Constructor: Damon Gulczynski
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: PILAU (48D: Rice dish) —
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So PILAU ... *is* PILAF. Wow. Did you all know this, and if so, why did you keep this information from me. All my British readers and friends, all the crosswords I've done before, how could you betray me like this? I knew PILAF, of course, and I knew PALAU (the western Pacific island country that once hosted at least one season of "Survivor"), but PILAU, that one came from outer space. Really really would've appreciated a "to Brits" or some qualifier like that. I searched my blog and the only reference I can find to PILAU is in a reader comment from 2008 which talks about having had a (mistaken) terminal "U" for some answer (PILAF, it turns out) and, as a result, writing in PILAU. I can only imagine the commenter was British or otherwise just very familiar with all manner of Briticisms. I had to stare at that cross and finally make a decision. Write in wrong-looking PILAU, or write in wrong-looking HFEYS. In the end, I decided HUEYS was absolutely unimpeachable, whereas maybe PILAU ... was just some rice dish I hadn't heard of. This was the correct call, though it turns out I *had* heard of the [Rice dish] in question. I went looking for something out of the ordinary, but Google informed me pretty quickly that PILAU was just ... PILAF, the answer I wanted in the first place. For the record, the last time PILAU appeared in the puzzle was 2002, and it didn't have a "to Brits" qualifier then either (it didn't even have "rice" in it => [Middle Eastern dish]). I think the puzzle has radically underestimated how many U.S. solvers will have heard or seen PILAU before. BUT THAT'S JUST ME! I could easily be wrong here. Your mileage may vary. Et + cetera. But I've spent a full paragraph talking about one square because honestly that is all that I remember well about this solve. There's lots of good stuff in the grid (see below), but this is a good example of how the lack of an alt-spelling qualifier in the clue took what could've been a "huh, interesting" moment and made it something far less pleasant. For future reference, please commit to memory all of the following spellings. You'll (maybe?) thank me later:
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Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
Word of the Day: PILAU (48D: Rice dish) —
Pilau (UK spelling) or pilaf (US spelling) is a rice dish (or in some regions, a wheat dish) of South Asian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern origin. The recipe usually involves cooking the rice soaked in stock or broth, adding meat, spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables, and employing some technique for achieving cooked grains that do not adhere. (wikipedia)
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The long answers in this grid were mostly delightful. I found much of it tough because either the cluing wasn't on my wavelength or, in one notable case, I totally misread the clue. Let's start with the misread clue: I got IQS instantly (1A: Brightness measures) and immediately went for the "Q" answer, thinking, "well, it's a 'Q' answer, so I'm going to get it immediately!" And when I saw [One represented by blue-and-white flag...] I thought "Oh, that's the trans flag ... isn't it? ... well, at any rate, it's something QUEER, so ... just write that in ... QUEER? Hmmm ... not working ... ooh, what about that other meaning of "Q" in LGBTQ+: Questioning! Is it QUESTIONER ... nope, doesn't fit." Eventually I got QUÉBÉCOIS from crosses and after *that* I eventually went back and saw that I had never finished reading the clue, which made references to fleur-de-lis and everything! Total giveaway. But I just leapt from "Q" to "colored flags" to ... well, my doom.
["Dynasty!"]
[Warning: this delightful song contains profanity]
Trivia cluing just missed me today. The "BAMBI" clue felt hard, since there's nothing in the clue about a deer or animation (23D: Classic 1942 film based on a book subtitled "A Life in the Woods"), and the MICHELANGELO clue felt even harder, largely because I (apparently) have no idea what the "Mannerist style of art" is. Sounds really modern to me, so even after I got the MICHEL part I just assumed that was some French guy's first name. No idea Hawaiian was an airline, so even after getting AIR, I was baffled by 45A: Hawaiian, e.g. (AIRLINE). Hardest ANTE clue I've ever had because, as I've said many times, poker lingo, barf (27A: Alternative to a blind, in poker). Trivia on top of trivia crossing (medical) trivia in the NE, so that slowed me down a bunch too. I know all those answers (ANDES MEADE EDEMA) but could not see them as clued. Not easily anyway. But I had a much easier time, and was much more delighted by, the longer stuff. "BUT THAT'S JUST ME!""WILL YOU BE QUIET!" (I'm a quiet junkie, so this exasperated cry meant a lot to me). The "Q" down here did not lead me astray, as the NW "Q" did. Quite the Qontrary, I went "WILL YOU BE QUIET!" to JE NE SAIS QUOI in an instant, bam bam. Thank you, "Q." That was my one big moment of Friday "whoosh," and I was grateful for it.