Constructor: Joe Krozel
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME:"Fill-in-the-Blanks"— Clues are words with letter strings removed. Answers are common phrases that describe the removed parts. Thus:
Theme answers:
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There are two levels on which this theme operates—clue and answer. Now that I write that out, it sounds like the levels at which all crosswords operate, but hear me out. What I mean is that there's the question of how well (cleverly) the omitted letter string / word is represented in the clue, and then there's the solidity of the answer phrase. I point this out mainly because I found myself feeling like some part of every theme clue/answer kept failing. Clue choices often seemed ridiculous. Why is there a "ly" in 32A: Ob___ly? That's a terribly hidden "scene" with a totally gratuitous adverbial ending. And don't even get me started on 50A: ___t. What the hell is that? I look at a clue like 71A: Lo___y and think, yes, that works. CALL is hard to infer, the adverbial quality of the base word is hidden … and the answer phrase, DROPPED CALL, is spot on. Perfect. A real thing. But many of the remaining clues/answers did not live up to this standard. FORFEITED felt like the wrong word in the first place, and FORFEITED GAME is total green paint (i.e. something someone might say, but not solid enough to be a stand-alone answer). See also ABANDONED SHIP. One might shout "Abandon ship!" But ABANDONED SHIP = green paint. You could put a ton of different nouns after ABANDONED and they would be just as crossworthy. Also see also STOLEN ART (?!?!). KISS, CAR, MOMENT … all more real than ART in that phrase. And 114A: Wor___er again has that gratuitous additional letter thing going on, i.e. We Don't Need The "-er". You could've claimed "need" if the idea was that in all cases the missing part would be removed from the center of the clue word. But 50A: ___t screwed up that rationale big time. So … I feel like there is a good idea somewhere underneath all this, but the execution shows a real lack of artistry. It's clunktastic. Also, the title = terrible. Reeks of "I give up."
And EATEN RAW… how is that legal? Seriously. Are we just stringing together words now and calling them legit answers. EATEN RAW seems about as legit as APPLIEDGENTLY or COOKEDONLOW. THE TOP is almost but not quite as bad (1A: Where it's lonely, it's said). I know the expression "It's lonely at the top," but THE TOP doesn't hold up well on its own. What about THEBOTTOM? [Worst barrel part]? THESIDE? [What you might get dressing on]? Why not? It's a free-for-all. Anything goes. CURST BOPIN NONONO. Sigh. Actually, the overall fill quality is decentish. Ish.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
Theme answers:
- MISSING PERSON (26A: Su___ic)
- DELETED SCENE (32A: Ob___ly)
- UNUSED MINUTES (50A: ___t)
- DROPPED CALL (71A: Lo___y)
- FORFEITED GAME (91A: Li___nt)
- STRIPPED BARE (105A: Ca___t)
- ABANDONED SHIP (114A: Wor___er)
- STOLEN ART (46D: E___hen)
Round Tip Roast or Tip Roast or Sirloin Tip Roast or Tip Sirloin Roast: A cut away from the sirloin section, this roast is tender enough to be oven roasted or used as kabobs. When trimmed it's called a trimmed tip roast or ball tip roast. (food.com)
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And EATEN RAW… how is that legal? Seriously. Are we just stringing together words now and calling them legit answers. EATEN RAW seems about as legit as APPLIEDGENTLY or COOKEDONLOW. THE TOP is almost but not quite as bad (1A: Where it's lonely, it's said). I know the expression "It's lonely at the top," but THE TOP doesn't hold up well on its own. What about THEBOTTOM? [Worst barrel part]? THESIDE? [What you might get dressing on]? Why not? It's a free-for-all. Anything goes. CURST BOPIN NONONO. Sigh. Actually, the overall fill quality is decentish. Ish.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld