Constructor: Caleb Emmons
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME: Unexpectedly Roman — common names / phrases are clued as if certain parts were Roman numerals:
Theme answers:
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This is one of those great ideas that just doesn't have enough great possible answers, so you either abandon the idea or force it. Today's offering is what "force it" looks like. Can you guess which two are the good theme answers—the ones that really work well? I'll give you time [Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo; doo doo doo doo DOO … doodoodoodoodoo … etc.]. The correction question is "What are LEMONADE MIX and PRINCESS DI?" The others are compromises. What's the big difference? Well, you probably can tell, but I'll spell it out anyway. See, MIX and DI are words/names that the clues convert to Roman numerals. This means the Roman-ness is totally hidden, completely unexpected, because MIX and DI are not already abbreviations. That is, their letters have not already been converted into initials / symbols. This makes the conversion extra cool. Converting XXX RATINGS (not really a phrase to start with) to 30 RATINGS does not involve much imagination and produces little to no "aha" feeling. To simplify: MIX-to-1,009 is not a conversion I could see coming, whereas IV-to-4 … is. Where is Otto DIX!? LIV Ullman!? Hell, even CD PLAYER would've felt more in-the-pocket than XL TEE SHIRTS (which both looks absurd written out ("tee?") and is not likely to be said as written, i.e. people still say "extra large" most of the time…). Sometimes good theme ideas should just remain ideas unless and until you have a full complement of Good Theme Answers.
The fill is once again labored and subpar, with the possible exception of MAXED OUT (which is sadly offset by its ridiculous symmetrical counterpart, ON A STICK). Everywhere you look, musty, tired fill. You see it. I see it. Everyone sees it. Why is this still happening? This has been a rough week for the NYT, an unexpected and unwelcome return to form after a pretty good holiday run of puzzles. Second ASAP we've seen this week. Second WAS, too. These are the things one notices when there is next to nothing interesting in the puzzles to talk about. SQUASH over KETTLE is a nice little juxtaposition. That's all the good will I have to spend on this one. There's always tomorrow. Dum spiro spero. Etc.
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: Unexpectedly Roman — common names / phrases are clued as if certain parts were Roman numerals:
Theme answers:
- LEMONADE MIX (17A: 1,009th juice drink?)
- PRINCESS DI (11D: 501st royal daughter?)
- IV DRUGS (39A: Four prescriptions?)
- XXX RATINGS (30D: 30 consumer reviews?)
- XL TEE SHIRTS (61A: 40 concert souvenirs?)
The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011. The games were started when employees of the New York City branch of Wanamaker's department store formed the Millrose Track Club to hold a meet. The featured event is the Wanamaker Mile. (wikipedia)
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WEDNESDAY PUZZLE aka "AMOR ON A STICK!"
Hi all. It's time for my week-long, just-once-a-year-I-swear pitch for financial contributions to the blog. If you enjoy (or some other verb) this blog on a regular or fairly regular basis, please consider what the blog is worth to you on an annual basis and give accordingly. In making this pitch, I'm pledging that the blog will continue to be here for your enjoyment (or some other noun) for at least another calendar year, with a new post up by 9:00am (usually by 12:01am) every day, as usual. I'm in my ninth (!) year of writing about the puzzle every single day, and while there are occasions when the daily grind gets a little wearisome, for the most part I've been surprised by how resilient my passion for solving and talking about crosswords has been. It's energizing to be part of such an enthusiastic and diverse community of solvers, and I'm excited about the coming year (I have reason to be hopeful … mysterious reasons …). Anyway, I appreciate your generosity more than I can say. This year, said generosity allowed me to hire a regular guest blogger, Annabel Thompson, who now brings a fresh, youthful voice to my blog on the first Monday of every month. So thanks for that. As I said last year, I know that some people are opposed to paying for what they can get for free, and still others really don't have money to spare. Both kinds of people are welcome to continue reading my blog, with my compliments. It will always be free. I have no interest in cordoning it off, nor do I have any interest in taking advertising. I value my independence too much. Anyway, if you are so moved, there is a Paypal button in the sidebar, and a mailing address here:
Rex Parker
℅ Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton NY 13905
And here: I'll stick a PayPal button in here for the mobile users.
I assume that worked.
For people who send me actual, honest-to-god (i.e. "snail") mail (I love snail mail!), this year my thank-you cards are "Postcards from Penguin"—each card a different vintage Penguin paperback book cover. Who will be the lucky person who gets … let's see … "Kiss, Kiss" by Roald DAHL? Or "The Case of the Careless Kitten" by ERLE Stanley Gardner? Or the Selected Verse of Heinrich HEINE? It could be you. Or give via PayPal and get a thank-you email. That's cool too. Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just say so. No problem. Anyway, whatever you choose to do, I remain most grateful for your readership. Now on to the puzzle …
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The fill is once again labored and subpar, with the possible exception of MAXED OUT (which is sadly offset by its ridiculous symmetrical counterpart, ON A STICK). Everywhere you look, musty, tired fill. You see it. I see it. Everyone sees it. Why is this still happening? This has been a rough week for the NYT, an unexpected and unwelcome return to form after a pretty good holiday run of puzzles. Second ASAP we've seen this week. Second WAS, too. These are the things one notices when there is next to nothing interesting in the puzzles to talk about. SQUASH over KETTLE is a nice little juxtaposition. That's all the good will I have to spend on this one. There's always tomorrow. Dum spiro spero. Etc.