Constructor: Johanna Fenimore
Relative difficulty: Easy (under 4)
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THEME: BIG BAD WOLF (57A: Fairy tale villain associated with the ends of 20-, 27- and 49-Across) — HUFF and PUFF and BLOW are the ends of the themers:
Theme answers:
I was solving this puzzle and had no real idea what the theme was and wasn't particularly in love with the fill, but then two things happened to brighten my mood considerably. First, I ran into the name of my new kitten, who is currently the center of my life, because ... well, I mean, come on:
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After KURTIS BLOW, I was set. The theme ... well, I really really (really) wish that there had been some way to incorporate HOUSE DOWN into the theme somehow. Even if HOUSE had just been one of the Down answers in the grid somewhere, that would've made me smile. As it is, it doesn't really represent the Wolf threat trifecta: huff, puff, blow your house down (not huff, puff, blow). Still, the themers are good on their own, and the fill is, at worst, average, and so, by the transitive property of KURTIS BLOW and the mystical power of ALFIE, I declare this puzzle just fine.
I sailed through this, though looking back, I appear to have made a number of initial errors. Writing in AID for ACT was weirdly obstructive (23D: Be effective), I think because TORIC ran through that answer, and I was somehow not seeing the capital letters on "Life Savers" and so kept wanting some word like "heroic." I also had OPTIMAL (which is the adjective I'd use) rather than OPTIMUM (which is ... a noun to me). OPTIMUM is suboptimal imho, but it's valid, so fine. Speaking of suboptimal: NIKKI Haley, who almost single-handedly un-KURTIS BLOWs this puzzle with her horrid Trump handmaidenness. Please don't put (R) bootlickers in my puzzles!!! But then there's a big cup of coffee there with ARABICA and suddenly I'm happy again. So many moods! To sum up: my cat ALFIE is great, KURTIS BLOW is great, the fill has issues, NIKKI Haley has issues. Verdict: just fine.
P.S. TWEENER is not a word and won't ever be so delete it from your wordlists Thank U!
P.P.S. I knew how to spell KURTIS but I did not know how to spell NIKKI and it seems *entirely* possible that many many Many people will put a "C" at that crossing and it will feel right and look right And Sound Right When You Say Both Of Their Names and yet not be right. That is cruel. This cross probably should never have happened. If the puzzlemakers had followed my "no (R) bootlickers" rule, this would never have happened.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (under 4)
Theme answers:
- LEAVES IN A HUFF (20A: Storms out)
- CHEESE PUFF (27A: Airy snack item)
- KURTIS BLOW (49A: Singer whose 1980 single "The Breaks" was the first gold record rap song)
Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song for Hip Hop. Throughout his career he has released 15 albums and is currently an ordained minister.
• • •
I was solving this puzzle and had no real idea what the theme was and wasn't particularly in love with the fill, but then two things happened to brighten my mood considerably. First, I ran into the name of my new kitten, who is currently the center of my life, because ... well, I mean, come on:
 |
| 4 weeks old when we found him in our bushes |
 |
| 7 weeks old now |
So when someone asks me "What's it all about?" I can honestly answer: "ALFIE" (22D: Title role for Michael Caine and Jude Law). So that answer was a joy to get, and then right after that I ran into KURTIS BLOW and it's my sincere belief that no puzzle that contains KURTIS BLOW can be truly bad. Throw all the EWW and AONE and LETO ETTA PASHA ALEE you want in there, the power of KURTIS BLOW cancels them all out. These are the breaks.
After KURTIS BLOW, I was set. The theme ... well, I really really (really) wish that there had been some way to incorporate HOUSE DOWN into the theme somehow. Even if HOUSE had just been one of the Down answers in the grid somewhere, that would've made me smile. As it is, it doesn't really represent the Wolf threat trifecta: huff, puff, blow your house down (not huff, puff, blow). Still, the themers are good on their own, and the fill is, at worst, average, and so, by the transitive property of KURTIS BLOW and the mystical power of ALFIE, I declare this puzzle just fine.
["You're free to come and go / Or talk like KURTIS BLOW ..."]
I sailed through this, though looking back, I appear to have made a number of initial errors. Writing in AID for ACT was weirdly obstructive (23D: Be effective), I think because TORIC ran through that answer, and I was somehow not seeing the capital letters on "Life Savers" and so kept wanting some word like "heroic." I also had OPTIMAL (which is the adjective I'd use) rather than OPTIMUM (which is ... a noun to me). OPTIMUM is suboptimal imho, but it's valid, so fine. Speaking of suboptimal: NIKKI Haley, who almost single-handedly un-KURTIS BLOWs this puzzle with her horrid Trump handmaidenness. Please don't put (R) bootlickers in my puzzles!!! But then there's a big cup of coffee there with ARABICA and suddenly I'm happy again. So many moods! To sum up: my cat ALFIE is great, KURTIS BLOW is great, the fill has issues, NIKKI Haley has issues. Verdict: just fine.
P.S. TWEENER is not a word and won't ever be so delete it from your wordlists Thank U!
P.P.S. I knew how to spell KURTIS but I did not know how to spell NIKKI and it seems *entirely* possible that many many Many people will put a "C" at that crossing and it will feel right and look right And Sound Right When You Say Both Of Their Names and yet not be right. That is cruel. This cross probably should never have happened. If the puzzlemakers had followed my "no (R) bootlickers" rule, this would never have happened.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]