Jerry Miccolis’s New York Times crossword, “Triple Features” — Nate’s write-up
10.20.2024 Sunday New York Times Crossword
23A: BIG GIANT MONSTER [Marquee at the Tri-Plex mistaken as a promo for … “Godzilla”?]
37A: WITNESS ALIEN ARRIVAL [… “E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial”?]
54A: HANCOCK SIGNS THE PAPER [… “Independence Day”?]
75A: TANGLED FROZEN TRAFFIC [… “Rush Hour”?]
91A: WIRED SLEEPERS MISERY [… “Insomnia”?]
110: MANHATTAN HOOK UP [… “Sex and the City”?]
This puzzle had a theme I found quite enjoyable, with solid themers and a nice cluing conceit. Each clued film is described using the titles of three other films, to largely successful effect. (I think SLEEPERS needs an apostrophe somewhere for a possessive moment to make the clue work, but otherwise the rest seem solid.)
The SORE SPOT in this puzzle for me, unfortunately, was the fill. There was A LOT of crosswordese throughout the grid, and I almost stopped solving entirely after I realized that [Emasculates] at 8D was trying to clue UNMANS. Genuinely, in what year is this puzzle is running? (To preempt the run of “but actually”s in the comments section, I indeed see that MW supports this definition / denotation, but I would argue that the primary connotation of “unman” these days – though even now this use is also antiquated – would be in the context of an unmanned (unpersoned) vessel, like a spaceship.)
And seriously – JAI alai, LST, RIA, AGUE, RILL, RUSSE, TAW, TALI, WHENCE and many more entries made this grid a really tough one to (want to) get through. Also, I’m pretty sure that 31A is commonly understood to be an anti-Irish slur, so that didn’t feel great. BRUTAL. Was the editor having an OFF DAY when this puzzle was sent to print? I wish the fill and cluing were as strong and fun as the theme set was. (NB: I would certainly be more forgiving of the fill it this were the constructor’s first NYT puzzle or even first NYT Sunday puzzle. It is not.)
What did you think of the puzzle? I’m hopeful you found the puzzle more enjoyable and that the theme at least made you smile! Can you think of any other fun triplet combos of movie titles that might work as an extra themer? Let us know in the comments – and have a nice weekend!
NYT: I thought the theme was great fun and well executed. Extra point for being clever without trying to be punny. To my mind, those types of Sunday themes are rarely successful.
re NYT 31A … but it’s his name? maybe it’s a slur sometimes but it’s also a legit name. i think banning MICK Jagger from the puzzle seems .. oddly disrespectful in a way; he didn’t ask to be named something that is also used derogatorily.
yeah the fill was a little dated but the fun solid and consistent theme made up for that for me.
re NYT 31A … but it’s his name? maybe it’s a slur sometimes but it’s also a legit name. i think banning MICK Jagger from the puzzle seems .. oddly disrespectful in a way; he didn’t ask to be named something that is also used derogatorily.
yeah the fill was a little dated but the fun solid and consistent theme made up for that for me.