TUESDAY PUZZLE – If you read James Mulhern’s notes below, he believes that his theme is not necessarily “overly thrilling,” but that in forming this theme set, he offers us some lively entries. I would have to agree. Is it the world’s most thrilling theme? No. Maybe this is a result of having solved thousands of crossword puzzles and, in doing so, inadvertently set the bar too high in my mind for themes. But is it a perfectly fine Tuesday puzzle that is a pleasure to solve? Yes, of course it is.
I feel like we’ve seen this theme before, although the revealer seems newish and creative. It took a bit of solving to get DOUBLE UP, but once I did, the whole puzzle fell into place fairly quickly. And Mr. Mulhern is correct in that there is some really lively stuff in here: I especially liked APPLE TV (as someone who is contemplating cutting the cable cord, that is one product that is on my mind), CHUPACHUPS, CUP-A-SOUP, LOUIS C.K., SUPERDUPER, SUPPORT GROUPS, AFTER DARK, LOVE CHILD and INKPAD.
It took me a while to get SOO from 14 Across’s “‘Your point being…?’” probably because it struck me as kind of arbitrary in terms of the number of Os it possessed. We’re used to seeing SOO clued either as the canal or as the late actor Jack. Once again, I understand the desire to come up with a fresh clue, but this was a stretch, in my humble opinion.
On the other hand — there’s always another hand — I did like the clue “Clothes line?” for INSEAM (very clever misdirection, especially on a Tuesday) and “What gets rubber-stamped?” for INKPAD.
Let’s hear from Mr. Mulhern:
Constructor’s Notes:
This is my first themed puzzle in five years, almost to the day. Although my main focus is the themeless form, I really enjoy making themed puzzles when the inspiration strikes. The challenges are different, but the reward is equally satisfying. I hope to make more in the future.
I’m a big poker player, and somehow DOUBLE UP revealed itself as a neat revealer in my mind. The reason I went for it with this theme is not so much that the core concept is overly thrilling, but rather that the resulting phrases are all fun. Combined with some cool fill, I hope this makes for an enjoyable Tuesday!
That it was, Mr. Mulhern. I’m looking forward to more puzzles from you, themed or themeless.
I wanted to link to a video by the hilarious comedian LOUIS C.K., but unfortunately, there are precious few that meet the New York Times standards for language. If you have a chance to see him live or look at some of his performances on YouTube, I highly recommend it.
Your thoughts?