Constructor: JOE DIPIETRO
Relative difficulty: MEDIUM
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THEME: BLANK EXPRESSION / STRAIGHT FACE EMOJI — the theme answers (all past tense) describe a blank, expressionless face, which is what the puzzle visually depicts (or is trying to, anyways).
Word of the Day: OIL CITY (5D: Pennsylvania petroleum center, once) —![]()
Hi friends! My name is Megan, and I'll be the final guest writer before Rex returns tomorrow! I'm a grad student living in Boston, working on a dissertation in Renaissance poetry, and getting ready to teach writing composition to a fresh batch of undergraduates. The semester is three weeks away and I'm already tired. Like Tom, who did a great job yesterday(!), I'm a first-time contributor and relative newbie. So please be kind :) Onto the puzzle!
Theme answers:
Relative difficulty: MEDIUM
THEME: BLANK EXPRESSION / STRAIGHT FACE EMOJI — the theme answers (all past tense) describe a blank, expressionless face, which is what the puzzle visually depicts (or is trying to, anyways).
Word of the Day: OIL CITY (5D: Pennsylvania petroleum center, once) —
Oil City is a city in Venango County, Pennsylvania known for its prominence in the initial exploration and development of the petroleum industry. It is located at a bend in the Allegheny River at the mouth of Oil Creek.
Initial settlement of Oil City was sporadic, and tied to the iron industry. After the first oil wells were drilled in 1861, it became central to the petroleum industry while hosting headquarters for the Pennzoil, Quaker State, and Wolf's Head motor oil companies.
Tourism plays a prominent role in the region by promoting oil heritage sites, nature trails, and Victorian architecture. The population was 10,557 at the 2010 census, and it is the principal city of the Oil City, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. (Wikipedia)
Theme answers:
- STARED INTO SPACE (19A: Zoned out)
- HAD A BLANK LOOK (38A: Seemed confused, maybe)
- SHOWED NO EMOTION (49A: Appeared poker-faced)
Overall, I had a lot of fun with this puzzle, but I gotta be honest, I find the face is a little creepy to look at. It kinda looks like a skull? (Which, to be fair, is probably hard to avoid when you're dealing with black and white squares.) But then, are the black squares on the top and sides of the grid supposed to be hair and...sideburns? Or cheek hollows? What are the small black columns on the bottom of the grid supposed to be? Or, I guess now that I'm looking at it again, it almost looks like a koala? I'm also not sure why all the theme answers are past-tense verb formations, but I appreciate the consistency. (See Lesson 19 from Strunk & White, which I'll be teaching my students come fall: "Express coordinate ideas in similar form.")
Anyways, I did see a face, and a straight face at that, so the puzzle succeeded in its goal. The fill was solid, if not terribly flashy. Enjoyed the AVE / VERMONT cross, connecting to RENT. (I have started many, many Monopoly games in my lifetime but have only ever finished one or two.) A little bit of crosswordese in the Northwest corner (AGA / MATSU), which started things off slow, especially because I initially wrote in I GOT YOU instead of I GOTCHA, but that was quickly resolved with HOMBRE, and nothing else gave me too much trouble.
Bullets:
Signed, Megan Bowman, grad student & crossword enthusiast
- ALCOPOP (8A: "Malternative" beverage) — I learned this word doing a crossword a couple weeks ago. Maybe it's a geographical or generational thing; I have never heard it IRL. Aren't all the youths just drinking Claws now?
- POTATO SKIN (12D: "Stuffed" food item at a pub) — Loved just dropping that one down. Delicious!
- CRIME NOVEL (10D: 1981's "Gorky Park" or 2012's "Gone Girl") — Really satisfying long answer, and I appreciate how the clue appeals to a couple different age groups.
Hope everyone has a good Wednesday! Rex will be back tomorrow from his well-earned vacation — he has been sorely missed!