Constructor: Chloe Revery and Alissa Revness
Relative difficulty: Easy (Downs-only)
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THEME: metaphorical monsters— theme answers end with types of monsters:
Theme answers:
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My main reaction is "what is an ENERGY VAMPIRE?" Figuring out what the hell kind of vampire I was dealing with was by far the hardest part of solving this one Downs-only, though in the end, it wasn't that hard. I mean, I can imagine the concept, even if I've never really heard the term before. Before I got to that answer, though, I was quite enjoying this one, partly because the first two themers were interesting answer, partly because I was oddly psyched to see (and get, instantly) "SAILOR MOON" (long Downs can often be very tricky when solving Downs-only, but not today!). In the end, the theme felt pretty light (no revealer, very loose concept), but the answers were colorful enough, and the grid was clean enough, that I didn't mind. Solid early-week work, I'd say. Seriously, though, the feeling of power when you can drop not one but both of the long Downs in a Downs-only solve with absolutely no crosses! Exhilarating. Surprised when it happened with "SAILOR MOON," and then floored when it happened again with IMAGINEEERS. I wrote the latter in thinking "that's ... a thing, right? ... that's the dumb in-house thing they call themselves?" And sure enough! Probably the weirdest part of putting this theme together was imagining, early on, that the theme would have something to do with the two words in each theme phrase sharing a last letter and first letter, respectively. That is, there's INTERNETTROLL and then there's SPEEDDEMON and I figured things might go on like this. But no. Weird that I never even noticed the possible TROLL / DEMON connection. My brain picks up on weird patterns, often not the ones it's supposed to pick up on. Downs-only can have you seeing things, for sure. But today, with no real trouble spots, I didn't remain in the dark for long.
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Shortly thereafter I started trying to infer the first themer, and my mind went to "INTERNAL" or "INTERNATIONAL" so I tested that "A" ... which made MEMES the first thing I couldn't instantly get (6D: Viral jokes like Grumpy Cat and Sad Frog). Didn't take too long to get TROLL (via "SAILOR MOON"!), but then ACCRUES really did dig its heels in and I had to think semi-hard to get the ACC- part (with just the "R" in place) (9D: Built up, as interest). I thought "interest" was ... the non-financial kind. After that, the only Down I struggled to place was PRIME (39D: Top-quality, as beef). My brain scrolled through USDA and A-ONE and CHOICE and somehow never alit on PRIME. But IMAGINEERS gave me the "G" for SUGAR FIEND and PRIME didn't remain hidden much longer. Here's a good example of how you can move horizontally in the grid even when you're not reading Across clues:
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You can see that I had the "S" the two "D"s and the "MON," and so through my highly-developed power of pattern recognition (or, you know, just through obviousness), I could put SPEED DEMON across pretty confidently without ever seen the clue. Once you drop the short Downs in the middle (PAIL EYE BEEN), you've got most of the back end of FIEND; by that point, I could see that the last words of the themers were "monsters" and so I ruled out FRIEND, wrote in FIEND, and then FLORETS dropped me down and I went on from there. Someone wrote me shortly after the puzzle went up to claim that from a Downs-only perspective, JAW could easily have been MAW (60D: Big part of T. rex). I doubt you'd make such a dino-specific reference if the answer were going to be as generic as MAW, but I guess technically there's some ambiguity. And MPEG is definitely a real thing (MPEG is a video image format, so it's unlikely someone using all the clues would make the "M" error here) (60A: Pic file format). I will now RANT and/or ORATE no further. Gotta get to sleep so I can be rested and ready for the GYM tomorrow morning. How much gymgoing do I have to do before I become a rat? (49D: Fitness enthusiast, slangily = GYMRAT). How many hours / week do you need? I don't think I want to qualify to be vermin, but I am curious about the rules. Enjoy your Monday, see you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (Downs-only)
Theme answers:
- INTERNET TROLL (20A: "Monster" on the web)
- SPEED DEMON (34A: "Monster" on the highway)
- SUGAR FIEND (42A: "Monster" with a sweet tooth)
- ENERGY VAMPIRE (54A: "Monster" who drains people emotionally)
A psychic vampire (or energy vampire) is a creature in folklore said to feed off the "life force" of other living creatures. The term can also be used to describe a person who gets increased energy around other people, but leaves those other people exhausted or "drained" of energy. Psychic vampires are represented in the occult beliefs of various cultures and in fiction. (wikipedia)
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["Fighting evil by the moonlight / Winning love by daylight!"]
How to solve Downs-only? Well, today, the NW was simply transparent, so I got this far without effort:
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