Constructor: Ned White
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME: lisping on the front end—familiar phrases that start with "S" have that changed to "TH-" and (with appropriate spelling changes) wackiness ensues:
Theme answers:
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Been in a murderous mood all day for no clear reason, so I'm going to try hard not to take it out on the puzzle, but it's not going to be easy because the concept here is tired and the fill is truly wretched. There's no way your really good constructors are gonna subject you to a raft of junk like this. The very fact that we're subjected to two "flanged" clues, like that's a clever/good thing, tells you how far from self-aware this puzzle is of its repugnance. At best, the fill is tired: ARLO TOSCA ELCID (those are all in one little section) etc. But it gets much worse. TNUT HBAR KER HOO EDA and then honestly the worst little corner I've seen in ages—that SE corner. There's no excuse for OMRI EMAG EGAL. Barf. Really, truly unprofessional. When ARIA is not even the third lamest thing in your tiny 4x4 corner, something is terribly, desperately wrong. That corner does have a bit of theme pressure on it, but then explain the next section over—the OLDE FDIC ILSA section. ONE CARD is not a thing. ASTRA next to NIHIL is lazy Latin terribleness. This, novice constructors, is a lesson in how Not to fill a puzzle. Embarrassing.
The theme is what it is. It feels old hat, but it has a certain cuteness. Didn't enjoy the fact that two of the themers were so radically cross-referenced. Awkward. Gimmick was obvious from the get go. Here's the opening:
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Jeez I can barely look at this grid. Look how UGLI that initial fill is. Gah. Anyway, bing bang boom, cut through two *$%&ing "H-" answers (BOMB, BAR), and we get another cross-referenced themer:
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The lisping gimmick was slightly weird, as it applied only to the first "S" sound and not to others. Long themers are mildly funny. But this is some prehistoric, wholly unsatisfactory grid-filling here today, folks.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Facebook and Twitter]
P.S. D CUPS > C CUPS (27D: Features of many bras) ... not intrinsically, just, you know, today.
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: lisping on the front end—familiar phrases that start with "S" have that changed to "TH-" and (with appropriate spelling changes) wackiness ensues:
Theme answers:
- THAW / MILL (1A: With 68-Across, release philosopher John Stuart from cryonic suspension?)
- THICK / PUPPY (9A: With 66-Across, slow learner in the litter?)
- THIGHS OF RELIEF (20A: Turkey servings for the famished?)
- THUMBER OLYMPICS (38A: Quadrennial competition for hitchhikers?)
- THEME'S OK TO ME (53A: TV critic's approval of a show's opening tune?)
Omri [...] (fl. 9th century BC) was the sixth king of Israel after Jeroboam, a successful military campaigner, and the founder of the House of Omri, an Israelite royal house which included other monarchs such as Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah. Along with his predecessor king Zimri who ruled for only seven days, Omri is the first king mentioned in the Bible without a statement of his tribal origin: although some scholars speculate that Omri was from the tribe of Issachar, this is not confirmed by any biblical account. //Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as well as extra-biblical sources such as the Mesha stele and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, Omri is also credited with the construction of Samaria and establishing it as his capital. (wikipedia)
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The theme is what it is. It feels old hat, but it has a certain cuteness. Didn't enjoy the fact that two of the themers were so radically cross-referenced. Awkward. Gimmick was obvious from the get go. Here's the opening:
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Facebook and Twitter]
P.S. D CUPS > C CUPS (27D: Features of many bras) ... not intrinsically, just, you know, today.