Constructor: Ross Trudeau
Relative difficulty: Easy (untimed, but the only resistance in the puzzle was a single proper name) (untimed, clipboard solve)
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THEME: MIXED FEELINGS (59A: Ambivalence ... or a hint to 20-, 25- and 41-Across)— three phrases following the pattern "___ AND ___" where both contain some kind of "feeling"; thus the "feelings" are combined or "mixed":
Theme answers:
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I think the theme works fine even if it all seems a little thin and the revealer left me cold. I guess there's "mixing" going on here in the broadest sense of the word: one thing and another thing. Gin & Tonic. Nothing's actually being "mixed" up in the grid, nothing anagrammed, nothing switching places. Just blank AND blank. OK. It works, but it's kind of a shrug. The theme phrases are colorful; I'd rather not be reminded of the stupid and brutal SHOCK AND AWE stragegy, or any of the bravado leading up to that disastrous war, frankly, but the phrase certainly has historical significance. Speaking of historical significance: INTERREGNUM! That is my kind of currency. Give me the brutal stupidity of the 17th century (specifically, the English civil wars, which culminated in the beheading of Charles I, which ushered in a brief doomed period of non-monarchical government known as the INTERREGNUM, 1649-60) over that of the 21st century any day. The distance makes it less sad. "FEAR AND LOATHING" is the crown jewel of the themers today—I'm guessing the historical significance of *this* answer was less apparent to solvers under 40, although maybe they remember the Johnny Depp movie of 1998!? Maybe? Anyway, it's kind of a weird answer, in that there are two Thompson books that start "FEAR AND LOATHING"—I assume the clue is referring to "FEAR AND LOATHING in Las Vegas" (1971), though Thompson also wrote a "FEAR AND LOATHING on the Campaign Trail '72" about the 1972 presidential race. Since only the first book, the Las Vegas book, was a "novel," then yeah, that must be what the clue is going for. I don't think I was aware that the title was shortened "familiarly," but why not? It's a mouthful.
The fill was the fill. It was. Not sure I'd ever throw ERNIE and ARNIE together (so close!) if I didn't absolutely have to. JUDO THROWS is interesting (10D: Takedowns at dojos). And INTERREGNUM is very much my thing (see above). but the rest of it is just there. It's fine. If you want to commit a piece of crosswordese to memory today, make it DES'REE (dez-ray). For someone who had only one really memorable song over a quarter century ago, she has managed to Stick Around. Lots of common letters in somewhat unusual combinations makes her occasionally valuable to constructors. She's like a beefed up EERO Saarinen. Like if EERO and ESME had a baby: DES'REE. You gotta be ... on the lookout for her, from time to time.
No idea who CECELIA Ahern is. Weird how someone can sell that many books and still not appear on my radar at all. Never heard of her books, or the movies made out of her books, but I *have* heard of the TV show "Samantha Who?" which I watched religiously when it came out, and which CECELIA Ahern apparently created (!?). Christina Applegate! Jean Smart! Melissa McCarthy! It was fun. I think it's streaming on Hulu. You should watch it. I mean, what else are you gonna do?
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (untimed, but the only resistance in the puzzle was a single proper name) (untimed, clipboard solve)
Theme answers:
- PRIDE AND JOY (20A: Child, to doting parents)
- FEAR AND LOATHING (25A: Classic Hunter S. Thompson novel, familiarly)
- SHOCK AND AWE (41A: Strategy during the 2003 invasion of Iraq)
- EDIT WAR (just kidding, not actually a themer, just sitting in what looks like a themer location...)
Cecelia Ahern (born 30 September 1981) is a bestselling Irish novelist known for her works like PS, I Love You, Where Rainbows End and If You Could See Me Now. Born in Dublin, Ahern is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold over 25 million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been adapted as major motion films.She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You.She has published several novels and contributed a number of short stories to various anthologies. Ahern also created and produced the ABC comedy Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate. (wikipedia)
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[Oh yeah, I remember this. I definitely walked out of this.]
The fill was the fill. It was. Not sure I'd ever throw ERNIE and ARNIE together (so close!) if I didn't absolutely have to. JUDO THROWS is interesting (10D: Takedowns at dojos). And INTERREGNUM is very much my thing (see above). but the rest of it is just there. It's fine. If you want to commit a piece of crosswordese to memory today, make it DES'REE (dez-ray). For someone who had only one really memorable song over a quarter century ago, she has managed to Stick Around. Lots of common letters in somewhat unusual combinations makes her occasionally valuable to constructors. She's like a beefed up EERO Saarinen. Like if EERO and ESME had a baby: DES'REE. You gotta be ... on the lookout for her, from time to time.
No idea who CECELIA Ahern is. Weird how someone can sell that many books and still not appear on my radar at all. Never heard of her books, or the movies made out of her books, but I *have* heard of the TV show "Samantha Who?" which I watched religiously when it came out, and which CECELIA Ahern apparently created (!?). Christina Applegate! Jean Smart! Melissa McCarthy! It was fun. I think it's streaming on Hulu. You should watch it. I mean, what else are you gonna do?
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]