Constructor: Michael Schlossberg
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME:"The Game Is Afoot" — shoe puns: clues appear (sort of) to be about shoes, but then they ... aren't:
Theme answers:
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What a Croc! I'm trying to find a way to have fun with this one but honestly solving this was pretty grueling. I don't mean hard, I just mean ... I know I overuse this word, but ... grim. I never really got what this puzzle was trying to do. That is, I got that it involved footwear ... somehow ... but the clues rarely clicked, or seemed particularly in-the-language, so the clue-answer connections often felt tenuous. I like the clue on BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD better now that I realize "fresh" is supposed to mean "impertinent" or "rude" or "sassy" or whatever, because "loafing" alone didn't seem to me to be a particularly defining characteristic of that pair. But together with disrespectfulness, sure, OK. But that clue on PARKING TICKET was torture (46A: Slip before putting on a boot?). I was like "is a 'slip' a kind of shoe?" The "slip" part was so weird. Theme is supposed to be about footwear, but nothing here is really about the "boot," it's about the "slip," the TICKET. All the other clues really emphasize shoe-ness more. I think I was just thrown off by how sometimes the answers are "shoes" (i.e. the WATERGATE BURGLARS *are* the "sneakers," the ARTIFICIAL HEARTS *are* the pumps) but other times (most times) the answers aren't shoe puns at all, but their clues are tortured to make them "shoe"-related. The title of this thing may be the cleverest thing about it. The theme just didn't provide any real joy today. Also, probably should've skipped GO FLAT—weird to have stray, non-theme "shoes" lying around a "shoe"-themed grid.
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
Theme answers:
- BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD (23A: Fresh pair of loafers?)
- CAMPAIGN PROMISES (38A: Forerunners of flip-flops?)
- PARKING TICKET (46A: Slip before putting on a boot?)
- LIQUID PLUMR (67A: Noted name in clogs?)
- SNAKE HANDLERS (83A: Collectors of moccasins?)
- ARTIFICIAL HEARTS (95A: Custom-fitted pumps?)
- WATERGATE BURGLARS (112A: 1970s-era sneakers?)
Reb (Yiddish: רב, /ˈrɛb/) is a Yiddish or Hebrew honorific traditionally used for Orthodox Jewish men. It is not a rabbinic title. In writing it is abbreviated as ר׳. [...] When addressing someone directly, Reb is usually used with the first name only ("May I help you, Reb Chaim?"). In other circumstances, it can be used with either the first name or the full name ("This is Reb Chaim Jacobs."; "Would you please help Reb Chaim?"). In formal written address, it is usually used along with the full name. (wikipedia)
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AIPAC is not great fill on its face (it's a pretty ugly letter-salad acronym, and I initially struggled to remember what the "AI" part even stood for) ("American Israel"), and its support for Trumpist candidates makes it even less appealing (11A: D.C. lobbying group with a Star of David in its logo). This from The Guardian:
Earlier this year, Aipac was accused by other leading supporters of Israel of being “morally bankrupt” and of putting Israel’s interests ahead of American democracy after it launched a separate political action committee that endorsed 37 Republicans candidates who voted against certifying Biden’s victory after the 6 January 2021 storming of the Capitol.
The spokesperson for J Street (a more liberal pro-Israel group) is particularly scathing in his assessment of AIPAC, calling them a "Republican front organisation that strongly supported Donald Trump." This is a debut for AIPAC. Can't say I'm eager to see it again. On the less distasteful side: EMPANADA! Never gonna be sad to see EMPANADAs in my grid (87D: Savory pastry whose name comes from the Spanish for "breaded"). TABLE HOP is another nice longer answer. I'm not what you would call a social butterfly, but I would TABLE HOP if EMPANADAs were at stake. "Hey, how are you, do you mind if I sit down for a second? ... and eat this? ... [snarfing sounds] ... [mouth still half full] OmfKay, vell, fwas luffly to shee youaawll, I behher keep minghwing" [leaves in search of more EMPANADAs]... Also loved seeing QAT today, mostly for its cool "U"-less "Q" spelling (69D: Chewable stimulant).
I don't really know what RUE is, and the clue didn't even come close to helping (28A: Plant also called herb-of-grace). I also don't really know what NICKERS is when there's no initial "K." I'm just not horsey enough, I guess. Didn't have much trouble today except when I wrote in "SAVE ME!" before "SAVE US!" (4D: Plea to a superhero), or when I spent several seconds trying to figure out how any answer, let alone a longer answer, could end in "-MR" (LIQUID PLUMR). Ah, wacky brand spellings, always good for a laugh, or a harrowing "wtf!?" Startled to see ELVIS here—well, no, not startled to see ELVIS: startled to never have heard of the movie he is alleged to have starred in (78D: Star of the 1965 comedy "Harum Scarum"). I can name at least 10 ELVIS movies off the top of my head (I'm fairly confident) and I can at least identify the rest of them as movies, but "Harum Scarum," wow, that one missed my radar entirely (oh, man, there are apparently thirty-three (!?!?!) ELVIS movies, and more mystery titles than I would've thought possible: "Stay Away, Joe"? "Double Trouble"? "Paradise, Hawaiian Style"? I know "Blue Hawaii," but apparently they went back to the Hawaii well at least once more. Wow. "Harum Scarum" sounds ... deeply regrettable:
The idea of Presley playing a movie star who gets confused for the characters he plays on film is a clever one, and this film is determined to completely ruin it. Presley gets kidnapped in a regressive Middle Eastern country and forced to assassinate a local ruler, in a film which lets lots of white people play Arab roles (yikes) and romanticizes harems (double yikes), to the point that a little kid sings a song about how she dreams of being a glamorous, beautiful slave (all the yikes in the world). (TheWrap.com)
Why (why!?) would you use this as your go-to ELVIS movie. There are [rechecks notes] 32 other ELVIS movies to choose from! Obscure *and* repugnant. Not sure what the editors were doing there. Or anywhere today. Just not my cup. I do hope you enjoyed it more than I did. See you next time.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld