Constructor: Adam Wagner
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME:"Game Over"— it's a chess theme ... so CHECKMATE is one ending of a chess game (47D: One ending for a classic board game — another of which (when a player resigns) is represented visually six times in this puzzle); the other ending (referred to in the CHECKMATE clue) is when a player concedes by tipping over their king ... so the puzzle has six tipped over kings, i.e. six kings that are just regular Acrosses, but that also represent the middle parts of six Downs ... so it's like the "king" portions of the Downs have been tipped over, and then the answer has sort of fallen down on itself ... it mostly looks like there's a king just sticking out of the side of the Downs, rather than actually lying down, but whatever:
Theme answers:
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Some problems. First, CHECKMATE is not a great revealer, since (by the clue's own admission) that's not actually what's being represented in the puzzle. Second, as well-meaning as the king-lying-on-its-side gimmick is, it just doesn't come off visually very well. As I say in the description (above), the letters in the king name are more jutting out of their Down answers than they are lying on their sides, really. The whole idea of resting on the surface of the board just isn't conveyed by the positionality of the various kings. I'm also not sure why they all tip out of their Down answers in the same direction (to the solver's left) but at least the tipping is consistent, I guess. I really don't tend to have the same sensibilities as dudes (and it's almost always dudes) who play chess. Except Matt Gaffney. I love his work, and he's really into chess. He is the exception that proves the rule, for sure. You should check out his crosswords for New York magazine (now playable online!) as well as the Matt Gaffney Weekly Crossword Contest (now Patreon-only). But back to this puzzle: not really my cup. It does what it does, and it does it methodically, but the whole visual effect just doesn't come together the way it should.
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
Theme answers:
- NAR COLE PTIC (4D: Quick to fall asleep, in a way)
- DESMOND TUT U (28D: Nobel Peace Prize recipient who wrote "No Future Without Forgiveness")
- FIDD LEAR OUND (76D: Tinker (with))
- TI MIDAS A MOUSE (67D: Quintessentially cowardly)
- WATCHE DAVID EO (22D: Spent some time on YouTube, say)
- YU KONG OLD (106D: Potato cultivar that was developed in Ontario, despite its name)
Robert Brydon Jones MBE (born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series Supernova, Bryn West in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey and Keith Barret in the BBCcomedy series Marion and Geoff and its spin-off The Keith Barret Show.
He has appeared in a number of shows for the BBC with Steve Coogan, including The Trip series in 2010, released as a feature film later that year; and The Trip to Italy in 2014 and The Trip to Spain in 2017 and The Trip to Greece in 2020, also edited and released as feature films. (wikipedia)
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The fill was good and bad. Something about OCTOMOM (8D: Tabloid nickname for mother Nadia Suleman) is so deeply off-putting, so demeaning, so ... dehumanizing, that I can't enjoy it at all, and I especially can't enjoy it when it's crossing SOTS (the mockery of alcoholics continues unabated ...). Also, UNSTOW made my eyes roll so far back in my head I passed out for a little there (70D: Remove from under the seat in front of you, say). I'll give you UNREEL, I guess, but UNSTOW? Um, no. IT'S (not) OK. And I was so looking forward to a really killer grid when, very early on, I encountered that truly fantastic clue for DRIP (31A: Good fashion sense, in modern slang). I know, if you haven't heard it, it's hard to see it as "fantastic," but I've been seeing it a lot lately (as well as hearing it in various rap hits), so I was beaming. I wrote it in off of the "D" in RAP CDS (fitting!), but honestly didn't trust it at all. Felt like a pretty daring clue for the NYTXW, so I carefully checked the crosses and ... whaddyaknow? DRIP was correct! I got a clue that required knowing modern lingo! Me! At 51! High-fiving myself for coolness, which is definitely what cool people do. TOP JOB is depressing in its barely-a-thingness (29D: Sought-after position). Not UNSTOW-depressing, but close. Also depressing: WATCHED A VIDEO. Truly the ATE A SANDWICH of theme answers (it's sooooo close to ATE A SANDWICH, I almost admire its moxie). SAT IN A CHAIR! ROLLED SOME OATS! GAVE ROSES TO ONE'S GIRLFRIEND! You see how these aren't answers, right? I might have given WATCHED VIDEOS some leeway, but WATCHED A VIDEO? Leeway denied!
I see LTE on my phone all the time, I think, but still don't really know those letters (80A: 4G letters). Not a fan of LTE as fill. RTE> LTE. Also BRYDON. I guess I've seen one of those Trip to Wherever movies he was in, but I sure didn't know his name, and every letter was a painful adventure to fill in. Super duper glad I knew what a MYERS-Briggs test was, or yipes, I might still be staring at BR-DON. Only other real mystery was PHAROS, but I guess if it was the site of one of the Ancient Wonders, then it's ... phair (23A: Site of a lighthouse that was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World).
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]