Nocturnal lemur native to Madagascar / THU 11-14-19 / Muppet trio Oinker sisters / Aladdin character named after literary villain / Olympic sport discontinued after 1936

Constructor: Alex Eaton-Salners

Relative difficulty: Easy (untimed clipboard solve)

THEME: FRENCH OPEN (60A: Big clay court event ... or a hint to the answers to 17-, 26-, 40- and 52-Across)— familiar phrases have first words translated to French:

Theme answers:

• AMI REQUEST (17A: Invitation to connect on social media)
• EAU SKIING (26A: Sport requiring a tow)
• ÉTÉ CAMP (40A: Short-term employer of counselors)
• OUI INDEED (52A: "By all means!")

Word of the Day: ELI ROTH (46D: Film director with a co-starring role in "Inglourious Basterds") —

Eli Raphael Roth (born April 18, 1972) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. As a director and producer, he is most closely associated with the horror genre, first coming to prominence for directing the films Cabin Fever (2003) and Hostel (2005). 

Roth continued to work in the horror genre, directing the films Hostel: Part II (2007) and The Green Inferno (2013). He also expanded into other genres, directing the erotic thriller film Knock Knock(2015) and the action film Death Wish (2018), a remake of the 1974 original. Also in 2018, he directed the fantasy horror film The House with a Clock in Its Walls, his first PG-rated film and his highest domestic grosser to date.

As an actor, Roth starred as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's war film Inglourious Basterds (2009), for which he received a Critic's Choice Movie Award and a SAG Award. He also starred in the horror film Death Proof (2007) and the disaster film Aftershock(2012).

Many journalists have included him in a group of filmmakers dubbed the Splat Pack for their explicitly violent and controversially bloody horror films. In 2013, Roth received the Visionary Award for his contributions to horror at the Stanley Film Festival. (wikipedia)

This felt like a puzzle from a lesser publication published some time last century. By which I mean, it works fine, but it's simple and corny, yielding nothing above maybe a wry smile when you first figure out the gimmick. But once you do, there's nothing waiting for you but some French 101 translation. The most familiar French words. I didn't have to look at some of the themer clues after I got the first one—if I had a couple letters in the first word and virtually any of the next word in place, the answer pretty much presented itself. The revealer didn't reveal much. I mean, it's a fine phrase to describe what's happening here, but by the time we get down there ... yeah, we already know. Revealer is a huge let-down, actually. Apt, but somehow sad. This honestly feels like a Newsday theme. In fact, if the NYT daily puzzles had titles (Which They Should, and which Newsday's do), then you could just ditch the sad revealer, make it the title, and turn this puzzle into a very simple early-week puzzle. Also, you could've opened up the grid a little and gotten cleaner and more interesting fill in there, maybe. No idea why this grid is so choppy and gunk-laden. The long Downs are fine, but mostly this felt like being on a kiddie ride while someone threw trash at me—way too much 3- to 5-letter garbage flying by as I cruised easily through this grid.


I had the theme before I exited the NW. I couldn't figure out either 2D: Recognition for an actor, informally (NOM) or 3D: "Aladdin" alter ego (ALI)—actors sometimes get Oscar NODs, and I wasn't sure if the spelling on ALI was maybe ALY (?), so I had those blank. Easily got the back end of the first themer from Down crosses and then thought, "Do you make an ADD REQUEST ... like, 'I want to ADD you as my Friend???'" Then I thought "No, that's FRIEND REQUEST." And that's when I got the theme. Aha! The rest of the puzzle was just scut work.

Furthermore:

• 6D: Turn up, as the volume (LOUDEN) — Please. Stop.

• 30A: Potentially offensive (UNPC) — I will never ever not complain about this stupid term. The very concept of "PC" is right-wing garbage designed to make it easier to dismiss the concerns of marginalized and oppressed groups. Only the worst humans gripe about "PC" this and "PC" that. Boo hoo. Just admit you want to keep being a sexist racist homophobic asshole and don't want anyone pointing it out. At least that's honest. 
• 45A: Nocturnal lemur native to Madagascar (AYE AYE)— LOL. I mean, nice try, but this is still just old-school junk fill. To its credit, though, figuring this out was probably the only time I smiled this whole solve. Oh, no, I smiled when I saw MISSY too (55A: Grammy winner Elliott):

• 64D: Long stretch (ERA) — the word you want is EON. An ERA can be relatively short, actually. It's defined by what makes it thematically cohesive, not by its length.
• 66A: "Let me think ... hmmm, I don't think so" ("UM, NO") — I had "UH, NO." What a fun mistake! :/
• 49A: Reviews, collectively: Abbr. (CRIT) — Pffffff, in what context??? "The Collected CRIT of Roger Ebert"? I get that this is an abbr. for "criticism," but alleged context seems off. Horrible to have to wait on that "T" too (the Down cross, bygone crosswordese, could've gone a couple ways—35D: Latin 101 word (AMAT))
• 67A: Anthem alternative (AETNA) — so, Anthem is ... an insurance company? Teach me more fun things, puzzle! Sigh. 
• 62D: Down-to-earth types? (ETS) — OK, ETS is not good fill, but this clue, I kinda liked!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]