Golfer's gouge / MON 8-27-12 / Fan of Jerry Garcia's band / He played Hulk on 1970s-80s TV / Hops kiln / Frilly place mats / Spotted wildcat / Name that comes from Old Norse for young man

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Constructor: Michael Farabaugh

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: A vowel sound progression puzzle

• LAYAWAYPLAN (17A: Purchasing system with payments made over time)
• LEE IACOCCA (29A: Former Chrysler C.E.O.)
• LIE DOWN ON THE JOB (34A: Goldbrick)
• LOW-FAT DIET (43A: Healthful food regimen, traditionally)
• LOU FERRIGNO (56A: He played the Hulk on 1970s-'80s TV)

Word of the Day: NAOMI (42A: Ruth's mother-in-law) —

Naomi (נָעֳמִי "Pleasant; agreeable; my sweet", Standard Hebrew Noʻomi, Tiberian Hebrew nåʿå̆mī) is Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth. Later, she called herself Mara, or "bitter" (Ruth 1:20-21), she said to the women on Bethlehem, "Do not call me Naomi call me Mara (מרה), for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me," referring to the death of her husband (Elimelech) and her two sons (Mahlon and Chilion). In Ruth 1:13, she had said to her two daughters-in-law "it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me," (ESV), but the NIV translates this as "It is more bitter for me than for you..." which indicates that Naomi is indeed bitter. Barry Webb points out that there is both an objective element in her life being bitter (bereavement, dislocation and poverty), as well as a subjective element - the bitterness she feels. (wikipedia)

• • •

I'm all for vowel (sound) progression puzzles early in the week, but the bar seems pretty low on this one. You could make and remake and remake this puzzle, with this theme, infinitely. And it's not as if the answers themselves are stunning—though LIE DOWN ON THE JOB and LOU FERRIGNO are quite decent. It's a very smooth, competently made puzzle, but a bit drab and unambitious as well. Also, remarkably easy, even for a Monday. I torched it in 2:36.


Today (Sunday) was Women's Equality Day (the anniversary of the 19th Amendment) and my local brewpub, Water Street Brewing Co., celebrated by giving away free desserts ... to everyone. Not just women. Everyone. Equality! The very fact that a brewpub decided to recognize Women's Equality Day at all impressed me, and then the fact that they took it beyond another excuse for Ladies' Night and actually practiced Equality by giving dessert away to everyone really sealed the deal. So I'm blogging now with my belly full of a pint of Dark English Mild, some surprisingly delicious veggie sausage and peppers, french fries, a third of a fresh-baked pretzel, and Equality Brownie (TM). Good times. How does this relate to crosswords? Uh ... OAST, probably, right? (26D: Hops kiln). Oh, yesterday I forgot to wish Will Shortz happy 60th birthday (I did on Facebook, just not here). So—happy birthday, sir.

Not sure what "traditionally" means in the clue for LOW-FAT DIET (43A: Healthy food regimen, traditionally). I don't think of said diets being "traditional" in any real sense of the word. Also, the word appears to be an equivocation, as if the healthfulness of LOW-FAT DIETs had somehow been debunked. I know there are differing views on the relative healthfulness of the various fats, but I have a hard time imagining the general idea of a LOW-FAT DIET being controversial, health-wise. Maybe it's a matter of degree. At any rate, "traditionally" struck me as weird (as you've probably gathered by now). My normal diet is pretty low-fat, though my diet this evening Clearly was not.

Bullets:

• 44D: Spotted wildcat (OCELOT) — I was just thinking earlier today that OCELOT should be the next step in the Mac operating system cat progression.
• 21A: "Make ___" (Picard's command on "Star Trek: T.N.G.") ("IT SO") — partials are never good, but as partial clues go, this one is aces.
• 20A: Golfer's gouge (DIVOT) — I don't usually mind alliteration, but "gouge" is a truly awful word. This clue sounds like a disease. "Poor Bill—did you hear he got golfer's gouge?"
• 25A: Frilly place mats (DOILIES) — I always thought these were smaller; specifically, I associate them with a kind of coaster equivalent used in various chain coffee shops / diners I went to as a kid. Cocoa's ... do they still have Cocoa's ... ? Maybe it was just a '70s/'80s Fresno thing. Nope—they're national, and spelled Coco's.
• 49A: Name that comes from Old Norse for "young man" (SVEN) — cool trivia. Livens things up a bit. Puzzle could've used a little more livening like this. 
• 4D: Fan of Jerry Garcia's band (DEADHEAD) — seen it before, but still like it. I also know this as a word from gardening—a verb meaning "to remove the spent flowers of a flowering plant."

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld