Constructor: Daniel Larsen
Relative difficulty: Easy (very) (4:16)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: KORN (33D: Grammy-winning metal band with a tasty-sounding name) —
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Whoa, there's an *OLD* WELSH? I'm a medievalist and I did not know that. Good thing I have the capacity for inference! I liked this puzzle a lot but then again I *destroyed* this puzzle so I'm not sure how much my warm feelings are due to the intrinsic goodness of the puzzle and how much are due to any solver's natural affection for a Friday puzzle they can take out easily. Do I like you 'cause you're good or 'cause you're easy? That is the question. I'm pretty sure the puzzle is just good, though. Lots and lots of varied, interesting longer fill, from science fiction (HOME PLANET over SPACE OPERA! So good...) to physics to math to music. It's the music that is probably going to separate the very fast solves from the merely normal fast solves, and nothing is going to put solvers into different speed camps faster than 1A: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band led by Iggy Pop (THE STOOGES). Pop culture is always a potential divider, and since this one's in such a prime position, getting it right away is particularly valuable. For me, it was a total gimme, and I got six Downs off of it right away (THIS HINT ETTA ORCA EDSEL SEE). Between knowing that and knowing KORN, I feel like I had a distinct pop cultural advantage today. LONI Anderson and "LA BAMBA" and ELENA Ferrante, also in my wheelhouse. This one just sang to me. I even got the Beaufort Scale answer lickety split, and I wasn't even sure DEAD CALM was a real category, but look at that: real (27A: 0 on the Beaufort Scale). I just got lucky today. Everything fell my way.
Here were my struggles and my irks: I really think the phrase trips off the tongue best as THERE'S NO ESCAPE. "THERE IS" feels oddly formal and off. PALSY is pretty olde-timey and probably needs "-WALSY" to be complete and anyway, it looks more like an affliction than a term meaning "Chummy," so that's mildly depressing. I didn't think we could go lower on the ALEC scale than Waugh, but here's Douglas-Home! Actually, I think he outranks Waugh, as he actually did something noteworthy. But I'm always happy to discover new ALECs. Add him to Guinness and Baldwin and the kid from "Black Stallion" (I think .... [looks it up] ... yessssss!!! Man, I haven't seen that clue for ALEC in eons but somehow that little fact still lives in some dark corner of my head; weird). I can't believe I fell for the old "Capital" misdirection gag, but boy did I (28D: Capital of Latvia) (EURO). That's a pretty cheap gag, as Latvia's actual capital is also four letters (RIGA), but I guess you gotta try to throw speed bumps in here where you can. SUMP is a very ugly word and I hope I never see it in my puzzle again (34A: Basement feature). I actually had AUDIO BOOMS in there at first for 32A: Some road trip entertainment (I think I was thinking "equipment" instead of "entertainment," like maybe some TV show goes on the "road" and brings along boom mikes? I dunno. But KORN saved me. Anyway, that's all. Good work, everyone. Wait, nope, one more thing. ONER is was and always will be atrocious (56D: Remarkable person). Retire, ONER! OK, now we're done.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (very) (4:16)
Word of the Day: KORN (33D: Grammy-winning metal band with a tasty-sounding name) —
Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. [...] The band first experienced mainstream success with Follow the Leader (1998) and Issues (1999), both of which debuted at number one on the Billboard200. The band's mainstream success continued with Untouchables (2002), Take a Look in the Mirror (2003) and See You on the Other Side (2005). [...] As of 2012, Korn had sold more than 35 million records worldwide. Twelve of the band's official releases have peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200, eight of which have peaked in the top five. Seven official releases are certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), two are certified double platinum, one is certified triple platinum, one is certified five times platinum and two are certified Gold. [...] Korn has earned two Grammy Awards out of eight nominations and two MTV Video Music Awards out of eleven nominations. (wikipedia)
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["There's no escape / Without a scrape ..."]
Here were my struggles and my irks: I really think the phrase trips off the tongue best as THERE'S NO ESCAPE. "THERE IS" feels oddly formal and off. PALSY is pretty olde-timey and probably needs "-WALSY" to be complete and anyway, it looks more like an affliction than a term meaning "Chummy," so that's mildly depressing. I didn't think we could go lower on the ALEC scale than Waugh, but here's Douglas-Home! Actually, I think he outranks Waugh, as he actually did something noteworthy. But I'm always happy to discover new ALECs. Add him to Guinness and Baldwin and the kid from "Black Stallion" (I think .... [looks it up] ... yessssss!!! Man, I haven't seen that clue for ALEC in eons but somehow that little fact still lives in some dark corner of my head; weird). I can't believe I fell for the old "Capital" misdirection gag, but boy did I (28D: Capital of Latvia) (EURO). That's a pretty cheap gag, as Latvia's actual capital is also four letters (RIGA), but I guess you gotta try to throw speed bumps in here where you can. SUMP is a very ugly word and I hope I never see it in my puzzle again (34A: Basement feature). I actually had AUDIO BOOMS in there at first for 32A: Some road trip entertainment (I think I was thinking "equipment" instead of "entertainment," like maybe some TV show goes on the "road" and brings along boom mikes? I dunno. But KORN saved me. Anyway, that's all. Good work, everyone. Wait, nope, one more thing. ONER is was and always will be atrocious (56D: Remarkable person). Retire, ONER! OK, now we're done.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]