Cannon ammo in sci-fi / Easiest rating for ski slope / Video game series since 1989

Constructor: Caitlin Reid

Relative difficulty: Medium (6-something)

THEME: CORNER KICKS (35A: Goal-scoring opportunities in soccer ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme) — a rebus with different "kicks" (slang for "shoes") in every "corner":

Theme answers:

• [BOOT] LEGS (1A: Pirates, say) / [BOOT] CAMPS (1D: Rigorous training courses)
• GAS [PUMP] (10A: Refilling site) / [PUMP] FAKES (13D: Deceptive basketball moves)
• FALLS [FLAT] (39D: Doesn't land, as a joke) / [FLAT] TOP (60A: Type of short haircut)
• SAND [WEDGE] (62A: Bunker need) / LEMON [WEDGE] (44D: Common seafood garnish)

Word of the Day: EIN (30A: Fig. on some I.R.S. forms) —

The Employer Identification Number (EIN), also known as the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or the Federal Tax Identification Number, is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to business entities operating in the United States for the purposes of identification. When the number is used for identification rather than employment tax reporting, it is usually referred to as a  Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and when used for the purposes of reporting employment taxes, it is usually referred to as an EIN. These numbers are used for tax administration and must be not used for any other purpose. For example, the EIN should not be used in tax lien auction or sales, lotteries, etc. (wikipedia)

This theme was cool. I had a little trouble getting started (unsurprising with rebuses) and a *lot* of trouble figuring out the "kick" in the NE corner (could think only of "gas station" and then "head fakes" or "ball fakes"), but overall the whole thing played smooth and very mediumish for a Thursday. Whatever difficulty came from the inherent difficulty of sussing out a rebus and the occasionally weirdly difficult clues was offset by the fact that we know exactly where the rebus squares are going to be. That was a huge help. I'm looking in the corners, and I'm looking for a type of shoe. Got it. No problem. No problem with difficulty. Some problem with the fill, however. I winced at ESKIMO KISS, which just has this feel of "white people cutesily describing and appropriating a meaningful Inuit greeting" (30D: Affectionate nose-rubbing). Honestly, I just steer very, very clear of the word "Eskimo" in general. It's got a complicated history and is not *inherently* derogatory, but in Canada it is generally understood as pejorative and has been replaced, in official documents, by "Inuit," as I understand it. The [Affectionate nose-rubbing] is a traditional Inuit greeting called a KUNIK, which seems like a word that would really, really like to be in a crossword grid. I also winced at MAN UP, which is just bullshit gender stereotyping of the worst variety. Any language reinforcing "tough guy" behavior or designed to sort the "real men" from the "sissies" can honestly **** off. Also, the toughest people I know are women, so the whole "MAN UP!" thing just doesn't translate for me.


There was some pretty awful fill here and there today. I have no idea ... no, scratch that, I do have some idea who thought it would be a good idea to make EIN an I.R.S. abbr. (!!???!), but wow that is horrible. If you have to put EIN in your grid in the first place just go with the well-known German word and move on. Don't do ... whatever you did here, because now you're not only subjecting us to EIN (not great to begin with) but you subjecting us to an abbr. that ... well, first, who cares? Can there be anything less interesting than an I.R.S. form abbr. And second I have a hard time believing that abbr. is universally known, because I did not know it. I was like "Earned Income ... something?" Whether you knew it or not, this is just an awful thing to do with cluing. Use your words, not your abbrs., and esp. not your dreary financial abbrs. of dubious fame. I OR is pretty awful too (29D: "Should ___ shouldn't ..."). CHOO, same (as clued). I misspelled LEIF (flipped the vowels) (16A: First name of an early explorer of Vinland). I did not misspell ERMA, but only because I already had the "E" from GLENS. I will always make the ERMA/IRMA and ILSA/ELSA errors. Al. Ways.


IONS! IOS! IOR! Farewell.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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