 1978 Dire Straits hit)
- SAME OLD STORY (24A: Tired tale)
- "SAIL ON, SAILOR" (1973 Beach Boys song)
The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a species of marine fish in the familyCentropomidae of the order Perciformes. The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus Sciaena; Sciaena undecimradiatus and Centropomus undecimradiatus are obsolete synonyms for the species. [...] Considered an excellent food fish, the common snook is fished commercially and foreign-caught fish are sold in the US. When cooking snook, the skin must be removed, because it imparts an unpleasant taste, described as soapy, to the fish.Snook are also prized as game fish, being known for their great fighting capabilities. The IGFA All Tackle World Record for Common snook stands at 53lb 10oz (24.32kg) caught by Gilbert Ponzi near Parismina Ranch, Costa Rica. Previous world records were caught in Fort Myers, Florida and Gatun Spillway Canal Zone, Panama. (wikipedia)
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This puzzle was very easy, so it had that going for it. I have never ever heard "SAIL ON, SAILOR." Wait, have I? Hang on [calls up Spotify...] Oof, no. Absolutely not. What in the world is this???
It peaked at No. 79 (!?) on the American singles chart. Very weak S.O.S. answer. I had this answer as "SAILOR, SAILOR"! and thus DAR for 106D: Skilled judoist (DAN), which seemed, and was, very wrong. I fixed it eventually. I know DAN only as a skill level? Like a belt, in karate?? Or that's what I thought, anyway. That whole SW corner was kind of a train wreck on many levels. It's got AVE crossing AVENUE, which, I see you trying to make AVE Latin there (117D: "___, Imperator!"), and nice try, but no. RSTLNE is pretty godawful as fill. If I'd heard of SNOOK before today, I forgot it. So yes, much roughness, of all kinds. But overall the puzzle was incredibly easy. My second fastest Sunday in the record-my-times era.
What else? I don't know. There are answers. Some good, some not. Nothing remarkable. MODISTE is a pretty odd word (52D: Dress seller). I would've thought that word meant something closer to "fashionista," not a mere dress vendor. I thought the best clue was 32A: Rock maybe (PUT TO SLEEP), though it's a bit on-the-nose for this puzzle, which might very well have put me to sleep had I not been in speed mode (I could tell I had a shot at a personal best, so I was pretty amped for most of the puzzle; I didn't even know the puzzle had a theme until I was finished). Going with the proper Greek plural on the robot spelling? Bold (20A: Robots => AUTOMATA). Domo AUTOMATA, Mr. Robota!
Hey, so, two things. The New Yorker expanded its crossword team to include Aimee Lucido and Erik Agard, and they're publishing two puzzles a week now: a Weekly and a Weekend. The first Weekend puzzle just came out on April 5, and it's by Erik. The puzzles at the New Yorker are always first rate. They have managed to secure an extraordinary pool of constructing talent. It's such a promising sign that they are expanding the crossword. I hope they keep building the puzzle and increasing its visibility. Now if they would just put the puzzle(s) in the damned paper magazine! Do the puzzles here, and be sure to watch this video of Anna Shechtman and Erik Agard talking about crosswords because they are brilliant, funny, and adorable (and young!).
Also, The Atlantic has a crossword now! It's called ... The Atlantic Crossword! (bold!). It's a daily mini puzzle that gets harder as the week goes on. The puzzles are made by Caleb Madison, and they are sweet little treats—very contemporary, packed with current, popular, colloquial, newsworthy stuff. Take a few minutes each weekday and solve them here!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld (Twitter @rexparker / #NYTXW)
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]