Constructor: Alex Eaton-Salners

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium to Medium

THEME: WATER CYCLE (55A: Natural process suggested by the starts of 17-, 24-, 26-, 45- and 47-Across) — first words of themers form the cycle: OCEAN -> VAPOR -> CLOUD -> RAIN -> RIVER:

Theme answers:

• OCEAN SPRAY (17A: Co-op responsible for more than two-thirds of cranberry production in North America)
• VAPORWARE (24A: Tech product that’s promised but never delivered)
• CLOUD NINE (26A: Hog heaven)
• RAINMAKER (45A: Business-generating partner at a law firm)
• RIVER CARD (47A: It might make or break a hand in Texas hold ’em)

Word of the Day: PSALTER (21A: Book of hymns) —

[from the Psalter of Saint Louis]

A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons. They were commonly used for learning to read. Many Psalters were richly illuminated, and they include some of the most spectacular surviving examples of medieval book art.

The English term (Old English psaltere, saltere) derives from Church Latin. The source term is Latin: psalterium, which is simply the name of the Book of Psalms (in secular Latin, it is the term for a stringed instrument, from Ancient Greek: ψαλτήριον psalterion). The Book of Psalms contains the bulk of the Divine Office of the Roman Catholic Church. The other books associated with it were the Lectionary, the Antiphonary, and Responsoriale, and the Hymnary. In Late Modern English, psalter has mostly ceased to refer to the Book of Psalms (as the text of a book of the Bible) and mostly refers to the dedicated physical volumes containing this text. (wikipedia)

• • •

Seems more like a Monday theme, with the difficulty amped up by cluing, and possibly the mere presence of VAPORWARE, which … if I’ve heard it (and I think I have), I had no idea what it meant. I assumed it was a real thing, not a promised but undelivered thing. Maybe something that vapor … izes … something else. Weird how misty words attach themselves to computing … The Cloud … VAPORWARE … OK, so, just two misty words. Anyway, the precedence of “The Cloud” made me assume VAPORWARE was also an actual, not theoretical thing. I actually didn’t read the whole clue there. I got as far as “Tech product” and my (SAD) EYES glazed over and I just worked crosses til something vaguely producty showed up. So, as I say, this one possibly-less-well-known themer may have made the theme seem more midweek-worthy. But in concept, it’s a Monday. First words do what? They do this. The end. And yeah, that sure looks like the cycle. Puzzle does what it says it does—takes you from OCEAN to (fresh) WATER, which gives life to plants and us and all the assorted organisms and critters. The themer set is lively enough, and there are some bright spots in the fill, particularly the vivid and apt juxtaposition of DEAD RUN and OVERDO IT. The SE corner is a bit of a mess (more below), but overall, while I was never IN AWE OF this one, I also didn’t CRINGE much either. Felt like a very serviceable / passable / acceptable Monday, aired on a Wednesday, with Wednesday-level cluing.