Constructor: Margaret Seikel
Relative difficulty: Medium
![]()
THEME: two-fingers emoji (or ✌️)— clues all start with ✌️ and answers are things that can be represented by ✌️:
Theme answers:
![]()
Challenging for me, at first, since my software doesn't handle emojis, so my clue for "TWO, PLEASE" was just [, when ordering] and I sat there thinking "what in the world could a comma stand for when ordering?" But I quickly realized "oh, they're doing the emoji thing again" and I could pretty much infer from the TWO in "TWO, PLEASE" what emoji we were dealing with, and then PEACE SIGN came shortly thereafter and confirmed my suspicions. At that point, I could pretty much go ahead and fill in all the theme answers without hesitation. Well, at that point (very early) there were only two more to get, and I actually had trouble parsing V FOR VICTORY. I knew Churchill's "V" had to do with victory but I was looking for a slogan, like, I dunno, VICTORY OVER JAPAN or something like that. No matter, crosses took care of my confusion pretty easily. Are the black squares in the center of the grid supposed to be a visual approximation of the emoji? There's a vague "V"-like thing going on there, but it's more "Y" than "V" ... kinda slingshot-like. I hope it's not part of the concept and that I'm just seeing things, because if that's supposed to be a "V," yeesh. I'm kinda tepid on this whole concept. I guess the emoji is supposed to make it "fresh" but it's just a fairly easy, straightforward set of what that emoji can represent. Kinda ho-hum, thematically. The grid has an unusual look, with its mirror symmetry, and the theme answers appear in interesting places, so even if I don't buy the black-square "V," I do like the overall design. And the fill is much livelier than usual for a Tuesday. This wasn't really my jam, but it seems a well-made Tuesday puzzle nonetheless.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- "TWO, PLEASE" (4D: ✌️, when ordering)
- PEACE SIGN (20A: ✌️, at an antiwar protest)
- BUNNY EARS (10D: ✌️, in a silly group photo)
- V FOR VICTORY (52A: ✌️, from Winston Churchill)
Because it changes O’Hare to o hate,o hate, o hate — over and over, no matterhow many times I retype it. O hate, likean American tune, an American fablewhere, yo, you can enter an o hatebathroom, take a selfie in the mirrorcuz your sister wants to see the pocketsof your Great American Rhinestone Jeans.Because, on a street called Viewpoint,I get home becomes I get guns, off a roadon a mission to kill every squirrel-ishpedestrian. Because he was packing,concealed, threatening to use it, usehis hands or feet. My feet, iambof a son of a birch, of a brick chattingwith the devil, with God, with a listenernot listening. Because he’d gone bonnets,his garden bounty a faded wine, his wife’slinguine a longing for a golden ear,so I took her to the botanical gardensin my getaway car, to a fruit on a vine,but the limes went lemur, the night to nonfat,the clear to catastrophic. Because driving awayfrom the frog man croaking hypocrite,heavenly went down like a melting hedge,a gal gone hog-tied, a fish crying, a tiger-tiger togetherness, flight or fucked,a heart, stroked, racing to its vicariouscarousel, a fungus lashed to a beam gonebeleaguered. Because he will kill her,that’s his plan: to kill us all. Can’t commitor commute, can’t debone his breath,can’t take his acute paranoia, chalk it upto cute. Because this here’s a Josiemadhouse, a bedroom bedrock-locked.Because Blvd morphed to Bled, spiritsummoned with a Ouija board. Becausesoap holder went love hen, though lovehad flown the Calycanthuslike the grilled portobellos messingwith his vowels. Please please, I pleadedto the pleading day. Because prayeris like a bread line, a penny for yourexploded mind. Because lots of logs
• • •
Challenging for me, at first, since my software doesn't handle emojis, so my clue for "TWO, PLEASE" was just [, when ordering] and I sat there thinking "what in the world could a comma stand for when ordering?" But I quickly realized "oh, they're doing the emoji thing again" and I could pretty much infer from the TWO in "TWO, PLEASE" what emoji we were dealing with, and then PEACE SIGN came shortly thereafter and confirmed my suspicions. At that point, I could pretty much go ahead and fill in all the theme answers without hesitation. Well, at that point (very early) there were only two more to get, and I actually had trouble parsing V FOR VICTORY. I knew Churchill's "V" had to do with victory but I was looking for a slogan, like, I dunno, VICTORY OVER JAPAN or something like that. No matter, crosses took care of my confusion pretty easily. Are the black squares in the center of the grid supposed to be a visual approximation of the emoji? There's a vague "V"-like thing going on there, but it's more "Y" than "V" ... kinda slingshot-like. I hope it's not part of the concept and that I'm just seeing things, because if that's supposed to be a "V," yeesh. I'm kinda tepid on this whole concept. I guess the emoji is supposed to make it "fresh" but it's just a fairly easy, straightforward set of what that emoji can represent. Kinda ho-hum, thematically. The grid has an unusual look, with its mirror symmetry, and the theme answers appear in interesting places, so even if I don't buy the black-square "V," I do like the overall design. And the fill is much livelier than usual for a Tuesday. This wasn't really my jam, but it seems a well-made Tuesday puzzle nonetheless.
Speaking of things I don't buy: I don't buy the PLEASE part of "TWO, PLEASE." There is zero nada nothing about the emoji in question that indicates PLEASE. TWO, sure, PLEASE, come on, please, you fudged that in order to get the layout to work. I mean, it's an intricate layout, with overlapping themers, so it's a harmless fudge, but fudge it is, nonetheless. I also don't buy that YOGA is "quiet," LOL, have you ever been to a YOGA class? A zen retreat is quiet, YOGA sometimes features Om-ing and sometimes grunting and sometimes you are instructed to use that ujjayi breath, which is (per one YOGA DVD I own) "like Darth Vader," i.e. quite audible, so to this YOGA clue I say, quiet shmiet. (Also, UJJAYI ... put that in your wordlist and TOKE it). I also balked at BIG SPOON (8D: Implement for eating soup but probably not for stirring coffee), like "... huh, what SPOON is this? ... SOUP doesn't fit so ... BIG SPOON? BIG SPOON? Unless you are two humans spooning, there is no BIG SPOON, boo." But otherwise the fill was acceptable and even bouncy at times. Have you heard of PAVLOV's POPTART? Pretty famous experiment. Toaster goes down, salivating begins (He tried it with NACHOS but too messy). The whole west section is just roiling with multi-word fill, with I TOLD YA and OK BY ME sandwiching IT'S A GO, TOO BAD and OK BY ME. Very colloquial and sassy. I like it. The other side of the grid seems TAME(ST) by comparison.
That's all, see you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld