Constructor: Peter Wentz
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (I think — untimed)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: ASA GRAY (37D: Charles Darwin contemporary) —
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Peter Wentz rarely disappoints. Wentz and Weintraub are the names I like to see on Friday (I like other names, too, but those names are locks). This one started out feeling extremely easy. I'd barely hit my comfy chair before MSG / MACROS went in the grid, the STAN AIL SILENT C. Couldn't see CLAWHAMMER (17A: Basic part of a tool kit) til I finally got that "W," and slightly doubted ON ITS END (my reaction: "really?"), but I was out of that NW section fast, and then rode REMNANT to the NE and polished that off quickly as well. JOKE gave me the "J" I needed to see BANJOPICK, and then, with "NB-" in place at 24D, I said to myself "Please be NBAJAM, please be NBAJAM," and then I looked at the clue and whaddyaknow: 24D: Classic arcade game with an announcer who shouts "Boomshakalaka!"I didn't even play that game, but I knew it existed and I *loved* seeing it here (also *loved* guessing it out off just the first two letters without even looking at the clue, and then having the clue confirm it!). CLAYMATION slowed me down slightly because the clue was vague (in a fine, totally Friday-appropriate way) (31A: Film models are used in it). But I didn't have any real abatement to my cruciverbial progress until the SE, where I balked at both of the long Downs that started with "F"—eventually tested FATHEAD (42D: Half-wit) and PDA OAK FLATTOP all confirmed it. Still, I stared at various letter arrangements at 48A: Obsolescent living room fixture until I got to PL--MAT- and still I stared. "Looks like PLAYMATE ... did people used to have PLAYMATEs just standing around their living rooms?" No, I'm just very very old and could not accept that something as modern-sounding as PLASMA TV could be "Obsolescent." But, ALAS.
Experience just one massive screw-up, and that's when I wrote in FANNIEMAE instead of SALLIEMAE (43A: Student loan provider). Big eraser marks there. Tinier eraser marks right above it, where I wrote in INA instead of AHA at 37A: ___ moment. But both flubs were easily fixed, and I ended at ASA GRAY / YOLO, which is a great and fitting crossing, as YOLO was one of ASA GRAY's favorite expressions! Darwin: "Asa, I don't know if that plant is safe to eat..." Gray: "But it smells so nice ... and, well, as I definitely like to say, YOLO!" When he awoke from his coma three weeks later, he named that plant the Yellow YOLO. True story.
Five things:
*"green paint" = phrase that one might say but that does not make a very strong stand-alone answer. Often an "adj./noun" pairing.
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Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (I think — untimed)
Word of the Day: ASA GRAY (37D: Charles Darwin contemporary) —
Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His Darwiniana was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exclusive. [...] A prolific writer, he was instrumental in unifying the taxonomic knowledge of the plants of North America. Of Gray's many works on botany, the most popular was his Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, from New England to Wisconsin and South to Ohio and Pennsylvania Inclusive, known today simply as Gray's Manual. Gray was the sole author of the first five editions of the book and co-author of the sixth, with botanical illustrations by Isaac Sprague. Further editions have been published, and it remains a standard in the field. (wikipedia)
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Experience just one massive screw-up, and that's when I wrote in FANNIEMAE instead of SALLIEMAE (43A: Student loan provider). Big eraser marks there. Tinier eraser marks right above it, where I wrote in INA instead of AHA at 37A: ___ moment. But both flubs were easily fixed, and I ended at ASA GRAY / YOLO, which is a great and fitting crossing, as YOLO was one of ASA GRAY's favorite expressions! Darwin: "Asa, I don't know if that plant is safe to eat..." Gray: "But it smells so nice ... and, well, as I definitely like to say, YOLO!" When he awoke from his coma three weeks later, he named that plant the Yellow YOLO. True story.
Five things:
- 9D: Take a pointer? (DOGNAP)— this answer made me sad. Don't steal dogs! Also, how many "naps" does one puzzle need!? (See 18D: After-dinner amenity)
- 29D: Stainless steel element (NICKEL) — I swear I will go to my grave not being entirely sure if it's NICKEL or NICKLE
- 39D: Soothing application (ALOE GEL) — something about this answer felt slightly "green paint"* to me. I had ALOE and was like "...? balm? stick? pen?")
- 23A: How a sofa might be turned (ON ITS END)— still slightly mad at this one. You wouldn't accept ON HER FACE for [How a girl might fall] so ... harrumph.
- 57D: Org. targeted by Moms Demand Action (NRA)— hey, I found a good NRA clue
*"green paint" = phrase that one might say but that does not make a very strong stand-alone answer. Often an "adj./noun" pairing.
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