Constructor: Michael Lieberman
Relative difficulty: Easy (8:31 w/ a strong drink in me)
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THEME:"Familiar Surroundings" — wacky three-word answers where middle word is a compound (two-part) word that is preceded by its own first part and succeeded by its own second part, creating essentially double doublephrases phrases (that is, all answers follow an A AB B pattern):
Relative difficulty: Easy (8:31 w/ a strong drink in me)
Theme answers:
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Jarring return to reality today. I feel bad for those of you who solve only the Sunday / read me only on Sunday. It must be a little grim. I seem to like maybe one Sunday a month, maybe. Maybe. And I had a solid handful of positive reviews this month, including a rave review yesterday about what is likely to be the best Saturday puzzle of the year. But if you just stop in here on Sundays, well, you see none of that. I have to tell you, if the Sunday is the only NYTXW you solve, you are Not seeing the Times' best work. Not by a longshot. It *should* be the best work. Sunday pays the most (by a longshot), and it has the biggest audience (my traffic goes up ~50-100% on Sundays). But so often it's just a dreary long haul, a march through some long, tired wordplay gimmick that might've seemed fresh three decades ago, but now feels old and sad. Such was the case today. I got the first themer and immediately got an overall feeling of deflation. I could almost hear the air leaking pitifully out of this thing. CON CON! FUSES FUSES! Oof, we're really doing this? For six more themers!? I can honestly say that I didn't look at another theme clue because I simply didn't have to. That led to one very awkward moment when I wrote in POO POO CURES CURES for that last themer (I thought ROE (113D: Little eggs) was OVA and, well, things escalated from there), but otherwise, I just figured out the themers by doubling the letters I already had in the grid. Double and infer, double and infer. Blew through the whole thing in a well below-average time, but with absolutely no sense of exhilaration because there was never a moment of excitement. Well, I was kinda excited to see CAMPARI (which I enjoy) and CEVICHE (which I enjoy), but otherwise, it's just corny wordplay and dated fill as far as the eye can see.
- CON CONFUSES FUSES (23A: Prisoner accidentally causes a power outage?)
- ELON ELONGATES GATES (37A: Southern university beefs up campus security?)
- MAN MANDATES DATES (54A: Fellow imposes a strict palm fruit regimen?)
- ANA ANAGRAMS GRAMS (78A: Actress de Armas writes "Mr. Gas" and "Ms. Rag")
- APP APPRAISES RAISES (94A: Smartphone advises on poker bets?)
- PRO PROCURES CURES (112A: Doctor acquires antibiotics?)
Ceviche, also cebiche, seviche, or sebiche (Spanish pronunciation: [seˈβitʃe]) is a South American seafood dish that originated in Peru, typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juices, most commonly lemon or lime, but historically it was made with the juice of bitter orange. It is also spiced with ají, chili peppers or other seasonings and chopped onions, salt, and coriander are also added.
Because the dish is eaten raw, and not cooked with heat, it must be prepared fresh and consumed immediately to minimize the risk of food poisoning. Ceviche is often eaten as an appetizer; if eaten as a main dish, it is usually accompanied by side dishes that complement its flavors, such as sweet potato, lettuce, maize, avocado, or cooking banana. (wikipedia)
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[R.E.M REMEMBERS EMBERS?]
There were a few tricky moments. Needed almost every cross to get 1A: Home for The Devil (TAROT). Wanted TASMAN or SOME UNIVERSITY or something. I'm not a nerdy teen from the '60s so I don't know Morse Code, ergo ESS was hard for me (14D: What "..." may represent)—yet again, an annoying clue courtesy of whatever sense of humor it is that thinks Doubling Clues Is Awesome (see 57D: What "..." may represent). ESS is bad fill, why make people dwell on it!? This puzzle doubles a lot of things. UTESandATV. ARYAandARIA. AFLACandAETNA. Notice that none of this is "2 x something great!" Man, NEBS is a truly terrible word (79D: Birds' bills). I can accept NIBS and NUBS, and NABS is welcome anytime, but NEBS, erk. My brain purposely forgot it was a real word. I briefly thought 32D: Work in the kitchen? was KNIFE because, I mean, if someone attacked you in the kitchen, you might stab them. You might! You wouldn't KNEAD them, I know that. Speaking of KNEAD, I KNEAD to stop writing about this puzzle now. Good day. And happy first day of summer!
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]