Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel
Relative difficulty: Easy (3:09)
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THEME: twenty twenty— Differently punctuated variations provide all the theme clues:
Theme answers:
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The theme concept is very cute and clever. The theme answers themselves aren't exactly scintillating, but that's OK; the fill is clean enough and the theme concept strong enough to make the solving experience sufficiently enjoyable. VISUAL ACUITY is definitely the wobbliest of the set, in that it reads more like a clue than an answer. It's got a definite green-paint vibe (i.e. it's a phrase you might say in ordinary conversation but it doesn't really seem strong enough to be a stand-alone answer). It's also the themer I had the most trouble with (though not too much trouble, to be honest). Did this one faster than, and enjoyed this one Much more than, Monday's puzzle. Would've loved to have seen this one yesterday and yesterday's not at all ever. But a belated Monday is better than no Monday. I feel like Tuesday has at least partially paid Monday's debt. I don't know if I was ALL FIRED UP about this one, but I definitely thought "WHAT A SHAME" about yesterday's. You get the picture. The only irksome part of today's for me was the SE corner, specifically OMBRÉ, about which I know nothing (though I can tell it's etymologically related to the French and Latin words for 'shade' or 'shadow' ... when I google [french ombre] I get pictures of people's (finger and toe) nails! Looks like OMBRÉ *hair* is when the lower part of the hair is lighter in color than the rest of it.
I'd probably prefer a real human DIEGO and not some ancillary animated character (15D: Dora the Explorer's cousin), but that's OK—I got him pretty easily from crosses. ["C'mon, man"] is a very reasonable clue for "DUDE..." if you say the answer with the proper intonation, but because the proper intonation is required, it's actually a pretty hard clue. I had WHAT- and then just No Idea what could come next at 29D: Comment made while shaking the head ("WHAT A SHAME"), so had to work the crosses through there. Got AUTOPEN solely because I had seen *and* complained about it recently (don't let anyone tell you complaining serves no purpose—it's mnemonic, apparently!). I wouldn't watch "Dancing with the Stars" if ... well, I just wouldn't, ever, is the point. I think I know ERIN Andrews from ESPN (?) but the "Dancing..." clue meant nothing to me, and RAKE was also hard (60D: Tool by a golf bunker) (I hate golf more than "Dancing..."— in hell, the only thing on TV is "Golfing with the Stars"). And RAKE and ERIN ran through OMBRÉ, so, yeah, by far that was the roughest part of the grid for me. But not really rough at all. Hope you liked this one. See you tomorrow!
P.S. I saw a great blue heron today and yesterday I saw a bald ****ing eagle! When the world gets me down (so, every day), I walk to the river and just stand there and see what's up. So much bird business! I love how little they care about me!
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (3:09)
Theme answers:
- TIE SCORE (16A: 20-20, e.g.)
- NEWS MAGAZINE (23A: "20/20," e.g.)
- RATIO (40A: 20:20, e.g.)
- VISUAL ACUITY (52A: 20/20, e.g.)
- LEAP YEAR (65A: 2020, e.g.)
: a Chinese dish consisting of sliced vegetables, soft noodles, and usually meat or shrimp in bite-size pieces stir-fried in a seasoned sauce (merriam-webster.com)
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I'd probably prefer a real human DIEGO and not some ancillary animated character (15D: Dora the Explorer's cousin), but that's OK—I got him pretty easily from crosses. ["C'mon, man"] is a very reasonable clue for "DUDE..." if you say the answer with the proper intonation, but because the proper intonation is required, it's actually a pretty hard clue. I had WHAT- and then just No Idea what could come next at 29D: Comment made while shaking the head ("WHAT A SHAME"), so had to work the crosses through there. Got AUTOPEN solely because I had seen *and* complained about it recently (don't let anyone tell you complaining serves no purpose—it's mnemonic, apparently!). I wouldn't watch "Dancing with the Stars" if ... well, I just wouldn't, ever, is the point. I think I know ERIN Andrews from ESPN (?) but the "Dancing..." clue meant nothing to me, and RAKE was also hard (60D: Tool by a golf bunker) (I hate golf more than "Dancing..."— in hell, the only thing on TV is "Golfing with the Stars"). And RAKE and ERIN ran through OMBRÉ, so, yeah, by far that was the roughest part of the grid for me. But not really rough at all. Hope you liked this one. See you tomorrow!
P.S. I saw a great blue heron today and yesterday I saw a bald ****ing eagle! When the world gets me down (so, every day), I walk to the river and just stand there and see what's up. So much bird business! I love how little they care about me!
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]