Constructor: David A. Rubin and Lee Demertzis
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: ANDRA Day (22D: ___ Day, winner of a best actress Golden Globe for "The United States vs. Billie Holiday") —
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I actually found this more like "Challenging" than "Medium-Challenging" but I dialed back the actual rating because some of that difficulty was self-imposed. I mean, I really really should've gotten SAL'S way, way earlier than I did. I was sitting there like "Well, I've seen at least half a dozen Spike Lee films and know a lot more, let's see, Brooklyn ... Chicago ... Alabama ... what the hell is this 'setting'!?" But it's just the stupid pizza joint that's been in the stupid puzzle a million times. Also, I couldn't remember ESCOBAR's name for way too long, which feels like a huge Me problem. But even so, this looked like a puzzle that should've played fast but it absolutely did not. Zero whoosh-whoosh. Well, I guess the middle part came together pretty fast once I got there, but the top part, no, and the bottom part (which I felt sure would just fall over), no. Parsing those long Acrosses down below was not easy, and the short Downs, all over the puzzle, were rarely clear, so I had nothing to anchor myself too. Usually, with a grid like this, I hit those short Downs one two three four etc. and then see where I am with the Acrosses. But today those short Downs ... I had trouble putting blocks together. Absolute strikeout in the NW, where I had OTOE and ODEA (embarrassing when the only thing you can get your hands on is out-and-out crosswordese) but I didn't trust either of them, *and*, between them, for [Something that people like to see break], I had HEAT. If you lived through last week in the NE, you understand. DAWN!? Man, I know people who hate that. It means you gotta get up. Do you mean that people like to watch the sunrise sometimes? Woof. Ugh. Anyway, wipeout there. Finally got a toehold in the NE with TIER (wrong) ATTA STET SARS (all right) (again, embarrassingly bailed out by crosswordese). From there I got my first Across: REGATTA! I then got the first of several disappointing jolts up top.
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Yeah, we call them "Senate seats." You really gotta talk yourself into the idea that one of your puzzles marquee answers should be SENATORIAL SEATS. I know it's a real term, it's just ... overly formal and bland. But there were worse things coming. Much, much worse. You know that NW corner I couldn't get into? Well, a big part of me wishes I'd never gotten into it; that I'd decided, "you know what? let's just walk away ... take the day off ... maybe watch the DAWN break, I hear people enjoy that." But no, dutifully I trudged on, smack into LOWERCASE LETTER, which may have the dumbest clue in the history of dumb clues (16A: eBay feature). It's true, "eBay" does have a LOWERCASE LETTER. In fact, it has three of them. In fact, nearly every word I have typed so far this morning is made predominantly of LOWERCASE LETTERs. I'm sure you mean LOWERCASE *initial* LETTER, which is what makes "eBay"'s spelling distinctive, but ... that is not what your clue says. I was so mad because I knew the clue was about the word "eBay" and not the site, but I assumed it was about the one *anomalous* letter: i.e. the "B"! Who knew it was about ... well, who even knows what letter it's referring to? Again, there are three LOWERCASE LETTERs. Three. Plural.
Other things:
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
Word of the Day: ANDRA Day (22D: ___ Day, winner of a best actress Golden Globe for "The United States vs. Billie Holiday") —
Cassandra Monique Batie (born December 30, 1984), known professionally as Andra Day, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Children's and Family Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award, along with nomination for an Academy Award.In 2015, she released her debut album, Cheers to the Fall. At the 2016 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album and the single, "Rise Up", was nominated for Best R&B Performance. To promote "Rise Up", she performed the song on The View, earning a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for the performance. Day also appeared alongside Stevie Wonder, who is partially credited for her discovery, in an ad for Apple TV in late 2015. In 2020, Day became one of the most-requested artists among Jazz Joy and Roy Global Radio listeners.
In 2021, Day made her acting debut with her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lee Daniels' biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Day received the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the film's accompanying soundtrack. (wikipedia)
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But it gets (somehow) worse. Back when I only had OTOE and ODEA, I looked at 13A: Where many video calls are taken, and, with the "T" and "D" in place, I wrote in STUDIES. "I'm take this Zoom call in the study." Sure, why not? The plural was a little odd, but the clue had "calls" (plural) in it, so I felt pretty safe. Sigh. So, as you perhaps know, it's one thing to be wrong (we're all wrong in one way or another every day, it's part of the game), but it is quite another thing to be wrong and then to have the correct answer, the one you've been struggling to get for so long, turn out to be something so abominable, so execrable, so phenomenally stupid and unlovable as ATADESK. I ... where to ... it's just ... ATADESK? That is a prepositional phrase that has absolutely no business standing on its own in a crossword. I'm guessing it sneaked in some SNEAKY fashion into some puzzle somewhere, and from there made its way into a database, which then polluted all future crossword word lists with its ATADESKness. I make fun of "EAT A SANDWICH"-type answers all the time, but I would sooner see EAT A SANDWICH, DRINK A PEPSI, LICK A POPSICLE and PET A CHIHUAHUA, All In The Same Grid, than see ATADESK even once ever again ever. I may be exaggerating here, but sometimes hyperbole is called for, and this is one of those times. So yeah, working up from SENATORIAL SEATS through LOWERCASE LETTER to the "pinnacle" of ATADESK pretty much destroyed any chances I was going to enjoy this puzzle. I felt bad for the rest of the puzzle. It didn't really have a chance. It's too bad, because the long fill down below is actually quite original and fun. Loved it. But it can't make up for the top. In sum, I would gladly take the bottom third of this puzzle—on a Saturday. The rest of it, on Friday, or any day, you can definitely have back.
Bottom, like the top, played way harder than I thought it would, but the payoff was so much better. Light years better. I did not mind having to claw my way to those long Acrosses because they were lovely. I couldn't remember all the Magic 8 Ball responses, , and I only had letters in the middle, so I couldn't see "SIGNS POINT TO YES" for very long. "ICE COLD BEER HERE!" had a cutesy clue that I knew was gonna be about beer, I just didn't know how (52A: Draft announcement?). So surprised, and happy, to have a very specific ballpark voice come booming into my ear when I finally got it. I haven't been to a game since I saw Verlander do a rehab start here in spring. I miss it. And now the season is practically over. But back to the puzzle. Same trouble with short Downs down below as I had above. RESIDES instead of RESTETH (38D: "... for anger ___ in the bosom of fools": Ecclesiastes). No idea about OHM'S (48D: ___ law) (wanted TORT) or "YEAH" (49D: "Sure thing") (wanted "I BET") or SEAS (51D: Large amounts) (wanted ATON, ALOT, LOTS, etc.). Again, only the crosswordese was helping me out at all down there (looking at you, ERTE and TROU). Switched corners and got lucky. SIMS ICAN NCAA helped me see SNEAKY (55A: Furtive), and that's all the traction I needed to start to make things happen on the bottom. The two long Acrosses went in, making me (finally, briefly, belatedly) happy, and that was that.
Other things:
- 7D: "Over my dead body!" ("HELLS NO!") — ok so yes people say this, it's original, etc. But some part of me wishes the nonstandardness could've been tipped in the clue. Also, it feels both dated and cutesy and I'm wondering if people do in fact say it (anymore). If you wanted "HELL NO!" and wondered why there were too many squares, I'm sure you're not alone.
- 15D: D.M.V. issuance (REAL ID) — First, "issuance" is about the worst word I've seen today. It looks like a worm or maggot and I just want to step on it. Second, if the thing coming out of the DMV is not "LICENSE," then I don't know what it is. REAL ID is so new (isn't it?) that I don't have one. I do know what it is, and the clue is fine / fair—just saying that it was Hard for me.
- 1A: "Sick!" ("SO DOPE!")— "Sick!" = "Dope!" so I always get mad when the "SO" is shoehorned in there with no equivalent in the clue.
- 46D: Darn it! (SOCK)— Missed that this was one of those "it!" clues (where the answer is the "it," not an equivalent for the whole clue), so I had, I dunno, DRAT or something written in here at first.
- 14D: Some complainers, in modern lingo (KARENS) — I love this, but not everyone will. Some people think this is a slur. Some people think it's misogynist (feminizing the act of complaining, in the grand tradition of "harpy,""shrew"). But I know women who use it. Opinions will vary. I've forgotten the context that gave rise to the term? I associate it with that white woman in sunglasses who called the police on that Black family's barbecue ... do you remember her? But apparently she was called "BBQ Becky," so ... here, the BBC has a whole thing on the history of KARENS if you want to read it. Warning—you will be reminded of lots of people you don't really want to be reminded of.
Have a nice rest of your day. See you tomorrow.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]