Constructor: Colin Adams
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: DEIRDRE (41D: Tragic heroine of Irish mythology) —
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A great puzzle if you are a lover of God and colloquialisms. Pretty average puzzle otherwise. Truly surprised to see "DEAR GOD!" after already having ""OH LORD!" in the grid. I kinda like that one is clued as taking the Lord's name in vain (30D: "Good heavens!" = "OH LORD!") and the other is clued as the [Opening words of a prayer], presumably a prayer to God that He not be mad that you just took his name in vain. Seems like these answers could've provided the perfect occasion for repeat cluing—they both look like [Opening words of a prayer] to me. Certainly some prayers begin "OH LORD...," right? Or is it just "O"? I think I've seen the prayer opening primarily as "O LORD." Is the "O"-alone version for praying and the "OH" version for exclaiming? Yeah, I think "O" alone has vocative power, whereas "OH" is just a surprised sound. Who knew so much was riding on an "H"? Oh (!) look, someone has written about this very question. Anyway, lots of reference to the Big Guy in the SKY today. And colloquialisms—this thing is ostentatiously bedecked in them! Have you ever YOINKED a GRODY FROYO? PROBS, right? This one's really trying to lean into What The Kids Say, and by kids I mean "kids in the '80s" (which is the last time I heard GRODY, probably followed by "to the max!"). YOINKED and esp. PROBS are actually of more recent vintage—I don't remember people saying those things so much in the 20th century. All these expressions give the grid some much-needed life. "Much-needed" because the grid is pretty light on the marquee answers. The NW corner has some juice—I particularly like BRA STRAPS, which seems an odd thing to say on its face, but ... it's a good answer! REFUSENIK and UNREALITY are also worthy answers in my book. The opposite corner ... meh. Acceptable, but flat. And there are no other answers over 7 letters long in the whole dang grid—not the kind of grid architecture that's hospitable to zip, sparkle, or whoosh.
Notes:
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy
Word of the Day: DEIRDRE (41D: Tragic heroine of Irish mythology) —
Deirdre (/ˈdɪərdrə, -dri/ DEER-drə, -dree, Irish: [ˈdʲɛɾˠdʲɾʲə]; Old Irish: Derdriu [ˈdʲerʲðrʲĭŭ]) is a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is also known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (Irish: Deirdre an Bhróin).Deirdre is a prominent figure in Irish legend. American scholar James MacKillop assessed in 2004 that she was its best-known figure in modern times. (wikipedia) //
In Irish mythology, a tragic heroine (Deirdre of the Sorrows) of whom it was prophesied that her beauty would bring banishment and death to heroes. King Conchubar of Ulster wanted to marry her, but she fell in love with Naoise, son of Usnach, who with his brothers carried her off to Scotland. They were lured back by Conchubar and treacherously slain, and Deirdre took her own life. (Oxford Reference)
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The lack of grid sparkle was made up for, somewhat, by some occasionally brilliant cluing. [Marked Twain?] really threw me off, which it shouldn't have—that "T" is capitalized, after all, which screams "the author's name!"—but I took "Twain" as "a pair" and went looking for, I don't know, twins who had been famously scarred or branded or something. But no, you're "marking" your place in the cheap paperback copy of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by dog-earing the page (I made it a cheap paperback copy because otherwise why, why would you dog-ear?—grab a bookmark, a receipt, a strand of your hair, anything). If you've DOG-EARED the book, then you've "marked""Twain." Nice. I also enjoyed the "?" clue on DRYER (51D: Alternative to hanging out?). A laundry clue that looks like a socializing clue (or a wardrobe malfunction clue). I also liked the way VEEP was clued today (46A: Lead-in to stakes)—felt (relatively) timely, given what a VANCE/WALZ month it's been. Better for WALZ than VANCE, I'd say. Pretty sure that's objectively true by every metric. Speaking of WALZ, we should be seeing that name in crosswords in 3, 2, 1 ... well, soon, anyway.
Had a buncha mistakes today, but none of them very devastating. SUN before SKY, GROSS before GRODY, DISC before DISK (honestly not sure what the difference is), and then my two favorites: COAT before COAL (37A: Traditional Scottish New Year's gift, representing warmth for the year to come), and PENSION before PIT STOP (8D: Occasion for retirement?). Only thing I was truly unfamiliar with today (besides traditional Scottish gift-giving practices) was DIERDRE; luckily the name was easy to piece together. Oh, I forgot that LEIA ever wore an "iconic gold bikini" (28D: Film character with an iconic gold bikini). That should've meant something to me as a Star Wars-loving teen (which is what I was when Return of the Jedi came out), but I think I thought it was corny, and it just didn't leave much of an impression. Also, it seemed gross (if not grody), since the only time she wore it (iirc) was when she was Jabba's slave? But the clue didn't say "meaningful to me," just "iconic," which seems true enough. My mind went to Goldfinger (someone wears a bikini in that, surely), and then to this musical bit of cinematic history ...
Notes:
- 24A: Mittens might fiddle with one (CAT TOY)— I guess some people name their cats "Mittens," but honestly this clue looks like you typo'd "Kittens"
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| ["We're not interested in your toys, buddy. Keep walkin'..."] |
- 26A: Animal found on either end of a scale (DOE) — as in "a deer, a female deer." I don't love this clue, but I don't hate it either. It's not boring, at least.
- 45A: Psyche's lover, in Greek myth (EROS)— I know the couple as "Cupid & Psyche" but that may be due primarily to the Scritti Politti album (Cupid & Psyche 85). Cupid = Amor (L.) = EROS (Gr.), so the clue is not wrong.
- 1D: Historic figure grouped with Judas in Dante's "Inferno" (BRUTUS) — if I have a "wheelhouse," this is it. The ninth ring of hell is it. Satan chewing eternally on Cassius, BRUTUS, and Judas at the very pit of hell, in the middle of the ice lake Cocytus ... is it. Now *that* is "iconic" (to me)
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| [Gustave Doré, ca. 1860s] |
See you next time.
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