Constructor: Jacob Stulberg
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: four-letter word repeated 3 times...— but clued in a wacky way that requires creative parsing, thus:
Theme answers:
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The "humor" of the puzzle continues to be very old-fashioned, but there's a cleverness here that's admirable, and a cleanness of grid that is sweet-jesus merciful. I don't think I went "yuck" once. Well, there's SPUME, which is inherently "yuck," but in that way that MOIST is "yuck," id est it's a very real word that just gives me very real heebie jeebies. No dings against it, crossword-wise. And no dings against the grid as a whole. No, wait: IRAE/BAAS? What the heck is up with that? That's a sore-thumb crossing. You could get rid of it without too much trouble. You'd have to tear the grid back a bit, but not much. Still, I really wish all easy puzzles were this cleanly filled. Why can't all MTWs (i.e. early/mid-week puzzles) do this? Notice what you don't see: a *#$&#$ing "Q" (for instance). Constructor is going for Best Grid, not Most Damned Letters Checked Off The Stupid 26-Letter Checklist. And see how much nicer? Nicer. The clues on some of the themers are contrived as hell, but that's sort of the nature of the beast today. This puzzle is solid, and solid feels like a Huge win, given the way things have been going of late.
Not much to say about the fill beyond praising its smoothness. PRIORY and MARSHAL are interesting words. CLASSY is a word that is kind of ruined now. I can only imagine two kinds of people using it: either a. someone who is being deeply ironic (sarcastic, even) and actually means the opposite, or b. Donald Trump (i.e. someone whose sense of "class" is maybe possibly questionable). It's the kind of word that would be quite at home 70 years ago, just before the word "dame." I like the word fine, in a retro kind of way. I just can't imagine using it unironically. All right, I'm gonna POST this and get to bed.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: four-letter word repeated 3 times...— but clued in a wacky way that requires creative parsing, thus:
Theme answers:
- VISAVISAVISA (actually "vis-a-vis a visa") (20A: In relation to someone's travel document?)
- ABELABELABEL (actually "Abe, label Abel") (33A: "Grampa Simpson, describe a Genesis figure"?)
- RIDERIDERIDE (actually "rider I deride") (41A: Jockey who's jeered by me?)
- PIESPIESPIES (actually "P.I. espies pies") (57A: Detective catches sight of bakery wares?)
MundoFox (sometimes stylized, particularly on-air, as MundoFOX) is an AmericanSpanish languagebroadcasttelevision network that is operated as a joint venture between the Fox International Channels subsidiary of 21st Century Fox and Colombian private broadcaster RCN Televisión SA (both companies own 50% of the network).[2][3] The network carries a broad mix of serials (consisting of both telenovelas and teleseries), theatrically released and made-for-home-video films and variety programs, as well as limited news and sports programming. // MundoFox is headquartered with 21st Century Fox's other U.S. television operations in Los Angeles, California. The network is headed by its president Ibra Morales, who replaced original president Emiliano Saccone in January 2014. (wikipedia)
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Not much to say about the fill beyond praising its smoothness. PRIORY and MARSHAL are interesting words. CLASSY is a word that is kind of ruined now. I can only imagine two kinds of people using it: either a. someone who is being deeply ironic (sarcastic, even) and actually means the opposite, or b. Donald Trump (i.e. someone whose sense of "class" is maybe possibly questionable). It's the kind of word that would be quite at home 70 years ago, just before the word "dame." I like the word fine, in a retro kind of way. I just can't imagine using it unironically. All right, I'm gonna POST this and get to bed.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]