Constructor: Freddie Cheng
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (3:58) (I just couldn't get my head around a few of the themers)
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THEME: GO FISH (31D: Popular kids' game ... or a hint to 18-, 32-, 37- and 58-Across) — themers describe fishing? I guess?
Theme answers:
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What year is it? That is the question I kept asking as I solved, and after I solved, and right now. Whose idea of "fishing" is this? A stick and a can of worms and a soft (???!) line ... who is fishing, Opie? And is "GO FISH" really a "popular" kids' game in the year of our lord 2020? Who plays pick up sticks? What is 'jackstraws'?! And while we're at it, when did anyone ever call the school cafeteria the CAF!? (1D: School lunchroom, informally) Wow, wow, what? No. No. So I didn't get it. I don't believe in what the puzzle wants me to believe in. Further, I don't really see how TAKE A SOFT LINE works. I don't even know the idiom at all. I had to work for almost every letter in that one. And even now, looking at it, I don't see what softness has to do with fishing lines. I get that all these themers are verb phrases, so it's like we're getting instructions ... on how ... to fish? ... but what is "soft line"? The fact that I have to ask means that there's a problem. Also, a single, lone PICK-UP STICK!? I doubt it. And GET HOOKED ... UP? OOF. That UP was rough for me, as I had ON at first. And GO FISH is all weirdly placed, seriously, the whole thing is a thematic mess, and the attempts at playful fill (NERD PROM, FROGKICK) can't save it. Also, NERD PROM is gross on at least two levels. A, the White House Correspondents' dinner devalues journalism; don't be seduced by glamor and access; don't be chummy with politicians; take their lunch money and make them cry! And B, those aren't nerds. No, they're not. I know nerds. Please trust me on this. Also, nerds actually go to actual prom now, so ... the moniker is dumb, stem to stern.
I like MILK BAR best today (10D: Place to get a dairy treat). Oh, and SUBPOENA, just because of its funny spelling (i.e. Latin spelling ... I just like that it looks so different than it sounds). Almost all of my struggle with this one came with TAKE A SOFT LINE, a total puzzle ruiner, as I discussed above. I also had trouble with FROGKICK, as I was thinking of what the arms do, not the legs (41D: Breaststroke move). ODIC is a dumb word. Having JOVI over BON feels assbackwards, although part of me wishes they'd found a way to include ARENA in the cross-referencing action. Go all the way and just make that little southwestern section a total cross-referencing clusterf***. Why not? Penny, pound, etc. DURAG has still somehow never appeared in the NYTXW, despite being the more common (and preferred) spelling (26A: Close-fitting headwear). Here, check out this article. The title of the article is, "The Durag, Explained." The subtitle is, "It's spelled durag. The end." And it was published in the ... (checks notes) ... New York Times? Huh. Weird.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (3:58) (I just couldn't get my head around a few of the themers)
Theme answers:
- PICK-UP STICK (18A: Item in a game of jackstraws) (what are 'jackstraws'!!!?)
- OPEN A CAN OF WORMS (32A: Attempt to fix something and inadvertently make the situation worse)
- TAKE A SOFT LINE (37A: Go easy on the criticism)
- GET HOOKED UP (58A: Join (with))
Arcadia (Greek: Αρκαδία) refers to a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature. The term is derived from the Greek province of the same name which dates to antiquity; the province's mountainous topography and sparse population of pastoralists later caused the word Arcadia to develop into a poetic byword for an idyllic vision of unspoiled wilderness. Arcadia is a poetic shaped space associated with bountiful natural splendor and harmony. The 'Garden' is often inhabited by shepherds. The concept also figures in Renaissance mythology. Although commonly thought of as being in line with Utopian ideals, Arcadia differs from that tradition in that it is more often specifically regarded as unattainable. Furthermore, it is seen as a lost, Edenic form of life, contrasting to the progressive nature of Utopian desires.The inhabitants were often regarded as having continued to live after the manner of the Golden Age, without the pride and avarice that corrupted other regions. It is also sometimes referred to in English poetry as Arcady. The inhabitants of this region bear an obvious connection to the figure of the noble savage, both being regarded as living close to nature, uncorrupted by civilization, and virtuous. (wikipedia)
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I like MILK BAR best today (10D: Place to get a dairy treat). Oh, and SUBPOENA, just because of its funny spelling (i.e. Latin spelling ... I just like that it looks so different than it sounds). Almost all of my struggle with this one came with TAKE A SOFT LINE, a total puzzle ruiner, as I discussed above. I also had trouble with FROGKICK, as I was thinking of what the arms do, not the legs (41D: Breaststroke move). ODIC is a dumb word. Having JOVI over BON feels assbackwards, although part of me wishes they'd found a way to include ARENA in the cross-referencing action. Go all the way and just make that little southwestern section a total cross-referencing clusterf***. Why not? Penny, pound, etc. DURAG has still somehow never appeared in the NYTXW, despite being the more common (and preferred) spelling (26A: Close-fitting headwear). Here, check out this article. The title of the article is, "The Durag, Explained." The subtitle is, "It's spelled durag. The end." And it was published in the ... (checks notes) ... New York Times? Huh. Weird.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]