Puzzles

Constructor: Kathy Bloomer
Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: BENDS THE TR(UTH) (50A: Doesn't lie, exactly ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters) — theme answers are instances of lying, and contain letter strings (in circled squares) that "bend" (ninety degrees) to form words meaning "truth":
Theme answers:

• COVER STORY (contains first part of "bent" VERITY)
• TAX SCANDAL (contains first part of "bent" CANDOR)
• FAKE NAME (contains first part of "bent" FACTS)
• PHONE SCAMS (contains first part of "bent" HONESTY) (28D: Bad calls?)
• BENDS THE TR[UTH] (contains "bent" TRUTH)

Word of the Day: HALE-BOPP Comet (38D: Comet discovered in 1995) —Comet Hale–Bopp (formally designated C/1995 O1) is a long-period comet that was one of the most widely observed of the 20th century and one of the brightest seen for many decades.Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered Comet Hale–Bopp separately on July 23, 1995, before it became visible to the naked eye. It is difficult to predict the maximum brightness of new comets with any degree of certainty, but Hale–Bopp exceeded most predictions when it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997, reaching about magnitude −1.8. Its massive nucleus size made it visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months. This is twice as long as the Great Comet of 1811, the previous record holder. Accordingly, Hale–Bopp was dubbed the Great Comet of 1997. (wikipedia)• • • The further this puzzle gets in my rearview mirror, the more I like it. Actually, that implies that I want to leave it behind me and that I like it better when I can't see it clearly, and that's not right, so ... let's say the more I sit with the completed puzzle, the more I like it. The more I look it over, the more I like it. I cannot say I enjoyed it too much while solving, largely because the fill was routinely crusty and musty in a way that I started to grate after a while. FDIC, IDINA, partial AVIV ... the opening was not promising, and after that the fill never got above middling and frequently went somewhat lower than that: C-SPOTS, OLEO, plural TSKS, plural NOES (that pl. always looks like a typo for "nose"), ET ALIA, AAS, ARRET. And what's a good old-fashioned puzzle without a STYE? So I flew through this wondering why the fill was creaky, and never actually seeing the theme—I mean, I saw the "bent" words, but I didn't really get that the four theme answers had "lying" in common. I just know that TAX SCANDAL felt like a strange phrase to me. Do we have TAX SCANDALs any more? Do we have scandals? I'm not sure it's possible any more, with a gutted regulatory system and a largely lawless oligarchy. Also, with the very concept of "scandal" seeming quaint, as the human capacity for shame seems to be fading into nothingness. Anyway, if there is a famous TAX SCANDAL, I have forgotten it. 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/u71C10b7A ... KHeFOYjEll

PHONE SCAMS also seemed slightly alien to me, as a phrase, though that one I fully acknowledge is a real thing. I just haven't answered the phone for a number I didn't recognize in eons. But I have (older) family members who were preyed upon by phone scammers, so I'm not sure why my brain blanked there. Oh, right, the "?" clue, that's why (28D: Bad calls?). The theme answers did not appear to cohere to me until I was finished and looking the puzzle over. It's thematically impressive that not only does the puzzle bend "truths," but it does so directly out of theme answers that involve truth-bending. The one incongruity is that some of the themers involve outright lying, so the clue on BENDS THE TRUTH (50A: Doesn't lie, exactly...) seems inapt. But still, structurally, the theme is impressive—and intricate, which likely accounts for some of the subpar fill.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/zg_2Sw_OB ... 05ZLIlxzbK

Overall the puzzle was very easy. I had one small and one somewhat larger moment of "???" The first was with VICAR (35A: The Rev. Leonard Clement, in an Agatha Christie novel). Which Agatha Christie novel? I am familiar with the concept of quaint village murder mysteries involving VICARs, but if there's an iconic one, I forgot it. Is it ... Murder at the Vicarage? Is that a thing? Yes! 1930. The first of her novels featuring Miss Marple. I don't think of it as among Christie's more famous titles, but that's probably because they haven't made a movie out of it in my lifetime, or ever (though there have been British and French TV series). Considering how simple all the other answers were to get, the VICAR hit like a very rough road bump. I also, as I said, had some trouble around the PHONE part of PHONE SCAMS, which was exacerbated by the made-up, could-be-anything [Casual greeting] (today, "OH, HEY"), as well as the clue on SHOUT (27D: Big whoop) (I was looking for a word for a "big deal" ... or a "party"? But no, a literal whoop. Fooled me!). Otherwise, not much friction today, which is fine, for a Tuesday. ["Blue" locale in a 1977 Linda Ronstadt classic]Bullets:

• 18A: ___ fresca (Latin American refreshment) (AGUA) — I had AGUE here at first because I was on autopilot, saw AGU-, and just wrote in the only answer that seemed to fit. This led me to a brief flirtation with OKEY DOKE at 9D: "All right! Enough already!"). Again, I didn't really read the clue there either. It pays not to be complacent, but good luck telling me that on a Tuesday at 4:15am. 
• 43A: Notable features of the Charleston, S.C. skyline (STEEPLES) — having never been to Charleston, and knowing almost nothing about Charleston, I had no idea what this was all about, but between "skyline" and easy-to-get crosses, I could guess. Weirdly, there's nothing on the city's wikipedia page about STEEPLES, but it does have "spires." 

Charleston is known as "the Holy City". Despite beliefs that the term dates to the city's earliest days and refers to its religiously tolerant culture, the expression was coined in the 20th century, likely as a mockery of Charlestonians' self-satisfied attitude about their city. Many sources, however, traditionally link the term to the many old church spires dotting the skyline of downtown Charleston. (wikipedia) 

• 36A: Hide ___ hair (NOR) — only just now noticing how this clue echoes 53D: "Hyde and ___" (1955 Bugs Bunny short) ("HARE"). Nice.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uh2WF0SiN ... WwPhzjqz9C

• 63A: Peak in Greek myth (OSSA) — had the "A" and reflexively wrote in ETNA. But no, it's that even crosswordesier mythological mountain, OSSA (ETNA is in Sicily, whereas OSSA is in Greece, near the coast of the northern Aegean.

• 32D: Most dangerous animal in Maine, it's said (MOOSE) — this sounds like a joke but it is not a joke. I was listening to a podcast about the National Parks and at some point the host asked the guides she was with (who were Native American, I believe) what animals were most dangerous and they did not hesitate. MOOSE. Like bears, they are generally human-averse, but you are much more likely to encounter a MOOSE (if you are in MOOSE country) and their sheer size, and their fierce protectiveness of calves, means that more people are injured by MOOSE than by bears every year (at least in Alaska).
• 38D: Comet discovered in 1995 (HALE-BOPP) — did they have to name yet another comet "HAL-" something? I remembered this comet's name, but was not entirely sure how to spell the HALE part (HAIL?). Of all the names of celestial bodies that I know, this one is the most fun to say.

That's all for today. See you next time.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
=============================
Support this blog : 

• 
• Venmo (@MichaelDavidSharp)]

=============================
My other blog :

• Pop Sensation (vintage paperbacks)

Source: https://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/feed ... ts/default