"The Jeffersons" or "The Simpsons," notably / SAT 4-18-26 / Team with the mascot Big Al, familiarly / Blitzed / Still waffling / "Hey, no backing out now!" / Texter's affectionate sign-off / It's not fit for human consumption

Constructor: Jesse Cohn

Relative difficulty: Easy/Medium



THEME: None

Word of the Day: HASSOCKS (27D: Relatives of ottomans) —

An ottoman is a piece of furniture.^[1] Generally, ottomans have neither backs nor arms. They may be an upholstered low couch or a smaller cushioned seat used as a table, stool or footstool. The seat may have hinges and a lid for the inside hollow, which can be used for storing linen, magazines, or other items, making it a form of storage furniture.^[2][3] The smaller version is usually placed near to an armchair or sofa as part of living room decor, or may be used as a fireside seat.^[4]

Ottoman footstools are often sold as coordinating furniture with armchairs, sofas, or gliders. Other names for this piece of furniture include footstool,^[5] hassock,^[6] and pouf[fe].^[7][8]

• • •

Hi friends -- Rafa here as your Rexplacement! Hope you enjoyed Eli yesterday, but today you're stuck with me. (*shameless plug alert* I also hope you enjoyed my DOWN TO A T puzzle earlier this week. It was so much work to make, and it was lovely to see it out in the world *end shameless plug alert*)

Anyways, it's the weekend, the weather is nice (where I live, at least!), and there are no themes in sight -- life is good! This was the kind of puzzle that I didn't love at the start, but grew on me so so so much during the solve and I was totally obsessed by the end. To be fair, the first two entries I put in were ATONERS and ARLES, which are arguably the weakest entries in the whole grid. So it really was all uphill from there. And wow, did we go uphill. CROCODILE TEARS and ROOKIE MISTAKE make an incredible stack, and there's so much delightful stuff woven in: POISON DART, FRIED EGG, WE HAD A DEAL, HANG TIGHT, BAREFOOT, SAFEWORD, I'M FOR IT, PET FOOD etc. etc. It felt like I was uncovering goodies everywhere I looked.

It's ELSA!

Looking for something to nitpick ... but struggling to find anything to mention other than the two entries I talked about. (Okay, maybe I also don't love GEOS) I was very into the fresh angles for some stale pieces of fill. ORR as the Catch-22 character was particularly delightful, as I just read that relatively recently. I was always always always prefer a literature reference over a sports reference!!! ROI as return on investment was also great, but maybe I'm biased by living in Silicon Valley and being around people who use that term in conversation all the time. Oh, also, I realize I am very pro airport code as fill. DFW! Good! More airport codes please! Why do we only see LGA and ORD? Let's branch out!

It's a FRIED EGG!

Let's talk about clues. Some clever clues here. [Cutting stuff] for satire felt very satisfying to figure out. I love clues where words change part of speech. (In this case the default interpretation is "cutting" as a verb, but the clue is actually using it as an adjective.) [Cause of amusement to a vet, maybe] was also cool because the correct "vet" interpretation was the third one that came to my mind (first army veteran, then veterinarian, and only then person with experience).

It's a RAMROD

So, yeah, I really liked this. Just super solid stuff all-around, and fun vibes oozing out the grid. Could maybe have used a handful more clever clues, and this would have really been elevated. Oh, it also felt a tad too easy for a Saturday. I'd have appreciated a bit more resistance. Hope to be back soon!

Bullets:

• 18A MOD [New outfit or accessory for a character, in video game lingo] — I've been obsessively playing the beta version of Slay the Spire 2. Anyone else? Always fun to see video game lingo in a puzzle.
• 18D MALTESE [Silky-haired toy] — Took me a while to realize this meant a toy dog, and not a toy for kids to play with
• 38A MATS [Routine surfaces] — This is about gymnastics routines
• 8D BAREFOOT [How people get into a swimming pool, typically] — Such a weirdly specific clue for this ... it kinda made me giggle

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Set of notes in a seventh chord / FRI 4-17-26 / First Super Bowl won by the Kansas City Chiefs in 50 years / Medicare subsection covering ambulance services / 50, on a table / Modern home of ancient Mesopotamia / 2008 Clint Eastwood film centered around an attempted car theft

Constructor: Rachel Fabi

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: Not on a Friday! TGIF!

Word of the Day: I WANT CANDY (11D: 2000 song for Aaron Carter about seeing someone "tough but sweet") —

Aaron Carter released a cover of "I Want Candy" as his seventh overall single, and the second single from his second album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It) (2000).

This version of "I Want Candy" begins with a phone conversation with a friend about a girl named Candy and features the participation of his brother Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. Carter promoted it by performing it on the show Lizzie McGuire. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Andrew MacNaughtan. Carter released a remix of the song in 2018, self-produced on his LøVë album.

(I know the original Strangeloves version of this song, and I know Aaron Carter from that time he beat Shaq, but this cover was new to me)

• • •

Hey Puzzle People! In case you couldn't tell by the fact that I talked about knowing an Aaron Carter song, it's a Rexplacement day, and you've got Eli blogging your puzzle. And what a delight to get today's puzzle! To be fair, I love Rachel Fabi. She's not just one of my favorite constructors, she's also just awesome. She actually sent me the dry yeast that became my sourdough starter at (or just before) the start of the pandemic. That starter is still living and fermenting like crazy! Anyway, sorry if I'm a little biased. Let's get to it!

17D: BRINGER: "Mars, the ____ of War" (first movement of "The Planets")

I played tuba through high school, so I have a real affinity for Holst's "The Planets" (especially Mars), but that video is still the first thing that pops into my nerd brain when I hear it.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE (6D: "Bad new aside...") I truly enjoyed this puzzle, even if it didn't put up much of a fight. A lot of long fill, natural language, fun trivia, and I still finished well under 4 minutes. I don't think I rolled my eyes once. It was sharp, clean, and modern while staying mostly accessible with very few proper nouns. Even looking back over the grid, I'm not seeing much to criticize (outside of the difficulty). 7 down answers longer than 9 letters (plus a grid spanning Across) and not feeling any strain? That's impressive. LORD IT OVER (28D: Act superior to) and TAKES A HINT (10D: Gets the memo) both stand out.

I don't think Rex has been doing the "Days Without A Star Wars Reference" bit for a little while, but if he was, he'd have to break the sign. We have both HAN (35A: Solo pilot?) and YODA (52D: Weird Al Yankovic Parody of the Kinks's "Lola") in the grid today. But I'm going to consider Yoda to be a Weird Al reference because I will always take the time for Weird Al.

Weird Al is currently fighting Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel (with Ben Folds Five and Marvelous 3 just behind) for "artist I've seen the most times live." If you've never seen his "Yoda Chant" do yourself a favor and check it out:

I love seeing DEAD ASS (34D: Seriously, in modern slang) and LAUDANUM (38D: Opium product used by Anna Karenina and Victor Frankenstein) right next to each other made me giggle. SQUARE UP (20A: Settle a bill) also stood out for me, though I couldn't say why. I also really loved both the answer and clue for GET USED TO IT (5D: End of a gay pride slogan) even if "We don't want anymore bears" didn't fit like I wanted it to:

Simpsons reference achieved!

Trying to find something to nitpick.... I guess ECRU (3D: Natural shade) and PDAS (32D: BlackBerrys, e.g., for short) are a little tired, but that's pretty forgivable. So, yeah, I had a blast solving today, and these days, I'll take any enjoyment I can get. Thank you, Rachel, for sending me into the weekend in a great mood!

Stray Thoughts:

• 13A: Sea Creature known to mourn its dead (ORCA) — Very fun piece of trivia, but for me, there is only one Orca:

Jaws forever!

• 36A: Worst of all imaginable chronologies (DARKEST TIMELINE) — For a show that was constantly struggling to avoid cancellation, Community sure did have a big impact on the pop culture lexicon. And deservedly so! #sixseasonsandamovie

• 22A: Georgia hometown of R.E.M. and the B-52s (ATHENS) — I've spent some time in Athens, GA and it's a very cool town. In addition to the icons noted in the clue (and the University of Georgia), it is also home to Creature Comforts brewing (I have a t-shirt repping their Tropicalia IPA). But really I'm only highlighting this as an excuse to post some R.E.M. 

Are you talking REM, RE: Me?

****MORNING EDIT****

Hi again! I can't believe I forgot to mention that constructor Rachel Fabi is also one of the creators/editors/guiding voices behind These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a series of puzzle packs created around the belief that everyone should have access to safe and affordable abortion care. TPFA6 just launched and is available HERE. For $25 recommended donation, you get access to a fantastic pack of puzzles created by some of the best in the business. It's always one of my favorite projects of the year. In fact, I'm going to go make my donation right now! 

****END OF EDIT****

Ok, I think that's all I've got for today. I went heavier on the videos than I'd anticipated. Rafa will be joining you tomorrow, so have fun and have a great weekend!

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

[Follow Eli Selzer on BlueSky]
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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❤️ Support this blog ❤️: 

• Venmo (@MichaelDavidSharp)]

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✏️ Upcoming Crossword Tournaments ✏️

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