Constructor: Paula GamacheRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: "All-Pro" — "FOR" is added (as a prefix) to words in familiar phrases, creating wacky phrases, which are clued wackily ("?"-style)
Word of the Day: ELLESSE (
70A: Italian sportswear name) —
Ellesse is a sports apparel company founded in Italy in 1959. // Ellesse was founded by Leonardo Servadio in Perugia in 1959. The name Ellesse derives from the initials of Servadio's name, "L.S." // Ellesse grew in popularity during the 1970s as a producer of skiwear such as quilted jackets and ski pants. In 1979, Ellesse's Jet Pant, a ski pant featuring padded knees and a wide lower leg to fit around a ski boot, was included in an event at the Pompidou Centre in Paris celebrating Italian design. // Another sport with which Ellesse has been closely associated since its early years is tennis. The Ellesse logo references the form of a tennis ball with the shape of the tips of a pair of skis. (wikipedia)
• • •
Well, the theme is a dud, but if you can get past that, there's some pretty nice stuff in this puzzle. Started out really kind of liking the puzzle,
with the cool and pop-culturey
MCFLY (
1D: "Back to the Future" family name) and "
TIK-TOK" (
12D: 2010 chart-topper for Ke$ha), the lovely
LORGNETTE (
26A: Operagoer's accessory), and the threat that someone might
BACKSTAB ARISTIDE (timely, given that he has recently returned to Haiti from exile in South Africa) (
7A: Betray, in a way + 21A: Haiti's first democratically elected president). But then there was
FORGO COLD TURKEY. I was looking for the complexity, the trick, the ... Sunday Something that was holding this baby together. But one more theme answer in, and I realized that it's just FOR. Added FOR-s. And a bunch of barely sensible wacky answers.
MONDO letdown (
87A: Extremely, in 1970s slang). But the non-theme stuff continued not to disappoint, for the most part. I actually found this puzzle on the tough side for a Sunday, though I thought that might end up being offset by the pretty easy theme (hence the mere "Medium" rating).
Theme answers:- 23A: Skip Thanksgiving leftovers? (FORGO COLD TURKEY)
- 30A: Say "No," "Never" and "Uh-uh"? (DO ONE'S FORBIDDING)
- 47A: Plea for immediate absolution? (FORGIVE US THIS DAY)
- 63A: Like food that's acceptable to cattle? (FORAGE APPROPRIATE)
- 79A: Memorable theatrical performance? (PLAY HARD TO FORGET)
- 93A: Abstain happily? (GRIN AND FORBEAR IT)
- 108A: Is well-endowed? (CARRIES A FORTUNE)
OK, so there was a significant
BLOC of crosswordese, but at least it was pretty well spread out.
ELON ELEE ELIO, as a trio, almost overcome the ugliness they possess individually (
5D: Southern university that shares its name with a biblical judge + 34A: Mrs. Robert ___ (Mary Custis) + 37A: Chacon of the 1960s Mets). In other E-word news, I once again confused EBOLA and
EBOLI (
17D: Place in a Carlo Levi memoir), and I completely blanked on
ELLESSE, despite that name's being very familiar from my tennis-playing days in the 80s. I associate that brand with Chris Evert more than anyone else. Vintage tennis returned again with Guillermo
VILAS (
48D: Tennis's 1977 U.S. Open champ), whom I always used to confuse with VITAS Gerulitis. Let's see, what else? There was some random French I didn't know (
PIAF), the return of a name I used to not know but now know (
STANS), a South Pacific place that I know about only because I nearly put it in a grid once but ultimately couldn't go through with it because it was so godawful (
LAE), an arcane word I've heard of but couldn't have defined for you (
BELAY;
33D: Ignore, imperatively) ... but in the end it was all redeemed and then some by
BOBO (
39D: Mr. Burns's teddy bear on "The Simpsons"). That bear has an entire episode dedicated to it—an amazing, extended "Citizen Kane" parody (with
BOBO as "Rosebud"). Genius.
Apropos of nothing, I am listening to metal while I write, and it is strangely energizing without being lyrically distracting. I eschewed metal for the longest time because it sounded like something that only the scariest of white people listen to (and something that a guy who uses words like "eschew" would not listen to), but I'm coming around... well, a little. I mean, I discovered the band (Red Fang) via NPR (which I do *not* eschew), so how scary can it be?
Bullets:- 25A: Early spring bloomers (CROCI) — I actually used this word in conversation today. They're coming up in our front yard.
- 28A: Longfellow's words before "O Ship of State!" ("SAIL ON") — I like this song.
75A: Burial site of early Scottish kings (IONA) — ugh, IONE fail! Speaking of Scottish, though: my man James HOGG! I read "The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner" for three (3!) different classes when I studied in Edinburgh in '89 (4D: Scottish poet James Known as "The Ettrick Shepherd").
- 113A: Dammed river in North Carolina (PEE DEE) — strangely, a gimme. I mean, I didn't know it know it, but it's the first thing I thought of—crosswordy river in the Carolinas (often used as a non-urine clue for PEE).
- 115A: Region conquered by Philip II of Macedon (THESSALY) — wonder if the region is as pretty as it sounds. I've never been.
- 7D: Sled dog with a statue in New York's Central Park (BALTO) — are there other Central Parks we might confuse with New York's? Seems a weird qualifier, esp. for the *NYT* puzzle.
- 72D: "___ dignus" (Latin motto) ("ESTO") — the language has a motto? Whose motto? Just ... *a* motto? No matter how many times I look at this clue, no matter what I do, even now, I see only "dingus."
- 84D: Bear vis-à-vis the woods, e.g. (DENIZEN) — surely Paula and/or Will knew that SHITTER fits perfectly. Nice work. [Slow clap]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[
Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]
A dollar van (also known as a commuter van, jitney) is a privately owned type of bus service used to carry passengers in the United States of America. Dollar vans typically operate in neighborhoods within urban areas that are under-served by public mass transit or taxis. Some of the dollar vans are licensed and regulated, while others operate illegally. Passengers may board them at designated stops along their route or hail them as share taxis (although the latter practice may be technically illegal). The name comes from the fact that it would only cost about one dollar or so to ride with such transit. Dollar vans are primarily owned and used by inner-city African/Caribbean American, Latino, and Asian American populations. The vehicles used range from 15-seat Ford Econolines to 29-seat minibuses. Travelers cite cost and greater frequency as factors in choosing jitneys over larger bus service, whereas safety and comfort are cited for choosing buses. (wikipedia)
I did this puzzle under unusual circumstances (with two TV cameras trained on me), so my estimation of its quality might be off, but I generally liked it. Seemed slightly harder than a normal Tuesday, but that may be because I was talking and commenting while solving. That SANTA MONICA clue was a stumper (for a Tuesday). I kept scrolling my mind for Italian place names beginning SANTA and eventually got SANTA MONICA almost entirely from crosses. Also, getting to DECI- from [Prefix with bel] proved nearly impossible, for some reason. Also, I continue not to know the word JITNEY, despite having encountered it now several times. Also, the SW was oddly tricky: had SOIL for ROIL (56D: Make muddy) so couldn't see the FARM and certainly couldn't get FAST [Partner of hard]. I wouldn't have put hard and FAST together except in certain contexts which I'm *sure* the NYT wasn't intending. Theme answers aren't exactly scintillating, but the Latin-hiders are all 15 (nice), and LATIN LOVER is an interesting bonus. I wonder if Paula didn't have a number of AMAS- and AMAT-containing answers at the ready; I say this mainly because I know how hard it can be to cross *three* theme answers *six* times (all the Downs in the far west and far east, essentially). Seems like it might take you several organizational attempts to get that section of the grid to work out so smoothly.
