Another attempt at a full-size puzzle — feedback much appreciated! Took a theme idea I've had in my head for a while and leveraged a suitable, traditional grid shape. Clue for 54A from February 15, 2004 NYT puzzle by Derrick Niederman. Cover photo by Yash Raut on Unsplash.
Nice work! Fun theme - interesting to see the revealer as theme entry 3/4, but I skip past them anyway so it's no biggie for me. I struggled with the NW corner and did some Googling of Hawaiian and American literature, but otherwise got the fill. Good job!
Thank you so much for this thoughtful and specific feedback! I was trying to push myself to get to publish and sort of hand-waved the revealer placement (there are definitely other grid designs with a more conventional "final theme entry" position). You also highlighted well that despite trying to clue non-theme entries on the easier side, some of the entries are more obscure — and I didn't realize that in several places, they cross. I now feel like reworking this theme, and thanks to you I have some ideas on what to do the second time around!
Lots to love in here - starting with the shoutout to Thad Jones (great tone; his big band with Mel Lewis was terrific - saw them once at the Village Vanguard). And the clue for THREE is fantastic - one of my many all-time favorite Monty Python bits. (I like the clue for TRACK as well). I also like how you clued the theme answers two ways - it fits well. A couple of nits: two of the clues (for 5 Down and 24 Down) should be plural, and you don't need the bold in the clue for 26 Across. I got Naticked on the AKON/OKINA cross because I blanked on AKON. Thanks!
Thanks so much! I very much appreciate the solve and the detailed feedback. I (belatedly) see the issues with the obscure crosses (in addition to AKON/OKINA the stats say HORAE/KEAS has also been rough). Also, I fixed the 5D and 24D clues. Not sure why part of the 26A clue is bold, but appreciate the flag — I'll look into it!
Struggled with the top and bottom left corners since pop culture is not my strong suit, but overall fun! I think 5D should be "takes" though since the answer is "eases"
Sendhil, I really liked this. AKON/OKINA was a Natick situation for me, but it was otherwise a smooth solve. The theme is fun, but would be even stronger with a third pair of words that differ only by their first letter so that they still rhyme, like HOCUSPOCUS and BOOGIEWOOGIE. I did a cursory look and found just one: SUPERDUPER. (NITTYGRITTY AND HELTERSKELTER came close...but no cigar, as they say). I would also try to find a revealer other than REDUPLICATED, as that's not the best description of what's happening in your theme answers. Lastly, as others have suggested, moving the revealer to the bottom would probably be a good idea. I was recently asked to revise a puzzle because my revealer was in position 3 rather than position 4.
American short-storyteller of Poker Flat and Roaring Camp
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Orizzontali
1A
American short-storyteller of Poker Flat and Roaring Camp
6A
Jazz trumpeter Jones, or late senator Cochran of Mississippi
10A
Streisand, familiarly
14A
Hawaiian consonant used to mark the phonemic glottal stop
15A
Trick
16A
Spiky yet soothing succulent commonly seen in arid climes (and crossword puzzles)
17A
1990 Kurt Vonnegut novel featuring Eugene Debs Hartke (or 1993 fantasy comedy film starring Bette, Sarah Jessica, and Kathy)
19A
Eat, if you're fancy
20A
Rampaging
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Wrongdoing
23A
Edible but unappetizing substance
25A
Common units for Rocky Road or red ale
26A
Famous 1943 Piet Mondrian painting "Broadway ______ ______ " (or 1941 song "______ ______ Bugle Boy" by The Andrews Sisters)
32A
Boutros-Ghali's successor as Secretary General
33A
Kind of fall?
34A
FDR, HST, LBJ, or JFK
37A
Treats a sprain
38A
Allow to pass (2 wds.)
40A
Eurasian wild pig, Sus scrofa
41A
Solid-body guitar pioneer Paul
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Floor model
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Unguent
44A
Repeated a syllable exactly, or with a slight change, as in 17A, 26A, and 60A
47A
What thou shalt count to when using the The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch (no more, no less… four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed…. and five is right out.)
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"Ditto"
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Get burned, told, read, or dissed
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Western Hemisphere city founded in 1521
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Lithuanian immigrant Crown, either racer Luyendyk, or singer India.____
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Delightful 1988 rhyming kids' book of unusual reversals (or 1999 British musical period drama film fictionalizing Gilbert & Sullivan)
62A
Like an alloy of iron with over 2.1% carbon
63A
Birch, beech, pecan, or peach
64A
Dodecagon's (or cube's) dozen
65A
Big and clever parrots of New Zealand
66A
Those in favor
67A
Tractor handle?
Verticali
1D
Cylindrical chocolate snack cake with a creamy filling
2D
Senegalese-American singer of "Locked Up" and "Lonely" (as well as "I Wanna Love You" and "Smack That")
3D
Como una millonaria de Montevideo
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Letter-shaped fastener
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Takes things one small step at a time
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Like some smaller crossovers or SUVs (2 wds.)
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Sot's sound, stereotypically (at least in comic strips)
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Grad
9D
Member of the South Asian diaspora
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Villain, informally
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Otherworldly
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Zoë Kravitz's mom Lisa
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Beginnings
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Susceptible to sunburn
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Roasting rod
24D
Self-contained openers on soda or beer cans
26D
System of conditional pre-trial release that is often affected by systemic economic & racial bias
27D
Formerly
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Start of the Fibonacci sequence
29D
State of matter
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Sphere
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The "G" in LGBTQ+
34D
Blockhead
35D
Roof overhang
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Talking palomino of a 1960s TV sitcom (abbr.)
38D
Spearheaded
39D
Australian bird that lays 1+ pound green eggs
40D
Sheep sound
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Common active ingredient in commercial insect repellent (abbr.)