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Constructor: Jessie Trudeau and Ross Trudeau
Relative problem: Easy
THEME: “Rise to the Challenge” — each theme reply is an individual who (actually) CLIMBS THE LADDER (65A: Advances via company ranks … and what the reply to every starred clue on this puzzle does). The total center visually depicts a ladder (all “H”s) (8D: Visual depiction of the equipment utilized by the starred professionals). Several themers are break up, in two, with the primary half coming on the ladder from from the west after which the second half persevering with on throughout the grid from a number of “rungs” larger up the ladder (as many rungs larger as are indicated on the finish of every theme clue) (Note: For all non-theme, “ladder”-intersecting solutions, the “H”s within the “ladder” are simply “H”s):
Theme solutions:
- CHIMNEY / SWEEP (25A: *Worker with a brush [three rungs])
- SUBMARINE / COMMANDER (56A: *Captain with a periscope [four rungs])
- CHERRY / PICKER (90A: *Seasonal orchard employee [eight rungs])
- TELEPHONE / REPAIRMAN (101A: *Worker for AT&T or Verizon [four rungs])
- HOUSE / PAINTER (123A: *One placing a coat on exterior [three rungs])
Word of the Day: PAUL VI (82D: Pope of 1963-78) —
Pope Paul VI (Latin: Paulus VI; Italian: Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, Italian: [dʒoˈvanni batˈtista enˈriːko anˈtɔːnjo maˈriːa monˈtiːni]; 26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his dying in 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its quite a few reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodoxand Protestant church buildings, which resulted in lots of historic conferences and agreements. […] His positions on contraception, promulgated famously within the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae, had been usually contested, particularly in Western Europe and North America. […] Pope Francis canonised Paul VI on 14 October 2018. (wikipedia)
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The visible gag right here is intelligent, and the way in which the theme solutions really, bodily “climb” the ladder is fairly nifty as effectively. That stated, this was absurdly simple and all of the attention-grabbing elements had been over in a short time, leaving solely the somewhat boring work of filling in a suitable however pretty unremarkable Sunday-sized grid. I received the theme very early:
… after which determined to see if I may undergo and get all of the climbing folks shortly, with as little assist as potential. This turned out to be fairly doable:
You can see I received distracted and did some further filling of the grid on the way in which down, however REPAIRMAN was just about the one a part of all the themer set that gave me any hassle. I do not know the way you retain a theme like this from unfolding , from making a gift of all the recreation early on. There was some enjoyable concerned in seeing simply what sort of individual can be “climbing the ladder,” however these solutions themselves had been simply … solutions. The climbing half was cool, however they themselves had been simply abnormal, and sometimes a bit of arbitrary. Why ought to or not it’s a SUBMARINE COMMANDER versus anybody else on that submarine? And is cherry-picking actually a ladder-associated exercise. I do know that the machine generally known as a “cherry picker” elevates staff into air … coincidentally, the folks I affiliate most with cherry pickers are literally TELEPHONE / REPAIRMeN, although any type of individual doing upkeep or building work would possibly use them. But again to my cherry level: I google picture searched “cherry selecting” and not one of the photos featured ladders. Not too laddery, that one. But the others work very effectively. Roofers and gutter cleaners are the primary ladder climbers in my neighborhood, however HOUSE / PAINTER is in that very same class. I do not actually know what a CHIMNEY / SWEEP does, at a nuts and bolts degree, however I assume they must get in your roof by some means, so … certain, why not? Anyway, I believed the theme was cute, the general fixing expertise simply so-so. Nothing flawed with it, however nothing thrilling about it both. All the curiosity is within the theme, and with a theme this visually elaborate, maybe that’s sufficient.
From one perspective, 1-Across is only one reply within the puzzle, no higher or worse than some other reply. From a extra right perspective, nevertheless, 1-Across issues extra as a result of it units a tone—it is the very first thing a solver is prone to see, and to attempt to deal with. So it is good to open boldly, or on the very least, cleanly. This is all to say that I’m not too massive a fan of opening the puzzle IN A COMA (1A: Like the protagonist initially of “28 Days Later”). Never noticed it, however I feel it is a vampire film (???), so I assumed the reply was one thing like UNDEAD or NOT DEAD or PRE-DEAD or one thing. IN A COMA, apart from being a prepositional phrase and thus semi-awkward as a standalone reply, is simply grim. Sidenote: I watched “Coma” (1978) for the primary time final week—additionally grim, and never simply due to the comas, although it is cool to see late-career Richard Widmark, particularly since he is nonetheless taking part in creeps (completely) effectively into his later years. Oh hey, double sidenote: there’s an ideal ladder scene in “Coma”—actually, the ladder in query is depicted on the quilt of the house video launch of the film!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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