Constructor: Josh Goodman
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: Breaking the rules... — various common expressions (beginning "Don't ...") are represented literally (spatially) in the grid, where the missing verb actually tells you (the solver) what to do, i.e. how to enter the answer. So you have to do what the original expressions explicitly tell you not to do:
Theme answers:
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Ha ha, yes. Feels like it's been forever since I solved a puzzle I whole-heartedly loved, but I loved this one. It's not flawless, but its strengths are so strong that I am more than willing to overlook any minor defects. I don't need a puzzle to be perfect in every way, I just need its core idea to be good (check) and the execution to be surprising and fun (check and check). It's possible I've seen variations on this theme before, where the physical arrangement of words stands in for some part of a phrase, but if so, I've never seen it done with this kind of verve and panache and ingenuity. I literally exclaimed "oh, wow" when I got the first themer—the improbable three-word rebus in "put all your eggs in one basket" (BAS [ALL] [YOUR] [EGGS] KET). I couldn't get those rebus-square Downs to work (primarily because I didn't know they were rebus squares), and then ... aha (the first of many AHAS ... which is why I'm not mad at that particular "bad" plural (AHAS)—I feel like the puzzle earned it). I went from "what the hell is a four-letter Jason MRAZ song?" to "ugh those circles are probably involved, leave it and come back" to "-KET ... so BAS-KET ... oh, so I just put EGG EGG EGG in those circled squares!" to "wait, what? 'I'm EGGs?''I'm EGGy?' When did Jason Mraz release that!??" to "oh my god ALL, YOUR, EGGS, bam bam bam" and then came the literal out-loud "oh wow." I then though that Alllllll of the circled squares were gonna be rebus squares. "This ... should be interesting!" But no, those first ones were the only ones. The rest of the circled squares just held single letters, which formed words that were bent or s p r e a d o u t or ximed pu (i.e. mixed up). Every theme answer performed a different trick. It was like watching balance beam followed by uneven bars followed by vault followed by floor routine—something new to see every time. And all landings: nailed. Can't fault a one of them. Straight 10s. Hallelujah.
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Bullet points:
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Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- AESTX (9A: A state slogan: Don't ...) (... mess with 'TEXAS')
- BAS [ALL] [YOUR] [EGGS] KET (17A: A proverb about risk: Don't ...) (... put 'ALL''YOUR''EGGS' in one BASKET)
- 4D: Most important thing (BE [ALL])
- 5D: Jason Mraz hit that spent 76 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ("I'M [YOUR]S")
- 18D: Goads ([EGGS] ON)
- PBLUESAISNUERSES (41A: A tip in the working world: Don't ...) (... mix 'BUSINESS' with 'PLEASURE')
- CRY
- MI
- L
- K (57A: An idiom about regret: Don't ...) (... 'CRY' over spilt 'MILK')
- CART | HORSE (64A: A plea to plan wisely: Don't ...) (... put the 'CART' before the 'HORSE')
Oshiroi (白粉) is a powder foundation traditionally used by kabuki actors, geisha and their apprentices. The word is written with kanji meaning "white powder", and is pronounced as the word for white (shiroi) with the honorific prefix o-.
When worn by geisha and maiko, oshiroi is notable for only partially covering the nape of the neck, as an uncovered nape was traditionally considered erotic in Japanese culture. (wikipedia)
• • •
As for the "defects" I mentioned above, there's one thematic one—the first three themers all turn the idioms into instructions for us, i.e. we have to "put" all the eggs in their place, we have to "mess" with Texas, we have to "mix" business and pleasure, we have to "put" cart before horse ... but when it come for CRYing over spilled MILK, there's nothing for us to do. Our action, as solvers, is not incorporated into the idiom. We "put,""mess," and "mix," but we don't "cry." So that answer's a wobbly tire, for sure, but I was so caught up in the challenge of working the idioms out visually that I honestly didn't care, or even really notice, that that answer was anomalous in that way. That answer's anomalous in lots of ways—it goes onto four rows, it's got the "over" and the milk "spilling" to deal with—so I think it gets artistic license. If the puzzle itself is about breaking the rules (and it is), then this last answer can go ahead and break the puzzle's own "rules." I don't mind. Go off, puzzle! Do your thing!
As for the fill, I'm actually surprised it's as strong as it is, given what seems like a pretty demanding theme. My only real winces came at INALIE (an old standard, but one I hate ... it's just Not standalone-worthy), and then at ISN'T SORRY (38D: Has no remorse), which felt like 'green paint' (i.e. a phrase one might say, but not one that has sufficient standalone strength). I also think people are far (far) more likely to say "It's no use" or "it's pointless" or "hopeless" than "IT'S FUTILE" (if only to avoid the "it's feudal?" confusion), but the fact that it's not a first-tier expression doesn't invalidate it. I think it's fine.
What I loved most about this theme is that I really had to *think* about every one of these themers. It's not that they were particularly difficult to come up with, but they weren't transparent, and in every case, I had a significant moment of "what's going on here?"— the expression itself didn't come to me right away, and so I had to back my way into it by watching the circles fill in from crosses and then inferring the expression from there. The first one (with the eggs) was actually the easiest one to get, along with CART | HORSE. The hardest for me was probably AESTX. I got the letters easily enough, but the only "slogan” I could think of was "Don't Tread on Me" (actually thought TREAD might go in those squares a first, except ... "Don't Tread on Me" is not a state slogan). Getting to "Don't ... mess with Texas" felt great—another little aha burst. Worked the business/pleasure one from the back end, so it took some doing, but again, when I got it, big aha (not a big "ugh," as often happens with tricky / gimmick puzzles, where my struggle is often "rewarded" with some awkward contrivance). Finished up in the SE corner, which was tough for a few reasons, none of them really thematic. First, I thought 49D: Character name in both "The Seagull" and "Three Sisters" meant that the name could be found literally in the titles ... like, embedded in their names. So I was looking to see what letter strings those two titles had in common ... only to find out that no, it's not a trick question (like [Woman in dire need?] from the other day), it's just an actual character name (IRINA). And then there was BANKS, which was, I'm serious now, the hardest thing in the grid for me today. I have been in hotels with multiple elevators, and maybe someone even referred to them as BANKS, but wow that answer was Not coming to me today. Instead of BANKS, I drew blanks. Nothing. Zip. Thank god for crosses.
Bullet points:
- 21A: Yankees slugger Juan (SOTO) — he's very, very good. And, for someone who is already a four-time All-Star, still very young (25). He looks very much like a future Hall-of-Famer, so expect to see his name a bunch in future puzzles (i.e. possibly forever).
- 6A: Law mandating curb cuts, in brief (ADA) — Americans with Disabilities Act. "Curb cuts" are literal cuts in curbs that allow for mobility devices to get from sidewalk to street easily.
- 70A: Half a score (TEN)— A "score" is twenty. I forgot that for a half second and just stared at TEN like "but ... but ... TEN is a score all on its own. It's a perfect score. I don't ge- ... oh, right."
- 13D: Diagnostics done with "Foot-o-scopes" in old shoe stores (X-RAYS) — they used to let shoe stores have x-ray machines!?!?! Did they come with lead aprons, what the ...!?
- 36D: Japanese company that created Hello Kitty (SANRIO) — just commit it to memory. I did. (I'm actually stunned to see that this is only the second appearance of SANRIO in the NYTXW ... feels like something I had to learn because of crosswords, but ... I do solve other crosswords, so that's probably where I've seen it)
- 64D: Abraham Lincoln was the first to keep one at the White House (CAT) — aw ... hello, kitty!
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