Environmentalist Leopold / FRI 1-31-20 / Command from director's chair / Jon who wrote illustrated Palindromania / Noted figure in Raphael's school of athens / treat whose name means literally flash of lightning

Constructor: John Guzzetta and Michael Hawkins

Relative difficulty: Easy (untimed, clipboard solve)

THEME: none

Word of the Day: ALDO Leopold (21A: Environmentalist ___ Leopold, author of the best-selling "A Sand County Almanac") —

Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American author, philosopher, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his book A Sand County Almanac (1949), which has sold more than two million copies.

Leopold was influential in the development of modern environmental ethics and in the movement for wilderness conservation. His ethics of nature and wildlife preservation had a profound impact on the environmental movement, with his ecocentric or holistic ethics regarding land. He emphasized biodiversity and ecology and was a founder of the science of wildlife management. (wikipedia)

This was OK. Fine. No strong negative or positive reactions from me. I wish there had been more remarkable fill. GRYFFINDOR was nice (28D: Potter's house). MIND BLOWN is an expression that already feels trite and annoying, but crossword puzzle-wise I guess it counts as "fresh" (12D: [Jaw hits the floor]) Everything else was just sort of TETRIS-y, i.e. the pieces fell into place, and that's that. I was surprised at how easy it was. Usually when I solve just upon waking, there are still some cobwebs and my solve feels a little sluggish, at least initially. But here, it was SPARS to REI to INDIA and on and on, without a single hesitation until the entire NW was done and I was way down in the SW—first clue I looked at where I didn't guess the answer instantly was 32D: Temptation to steal (WILD PITCH). I had WIL- in place and no idea. But a few seconds later I had the next two letters from crosses and I was off to the races again. First annoyance came at 52D: Jon who wrote and illustrated "Palindromania!" (AGEE). This is some crosswordese that is supposed to appeal to puzzle / word people but for me does the opposite. You've got AGEE in your grid. Just go with James. You want to add difficulty to your puzzle, make the clues for the other stuff harder. Don't lard the grid with short names you decided to get cute with—today, not just AGEE but COE (who?) and ALDO (same). Because the grid is on the bland side, my most lasting impression of the puzzle was "why are all these dudes of marginal fame in this grid?"


I thought the palindrome dude was gonna mess me up pretty bad because neither 56A: D-day (GO TIME) nor 60A: Noted figure in Raphael's "School of Athens" (EUCLID) came to me from their first few crosses, but MIL gave me the fourth cross for both answers, and both answers then became clear and again I was off. Slowest part of the puzzle for me was the SE because I unhesitatingly wrote in UNFRIEND at 61A: Spurn on social media (UNFOLLOW). It's a much bigger deal to UNFRIEND someone than to simply UNFOLLOW them. I also wanted BOLD (correct!) DEED (nope!) at 58A: Bit of derring-do (BOLD MOVE). My answer seems correcter. DEED seems more apt for the swashbuckling suggested by "derring-do."BOLD MOVE could apply in any context. But the answers in the grid aren't wrong. They just trapped me, temporarily. Didn't take me too long to climb out, and then it was smooth sailing to the end in the NE, where only ALDO gave me any pause. I didn't know the COWGIRLS song (whereas I know at least two songs where BIGGIRLS don't cry), but I never fell for BIG because the CO- was already in place. Not sure why the clue doesn't mention the artist: Brooks & Dunn (feat. REBA!) are big names in country music (27A: Ones who "Don't Cry," according to a 2008 country hit). Looking back over the grid, I'm really glad I never saw the COE clue (!?) (26A: George ___, original cast member of "S.N.L."), and I'm really glad the shoe guy (MCAN) was a gimme (23D: Last name on a shoe box), because otherwise that MCAN / COE cross could've been treacherous. That is all.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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