Constructor: Jess Shulman
Relative difficulty: Easy (for a rebus, very easy)
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THEME: RAISE THE [BAR] (58A: Heighten expectations, say ... or a hint to entering four answers in this puzzle) — for four answers, you have to "raise" a box containing the word BAR at the end of the answer in order for it to make sense in the grid—that BAR box then works like a regular rebus box in the Across and Downs. So:
Relative difficulty: Easy (for a rebus, very easy)
Theme answers:
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This puzzle was fun to solve even though the theme was actually kind of a mess. Let's start with the basic concept—the BAR is not raised. Or, rather, it is raised, but only after it is also squashed into one square. Nothing about RAISE THE BAR indicates that there will be squashing. You can't just say RAISE THE BAR and then leave out "oh, also squash it first." Further, the BAR isn't so much raised as it is sitting on top of the prior letter in the answer. A "raised" bar would've just floated straight up; e.g., the [BAR] would not be sitting on top of the "I" in SUSHI but instead sitting above where the [BAR] *should* be had the answer continued normally (so, where the "REL" is in RAIN BARRELS). The revealer is incomplete, in that it doesn't account for squashing, and it's incorrect in that "raising" isn't precisely what's happening. I initially thought that the revealer was more inaccurate still, in that I could count only three (not "four") BARs that had been raised. The BAR in the revealer / CABARET didn't appear to have been "raised" at all. But I had failed to notice that DIVE was actually DIVE [BAR]. You really (really) don't need BAR there to make the answer work, so I never registered that BAR was supposed to be there. A [Shabby establishment] is a DIVE. Full stop. Hence my confusion. But yes, DIVE [BAR] also works for the clue, so fine. And about these four [BAR]s. It's at least slightly weird that SUSHI [BAR] actually terminates in a black square (which seems appropriate), whereas the others ... somehow terminate ... in the middle of a Down answer??? Since [BAR] is not so much "raised" as turned up, it really feels as if we're supposed to read ... up. SUSHI [BAR] functions normally in that respect, i.e. the answer terminates with a black square, as all answers in a crossword terminate with a black square (or the edge of the grid, I guess). But TASK [BAR] stops in the middle of BIRCHBARK, so you get TASK [BAR] HCRIB if you follow normal crossword rules for answer termination. This is yet another problem with not *actually* raising your [BAR] but instead turning it up, as if the answer had merely veered off in a different direction. So much conceptual slop. And yet ...
- SUSHI [BAR] (as you can see in the grid, the [BAR] has been "raised" above the "I" in SUSHI) (20A: Place to order sake and sashimi)
- RAIN BARRELS (17A: Sustainable water receptacles)
- BARISTA (18D: One with the grounds to serve you?)
- TASK [BAR] (34A: Strip of computer shortcuts)
- EMBARGOED (28A: Banned from trade or commerce)
- BIRCH BARK (8D: Traditional canoe material)
- MINI [BAR] (47A: Where you might find very little liquor)
- DISEMBARK (44A: Get off)
- HYPERBARIC (25D: Like oxygen therapy chambers)
- DIVE [BAR] (62A: Shabby establishment)
- RAISE THE BAR (58A: Heighten expectations, say ... or a hint to entering four answers in this puzzle)
- CABARET (51D: Club with dinner and a show)
Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt (September 21, 1854 – September 7, 1941) was the second wife of James Roosevelt I (from 1880), the mother of President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her only child, and subsequently the mother-in-law of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Delano grew up in Newburgh, New York, and spent three years in Hong Kong. She gave birth to Franklin in 1882, and was a devoted mother to him for the remainder of her life, including home schooling and living close by in adulthood. She had a complex relationship with her daughter-in-law Eleanor, which has led to media portrayals of her as a domineering and fearsome mother-in-law, though these are at odds with other views. She died in 1941, with her son, then the President, at her side. (wikipedia)
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And yet the [BAR]-containing answers were mostly a joy to uncover, by far the best part of the solving experience. Normally, tracking down rebus squares, especially if they are all the same, is kind of a dreary experience, but the [BAR] answers today were a lot of bouncy fun. RAIN BARRELS, BIRCH BARK, HYPERBARIC! Delightful. So I can't say I didn't enjoy myself, even though I think the theme is broken in multiple ways. The rest of the grid is solid too. No real groans or cringes. Well, ODIST is always a bit of a cringe, but it's an outlier today. So I don't think the theme really worked but I liked it anyway. Weird. But true.
I had the usual "huh?" struggle before getting the rebus, but it didn't last long. I got SUSHI early and could see that the [BAR] was missing, so ... it was just a matter of *how* it was missing. Didn't take long to circle the rebus square and pin it down. After that, it was just a matter of [BAR] hunting, and none of the [BAR]s was that hard to find. Only struggles I had along the way were very minor. I had MIC TAP instead of TAP TAP (which I don't *love*, and which cost me a handful of seconds) (31A: Sound check sound), and I simply had no idea who SARA Roosevelt was (never heard of the park in question). But every cross was not just fair but easy, and SARA is a recognizable, common name—a name I'm happy to learn today. The end. See you tomorrow.