1936 summer Olympics icon / FRI 4-17-20 / Castilian knight in medieval spain / Lucy Hayes 1800s first lady / Tune with syncopated rhythm / Fox in Fox and the hound / Some nose-to-tail cuisine

Constructor: Robyn Weintraub

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (untimed)

THEME: none

Word of the Day: Lucy WEBB Hayes, 1800s first lady (38A) —

Lucy Ware Hayes (née Webb; August 28, 1831 – June 25, 1889) was the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes and served as First Lady of the United States.

Hayes was the first First Lady to have a college degree.^[1] She was also a more egalitarian hostess than previous First Ladies.^[2] An advocate for African Americansboth before and after the Civil War, Lucy invited the first African-Americanprofessional musician to appear at the White House.^[3] She was a Past Grand of Lincoln Rebekah Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, together with her husband.

Historians have christened her "Lemonade Lucy" due to her staunch support of the temperance movement; however, contrary to popular belief, she was never referred to by that nickname while living. It was her husband who banned alcohol from the White House. (wikipedia) (my emphasis)

This puzzle had me at "EXIT, pursued by a bear" (the greatest stage direction of all time). I don't think I've done a bad Robyn Weintraub puzzle. Today's was probably just average for her, but just average for her is a huge step up from typical fare. Just average for her is a delightful and fresh Friday puzzle. This one eschews Scrabbly letters for sturdy answers and snappy colloquial phrases (always the right choice), and though I found it easy, the clues had enough teeth to make the experience Friday-worthy. The things I might normally pick on in an inferior puzzle (ASI CID TOD TAE STET) just doesn't register as remarkable in a puzzle this loaded with good stuff. You only notice the cracks and the dust when there's nothing great to notice. I'm marveling at how much mileage (not SILAGE) she gets out of simple phrases like "IT'S A START" and "ANY TAKERS?" and "ARE WE THERE YET?" and "NO REASON" and "LET'S ROLL." You see the pattern there—things people say all the time but that feel fresh and lively in grid form. Robyn has a great ear for the language as we speak it, and her puzzles really demonstrate the potential cruciverbial value of simple expressions. And then there are at least half a dozen other unimpeachable longer answers, including PROPOSE A TOAST over LIFE LESSON, TOP SCORE, PEABRAIN, etc. It's hard to be mad at any of this. And it turns out, I don't actually *want* to be mad. I want a puzzle to give me a reason to love it. And Robyn always does.


Hardest part of the puzzle for me today was the PLOW / WEBB crossing. Did not know WEBB (though I ended up inferring it after I got one of the "B"s) and I just couldn't see PLOW even after getting the first three letters (!?) (25D: Get off the street, in a way). Me: "PLOD? PLOT? Huh? Is it PLOW? How do farmers get ...? Oh.... snowPLOW. Of course. Gotcha." Despite being married to a KIWI I had no idea that a KIWI was a "berry" (49D: Fuzzy berry), which is bizarre, given that I know they used to be called "Chinese gooseberries." I had the "K" and wrote in KOLA (!?), which is ... a nut. Loved the clue on ELECTORATE (39A: Seasonal pickers). That is my kind of misdirection—I'm baffled because I'm thinking of some wrong but completely plausible context, and then when I figure out my error, I groan but I do not grouse because the clue is actually spot-bleeping-on. Clever. Not torturous. Nice job. See also the clue on NINTH (61A: Finish on a diamond?). Speaking of diamonds, I am off now (early in the morning) to watch baseball! The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL)! Live! From Taiwan! It is the greatest new thing in my life since this whole horrible lockdown phase of existence started. Real baseball. Real (if mostly empty) stadiums. Real mascots real songs real celebrations. Real joy. Here's how to watch. If you are a baseball fan, I promise you won't regret it.
I hope you're all staying well.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]