Soft, warm, tingly feeling, in brief / MON 6-15-26 / Certain group of hip-hop performers / Cash crop of northern Brazil / Response to a series of complaints / Device that helps you make a point in class? / Revolutionary kitchen gadget? / Toy likely to be found at a pop-up store?

Constructor: Eric Rolfing

Relative difficulty: Medium (solved Downs-only)

THEME: "SOMEBODY'S CRANKY" (59A: Response to a series of complaints ... that also jokingly applies to 17-, 27- and 47-Across) — things that you crank:

Theme answers:

• PENCIL SHARPENER (17A: Device that helps you make a point in class?)
• JACK-IN-THE-BOX (27A: Toy likely to be found at a pop-up store?)
• SALAD SPINNER (47A: Revolutionary kitchen gadget?)

Word of the Day: ASMR (55D: Soft, warm, tingly feeling, in brief) —

 

An autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a tingling sensation and pleasant form of paresthesia, that usually begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. ASMR has been compared with synesthesia and may overlap with frisson. ASMR is a subjective experience of "low-grade euphoria" characterized by "a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin". It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory and visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control. 

The term can also refer to media (usually audiovisual) meant to evoke this phenomenon, with the sensation itself being informally referred to as "tingles". (wikipedia)

• • •

If you say "SOMEBODY'S CRANKY" to someone, you deserve to get smacked (I'm very anti-violence, so no smacking, but it is what you deserve). You can say it about a fussy baby, maybe, but only if the baby is truly a baby and can't understand you, because otherwise it's a condescending thing to say, even to a child. It's worse because it's something you presumably say to another person, as if the person you're complaining about is not there. Grow up, be direct, tell the person to stop complaining or whatever, but please shove your faux-cutesy passive-aggressive "SOMEBODY'S CRANKY." As for the pun of it all, I guess it's OK. You do "crank" the items in question, although the salad spinner we use (OXO?) works by a button-depression mechanism; you sorta press up and down repeatedly on this large button on top of the spinner and it ... well, spins it. No cranking involved. But I think the "normal" mechanism is a crank, so the answer fits the theme just fine. The theme is trying real hard to be jolly, with wacky "?" clues on every theme answer, despite the fact that the wackiness has absolutely nothing to do with the theme. Usually, when all the themers get "?" clues, there's some cohesive reason. Similar wordplay happening in every case, something like that. Today... the "?" clues seem to have been added because frankly everything else is pretty dull. The fill is pretty musty across the board, from old standards like ABET and ACAI (and ICEE and EON and ADO and OKRA and NYET and EDAM and ALOHA and LAILA and ANA and ELOPE) to a circus troupe's worth of abbrevs. (ASMR ADHD TMI AKA LSAT RTE ASSN). There are five 7+-letter non-theme answers, and they're fine, though MAIN MENUS feels like a waste of space. There just wasn't much spark here. The revealer pun is decent, but the puzzle doesn't have much else to recommend it.

The Downs-only solve was a bear for me today, or a partial bear, I guess, but only because I made stupid mistakes and assumptions. The mistake was LAP CAT for PET CAT (something about the "pet" even now seems oddly redundant, though I recognize that PET CAT is a real phrase) (49D: Companion that might fall asleep on your keyboard). Something about the "keyboard" bit made me think that the cat had been on your lap and then ... crawled up on your computer? I don't know. Maybe I envisioned this because I'm currently sitting at a desk in front of a computer ... though my cats are nowhere to be seen right now (although Ida is wandering around crying for some reason, or no reason). LAP CAT was a horrible mistake to make because both the "A" and the "P" from LAP checked out (giving me ADAM and GAPE, respectively, instead of the ultimately correct EDAM and GATE). Because the "A" and "P" checked out, I didn't doubt the "L" ... and somehow convinced myself that a SALAD SLINGER was a thing. This put a "G" right in the middle of the one Down answer I was really having trouble with: 34D: Navigational aids for website users (MAIN MENUS). I figured out the MENUS bit eventually, but the incorrect "G" had me guessing BLOG MENUS at one point, and then when that didn't work ... I was stuck. Somehow, I don't know how—possibly by just taking the "G" out—I was able to conjure up MAIN. Then realized SLINNER wasn't a word. Then noticed it should be SPINNER. And PET CAT. Sigh. Dug a hole, stayed in it a while, climbed out. I had some trouble earlier with DANCE CREW (3D: Certain group of hip-hop performers), but that just took some persistence with the crosses. Never got well and truly stuck. Oh, I did have some trouble with SPLEEN (5D: White blood cell producer said to be shaped like a coffee bean). Turns out I had no idea what the SPLEEN did! "White blood cell producer," you say? "Shaped like a coffee bean," it's said? News to me, and also news to me.

Bullets:

• 45A: Former boxer Ali who voiced herself in a "Scooby Doo" series (LAILA) — everything after "Ali" in this clue feels unnecessary. Is this how people know LAILA Ali? Is this a definitive accomplishment? Also, how many "Scooby Doo" series are there??? If you aren't willing to be specific, then why are you adding this useless bit of trivia at all?
• 52A: Semihard cheese of North Holland (EDAM) — speaking of Holland, that NED-JAP World Cup match was great. Netherlands tried semihard to win, but Japan scored an amazing equalizer late to tie 'em (I really wanted to say "b-EDAM," but Japan didn't win so I couldn't, alas).

• 10D: False reason given for doing something (PRETEXT) — what's the difference between "pretense" and PRETEXT? It looks like, in this case, they're basically synonyms ("Pretense" def. 2: "A professed but feigned reason or excuse; a pretext.")

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

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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End of a redundant legal doublet / SUN 6-14-26 / Fireball-throwing demons from Doom / Female-friendly fandom event / Asian rice porridge / Tom ___, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" satirist / Viola score symbol / Fast food chain whose name has two hyphens / Sam who putted croquet style until the U.S.G.A. banned it / 2023 Nobel-winning physicist L'Huillier / What a modest play has in common withe the answer to each italicized clue? / Jam band with a Ben & Jerry's flavor / Appropriately misspelled genre for Korn and Limp Bizkit

Constructor: John Kugelman

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Limited Runs" — nonsense phrases made out of a "limited" number of letters, or, put another way, a SMALL CAST OF CHARACTERS (actually, a very specific number of characters: four) (110A: What a modest play has in common with the answer to each italicized clue?)

Theme answers:

• SOPH POOH-POOHS POSH SHOP (22A: 10th grader critiques swanky boutique?)
• REEVES REVERES SERVERS (34A: Why Keanu is such a generous tipper?)
• MAMA CASS SCAMS CMAS (52A: 1960s singer swindles Nashville awards?)
• NESSIE SEEN IN SEINE (77A: Scottish cryptid spotted by the French?)
• DERRIERE RIDER DERIDED (94A: Harsh taskmaster taken to task?)

Word of the Day: UNALIVED (57A: Online euphemism for "killed" used to avoid demonetization) —

Unalive is a euphemistic way to say “kill” or “die.” [...] Use of unalive to mean “kill” or “die” arose on video-focused social media platforms (such as TikTok) by content creators and commenters to avoid having their videos or comments flagged/removed for violent or inappropriate content. [...] Unalive is an example of euphemism, the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. It often used to enable discussion of sensitive or serious topics (such as suicide) on social media without risking content removal or punitive consequences from social media moderators or algorithms. Unalive is used as a verb, with all of the regular tenses and participles: unalived, unaliving, unalives. Unalived is also used as an adjective meaning dead. (merriam-webster.com)

• • •

[4 characters]
[l'enfer, c'est ce mot-croisé]

About as unpleasant a Sunday experience as I can ever remember having, and that is, as you probably know, saying something. The theme held absolutely no charm for me. What's the opposite of "charm?" That's what it held. If this kind of cutesy is your cup of tea, god bless you, I'm glad you enjoyed this. Someone should. For me, every themer was like pulling teeth, with the result never feeling anywhere remotely near being worth the effort. Was I supposed to laugh (chortle? chuckle?) at "derriere rider" because ... it's a euphemistic way of referring to riding someone's ass? Mission not accomplished. Why were only four letters used for each themer? More importantly, why wasn't "four" part of the revealer? They all use just four letters, but the revealer opts for merely SMALL CAST OF CHARACTERS, which not only doesn't get at the fourness of it all, but also doesn't ring true as a standalone phrase. "Large cast of characters" outgoogles it about 5 to 1, and even that phrase isn't exactly snappy (weirdly, "Wide cast of characters" googles best of all). Do the four letters ... do anything? Anything besides making nonsense? Do they spell anything? What is the point of making me or anyone endure this baloney hunt? I will never understand the appeal of something like this, especially without some secondary element, some bit of thematic hocus pocus to make the theme seem like it has a point or purpose. I almost think MAMA CASS SCAMS CMAS is a funny phrase. That is the nicest thing I can say about this puzzle. Oh, and I genuinely liked "DEEP BREATHS...," primarily because it was exactly the advice I needed at the time.

Somehow the fill managed to be nearly as irksome as the theme, but for completely different reasons. The desperation sweat on this one ... the "look-at-me" chasing after the "original" or the "new" ... it grew wearisome. "HA HA, YEAH" is just a long version of "AH, OK," i.e. a bunch of words one might say trying to pass itself off as a tight and bright colloquial phrase. MADE A TRY basically describes itself, i.e. the answer MADE A TRY at being interesting and failed. The very idea of a GEEK GIRL CON was off-putting, not because geek girls are off-putting (my own kid is at least adjacent to that category), but because the the very idea that such a thing is necessary is kind of horrible (67D: Female-friendly fandom event). Admittedly, nerd cons and geek cons and fandom-type things in general have never held much appeal for me, but the idea that such events are not "female-friendly" just makes me think of sweaty sexist nerds, and on Sunday, or any day, I'd rather not. NASATV???? MEGAOHM??? Oy. I have "please stop" written in the margins of my grid print-out. And also next to UNALIVED, which I hate more for its clue than anything else (57A: Online euphemism for "killed" used to avoid demonitization). "Demonetization???" That's such a weird and highly specific thing to say. I think "banned" or "deplatformed" is much more common. "Demonetization" applies only to those actually making money from social media, which as a percentage of users is hardly anyone. I stared at "demonetization" wondering if I was hallucinating. "Does it say 'demonization?'" Also, what a stupid idea: that using a euphemism is ok but using an ordinary word isn't. I guess when algorithms rule the world, this is what we get. But srsly, have the algorithms not learned the word "UNALIVED" by now? Ugh now I'm thinking about algorithms, which is, again, not something I want to be doing on a Sunday, or ever. 

TWERE EWER ETRE ... there's an appropriate clusterf*ck! A bunch of ugly terms that only use four letters, all wadded together. I don't know what it was about the cluing today, but it felt hardish throughout, which would be ok if the results had at any point been rewarding. TRUE FACT is not rewarding (sidenote: why isn't "redundant" a part of that clue, but it is a part of the DESIST clue!?) (31D: End of a redundant legal doublet) (lol "doublet," again, please stop, no one calls a ___ & ___ phrase a "doublet"). When's the last time anyone put a single "tune" in a CD TRAY (92D: It can carry a tune)? The tray carries the CD. The CD carries the tune(s). This is what I mean about the puzzle trying way, way too hard. OK, the puzzle has EATEN AT (oof) me enough, time to wrap things up.

Bullets:

• 20A: Asian rice porridge (CONGEE) — a fine answer, I just can't believe I forgot it. I also forgot LEHRER (10D: Tom ___, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" satirist). I did, however, remember EGO Nwodim (whom I'd just seen in a different puzzle I did yesterday) (9D: "S.N.L." alum Nwodim). I can see how that little patch up top might give solvers trouble. EGO Nwodim has a podcast called "Thanks Dad" where she talks with other comics and comic actors, somewhat about dad stuff, but mostly just about stuff. I've listened to it a bit, it's pretty enjoyable (and appropriate to the season) (is Father's Day this weekend or next? You can see how much it matters to me lol). 
• 29A: "Hoo mama, that's hot!" ("YOWIE!") — somehow the puzzle shouting "Hoo mama!" is giving me the ick. Also, so disappointed this was merely "YOWIE"! and not the much more appealing "YOWZA!"
  
• 44A: Bad thing to bring to bed, it's said (PHONE) — I guess. Everyone (not you, of course, but everyone else) brings their phone to bed, or at least keeps it by their bedside, even those who don't use it extensively before bed [waves hand]. This clue's kind of dumb. "It's said" is too vague for something this un-ADAGE-y.

• 71A: Actress ___ Lee Nolin of "Baywatch" (GENA) — crossing her with ANNE (63D: 2023 Nobel-winning physicist L'Huillier) made for a slightly scary moment for me, but I sorta remember GENA Lee Nolin (though I probably would've spelled it JENNA), and anyway, the only letter that makes any sense at that cross is the "N." Speaking of "anyway," "ANYHOW..." was yet another letdown, as that answer should've been "ANYHOO..." (121A: "Moving right along ...") or, if not, "ANYWAY."
• 91A: 1998 tech debut (IMAC) — I tried IPOD. I think I was a few years early on that one (yep, three years early).
• 99A: Alien leader? (XENO-) — it's a prefix meaning "alien." I hope at least one other person wrote in XENA here. Was she an alien? I know she was a warrior princess, but I briefly thought that maybe she was from ... somewhere. 
• 114D: Band with the 1980s multi-octave "Take On Me" (A-HA) — again, I have no idea what the clues are on about today. I know this song like the back of my hand but I would never have used the term "multi-octave" (???). Lots of songs are "multi-octave," aren't they? I mean, dude uses his falsetto on that one note at the end of the chorus, but ... range is not what I would call a defining element of the song.

• 18D: Fireball-throwing demons from Doom (IMPS) — no idea. Doom the video game? Apparently, yes, Doom the video game. Never played it. Know nothing about it. ANYHOW ... (see how that doesn't really work as a transition!)
• 24D: Jam band with a Ben & Jerry's flavor (PHISH) — like the NU METAL of Korn and Limp Bizkit ... not my thing (116A: Appropriately misspelled genre for Korn and Limp Bizkit). I was never high enough for jam bands (which is to say I was never high ... pot made me paranoid so I noped out early and have never given it a second chance) (sleep gummies, OTOH ...). 
• 39D: Altitude sickness side effect (EDEMA) — yikes. I've been around people who had altitude sickness (when I vacationed in Breckenridge, CO), but nobody got EDEMA!
• Sam who putted croquet style until the U.S.G.A. banned it (SNEAD) — OK, this is trivia I enjoy. Funny fact, considering his nickname was "Slammin' Sammy SNEAD." 

OK, that's enough. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. good luck to everyone competing at the Westwords crossword tournament today in Berkeley!  

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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