English-born cabaret singer / THU 8-18-11 / Bless us and splash us my preciousss / Onetime NASA booster / Epithet for mouse Burns To Mouse

Constructor: Kevan Choset



Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging



THEME: SIX DEGREES (40A: Often-cited distance between things ... or what's hidden in this puzzle) — rebus puzzle with SIX educational DEGREES crammed into squares throughout the grid





Word of the Day: MABEL / MERCER (5D: With 52-Down English born cabaret singer) —

Mabel Mercer (3 February 1900 – 20 April 1984) was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the Carlyle, the St. Regis Hotel, and eventually her own room, the Byline Club. Among those who frequently attended Mercer's shows was Frank Sinatra, who made no secret of his emulating her phrasing and story-telling techniques. (wikipedia)

• • •

This was a toughie. Usually SIX DEGREES is attached to the phrase OF SEPARATION, and I've never heard it used of distance between "things" (as the clue indicates), only people. I've seen educational degrees used as the basis of a puzzle theme before, but probably not quite like this. The fill in this puzzle is kind of strained, but that's somewhat to be expected in a rebus puzzle, especially one with a couple of tough squares to pull off (BFA and MBA). Puzzle seemed slightly over-reliant on mild esoterica—plus it uses STAR twice (DOG STAR and S-STARS) (14D: Its rising signaled the flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt + 74A: Cool red giants) —but I mostly enjoyed it. Seems about an average Thursday rebus puzzle.



Picked up the rebus at ICE MAKER, though I didn't know if EM or MA was the rebus square at first. With MA in one square, I thought maybe there'd be some kind of family or kinship theme, but then SIX gave me SIX DEGREES, and I knew what was up. Even so, finding five more different degrees was tough. Helps to know they're out there, but when you don't know what degrees they are, or where they are, you still have to flail around quite a bit. Had some trouble in the SE, around NERD (?) (63A: Creature in Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran the Zoo") and TRUDGER (??) (48D: Weary walker) and BEASTIE (47A: Epithet for the mouse in Burns's "To a Mouse"). Had more trouble at the end of the solve, in the NE. ANIMIST (29A: Nature worshiper, of a sort) was tough to come up with, and that was one of the only ways into that section. AN ARM and CDS helped, as did partially remembering ERNESTO Zedillo's name (I had ERNEST ... not sure why I hesitated on the "O") (13D: 1990s Mexican president Zedillo). Last letter was the "S" in DOGSTAR / ARLES, I think.





Theme answers:

• CABFARE / ABFAB (6D: Hit Brit sitcom)
  
  
• ICE MAKER / MAINE
  
  
• CMDR / EMDASHES
  
  
• VJDAY / JD SALINGER (67A: Writer featured in the memoir "Dream Catcher")
  
  
• BATOR / BASS HORN
  
  
• SLAMBANG / ZIMBALIST (12D: Notable violinist) — best degree square of them all
  
  

Bullets:

• 1A: Traditional keikogi accessory (OBI) — I stupidly thought LEI at first.
  
  
• 17A: "Sleepers" co-star, 1996 (DE NIRO) — No idea. I probably saw this, but have no recollection of it. That's pretty back-catalogue, as DE NIRO movies go.
  
  
• 18A: Literary source of "Bless us and splash us, my preciousss!" ("THE HOBBIT") — read it as "precsiousness," so did not pick up the obvious "LOTR" reference.
  
  
• 33A: Pill bug, for one (ISOPOD) — absolutely no idea what "pill bug" is. Oh, it's one of those armadillo-type bugs. Used to see them in CA. Haven't seen them since moving east.
  
  
• 49A: Aegean island near Naxos (IOS) — stone cold guess that happened to be right.
  
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Member of fictional Springfield baseball team / TUE 5-3-11 / Rabbi's co-worker / Actor/singer/athlete/activist Paul / Event held on January 26, 1986

Constructor: Kevan Choset

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging


THEME: MAN (71A: Word that can follow the start of 18-, 24-, 38-, 53- or 61-Across) — Adding MAN to starts of theme answers gives you the names of DC and Marvel superheroes

Word of the Day: Springfield ISOTOPEs (43D: Member of a fictional Springfield baseball team) —

The Springfield Isotopes are Springfield's only minor league baseball team. // The team is shown as drastically underfunded and struggling in competition. Their home games are played at Duff Stadium as Duff Beer sponsors and co-manages the team. The Isotopes name is most likely in reference to Springfield's nuclear power plant. // Homer Simpson was the Isotopes mascot for a brief period, before taking over from the Capital City Goofball, before being fired. // Players include Flash Baylor, Fishbone Walker, Smash Diggins, Buck Mitchell and Babe Ruth IV. (Simpsons wiki)

• • •

You don't want to know what kind of jet-lagged I'm dealing with. Let's just say my body thinks it's just shy of 3 a.m., I spent all yesterday on a plane, and I have to be in front of a classroom in just over two hours. All things considered, the fact that I managed to get five hours sleep seems like a major accomplishment. The main point of my telling you all this is that I can't get into it today. No time. Also, no brain function beyond the basic animal/survival level.

Still, I'll say something. I didn't like this one. This theme seemed weak and tired. I know I've seen something like it before, and as "word that can follow" themes go, this didn't have much spice. MAN is not a "word" that follows the starts of the theme answers. It's more an ... what would you call it? Suffix? Enclitic? Anyway, not a free-standing word. Superhero names are somewhat arbitrary, as is that SUPER BOWL. Come on. That's a Terrible way to get 2 Xs in your puzzle. Add to all that the doubled NO (NO PAR, NO SIR), the pile-up of governmental initialisms (OSS, OAS, NSA — 64D: Subj. of the book "The Puzzle Palace"), the random SCENE V (again, weak way to add Scrabbly letters to your puzzle), a preponderance of crosswordese for a 78-word Tuesday (SANAA, ESAU, ERAS, SAS, ARI, ODO, OBI, USH and on and on and on), and it adds up to not much fun. Liked SPIDER CRAB despite having no idea what one is. Did not like the IRON CURTAIN clue, which I thought needed a "?" at the end (61A: Continental divide, once?). Best part of grid = the NW and SE corners, esp. the Downs (actually, only the Downs).

Theme answers:

• 18A: Event held on January 26, 1986 (SUPER BOWL XX)
  
• 24A: Blue-green gem (AQUAMARINE)
  
• 38A: Idly debate (BAT AROUND)
  
• 53A: Long-legged sea animal seen along the Atlantic Coast (SPIDER CRAB)
  
• 61A: Continental divide, once (IRON CURTAIN)
  

Lots more L.A. crossword tournament action to share with you, including a great set of photos I just got from Paul Clay, but that'll have to wait til tomorrow.

Bullets:

• 1A: OPEC units: Abbr. (BBL) — Whoa. Really wanted this answer to end in "S".
  
• 52A: It's a little longer than a foot (SHOE) — that's kind of cute.
  
• 5D: Closing hour for most N.Y.C. bars (FOUR A.M.) — interesting clue for (otherwise) arbitrary time of day.
  
• 32D: Rabbi's co-worker (CANTOR) — Also the last name of the (Jewish) Majority Leader in Congress (R-VA)
  
• 10D: Community resident not affiliated with its local college (TOWNIE) — something about "its" isn't sitting right with me. "Community" is being used adjectivally, so it's a poor referent for "its." The answer itself, though, is nice, and will always remind me of "Breaking Away":
  

• 48D: Actor/singer/athlete/activist Paul (ROBESON) — that's some combination. I know him best as an actor/singer.
  
• 47D: Song words followed by "Terre de nos aïeux" ("O CANADA") — I had no idea. "Aïeux" means "ancestors."
• 55D: "___ Inside" (ad catchphrase) (INTEL) — wasn't til way after I'd finished this puzzle that I understood that INTEL was the company name, not short for "intelligence." I was thinking the "catchphrase" appeared on, I don't know, cereal boxes or something.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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