Constructor: Ben Zimmer and Brendan Emmett Quigley
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (10-something, not drunk, but ... having had a strong one, for sure)
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THEME:"Shifting Sounds"— familiar phrases where the "A" (as in "sands") sound is changed to an "OU" (as in "sounds") sound, creating the wackiness you might expect:
Theme answers:
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There just isn't much to this one. It's a very old-fashioned sound-change theme without a lot of zing to it. The wackiness isn't nearly as Big as it needs to be to carry a Sunday-sized puzzle. There's just not enough that's interesting about this particular sound change. The title is also pretty limp—starts out seeming overly basic ("yes, the sounds are indeed changing ... and?") and then *maybe* you eventually realize that the title is a play on the phrase "Shifting Sands," but maybe you don't, and even if you do, it's not exactly a great joke or a huge Aha. In short, the theme felt stale. Also, the "A" sound in "CATCH," for me, is not at all the same as the "A" sound in all the other changed words. I say "CATCH" more like "ketch." It doesn't rhyme with "hatch," not coming out of my mouth, anyway. Sound-change puzzles *routinely* run into this kind of problem, which is sometimes a regional problem and sometimes just a Problem.
The grid is otherwise fine, I guess. I moved through it pretty easily and didn't have many significant grumbling moments. I still don't really believe UBID exists, and no one says SOCKO except the good people at Variety, and only the puzzle thinks it's UNARMS as opposed to "disarms," and the INURE v. ENURE thing is always low-level annoying, and ESTOP is less-than-lovely crosswordese and N-TEST feels very last-century (I'M (actually) AMAZED at how long it seems like it's been since I've had to deal with the whole A/H/N-TEST issue) and LLB is unlikely to rev anyone's engine, *but* it's a big puzzle and a handful of less-than-stellar answers doesn't really have much effect on the overall solid feel of this grid. Sunday themes need to be great, not just ... long.
I had a little trouble grasping the exact nature of this theme at first—again, I blame, in part, the theme, which is ultra-lifeless and unhelpful. I got COUNT MISS first, and figured there was some syllabic swap happening, whereby (in this instance) "miscount" became COUNT MISS. I think I was all the way down the west coast and into MOUSE MARKETING before I got the whole "A"-to-"OU" gimmick. After that, the theme was not an issue. I had some trouble with the upper middle of the grid because I screwed up the chess term and started 58A: Advised a chess player to attack the king? with CASTLE ... I guess you "castle" when you *protect* the king??? I literally would not know. This is what happens when I try to get all fancy with my chess answers instead of just waiting patiently for crosses to take care of things. I also had Yoda as Luke's MASTER (66A: Yoda, to Luke = MENTOR), had YESSES as YES, YES (45A: Words of affirmation), and because of all this screwup, had zero idea what the Jimi Hendrix / Patti Smith song could be ("HEY, JOE"). Outside that section, though, things went pretty smoothly. I had RERUNS for REAIRS (67A: Shows as an encore presentation) and BEYONCÉ before SOLANGE (92D: Singer Knowles with a 2016 #1 album).
I hope you're doing well and not rushing back out into your prematurely reopened state!
First, Peter Gordon's got "A-to-Z Crosswords: Petite Pangram Puzzles," daily 9x11 puzzles that use every letter of the alphabet! I find pangrams superfluous in standard crosswords, but in tiny daily crosswords where the pangramminess is the point—that actually sounds cool. Anyway, his Kickstarter is fully funded, so the project is a Go. Subscribe here!
Second, Caleb Madison is the crossword writer over at The Atlantic and as of today they are running themed 15x15 crosswords from outside contributors. So, constructors, here's his pitch:
Lastly, today's co-constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley, along with the veteran constructing team of Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, has a Sunday subscription puzzle called The Hub Crossword. It's just $3 / month for top-notch Sunday action. Check out their Patreon page here.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (10-something, not drunk, but ... having had a strong one, for sure)
THEME:"Shifting Sounds"— familiar phrases where the "A" (as in "sands") sound is changed to an "OU" (as in "sounds") sound, creating the wackiness you might expect:
Theme answers:
- HOUND SHAKE (23A: Dog's order at a malt shop?)
- COUNT MISS (3D: Bad shot by Dracula?)
- NED FLOUNDERS (29A: "Game of Thrones" patriarch has difficulties?)
- COUNSELED CHECK (58A: Advised a chess player to attack the king?)
- MOUSE MARKETING (76A: Part of Disney's advertising budget?)
- TROUNCE STATE (107A: Decisively defeat a cabinet department?)
- FUZZY MOUTH (117A: Feeling one gets under anaesthesia at the dentist?)
- FAIR COUCH (79D: Comfy seating at a carnival?)
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD /ˈrɪzdiː/) is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877 and offers bachelor's and master's degree programs across 19 majors.RISD's campus is located at the base of College Hill and contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions, which share social, academic, and community resources, offer a joint degree program and students can cross register for classes.The RISD community includes 181 full-time and 421 part-time faculty members, and 2,009 undergraduate and 492 graduate students. The school has nearly 30,000 alumni. (wikipedia)
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The grid is otherwise fine, I guess. I moved through it pretty easily and didn't have many significant grumbling moments. I still don't really believe UBID exists, and no one says SOCKO except the good people at Variety, and only the puzzle thinks it's UNARMS as opposed to "disarms," and the INURE v. ENURE thing is always low-level annoying, and ESTOP is less-than-lovely crosswordese and N-TEST feels very last-century (I'M (actually) AMAZED at how long it seems like it's been since I've had to deal with the whole A/H/N-TEST issue) and LLB is unlikely to rev anyone's engine, *but* it's a big puzzle and a handful of less-than-stellar answers doesn't really have much effect on the overall solid feel of this grid. Sunday themes need to be great, not just ... long.
I had a little trouble grasping the exact nature of this theme at first—again, I blame, in part, the theme, which is ultra-lifeless and unhelpful. I got COUNT MISS first, and figured there was some syllabic swap happening, whereby (in this instance) "miscount" became COUNT MISS. I think I was all the way down the west coast and into MOUSE MARKETING before I got the whole "A"-to-"OU" gimmick. After that, the theme was not an issue. I had some trouble with the upper middle of the grid because I screwed up the chess term and started 58A: Advised a chess player to attack the king? with CASTLE ... I guess you "castle" when you *protect* the king??? I literally would not know. This is what happens when I try to get all fancy with my chess answers instead of just waiting patiently for crosses to take care of things. I also had Yoda as Luke's MASTER (66A: Yoda, to Luke = MENTOR), had YESSES as YES, YES (45A: Words of affirmation), and because of all this screwup, had zero idea what the Jimi Hendrix / Patti Smith song could be ("HEY, JOE"). Outside that section, though, things went pretty smoothly. I had RERUNS for REAIRS (67A: Shows as an encore presentation) and BEYONCÉ before SOLANGE (92D: Singer Knowles with a 2016 #1 album).
I hope you're doing well and not rushing back out into your prematurely reopened state!
Promotion time!
First, Peter Gordon's got "A-to-Z Crosswords: Petite Pangram Puzzles," daily 9x11 puzzles that use every letter of the alphabet! I find pangrams superfluous in standard crosswords, but in tiny daily crosswords where the pangramminess is the point—that actually sounds cool. Anyway, his Kickstarter is fully funded, so the project is a Go. Subscribe here!
Second, Caleb Madison is the crossword writer over at The Atlantic and as of today they are running themed 15x15 crosswords from outside contributors. So, constructors, here's his pitch:
The Atlantic is looking for 15x15 puzzles with fresh, fun and intuitive themes at a medium difficulty (think Wednesday level) with a word count of under 78. I love themes with elegant parameters applied consistently that generate in-the-language entries and leave enough room for clean fill with minimal partial answers or obscurities. The Atlantic puzzle is online only, but in the future there may be opportunities to publish in the monthly magazine.
Constructors should email me their theme sets at cmadison@theatlantic.com. I'll provide feedback to all themes within the month and if I like the theme, ask for a filled grid. Currently the Atlantic pays $350 a puzzle.Caleb tells me they're also introducing "social play" this weekend, so you can solve the puzzle with a friend. Anyway, if you're a solver, check out The Atlantic Daily Crossword, and if you're a constructor and want to do some edgy themed stuff, consider Caleb (he used to edit the Buzzfeed crossword, when that existed, and I found him a real pleasure to work with when I published there).
Lastly, today's co-constructor Brendan Emmett Quigley, along with the veteran constructing team of Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, has a Sunday subscription puzzle called The Hub Crossword. It's just $3 / month for top-notch Sunday action. Check out their Patreon page here.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]