dizzyspins

Wow, one of my least favorite puzzles in years. Any “trick” you can just ignore by solving across seems kind of lacking. As does using Python — why not ask Chat GPT? Plus hanging the entire thing on an obscure Janet Jackson movie (yes I saw it) seems like a reach, esp. when box braids aren’t even part of the constructors culture.

I know I’m going to be an outlier here but I didn’t like the inclusion of Tar baby. Even in the 80s it was a vicious slur against black people. Obviously Morrison was reclaiming the word but in a crossword, terms can lose context. That’s why they’re generally very conservative in tone and language. Im not Black (nor is Mr Panico) — it’s not my “word.” but if I saw a clue referencing Larry Kramer’s 1979 novel F@ggots, it would be upsetting. And I love that book.

I’ve done the NYT crossword religiously since 1989. This might be the worst puzzle in 34 years.

I found the “twist” rather cringe and a lot of the clues too simplistic. Not a favorite

I really didn’t like the use of rebuses (rebi?) in today’s puzzle. A crossword is a word-based puzzle, not a picture-based puzzle. And the drawings appear rather crude, at least on the app. (I can’t imagine how this was achieved in the print edition. ) You could use word clues to get the same grid