Constructor: Peter A. Collins
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (6:27)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: IN STIR (17A: Finishing a sentence, say) —
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LOL white men putting VIRTUE SIGNALING in the grid (10D: Sharing of a moral viewpoint to gain social approval). This puzzle is so on-brand. I mean, this is exactly the kind of term I'd expect to find in a puzzle that just this week was reminding us all of the glory of Confederate monuments. That's a term used predominantly by those who are real mad that they can't be as openly racist and homophobic as they used to be in the good ol' days. People who use that term also use terms like "P.C." and "SJW" and NUBILE (probably) (41D: Marriageable, quaintly). Super-popular term with right-wing "thought""leaders." Aggrieved white men love the term. And it's rich coming from an editor who has struggled to keep racism / sexism / classism out of his puzzles. I say "struggled," but that implies he cares or is trying, so maybe not. Anyway, you can dodge criticism of your terrible behavior by calling the criticism "VIRTUE SIGNALING," but your behavior won't be any less terrible. I'm not "virtuous" for pointing this out. Just a sentient person with a capacity for empathy. It's fun! Costs nothing! Try it out!
Maybe worry less about VIRTUE SIGNALING and more about filling your grids well, woof. EDATE OCTAL ELOI AGO OLEOLE INSTIR RIEL IDEE PALUP HRE. Maybe you get half of those, but even then only if the rest of the grid is really wonderful (this one isn't). As usual, longer answers are the only point of interest (DETAILS TO FOLLOW and PINCH-HIT HOMERUN are nice) and most of the rest is just there to be hacked through with a machete on the way to the end. I really ruined my chances for true speed by having the first thing I put in the grid be PAWNS (!?!?), which ... I mean, you can see why I put it in there, kiiiiind of, but not really (2D: Things that are sometimes brokered). I just figured the term "pawnbroker" had to come from *somewhere*, and also maybe it was a chess term?? This error kept me from getting into the NW, and particularly from seeing the front part of PINCH-HIT HOME RUN (15A: One of 23 for Matt Stairs (an M.L.B. record)). I was able to move quickly in the other direction though, moving through middle of grid and down the east coast without too much trouble. Had most trouble with PAL UP (?) and UBI (I've read many scholarly papers, never ever seen "UBI supra," though I am very familiar with the "UBI sunt" motif in Anglo-Saxon poetry).
Had RIAL before RIEL, which kept me from seeing LEECH for too long (21D: Little sucker). Had EDITS for EDATE because really, EDATE?? (47A: Excel spreadsheet function). Not much else to cause resistance today. Took me a while to build SENSATIONALIZES (from the bottom up), but otherwise, the smooth was fairly steady, if also fairly unpretty.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (6:27)
Word of the Day: IN STIR (17A: Finishing a sentence, say) —
STIR—noun Slang.
prison. (dictionary.com)
• • •
Maybe worry less about VIRTUE SIGNALING and more about filling your grids well, woof. EDATE OCTAL ELOI AGO OLEOLE INSTIR RIEL IDEE PALUP HRE. Maybe you get half of those, but even then only if the rest of the grid is really wonderful (this one isn't). As usual, longer answers are the only point of interest (DETAILS TO FOLLOW and PINCH-HIT HOMERUN are nice) and most of the rest is just there to be hacked through with a machete on the way to the end. I really ruined my chances for true speed by having the first thing I put in the grid be PAWNS (!?!?), which ... I mean, you can see why I put it in there, kiiiiind of, but not really (2D: Things that are sometimes brokered). I just figured the term "pawnbroker" had to come from *somewhere*, and also maybe it was a chess term?? This error kept me from getting into the NW, and particularly from seeing the front part of PINCH-HIT HOME RUN (15A: One of 23 for Matt Stairs (an M.L.B. record)). I was able to move quickly in the other direction though, moving through middle of grid and down the east coast without too much trouble. Had most trouble with PAL UP (?) and UBI (I've read many scholarly papers, never ever seen "UBI supra," though I am very familiar with the "UBI sunt" motif in Anglo-Saxon poetry).
Had RIAL before RIEL, which kept me from seeing LEECH for too long (21D: Little sucker). Had EDITS for EDATE because really, EDATE?? (47A: Excel spreadsheet function). Not much else to cause resistance today. Took me a while to build SENSATIONALIZES (from the bottom up), but otherwise, the smooth was fairly steady, if also fairly unpretty.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]