Constructor: Erika Ettin
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME:"LET'S CALL IT A DAY" — themers all begin with letters that spell out the word for "day" in other languages:
Theme answers:
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Spring (?) semester starts today, so my Tuesday and Thursday mornings all of a sudden get much tighter, time-wise (gotta catch that bus at 7:15am). So if the T/Th write-ups seem somewhat terser than others, now you know why. You probably wouldn't even notice if I didn't tell you, but I'm telling you anyway, and in doing so spending up precious morning writing time *not* talking about the puzzle. So ... the puzzle. Doesn't seem much to it. That is, the concept seems really thin, and the revealer seems oddly ... not APT. All the "days" appear at the beginnings of their answers, but nothing in the revealer deals with starts or beginnings ... I thought the revealer was going to be something like OPENING DAY, but no, we're "calling" it a day, for some reason. Maybe the "calling" is in some way, very obliquely, referring to the idea of translation? I like the revealer phrase a lot, as a standalone answer, but I just don't think it works great here. I also thought the Diamond Anniversary was called the Diamond Anniversary. Because ... it's an anniversary. Anniversaries commemorate weddings (my 20th is later this year!). But DIAMOND WEDDING = "Diamond Anniversary"? That's a new one on me. Is the phrase being used adjectivally? "It's our DIAMOND WEDDING Anniversary!"? Google's not a ton of help, since, as you might expect, however you google "diamond" and "wedding" and "anniversary," you just get a lot of jewelry sites, because diamonds ... pretty much *the* stone of all things wedding. So that first themer made me go "huh?" I do love a good DAGNABBIT!, though. That answer got me back on the puzzle's side. But still, there was something a little limp about both concept and execution here. Why these languages? Why always at the starts of answers? Just didn't seem sufficiently cohesive. Also, the whole thing where there are long Across answers (here, NOTONEIOTA and OCEANSTATE—longer than half the themers) that are *not* themers? Not really a fan of that, either. Always seems inelegant—though if the theme really crackled, I probably wouldn't notice (much). I did learn the Czech word for "day," though, that's something.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- DIAMOND WEDDING (19A: Couple's 60th anniversary [Spanish])
- "DAGNABBIT!" (26A: "Aw, rats!" [Dutch, Swedish])
- DENTIST (35A: Whom one might go see at "tooth hurty," per a classic joke [Czech])
- TAGS ALONG (42A: Goes with someone else [German])
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is heavily centred on bringing about change and involving the younger generation in activist causes. [...[ Hearing DJ John Peel mention on-air that he was hungry, Bragg rushed to the BBC with a mushroom biryani, so Peel played a song from Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy albeit at the wrong speed (since the 12" LP was, unconventionally, cut to play at 45rpm). Peel insisted he would have played the song even without the biryani and later played it at the correct speed. [...] Though never released as a Bragg single, album track and live favourite "A New England", with an additional verse, became a Top 10 hit in the UK for Kirsty MacColl in January 1985. Since MacColl's early death, Bragg always sings the extra verse live in her honour. (wikipedia)
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The fill kind of creaks along. Maybe a little more subpar stuff than you want to see, esp. in an easy early-week (e.g. AMOI ANACT ASATEAM etc.). Mostly it's just a little on the dull side. Why does BCCED look so ugly? I'm sure it's valid, but ... I wrote it in thinking "well that can't be right." I think that "e" usually gets replaced by an apostrophe, does that sound right? CC'D ... "DAGNABBIT, Bill, I CC'D you on the memo, you should've known to bring the pie chart!" Yeah, I think I'd apostrophize it. I've seen CCED in the puzzle for sure, and though it looks wrong, it's short and I don't really notice. Somehow the extra letter in BCCED makes the whole mess seem more grotesque. I like TESLA COIL, though I confess that before looking at the clue I thought "oh dear lord are they gonna try to make TESLA CARS happen!?" Thankfully, no. The Kings of LEON somehow fell into the space in my personal musical history that is the equivalent of "between the cushions." Like lost change. They were huge, I missed them entirely. I think they peaked when I was doing all the early job / marriage / kid stuff, i.e. when I was least attuned to mainstream popular culture. But at least my brain registered their name, which is mostly all that's required for crosswords. Billy BRAGG is way way Way more in my sweet spot, despite being (apparently) much less popular, sales and chart-wise. I've listened to BRAGG's"Back to Basics" roughly a jillion times, since the late '80s. Just him and an electric guitar and these short, wry, funny, even sweet songs about things and feelings I didn't know pop songs could be about. Plus he sang in his full unsuppressed Essex accent (where so many British singers seem to hide or just lose their local accents when they sing; or else my ear simply can't hear it). Just great stuff. Surprised he's showing up on a Tuesday—wouldn't think he'd be considered suitably famous. But I'm happy to see him.
Really gotta run now. Feed Alfie make coffee (sit for a few minutes listening to "Wake" with Clay Pigeon on WFMU and doing Wordle/Quordle) pack lunch shower dress pack backpack out the door bus stop. Starting ... now. See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld