Constructor: Dylan Schiff
Relative difficulty: Medium (seemed slowish, but it's oversized (16x15), so maybe that was it)
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THEME: Three-in-two — clues ask for three geographical entities, and they give you numeration, but rather than getting the three entities in a row, you get them overlapping, i.e. the second entity in the list is made up of the latter part of the first entity + the opening part of the third element. The upshot is: the second entity on the list looks like it's missing, but it isn't. So:
Theme answers:
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I can't say I didn't have an 'aha' moment with this one, but I also can't say it was very satisfying. "Oh ... a trick. Well, you tricked me there for a bit. And now it will be easier to do the last theme answer." That was me at my most elated today. It's really, really hard to get excited about a theme with clues that are just [Three of this thing]. Like ... [List some stuff] ... Lists are not exciting, even when they do weird tricks like this. They're still just lists, and have all the excitement of ... lists. I don't quite understand why all the lists are geographical today. It does give the theme a kind of unity, but a wholly arbitrary one. Mammals, insects, birds would've done as well, or is at least theoretically possible, and still there would be no hook, no revealer or phrase or anything that makes the allegedly unifying concept make sense. Wait, is EL DORADO supposed to be the revealer? (5D: Sir Walter Raleigh's goal). It *is* a legendary "Lost City," right? And you kind of "lose" ... a city ... in that first themer (and EL DORADO crosses the "lost" city, i.e. ROME). But then EL DORADO also crosses the "lost"state of IOWA ... and it's nowhere near MALI, which isn't a "city" either. Is EL DORADO a "revealer," and if so, What in the world is the NYTXW doing with its "revealers" this week? First (Monday) there was that ridiculous repeating letter string that was supposed to be "revealed" (or so people have told me) by the "Two HEADS are better than one" clue ... only there was no indication that that was a revealer. And again today, a revealer with no indication. Or not. Maybe I am seeing things, drawing a connection where there is none. The point is, if you have a point, indicate that the point is in fact the point. EL DORADO is not exactly in a revealer position in the grid, and it doesn't have a revealer clue. Maybe it's just a winky "bonus" answer. Sigh, the theme is not strong enough for "winky" bonus answers. Give me a powerful revealer or give me ... well, something short of death, but you get the idea. This puzzle feels like it's in draft form—like the execution just hasn't been worked out properly yet. And yet here it is, published. I don't get it. [Extreme Don Henley voice] "EL DORADO ... why don't you come to your senses ....?"
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Medium (seemed slowish, but it's oversized (16x15), so maybe that was it)
Theme answers:
- CAIROMEXICOCITY (21A: Three world capitals (5, 4, 10)
- OHIOWASHINGTON (38A: Three U.S. states (4, 4, 10)
- PANAMALITHUANIA (59A: Three countries (6, 4, 9)
Reiki (霊気, /ˈreɪki/) is a Japanese form of energy healing, which is a subset of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which a "universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing. Reiki is a pseudoscience, and is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles. [...] Clinical research does not show reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition, including cancer, diabetic neuropathy, anxiety or depression; therefore it should not replace conventional medical treatment. There is no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to placebo. Studies reporting positive effects have had methodological flaws. (wikipedia) (emph. mine)
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The NW was hard, and TROPE was ultra-hard (1A: The girl next door, for one). "Why is the girl next door TRIPE? That seems mean." The rest of the grid isn't so tough. I weirdly had more trouble with"NO DUH" (41D: "Obvs!") than almost anything else (outside of that NW corner). In five letters, I wanted "TOTES!". Then with the "N" in place, I wanted "NOTED!" Once I solved it correctly, I noticed that "NATCH!" might also have worked. Live by the slang, die by the slang. I confused my "Reeses" and spelled Jean (RHYS) like Jacob at first (RIIS). The grid has a couple of highlights—MON CHERI, "OKAY THEN!"—but most of the rest of it is just OK, a little on the sloggy side. I find RENTACOP depressing for a host of reasons and wish it would go away (29A: Hired security guard). It's sneering and derisive. If you don't like cops, don't put them in your puzzles. Easy. RENTACOP is far from original at this point, anyway, so maybe leave it behind. Not thrilled by repetitions today, namely two forms of the verb "to eat" (EAT UP and ATE IT) and two ITs (HAVE AT IT and, again, ATE IT). Never that thrilled to see noted ethnic caricature TONTO (68A: Role once played on TV by Jay Silverheels) (and speaking of grid repetitions: you've already got "TV" in one of your answers (TVMOM), so you could lose it here). I want to call AGOG a kealoa** (I had the "A" and wrote in AVID), but AVID is not a very good answer for that clue—doesn't really convey the "anticipation" part, so it's probably not a true kealoa. False kealoalarm. See you tomorrow.
**kealoa = short, common answer that you can't just fill in quickly because two or more answers are viable, Even With One or More Letters In Place. From the classic [Mauna ___] KEA/LOA conundrum. See also, e.g. [Heaps] ATON/ALOT, ["Git!"] "SHOO"/"SCAT," etc.
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