June 12, 2020

Title: STONEWORK

Constructor: Gail Grabowski

Editor: Erik Agard

 

Theme Answers:

  • BALL OF FIRE (17A: Burning orb)
  • DAILY GRIND (55A: Wearisome routine)
  • DIPLOMA MILL (10D: Illegitimate source of degrees)
  • GOLDEN BROWN (24D: Color of nicely toasted bread)

Theme synopsis: The last word of each theme answer can precede the word STONE: FIRESTONE, GRINDSTONE, MILLSTONE, BROWNSTONE.

Things I learned:

  • TEEN (61A: Word before "angst" or "Titans") Teen Titans are a team of fictional superheroes featured in DC Comics. The Teen Titans originally appeared in 1964 featuring group members Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, and Wonder Girl. Over the years the makeup of the group has varied. Although the phrase "TEEN Titans" didn't immediately come to my mind, "TEEN angst" made it inferable. 
  • ELENA (30D: "Little Fires Everywhere" journalist) Little Fires Everywhere is a 2017 novel by Celeste Ng. The book was adapted into a TV miniseries by the same name. In the miniseries, ELENA Richardson is portrayed by Reese Witherspoon. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

  • It's not your imagination - this is the third day in a row that ELENA has made an appearance in the puzzle! With its common letters and alternating vowels, the word is a crossword constructor's friend. Will ELENA make an appearance in tomorrow's puzzle? Stay tuned...
  • OGRE (59A: "___ Enchanted" (2018 fantasy novel)) Did anyone else write in Ella first? OGRE Enchanted is the sequel to the 1997 novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I was on autopilot and didn't pay attention to the date. It didn't take long to realize my mistake.
  • ANNE (13D: TV chef Burrell) Anne Burrell is the host of Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and co-host of Worst Cooks in America. 


Running two theme answers horizontally and two vertically allows for a smooth puzzle due to fewer grid constraints. I didn't figure out the theme while I was solving, but that's not unusual for me. I don't mind that as it allows for an "Aha!" moment while studying the completed puzzle. As far as the theme answers go, BALL OF FIRE, DAILY GRIND, and DIPLOMA MILL are more exciting than GOLDEN BROWN. 


Thanks for visiting this blog. Feel free to leave comments about this puzzle in particular, or about the blog overall. I welcome your input as the blog evolves over time!




Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 12, 2020 at 10:23 AM

    Interesting that DIPLOMA MILL is in the puzzle preceded by an ad for online, for-profit, Walden University, with a graduation rate of 26%

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 12, 2020 at 1:28 PM

    i love your blog! so pleasant and kind and insightful!
    keep it up. i learn something new everyday from this blog

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 12, 2020 at 3:30 PM

    "Military officer, informally" is in error as a clue for SARGE. Sergeants are not officers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PetsoundsJune 13, 2020 at 8:13 AM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  4. Mr. GrumpyJune 12, 2020 at 5:23 PM

    Looking forward to visiting this blog. The USA "themes" sometimes leave me baffled, even if the puzzles do not. Of course, Erik usually/often has the same effect in his own puzzles. You are a welcome addition to puzzlefiend IMHO.

    This was a nice puzzle. FIRESTONE was new to me, but the others were solid.

    Anonymous @3:30 is totally correct about 28D. A sergeant is an non-commissioned officer or NCO but NOT an officer -- informally or otherwise. NO sergeant would EVER consider herself or himself an officer. That's the sort of mistake that Erik makes. He's young, so I can accept that, but that was a flaw that did rather bother this Marine brat. RIP Dad [Lt. Col. USMC -- i.e., a "real" officer].

    ReplyDelete
  5. PetsoundsJune 13, 2020 at 8:18 AM

    I agree with Mr. Grumpy about the often-baffling themes in these puzzles, while the puzzles themselves are generally straightforward. And thanks to Mr. Grumpy for the lesson in military rank. Doing the puzzle, I thought SARGE couldn't be right because sergeants are not officers. Then I remembered what NCO stands for--so they ARE officers. Still didn't sound right. Mr. Grumpy explained it well.

    ReplyDelete

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