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Constructor: John Hawksley
Relative issue: Medium-Difficult
THEME: It is all Greek (or Latin) to me… — obscure phrases with acquainted suffixes are clued each as what they imply and what they do NOT imply … the NOT half is what helps you determine the spelling of the phrase:
Theme solutions:
- TYPOMANIA (17A: Obsession with being printed … NOT a flurry of transcription errors)
- ARCTOPHILE (24A: Lover of teddy bears … NOT a devotee of polar areas)
- PANTOPHOBIA (35A: Concern of every part … NOT a concern of trousers)
- MANDUCATES (50A: Chews … NOT elaborates condescendingly to a feminine)
- METROLOGY (59A: Science of measurement … NOT the research of city areas)
Phrase of the Day: DIANE Rehm (41A: Journalist/podcaster Rehm) —
Diane Rehm (; born Diane Aed; September 21, 1936) is an American journalist and the host of Diane Rehm: On My Thoughts podcast, produced at WAMU, which is licensed to American College in Washington, D.C.. She additionally hosts a month-to-month guide membership collection, Diane Rehm Ebook Membership, at WAMU. Rehm is the previous American public radio discuss present host of The Diane Rehm Present, which was distributed nationally and internationally by Nationwide Public Radio. The present was produced at WAMU.
Rehm had introduced her plans to retire from internet hosting the present after the 2016 elections. The ultimate program was recorded and distributed on December 23, 2016. Rehm introduced she was going to host a weekly podcast, which she started doing in January 2017.
Rehm is the co-producer, narrator, and interviewer of When My Time Comes, distributed by PBS stations throughout the nation. Her guide by the identical title was printed in 2020 by Knopf. The Washington Submit describes Rehm as a number one voice within the proper to die debate. (wikipedia)
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Didn’t suppose a lot of the theme at first, however someway warmed to it because the puzzle went on—that’s pretty uncommon. Often the arc of feeling runs within the different path: a puzzle strikes me as cute or fascinating after which simply wears skinny by the top. My first thought was “so it is simply obscure phrases that appear to be they imply one thing completely different than what they imply?” And sure, that’s it. However there’s one thing I ended up liking about the concept that giving me *flawed* data is definitely *serving to* me remedy the puzzle. There’s an odd consistency to it, or close to consistency: their opening elements all look deceptively acquainted (i.e. they give the impression of being most like very acquainted issues … that don’t have anything to do with the precise that means of the phrase); all of them have very acquainted suffixes, which assist us piece every part collectively (I believed these have been all suffixes of Greek origin, however the -DUCATES a part of MANDUCATES is from the Latin … however I feel the familiarity, not the etymology, is the vital factor); and, perhaps most significantly, their obvious (i.e. NOT) meanings are nearly all entertainingly foolish, with the silliest of all of them, PANTOPHOBIA, sitting lifeless middle, in delight of place, the place it belongs. Although I warmed to the thought as I went on, I feel the themers are slightly weaker on the underside—neither MANDUCATES nor METROLOGY has the crystal clear NOT that means that the primary three themers have. MANDUCATES seems extra prefer it means “educates a person” than “educates (a girl) *like* a person. I get that the clue is making an attempt to make an analogy from “mansplaining,” however that feels a bit compelled. As for METROLOGY … that is the one one in all these 5 solutions the place I would even have guessed the proper that means. It positively seems prefer it might imply “the research of city areas,” nevertheless it simply does not have the “what the hell!?” wackiness or misleading high quality that the others do. Nonetheless, conceptually this works, and piecing collectively the odd phrases ended up being oddly pleasant.
The puzzle performed slightly sluggish to me, largely due to the bizarre theme phrases. The piecing collectively simply took a while. ARCTOPHILE took essentially the most time, as I spotted, early and with alarm, that regardless of having seen Timothée CHALAMET in a number of films and understanding his title very nicely, I someway knew how one can spell his (uncommon) *first* title however had uncared for to register what all of the vowels have been on this *final* title (5D: Timothée of “Stunning Boy” and “Dune”). That is to say I believed perhaps CHALOMET … which, now that I take a look at it, appears inconceivable, however that is the place I used to be at. After which I had COS at 22D: Sin : y-axis :: ___ : x-axis however began to doubt it when it actually appeared just like the clue wished me to suppose “Arctic,” i.e. ARCTI-, i.e. “I” not “O.” So now I am doubting my Eleventh-grade trigonometry reminiscence and issues are attending to be a little bit of a multitude. Ultimately the “O” grew to become simple, however that reply gave me minor matches, and the NE nook typically wasn’t serving to me alongside. Utter clean on SPADAY. Wanted each cross. Do folks nonetheless say “Staycation”? Or SPADAY? Once I see [Staycation option] I feel “… sofa?” The worst factor about that nook, although, was after all E-BILL, which is so unhealthy I actually laughed out loud. Precise LOL. Simply the worst E-answer I’ve ever seen (please, constructors, do not use EANSWER, that was not a suggestion).
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. One massive gripe that I ignored, re: the MANDUCATES clue: “to a feminine”!?!?! “… elaborates condescendingly to a feminine“!?!?! Until you are elaborating condescendingly to your pet or a farm animal, that ought to actually be “girl.” Possibly there was some thought of not wanting the clue to include any type of “MAN” (even “wo-MAN”) since “MAN” was a part of the (pretend) cluing idea, however … calling ladies “females,” oof, no matter type of feminist intent this clue was presupposed to have actually backfired there.
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