Learn something new every day! JANET MOCK was unfamiliar to me, but Erik did such a nice job making all the crossings friendly and ...
read moreLearn something new every day! JANET MOCK was unfamiliar to me, but Erik did such a nice job making all the crossings friendly and easy, such that I could learn about MOCK and still conquer my crossword. Some solvers might grouse that ENID is an esoteric name, but realistically, what else could that square be? I bet if 100 people were asked to fill in the blank for a woman's name, JA_ET, 100 would put in an N.

I feel privileged to be friends with a good number of constructors. You'd be surprised at how often knowing the author comes in handy during my solves! Erik is one of my favorite folks in the crossworld, and I remember from a while back that he's into AFROPUNK. Saved my bacon when it came to that NW corner. I was so badly stuck, not able to see the odd CHIPPY and not knowing Edwin STARR.
My daughter (age 3) is fascinated with her mom's MAKEUP. Am I going to have to figure out what a MAKEUP TUTORIAL is?
(Sigh, yes.)
Guess it's a good thing I learned that term today.
A couple of other toughies in PNIN and NADJA. I don't mind learning a thing or two from a crossword, as long as that doesn't hinder me in achieving my complete and correct solve. And some solvers seem to dislike having too many proper names in a puzzle, but that doesn't bother me, as long as they're well-known. It's when a constructor delves too far into PNIN / NADJA territory that starts to make me feel like the puzzle is more a trivia contest than a crossword. Just on the verge today.
Loved GOLD MINER and its brilliant clue, repurposing the term "flash in the pan." A perfect example of GOLD medal wordplay.
ZAMBONIS also had a great clue, although if you didn't know that the "crease" is a term in ice hockey, the cleverness would be lost on you.
Overall, no DARK DAY whatsoever, Erik constructing a fine, fair puzzle. It's tough to get a feeling of excitement when encountering so many foreign-seeming entries, though.