Architect Jones / MON 4-29-13 / Much-advertised vacuum cleaner / Frontiersman Carson / Pioneers' convoy / Treelike creature in Lord of Rings / Grounded trans-Atlantic fliers for short

Constructor: C.W. Stewart

Relative difficulty: Medium


THEME: actors' favorite foods— possessive phrases that rhyme

Theme answers:

• 17A: Actor Charlie's favorite food? (SHEEN'S BEANS)
• 24A: Actress Hilary's favorite food? (SWANK'S FRANKS)
• 31A: Actress Veronica's favorite food? (LAKE'S CAKES)
• 45A: Actor Brad's favorite food? (PITT'S GRITS)
• 50A: Actor Dudley's favorite food? (MOORE'S S'MORES)
• 63A: Actress Goldie's favorite food? (HAWN'S PRAWNS) 

Word of the Day: EROSE (22A: Jagged, as a leaf's edge) —

adj.
Irregularly notched, toothed, or indented: erose leaves.

[From Latin ērōsus, past participle of ērōdere, to gnaw off. See erode.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/erose#ixzz2RoEofuV2

Theme is thin and also odd, phrasing-wise. If actor John Hamm's favorite food were yams, under no circumstances would anyone anywhere ever use the phrase HAMM'S YAMS. I like pies, but PARKER'S PIES makes no sense. Possessive does not indicate "favorite." It just makes no sense. Theme also seems like it could be extended forever—actors and foods seem arbitrary. I'd've gone with KITT over PITT, but that's a matter of taste (specifically, my taste for Ks). Oh, I guess you couldn't do KITT'S with this grid as it is since KIT (34D: Frontiersman Carson) intersects it. Still, I probably would've reworked the grid to get KITT. But PITT is fine. Nothing wrong with PITT. Why am I still talking about this? OK, moving on—then there's the fill, which is subpar today. When you have an easy-to-fill grid like this, there shouldn't be so much short / dull / awkward stuff. I could enumerate it, but why? EROSE is bad fill whenever it appears, but on a Monday? No. ANO ANI API OVI. It's a lot to take. The muckiest part is the SE—TNUT and SSTS (61D: Grounded trans-Atlantic fliers, for short) are just tired, but cross them with the unforgivable PSSTS (plural!?), and you have one hell of a mess. The one big bright spot today is I KID YOU NOT. Wonderful. Wish there was more colorful, playful stuff like that.


MOORE and S'MORE do not rhyme in my world. So that's another thing.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld