1968 swimming gold medalist Debbie / FRI 5-1-20 / 1898 chemistry discovery / Strategy game with disks / Chess maneuver with French name / Eponym in candy store / 16th century pope who owned pet elephant / Red-cased import / Hindu festival of colors

Constructor: Trenton Charlson

Relative difficulty: Medium- to Medium-Challenging (7 flat)

THEME: none

Word of the Day: REVERSI (22A: Strategy game with disks) —

Reversi is a strategy board game for two players, played on an 8×8 uncheckered board. It was invented in 1883. Othello, a variant with a change to the board's initial setup, was patented in 1971. // There are sixty-four identical game pieces called disks (often spelled "discs"), which are light on one side and dark on the other. Players take turns placing disks on the board with their assigned color facing up. During a play, any disks of the opponent's color that are in a straight line and bounded by the disk just placed and another disk of the current player's color are turned over to the current player's color. The object of the game is to have the majority of disks turned to display your color when the last playable empty square is filled. (wikipedia)

This one was dull and disappointing. Dull (to me) because ... well, the long answers just aren't snazzy enough (ironic, given how many "z"s are in "snazzy" and how much this puzzle seems to like "z"s). Disappointing because ... well, because of the "z"s, to be honest. Cramming one corner of the "z"s really belies a misunderstanding of what makes (themeless) grids great. Fetishizing high-value Scrabble tiles ain't it. I mean, hi, yeah, I see your seven (?) "z"s there in the E and NE, along with a stray "J" and "X," but those letters do not have inherent pizzazz. How about spreading some of those letters around and maybe making the rest of your grid more interesting. There's just something about the look-at-me showiness of all those "z"s that I find really off-putting. I also find RPMS and LEOX off-putting, though for different reasons, obviously. The "z" corner is annoying, but it's also, weirdly, the best section of the puzzle. Everything else feels slightly musty or limp. Why does the puzzle imagine that everyone who solves is superduper into other games like REVERSI and chess (ENPASSANT)? This puzzle just seemed like it was written by a guy for other guys. Guys who aced PRECALC and think UKULELES are cool. Oh, and I renew my objection to all river answers that begin RIVER.


DO A JIG is today's entry in the EAT A SANDWICH sweepstakes. I drink cocktails fairly regularly but I've never actually encountered a GIN SLING in the wild (or in my house) (1A: Cocktail often garnished with a lemon twist). I also didn't know Paul McCartney wrote ORATORIOs (14A: Paul McCartney wrote one about Liverpool). I had the Bactrian camels in ASIA, which... yeah, is right, though not specific enough today, it seems (1D: Home to Bactrian camels = GOBI). I have very little memory of Tom Sawyer (beyond the fence-painting and maybe a girl named Becky and maybe ... a cave?), and I have zero memory of his extended family (33A: Half brother of Tom Sawyer). So many good SIDs, and this is who we get? DAMN. I only just now got how "bar" connects to OENOLOGY (60A: Study for the bar?). I'm guessing it's because you can order wine at the bar ... or a wine bar ... I associate liquor and beer more with "bars," so that clue whiffed, from my end. Great clue for MIXOLOGY, though, if that ever comes up. Cool to see HOLI here; surprised we don't see it (much) more. NICELY DONE and PLAY IT SAFE are nicely done but pretty safe, and overall there's just not a lot to recommend this one. It's not bad. But the "z" stuff seems both show-offy and misguided, and yet nothing much *outside* the "z" stuff holds much interest.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]