Constructor: Joel Fagliano
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (**for a Tuesday**)
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THEME: ordinary phrases re-imagined as "reviews" —
Theme answers:
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There's one big problem here, which is that no one reviews "newsmagazines." You can read music reviews, TV reviews, and movie reviews virtually every day in, say, the NYT, but "newsmagazine" review? No. Thus, TIME SUCKS sucks (though on its own, unattached to any theme, it would be a fine answer). It was a big letdown that all the answers weren't musical, actually. The first two you're like to encounter (the first two I encountered, anyway) were LOVE STINKS and MOON ROCKS. If that theme had kept on like that, I'd've been really impressed. Perhaps that's not possible. The theme is a nice idea, imperfectly executed. Kind of a let-down, in the end. Grid construction overall is nice, with a nice set of longer Downs driving their way through the grid. I liked TRAINED EYE and loved GROUP HUGS. Rest of the fill is just fine.
I think this played harder than the usual Tuesday (for me) because the theme answers were simply harder to pick up. Had LOVE, didn't know what came next. Ditto MOON. The rest of their answers weren't *hard* to get, but I had to work for those back ends. Weirdly, the answer that might've held some people up (the REMBRANDTS) was a gimme for me. I'm not proud about that. It's just a fact. I knew it cold. I remembered their name. I don't know why. Otherwise, hold-ups were just dumb stuff I fumbled. TITAN for BARON (23A: Powerful industrialist). HAGEL for the non-Chuck HEGEL (47D: "Science of Logic" philosopher). Multiple crosses needed to pick up both THE WAVE (4D: Stand-up routine?) andD-DAY (62A: Decisive time). I literally never get D-DAY unless I have at least two letters (the first two). I always think of it as a specific day, not a general word for a type of day. I hope someone rants about the NYT's right-wing bias—cluing TED as [Sen. Cruz] on election day?! Coincidence?! Well, yes. But … Coincidence!?!?!?! (see, when you say it with more "!"s and "?"s, it gets more plausible-sounding) (yeah, I know he's not up for election this cycle … that's how deep this goes, man) (!?!?!?!?).
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (**for a Tuesday**)
THEME: ordinary phrases re-imagined as "reviews" —
Theme answers:
- LOVE BITES (3D: Critic's negative review of singer Courtney?)
- MOON ROCKS (18A: Critic's positive review of drummer Keith of the Who?)
- HOUSE / RULES (31A: With 40-Across, critic's positive review of a Fox medical drama?)
- TIME SUCKS (32D: Critic's negative review of a newsmagazine?)
- BIG STINKS (55A: Critic's negative review of a 1988 Hanks film?)
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr (1907–1978) and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" (née Kaiser) Eames (1912–1988) /ˈiːmz/ were American designers who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film. […] Charles Eames was greatly influenced by the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (whose son Eero, also an architect, would become a partner and friend). At the elder Saarinen's invitation, Charles moved in 1938 with his wife Catherine and daughter Lucia to Michigan, to further study architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he would become a teacher and head of the industrial designdepartment. In order to apply for the Architecture and Urban Planning Program, Eames defined an area of focus—the St. Louis waterfront. Together with Eero Saarinen he designed prize-winning furniture for New York's Museum of Modern Art "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition. Their work displayed the new technique of wood moulding (originally developed by Alvar Aalto), that Eames would further develop in many moulded plywood products, including chairs and other furniture, splints and stretchers for the US Navy during World War II. (wikipedia)
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I think this played harder than the usual Tuesday (for me) because the theme answers were simply harder to pick up. Had LOVE, didn't know what came next. Ditto MOON. The rest of their answers weren't *hard* to get, but I had to work for those back ends. Weirdly, the answer that might've held some people up (the REMBRANDTS) was a gimme for me. I'm not proud about that. It's just a fact. I knew it cold. I remembered their name. I don't know why. Otherwise, hold-ups were just dumb stuff I fumbled. TITAN for BARON (23A: Powerful industrialist). HAGEL for the non-Chuck HEGEL (47D: "Science of Logic" philosopher). Multiple crosses needed to pick up both THE WAVE (4D: Stand-up routine?) andD-DAY (62A: Decisive time). I literally never get D-DAY unless I have at least two letters (the first two). I always think of it as a specific day, not a general word for a type of day. I hope someone rants about the NYT's right-wing bias—cluing TED as [Sen. Cruz] on election day?! Coincidence?! Well, yes. But … Coincidence!?!?!?! (see, when you say it with more "!"s and "?"s, it gets more plausible-sounding) (yeah, I know he's not up for election this cycle … that's how deep this goes, man) (!?!?!?!?).