![]() ![]() ![]() I did notice that the wide-open NW area was not really invited to the party. I am perfectly fine with having only three LOOPS, since by definition it requires more space in the grid geographically, thus I see one loop as roughly equivalent to two straight-line or rebus theme entries. The clue for SHOELACE says it may be on the tip of the tongue, which means it also may not be there, although it may also keep you tongue-tied. A PAIRPLANE is a PAPER AIRPLANE built for two. A PAPER AIRPLANE can most certainly do LOOPS if it is constructed the right way, then hit the dog's ass. (And the documentary about him from the 90s - simply titled Crumb - is one of the more fascinating and disturbing things I've seen.) Incredibly distinctive drawing style, a lot of influence on later cartoonists, but I can't say I've ever enjoyed his work. Speaking of things I don't know what I think of: R CRUMB. I'm completely unfamiliar with ANNA SUI, but she was fairly crossed (and I needed every one of those crosses). Some nice downs, with BITCOIN, FIRE AWAY and WENT COLD. There wasn't any playfulness that I noticed. The misdirections were pretty much just standard synonyms that made you think of a more common usage (and incorrect answer), like Shot for PHOTO. I think it may be that the cluing was mostly pretty straightforward. It was nicely satisfying to work through something that seemed tougher than most recent Thursdays.īut I didn't really come across anything that made me smile or admire the cleverness. I appreciated the challenge of figuring out what was going on - which I didn't until quite late, with nearly everything filled except part of the loops. He's one of the greatest cartoonists of all time, even if his work has a real capacity to NAUSEATE, at times. Double hell, I ordered a collection of his comics just today (as a reward to myself for refraining from buying the $350 Complete Zap Comix Box Set, which I may still cave in and buy… someday). CRUMB, though ( 50D: "Keep in Truckin'" cartoonist). But her name always makes me think "crutch fill." All the common letters and vowels … I don't know, I just can't get excited. In her full-name form, she's pretty fresh fill. ANNA SUI I'm cool on ( 27D: Chinese-American fashion icon). WENT COLD, FIRE AWAY, DOTCOM, BITCOIN, GOES BAD, NAUSEATE, ATYPICAL … I like all of those. Fewer wince-y moments than I've become used to, of late ( LAE, as always, is The Worst thing in whatever grid it's in today, it's just below AWW). The fill here is average, maybe slightly better than average. But if you can't do it right, then just don't do it. the lowest answer in the 'loop' gets used twice). It's a hard theme to pull off because you have to depart from *and return to* a letter in the answer (i.e. Add a loop answer, clean up the cluing, and then maybe. So theme idea is cool, but execution is weak and wobbly. The other theme answers give you non-nonsense: a SHOE is a thing, a ROASTER is a thing. Then there's the biggest problem: PAPER AIRPLANE-or, rather, PAIRPLANE, which is the answer you get in the Across. The laces are on the tongue, over the tongue, for sure, but not "on the tip." No sir. OK, see? The tip is sticking up there all proud and SHOELACE-free. Look at the tip of your shoe's tongue-go ahead, I'll wait. It's just … PAPER AIRPLANEs mostly don't loop, and a SHOELACE is not ever "on the tip of the tongue". There's just three themers, first of all, so there's not a lot to admire, even if the concept itself were admirable-which, in a way, it is. This puzzle does what most PAPER AIRPLANEs actually do-kind of fly off weakly and then nosedive or hit the dog in the ass or something else similarly unceremonious and unimpressive. ![]()
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