Constructor: Tracy Gray
Relative difficulty: Easy
![]()
THEME: "MY BAD!" (62A: "Oopsie!" ... and a hint to the ends of 18-, 25-, 39- and 50-Across) — theme answer ends with words that *can* mean "error" (but don't in the themers themselves):
Theme answers:
![]()
First of all, congrats to the NYTXW on three days in a row with puzzles by solo women. In a just world, this would mean the NYTXW had SHOT PAR (three to four solo women in a week being roughly what one ought to expect), but given their terrible track record, well, good for them. And as for today's puzzle, yeah, OK, this'll do. It's not the most thrilling theme concept, but it's got a cool / unusual mirror symmetry layout, with OLE MISS being in a particularly unexpectedly thematic position, so that was a fun thing to discover. Funny that we just had "MY B!" for an answer on Saturday, and then bam, here it is, in its longer (more "formal?") incarnation, as the Monday revealer. I cringed at HONEY BOO-BOO because that show just seems like the worst kind of exploitation TV, and I'd rather not remember it, but I don't know what other answer is out there that ends with BOO BOO, or some slangy equivalent, so I can tolerate a small cringe in a coherent and interestingly presented themer set. The fill comes in a little on the stale side, but not inedibly so. And though I don't give a damn where the Clintons live, I think CHAPPAQUA is a colorful geographical entry—a very nice use of a longer Down.
["Please don't say 'mouthfeel'"]
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: "MY BAD!" (62A: "Oopsie!" ... and a hint to the ends of 18-, 25-, 39- and 50-Across) — theme answer ends with words that *can* mean "error" (but don't in the themers themselves):
Theme answers:
- OLE MISS (18A: 'Bama rival)
- DEPOSIT SLIP (25A: Bit of banking documentation)
- SAN ANDREAS FAULT (39A: Cause of many California earthquakes)
- HONEY BOO-BOO (50A: Former moniker of reality TV child star Alana Thompson)
Chappaqua (/ˈtʃæpəkwɑː/ CHAP-ə-kwah) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line. In the New York State Legislature it is within the New York State Assembly's 93rd district and the New York Senate's 40th district. In Congress the village is in New York's 17th District.
Chappaqua was founded by a group of Quakers in the 1730s and was the home of Horace Greeley, New-York Tribune editor and U.S. congressman. Since the late 1990s, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have lived there. (wikipedia)
• • •
I wouldn't like to find a SALTY LUMP in my food, and I'm a bit concerned that the puzzle has both a LUMP and SPOT (and one on top of the other—you really oughta get that checked out!), but (taking this idea of serendipitously juxtaposed answers further) I like the idea of making up for your mistake by not only saying "MY BAD!" but then telling the people you wronged that "drinks are ON ME." Oh, and ARROW KEY and AEROSOLS seem to be asking you to clap as well, so go ahead and do that. I also like the SEE SPOT succession. My daughter learned to read, in part, with some very old-fashioned Dick & Jane book that my grandmother got her, so there was a lot of "SEE SPOT this" and "SEE SPOT that" in her early childhood. I wonder when "TÀR" is finally going to get a movie clue. Shouldn't be long now, as that movie is likely to garner a bunch of Oscar nominations in the next month or so (whenever those come out). Speaking of movies, we saw "The Menu" today and while I don't think it's as good as "TÀR" it was nonetheless very entertaining. And it's got Judith Light in it, which is as good a reason to see a movie (or TV show) as any. There's some sudden and fairly graphic violence in "The Menu," but if you can handle that, it's really a very thoughtful and surprisingly funny movie. Nice to see it with a (smallish) crowd that legit laughed, a lot.
Back to the puzzle for a bit. I tried to get cute and wrote in ADOBE at 20A: Mexican marinade made with chili peppers without (obviously) looking at the clue. I figured "ADOB-, what else could it be?" Touché, puzzle. No other stumbling blocks today. I think I needed a few crosses to finally see LEAKS, but that's the closest thing to "work" I had to do today (46A: Ways reporters get some secret information). A proper Monday, in that sense. That's all, I suppose. See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]