Relative difficulty: Easy
Word of the Day: LANTANA (16A: Flowering shrub common in the South) —
n.
Any of various aromatic, chiefly tropical shrubs of the genus Lantana, having dense spikes or heads and small colorful flowers.[New Latin Lantana, genus name, from Italian dialectal lantana, wayfaring tree, viburnum, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *lentāgō, *lentāgin-, from Latin lentus, light, flexible.]
• • •
• • •
Very weird Monday. Started out tough (cross-referenced clue at 1-Across?? LANTANA?????), and then got so easy it was laughable. Did not know "WORDS WORDS WORDS" was a famous quote, but once I hit PICKY PICKY PICKY and saw what was happening, the other theme answers took no effort at all and if I hadn't written in GOADING for GOOSING (68A: Prodding into action) (clue fits GOADING better), I would've set a personal NYT record. Because theme answers are just a 5-letter word twice-repeated, I didn't find it terribly cute or charming, and it's slightly less clean than most of Ms. Michaels's early-week grids (she's set a high standard ... I mean, KUE (35D: Letter before ar)? ESTEES?). I do like that every theme answer is the same grid-spanning length. JASMINE over EMPEROR is very elegant, and TACTILE STOOGES is kind of funny, and it's only a Monday after all, so lighten up, Rex. But the thing is—it's Ms. Michaels herself who taught me that "it's only Monday" is a diminishing and unfair assessment of Monday puzzles. Just because they're all easy doesn't mean that it doesn't matter how artfully constructed they are. And the well-constructed Monday puzzle is a beautiful, if ephemeral, thing. This one was just OK.
[It's pledge week here at the Rex Parker site (thru Sat.) —read my pitch for donations in the opening paragraphs of Sunday's write-up, here ... and thanks for your faithful readership (and the many kind messages I've received so far)]
• • •
Very weird Monday. Started out tough (cross-referenced clue at 1-Across?? LANTANA?????), and then got so easy it was laughable. Did not know "WORDS WORDS WORDS" was a famous quote, but once I hit PICKY PICKY PICKY and saw what was happening, the other theme answers took no effort at all and if I hadn't written in GOADING for GOOSING (68A: Prodding into action) (clue fits GOADING better), I would've set a personal NYT record. Because theme answers are just a 5-letter word twice-repeated, I didn't find it terribly cute or charming, and it's slightly less clean than most of Ms. Michaels's early-week grids (she's set a high standard ... I mean, KUE (35D: Letter before ar)? ESTEES?). I do like that every theme answer is the same grid-spanning length. JASMINE over EMPEROR is very elegant, and TACTILE STOOGES is kind of funny, and it's only a Monday after all, so lighten up, Rex. But the thing is—it's Ms. Michaels herself who taught me that "it's only Monday" is a diminishing and unfair assessment of Monday puzzles. Just because they're all easy doesn't mean that it doesn't matter how artfully constructed they are. And the well-constructed Monday puzzle is a beautiful, if ephemeral, thing. This one was just OK. Theme answers:
- 17A: Hamlet's reply to "What do you read, my lord?" ("WORDS, WORDS, WORDS")
- 32A: "You're too hard to please!" ("PICKY PICKY PICKY!")
- 42A: 1976 Abba hit ("MONEY, MONEY, MONEY")
- 63A: How the trolley went in a 1944 song ("CLANG CLANG CLANG!")
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. The only DRACO I know is a Malfoy (51D: Northern constellation).
No comments:
Post a Comment