Odysseus savior / WED 4-4-12 / Irish equivalent of Edward / Furbys yo-yos once / Romance/thriller novelist Hoag / 1982 sci-fi film with 2010 sequel

Constructor: Zoe Wheeler

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: Z sounds — phrases with "Z" sounds in them have "Z"-containing words changed to homophones, creating wacky phrases, which are clued "?"-style

Word of the Day: John BONHAM (11D: John of Led Zeppelin) —

John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music by many drummers, other musicians, and commentators in the industry. Over 30 years after his death, Bonham continues to garner awards and praise, including a Rolling Stone readers' pick in 2011 placing him in first place of the magazine's "best drummers of all time". (wikipedia)

• • •

Couldn't find the handle on this one at all. Just floundered. Everywhere. [Frankenstein's monster had one on his forehead]? BOLT? No? Uh, OK, then ... I don't know. [Lumps] are BLOBS? No ... uh ... [Irish equivalent of Edward]? $^%& if I know. EAMONN? With two Ns? Alrighty. Flashing sign in a TV studio is ON AIR ... oh, guess not. So ... no idea. Many crosses later ... still no idea. Furbys and yo-yos were ... FADS ... or ... don't know. [Crop circle, some believe] is a SIGN? Of? ... pfft, don't know. Baseball Hall-of-Famer who ... damn it, that info is not revealing At All. Three letters, so probably OTT, but: not helpful. Moving on. BLUSH is a "bit" of makeup? "Bit???" That makes no sense. "Que sera sera" means "whatever will be will be," but ... not here. [Quick smells] are SNIFFS, right? Yes, yes, yes, yes ... no? Ugh. OK, [Less than social sorts]. Gotta be NERDS. No? GEEKS? Dang. I mean, the whole puzzle was like this. Theme was pretty loose (not in a bad way, just ... no vowel progression, no respelling consistency, etc.), so I didn't really get it for a while.

Only two real complaints about this puzzle. First, STAR. It's in here twice. And in intersecting answers, for *$&%'s sake. That's a Back-to-the-Drawing-Board problem. Stop. Refill the grid. Set standards to "Higher"! Second ... well, here, it's complicated. The most daring (yay) theme answer is also the one that makes me cringe a tiny bit. Not a big fan of "gays" as a noun. "He's a GAY!" Yuck. I have heard gay-friendly folks use it that way, but usually only ironically, i.e. semi-making fun of the way gay-uncomfortable or gay-unfriendly people talk. "He's a black." No. No. "The blacks are riled up about Trayvon." Yes, someone might say that, but not someone who likes "blacks" too much. So STAR GAYS, while undoubtedly well meaning and undeniably clever, just missed the mark with me, sensibility-wise. Also, by far the hardest theme answer to get. I couldn't accept it—mostly because of the STAR repeat, though, to be honest. That's certainly the worse offense. Also ... I mean really, is Ricky Martin a "STAR" any more?



That "A" in GAYS was the last letter I got (WIZARDRY! ... dear lord, that was hard) (39D: Spelling, e.g.?).

Theme answers:

• 18A: Acts the heckler at the Westminster dog show? (BOOS HOUNDS)
• 24A: Cheeses manufactured in the Mediterranean? (SEA BRIES)
• 37A: Entourages for Odysseus's faithful wife? (PENELOPE CREWS) — he only had one wife. You don't really need "faithful" here (though, yes, she is a paragon of fidelity)
• 53A: Ricky Martin and Neil Patrick Harris? (STAR GAYS)
• 59A: Expressions of regret from apartment building managers? (SUPER SIGHS)

Bullets:

• 65A: Romance/thriller novelist Hoag (TAMI) — useful to know for both her first and her last names. 
• 6D: Odysseus' savior (INO) — always forget her name. INU. Shiba INU? I think that's a dog.
• 68A: 1982 sci-fi film with a 2010 sequel ("TRON") — you can stop at "film." Got it. Nerdy old-skool props for getting "TRON" and "STAR WARS" into the same grid (though, again, "STAR Wars" probably shouldn't be here at all).

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld