Cartoon villain who sails Black Barnacle / FRI 10-14-11 / Ozone destroyers / Player of Duke Santos 1960 / Artist whose moniker is pronunciation of his initials

Constructor: Caleb Madison and J.A.S.A. Class

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none

Word of the Day: A.J. CRONIN (41A: A. J. who wrote "The Citadel") —

Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896–6 January 1981) was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr. Finlay character, the hero of a series of stories that served as the basis for the popular BBC television and radio series entitled Dr. Finlay's Casebook. [...] The Citadel, a tale of a mining company doctor's struggle to balance scientific integrity with social obligations, incited the establishment of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom by exposing the inequity and incompetence of medical practice at the time. In the novel, Cronin advocated a free public health service in order to defeat the wiles of those doctors who "raised guinea-snatching and the bamboozling of patients to an art form." Dr. Cronin and Aneurin Bevan had both worked at the Tredegar Cottage Hospital in Wales, which served as the basis for the NHS. The author quickly made a number of enemies in the medical profession, and there was a concerted effort by one group of specialists to get The Citadel banned. Cronin's novel, which was the publisher's best-selling book in its history, informed the public of corruption within the medical system, planting a seed that eventually led to necessary reform. Not only were the author's pioneering ideas instrumental in the creation of the NHS, but historian Raphael Samuel has stated that the popularity of his novels played a substantial role in the Labour Party's landslide 1945 victory. (wikipedia)

• • •

With the notable exceptions of FACEBOOK PROFILE (38A: Where to see the writing on the wall?) and KRISTEN WIIG (17A: Co-writer and star of "Bridesmaids"), this puzzle didn't seem very original. Themelesses thrive zingy long stuff, and it just isn't here. I wonder if a class that is just learning to construct should be doing themelesses (which, in my experience, are much harder to pull off than themed puzzles). When the fairly obscure proper nouns like CRONIN and "PETULIA" (which I still can't believe is right ...) (40D: 1968 Julie Christie movie set in San Francisco) upstage your good stuff, and you have to rely on so much ordinary-to-weak short stuff to hold it all together, you have something of a problem. AAU? I'm just noticing that answer now (25A: Sports org.). What the hell is that? Amateur Athletic Union ... I feel like I've complained about this answer before. Bah. Anyway, from GEER to GEAR to GORE, not a ton of joy here today. Wait, I forgot to give love to OFA. OFA is terrible fill, yes, but that is one good clue, I must say (16A: What may come between two friends?).



Flew through the top of the puzzle, and struggled in normal Friday fashion through the middle. The struggle was due almost entirely to CRONIN and (really?) "PETULIA." Also SEA HAG (47D: Cartoon villain who sails the Black Barnacle), which is a cartoon character I somehow missed (this from someone who at this very moment is wearing a Mighty Mouse t-shirt). She's an enemy of Popeye, it turns out. Seems like I should've known that. There are few words I dislike as much as I dislike DECOCT (45D: Extract the essence of by boiling), but the weird thing about really disliking a word is that you get pretty familiar with it—you gotta be familiar to have strong opinions—and so I strangely threw DECOCT down with hardly any crosses in place. Seeing ONTARIO (15D: One side of the Detroit River) in a puzzle (even the crosswordese abbrev. version, ONT) always gives me mild pangs of NOSTALGIA (11D: It "isn't what it used to be," said Simone Signoret) for my days living in southern Michigan, very close to the Canadian border. Speaking of which, go Tigers.

Bullets:

• 14A: Player of Duke Santos in "Ocean's Eleven," 1960 (CESAR ROMERO) — also player of The Joker in '60s "Batman"
• 26A: Coal-rich valley (SAAR) — important crosswordese that I always forget. I wanted RUHR.
• 60A: Peabody Museum patron, perhaps (ELI) — this is just Caleb secretly showing off that he's an Ivy-Leaguer now. 

[absolute insanity]

• 64A: Playwright who became a president (VACLAV HAVEL) — I should be more impressed than I am by this answer. I feel like I saw him in a puzzle not too long ago, so my reaction wasn't "wow," but "oh, you again." Strangely, it's been sixteen years since this exact answer has appeared in the NYT, so I don't know where I saw my HAVEL. Maybe I'm getting him confused with LECH WALESA (I think I do that).
• 1D: Official in the Clinton White House (ICKES) — thumbing through the first pages of Terry Teachout's bio of H.L. Mencken today, I noticed the name ICKES and thought "that appears in crosswords sometimes." That particular ICKES was Secretary of the Interior under FDR, not Deputy Chief of Staff for Clinton. Hey, whaddyaknow—they're father/son.
• 6D: Father of Harmonia, in myth (ARES) — the only way I was able to spell KRISTEN correctly.
• 13D: William ___, 1990s attorney general (BARR) — don't know him, but I have a distinct feeling I've not known him before, because his name eventually came to me without much assistance. He's Bush I, I think.

Happy birthday, Sandy.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Asian gambling mecca / SUN 4-24-11 / Homey's rep / Rocky of song / Nickname for Baryshnikov / Seedcase that inspired Velcro / Intaglio seals

Constructor: Caleb Madison and J.A.S.A. Crossword Class

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: "Use It Or Lose It" — "IT" is added to common phrases in top half of grid, and subtracted from common phrases in the bottom half of the grid, resulting in wacky phrases, which are clued "?"-style


Word of the Day: OBITER dictum (66D: ___ dictum (incidental remark)) —

n., pl., obiter dicta.

1. Law. An opinion voiced by a judge that has only incidental bearing on the case in question and is therefore not binding. Also called dictum.
2. An incidental remark or observation; a passing comment.

[Latin, something said in passing : obiter, in passing + dictum, something said, from neuter past participle of dīcere, to say.] (answers.com)

• • •

Caleb showed me this grid at the ACPT back in March, and I instantly loved it. Wonderful variation on the add-a-letter-type theme—a puzzle where the title is perfect, even essential, instead of forced or awkward. Most impressed with POLITE DANCER (because of the base phrase) and PULPIT FICTION (a beautiful phrase which should already be the title of something by now) and CENTER OF GRAVY (for the sheer existential impossibility of it all). Also loving much of the longer Down fill, especially RED LABEL, "SLEEP TIGHT," STREET CRED (123A: Homey's rep) and the awesomely umlauted MÖTLEY CRÜE (30D: Group with the 6x platinum album Dr. Feelgood). Not so fond of LEARNER'S PERM, if only for the lack of punctuation in the grid, which means I can see only LEARNER SPERM when I look at it. There's some less than ideal stuff around the edges of the grid, but the only answer I'd never seen before was OBITER dictum, and that seems like something I should know, so I don't hate it so much.


Theme answers:

• 23A: Electrical paths in New York City? (BIG APPLE CIRCUITS) — not being a New Yorker, I'm not sure how I've heard of "Big Apple Circus," but I have.
  
• 33A: Spill a Cuban drink? (LOSE ONE'S MOJITO)
  
• 41A: One who says "Beg your pardon" after stepping on your toes? (POLITE DANCER)
  
• 63A: Preachers' lies? (PULPIT FICTION)
  
• 73A: What a mashed potato serving may have? (CENTER OF GRAVY)
  
• 94A: Hairdresser's first do? (LEARNER'S PERM)
  
• 102A: Author Amy's family squabble? (CLASH OF THE TANS)
  
• 117A: The Miracles? (SMOKEY AND THE BAND) — this one I didn't like so much, since I know the Miracles as an adjunct entity, separate and back-up; but before 1965 the band was simply known as "The Miracles," so the clue works if you exclude the years '65-'72.

JASA = Jewish Association for Services for the Aged, not, as you might have suspected, the Jane Austen Society of Australia or Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures. Caleb has taught a crossword construction course for them for what seems like a few years now (hard to imagine given that Caleb's just 17, but I'm sure this is at least his third go 'round ... it might not be strictly annual). Caleb's off to Yale in the fall, so (I'm told) young (but not So young) Ian Livengood will be taking over as JASA crossword guru in the coming years. Ian will have big, if goofy, shoes to fill—of the three JASA puzzles Caleb has shepherded through thus far, I definitely like this one the best.

Several non-theme answers either impressed me or made me smile. Somehow, the full name of ALI MACGRAW seems magisterial (19A: Steve McQueen's ex-wife and co-star in "The Getaway"). Starts out very crossword-friendly before getting very crinkly in the middle and finally resolving with an "-AW." The clue on GAZEBO is close to perfect (36A: Shelter that's often octagonal)—I couldn't imagine what it was looking for, until I got it, and then thought, "of course." Clue on BIGOT is clever if a bit ... restricted (3D: One who sees everything in black and white?). 8D: Rocky of song made me incredibly happy, in that I thought "who the hell could that be ... [jokingly] RACCOON? ... OMG it *is* RACCOON! Sweet."


Bullets:

• 10A: Nickname for Baryshnikov (MISHA) — one of many names, almost all of them well known to me. All crossworders should know Mordant Mort by now (SAHL). I own work by both Baker and Loos (ANITA), and while the clue at 82A: Comics character who said "Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life" (LINUS) was not immediately transparent to me, with crosses the answer came easily. One name I didn't know: EDUARDO (38D: Facebook co-founder Saverin). SAVERIN seems like a name that might show up some day...
  
• 51A: Seedcase that inspired Velcro (BUR) — BUR always, always looks wrong to me. Like it's missing a letter. Maybe I'm thrown off because I simply see BRR and BURR in the puzzle so much more often.
  
• 90A: Cookie first baked in Manhattan's Chelsea district (OREO) — wow. Your move, next person who has to clue OREO.
  
• 10D: Asian gambling mecca (MACAO) — I knew this was a Portuguese colony, but had No idea it was known for gambling.
  
• 15D: Volcano near Aokigahara forest (MT. FUJI) — good example of a clue that looks much more daunting than it is. In other news, I seem to have this FUJI v. FIJI issue down now.
  
• 37D: Whistle-blower, in slang (ZEBRA) — niiiice misdirection here. Take a slang term, then use it literally, in order to clue slang!? Brilliant. In case you are sports-illiterate, the clue refers to a football referee.
  
• 77D: Cow, in Cádiz (VACA) — also in Colombia and Caracas.
  
• 96D: Intaglio seals (SIGNETS) — [quietly looking up "Intaglio" ... aha, a carved gem. Has different meanings in other contexts, most notably print-making]
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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