Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: "Bargaining" — Familiar phrases "gain" BARs (hence the title, "Bar-gaining"), creating wacky phrases, which are clued "?"-style
Word of the Day: OSH (2D: Kyrgyzstan city) —
Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош) is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". The city is at least 3,000 years old, and has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939. The city has an ethnically mixed population of about 220,000 (in 2003), comprising Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Russians, Tajiks, and other smaller ethnic groups. [no word on whether they have an OSHA...] (wikipedia)
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Fine Sunday fare. Lots of BARs. Playful phrases. Pretty commonplace idea for a theme, but it results in a fine way to pass the time for a few minutes on a Sunday. My main problem with the theme today was how strained the clues had to be to make sense of the answers, even in the wackiest light. 
ALIEN SPACE BAR CRAFT clue was possibly the worst of them. E.T.'s ability to use the lower part of a keyboard is his "CRAFT?" I can stretch the word "CRAFT" awful far, but at some point it becomes transparent and at some other point it just falls apart. No matter who, where, or what you are, your ability to hit a SPACE BAR can never, ever, be considered a CRAFT. Are dimwitted people CLUNKERS? I've never heard of that expression. It sounds rightish, in that maybe dimwitted people are so dim that they, I don't know, run into things a lot? SOAP BAR OPERA went the other direction, i.e. not wacky enough. SOAP OPERAs get their names from the SOAP companies that sponsored them, so making the SOAP into a BAR doesn't really change much. Otherwise, this one went down like most Sundays—it was OK, and it took slightly longer than a typical Friday puzzle for me. Favorite answer of the day: SNOOKER TABLE (15D: Where an Englishman might get a break?). Wanted to show you a clip from "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret," which has a recurring "how do you pronounce SNOOKER" gag, but I can't find that clip, so I'll give you this one, which is also funny:Theme answers:
22A: "Should I say 'Come here often?' or 'Hey, babe!'"? ("WHAT'S MY BAR LINE?")- 26A: Area banning pub regulars? (NO BARFLY ZONE)
- 42A: Lines on a Dan Brown best seller? ("THE DA VINCI BARCODE")
- 53A: E.T.'s ability to use the lower part of a keyboard? (ALIEN SPACE BAR CRAFT)
- 75A: Where dimwitted people pay to drink? (CASH BAR FOR CLUNKERS)
- 90A: Like a former 97-pound weakling? (SAVED BY THE BARBELL)
- 103A: Dramatic production about Ivory or Dial? (SOAP BAR OPERA)
- 114A: Certain cases of the munchies? (MARS BARS ATTACKS)
TAMS (6D: Headwear worn over dreadlocks). I had TA-S and just stared... In my mind, TAMS live nowhere but Scotland, and there is nothing Scottish about whatever's going on over dreadlocks. Nutso-ish clues on OSH and TEL (63A: ___ Dan (Israeli archaeological site)) and OMAN (105D: Home of the Bahla Fort and nearby oasis), probably to try to slow down the solver tearing through the puzzle. Crosses were easy enough. I think [Losing tic-tac-toe row] may be my very least favorite repeater clue, i..e. clue that keeps showing up in crosswords no matter how much you wish it would die. There is a reason OOXTEPLERNON's name begins the way it does. My yoga instructor gets annoyed that so many people think of sex when Tantrism comes up (49A: Like some yoga=>TANTRIC). Stupid Sting.Double dose of Japan today in OSAKA (65D: Home of Kansai International Airport) and KOBE (79D: Japanese port), and an even bigger helping of full names, including AXL
ROSE (71A: "Welcome to the Jungle" rocker), AL GORE (119A: Author of the 2009 book subtitled "A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis"), EL CID (47D: Spanish hero of yore), and "ERES TU" (108A: 1974 hit whose title is sung twice after "Como una promesa"), all of which show up in part much more often than whole. I don't quite understand how a fraternity chapter #17 is a RHO, but I figured frats, Greek letters ... yeah, that sounds right. ETON helped me change "ERIS TU" to "ERES TU" (110D: School near the Royal Windsor Racecourse) and I don't know what helped me remember "Kenan & KEL" (116D: Kenan's old partner on Nickelodeon), though I do know that one of them (I'm gonna say Kenan) went on to become a cast member of SNL.I wore some LACOSTE in the early '80s (31D: High-end French retailer), except we called it IZOD. And was I happy to see CARL (36D: Co-worker of Homer on "The Simpsons")? Well, yes, but it's sort of sad to see him without LENNY, his constant companion (here, CARL sings "Who leaves Atlantis off the maps?" and Lenny follows with "Who keeps the Martians under wraps?")
["We do! We do!"]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]
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