Constructor: Kevin Adamick
Relative difficulty: Challenging
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THEME:none
Word of the Day: ASAMA (10A: Central Honshu volcano) —
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Relative difficulty: Challenging
THEME:none
Word of the Day: ASAMA (10A: Central Honshu volcano) —
Mount Asama(浅間山Asama-yama?) is an active complex volcano in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. The volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands 2,568 metres (8,425 ft) above sea level on the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures. It is included in 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. A cruiser class of the Imperial Japanese Navy was named after it, including lead shipAsama. (wikipedia)
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Another entry from the Big Database School of Constructing. It's been so nice not to have seen one of these in a while. I guess their return was inevitable. Sigh. I took one look at this grid and said "No way. There are only a few people on the planet I would trust to fill *that* grid (58 words!?) well. This is going to go poorly." With my expectations set super-low, the puzzle surprised me by not being ultra-terrible, but it still had most of the problems that low word-count stunt grids have. The bad fill is not as plentiful as I would've expected, but when it was bad it was awful. I keep looking at ASAMA on top of UCLAN and wondering how much contempt you have to have for solvers to do that. But my main issue here isn't how bad the fill is. It's that grids like these are made with an eye to showing off, not to ENTERTAINing. "Will it fit" takes precedence over "Is it cool? Is it fresh? Will it produce nice feelings in the pleasure centers of the human brain." I wish constructors would spend time becoming good puzzlemakers before they tried their hands at stunt grids. Actually, I wish constructors would rarely, if ever, try their hands at stunt grids, because they aren't generally designed with solving pleasure in mind. They're designed for hanging on your wall or getting you in some imaginary record book.
The truth is that anyone with a massive enough word hoard (i.e. database) and patience can produce a workable low word-count themeless grid. Database management is not the same thing as constructing. To this puzzle's enormous credit, that NW corner *is* actually pretty entertaining. It's also remarkably smooth (the smoothest of the four maddeningly isolated quadrants). But TESTATORS and TOYERS and ESTES MANAT ESSES etc. is not my idea of a good time. I look forward to themeless weekends because, with the restraint of the theme lifted, the constructor can prioritize fantastic words and phrases and make the grid (mostly) extra-squeaky clean. There's no excuse for it not to be. Unless, of course, you decide self-impose a word-count of 58.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 
The truth is that anyone with a massive enough word hoard (i.e. database) and patience can produce a workable low word-count themeless grid. Database management is not the same thing as constructing. To this puzzle's enormous credit, that NW corner *is* actually pretty entertaining. It's also remarkably smooth (the smoothest of the four maddeningly isolated quadrants). But TESTATORS and TOYERS and ESTES MANAT ESSES etc. is not my idea of a good time. I look forward to themeless weekends because, with the restraint of the theme lifted, the constructor can prioritize fantastic words and phrases and make the grid (mostly) extra-squeaky clean. There's no excuse for it not to be. Unless, of course, you decide self-impose a word-count of 58.
Lots of wrong turns today:
- DIETS for VICES. (1D: Subjects of New Year's resolutions)
- GASSY for INANE (I was trying anything at that point). (2D: Like folderol)
- ESPERANTO for CANTONESE. (17A: Tongue with six phonetic tones)
- PREEN for ADORN. (5D: Opposite of uglify)
- Some kind of SHARKS for SEA SNAKES. (21A: Reef swimmers with no gills)
- MOTOCADES for AUTOCADES (?). (10D: They're often escorted by police)
- FATTED for BASTED. (35A: Like some geese and turkeys)
- ANNOY for CHAFE. (41D: Vex)
- ANNETTE for NANETTE (??). (34D: Lepore of women's fashion)
- Some kind of BIRDS for CARACARAS. (25D: Vulture lookalikes of the falcon family)
- EBOLA for ECOLI. (39A: It has some bad strains)
When I google UCLAN, literally every hit relates to The University of Central Lancashire. CARACARAS (?) reminds me of "Cara Mia" by Jay and the Americans, which I just today learned is one of my daughter's favorite bands. I knew the teenage years would bring weird disclosures, but this ... this was surprising.
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