Hi, everyone!
I'm here for the first Tuesday of the month instead of writing last week because, well, law school. It's a little bit of work combined with a lot more work all wrapped up in a pretty bow of more work. I'm really enjoying myself at the moment, though, because the Steelers crushed the Bengals — if only we could play the Bungles more than twice a season... Anywho, on to the puzzle!
Constructor:Erik Agard
Relative difficulty:Easy
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THEME: Opposites — The shaded parts of the theme answers are opposites of each other
Theme answers:
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Wow, I loved this puzzle! I can't remember ever enjoying a puzzle more than I did this one. The theme was clever and interesting. The fill felt fresh, and there were so many cool words. The clues with question marks were all laugh-inducing, not groan-inducing. In short, the puzzle felt hip and fun — and I really enjoyed the solve!
The idea for the theme of opposites was clever and almost perfectly executed. The one theme answer I wasn't wild about was WELL DRILL, because "well" and "ill" really aren't strictly opposite — a person feels "good," not "well." But the other words/phrases the constructor chose in the puzzle were close to perfect.
The puzzle was full of words that you don't usually see in a crossword. And, the words were interesting, at that. See: TRYST, FIASCO, AZURE. And: RAW FISH, ONE IOTA, TAUTENS. I really could go on here because I liked so many of the longer answers. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention ZENDAYA (43D) and BEYHIVE (11D: Fans of singer Knowles, collectively). They're current answers, and I love it! Maybe I enjoyed the puzzle as much as I did because it felt geared more toward younger solvers — but, I see you there, Eartha KITT (46A).
I did have a couple mini trouble spots in the puzzle. For one, I had no idea that Belmopan was the capital of BELIZE. Though, is anyone short of a Jeopardy champion supposed to actually know this? Then, I put "oblong" for 63A: Not perfectly round instead of OBLATE, which delayed me for a bit in the southeast section. I put "etas" instead of ETDS for 73A: Airport approximations: Abbr.; I finished with an error and had to look over the puzzle to see that obviously "poa" didn't make any sense as an escape vessel at 68D. I also had "cfo" instead of CPA for 25A: $$$ pro, for short. The only real complaint I had with the whole puzzle was at 69A: Virtually assess as EYE UP. Definitely didn't like that one. But, I'm reaching here, because the rest of the puzzle was so enjoyable.
27A: Hippo campus? as ZOO was clever. My favorite clue/answer in the puzzle was probably 65A: They may protect diamonds as TARPS (and the baseball playoffs start tonight!). Other answers I liked: 64D: Partner for life as LIMB; SKY HOOKS at 41D: Signature shots of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; AFRO PUFF at 5D: Updo styled with an elastic band. I also don't usually like having the same clues in a puzzle, but the way the constructor had STEW and HASH at 30A and 35A, respectively, with the same clue ("This-and-that" dish) right on top of each other really worked. Even with a more "crossword-y" answer like TSO (55A), it was still clued in a unique way — "general whose orders are sometimes carried out."
Misc.:
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Signed, Clare Carroll, an overworked 2L
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
I'm here for the first Tuesday of the month instead of writing last week because, well, law school. It's a little bit of work combined with a lot more work all wrapped up in a pretty bow of more work. I'm really enjoying myself at the moment, though, because the Steelers crushed the Bengals — if only we could play the Bungles more than twice a season... Anywho, on to the puzzle!
Constructor:Erik Agard
Relative difficulty:Easy
Theme answers:
- WELL DRILL (17A: Device for tapping groundwater)
- UNDER COVER (32A: In disguise for a mission)
- OFF SEASON (38A: Period after a championship)
- WET LAUNDRY(50A: What's hung on a clothesline)
Zendaya (born September 1, 1996)is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child model and backup dancer, before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up. In 2019, she began playing the lead role in the HBO drama series Euphoria. Her film roles include supporting parts in the musical drama The Greatest Showman (2017) and the superhero films Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019). (Wiki)
• • •
Wow, I loved this puzzle! I can't remember ever enjoying a puzzle more than I did this one. The theme was clever and interesting. The fill felt fresh, and there were so many cool words. The clues with question marks were all laugh-inducing, not groan-inducing. In short, the puzzle felt hip and fun — and I really enjoyed the solve!
The idea for the theme of opposites was clever and almost perfectly executed. The one theme answer I wasn't wild about was WELL DRILL, because "well" and "ill" really aren't strictly opposite — a person feels "good," not "well." But the other words/phrases the constructor chose in the puzzle were close to perfect.
The puzzle was full of words that you don't usually see in a crossword. And, the words were interesting, at that. See: TRYST, FIASCO, AZURE. And: RAW FISH, ONE IOTA, TAUTENS. I really could go on here because I liked so many of the longer answers. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention ZENDAYA (43D) and BEYHIVE (11D: Fans of singer Knowles, collectively). They're current answers, and I love it! Maybe I enjoyed the puzzle as much as I did because it felt geared more toward younger solvers — but, I see you there, Eartha KITT (46A).
I did have a couple mini trouble spots in the puzzle. For one, I had no idea that Belmopan was the capital of BELIZE. Though, is anyone short of a Jeopardy champion supposed to actually know this? Then, I put "oblong" for 63A: Not perfectly round instead of OBLATE, which delayed me for a bit in the southeast section. I put "etas" instead of ETDS for 73A: Airport approximations: Abbr.; I finished with an error and had to look over the puzzle to see that obviously "poa" didn't make any sense as an escape vessel at 68D. I also had "cfo" instead of CPA for 25A: $$$ pro, for short. The only real complaint I had with the whole puzzle was at 69A: Virtually assess as EYE UP. Definitely didn't like that one. But, I'm reaching here, because the rest of the puzzle was so enjoyable.
27A: Hippo campus? as ZOO was clever. My favorite clue/answer in the puzzle was probably 65A: They may protect diamonds as TARPS (and the baseball playoffs start tonight!). Other answers I liked: 64D: Partner for life as LIMB; SKY HOOKS at 41D: Signature shots of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; AFRO PUFF at 5D: Updo styled with an elastic band. I also don't usually like having the same clues in a puzzle, but the way the constructor had STEW and HASH at 30A and 35A, respectively, with the same clue ("This-and-that" dish) right on top of each other really worked. Even with a more "crossword-y" answer like TSO (55A), it was still clued in a unique way — "general whose orders are sometimes carried out."
Misc.:
- Seeing WHORL in the puzzle (31D: Fingerprint shape) takes me back to my days in my forensics class in high school where I imagined I was working as part of the team on CSI solving crimes.
- TETHERS also took me back — this time to playing tether ball nonstop in elementary school. Seriously, there was no better recess or lunchtime thing to do than playing tether ball.
- For 58A: "How you livin'?" I couldn't help but read that clue in the voice of Joey from "Friends" like, "How you doin'?"
- You'd think that after several years now of doing crossword puzzles, I'd know my Roman numerals very, very well. But... nope!
- Eartha KITT, among other things, was the voice of Yzma in "Emperor's New Groove," and I'm obsessed. That movie is the most underrated Disney movie, and Yzma is low-key the best villain.
Signed, Clare Carroll, an overworked 2L
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]