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Constructor: Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: BEAN COUNTER (56A: Corporate number cruncher who might be interested in the ends of 17-, 26-, 37- and 47-Across?) — last words of theme answers are all types of beans. If you “count” all the beans … there are FOUR (54D: What a 56-Across would tally for this puzzle?):
Theme answers:
- FREIDA PINTO (17A: “Slumdog Millionaire” actress)
- UBER BLACK (26A: High-end ridesharing option)
- AIR ON THE G STRING (37A: Bach piece whose title sounds a bit risque)
- ROYAL NAVY (47A: U.K. military force)
Word of the Day: FREIDA PINTO (17A) —
Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, she took part in amateur plays. After graduation, she briefly worked as a model and then as a television presenter.
Pinto rose to prominence with her film debut in the drama Slumdog Millionaire (2008) for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She earned critical acclaim for her roles in Miral (2010), Trishna(2011), and Desert Dancer (2014). She also saw commercial success with the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), and the epic fantasy action film Immortals (2011). Pinto’s other notable roles include You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), Love Sonia (2018), Hillbilly Elegy (2020), and Mr. Malcolm’s List (2022). She also starred in the Showtime miniseries Guerrilla (2017), and had a recurring role in the Hulu series The Path (2018). (wikipedia)
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I have no idea who FREIDA PINTO is. Looks like “Slumdog” was her first film role, and, to date, by far her biggest. She’s a weird choice for the lead themer on a *Tuesday* puzzle, and all I can think is that her name must’ve actually inspired the puzzle. Not sure how else you come up w/ a bean-themed puzzle like this. Sadly, there’s really nowhere for the puzzle to go without a great revealer, and this puzzle definitely does not have one. BEAN COUNTER makes no sense. The “counter” part I mean. None. Yes, there are FOUR themers, ergo FOUR beans in this puzzle, but … so? I mean, the fact that you have to add that FOUR answer basically screams “My Revealer Makes No Sense.” If it made sense—no need for the extra FOUR bit. Just bizarre. Also, string beans aren’t really beans. They’re legumes, but not beans, the way the others are beans, despite being called “beans.”
Legumes are plants that bear fruit that grows in pods. Beans are the seed from different varieties of plants, although typically the whole plant is referred to as beans. In other words: all beans are legumes, but legumes aren’t necessarily beans. (randallbeans.com)
I also don’t really know what UBER BLACK is, but my first guess for that second word was BLACK, so I must’ve heard of it. It’s a weird couple of opening themers, esp. for a Tuesday. But the main problem is that the theme has nowhere to go, has no revealer to make it make sense, and so we get this whole FOUR fiasco today. Crossing FREIDA with COE (3D: Iowa college) seems pretty dicey (neither is terribly famous), but I guess there’s no other letter that could realistically go there.
The other main problem is the fill, which was giving off mothball smell before I even got out of the NW corner. SLR COE ECIG RASSLE LEANTO SEABEES AGAR RAMA YAWED OOH *and* AAH and EMO Philips!? EMO Philips?! That is what’s called “steering into the crosswordese.” Before EMO became recognizable music genre, it was *always* clued as EMO Philips. Here’s roughly six years’ worth of EMO cluing from around the turn of the century:
That’s a lot to put on one guy’s shoulders. Not a lot of room for interesting cluing variations. But then in 2004, [Modern rock genre] made its debut as an EMO clue, and after that, the puzzle rarely looked back. EMO appears in the grid pretty regularly, but EMO Philips hadn’t been seen for four years before today. This is just his sixth appearance in the past 13 years. To use EMO Philips now is like playing the oldies … but I don’t know why you’d do that today, when the grid already feels kinda stale.
It was hard to find things to like today. I like “Peanuts,” a lot, and didn’t mind RED BARON (5D: Snoopy’s nemesis), but in an already old-feeling puzzle, it just made things feel older. TEAHOUSE was probably the nicest thing in the grid (39D: Japanese meeting place that serves refreshments). Gotta get back to my family, who sound like they’re having all kinds of dessert-related fun without me. See you tomorrow.
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