Constructor: Brandon Koppy
Relative difficulty: Easy(ish); SW seemed to be a bit harder, but nothing too tricky, and footholds abound to help you get into all parts of the grid
![]()
THEME: none
Word of the Day: YOUNG MC (Co-writer of Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina") —
A lot of the long fill didn't quite vibe with me—I know FLOAT TANKs more as "sensory deprivation tanks", the L in RETINAL SCANNER feels weird to have, DANCE TUNE feels pretty green painty in a "does anyone actually say that" way, and stuff like TISSUE SAMPLE, CANNIBAL, and all the sevens (save YOUNG MC) are much more neutral than an asset to me. Nothing god-awful in the short fill, but still more DAG DSL OYS GTOS ITIS OHSO ROUE MYOB MYMAN etc. stuff than I care to see in a a puzzle like this. And almost two thirds of the entries are five letters or less, so that, plus the relative lack of good long answers that landed for me, meant I didn't really enjoy solving this.
Relative difficulty: Easy(ish); SW seemed to be a bit harder, but nothing too tricky, and footholds abound to help you get into all parts of the grid
Word of the Day: YOUNG MC (Co-writer of Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina") —
Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit "Bust a Move". His debut album Stone Cold Rhymin' found international acclaim; however, subsequent albums have not reached the same level of success. Young has also appeared in film in acting roles and cameo appearances and has appeared in several television programs.
• • •
Once again, Christopher filling in for Rex, and wishing you a happy Festivus! Time for the airing of grievances; I got a lotta problems with this puzzle, and now you're going to hear about it. Was hoping for another banger puzzle, which would've been a Festivus miracle. As it turns out, didn't like this puzzle anywhere near as much as yesterday's puzzle; kinda expect certain things out of freestyles (and especially those with 70+ words), and this one just didn't have that.
A lot of the long fill didn't quite vibe with me—I know FLOAT TANKs more as "sensory deprivation tanks", the L in RETINAL SCANNER feels weird to have, DANCE TUNE feels pretty green painty in a "does anyone actually say that" way, and stuff like TISSUE SAMPLE, CANNIBAL, and all the sevens (save YOUNG MC) are much more neutral than an asset to me. Nothing god-awful in the short fill, but still more DAG DSL OYS GTOS ITIS OHSO ROUE MYOB MYMAN etc. stuff than I care to see in a a puzzle like this. And almost two thirds of the entries are five letters or less, so that, plus the relative lack of good long answers that landed for me, meant I didn't really enjoy solving this.
One of the few things I did enjoy was STARING CONTEST, both because it's the best answer in this puzzle but also because the clue was one of my favorite. At first, it brings to mind images of sore losers crying, and doesn't really narrow down what the game could be. Then, I was convinced that this was a misdirect, and "tears" was supposed to rhyme with "bears", not "beers", and so I was trying to think about games that involved ripping. Didn't help that the quinceañera clues had me thinking of piñatas. Finally saw (heh) STARING CONTEST, and had a nice aha moment about why there'd be tears. Makes perfect sense in hindsight, provides a journey before solving, and I wish more clues were like that.
On the other hand, didn't really like the clue for MUST-READS [30D: Novel purchases that everyone's talking about?]. Just doesn't feel right in a way I can't quite put my finger on; like, even allowing for some hyperbole, "everyone" is definitely way too over the top, especially since this is very much a subjective thing—a must-read for who? De gustibus, etc. etc.; one reader might get lost in Sylvia Plath, another might tell Sylvia Plath to get lost. Don't get me wrong: I'm all for reading; I just don't think this clue quite works as is. And honestly, my first thought on reading this clue was that the answer would involve audiobooks in some way, and if AUDIOBOOKS had actually fit in the grid, I'd've plunked that down so fast.
"sing for the moment", from "the EMINEM show"(10D); warning for some language, but in general it's one of my favorites from the album
In other news, currently going through a bit of a COLD SPELL [11D: Follower of an arctic blast] here; as I write this, it's currently eight below with wind chills down to -35 (and at this point, it makes very little difference as to whether you use Fahrenheit or Celsius). Fun weather if you're inside, maybe not so much if you're out running, and tbh, the hard part about that is getting through all the snow, between the people who haven't cleared their sidewalks off and the wind blowing all the snow back onto the sidewalks that have been cleared. (I've already cleared mine twice, once while it was still snowing (a Sisyphean task if there ever was one), once after, and I can see that it needs a third clearing already.)
Anyway, stay warm, drive safely in the snow, etc. etc., and again, happy Festivus!
Olio:
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Olio:
- OLAF [4D: Character in "Frozen" who...] — stopped reading the clue there, because I don't particularly care for this franchise (and having to sit through 21 minutes of "Olaf's Frozen Adventure" before getting to see "Coco" counts, imo, as a Geneva Convention violation) but also because basically all the important "Frozen" characters have four letter names, so you really just wait for crosses to tell you which of Anna Elsa Hans Olaf Sven it is.
- IRIS [52D: Good name for...] — stopped reading the clue there, because I don't particularly care for this kind of cluing angle and find it lazy and hackneyed; if you're gonna clue it as a name, then clue it as an actual person / character with that name. (In general, one of my biggest complaints about Will Shortz / the NYT is that they seem to go out of their way to clue names as anything but a person with that name, and this seems especially true for female names.)
- TESSIE [43D: "Technicolor ___", nickname for Lucille Ball] — sure, pure YEKIOYD trivia, and I'm not sure how you get "Tessie" from "Lucille" (also, the comma is not part of the nickname and therefore does not belong inside the quote marks, and I will die on this hill)
- ASTERISKS [58A: Things not good to have next to one's records] — cf. the cheating cheaters at 5D
- TAR [37D: Pine ___ (baseball player's grip enhancer)] — We would also have accepted [2022 film starring Cate Blanchett]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]