Wednesday, March 27, 2024
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Constructor: Erica Hsiung Wojcik and Matthew Stock

Relative problem: Medium

THEME: coloured rings after which extra coloured rings — first themer is clued as [“Red and yellow circles”] after which every subsequent theme clue provides a coloured circle till you find yourself with 5 coloured circles:

Theme solutions:

  • MASTERCARD LOGO (“Red and yellow circles”)
  • TRAFFIC LIGHT (“Red, yellow and inexperienced circles”)
  • TWISTER MAT (“Red, yellow, inexperienced and blue circles”)
  • OLYMPIC RINGS (“Red, yellow, inexperienced, blue and black circles”)

Word of the Day: PIRELLI (7D: Italian tire firm) —

Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre producer based mostly in Milan, Italy. The firm, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the Sixth-largest tyre producer and is targeted on the buyer manufacturing of tyres for vehicles, bikes and bicycles. It is current in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America and the Post-Soviet states, working commercially in over 160 international locations. It has 19 manufacturing websites in 13 international locations and a community of round 14,600 distributors and retailers. In 2015, China National Chemical Corp. Ltd. (ChemChina) took controlling curiosity of Pirelli – with the Chinese state-owned firm agreeing to keep up the tire firm’s possession construction till 2023. (wikipedia)

• • •

I simply had a giant scrumptious pricy meal which included cocktails *and* port and whereas this has put me in a reasonably good temper, I believe it additionally has one thing to do with the truth that this puzzle simply did not do a lot for me. I might course of the idea tremendous, but it surely simply did not … land. I see what’s taking place. I see that there’s a regular development, new colours added at every part, and many others. It’s an … attention-grabbing discovery, I suppose. There’s particular thematic consistency. My response is “huh, curious.” But that is about it. It wasn’t amusing, and I did not have a lot of a sense of revelation. The TWISTER MAT will not be iconic to me in any respect—I do know it has coloured circles, however I don’t know what these colours are. I must not ever have really performed Twister. You might’ve instructed me they’re any variety of colours and I’d’ve believed you. What colour are the OLYMPIC RINGS? I’d’ve been in a position to guess, however I do not know. The rings are iconic, that there are 5, that appears iconic, however I do not consider the *colours* as notably iconic. So once I obtained the solutions, I simply thought “oh, is that so?” Not, “aha!” I’m not even certain I might inform what colour the Mastercard circles are. I sincerely would’ve instructed you that one in every of them is orange. But crimson and yellow, you say? OK. I do know that the visitors mild is crimson yellow inexperienced. *That* is iconic. The others are true sufficient, so the puzzle is legitimate sufficient. But it simply did not have any zing to it. More like an odd type of trivia take a look at. I do love the grid form—the bizarre mirror symmetry, the bizarre 16×14 dimensions. But the one reply that actually made me sit up and say “ooh” was DEATH GRIP (33D: Super-tight grasp). The theme may be very attention-grabbing, but it surely wasn’t humorous or thrilling to resolve. Curious. Interesting. Those are the one phrases I’ve for it. 

I had -STER MAT and nonetheless no concept. “Is there a … TOASTER MAT?” But I additionally had -IC RINGS and no concept, which is much less explicable. I blame the port. But truthfully the “black” ring was what obtained me. I simply could not fathom how “black” slot in. So I used to be slowish. I used to be additionally slowish on a bunch of two-part solutions the place the primary elements appeared like they may’ve been lots of issues. Like “AW, NUTS” and “WHY, YES” and DART OFF. I additionally had points with WAR DRAMA, which … hmm. I do know “warfare motion pictures,” that looks like a style. But most of these are dramas, proper? There actually aren’t that many warfare comedies or warfare horror movies. I believe the “drama” is type of implied by the “warfare,” so WAR DRAMA feels barely off, barely redundant. “War film” googles significantly better. But WAR DRAMA googles fairly properly too. I dunno. I do know that HAHAS stays absurd as a plural, however general this grid may be very clear. The solely factor I flat-out did not know was PIRELLI, which I really do know, or have at the very least heard of, however I wrote in BORELLI, which I believe is a type of pasta. It’s at the very least pasta-adjacent. AW, NUTS, it is “Barilla” pasta. Is there a well-known *singer* BORELLI? Ah, man, that is Andrea BOCELLI! Which rhymes with “vermicelli,” which brings us again to pasta. 

My household is having a voluble dialog about faith and dying and glass-blowing so I’ve to go see how all these issues match collectively. Sorry I did not really feel the Zing with this one. I hope you probably did.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]



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