Constructor: Debbie Ellerin
Relative difficulty: Easy (4:27) (wasn't really speeding even, *and* it's first thing in the morning)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: GNAR (61A: Growl like an angry dog) —
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An easy, smooth solve today. The longer answers stay pretty tame, but they're also uniformly solid, and even the puzzle's clear fascination with high-value Scrabble tiles (a potentially deadly distraction) doesn't derail the overall quality of the grid, which is mercifully free of junk. Well, there's Ben SASSE, but *otherwise* free of junk. This puzzle makes a good case for the Easy Themeless puzzle, which the NYT rarely has. I know I call Fridays "Easy" all the time, but that's "Easy if you are a constant solver" easy, "Easy relative to the norm" easy. It's nice to give beginners, people who have trouble getting past, say, a Wednesday puzzle, a taste of how delightful a really well-made wide-open themeless can be. The New Yorker already does this (it only serves up themelesses, and they get easier as the week progresses). This is to say that I think I would not mind the occasional Tuesday or Wednesday themeless. Raise the bar on theme quality, and then (since you will lose some mediocre themed puzzles through the bar-raising) replace them with *fun* *current* *creative* *original* themelesses. Just a thought. Anyway, this one felt really doable; part of that doability is how few proper nouns there are here. SAL / MINEO makes a (for me, very helpful) appearance (25A: With 17-Across, "Giant" actor of 1956), but virtually everything else is ordinary vocabulary, common phrases, etc. There's really not much to lock someone out, generationally or culturally. It's a warm cup of cocoa on a crisp autumn day, this one. And who doesn't like that?
Relative difficulty: Easy (4:27) (wasn't really speeding even, *and* it's first thing in the morning)
Word of the Day: GNAR (61A: Growl like an angry dog) —
intr.v. gnarred, gnar·ring, gnars also gnarrs
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I had minor trouble in a number of places, but nothing substantial. Getting from [Tips] to ACMES took some thinking (and some crosses). Wanted TIES to be TWOS (!?) (12D: Deuces, e.g.). [Dress] was ambiguous enough that it took some time to get to FROCK. Had the BINGO and couldn't fathom what followed it ("event" not leading me easily to NIGHT (3D: Event with a room full of people). I feel like they play Bingo in the daytime in "Better Call Saul" ... the sun seems to be out, anyway; maybe I'm misremembering). I spelled KWIK like that at first (31D: Classic cocoa powder brand). I thought Bundt pans were *always* MOLDS (44A: Possible uses for Bundt pans) (the term "cake molds" exists ... so ... wait, when are Bundt pans *not* molds? Are you feeding your dog out of a Bundt pan?). Easily the most confusing answer (also, arguably, the worst answer) in the grid was RAKER (47D: Fall person, perhaps). Random ER-ification of a verb. Defensible, but unpleasant. Also slightly unpleasant: GNAR, which is a word no one uses and also a word I confuse with ... what are the bumps on trees called? KNARs? Yes, I confuse it with that. Luckily RBG set me straight. Hope you found this one at least pleasant. See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]