Constructor: Daniel Raymon
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
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THEME: SK- to SQU-— familiar phrases where an SK- word is changed to an SQU- word, with wacky results:
Theme answers:
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More evidence of the NYT's declining standards, and what I can only imagine is a significantly shallower talent pool than in previous years. Time was this kind of theme execution, with the utterly inconsistent final theme answer, would've been rejected out of hand. Symmetry, elegance, consistency—these are all elements that used to matter in theme execution. It's a basic theme—a simple sound-changer with just four theme answers. If the sound change is in the first word for the first three answers, it must be there in the fourth. Want to mix things up? Great. Then go 2 and 2. Make it first and last, first and third, second and third—all defensible. What's not defensible is this sad, which-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other outlier business. All first words, all last words, or two and two—those are your acceptable options. I can't believe this puzzle was even submitted, let alone accepted. It's the NYT, for ^$&%'s sake. That's *supposed* to mean something. And it's not like the fill is so great on this one. Nothing much of interest outside the theme answers. Also, super-gunk like REUNE (seriously, the worst), and then crosswordese aplenty (the east and the south having a particularly high density, but see also ANIL, EER, ETH, etc.).
Puzzle played harder than usual for reasons that I think have to do with vague cluing. I had an oddly hard time seeing LANDSCAPER (gotta love APER crossing APERS, amirite!?). Topiary seems like a specific art, so the general "landscaping" idea never came to me. At one point I had (or thought I had) SQUARE ANTIC, but I must've had SQUARE TANTIC … I clearly wasn't seeing the grid well. I have no idea what 41A: One seeing pink elephants (SOT) even means. I have zero frame of reference for that [I now know it's from "Dumbo" so you can stop writing, thanks!]. Is that something drunks in the olden days saw? I had -OT and thought "TOT?" Ugh. Worst slow-down was in the west, where I had ALTS for HGTS (not surprising) (32D: Elevs.) and, later, PIANO for GRAND (also not surprising) (37A: Steinway offering). This made me consider QUO for 28D: Proof finale letters (QED). Never mind that "quid pro QUO" has nothing to do with proofs.
Perhaps the most joyless Q-laden experience I've ever had as a solver. Someone needs to tell the emperor he has some sartorial issues.
See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
Theme answers:
- SQUID MARKS (17A: Food critic's assessments of calamari?)
- SQUARE TACTIC (27A: Maneuver on a chessboard?)
- SQUIRT CHASER (43A: Rug rat pursuer?)
- GREAT SQUAT (57A: Outstanding posture for a catcher?)
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (/ˈstɛŋɡəl/; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975), nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and originally nicknamed "Dutch", a common nickname at that time for Americans of German ancestry. After his major league career began, he acquired the nickname"Casey", which originally came from the initials of his hometown ("K. C."), which evolved into "Casey", influenced by the wide popularity of the poem Casey at the Bat. In the 1950s, sportswriters dubbed him with yet another nickname, "The Old Professor" (or "Perfessor"), for his sharp wit and his ability to talk at length on anything baseball-related.Although his baseball career spanned a number of teams and cities, he is primarily associated with clubs inNew York City. Between playing and managing, he is the only man to have worn four of New York's major league clubs' uniforms. He was the first of four men (through the 2012 season) to manage both the New York Yankees and New York Mets; Yogi Berra, Dallas Green, and Joe Torre are the others. Like Torre, he also managed the Braves and the Dodgers. He ended his baseball career as the beloved manager for the then expansion New York Mets, which won over the hearts of New York partly due to the unique character of their veteran leader. (wikipedia)
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Puzzle played harder than usual for reasons that I think have to do with vague cluing. I had an oddly hard time seeing LANDSCAPER (gotta love APER crossing APERS, amirite!?). Topiary seems like a specific art, so the general "landscaping" idea never came to me. At one point I had (or thought I had) SQUARE ANTIC, but I must've had SQUARE TANTIC … I clearly wasn't seeing the grid well. I have no idea what 41A: One seeing pink elephants (SOT) even means. I have zero frame of reference for that [I now know it's from "Dumbo" so you can stop writing, thanks!]. Is that something drunks in the olden days saw? I had -OT and thought "TOT?" Ugh. Worst slow-down was in the west, where I had ALTS for HGTS (not surprising) (32D: Elevs.) and, later, PIANO for GRAND (also not surprising) (37A: Steinway offering). This made me consider QUO for 28D: Proof finale letters (QED). Never mind that "quid pro QUO" has nothing to do with proofs.
Perhaps the most joyless Q-laden experience I've ever had as a solver. Someone needs to tell the emperor he has some sartorial issues.
See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld