Galactic Empire superweapon / WED 10-16-19 / Push-button bankers / Modern replacement for cash register / Classic story in which Paris figures prominently

Constructor: Peter A. Collins

Relative difficulty: Who knows? Normal level? Dumb quips are harder than regular themers because they are dumb, so ... I was a little on the slow side, but the rest of the puzzle was easy

THEME: a "quip" — specifically, a quip about "a hobbying group": "WE HEARD THE / ORIGAMI CLUB HAD / FOLDED BUT IN FACT / INTEREST IN IT IS / INCREASING" (get it, "in [space] creasing"?)

Word of the Day: LENI Riefenstahl (26D: Filmmaker Riefenstahl) —

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (German: [ˈʁiːfn̩ʃtaːl]; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director and actress. [...] In the 1930s, she directed the Nazi propaganda films Triumph des Willens ("Triumph of the Will") and Olympia, resulting in worldwide attention and acclaim. The movies are widely considered two of the most effective, and technically innovative, Nazi propaganda films ever made. Her involvement in Triumph des Willens, however, significantly damaged her career and reputation after the war. The exact nature of her relationship with Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler remains a matter of debate. However, Hitler was in close collaboration with Riefenstahl during the production of at least three important Nazi films, and a closer friendship is claimed to have existed. When in 2000 Jodie Foster was planning a biographical drama on Riefenstahl, war-crime documenters warned against a revisionist view that glorified the director. They stated that publicly Riefenstahl seemed "quite infatuated" with Hitler and was, in fact, the last surviving member of his "inner circle". Others go further, arguing that Riefenstahl's visions were essential to the success of the Holocaust. After the war, Riefenstahl was arrested, but classified as being a "fellow traveler" or "Nazi sympathizer" only and was not associated with war crimes. Throughout her life, she denied having known about the Holocaust. (wikipedia)

6D: Family name of Morticia and Gomez

A quip puzzle? In 2019? Did y'all not get the memo that people actually hate these. Well, "hate" is strong. But quip puzzles are almost always objectively bad. They are usually terrible dad jokes (like today's), and they are not fun to uncover. Solving ends up being like going on a treasure hunt or through a corn maze or something but at the end is just a pile of garbage. You do it, because, I mean, what else are you going to do, but there's no joy, because you know you're going nowhere good. Usually you don't see an Actual Nazi along the way, but today is special, I guess. How do you all still support the editor of this here puzzle? These editorial decisions are bad. Dude brags about how many submissions the NYTXW gets a month (~500, I hear), but then continues to serve up fairly mediocre puzzles, and then whatever this is. Did you know LENI Riefenstahl not only directed one of the most famous (Nazi) propaganda films of all time, she directed another movie called Tiefland where "she utilized [Romani] from internment camps for extras, who were severely mistreated on set, and when the filming completed they were sent to Auschwitz" (wikipedia)? Did you know that? Well now you do. Maybe LENI is  here to make ORRIN Hatch look human. At any rate, this puzzle has no redeeming features. Except, perhaps ironically, DEATH STAR (11D: Galactic Empire superweapon). 



Thank god for Crossword Twitter. I woke up, solved the puzzle, shook my head in disbelief, and then went over to find virtual unanimity:










I would like to apologize to filmmaker LINA Wertmüller for (briefly) confusing her with LENI Riefenstahl. L + vowel + N + vowel + three-syllable German name got me all mixed up. As for the rest of the puzzle, there's not much to say. This puzzle is all quip/Nazi, and not much else. I have never heard of a single HEAD GAME, so that one took me a bit (5D: Instance of psychological trickery). I had HEAD FAKE, which is not "psychological," I guess.


ONE / OUT threw me, as I tried to put OUT in the first position after getting that initial "O" (41A: With 42-Across, usual result of a leadoff batter getting three strikes), and then decided to change Stones guitarist RON Wood to STU or maybe LOU Wood (!?). I had REVIEW for REPLAY (45D: Opportunity to determine if the referee blew it), and still have no idea what [Back-comb] means (TEASE). I assume it has to do with hair, but hair that is combed back is not teased. I guess you comb against the ... grain? Does hair have grain? Throwing this puzzle in the garbage now, bye.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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