Cartwheels and such / THU 11-11-21 / Holding in a cryptocurrency wallet / Bygone game show with a mobile set / Onetime radio host Don / Philippines battle site of WW II

Word of the Day: Cartwheel (19A: Cartwheels and such = HATS) —

A cartwheel hat (also cart wheel hat) is a hat with a wide-brimmed circular or saucer-shaped design. It may be made in a variety of materials, including straw or felt and usually has a low crown. It may be similar to the picture hatand halo-brimmed hat in shape. Typically, it is worn at an angle to show off the curve of the brim, rather than being worn at the back of the head in the manner of a halo hat. [...] The cartwheel became particularly closely associated with New Look fashions. Dior's Y-line collection of autumn 1955 showcased cartwheel hats, paired with pearls, princess-line dresses and stoles. While the size and shape of hats could be extreme, such designs were made not just for day but evening wear; the Victoria and Albert Museum archive includes a Christian Dior cocktail frock designed to be worn with matching tulle cartwheel hat. (wikipedia)

This was something of a slog, and ultimately a familiar one at that. I've seen compass-based themes a million times (give or take) over the years. This one has its own thing going on, but in the end, it's just the old NESW thing again (I was going to say "same old NEWS," but that would be corny, and far be it etc.). What I think is original about the theme is also the most annoying part of the theme, namely hiding the direction letters in the "+" signs. Those "+" signs do not suggest a compass; they suggest, perhaps shockingly, a "+" (or PLUS) sign, a sign of addition, perhaps representing the word "plus" or "and" or something. Calling them "'+' shapes" in the revealer clue only strengthened the impression that something math-y was going on. The (apparent) multiplication (or "x") symbol at the center of the grid had me (briefly) thinking the whole thing was going to be some kind of equation. It was only once I got one of the unchecked squares toward the center of the grid (from SLAW, probably), that the COMPASS concept came to me. There was an "aha" moment then, though it sounded more like a flat "oh..." And then the puzzle got Much easier to solve (once you know the gimmick, you get free letters all over the place (the direction letters, that is), and so filling in the grid becomes a cinch). It would've been cool to do this without populating the grid with apparent gibberish (e.g. ARL, NDO, ATI), but that would probably be a tall order. The answers with two cardinal direction letters—the ones connecting the "+" signs—added some architectural flash to the theme. Ultimately, this puzzle is a somewhat souped-up expression of a familiar idea.

The fill was OK, though there's nothing I would really single out as fabulous. Mostly it just holds its own. I liked PUP TENT (3D: Accommodations on a scouting trip) and GAS HOG (37A: Hardly a green vehicle) pretty well. I don't share this puzzle's idea of fun fill. "CASH CAB" barely means anything to me except dim memories of wondering what I'm looking at and trying to find the remote before I have to watch any more of it (1D: Bygone game show with a mobile set). Crypto still seems like a giant bro-scam to me, so I'm not going to enjoy seeing BITCOIN (8A: Holding in a cryptocurrency wallet) anytime soon.I did enjoy remembering the HUGH Jass joke, because I'm 10 years old, and the baseball clue on LASERS felt pretty fresh. GET A TIP is gruesome stuff. Makes EAT A SANDWICH seem elegant. If you're going to do "VERB a NOUN" then it should be an actual phrase, like LEND A HAND. I'd even accept EAT A PEACH if you wanted to get T.S. Eliot- (or Allman Brothers Band-) specific. GET A ROOM? Yes. GET A TIP? No. It makes bad noises in my brain machine. Didn't know TASHA, but ... well, that's a recognizable name, so ultimately gettable (27D: ___ Smith, star of Tyler Perry's "For Better or Worse"). Didn't know cartwheels were HATS, though I've seen them plenty, it turns out, since I spend roughly half my life watching mid-20th-century movies of one kind or another.

SUPERGS is a super-awkward plural. Hard enough to parse in the singular, let alone the plural. An event is an event. Singular. You wouldn't say WRESTLINGS? ARCHERIES? CLEAN AND JERKS? Even DOWNHILLS sounds really yuck. SLALOMS can at least be a verb, I think. Anyway, no fun getting that one. Also, how is TELECON"briefly"? I guess it's supposed to be "short" for TELECONFERENCE, but a. it doesn't seem very "brief," and b. do people still say this? "I've got a TELECON at 4, Jim?" Wouldn't you just say Zoom or Skype or, I don't know, some dumb E-word? I had TELECO- and honestly couldn't conceive the last letter. But admittedly the world of "business" and its -speak frequently eludes me. Apologies to Nadia Comaneci for briefly imagining that she was from ARMENIA. Good day.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S.

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