Constructor: Sam Trabucco
Relative difficulty: Easy or Easy-Medium (untimed, clipboard solve)
![]()
THEME: none
Word of the Day: ACHATES (44A: Loyal friend to Aeneas) —
![]()
I had so many nice things to say about this puzzle. I still have, I guess. But my considerable feelings of good will, built up over solving the top and middle of the grid, all went pffft with a single answer in the SW. No, not ACHATES (although dang, that is pretty in-the-weeds ... I teach Aeneid every year and even I was like "o man what is that dude's name!?"). No, the mood ruiner today was ASSANGE (35D: Author of the 2012 book "Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet). Specifically, the clue, which so narrowly and vaguely refers to him that you (if you're me) have to spend time waiting for the name to come into view, building up anticipation. "Ooh, who will it be!?!?! Let's see .... Wait ... Wait, what? Ugh, that guy? That Guy!? He's just ... 'Author'!? Oh ... *&$^% you!" I honestly think that it's not so much the dude's name (which I have endured and can endure in grids) as the coy, evasive, enormity-skirting "Author..." clue. Nothing about his being a patsy of Russian intelligence agencies (allegedly...) or his being a sexual assailant (allegedly...) but, just, an author of a book about freedom! And the future! With a wacky, kind of punny name! What fun! Ugh. Absolute Mood Killer. The neutrality of the clue was bad, and the fact that the neutrality caused me to have to puzzle it out, i.e. spend more time with it, anticipating what it would be ... yeah, that made it all so much worse. [Wikileaks founder], fine, that's true enough, and you're not teasingly hiding him from me, so ... I can deal. But this way, with this clue? I could hear the joy balloon deflating in my mind as soon as I figured out ASSANGE. You made me play "What's My Line?" and the Mystery Guest was ASSANGE, which is just rude. Yuck and barf. How can you not ... understand ... that certain names are toxic and that you have to handle (i.e. clue) them carefully or don't touch them at all?! Puzzle editing!!! (Side note: I know METOOISM has nothing to do with the #MeToo movement, but still, putting ASSANGE and METOO in the same grid, yeeeeeeesh)
This puzzle is weirdly overreliant on unlikely plurals, like ASTRAL PLANES plural and ONE-STEPS plural, but other than that, I liked most of the grid, for sure. METOOISM was a great weird answer to uncover (13A: Imitative practice). I had the back end first and was like "whaaaat ends -OOISM?" Great clue on LEOPARD PRINT (27A: Hot spots?) and METRIC SYSTEM (18D: Many of the world's rulers use it) and even PÈRE (28D: Champagne pop) ('cause pop = father and Champagne is a place in France). I would've said IT'S A GIRL is "often" associated with the color pink, not "typically"—it's a fine distinction, but kind of steers it away from normativity in a way I like better (51A: Message typically associated with the color pink). Actually, I wouldn't have touched "pink" at all, probably, but whatever. Not so keen on ANGE (esp. crossing ASS ... ANGE). IBI is another mildly icky foreignism (51D: There: Lat.). But the irksome stuff was pretty small and infrequent. I was more into the LEOPARD PRINT-wearing BREAK DANCERS at the center of it all. ALL RISE!
Had most trouble with the NE, where both BIG LIE (16A: Propagandist's technique) and MORDANT (18A: Sharply sarcastic) were not quick to cut across. Once I got MIR, though, MORDANT followed pretty quick, and then lucky guess of MOTHY (off the "M") set the rest of the corner straight in no time. I thought the video game was PAC-MAN, JR, so really waited to see what that first letter was (30D: Arcade game spinoff of 1983). Me: "Wait ... they made ... a MR. PAC-MAN? I thought ... PAC-MAN ... was MR. PAC-MAN." Now I'm imagining Pac-Man saying "MR. PAC-MAN was my father, call me 'Steve', please..." Anyway, that was weird. Loved SAKE CUP (46A: Vessel at a Japanese restaurant). Less keen on the single THIN MINT, and how do you know it doesn't "help with weight loss"? (11D: Snack that, despite its name, doesn't help with weight loss) Maybe I eat a THIN MINT or six and I feel sated and am less inclined to eat substantially between meals. You don't know me! Now I just want to go defiantly gorge on THIN MINTs and then lose weight, just to prove this puzzle wrong. Where was I? Oh, yeah, I liked this puzzle, very much, until I didn't, which is tragic, really.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy or Easy-Medium (untimed, clipboard solve)
Word of the Day: ACHATES (44A: Loyal friend to Aeneas) —
In the Aeneid, Achates (Ancient Greek: Ἀχάτης, "good, faithful Achates", fidus Achates as he was called) was a close friend of Aeneas; his name became a by-word for an intimate companion. // Achates accompanied Aeneas throughout his adventures, reaching Carthage with him in disguise when the pair were scouting the area, and leading him to the Sibyl of Cumae. Virgil represents him as remarkable for his fidelity, and a perennial type of that virtue. However, despite being Aeneas's most important Trojan, he is notable for his lack of character development. In fact, he has only four spoken lines in the entire epic. Aeneas, surrounded by only a shadowy cast of allies, is thus emphasised as the lone protagonist and at the same time cut off from help on his quest. (wikipedia)
• • •
This puzzle is weirdly overreliant on unlikely plurals, like ASTRAL PLANES plural and ONE-STEPS plural, but other than that, I liked most of the grid, for sure. METOOISM was a great weird answer to uncover (13A: Imitative practice). I had the back end first and was like "whaaaat ends -OOISM?" Great clue on LEOPARD PRINT (27A: Hot spots?) and METRIC SYSTEM (18D: Many of the world's rulers use it) and even PÈRE (28D: Champagne pop) ('cause pop = father and Champagne is a place in France). I would've said IT'S A GIRL is "often" associated with the color pink, not "typically"—it's a fine distinction, but kind of steers it away from normativity in a way I like better (51A: Message typically associated with the color pink). Actually, I wouldn't have touched "pink" at all, probably, but whatever. Not so keen on ANGE (esp. crossing ASS ... ANGE). IBI is another mildly icky foreignism (51D: There: Lat.). But the irksome stuff was pretty small and infrequent. I was more into the LEOPARD PRINT-wearing BREAK DANCERS at the center of it all. ALL RISE!
Had most trouble with the NE, where both BIG LIE (16A: Propagandist's technique) and MORDANT (18A: Sharply sarcastic) were not quick to cut across. Once I got MIR, though, MORDANT followed pretty quick, and then lucky guess of MOTHY (off the "M") set the rest of the corner straight in no time. I thought the video game was PAC-MAN, JR, so really waited to see what that first letter was (30D: Arcade game spinoff of 1983). Me: "Wait ... they made ... a MR. PAC-MAN? I thought ... PAC-MAN ... was MR. PAC-MAN." Now I'm imagining Pac-Man saying "MR. PAC-MAN was my father, call me 'Steve', please..." Anyway, that was weird. Loved SAKE CUP (46A: Vessel at a Japanese restaurant). Less keen on the single THIN MINT, and how do you know it doesn't "help with weight loss"? (11D: Snack that, despite its name, doesn't help with weight loss) Maybe I eat a THIN MINT or six and I feel sated and am less inclined to eat substantially between meals. You don't know me! Now I just want to go defiantly gorge on THIN MINTs and then lose weight, just to prove this puzzle wrong. Where was I? Oh, yeah, I liked this puzzle, very much, until I didn't, which is tragic, really.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]