Creator of Sheriff Deadeye Cauliflower McPugg / THU 4-10-14 / Fast food chain founded by Italian immigrants / Alma mater for Ton
THEME: SIX FLAGS (59A: Popular day trip destination … or a hint to the starts of the answers to the starred clues) — just what it says:
Theme answers:
- BLACK TIE (13A: *Kind of affair)
- AMERICAN PIE (19A: *1971 song with the lyric "Helter skelter in a summer swelter")
- RED SKELTON (25A: *Creator of Sheriff Deadeye and Cauliflower McPugg)
- CHECKERED PAST (33A: *Sketchy history)
- WHITE SALES (40A: *January events)
- PIRATE RADIO (48A: *Some illegal transmissions)
Word of the Day: EMETIC (58A: Emergency room agent) —
adj.• • •
Causing vomiting.
n.
An agent that causes vomiting. (thefreedictionary.com)
Disappointing. Tuesday theme on a Thursday = huge let-down. Puzzle was slightly more difficult than usual (for a Thursday) due to amped-up cluing, but at its core it's just a "first words" puzzle, and not a terribly interesting one. I guess the low word count is what makes it tougher / later week. Shrug. There wasn't much value added there. It's not like the wide-open spaces were particularly scintillating. I mean, it's all fine. Nothing offensive (unless you find the vomit implied by the EMETIC offensive). Just not a very interesting *Thursday* puzzle, and not really that interesting a puzzle for any day of the week. I finished with an error at what is perhaps the puzzle's weirdest clue—12D: Honey-do list rejection. First, you don't reject an item on a honey-do list with a verbal rejoinder. Or … maybe you do, but the scenario is kind of forced / hard to imagine. Second, you don't reject an item on a honey-do list, period. You just do it. Or don't do it and hope she (I'm making gender assumptions here, as I've only seen this concept in a woman-listmaker / man list-doer scenario) doesn't notice. But "NO, DEAR." I'm not sure that's gonna work for you. I like my answer, "NO DEAL!" as it is a. not condescending and b. potentially disavowable as ironic. "Just kidding, dear. I'm on it." Anyway, REAL makes no sense for 30A: Bench warmer? (REAR), so that mistake is all on me. I was briefly thinking Johnny Bench …
Really had trouble getting out of the gate (in the NW). I somehow never even saw 14D: Rio maker (KIA) and "AMERICAN PIE" in my first fumblings up top—those would've saved me a bunch of time. I tend to wait to look at themers until I have at least a few crosses (mistake today). Finally got some traction UBOAT and SBARRO (after trying to make PT BOAT work at 7D: 8-Down sinker (ASHCAN)). Once I got going, the puzzle played Medium, maybe even a little easier than Medium. I don't normally love cross-referenced clues, but the grammar enthusiast in me really would've loved to see such clues on the intersecting HER and SHE. Favorite clue of the day was probably (Mark in the 60s) for DEE.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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