Constructor: Ross Trudeau
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: x or y?— familiar two-word phrases where second word is synonym of (or in one case simply is) "choice"; wacky clue, which is phrased as a "choice" (___ or ___?), reframes the meaning of the words involved in the answer:
Theme answers:
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Just doesn't work. I went in to this one *determined* to enjoy it—you know, just churn up affection by some sheer force of will—but the theme ended up all of a muddle, and the fill was dullish and oldish, and the one good / great clue in the whole thing got absolutely stepped on later in the solve when one of the words involved—indeed, the entire jokey premised of the clue—got duped! (i.e. duplicated). Tuezday makes it hard. So the theme: there's some consistency. All those final words are synonyms, yes, that is true, all the clues are written in the same "option" fashion (___ or ___?), and all clues reorient the meaning of the words involved in the answer, creating wackiness. Check check check. Two issues for me. First, it is somehow posing as a sports theme but isn't one? DRAFT CHOICE? Sports term (though "draft pick" out-googles it by a lot a lot a lot). SPLIT DECISION? Sports term. SHOT SELECTION? Sports term. Hell, a "pick" is a sports term (basketball) and since "ice" is involved in hockey, I thought that one, and thus Every one of the themers I encountered before the last one (STOCK OPTION), was sports-related too (weirdly, "option" is also sports-related: football play). Go all the way with the sports or else vary your phrases. Taking so much from sports but not actually being a sports theme, that was weird.
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- DRAFT CHOICE (17A: Lager or I.P.A.?)
- SPLIT DECISION (23A: Hot fudge or caramel sauce?)
- ICE PICK (39A: Neat or on the rocks?)
- SHOT SELECTION (50A: Jägermeister or Fireball?)
- STOCK OPTION (61A: Chicken broth or beef bouillon?)
Leucanthemum vulgare, commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite(French: Marguerite commune, "common marguerite") and other common names,[2] is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions of Asia, and an introduced plant to North America, Australia and New Zealand. (wikipedia)
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But the worse issue for me was that the ICE PICK clue does not reframe the first word in the themer. NBA draft goes to beer draft, divided-in-two split goes to banana split, basketball shot goes to bar shot, Wall St. stock goes to farm stock ... but ice ... goes to ice. Bartenders even use little ice picks sometimes to break the bar ice apart, so ICE PICK really *really* didn't do the reorienting of meaning that it was supposed to. But worse than ICE PICK was STOCK OPTION, because its "stock" pun is a rehash of The Very Same Pun back at 6D: Participated in a stock exchange? (MOOED). It's the same pun. Same pun. In all its elements. Even the word "stock" is repeated. That no one at any point in the editorial process caught this, or thought it was a problem, is baffling. I'm experiencing the same feeling last week when I noticed simply (very simply) changing IMPASTO to IMPASSE would've made the grid infinitely smoother / better, but ... no. No. The word "Editor" should mean something more than "guy who gets his name on every puzzle." These are stunning ball-drops (to borrow a term from ... sports).
This felt pretty darned easy, which is fine, for a Tuesday. The fill felt awfully yesteryear, which is something less than fine. Lots and lots of XER OHO ERAT ESME KIR, etc etc., and of course the comically terrible TEHEE. This grid is solid for 15 years ago, less solid for today. Should be lots of comical ways to clue BURP without bringing it back to the old alcoholism-is-Hilarious trope with Barney Gumble. I have never seen / heard SPYFI outside of puzzles, and I've watched plenty of spy films. Turns out "spy films" is concise already, and SPYFI sounds so much like "sci-fi" that people are apt to misunderstand what you're saying. Perhaps this is why no one says it. Anyway, no one does. Using a partial clue for DROWN was confusing (I always assume going to a partial means some random two-word phrase is involved). DECOCT remains one of the uglier words in the English language. I struggled to get CELT (40D: Druid, e.g.), and had to dig myself out of a mini MISTS hole at 57A: Perfumery scents (MUSKS). That is about as much exciting puzzle action as I had with this one. I'LL PASS. SO SUE ME. The puzzle was off-putting, but under no circumstances would I now, or ever, in any situation, say I was OFF-PUT (14D: Disconcerted). Good day.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. the SYD tha Kyd clue is so weird (10A: ___ tha Kyd (big name in rap, once)). Well, the "once" part is weird. Makes it sound like she is no longer a "big name," like she's bygone somehow, when in reality she simply dropped the "tha Kyd" part of her name and now goes by just SYD. She's not even 30! Don't "once" her yet.
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