Constructor: Alina Abidi
Relative difficulty: Easy (easiest I've ever done, I think; wish I'd had the timer on)
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THEME: PARTY ANIMAL (50A: Frequent reveler ... or a hint to 16-/26- and 36-Across) — both of the first two themers are games you'd play at parties that have an animal in the name ... and both animals happen to be the animals that represent the two main U.S. political parties, which were popularized in the 19th century by political cartoonist THOMAS NAST (60A: Cartoonist suggested by this puzzle's theme) (Nast created the Republican elephant, not the Democratic donkey, but he made both symbols famous; see "Word of the Day," below)
The party (in two senses of the word) animal answers:![]()
Wow, this is like two puzzles. I thought I was done with the PARTY ANIMAL revealer, and I thought, "well that's pretty cool ... two party games ... both containing animals ... nice." Then I thought "but just two animals, that's pretty thin..." and *then* I ran into THOMAS NAST, and *only* then did I see the political slant of the animals. So there's a one-two revealer punch, and both punches land, so I'm pretty impressed. Knocked-out, you might say. Looks like another puzz TKO!
The only downside to the puzzle ... and maybe it's not a down side so much as a fluky thing on my end ... is that there was (almost) no resistance, no teeth, no fight in this puzzle At All. Every clue I looked at, I got, immediately. This is (almost) not an exaggeration. About a third of the way through the grid, I realized I hadn't looked and missed once, so then I actually started paying attention—would I look at *any* clue where I didn't know the answer? Keep in mind (and this is Crucial... :), I always work off crosses whenever possible. That is, I do not bounce around the grid, doing successive Acrosses or just hunting answers or whatever. I start in the NW (if possible, and once I get an answer, I work its crosses, and so on and so on, until I'm done. Now, sometimes this isn't possible; that is, you get an answer, and you try to work its crosses and it gets you nowhere, so you have to move on, jump into a new section of the grid with no assistance from crosses. But a long time ago someone smart put the thought in my head: "Why would you not use the information you Already Have In The Grid!?" Just one letter can be a Huge leg up. This is my most important solving advice: stop bouncing around (if you don't absolutely have to).
Relative difficulty: Easy (easiest I've ever done, I think; wish I'd had the timer on)
The party (in two senses of the word) animal answers:
- PIN THE TAIL / ON THE DONKEY (16A: With 26-Across, game that uses a blindfold)
- WHITE ELEPHANT (36A: Item exchanged in a so-called "yankee swap")
Thomas Nast (/næst/; German: [nast]; September 27, 1840 – December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a critic of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and the Tammany Hall Democratic party political machine. Among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus (based on the traditional German figures of Sankt Nikolaus and Weihnachtsmann) and the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party (GOP). Contrary to popular belief, Nast did not create Uncle Sam (the male personification of the United States Federal Government), Columbia (the female personification of American values), or the Democratic donkey, although he did popularize those symbols through his artwork. Nast was associated with the magazine Harper's Weekly from 1859 to 1860 and from 1862 until 1886.
• • •
[this man, my lord]
The only downside to the puzzle ... and maybe it's not a down side so much as a fluky thing on my end ... is that there was (almost) no resistance, no teeth, no fight in this puzzle At All. Every clue I looked at, I got, immediately. This is (almost) not an exaggeration. About a third of the way through the grid, I realized I hadn't looked and missed once, so then I actually started paying attention—would I look at *any* clue where I didn't know the answer? Keep in mind (and this is Crucial... :), I always work off crosses whenever possible. That is, I do not bounce around the grid, doing successive Acrosses or just hunting answers or whatever. I start in the NW (if possible, and once I get an answer, I work its crosses, and so on and so on, until I'm done. Now, sometimes this isn't possible; that is, you get an answer, and you try to work its crosses and it gets you nowhere, so you have to move on, jump into a new section of the grid with no assistance from crosses. But a long time ago someone smart put the thought in my head: "Why would you not use the information you Already Have In The Grid!?" Just one letter can be a Huge leg up. This is my most important solving advice: stop bouncing around (if you don't absolutely have to).
Anyway, back to this puzzle—as I say, I started paying attention to every clue I looked at, wondering if I'd whiff on *any* of them today. And by puzzle's end, I had balked at just three answers. Ironically, one of those answers was THOMAS NAST (I had -AS NAST and just blanked (actually, blank blank blank blanked...) on his first name. I teach that dude's cartoons in my comics class, and he's the answer I tripped on. LOL. I also didn't instantly get FWD, perhaps because "chain letter" (???) what year is it??? (23D: Repeated string in a chain letter subject line) If this clue had referred to emails from my father in the '00s containing dubious political "humor," then yeah, FWD would've registered. But with just -W- in place, I had to move to crosses. Lastly, in terms of today's misses, I wrote in RATED G when the answer was RATED E (for "Everyone") (46D: For all ages, as a video game). But that is it. I failed to get an answer at first glance just thrice. In the whole puzzle. I know better than to imagine that this is because of my solving superpowers. My only power is knowing to work the crosses—use the info you've already got in the grid.
Grid is solid if not very showy (lots of 3s and 4s keep it pretty low-profile). Long Downs are delightful, though. BLANK CANVAS is my favorite (10D: Artist's starting place). Might've preferred BAD HAIR DAYS, but I didn't particularly enjoy the "?" clue there (25D: Things best kept under one's hat?) (just can't quite get behind the idea that a "day" is a "thing"). But that was really my only Scrooge feeling today. Really enjoyed this one. That makes two themed puzzles in a row that I've emphatically enjoyed. Please remember this next time you find yourself thinking "oh he hates every puzzle." If puzzles are good, turns out, I like them! Woo woo. See you tomorrow.