West Coast brew for short / SUN 12-8-19 / Impossible is Nothing sloganeer / Knights titles in Game of Thrones / Buddy Holly band 1994 / Popular Asian honeymoon destination / Saudi king before Abdullah / World's rarest goose / Hallucinogen sometimes called divine messenger

Constructor: Emily Carroll

Relative difficulty: Medium (10:04)

THEME:"Lookin' Good!" — "EASY ON THE EYES" is represented literally by the letter pair "EZ" atop the letter pair "II" five times in this grid (110A: Good-looking ... or a phonetic hint to a feature found five times in this puzzle)

THE "II" answers:

• BALI, INDONESIA (27A: Popular Asian honeymoon destination)
• BOYZ II MEN (41A: Top musical group of the 1990s, per Billboard)
• KRISTEN WIIG (62A: "S.N.LL." alum who co-starred in 2016's "Ghostbusters")
• NINTENDO WII (77A: Game console introduced in 2006)
• JACOB RIIS (96A: New York social reformer whose name is on a Manhattan housing project)

Word of the Day: AKINETIC (4D: Unable to move well) —

: of, relating to, or affected by akinesia [(n.): loss or impairment of voluntary activity (as of a muscle)] (merriam-webster.com)

This is a Wednesday idea dressed up in Sunday clothes. Like a child wearing dad's coat. This is a one-note joke and would've been better executed on a smaller scale, with three good examples, a *clean grid* (which we're sadly missing today), and a revealer, the end. But to go through this long a puzzle, through no real wordplay or interesting answers, through a grid laden with semi- to very-cringey fill, just to get to that clown-honk of a revealer, well that's just disappointing. Very much a letdown. A lot of work and machete-ing through rough terrain, and for what? Some brackish water. I've lost my metaphor's thread, but I believe my point is clear enough. Wednesday, clean grid—theme might be tolerable, even enjoyable. Sunday, junky grid—theme defenstratable.


I don't really care to list alllll of the fill I found unpleasant, but there really was a good amount of it, from the ordinary dross (RIAL ATTN ASSN DIR SASE NENE ESS DINAR ALEE) to the next-level dross (OLY OLA ODO EZINE SERS XVI), from preposterous near-words (EDIFIER RESEW AGREER NERVED NESTERS STEP A) to Germaniamania (KLEINE EIS) to things you'd never say (NINE TO) (!?) to whatever AKINETIC is. 'TWERE rough, is what I'm saying. Felt like I couldn't get very far without hitting another jarring little bump. Even the sassy stuff seemed off. MYB is a little too cutesy for me (52A: "I messed up," in slang). "MY BAD" so much better (in real life and in the grid). And I thought it was LULZ (65A: Response to a funny meme). Hmm (checks internets), looks like LULZ is the "corruption," which, seriously, LOL. BALIINDONESIA feels redundant (it's BALI). NINTENDOWII feels redundant (it's just WII). Weren't there even a few moments where I was happy? WHY, YES, there were. But not enough. Not nearly enough.


Five things:

• 58A: Clothing designer Marc (ECKO) — I need some kind of mnemonic to help me tell ECKO from EKCO (the kitchen utensil company). I botched it today.
• 16D: Colorless gases (ETHENES) — well there's an answer to warm your heart, eh? EH!? Ugh.
• 20A: Ashton Kutcher's role on "That '70s Show" (KELSO) — first answer I got. I'm not proud... but you take your gimmes where you find them.
• 55D: Part of a short race (GNOME) — OK that clue is somewhat clever in its misdirection
• 55A: One shouting "Get off my lawn!" (GEEZER)— I'll have you know I'm only 50! Now git!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. next week I'll do a little Crossword Holiday Gift Guide for you all. If you've got anything that you really think should be on said guide, please give me a holler. Thx.

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