Constructor: Trenton Charlson
Relative difficulty: Easy (one long answer I didn't know, but otherwise nothing very daunting)
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: ANANSI THE SPIDER (16A: Mischievous character in West African folklore) —
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Triple (and sometimes quad) stacks like the ones you see at the top and bottom of today's grid have generally gotten better in quality over the years as the wordlists people use in their constructing software have become more and more robust. Still, most of the time, in my experience, even now, even today, the juice isn't really worth the squeeze. The answers in the stack really have to be startlingly good for the attendant compromises in the shorter fill to be worth it. Today's puzzle comes off fine, I think, but after ANANSI THE SPIDER (truly original), the rest feels pretty ho-hum. I'd rather constructors work on making a puzzle that's joyful to solve rather than on setting an architectural challenge for themselves. I think today's triple-stack grid was a fine example of the form, but there's a kind of joy ceiling on these things, because there are too many shorter / medium answers that are there solely because they make the *stacks* work, not because anyone particularly wants them there. My opening gambit will give you some idea of the type of fill I'm talking about:
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Relative difficulty: Easy (one long answer I didn't know, but otherwise nothing very daunting)
Word of the Day: ANANSI THE SPIDER (16A: Mischievous character in West African folklore) —
Anansi (/əˈnɑːnsi/ ə-NAHN-see; literally translates to spider) is an Akan folktale character. He often takes the shape of a spider and is sometimes considered to be a god of all knowledge of stories. Taking the role of trickster, he is also one of the most important characters of West African, African American and Caribbean folklore. Originating in West Africa, these spider tales were transmitted to the Caribbean by way of the transatlantic slave trade. Anansi is most well known for his ability to outsmart and triumph over more powerful opponents through his use of cunning, creativity and wit. Despite taking on the role of the trickster, Anansi's actions and parables often carry him as protagonist due to his ability to transform his apparent weaknesses into virtues. He is among several West African tricksters including Br'er Rabbit and Leuk Rabbit. (wikipedia)
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To be fair, these first two answers (ÉTÉS, ANOUT) are among the very least interesting in the grid, but my point about not enough stuff being truly *marquee* stuff stands. Fifteen Downs up top and ADELAIDE is the only one I'd say is genuinely delightful (and even that may be entirely personal, since everything antipodean reminds me of my New Zealander wife, and "ADELAIDE" is a beautiful song by Paul Kelly, an artist my wife introduced me to). ODAMAE and OATEN and the redundant ELMTREE give a similar meh vibe to the Downs down below.
I have smiley faces next to COMMUNION WAFERS and SILENT TREATMENT, so those answers were worth it, but any ONE'S-containing answer in a stack of 15s always seems sad and cliché to me; back in the day, when triple and quad stacks were somewhat more common, the ONE'S answer became a kind of cliché, a routine crutch that constructors would often use, creating an awkward phrase that no one would ever use *unless* they were trying to pull off a stack of long answers. The paradigmatic example of the form is A LOT ON ONE'S PLATE (15). You used to see that ... a lot. Well, not a lot a lot, but it definitely repeated, and 15s really shouldn't repeat such that they call attention to themselves. Anyway, "Feast your eyes on..." is a phrase; "FEAST ONE'S EYES ON" has possibly never been uttered before in the history of human existence, despite being theoretically possible and grammatically defensible (despite being, in fact, the way the phrase actually appears in dictionaries). This means, ultimately, that the 15s in this are both hit and miss. The rest of the fill hangs in there, but I'd like fill to do more than that on a Saturday (or any day). So this isn't a bad puzzle, by any means—there's hardly anything at all that made me wince or give the puzzle dubious looks. It's just flatter than a themeless oughta be. Soda that's sat out too long. Actually, lukewarm coffee is probably the better metaphor for me. Yes, I will *definitely* drink that, but only because I'm too lazy to get up and go to the microwave. [Sips] ... Yes, better than *no* coffee, but all I'm thinking about is how good hot, fresh coffee is.
Five things:
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- 1A: Goof (CARELESS MISTAKE) — [Goof] = mistake. Wish clue had had something more colorful to cue the "CARELESS" bit. Are there careful mistakes? My favorite careless thing is whispers:
- 12D: Two in a row, say? (TIFF)— Hey, I found a "?" clue that I really like! (a "row" here is a spat or an argument, in case that wasn't perfectly clear)
- 18A: David who took 15 years to write "The History of England" (HUME) — tricky clue, as HUME is much better known (I think) as a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher ("A Treatise on Human Nature") than as an historian
- 27D: Unfulfilled duty (ARREAR) — ah, the singular ARREAR. Definitely on my enemies list. Among the most OATEN of answers (OATEN being also on said list)
- 53D: Part of mayo that's most popular? (CINCO)— transparent wordplay, but not bad wordplay. That makes two "?" clues I liked in this puzzle, which is about 1.5 more than usual.
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