Constructor:Robyn Weintraub
Relative difficulty:Easy (for a Friday)
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THEME: None
Word of the Day:LENA Horne (48D: Entertainer and civil rights activist Horne)—
Hi all, Rachel Fabi in for Rex tonight, as he is currently attending a John Prine concert in my city and bought me a beer in exchange for substitute blogging. Turns out that was a pretty great deal, because I absolutely flew through this puzzle, and should have an entire blog post written in the time it probably takes John Prine to tune his guitar.
Solving this was a dream-- there wasn't a single section were I stumbled for more than a couple of seconds. The NW went down first, with OGRE and OASIS both cleanly opening into GROUP PHOTO, with an excellent misdirect on the clue (14A: Big shot?), and READY OR NOT, with a more obvious clue (17A: Words in hide-and-seek -- not sure there are really any other words in hide-and-seek?). From the NW, the rest of the West fell into place, followed by the NE and SE. The last section I filled in was the middle; I had MANI in for PEDI, but once I got DON'T BE MAD for 36A: "It wasn't my fault," the middle clicked too.
I loved this grid all the way through. None of the fill felt crosswordy, and the longer entries were interesting, even if none of them were particularly AVANT GARDE. My only gripe is that the clues on these longer entries were a little too straightforward. For example, I think there were probably more exciting ways to clue 22D: Wed for TIED THE KNOT, or 10D: Often-repeated bit of modern folklore for URBAN LEGEND (notable exception: 51A: Something relatively complicated? for FAMILY TREE). Perhaps the lower level of difficulty on the clues is what makes this a Friday puzzle rather than a Saturday, but I still tend to expect a little more of a challenge this late in the week.
Overall, this is a refreshingly clean and crisp Friday puzzle that made me feel like an Olympic-level speed solver, which is honestly a pretty great way to go into the weekend.
PS. I feel morally obligated to disclose that Rex also bought co-organizer of Lollapuzzoola Brian Cimmet a beer, in exchange for which Brian told us the theme for this year's tournament. As an ethicist, having this kind of inside information makes me really uncomfortable, so I am sharing the theme with all of you. The theme for this year's Lollapuzzoola is: Cupcakes. You're welcome.
Bullets:
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Relative difficulty:Easy (for a Friday)
THEME: None
Word of the Day:LENA Horne (48D: Entertainer and civil rights activist Horne)—
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned over 70 years appearing in film, television, and theater. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of 16 and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood.Returning to her roots as a nightclub performer, Horne took part in the March on Washington in August 1963 and continued to work as a performer, both in nightclubs and on television while releasing well-received record albums. She announced her retirement in March 1980, but the next year starred in a one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, which ran for more than three hundred performances on Broadway. She then toured the country in the show, earning numerous awards and accolades. Horne continued recording and performing sporadically into the 1990s, disappearing from the public eye in 2000. Horne died of congestive heart failure on May 9, 2010, at the age of 92.
• • •
Hi all, Rachel Fabi in for Rex tonight, as he is currently attending a John Prine concert in my city and bought me a beer in exchange for substitute blogging. Turns out that was a pretty great deal, because I absolutely flew through this puzzle, and should have an entire blog post written in the time it probably takes John Prine to tune his guitar.
Solving this was a dream-- there wasn't a single section were I stumbled for more than a couple of seconds. The NW went down first, with OGRE and OASIS both cleanly opening into GROUP PHOTO, with an excellent misdirect on the clue (14A: Big shot?), and READY OR NOT, with a more obvious clue (17A: Words in hide-and-seek -- not sure there are really any other words in hide-and-seek?). From the NW, the rest of the West fell into place, followed by the NE and SE. The last section I filled in was the middle; I had MANI in for PEDI, but once I got DON'T BE MAD for 36A: "It wasn't my fault," the middle clicked too.
I loved this grid all the way through. None of the fill felt crosswordy, and the longer entries were interesting, even if none of them were particularly AVANT GARDE. My only gripe is that the clues on these longer entries were a little too straightforward. For example, I think there were probably more exciting ways to clue 22D: Wed for TIED THE KNOT, or 10D: Often-repeated bit of modern folklore for URBAN LEGEND (notable exception: 51A: Something relatively complicated? for FAMILY TREE). Perhaps the lower level of difficulty on the clues is what makes this a Friday puzzle rather than a Saturday, but I still tend to expect a little more of a challenge this late in the week.
Overall, this is a refreshingly clean and crisp Friday puzzle that made me feel like an Olympic-level speed solver, which is honestly a pretty great way to go into the weekend.
PS. I feel morally obligated to disclose that Rex also bought co-organizer of Lollapuzzoola Brian Cimmet a beer, in exchange for which Brian told us the theme for this year's tournament. As an ethicist, having this kind of inside information makes me really uncomfortable, so I am sharing the theme with all of you. The theme for this year's Lollapuzzoola is: Cupcakes. You're welcome.
Bullets:
- 38D: John Updike novel subtitled "A Romance" - MARRY ME — I'm not familiar with the Updike novel, but this was pretty inferable, and it gives me an excuse to share this absolutely adorable music video from <autotune>Jason Derulo</autotune>:
- 32A: Turn a blind eye - SEE NO EVIL — I can't read this phrase without immediately replacing it with the monkey-covering-its-eyes emoji. Can Blogger support emojis? Let's find out: 🙈
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