Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: Homophonic clues — Long answers are instructions on how to solve the puzzle: "EACH ONE WORD CLUE / IN THIS PUZZLE / IS A HOMOPHONE / OF ITS ACTUAL CLUE"
Word of the Day: RIAA (2D: Org. that certifies gold and platinum) —
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA say "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States" [...] The RIAA participates in the collective rights management of sound recording. The association is also responsible for certifying gold and platinum albums and singles in the USA. (wikipedia)
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You all know I'm not a fan of Instructions-as-Answers puzzles, so I won't rehash my distaste. Given that distaste, this puzzle was fine. Theme is mildly interesting, if easy to uncover, and there are some interesting answers like TRINARY (51A: Having three parts), IRITIS (42D: Eye inflammation), and TERRAZZO (9D: Mosaic flooring). But all the interest is in the (one-word) clues, so essentially you've got a four-part instruction and then a themeless. Didn't find any of it very tricky, though the TAKE / MAKE intersection threw me (that was before I'd picked up the theme), and I wanted MARINARA instead of MEATBALL (36D: Pasta topper). With the exception of the NW (RIAA next to ENCL), the fill is generally very nice. Solid. Springy. So, as this kind of puzzle goes, it was good.Theme clues:
- 10A: Lessons (EBBS)
- 35A: Urn (MAKE)
- 38A: Bolder (ROCK)
- 62A: Tails (LORE)
63A: Pores (RAINS)- 8D: Add (SPOT) — Got this before I got the theme, figuring that somehow these words were related because "SPOT" could mean "loan," and if I SPOT you ten dollars, I loan you ten dollars, then I "add" ten dollars ... to your pocket?
- 10D: Flea (ESCAPE)
- 23D: Sail (AUCTION)
- 27D: Chews (TAKE) — "CHEW" is in the grid (6D: Munch on=>CHEW UP) :(
- 54D: Waist (RUIN)
Started by putting in RAREE at 1A: Carnival sideshow feature. This is what happens when you do too many puzzles—the crosswordese (even the high-end stuff), shoots right to the top of your brain. This crosswordese instinct ended up helping with RINSO (14A: Classic detergent brand), which isn't true crosswordese so much as a brand I have only ever seen in crosswords. Would've liked Tim Lincecum's nickname (with "the") as the clue for FREAK. I half hate and half love YALE LAW. Feels like the abbreviated / colloquial quality ought to have been signaled by the clue (20A: Alma mater of Gerald Ford). I think I know the word TRIAGE(D) from "M*A*S*H" (21A: Prioritized in the emergency room).Bullets:
- 30A: Feature of most paintings of Jesus (BEARD) — that's inspired, and way nicer than my first thought, HALO or EMACIATED TORSO.
- 40A: Where Samson slew the Philistines (LEHI) — this one was unknown to me. That "H" was tough to put in, as I somehow imagined that 37D: "Feels won-n-nderful!" should be AAH, not AHH.
- 41A: Popular 1920s-'50s Harlem ballroom, with "the" (SAVOY) — got it off the "Y." Know it from a song ... something at the SAVOY. Hoppin'? Jumpin'? STOMPIN'!
- 45A: Dormant volcano near the Iranian border (ARARAT) — this mountain usually receives a biblical clue, so it was *kind* of hidden here ... but not very.
- 28D: Old Eur. realm (HRE) — Holy Roman Empire. Once again, crossword instincts kick in—filled this in with no crosses.
- 41D: Unread part of a movie review, maybe (SPOILER) — I don't get it. Do reviews mark the parts that are SPOILERs? I've never seen such a thing. If you don't want a movie spoiled, don't read reviews ... and anyway, most mainstream reviews do not "spoil" movies.
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