Result of a tense build-up? / FRI 9-4-26 / Use a fork for, in a way / Be exceptionally good, in modern slang / Super, slangily / Ludwig ___, post-W.W. II leader who led West Germany's economic recovery / Mars rover named in honor of a 19th-century activist / ger dubbed the "Matriarch of the Blues" / Like someone using autoreply, perhaps

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Constructor: Julian Xiao

Relative difficulty: Challenging (more like a Saturday for me)

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: Ludwig ERHARD (26A: Ludwig ___, post-W.W. II leader who led West Germany's economic recovery) —

Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (German: [ˈluːtvɪç ˈʔeːɐ̯haʁt]; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist who served as the second chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. Affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU),^[b] he is known for leading the West German postwar economic reforms and economic recovery (Wirtschaftswunder, German for "economic miracle") in his role as Minister of Economic Affairs under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer from 1949 to 1963. During that period, he promoted the concept of the social market economy (soziale Marktwirtschaft), on which Germany's economic policy in the 21st century continues to be based.

In his tenure as Chancellor, however, Erhard lacked support from Adenauer, who remained chairman of the CDU party until 1966. Erhard failed to win the German public's confidence in his handling of a budget deficit and lacked public support for his direction of foreign policy. His popularity waned, and he resigned his chancellorship on 30 November 1966. (wikipedia)

• • •

It's certainly true that if SLINKY DOG were a known quantity for me (46A: Longtime Pixar character who says "I might be old, but I still got a spring in my step!"), this puzzle would've been somewhat easier, and yet even if I'd remembered a specific character from the one Toy Story movie I'd seen, I think this still would've played harder than usual, certainly harder than recent Fridays, which have gotten more and more simple over time. I don't mind the difficulty, but this had none of the sparkle and originality that I expect from a Friday. There are only a couple longer answers that seem at all original, and while much of the grid is solid, not many of the answers feel marquee-worthy. Fridays are supposed to zing and sing with freshness, and most of what you get here is merely solid. So the puzzle was hard without being bright or fun. 

[the only "Ludwig" in my life]

I guess the clues were trying to make up for the relative lacklusterness of the grid, which may in fact be why the puzzle played hard for me. That clue on JENGA TOWER is a good example (1A: Result of a tense build-up?). Actually, JENGA TOWER is the other answer besides SLINKY DOG that I'd put in the "Good Friday Answer" category today! But as with SLINKY DOG, I was baffled, in this case by the clue. Also, I've literally never played Jenga. I am familiar with the concept, though. But that answer eluded me longer than almost anything in the NW, in large part because its "J" cross (JINGLES) was also clued in a very deceptive way (1D: Change sounds). GUINEA got a "Leone" clue, I guess because of an attempted homophone thing (?) with the preceding clue (3D: Actress Lyonne) (her, I know). I could, and will, go on and on about the stuff I didn't know / struggled with, but the upshot is this felt like a Saturday puzzle to me. Might've liked it a bit more there, but I still think the fill, overall, just didn't have enough juice. INAUGURATE, NATIONAL TV, SPEEDSTER, PRESIDENTS, ATARI GAMES ... these all work fine, but "work" is the operative word. It's all very workmanlike.

TMAN or GMAN? (19A: Fed). Who knows? ERHARD? LOLOLOL who? No idea. Died before I was born, I know very little about "West Germany's economic recovery." Really balked at the second "R" in ERHARD because "No country starts 'SR-!'" I hilariously and fatally thought to myself as I read the clue 23D: First country to elect a female prime minister (1960) (SRI LANKA)—another answer that killed me. ELLY Mai before ELLA Mai (I keep doing that!) (Elly May is from Beverly Hillbillies!). The SW corner, everything ERHARD and below, was the real oof place for me today. ERHARD and SRI LANKA, we've covered. DRAGGY? (27D: Sluggish). Forget it. I had nothing and then at some point I had GROGGY (?). I nailed SLAP off the "P" but kept doubting it because I couldn't get any crosses at first (33A: Be exceptionally good, in modern slang). Then there was the SLINKY part of SLINKY DOG—that really wrecked me. I thought "well, weiner dog ... no? ... he had a name? pffffffff, Ok." Really thought POTTAGE had only a single "T" but at least knew what that was (35A: What Esau got in exchange for selling his birthright to Jacob). Never ever thought of a PUSH TOY as a toddler's "walking aid" (which makes it sound like the toddler is disabled, somehow). Wasn't sure what was meant by "autoreply" at 36D: Like someone using autoreply, perhaps (ON LEAVE). Sounded like a texting term, but of course automatic "out of office" replies are reasonably common in professional settings. I refuse to accept HECKA, what the hell(a)? (49A: Super, slangily). Is that like HELLA? Just say HELLA? Or "super," for that matter. And then ... oh, I think I had 56A: In the past (OVER) as ONCE at first. Again, the clue appears to be doing a bit there, echoing an earlier clue (5D: In the past), which is a much harder clue for OVER than it is for AGO. So ... yeah, things were mildly tough all over but, for me, majorly tough in that SW corner. 

Bullets:

• 21A: Buff (SWOLE) — again, the clue is rough. Roughly vague. So many meanings of "buff." I was thinking "polish," or "nerd / expert." But no. Still, even if I had thought of the gym-bod meaning of "buff," SWOLE might not have been top-of-the-brain.
• 24A: Mars rover named in honor of a 19th-century activist (SOJOURNER) — if I knew that rover was named after SOJOURNER Truth, I forgot. Still, this one was relatively easy to get, thanks to ETTA JAMES and her jaunty "J" (9D: Singer dubbed the "Matriarch of the Blues"). Side note: surprised that ETTA is considered "Matriarch of the Blues" when Big Mama Thornton exists (or Ma Rainey or Bessie Smith for that matter) (looks like Ma Rainey is called "Mother of the Blues," so that's something). Sorry, don't want to get too sidetracked, here's Big Mama: 

• 50A: Curve on a score (SLUR) — a gimme for me, but tough maybe for those who aren't familiar with musical notation.
• 12D: Stellar visual effects (CORONAE) — so "Stellar" as in "relating to an actual star, like the ones in the sky." The corona is the "outer layer of a star's atmosphere" (wikipedia), sometimes visible as a kind of halo.
• 54A: Asteroids and Space Invaders (ATARI GAMES)—yes, I put in VIDEO GAMES, of course I put in VIDEO GAMES. That's what they are, and that's a real phrase. ATARI GAMES is about as good as SEGA GAMES (i.e. not good).
• 37D: Start to congeal (THICKEN) — got this off the "N" and thank god because as you can see, above, I needed help in that SW corner something awful.
• 6D: Use a fork for, in a way (TUNE) — big miss here for me, as I put in LIFT.

That's all for today. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. I have an EALA update. Yesterday I mentioned that with every match win, tennis player Alex EALA is inching closer to your crossword grid. Yesterday, she advanced to the third round at the U.S. Open, defeating Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4. 

 

P.P.S. Comments section non-function is a Blogger-wide problem and will be resolved … sometime!

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Slangy "mouth" / THU 9-3-26 / Many a "Bridgerton" lady / One might feature rivers and bluffs / Its motto is "Industry" / Luxuriates outdoors, in a way / Cause of a squeaky voice, maybe / Islamic "commander" / What choreologists study

Constructor: Zhou Zhang

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium to Medium

THEME: donut holes— I made up the "donut" part because "O"s are shaped like "donuts" but in this puzzle, on five occasions, they represent the word "hole"; these "holes" appear literally (in the grid, in the crossing answers) in the places you might find them irl: 

Theme answers:

• PIE [HOLE] / N[O]GGIN (2D: Slangy "mouth" found in a 20-Across) / 20A: Noodle)
• CUBBY [HOLE] / [HOLE] PUNCH / CLASSR[O]OM (11D: Place for storing belongings in a 32-Across / 33D: Tool found in a 32-Across / 32A: School unit)
• [HOLE] CARDS / P[O]KER GAME (50D: Pocket rockets, e.g., found in a 49-Across / 49A: One might feature rivers and bluffs)
• MAN[HOLE] / R[O]AD (61D: Underground entrance found in a 73-Across / 73A: It might be paved with good intentions)

Word of the Day: Polyhymnia (53D: Polyhymnia or Clio = MUSE) —

Polyhymnia (/pɒliˈhɪmniə/; Greek: Πολυύμνια, lit. 'the one of many hymns'), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime. [...] Polyhymnia is depicted as serious, pensive and meditative, and often holding a finger to her mouth, dressed in a long cloak and veil and resting her elbow on a pillar. Polyhymnia is also sometimes credited as being the Muse of geometry and meditation. [...] As one of the Muses, Polyhymnia is the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne. She was also described as the mother of Triptolemus by Cheimarrhoos, son of Ares, and of the musician Orpheus by Oeagrus. (wikipedia)

• • •

I admire this theme, though I will say I found it a bit FUSSY to solve. Something about the theme density and all the cross-referencing, plus the preponderance of short answers, made the solve feel more like work than fun. For the first half of the solve, I didn't really grasp the meaning of all the cross-referencing (i.e. I didn't get that the "holes" were actually found in very specific and appropriate places. I thought it was just a "O" / "hole" rebus with no particular point, or with a point that would be made clear by a revealer. So I was just ignoring the cross-reference part of the "hole"-answer clues because ... I didn't seem to need it. I got PIE[HOLE], so I didn't feel the need to go looking to see where the PIE[HOLE] was "found." When I'm solving, I don't like to jump around in the grid if I don't have to, so cross-references are things I only follow if I absolutely have to for solving purposes. Sometimes they're actually helpful, but mostly they're a FUSSY nuisance, so if I can get the answer without having to hunt down a cross-reference, that's what I do, and then I just keep going. Once I saw that the "holes" were placed with purpose, I appreciated this theme a lot more. I also like (and I only just noticed this) that both the "O"s in CLASSROOM get turned into "holes." Still not over the idea of a CLASSROOM as a [School unit] ... though I guess, technically, that is what it is. You'd never call it that, but ... OK. Not my favorite clue, but again, love the double-"hole" thing.

I laughed (appropriately?) at HYENA CUB because it seemed so weirdly made-up and desperate. I mean, HYENA CUBs exist, but the idea that you would just go through your wordlist and add "CUB" to the ends of any animals that have CUBs seems absurd. The answer is somehow both original and ridiculous, which is good today, because the grid really needed some pepping up. The theme answers themselves are not very showy, and as I said, most of the rest of the grid is an assemblage of boring-ISH 3-4-5s. CAME DUE, PET NAME, DEBUNK and ENERGIZE all energize the grid a little. With the exception of some crosswordese here and there, the grid holds up pretty well, but never really shines. "AW HELL" is one of those annoying combo answers, [two-letter exclamation] + [mild oath or other expression of some kind], so even though it's kinda sassy and colloquial, I didn't love it. I had "AW HECK" since "HECK" seemed to go better with "AW" (AW GEE, AW SHUCKS, AW ... HELL? I guess). You could put "OH" in there and it's basically the same. This is like a longer version of the whole "OK" genre (e.g. "UH, OK," "UM, OK," "OH, OK" ... "ER, OK" someday, probably, etc.). Funny that HECK did eventually show up, though. Speaking of HECK, that SW corner was (outside the theme) the hardest part of the puzzle for me. The clues on UTAH (56A: Its motto is "Industry"), PATINA (49D: Surface of a well-used wok), HECK (57D: "Tarnation!"), END CUT (!?) (68A: Steak option), and NUM (extreme frowny face) (65D: ___ Lock (PC key)), all made me wonder if I didn't have an error down there somewhere. Oddly, I got the theme answer [HOLE] CARDS easy down there—the surrounding fill, not so much.

Oh, and I finished with an error. Stupid error, really, one I caught relatively quickly when I went back over the puzzle: I had written in HEIRESS for PEERESS (8D: Many a "Bridgerton" lady) and apparently didn't check the crosses thoroughly. No, wait: I remember looking at INABLE and thinking "that is not how you spell that ... oh, well, maybe it's some variation ... like ENSURE/INSURE ..." This means that I didn't check on HITCH, which makes no sense as the answer for 8A: Sales spiel (PITCH). Always check your crosses (he said, primarily to himself)! Surely some of those Bridgerton ladies are HEIRESSes, right? I tried to watch that show once and it didn't take. See also SEINFELD (jk, I've seen some Seinfeld, but like poker, it just wasn't ever really my thing) (though JLD is an idol to me for her post-Seinfeld work, specifically Veep). 

Bullets:

• 13A: She can speak more than 20 languages (SIRI) — stop personifying these stupid machines. They got you all used to thinking of bots as people with SIRI, but she was just laying the groundwork for the A.I. invasion. Put "She" in quotes. Not a human, not a she. I have owned an iPhone for something like 14 years but I have never once talked to that *****. I know my phone's spying on me regardless, but I'm not going to help it. 
• 59A: Luxuriates outdoors, in a way (GLAMPS) — glamorous camping = glamping. Camping for people who hate camping but vaguely like fresh air I guess. I've never done it.
• 73A: It might be paved with good intentions (ROAD) — minor complaint, but I don't like this clue here first because it's the "ROAD to hell" that's paved with good intentions, and second because this is a theme answer, which means the "O" in ROAD is a MAN[hole], and there are no MAN[hole]s on this explicitly metaphorical ROAD.

• 12D: Cause of a squeaky voice, maybe (HELIUM) — loved this one. Reminded me of being like 12 and blowing up balloons with my sister and stepsister for some party my parents were having, We were definitely sucked down some HELIUM and made our voices squeak, but I think my stepsister passed out at one point, so I really can't recommend this practice, despite the fun memories.
• 47D: 2, 4, 6 and 8, e.g. (AGES) — uh ... sure. I mean, you can't argue with that. People are those AGES. 
• 72A: Letters found near some bars (LTE) — the bars on your cellphone telling you how strong your signal is. 

I watched some US Open tennis last night just for fun. I used to play and be a fan, but that all fell away sometime around the turn of the century. Thinking of starting to follow tennis again and figured the US Open would be a good place to start. I quickly learned two things of crossword interest. First, the two-time defending US Open champion and #1 women's player in the world (for nearly two years straight now) is named ARYNA Sabalenka. I can see why SABALENKA hasn't appeared in a crossword yet, but ARYNA!?!? I do believe that Sabalenka is successful enough at this point for her first name to finally make a grid appearance. Stunned it hasn't yet. Also, there is apparently a young Filipino tennis phenom named Alexandra EALA who is *tremendously* popular despite not having won any major tournaments yet: "On August 24, 2026, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18, the highest ever for a Filipino and Southeast Asian in WTA Tour history. She is the first Filipino to break into the top 20, defeat top-10 opponents, reach the fourth round of a major, reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event, and win a WTA Tour title, clinching her breakthrough at the 2026 Washington Open" (wikipedia). She is a national hero in her native country, and apparently beloved by tennis fans worldwide. If her name ever gets loose in the grid, which seems likely, esp. if she ever wins a major, then look out. The age of EALA will be upon us.

[ARYNA (5) Sabalenka]

[Alexandra EALA (4)]

That's all. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. someone pointed out in the Comments that the theme “O”s are the only “O”s on the whole grid, which is an elegant touch from a thematic standpoint, although it’s probably the reason the fill is a bit tepid overall. Hard to fill a grid well when you deprive yourself of a common vowel.

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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