Constructor: Ross Trudeau
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (it's oversized, 16x15) (4:00)
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THEME: THIS TOO SHALL PASS (37A: Adage on the impermanence of suffering ... or a hint to 18-, 29-, 46- and 61-Across)— things that pass
Theme answers:
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I am, in fact, going to pass. MILDEWY is an OK kind of icky, though the clue was ickier (and much vaguer) than it needed to be (1A: Fungus-filled, maybe). But it was really KIDNEY STONE that killed the vibe for me, very early on. I have been fortunate enough not to have a KIDNEY STONE yet, but as I understand it, they are (or can be) extremely painful. And then you go and make a punny little joke out of it with your revealer? I dunno. I don't get the impulse to te(e)hee at people's pain like this. I will admit that my tolerance for "laugh at people's pain" is probably at an all-time low this week (i.e. the first week post-violent white supremacist assault on the Capitol). I know, it *seems* totally unrelated to laughing at kidney stones, but trolls laugh at pain, and all those ****ers with their stupid body armor and their zip-tie handcuffs, who were literally planning to murder Nancy Pelosi and hang Mike Pence, well, you saw the smiles. So much smiling while murdering police officers. So happy. So laughing at suffering is low on my list of things to do right now. And speaking of politics, that second themer is a laugher. Since when does any legislation get "passed" anymore, particularly a (genuinely) BIPARTISAN BILL? "Compromise?" What kind of nostalgic "West Wing"-addled Washington, D.C. fanfiction is this? Currently, one part of the "BI-" in "bipartisan" claims the presidential election was invalid (based on literally zero evidence) and actively supports white native terrorism—so BIPARTISAN BILL, ha. Further, the PRO in PRO QUARTERBACK is an unnecessary tack-on, i.e. it's only here to make the symmetry work out. Quarterbacks at any level pass. Nothing special about a pro in that regard (come to think of it, nothing special about the BIPARTISAN part of BIPARTISAN BILL, either—no necessary connection to the "passing"). BRIEF MOMENT ... yeah, OK. I think that where the theme is concerned, KIDNEY STONE is actually the *best* of these answers, but it's also the worst, for reasons I've already covered.
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (it's oversized, 16x15) (4:00)
Theme answers:
- KIDNEY STONE (18A: Hard deposit in a bladder)
- BIPARTISAN BILL (LOL, ok) (29A: Legislation often resulting from compromise)
- PRO QUARTERBACK (46A: N.F.L. signal caller)
- BRIEF MOMENT (61A: Jiffy)
n. pl. moonfish or moon·fish·es
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I had EPALA- and didn't carefully read the clue (11D: Govt. testing site for air and water quality), and so the only answer that seemed plausible was EPA LAW, which resulted in BIPARTISAN WILL, which *really* seemed insane ... but also plausible. Only other trouble spot was "OK, NOW," which ... I'm having trouble understanding the tone in which I'm supposed to read those words. The clue is *not* helping (53A: "Well, alrighty..."). Are these stand-alone expressions, or just ... lead-ins to some unidentified statement? The "alrighty" is really throwing me. Folksy in a way that I can't pin down, ERA-wise. Anyone might say "OK, NOW..." whereas who the heck is saying "alrighty?" Sounds either ironic or passive-aggressive. Lack of clear context and indefinite slanginess are both hampering things here. Anyway, I had the "OK" and needed help from crosses to get the "NOW." Not much else to say. Really liked "IT'S A LOT" (the simple, spot-on colloquialisms are often the best; though, again, I'm not sure the clue quite captures the deadpan, understated beauty of "IT'S A LOT") (68A: Vague comment akin to "More than you might think"). CAROLINA is not an "Area," though, stop. If you use states in your clue, then a state better be your answer. There's a North and there's a South. Only James Taylor's getting away with CAROLINA all on its own.
Still don't know the "GOT" characters yet. Had the "Y" and guessed ANYA at 58D: Maisie Williams's role on "Game of Thrones" (ARYA). That's pretty close. Someday I'll manage to commit to memory more "GOT" names than Ned Stark ... OR NOT.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld