Constructor: Julietta Gervase

Relative issue: Medium

THEME: Theme solutions are flowers, clued wackily

Theme solutions:

• BABY’S BREATH (20A: What may scent of Gerber merchandise?)
• WOLF’S BANE (33A: The third “little pig,” together with his home of bricks?)
• GOLDENROD (40A: Award for a champion angler?)
• LADY SLIPPER (50A: Object discovered by Prince Charming after the clock struck midnight?)

Hello good day! It’s Rafa right here filling in for Rex Parker. Sometimes after I end fixing a puzzle I feel: This puzzle was nice, however it wasn’t for me! This puzzle as very a lot in that class! When I completed fixing, I could not fairly work out what the theme was so I googled the theme solutions and realized they had been all flowers. Aha! The incontrovertible fact that I knew 0/4 of those flowers says much more about me than in regards to the puzzle, however sadly it did make it so the theme did not really feel fairly satisfying through the resolve. I ponder if I’m a flower-illiterate odd-one-out, or whether or not this theme eluded others too … let me know within the feedback!

As for the theme clues, they felt like a little bit of a blended bag to me. WOLF’S BANE was my favourite — enjoyable and evocative and simply the correct amount of wacky. BABY’S BREATH felt a bit weaker as a result of it looks as if “child’s breath” may fairly plausibly be a phrase used to explain … a child’s breath. So the wackiness did not land as properly.

According to The Internet™, these are some Viking runes

Luckily, although, there was loads of different enjoyable stuff within the grid: HOUSE PARTY, EVIL GENIUS, PAST LIFE, PINYIN, and so forth. I appreciated the clue echo on RAGER and HOUSE PARTY, in addition to the enjoyable trivia within the clue for ANTEATER. The fill was principally clear however there have been a couple of dings like SHER, NEHI, CIRRI. (I’ve solely ever seen or heard of NEHI in crossword puzzles and simply discovered on 30 seconds in the past it is pronounced “knee excessive” — FYI if that is additionally information to you.)  A”ding” within the fill is subjective factor, however one metric I like to make use of when desirous about fill for early-week puzzles is: Is this one thing solvers would moderately have encountered outdoors of crossword puzzles? Of course, all of us reside splendidly various lives, however have any of you had a dialog about CIRRI clouds?

Check out these CIRRI clouds

Not a lot else to say about this one! Nice and principally clean early-week debut.

Bullets:

• HANOI (45D: Home to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum) — I’ve been to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in HANOI!
• AREA (8D: Word with grey, play, or Bay) — This was a enjoyable clue for AREA. I’ve lived within the Bay AREA for 9 years and appreciated this angle.
• SAUL (47A: Title position for Bob Odenkirk in a “Breaking Bad” spinoff) — My confession for at present is that I have not watched a single episode of Breaking Bad! I really feel like there’s an excessive amount of to make amends for and I by no means have the willpower to begin it, however everybody all the time tells me it is price it. One day…
• ETTA (54A: James in each the Blues and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame) — My good buddy and longtime crossword solver instructed me not too long ago she solely simply realized all of the clues about this Jazz star James had been a few girl named Etta James and never about some dude named James Etta! So it is a PSA to anybody else who mindlessly fills ETTA considering it is some dude.

Signed, Rafa

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