Constructor: Sid Sivakumar
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (2:53)
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THEME: ESCAPEE (39A: Fugitive who, phonetically, is "hiding" in certain letters in 17-, 21-, 52- and 61-Across) — letter string "SKP" can be found inside all four themers:
Theme answers:
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Conceptually, this is wonderful. If I didn't literally "aha" when I figured out the theme (after I was done), I came close. I make this face when I don't get the theme immediately upon finishing, and I was just starting to make it, thinking it maybe had something to do with a letter "E" that had "escaped" from the themers (don't do that, please), and then I noticed the "hiding" letter string SKP and then I was like "o, wow, well, yes, that works perfectly ... [says ESCAPEE out loud] ... yup, checks out!" There is a small part of me that thinks getting the "K" from the single initial "K" in JAMES K. POLK (where it's already sounded out as a letter) is a minor flaw, and a bigger part of me that doesn't give a f*** about "stock market lingo" and thinks ASK PRICES sounds super dumb. But whatever, SKP is probably hard do perfectly and this one works and I finished in under 3 and had a genuine aha so Not Mad. Well, tiny bit mad at the revealer clue—the ESCAPEE is hiding in the answers, not hiding "in certain letters in" the answers. The ESCAPEE literally *is* the letters, and those letters are "hiding" inside the larger phrase. The clue phrasing is awkward and to my ear incorrect.
My cat does not get SLOBBERY when he gets a CAT TREAT, but some cats do and I like that those answers are symmetrical. TSKED is awful but I'm pretty sure I've used it in actual conversation ... semi-ironically, but still. BARPIN is about as boring a word for a piece of jewelry as I can imagine. I was like "OK, some kind of PIN ... EAR PIN? ... wait, BAR PIN? Really? Yuck. Snore." There is an "ear pin" in this puzzle, it turns out, but it goes by the name of "stud" and it goes in the PIERCED EAR at 18D: Place to insert a stud. Anything else to say about this? Not really. Nice work.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. Greatest Father's Day moment was learning that my daughter is dropping sub-5 times on Monday puzzles now. I had no idea. She keeps her training to herself. Here I am being characteristically encouraging :)
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[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (2:53)
Theme answers:
- DESK PHONES (17A: Lines at the office?)
- RISK-PRONE (21A: Willing to accept danger)
- ASK PRICES (52A: Lowest acceptable offers, in stock market lingo)
- JAMES K. POLK (61A: President between John Tyler and Zachary Taylor)
A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. The modern hula hoop was invented in 1958 by Arthur K. "Spud" Melin and Richard Knerr, but children and adults around the world have played with hoops throughout history. Hula hoops for children generally measure approximately 70 centimetres (28 in) in diameter, while those for adults measure around 1 metre (40 in). Traditional materials for hoops include willow, rattan (a flexible and strong vine), grapevines and stiff grasses. Today, they are usually made of plastic tubing. (wikipedia)
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My cat does not get SLOBBERY when he gets a CAT TREAT, but some cats do and I like that those answers are symmetrical. TSKED is awful but I'm pretty sure I've used it in actual conversation ... semi-ironically, but still. BARPIN is about as boring a word for a piece of jewelry as I can imagine. I was like "OK, some kind of PIN ... EAR PIN? ... wait, BAR PIN? Really? Yuck. Snore." There is an "ear pin" in this puzzle, it turns out, but it goes by the name of "stud" and it goes in the PIERCED EAR at 18D: Place to insert a stud. Anything else to say about this? Not really. Nice work.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. Greatest Father's Day moment was learning that my daughter is dropping sub-5 times on Monday puzzles now. I had no idea. She keeps her training to herself. Here I am being characteristically encouraging :)
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]