when I got LOCS (eennttiirreellyy from crosses), I assumed I had an error, first because the clue seemed to want a singular, not a plural, and second because that letter combination seemed impossible. Probably because I've never seen the term *written*, only spoken, so. The plural that really really got me today is also a debut, but it isn't actually bad. Some terms are bad as plurals, and this is one. SMIZE has been in the puzzle before ("smiling with the eyes"), but this is the first time it's appeared in the NYTXW as a plural. And then SMIZES is another that seems to be trying to be current (-ish), but in the plural that word somehow seems totally implausible and silly. Thankfully JERK'S was pretty clear, because with both the "E" from E-BOY and the "K" from AGENT K as crosses, JERK'S feels very dicey and potentially disastrous. Absolutely random letter from where I was standing. I kinda sorta remembered the TikTok phenomenon, but I remain never entirely sure about the "E" before BOY and as for the "K" in AGENT K, how in the hell am I supposed to remember that. mostly it's just bad fill trying to *pass* as interesting. And while the rest of the grid isn't so terrible, neither is it very interesting, and when it tries to get interesting. Combines the glamor of routine bureaucracy with the beauty of a bunch of letters smashed together. And HRREP is an answer only an HRREP could love. Brightly colored food fish = OPAH, not OPAHS. I was sour on this one right away, at the OPAHS / HRREP crossing. Hard to be interesting with so few longer (non-thematic) answers to work with. The fill is on the miserable side in this one, largely because the grid is super-choppy and mostly choked with 3-4-5-6-letter answers. There are other reasons the puzzle was a chore to finish, but the main one is the lifeless theme. Which jerk? Who? What? But honestly, none of my quibbles about plausibility or grammar mean that much, because again, this concept is never gonna max out at anything more than a "yeah, I guess that works." That's it. " PUZZLE'S OVER" works (and I guess it's supposed to be a kind of self-referential final themer, cute). you'd definitely need the "my." " FALL'S OUT OF FAVOR" is on the money. You'd have to have some specific bear in mind, and even then there'd be a "THE" before the "BEAR" and you'd probably actually say "on my mind" or something. And " BEAR'S IN MIND." I mean, in the wackiest scenario, you cannot imagine that as an actual phrase one might say. I really (really) thought COUNT was going to be in that answer, somehow, but no. No one just calls him "BAT." Maybe (maybe?) "The Bat," but that's more Batman. At best, what you get is "oh yeah, that works." Like, with " FALL'S OUT OF FAVOR"-solid verb phrase to start, and then there's the cute little apostrophic switcheroo, very natural to say, OK. there's just not enough juice to squeeze in any of these "jokes." The first time you see the gimmick, you get a little "oh, I see." But unfortunately you then have to "see" that same "joke" seven more times. Leaving aside the fact that I don't know why these answers are all clued as *spoken* phrases, or why every one of the clues is shouted! ("!"). Sometimes simple gimmicks yield big results you can get big laughs from little changes. I truly don't understand how a puzzle with a theme this thin, with wordplay this basic and weak, could sustain even a 15x15 puzzle, let alone a 21x21. I'm like Charlie Brown and the NYTXW editor is Lucy and the puzzle is the damn football. I yearn for a Sunday puzzle that even modestly tips the scale in the direction of "Enjoyment." And every week, no dice. Every week I want to come bearing good news about the Sunday puzzle.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |