Constructor: Tracy Gray
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: SHREDDED WHEAT (37A: Breakfast cereal … or a hint to what's found in the answers to the four starred clues?) — the word "WHEAT" can be found with its letters rearranged (or, I guess, "shredded") inside each theme answer:
Theme answers:
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Wow, this one has, let's say, issues. Where to begin? Let's start with the fact that the first themer is a 15-letter partial. It's a partial. It is. And you don't even need the first half of the answer to get your shredded wheat—it's fully embedded inside HIGH WATER. So … that's less than ideal in a couple of ways. Then there's the clumsy grid-building. Specifically, in what universe do you go ahead and pull the trigger on a grid that forces you in into a --H-H position (see 6D)? The only, and I mean The Only thing you can make out of that letter arrangement is "UH HUH."SHHHH is ridiculous. A total, out-and-out, reject-the-puzzle-and-ask-for-a-do-over Fail, largely because it's a. nonsense, b. avoidable, c responsible, at least partially, for PAHS (the dumbest thing in this, or any, grid, SAK notwithstanding). Holy mother of pearl what is going on with the fill negligence here? I mean, look: why is there a "B" in 12D?? That is, who decided RUBE / OBE (!?!) beat RUDE / ODE (an actual word). I keep rewriting that section in my head over and over because there are so many ways to do it, all of which avoid OBE.
I like the final theme answer, but the rest, you can have. SAK / ALAE!? ACTA ESS HOBS SNEE TASSE… and that's all just from two adjacent sections. The fill is self-parodying on this one. Again, I think the core theme concept is solid, but the puzzle should've been sent back with suggestions on how to bring it up to snuff. Thankfully, the subpar fill didn't create any solving hassles. I crushed this one in something like 3 and change. But I can't say I enjoyed it. I just keep looking at SAK / ALAE and wondering "why?" I keep seeing that sad crying Indian from the '70s anti-littering commercials. The garbage: It's all so unnecessary.
Byron Walden is the only person ever to use SHHHH in a major publication (according to cruciverb.com). If you are as talented as Byron *and* your puzzle has a dense "Walker, Texas Ranger" theme (or the equivalent), then, and only then, do you have permission to break the glass and use SHHHH. And no one may use PAHS. Ever. Ever. Ever.
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- 17A: *Any foreseeable difficulty (HELL OR HIGH WATER)
- 25A: *"Good night, John-Boy" series ("THE WALTONS")
- 50A: *Fearsome shark (GREAT WHITE)
- 59A: *"Why am I not surprised?" ("SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?")
HOB n.
- A shelf or projection at the back or side of a fireplace, used for keeping food or utensils warm.
- A tool used for cutting the teeth of machine parts, as of a gearwheel.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/hob#ixzz2sPreEla1
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I like the final theme answer, but the rest, you can have. SAK / ALAE!? ACTA ESS HOBS SNEE TASSE… and that's all just from two adjacent sections. The fill is self-parodying on this one. Again, I think the core theme concept is solid, but the puzzle should've been sent back with suggestions on how to bring it up to snuff. Thankfully, the subpar fill didn't create any solving hassles. I crushed this one in something like 3 and change. But I can't say I enjoyed it. I just keep looking at SAK / ALAE and wondering "why?" I keep seeing that sad crying Indian from the '70s anti-littering commercials. The garbage: It's all so unnecessary.
Byron Walden is the only person ever to use SHHHH in a major publication (according to cruciverb.com). If you are as talented as Byron *and* your puzzle has a dense "Walker, Texas Ranger" theme (or the equivalent), then, and only then, do you have permission to break the glass and use SHHHH. And no one may use PAHS. Ever. Ever. Ever.