Constructor: Lee Hibgie and Jeff Chen
Relative difficulty: Mediumish, maybe slightly harder (4:31)
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THEME: a volcano — I think the black squares toward the bottom/middle of the grid are supposed to evoke a MOUNTain and then the circled squares contain the ASH and LAVA that the volcano has spewed out. I don't see any actual theme answers besides MOUNT (5A: Start of many volcano names)
Word of the Day: SHIBUYA (37A: Commercial district in Tokyo known as a fashion center) —
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Very ... interesting to have a theme with practically no theme answers. Just ... MOUNT. After I was done, I thought "Is this some kind of Mt. St. Helens 'tribute' puzzle!?" (this year marks the 40th anniversary of that eruption). But no, I'm guessing no. That anniversary was back in May. So this is just any MOUNT. MOUNT Whatever. Trying hard to see it and not really succeeding. Looks like a giant black "T" atop some kind of Jell-O mold. Is the "T" part of the ash and lava. Is it ejecta of some sort? If it is, then isn't it redundant, what with all the "ASH" and "LAVA" already in the grid? Visually, this doesn't evoke a volcano At All. If you took the "ASH" and "LAVA" away, you would never in a million years guess that there was a volcano depicted in this grid. I do like that the LAVA bits are split in half and kind of ooze down the grid, whereas the ASH just floats straight down. That's a nice little visual distinction. But the overall picture just doesn't come together very effectively at all.
Because of the lack of real themers, it was somewhat harder than usual to put it all together. You get all the *constraints* of a themed grid, but none of the meaningful thematic patterning usually provided by a theme. That's not to say the ASH and LAVA weren't helpful. At the very end, LAVA definitely helped me find my grid error: OKRO! (I'd written in BRAVO and forgotten to check the cross—53A: Food also known as ladies' fingers (OKRA)). But otherwise this is just a themeless that's not as fun and wide-open as a regular themeless (because of the constraints put on the grid by the ASH and LAVA letter strings). I will say that the grid shape does allow for more long and interesting answers than a typical themed puzzle usually provides. Lots of long Downs that are at least unusual: MEDIA SHY, TRASH ART, CAMPER VAN, DIAPER BAG, TEXAS HOLD 'EM ... taken as a low-key themeless, it's fine. The solve itself was not a miserable one. It's just weird to have an OK time solving a puzzle and then have to go back and account for a theme that is so awkwardly put together. Its as(h)pirations are admirable, but on the page it just doesn't work.
Biggest trouble spot for me was SHIBUYA, which I've probably seen before but totally forgot. I also blanked on LIMEY (44A: British sailor, in slang), which ... I don't have a good excuse for. Sometimes your brain just sputters. I got annoyingly hung up at ISA / INDEEDY because I thought the [Middle of many metaphors] was AS A ... I know, I know, that's a simile, not technically a metaphor, but it really felt right. IS A ... doesn't really strike me as quintessentially metaphorical. So with the "A" instead of the "I" in the first position, INDEEDY was very hard to pick up (probably would've been hard even with the "I" securely in place) (57A: Informal "yes"). Not really hearing INDEEDY on its own. Seems like it wants to follow "Yes," not just stand in for it. Anyway, that's it for real trouble. Oh, there was a very brief moment where I had ETA instead of ETD and SHABUYA instead of SHIBUYA and thus had AAA at the front of 31D: Accessory that's good for changing times? (DIAPER BAG); that AAA opening actually caused me to misread the clue as [Accessory that's good for changing *tires*]. Again, sometimes the brain just sputters ...
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Mediumish, maybe slightly harder (4:31)
Word of the Day: SHIBUYA (37A: Commercial district in Tokyo known as a fashion center) —
Shibuya (渋谷 Shibuya-ku) is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial and business centre, it houses the two busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station.As of May 1, 2016, it has an estimated population of 221,801 and a population density of 14,679.09 people per km2 (38,018.7/sq mi). The total area is 15.11 km2 (5.83 sq mi).The name "Shibuya" is also used to refer to the shopping district which surrounds Shibuya Station. This area is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area. (wikipedia)
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Because of the lack of real themers, it was somewhat harder than usual to put it all together. You get all the *constraints* of a themed grid, but none of the meaningful thematic patterning usually provided by a theme. That's not to say the ASH and LAVA weren't helpful. At the very end, LAVA definitely helped me find my grid error: OKRO! (I'd written in BRAVO and forgotten to check the cross—53A: Food also known as ladies' fingers (OKRA)). But otherwise this is just a themeless that's not as fun and wide-open as a regular themeless (because of the constraints put on the grid by the ASH and LAVA letter strings). I will say that the grid shape does allow for more long and interesting answers than a typical themed puzzle usually provides. Lots of long Downs that are at least unusual: MEDIA SHY, TRASH ART, CAMPER VAN, DIAPER BAG, TEXAS HOLD 'EM ... taken as a low-key themeless, it's fine. The solve itself was not a miserable one. It's just weird to have an OK time solving a puzzle and then have to go back and account for a theme that is so awkwardly put together. Its as(h)pirations are admirable, but on the page it just doesn't work.
Biggest trouble spot for me was SHIBUYA, which I've probably seen before but totally forgot. I also blanked on LIMEY (44A: British sailor, in slang), which ... I don't have a good excuse for. Sometimes your brain just sputters. I got annoyingly hung up at ISA / INDEEDY because I thought the [Middle of many metaphors] was AS A ... I know, I know, that's a simile, not technically a metaphor, but it really felt right. IS A ... doesn't really strike me as quintessentially metaphorical. So with the "A" instead of the "I" in the first position, INDEEDY was very hard to pick up (probably would've been hard even with the "I" securely in place) (57A: Informal "yes"). Not really hearing INDEEDY on its own. Seems like it wants to follow "Yes," not just stand in for it. Anyway, that's it for real trouble. Oh, there was a very brief moment where I had ETA instead of ETD and SHABUYA instead of SHIBUYA and thus had AAA at the front of 31D: Accessory that's good for changing times? (DIAPER BAG); that AAA opening actually caused me to misread the clue as [Accessory that's good for changing *tires*]. Again, sometimes the brain just sputters ...
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]