Broom made of twigs / WED 2-22-12 / TV courtroom drama 1986-94 / Juana de la Cruz Mexican poet/nun / Biblical fellow who was distressed / Occupation of idle man distraction of warrior Napoleon

Constructor: Karen Young Bonin

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: Yore kidding, right? — Familiar phrases are tweaked to create "medieval tournament" (in this case, jousting) puns.

Word of the Day: BESOM (18A: Broom made of twigs) —

n.

1. A bundle of twigs attached to a handle and used as a broom.
2. Sports. The broom used to sweep the ice from the path of a curling stone.

[Middle English, from Old English besma.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/besom#ixzz1n4sVTY9w

• • •

Unbearable on at least two levels. First, the puns. I'm no pun-lover. No pun-lover, I. But I figure I can tolerate them now and again. But these barely qualify. The best "KNIGHTS" pun you could get is KNIGHTS GOING??? LANCES is supposed to pun on "lenses?" I'm just supposed to accept the second "S" in LISTS WE FORGET? The only one of these four that actually works is JOUST KIDDING, and even that necessitates a kind of tortured clue, since the grammar of it doesn't work out very neatly. But maybe corny, awkward, and highly inexact puns are your cup of tea. It happens. If so, then I have to ask if BESOM is also your cup of tea. There is absolutely no excuse for that crusty, useless hunk of old-time crosswordese to be in this puzzle. None. That's a three-minute rewrite, tops. What in god's name!? Also, please tell me what XOX is doing in this grid? The [Tic-tac-toe loser] clue is the last refuge of a desperate constructor, but usually he/she has something to be desperate about, i.e. nothing else will work, I'm holding up some golden "X" words, one of which is a theme answer, etc. Here ... There Is No Excuse. I know, Xs are pretty, but not this pretty. Not when they occur *only* in crosswordese (in both directions!). Why not go whole hog and make 63D all Xs (XXX) and make 68A a Roman numeral? I mean, since the only criterion for quality down there seems to be "maximum Xs."



Love DELOREAN (10D: "Back to the Future" transport) and SLIPSHOD (39D: Sloppy). That is precisely all that I love. Nope, wait. I kinda like the clue on SAMSON (9D: Biblical fellow who was distressed?). Though I probably would've gone with another word besides "fellow" (see FELLA, 43A: "The Most Happy ___").

Theme answers:

• 20A: End of some medieval tournament action? (KNIGHTS GOING)
• 27A: Weapons that hit in a medieval tournament? (CONTACT LANCES)
• 48A: Really boring medieval tournaments? (LISTS WE FORGET)
• 53A: Joking around at a medieval tournament? (JOUST KIDDING)

My wife is dubious that anyone would ever refer to more than one TRIB(s) (29D: Some daily papers, informally). "How many are there?" "Well, there's Chicago, and ... Miami Herald-___? I don't know." She also had to run the alphabet at the "G" in GUCK (22D: Crud). Don't even talk to her about GUCK. She's not hearing it right now.

Bullets:

• 68A: "The occupation of the idle man, the distraction of the warrior, theperil of the sovereign," per Napoleon (LOVE) — TLDR
• 23D: Chow down on (SCARF) — I had EAT UP
• 30D: TV courtroom drama, 1986-94 ("L.A. LAW") — Gimme. Super popular in my pre-internet college days. Must-see TV. That and "Twin Peaks."
• 31D: Start or finish of an aphorism regarding justice (AN EYE) — a bit too much of this partial-y stuff. AN EYE, AS IT, I'M ON, TO DIE, IN NO. I take it back. There's *way* too much of this partial-y stuff. Inexcusable. Can't remember last time I saw five partials in a simple 76-worder.
• 59D: Juana ___ de la Cruz, Mexican poet/nun (INES)  — not sure whether it was "S" or "Z" until TOMES (70A: Heavy reading) set me straight. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS My university's research magazine published this video of me yesterday, in advance of an article/interview that comes out later this month. (I believe the "urban invader" mentioned in the video turned out to be "ROACH")

Apollo Daphne sculptor / WED 2-15-12 / Musician/record producer Bobby / Mythological figure being kissed in a statue at the Louvre / Salinger title girl / Producer of the 2600 game console

Constructor: Peter A. Collins

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: TAKING THE STAIRS — this phrase is found in circles that zigzag down the grid in imitation of a staircase. Two theme answers tie in:

• BROKEN ELEVATOR (3D: Possible reason for [see circled letters])
• NEEDING EXERCISE (11D: Possible reason for [see circled letters])

Word of the Day: Bobby ELI (29D: Musician/record producer Bobby) —

Bobby Eli is a Grammy Award winning musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia, USA. He is a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio group MFSB. (wikipedia)

• • •

This is an interesting use of circles, but NEEDING EXERCISE is not a great answer. It's just ... off. Not that thrilled about BROKEN ELEVATORS being in the plural, either. If the elevator is truly "broken," and the issue is not just power, than the plural seems far less likely than the singular. But still, the main problem is NEEDING EXERCISE which is impossible to imagine. "Hey, why are you TAKING THE STAIRS?" "NEEDING EXERCISE." "Uh ... OK." Maybe if you're an ESL student. Maybe. Otherwise, not a credible response. Not a phrase anyone has said, in a stand-alone way, ever. GET MORE EXERCISE is very, very in-the-language, and fits. Surely the clues could've been reimagined slightly to accommodate an actual phrase instead of whatever NEEDING EXERCISE is. "Needing" and "reason" (clue word) aren't even plausibly parallel. Always disappointing when a decent idea is marred by weak execution like this.




I seem to have been unusually fast today (3:30-ish), and I'm not sure why, as I don't really see the difficulty in this puzzle. I mean, the ELI clue is from outer space, true, but the rest seemed right over the plate. In fact, the only part of the grid that gave me any resistance was stupid NEEDING (and BERNINI, which I really should've known; 25A: "Apollo and Daphne" sculptor). I think I might have written in NEEDS TO EXERCISE as an initial stab (which is bad, but doesn't seem that much worse than NEEDING EXERCISE, frankly). Maybe the [Massenet opera] (THAÏS) was troublesome to people? But once I had "THA-," I knew it. I just had a conversation recently with someone who wondered why THAIS wasn't clued more often as the plural of THAI. That plural is certainly valid. Something to think about.

Bullets:

• 59A: Mythological figure being kissed in a statue at the Louvre (PSYCHE) — kisser is Cupid. BERNINI also has work at the Louvre. 

• 68A: Salinger title girl (ESME) — gimme. Crosswordese from the olden days.
• 27D: Producer of the 2600 game console (ATARI) — five letters, game console, come on.
• 31D: Stereotypical K.P. item (TATER) — awkward clue. First, the stereotype is a potato, not a TATER. Second, "item?" Boo.
• 64D: Reactor-overseeing org. (NRC) — I get these initialisms more out of guesses and good luck than any real knowledge of what I'm talking about. AEC is a related initialism. Or else I'm making that up.
• 39D: Liqueur served with coffee beans (ANISETTE) — I did not know that. I just saw "liqueur" and thought "which one has a lot of common letters?" Piece of cake.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Co-anchor Hill of Early Show / WED 2-8-12 / Crafty Norse god / Precursor to memorable Boston party / Foes of Jedi / Alphabetic trio for fliers / Its logo includes its name in blue letters in yellow oval

Constructor: Lynn Lempel

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: SS (!) — "S" is added to words ending in "S" in familiar phrases, creating wacky phrases, clued "?"-style

Word of the Day: "SHE'S the Boss" (38D: "___ the Boss" (Mick Jagger album)) —

She's the Boss is the solo album debut by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger released in 1985. When the Stones signed with CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, and Jagger—ready to spread his wings after recording exclusively with the famous band for 20 years—eagerly began working on She's the Boss. [...] The video for "Hard Woman" extensively utilized a Cray supercomputer for its animation, making it one of the most expensive music videos made to that point in time. (wikipedia)

• • •

Holy theme replication, Batman!

Well, this would be great if SINGLESS was a word. Not only is it not a word, it's not even a good made-up word that accurately describes the situation in question. A pub with no karaoke would be a SONGLESS BAR, but of course there's no such thing as a "songles bar" (I don't think), so we're left with this disastrous, faceplant of an answer. Truly terrible. The yin to MID-ASS's yang (made-up word that is, nonetheless, perfect). Other than that, you've got a bunch of added "S"s. Pretty ho-hum.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Throat lozenge for low-voiced opera stars? (BASS RELIEF)
• 25A: Cause of a sexual harassment complaint? (MID-ASS TOUCH)
• 35A: Talk about pitchers and quarterbacks? (DISCUSS THROWERS)
• 49A: Pub with no karaoke? (SINGLESS BAR)
• 57A: Admission provider for a kissing booth? (BUSS TICKET)
  

Had a lot of trouble with this puzzle, which doesn't seem likely when I look it over in retrospect, but it's true. Biggest issues was 1A: Flimflam, because I had TDS for 3D: Some Super Bowl highlights (ADS). First stab at FRAUD ended up FDTUD (the "D" for DNA instead of correct RNA; 2D: Coded material). SOLIDS did not come quickly to mind as baby food (6D: Some foods for growing babies). 16A: Some (A FEW) could've been a million things, of course. [Main section of a long poem] doesn't work for the only CANTOs I know (Dante's). "Inferno" has 34 cantos ("Divine Comedy" has 100 in total). No one CANTO is a "main section." They are all of roughly equal length. Cantankerous cry!

Bullets:

• 67A: Home of Middle East University (AMMAN) — ??? First of all, worst university name ever. Do they really call it that? Second, why would I know this? I've never heard of this place. Clue may as well just say [Middle Eastern city]. 
• 32A: Its logo includes its name in blue letters in a yellow oval (IKEA) — hard for me. Only logo I could imagine in an oval was Ford. The ARID cross was also hard. I had DEAD and DRAB before ARID ever got in there (22D: Lifeless). 
• 34D: Start of a Clement Moore classic ('TWAS) — Yay, a gimme! I learned who Clement (Clarke) Moore was from xwords (when I was cluing a puzzle ... which you may or may not see eventually).
• 7D: Co-anchor Hill of "The Early Show" (ERICA) — network morning shows are ... well, what horrifies you most about popular culture? OK, *that's* what network morning shows are to me. Murderous rage. It's like vapidity concentrated. Plus aggressive, stupid, mindless commercialism. The worst form of TV imaginable. This includes every reality show I've ever heard of. Yes, this includes "Toddlers in Tiaras" and "Hillybilly Hand-fishing" (is there a hyphen in "handfishing?" I'm guessing that's not a question hillbillies ask very often) (Oh, I'm sorry, it's "Handfishin'"; and no, no hyphen). 

• 12D: Precursor to a memorable Boston party (TEA ACT) — I think I put this in a puzzle one time, too. I have lost track of what's been submitted, what accepted, what rejected, and what's sitting in the "In Progress" folder...
• 26D: Foes of the Jedi (SITH) — reminds me of a picture my friend (a professor of Medieval Art History) posted today on Facebook: 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Columnist Hentoff / WED 2-1-12 / Queen Wheat City of Oklahoma / Prefix with mom in 2009 news / Olympic skating champion Lysacek / Ranch in Giant / Soda brand since 1905 / Brand of movable collectibles / Tommie of Miracle Mets

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: "WAR AND PEACE" (39A: Classic novel of 1,000+ pages ... or a hint to the word ladder formed by the answers to the starred clues) — word ladder goes from HAWK to DOVE. There's also a note: "When this puzzle is completed, the 10 circled letters, reazd from top to bottom, will spell a name associated with 39-Across"—that name: LEO TOLSTOY

Word of the Day: EVAN Lysacek (30D: Olympic skating champion Lysacek) —

Evan Frank Lysacek (... born June 4, 1985) is an American figure skater. He is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2009 World champion, the 2005 & 2007 Four Continents champion, the 2007 & 2008 U.S. national champion, and the 2009/2010 Grand Prix Final champion. (wikipedia)

• • •

One of the most interesting and clever word ladder puzzles I've ever done. Has a real sense of purpose, illustrates the central answer perfectly. The circles are ridiculous and unnecessary, but that does nothing to alter the basic integrity of the puzzle.  Here is a 78-worder that actually has lots of interesting fill throughout. This is likely because there are no lengthy theme answers (besides the one), and though the word ladder is certainly a restriction, there is still the freedom to make the longer answers anything at all. Though there's still a lot of short stuff, there's *not* a lot of tired, dreadful short stuff. The longer answers are bouncy and the shorter stuff is solid. The only drawback (and that word may be too strong) was that the puzzle was so easy that I didn't even notice the word ladder existed. I read [Classic novel...] and, based on existing letters, knew exactly what I was dealing with. Had the whole thing done in roughly 3 and a half minutes with absolutely no idea of how WAR AND PEACE related to the circles (which I assumed were integral). Turns out it was the asterisked clues that were the important thing, and the circles a superficial afterthought (not very hard to find LEO TOLSTOY in your grid; you can find those letters, in order, top to bottom, in yesterday's puzzle, for instance). The note also seems entirely unnecessary, in that I don't need the circles to finish the puzzle, and while I'm no Encyclopedia Brown, I can sleuth hard enough to figure out that the circles, when taken in order, contain a name. And what's with the note's description of LEO TOLSTOY? "A name associated with ['War and Peace']"?! That implies the connection is much more tenuous than it actually is. "It's funny, I always associate LEO TOLSTOY with 'WAR AND PEACE'." "Huh. Interesting. Maybe that's because HE WROTE IT." What harm could there possibly be in just saying he's the "author of 39-Across"?

Ladder:

• HAWK / HARK / HARE (22A: *Storied also-ran) / CARE / CORE / COVE / LOVE / DOVE

You can, of course, get to DOVE at least two steps faster—HAWK / HARK / HARE / DARE / DAVE / DOVE. Or can you not use names? Well, at any rate, LOVE is patently unnecessary (which was, coincidentally, the title of the Beatles' darker, never-released follow-up to "All You Need Is LOVE").

Bullets:

• 5A: Prefix with "mom" in 2009 news (OCTO-) — easy, though wife was visibly stunned that this "story" was already this old. 

• 14A: Tommie of the Miracle Mets (AGEE) — needed every cross. Just couldn't remember his name. Much harder AGEE than that author guy (whom I don't really know except by crossword reflex).
• 37A: Article in rap titles (THA) — wanted "DA" but that's absurd, obviously. I love that THA is now totally normal crossword fill.
• 42A: Columnist Hentoff (NAT) — I know the name very well, but not as a "columnist." The weird thing is, even looking at his wikipedia page, I have no idea *how* I know his name so well. I must've had to read some of his writing in college or grad school, but I don't know what.
• 52A: Brown in the funnies (CHARLIE) — mentioned him in my Comics class yesterday (first day of classes) while discussing the fact that the Sunday funnies are essentially a graveyard. When most of your comics are *at least* three decades old, and the author of your front-page, above-the-fold, lead comic has been dead for over a decade, you know you've got a nostalgia problem. [For a genuinely funny contemporary comic that should be in newspapers but isn't, see Kate Beaton's "Hark a Vagrant" (now in book form) which at least 66% of you will Love. Brontë soul with a punk attitude—specially designed for liberal arts grads and anyone who likes awesome]
• 59A: "Give me an example!" ("NAME ONE!") — I love this.
• 4D: New Zealand parrots (KEAS) — very close to my heart. Here's my nephew Rob (age 6, 2003) with a kea, in the Southern Alps. 

And here's my nephew Ben—who is going to be an extra in "The Hobbit"—sitting smack in the middle of Hobbit country (age 8) (2003)

• 24D: Item in a thole (OAR) — I only ever see THOLE in the grid itself and part of me always thought it was really T-HOLE. Don't laugh. Are you laughing at me? Man, you're such a T-HOLE.
• 45D: Brand of movable collectibles (PEZ) — they do ... move ... I guess!
• 46D: Soda brand since 1905 (RC COLA) — that double-C is always an adventure. Makes me think soda will be Irish.
• 53D: Ranch in "Giant" (REATA) — do puzzles long enough, and you'll learn more about RI(E)ATAs than you ever wanted to know.
• 61D: Queen Wheat City of Oklahoma (ENID) — I have been singing "Queen Wheat City" to the tune of "Detroit Rock City" ever since I laid eyes on this clue.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Ian who won 1991 Masters / WED 1-25-12 / City of Kyrgyzstan / Palm smartphone / Sweet filling in commercial names

Constructor: Gareth Bain

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: TREE RINGS (38A: Indicators of age ... and a hint to this puzzle's theme) — CIRCLES in the grid hold three-letter TREE names

Word of the Day: Ian WOOSNAM (2D: Ian who won the 1991 Masters) —

Ian Harold Woosnam OBE (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer.
Nicknamed 'Woosie', 'Woosers', or the 'Wee Welshman', Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe competitive in the Ryder Cup. His peers in  this group were Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, and Sandy Lyle (wikipedia)

• • •

Four sad, sparse circles in the grid don't make for a very strong visual statement. The theme is a cute repurposing of the phrase "TREE RINGS," but I didn't enjoy it as much as I might have since a. there weren't very many trees, and b. I've done a much more difficult and more satisfying tree rebus before. I know it was by Byron Walden, and I'm almost certain it was in the NY Sun several years back. Plus, this grid has some fill I'd try *really* hard to keep out of my grids, including BAI—I'd have gone HAMAS / SALTS / BAT or something like that; my guess is Gareth wanted to get "original" answers in there with MILLARD and HAMID, but being first with an answer just isn't good enough reason to make a corner rougher than it has to be. BAI is too high a price to pay for virtually anything. I mean, good god, even BAE is better than BAI. Other less-than-great stuff: OSH, INNO, KREME, ANGE, TREO, SSGT, OTIC, SIG, TROU, "ADIA," and (singular) BEE GEE (coincidence: I listened to Side A of "Spirits Having Flown" on vinyl today. Several times. While cooking. Good stuff). To the puzzle's credit, it has KAN[YEW]EST and COLD[ASH]ELL (an oath! EGAD!). I just tested a puzzle with KANYEWEST in it yesterday. That constructor is not going to be happy ... but I guess KANYE still hasn't appeared in full-name, unrebused form, so it'll still seem like an original answer.



Theme answers:

• GOSPELMUSIC / ELMER
• WABASH / COLDASHELL
• EYEWITNESS / KANYEWEST
• MISFIRES / FIRST-AID KIT
  

Had a pretty easy time with this one. Always easy to solve rebuses when the relevant squares are marked for you. First indication of the rebus came with the short answers up top, actually—the bull name and the river both looked ridiculous, so something had to be up. Once I figured it out, the rest of the puzzle was a cinch. Had no recollection of WOOSNAM at all—needed every cross there. Briefly blanked on SNERT. Needed a nudge to get TAY. Otherwise, no trouble.

Bullets:

• 5A: Classic sci-fi terror, with "the" ("BLOB") — is "terror" the creature itself? Or is the movie the "terror?"
• 26A: Followers of lambdas (MUS) — better than short for "music," I guess.
• 32A: Phyllis's never-seen TV husband (LARS) — from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." How long will it be before this sitcom reference (very gettable to people over 40) is seen as unfairly obscure?
• 47A: Pursuers of the Sopranos, for short (GMEN) — I wrote in GATS at first ... 
• 40A: Sweet filling, in commercial names (KREME) — I think you mean "commercial name." Singular.
• 28A: Song title for both Fleetwood Mac and Starship (SARA) — only one of these is listen-to-able. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Country singer Clark / WED 1-18-12 / Oil well firefighter Red / Schemer called to mind by Madoff swindle / Univac I predecessor / King who had Labyrinth built

Constructor: Chris Handman

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: SPARE TIRE (64A: Trunk item ... or what has been put on 18-, 24-, 41- and 53-Across)— familiar phrases have letters T, I, R, and E added to their beginnings, respectively, creating wacky phrases, clued "?"-style

Word of the Day: TERRI Clark (6D: Country singer Clark) —

Terri Lynn Sauson (born August 5, 1968), known professionally as Terri Clark, is a Canadian country music artist who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that year. Both it and its two follow-ups, 1996's Just the Same and 1998's How I Feel, were certified platinum in both countries, and produced several Top Ten country hits. (wikipedia)

• • •

[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)]

• • •

This was cute, but the theme answers weren't winners. They were just OK. There was some pleasure in figuring out the theme and then trying to parse the answers, but I'm a little surprised that with such a wide-open theme (possibility-wise) there weren't zingier theme answers out there to be had. The fill is mostly ordinary—not bad, not great, not remarkable either way. Maybe a bit on the pedestrian side. It's a 78-worder with mostly short fill, so there's not a lot to be done. Best you can do is not muck the grid up too bad. Had one big hold-up—could not, for the life of me, figure out what [Hawks] was getting at, even when had all but one letter. I also put in ARE SO instead of AM TOO (playground—or sandbox—retorts being among my most hated of all clue-types), and didn't fully correct it (ended up with ARTOO, which is a correct answer for an entirely different clue). Lost about 10-15 seconds there. Otherwise, no issues. Lucked into TERRI. I'd just been (co-)constructing a puzzle, and you come across all kinds of potential fill when that happens. Had to remind myself who had the name TERRI, just so I could gauge if it was usable. I determined it was not. Wouldn't put her in a puzzle unless I had just about zero other options. And crossing EEE and GTS? Well, let's just say that that part of the grid is probably best left in our rear-view mirror.



Theme answers:

• 18A: Monopolist's clothing accessory? (TRUST BELT)
• 24A: Designers for Microsoft Windows? (ICON ARTISTS)
• 41A: What Martian invaders may be intent on? (ROUT OF THIS WORLD)
• 53A: What the backer of a failing business may do? (EAT ALL COSTS)

Constant solving came in especially handy today. Good old standbys Red ADAIR (38A: Oil well firefighter Red ___) and ENIAC (2D: Univac I predecessor) were there to lend a hand. I could've answered [Bewhiskered frolicker] in my sleep. No need even to see how many spaces are involved. Maybe KITTEN would get that clue, but how often do you see KITTEN in a puzzle. Rarely. OTTER, however, has much grid cred. He's old friends with ADAIR and ENIAC. Love the word/name PONZI (1D: Schemer called to mind by the Madoff swindle), though it took several passes for my eyes to register what the hell kind of word "Schemer" was. It was like looking at some hybrid of Schumer and schmear.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Oka River citiy / WED 1-11-12 / Five-time All-Star second baseman Chase / Mecca for oenophiles / Toy consisting of 80 feet of wire

Constructor: Chuck Deodene

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: HATCH CHECK — "CH" is added to end of "-AT" word in familiar expressions, creating wacky expressions, which are clued "?"-style

Word of the Day: Chase UTLEY (52D: Five-time All-Star second baseman Chase ___) —

Chase Cameron Utley [...] is a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. A native of the Greater Los Angeles area, he was raised in the city of Long Beach. He was a star baseball player at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, before moving on to UCLA. He now currently plays for the Philadelphia Phillies as a second basemen. (wikipedia)

• • •

Simple add-some-letters theme with no revealer—not very impressive, but you do get one great theme answer (BATCH OUT OF HELL), which is often as much as you can expect from this type of theme. I'm kind of mesmerized by this grid, specifically by how its middle is chock full of theme squares but with black squares placed so artfully that the theme answers don't seem to crowd each other or create any complications at all. And it's not like this grid has an excessive number of black squares (40 is a little high, but not distractingly so). The grid's not even at the maximum word count (the max is 78—this one's 76). It takes some care to get a 14/15/14 progression of theme answers to come out well, with a nice light touch and no real strain on the fill. Fill-wise, there's nothing spectacular, but only -ITES is really irksome. The rest is very solid (though I could do without the ORAL / OREL pairing). So the puzzle is skillfully made, if not scintillating.


Theme answers:

• 17A: Fabric store employees? (SWATCH TEAM)
• 23A: Repair for a torn pullover? (PATCH ON THE BACK) 
• 35A: Attend a tennis tournament because one is a fan of? (GO TO THE MATCH FOR)—this wins the award for Most Awkwardly Phrased Clue Of All Time. Why not just [Support by attending a tennis tournament]?
• 50A: Cookies baked by Satan? (BATCH OUT OF HELL)
• 59A: Arrest made on a side street? (ALLEY CATCH)

I made pretty good time through this one, with my one and only big holdup coming at 54D: Sidestep (EVADE). I had the "V," which is about the least helpful letter to have with that clue. I wrote in AVERT. When that proved wrong, I could think only of AVOID. Bah. Annoying to get held up by something so rudimentary. Got COLD CASES pretty easily, but not sure why the investigations are "Dead-ended" as opposed to "Dead-end." Maybe because they hit a dead end ... in the past? I think that still means they are "dead-end" in the present, but whatever. Interesting to see OKA in a clue here today (39D: Oka River city => OREL) after it featured so prominently in my write-up of that disastrous Friday puzzle. Did not know that a [Young termite, e.g.] was called a NYMPH. Very incongruous with the images of NYMPHs that dance in my head (from time to time). Broadway clue looked impossible to me until it wasn't (3D: 2005 Broadway hit based on a 1974 film => "SPAMALOT"). My parents live reasonably close to NAPA, but I've never been (14A: Mecca for oenophiles). Do they still make the SLINKY (13D: Toy consisting of 80 feet of wire)? It's fun for a girl and a boy. It's fun for a girl and a boy.




Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

1980s Salvadoran president / WED 1-4-12 / Detroit rapper a-Che / Org whose logo features letter pi with arrow through it / Courtier who invites Hamlet to duel with Laertes

Constructor: Brendan Emmett Quigley

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: Quip puzzle — 18A: Start of a quip by 44-Across [Brendan BEHAN]: "I SAW A NOTICE / WHICH SAID / DRINK CANADA DRY AND I'VE / JUST STARTED"

Word of the Day: Brendan BEHAN (44A: Writer Brendan) —

Brendan Francis Behan ([...] 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army. (wikipedia)

• • •

So he's Irish, but he was in Canada once, I guess? Or he's drinking Canadian whiskey? I like the quip, but the fact of his not being Canadian is slightly confusing to me. I don't know BEHAN at all—doubt it would've helped much with this difficult puzzle. Quote puzzles are notoriously time-consuming (compared to other themed puzzles) because there is no pattern to pick up and no way to know where the quip is going (unless you've heard it before or it's moving in some very predictable direction I guess). I am not familiar with the use of "NOTICE" in this quip, though I'm guessing it simply means advertisement. Once I got the quip as far as CANADA DRY, I knew vaguely what the joke would be. I like the punchline's terseness. As for the rest of the grid—it is eye-popping. Very tough, but very light on junk. Enjoyable, but much more a Thursday than a Wednesday puzzle. Combine BEQ's sensibility (which involves tricky, often very contemporary cluing) with a quip puzzle, and you have a recipe for toughness. My near downfall was the FSIX / SIM CARD crossing. I never use F keys so that clue meant nothing to me. And I can't remember the last time I saw or used the phrase SIM CARD (26D: Data holder on a cellphone). Scary, but that "S" was (in the end) inferrable via F-SIX (25A: Key in the middle of the top row), though I'm sure there are people out there right now wondering what an AIM CARD and a FAIX key are. Or a LIM CARD and a FLIX key. Etc. 



I'd completely forgotten the name DUARTE (1980s Salvadoran president). Was totally flummoxed by ONE DOWN (1D: You are here). Had BEYONCÉ for BELUSHI (2D: Only person to have the #1 movie, #1 album and #1-rated late-night TV show all in the same week) (really should've read the clue all the way to the end...). Clue on CIG was rough (22A: Parliament, e.g., in brief). Wanted ZIT to be NIT at first (51D: Small blemish, in slang). Briefly wondered why Eisenhower would've been the [Subj. of the 1948 Nobel in Physiology or Medicine]. "Ohhhhhh ... DDT! Yeah, that makes more sense." JEEZ and ANAL seem borderline profane, so I like that they are symmetrical.

Bullets:

• 14A: Org. whose logo features the letter pi with an arrow through it (NEA) — I think this is my wife's union. I've never seen their logo.
• 24A: Courtier who invites Hamlet to duel with Laertes (OSRIC) — minor character, but I used him in a puzzle once, so he's an easy pick-up. The word "courtier" (as well as the 5-letter length) is a give-away.
• 4D: Feature of Dr. Frankenstein's lab (SWITCH) — a great but (again) very tough clue for SWITCH. 

• 21D: Detroit rapper ___-a-Che (RIC) — sounds like "ricochet." Don't think I've ever heard him, but I've definitely seen the name before. Possibly in another BEQ puzzle. 
• 37D: ___ Kitchen (organic frozen food company) (AMY'S) — wow, do people know this company? I do, but only because I shop in the little "healthy" ghetto in Wegman's (where all the whole grains and loose leaf teas and soy milk and gluten-free junk is). I enjoy some of AMY'S veggie burgers. The pot pies, not so much. Too much crust.
• 48D: Thing watched while driving through a speed trap (NEEDLE) — it's hard to shoot heroin and drive at the same time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Romain de Tirtoff's alias / WED 12-28-11 / Wroclaw's river to Poles / Grounded avian / Y sporter

Constructor: Louis Zulli

Relative difficulty: Medium

 THEME: ID THEFT (54A: Modern crime, briefly ... or a hint to 17-, 36- and 59-Across) — familiar phrases have "ID" removed, creating wacky phrases, which are clued "?"-style

Word of the Day: SEWANEE (22A: The University of the South, familiarly) —

The University of the South is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church and its School of Theology is an official seminary of the church. The university's School of Letters offers graduate degrees in American Literature and Creative Writing. The campus (officially called "The Domain" or, affectionately, "The Mountain") consists of 13,000 acres (53 km²) of scenic mountain property atop the Cumberland Plateau in southeastern Tennessee, although the developed portion occupies only about 1,000 acres (4.0 km²). // Often known simply as Sewanee, the school has produced 26 Rhodes Scholars and was ranked 32nd in the annual US News & World Report list of liberal arts colleges. In 2009, Forbes ranked it 94th of America's Best Colleges.^[6] Sewanee is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South. (wikipedia)

• • •

First, there was this (just 3.5 years ago). Will has said (somewhere ...) that he doesn't mind repeating themes. Apparently, he means it. Lately, it's the late 00's all over again.

With only three real theme answers, this puzzle felt thin. Seems like the kind of theme that could go on forever, to Sunday-sized proportions at least, so getting three just-OK answers wasn't very satisfying. Also, I rarely if ever hear "ID THEFT." If someone stole my drivers' license, I'd say that's ID THEFT. I see that the abbrev. is used to refer to "identity theft" here and there, but still, the phrase doesn't resonate the way it should. Still further, ID THEFT is just hanging there, in this weird slot, with no corresponding symmetrical answer. Dislike.  So, thematically, it's pleasant, but more miss than hit.

Theme answers: 

• 17A: Gift to an outgoing member of Congress? (LAME DUCK PRESENT)
• 36A: Dialect coach's slogan? (ACCENTS HAPPEN) — easily the best of the three
• 59A: European gin mill? (CONTINENTAL DIVE)

As for fill, again, it's hit and miss. It's mostly decent, but BAD ANSWER is just that. Actually, it's worse than that. It's terrible. About as coherent as "OLD TABLE" or "TALL PLANT." I can much sooner imagine someone saying "WRONG ANSWER" than BAD ANSWER as an equivalent for ["You shouldn't have said that!"]. I'd have sent this grid back to the constructor on the basis of that answer alone. And if I was at all wavering on that decision, ODRA would've sealed the deal (49D: Wroclaw's river to Poles). Wretched. Never heard anyone called a COHAB, either (1A: Roommate, informally). Blecch.

Wrote in INGE for 16A: James who won a posthumous Pulitzer, which is, of course, wrong. It's AGEE. But surprise, there's INGE after all down there at the bottom of the grid (58D: "Bus Stop"). Pure malapop (i.e. writing in a wrong answer, only to find out later that it's a *correct* answer somewhere else in the grid). Didn't trust SEWANEE / ADELA, though in the end SEWENEE just looked too stupid to be correct. Biggest problem for me was writing in EDGES instead of EASES (28D: Moves carefully). That one hurt, because EDGES is just as good answer. As a result of my mistake, those damned ASIAN elephants were hard to see.


Bullets:

• 26A: Y sporter (ELI) — ELI Manning also sports an "N" — "NY" — it's on his helmet. [Yes I know this clue is about Yale.]
• 64A: Romain de Tirtoff's alias (ERTE) — ERTE is how his initials ("RT") sound when you pronounce them in French.
• 6D: Cyber-nuisance (HACKER) — I'd have pluralized this and put it where SEWANEE is. But that's just me.
• 19D: Grounded avian (EMU) — Also good as steaks, I'm told.
• 48D: Poet who wrote "They also serve who only stand and wait" (MILTON) — I teach this sonnet every year. Very famous last line. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) says a variation of this line at the beginning of "Psycho": "They also pay who meet in hotel rooms."

When I consider how my light is spent,

   Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

   And that one Talent which is death to hide

   Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

   My true account, lest he returning chide;

   “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”

   I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need

   Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best

   Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

   And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:

   They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Surfer wannabe / WED 12-21-11 / Bygone Toyota sedan / Texas/Louisiana border river / William Tell's canton / Musical with Mungojerrie Jennyanydots

Constructor: Ron and Nancy Byron

Relative difficulty: Medium

 THEME: NOEL (69A: Seasonal song ... or a phonetic hint to 18-, 23-, 37-, 52- and 59-Across) — DESCRIPTION

Word of the Day: Saint Philip NERI (63A) —

Saint Philip Romolo Neri (Italian: Filippo Neri) (July 21, 1515 – May 25, 1595), also known as Apostle of Rome, was an Italian priest, noted for founding a society of secular priests called the "Congregation of the Oratory". (wikipedia)

• • •

[FOR MY READERS IN SYNDICATION: 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)]

• • •

If you'd like to know what I think of this theme, I refer you to the last time this theme (this EXACT theme) appeared in the NYT—Christmastime, just four years ago, in a puzzle constructed by David J. and Steve Kahn.

Cruciverb database search for PUP FICTION turns up two recent puzzles with the missing "L" concept. I'll say it again. Check your theme answers check your theme answers check your theme answers. I must say, however, that Will is far more to blame for this replication of a very recent theme than the constructors are. This theme is so screamingly obvious that you'd think he'd at least have run the tiniest background check. I knew I'd done puzzles like this before as soon as I hit "NOEL," and I'm not paid to keep track of such things.



The puzzle's theme could also be "Bygone"—as in 11D: Bygone Toyota sedan (CRESSIDA) and 28D: Bygone Fords (LTDS) and this puzzle has been done before and it reeks of yesterday's crosswordese ([William Tell's canton] etc. etc.).





[Speaking of bygone ...]
Theme answers:

• 18A: Movie about La Brea Tar Pits' formation? ("THE BIG SEEP")
• 23A: Movie about a Nobel-winning chemist? ("THE ION KING")
• 37A: Movie about Wall Streeters' excesses? ("CASH OF THE TITANS")
• 52A: Movie about the early life of Lassie? ("PUP FICTION")
• 59A: Movie about the memoirs of the Duke? ("WAYNE'S WORD")
  

Bullets:

• 58A: Nonsense word said while pointing a finger (J'ACCUSE!) 
• 8D: Texas/Louisiana border river (SABINE) — rings a faint, crossword bell, but I needed every cross.
• 36A: Surfer wannabe (HODAD) — er ... uh ... OK. Again, the crossword bell is faint. I wanted HAOLE.
• 37D: Musical with Mungojerrie and Jennyanydots ("CATS") — musical in four letters with some dumbass character names? Sure, I got that.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Alphonse's comics partner / WED 12-14-11 / No Such Thing blues rocker / Ring foe of Manolete / Metrosexual's tote

Constructor: Tim Croce

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: Add a Q — familiar phrases have Q added, creating wacky phrases, which are clued "?"-style

 Word of the Day: QUM (47D: Holy city of Iran) —

Qom (Persian: قم [ɢom], also known as Q'um or Ghom) is a city in Iran. It lies 156 kilometres (97 mi) by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River. // Qom is considered holy by Shi`a Islam, as it is the site of the shrine of Fatema Mæ'sume, sister of Imam `Ali ibn Musa Rida (Persian Imam Reza, 789–816 AD). The city is the largest center for Shi'a scholarship in the world, and is a significant destination of pilgrimage. (wikipedia)

• • •

This actually played Easy-Medium for me, but I had some freakishly good guesses—got MANBAG (1A: Metrosexual's tote) instantly, got JOHN MAYER (35D: "No Such Thing" blues rocker) off the JO- despite not associating him with blues or rocking, etc. I was done with this before I understood the theme. I knew there were Qs in there, I just didn't know what they were doing. Turns out, nothing. Take them out, and you get ordinary phrases. Alright. Wish the theme answers had been funnier ... or just funny at all. TRADITIONAL IRAQ? If you are going to play on words, the "play" should be amusing or entertaining, not just defensible. UNEVEN BARQ'S is OK, and COUNTY FAQIR is interesting, though the much much much more common spelling of FAKIR is ... thusly ("Q" spelling has occurred exactly one time in the NYT, clued as a "Var."). QATARI COMPUTERS was just MEH for me. Enjoyed a couple of the longer Downs, but a lot of the fill felt rough. Lots of crossword accommodation—jury-rigged stuff like PANDG (39A: Consumer products giant, briefly) and LONGU (27D: "Rude" sound) and TSTOPS (?) (69A: Movie camera settings). Obscurish crosses like AMARNA (14A: Cuneiform discovery site) / GASTON (6D: Alphonse's comics partner) (two words I know *only* from crosswords). I will say that the grid is interesting—not dull, and not filled with complete junk. And it was easy for me, so I should be more delighted, perhaps. But it turns out that just shoving Qs into things doesn't excite me as much as you might expect.



Theme answers:

• 20A: Mesopotamia? (TRADITIONAL IRAQ)
• 28A: Inconsistent brand of root beer? (UNEVEN BARQ'S)
• 45A: Local ascetic? (COUNTY FAQIR)
• 53A: Some Mideast laptops? (QATARI COMPUTERS)

I'm deeply ambivalent about the one non-theme Q. PHYSIQUE is better fill than PHYSICAL under almost any circumstances, but I think I'd have gone with the latter solely for the sake of Q consistency (or Qsistency, as I'm now calling it). There shouldn't be any stray Qs in a Q-themed puzzle like this. Elegance compromised.

Bullets:

• 44A: ___ Quested, woman in Forster's "A Passage to India" (ADELA) — Love the Q-iness of Quested in this Qlue.
• 5D: Barbuda's island partner (ANTIGUA) — Currently trying to memorize all world capitals (inspired by my gorgeous new Oxford Atlas of the World). The capital of ANTIGUA and Barbuda is ... St. John's? ... yes, I'm right! (I'm only part way through the Cs, so the solidity of my knowledge at this point is super-dicey)
• 13D: Hoopster with six rap albums, for short (SHAQ) — Holy what the!? SIX!? How can that be right???? 

• 55D: Ring foe of Manolete (TORO) — I'm guessing this Man guy is a famous toreador ... yes.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Midget car-racing org / WED 12-7-11 / Christ's literary stopping place / Boxing's Brown Bomber / Wooer of Olive Oyl

Constructor: Julian Lim

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: ZENER CARDS (53A: Tools for ESP researchers (whose symbols are found at the ends of the answers to the five asterisked clues) — said answers end with WAVES, CIRCLE, STAR, CROSS, and SQUARE

Word of the Day: ZENER CARDS —

Zener cards are cards used to conduct experiments for extra-sensory perception (ESP), most often clairvoyance. Perceptual psychologist Karl Zener designed the cards in the early 1930s for experiments conducted with his colleague, parapsychologist J. B. Rhine. (wikipedia)

• • •

The only reason I know that ZENER CARDS exist is because of crosswords. Never seen them or heard them referred to in the wild. No way I could've told you what the symbols on the cards were, so this theme was essentially meaningless to me. Thankfully, the puzzle was supremely easy and you don't need to know a thing about ZENER CARDS (except that they exist) to solve it. I rated it Easy-Medium, but it was Easy for me—a dead sprint with only a couple of snags here and there, with "here" being the NE and "there" being its symmetrical counterpart in the SW. In the NE, I wrote in PERCE Nez, thinking native Americans (Nez Perce) rather than eyewear (PINCE-nez), which kept CAN IT and thus the trickily clued CABLE (20A: Dish alternative) hidden from me for a bit. In the SW, I conflated Brutus and BLUTO (46D: Wooer of Olive Oyl) and ended up with BRUTO, which kept Joe LOUIS hidden for a bit. And with the mysterious USAC (!??!) already down there (52A: Midget car-racing org.), I didn't need any more trouble. But the surrounding answers ended up being so easy to uncover that even that section worked itself out fairly quickly. Was a little unsure about CENO- (51D: Prefix with -zoic)—I had MEZO- at first—but the crosses all worked, so I hit "Done" and the applet promptly thanked me for playing.



Theme answers:

• 16A: *What an EEG reads (BRAIN WAVES)
• 28A: *Back to the beginning (FULL CIRCLE) 
• 38A: *Up-and-comer (RISING STAR)
• 10D: *Act of betrayal (DOUBLE CROSS)
• 23D: *Scene of an annual ball-dropping (TIMES SQUARE)

I don't play bridge, but even if I did, TENACE would strike me as cruddy fill (45D: Bridge combo). I've seen it in grids from time to time, and it always feels desperate. It's just two cards fused together. Couldn't this answer have been the normal English word TENANT? The answer is yes. I just filled that corner easily with TENANT in place. In no universe is TENACE better than TENANT. Whatever Scrabble value you get from having a "C" is totally undone by having a stupid non-word. TENANT > TENACE.  *Work on your corners*! *Do not let auto-fill do your work for you*! Also, consider demoting EBOLI (22D: Christ's literary stopping place), along with ECOLI and EBOLA, to the furthest depths of your grid-filling arsenal. Thank you.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld