Constructor: Joel Fagliano
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME: Part of a Halloween dinner?— that is the clue for all the theme answers, which are candies with names the second parts of which sound like foods one might have at dinner:
Word of the Day: RISSOLE (40D: Savory deep-fried pastry) —
It's not Halloween yet, but why not? This is a cute way to frame what is essentially just a candy-brands puzzle. Fish, beans, corn, tamales, roll. That's actually a pretty plausible meal. I don't think it's a requirement of the theme that the "foods" all go together, but I like that they don't seem far-fetched or disgusting in combination. I also like this grid's odd shape. It's not jarringly strange, but something about the layout makes the grid look more like a floor plan than most grids. The N/S and NW/SE in particular seem like little self-contained rooms. And those corners are all quite big—seemed like a lot of white space to get through, and a couple of answers were real stumpers (to me), but in the end, my time was actually under my normal Wednesday time.
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NW was easy once I got JELLY BEANS because that "J" made CARL'S JR. obvious (1D: Fast-food chain with a smiling star in its logo). SE, also easy, but those big NE and SW corners posed more of a problem. Clue on HAIRDOS totally baffled me (11D: Bob and others). Very clever use of misdirection there with the initial (and thus capitalized, and thus name-like) "Bob.""Afro" or "Page boy" would've been more transparent. As it was, I kept thinking "who is Bob HAI ... something?" Thankfully the surrounding answers were easy enough (I somehow even remembered BORODIN) (27A: "Prince Igor" composer), and I figured the "Bob" thing out without too much struggle. The opposite corner was tougher, as RISSOLE was utterly new to me. Couldn't infer a thing about it. Had to trust that all the crosses were correct. Seems a real outlier in this puzzle, but ... it's a thing, and the crosses were more than fair, so I'm not exactly outraged. Enjoyed seeing ABZUG and "PUSH IT." I like tough broads. Very disappointed to find out that the very Halloween-y 1A: What quoth the raven? had nothing to do with Poe ("quoth the raven, 'CAW'" = first draft stuff).
Great clues:
[Spare wear] = G-STRING
[Black and blue, say] = TWO-TONE
Not so fond of plural TAHINIS (13D: Pastes used in Middle Eastern cuisine) — is that what you make HUMMUSES out of? (note to constructors: that was a joke; please don't ever use HUMMUSES)
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
- SWEDISH FISH
- JELLY BEANS
- CANDY CORN
- HOT TAMALES
- TOOTSIE ROLL
Word of the Day: RISSOLE (40D: Savory deep-fried pastry) —
A rissole (from Latin russeolus, meaning reddish, via French in which "rissoler" means "to [make] redden") is a smallcroquette, enclosed in pastry or rolled in breadcrumbs, usually baked or deep fried.[1] It is filled with sweet or savory ingredients, most often minced meat or fish, and is served as an entrée, main course, dessert or side dish. (wikipedia)
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It's not Halloween yet, but why not? This is a cute way to frame what is essentially just a candy-brands puzzle. Fish, beans, corn, tamales, roll. That's actually a pretty plausible meal. I don't think it's a requirement of the theme that the "foods" all go together, but I like that they don't seem far-fetched or disgusting in combination. I also like this grid's odd shape. It's not jarringly strange, but something about the layout makes the grid look more like a floor plan than most grids. The N/S and NW/SE in particular seem like little self-contained rooms. And those corners are all quite big—seemed like a lot of white space to get through, and a couple of answers were real stumpers (to me), but in the end, my time was actually under my normal Wednesday time.
Great clues:
[Spare wear] = G-STRING
[Black and blue, say] = TWO-TONE
Not so fond of plural TAHINIS (13D: Pastes used in Middle Eastern cuisine) — is that what you make HUMMUSES out of? (note to constructors: that was a joke; please don't ever use HUMMUSES)
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld