"Young Frankenstein" woman / TUES 10-27-26 / Sitar maestro Shankar / It might follow "Up top" and "down low" in a high-five trick / They wave their wands so you can fly, for short / Cupful for a cold

Hello, everyone, it’s Clare for the last Tuesday in October! I hope everyone has had a relaxing month full of spooky fall fun. This has been a good month for me — full of new routes at the climbing gym, hikes with my pup, and some Halloween candy that I’m totally supposed to pass out and not eat myself. (I may need to make another trip to the store before Saturday…) I don’t have a costume yet for Halloween, but rest assured my dog, Red, does! She’s going to be a flower, and my sister’s new pup, Gunner, is gonna be a bumble bee — she certainly “bugs” Red enough to try to get her to play with her. 

As I’m writing this, I’m trying to keep tabs on the WNBA, MLB, and NFL games I have up on my TV all at once (go, Valkyries, Brewers, and not-Cowboys), which is easier said than done. There simply aren’t enough screens in the world for this time of year, and that’s even without getting into soccer and F1!  

Anywho, on to the puzzle…

[53A: LEIA]

Constructors: Jeff Chen and Bharati Hemmady

Relative difficulty: Mostly average for a Tuesday

THEME: FLY BY NIGHT (60A: Like an untrustworthy business ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 29-, 39- and 47-Across) — The final letters of each of the theme answers spell out something that’s known for flying at night

Theme answers:

• MOCK COMBAT (17A: Staged fighting) 
• WOOLLY MAMMOTH (29A: Extinct cousin of an elephant) 
• PRO BOWL (39A: Longtime N.F.L. all-star game) 
• BAIT AND SWITCH (47A: Unethical marketing tactic)

Word of the Day: KOOKABURRA (25D: "Laughing" birds from Down Under) —

Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus Dacelo native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between 11 and 19 inches in length and weigh around 11 oz. The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, onomatopoeic of its call. The loud, distinctive call of the laughing kookaburra is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve an Australian bush setting or tropical jungle, especially in older movies. They are found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savannah, as well as in suburban areas with tall trees or near running water. Though they are a species of kingfisher, kookaburras are not closely associated with water. (Wiki)

 

• • •

Well, this was definitely a Tuesday puzzle! It was pretty standard and inoffensive and interesting enough, even if it’s not one I’m going to remember next week — or even the next day. I took a bit to see the theme, mostly because I couldn’t get my head around the theme answer not being the final word and instead just being the last few letters. I suppose that’s fair, but I wasn’t particularly wowed by the puzzle’s execution, and I tend to prefer themes that feel clever (or make me feel clever for solving them). Here, I think my reaction was basically just “Oh. OK.” And while I liked most of the theme answers themselves — BAIT AND SWITCH (47A), in particular — they don’t have much in common beyond those hidden endings (three animals and something else Halloween-ish, I guess?), and there wasn’t anything about the solve that made me want to go back and marvel at how everything came together. 

But other than that gripe, the puzzle’s answers were solid. WOOLLY MAMMOTH (29A) is a fun word to see in the grid (even if I was pretty sure it only had one L in it for some reason). There were some other longer answers with more personality, too. KOOKABURRA (25D) was easily my favorite word in today’s puzzle — and one of my favorite words I’ve seen in a grid in a long time. It’s just so fun and musical to say! GO ROGUE (54A: Deviate from the herd) is a good phrase. I also liked SAVE THE DATE (11D: Words said with reservation?), which was cued in a way that felt fresh and fun, and TOO SLOW (22D: It might follow "Up top" and "down low" in a high-five trick), which I can practically hear the 6-year-old version of myself telling my dad (oh, fine, the 30-year-old version of me, too). 

I wasn’t as enthusiastic about some of the shorter fill, though. I found ANKE (23A: Tennis great Huber) tough, and I say that as someone who has watched more than her fair share of tennis. ANKE Huber was certainly a solid player — she reached No. 4 in the world and made the 1996 Australian Open final — but calling her a “great” feels like a stretch. INGA (58D: "Young Frankenstein" woman) was another name I struggled to puzzle out. And I may not remember my middle school biology class that well, but I’m pretty sure there’s a difference between GENUS and “class” as it was clued for 67A: Biology class? The PRO BOWL (39A) is also no longer a thing, as the NFL decided to just put everyone out of their misery, but I guess its ghost will live on forever in crosswords. 

There were a few other things I enjoyed, such as MOO (31D: Cry before being milked, maybe) next to MEW (32D: Cry for milk, maybe) and GLEE (54D: Great delight) crossing ELAN (65A: Pep). The clue for UFOS (55D: Crafts seen around the world?) was fun; and TSA (64D: They wave their wands so you can fly, for short) also got a chuckle out of me because I couldn’t get wands and witches out of my head. (Side note: Do we think TSA’s 3.4-ounce rule applies to interplanetary travel?)

Misc.:

• As someone who bikes a lot of miles each week, I can confidently say that something HILLIER (46D: Tougher, in a way, as a bike course) is much, much tougher. I still remember going on runs in high school while my dad kept me company by biking alongside me, and I could beat him to the top of most hills, though maybe that’s just because he was slow :) 
• I was watching the ManningCast while solving this puzzle, so seeing OMAHA (37D: Midwest city where Malcolm X was born), Peyton Manning’s best-known catchphrase, was well timed. Fun fact: He was selected to the PRO BOWL (39A) 14 times over his career, which is clearly a very meaningful statistic. 
• My grandma used to collect INKWELLs (4D: Bygone writing accessory), and I loved to pretend I was doing my homework with a quill and ink. My parents still have those INKWELLs now, so maybe I’ll get going on writing some letters. 
• MOES (34A: Homer Simpson's watering hole) reminds me that, thanks to crosswords, I know a lot about “The Simpsons” for someone who has never watched the show. Maybe I’ll give it a try one of these days. 
• This feels like a great week to have Catherine O’HARA (45A: Catherine of "The Last of Us") in the puzzle; between “Beetlejuice” and “Schitt’s Creek,” she’s certainly given us enough costume inspiration for more than a few lifetimes.

And that’s all from me! Hope you all have a spooky Halloween, and I’ll see you in November.

Signed, Clare Carroll, who has a dog who will do tricks for treats

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Brother on TV's "Bonanza" / MON 10-26-26 / Sergeant's superior, slangily / Bit of derring-do / Band with the 1999 triple-platinum hit "All Star" / Ends a relationship with by suddenly cutting off communication

Constructor: Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels

Relative difficulty: Easy (solved Downs-only)

THEME: SCATTERSHOT (61A: All over the place ... or a hint to the circled letters in 16-, 25-, 39- and 48-Across) — letters "S" "H" "O" and "T" are "scattered" (non-consecutively) inside longer answers (in circled squares):

Theme answers:

• SQUASH COURT (16A: Walled area for a racket sport)
• SMASHMOUTH (25A: Band with the 1999 triple-platinum hit "All Star")
• "JUST THIS ONE TIME" (39A: "Pretty please? I won't ask again")
• PSYCHED OUT (48A: Played mind games with)

Word of the Day: SMASH MOUTH (25A) —

Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994 and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). Harwell's departure in 2021 left De Lisle as the sole remaining original member. They are known for their songs "Walkin' on the Sun" (1997), "All Star" (1999), and "Then the Morning Comes" (1999), as well as a cover of the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" (2001).

The band adopted retro styles covering several decades of popular music. They have also performed numerous covers of popular songs, including War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?", Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", ? & the Mysterians' "Can't Get Enough of You Baby", the Beatles' "Getting Better", Queen's "Under Pressure", House of Pain's "Jump Around", and "I Wan'na Be Like You" from The Jungle Book. They also composed two songs for the South Korean animated film Pororo, The Racing Adventure: "Beside Myself" and "Everything Just Crazy".

The group's debut album Fush Yu Mang has been certified platinum twice by the RIAA and their second album Astro Lounge has since been certified platinum thrice. Their song "All Star" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 2001. (wikipedia)

• • •

This was pretty listless, as these types of themes go. The whole endeavor felt very dated, very old. Like, self-consciously old. Almost like the puzzle was doing a bit. I haven't seen a puzzle with this kind of non-consecutive letter theme for a while. They were more prevalent decades ago, but unless the concept is smashing, they generally seem kind of musty and passé these days. I don't think SCATTERSHOT is fresh enough or interesting enough to make the theme seem worth it. I guessed the revealer well before I even got there. The staleness extended beyond the theme, though. The fill ... I either winced or exclaimed "What!?" or laughed when I got to 17D: Brother on TV's "Bonanza" (HOSS). I knew it, but only from having done a million crosswords in the late 20th century and early '00s. "We're still doing HOSS?" is probably what I said, now that I think of it (this is the 106th NYTXW appearance of HOSS, but the first in five years and the first Bonanza-related clue in six). And HOSS came on the tail of a rather unpromising string of Downs (INURE, NSA, GEST). 

Going back at least 50 years, we've also got RHODA (love her! but today, with so much other old stuff in the grid, she just makes the grid seem older). Also the E.R.A. (as clued). And TALIA Shire in the Godfather movies. Also Superman (in the "IT'S" clue) (65A: Word before "a bird," "a plane" and "Superman!"). And L'IL Abner (so many LILs out there, why this one when the puzzle already leans so ostentatiously into the far past?). And an Elvis song for SHOOK. And NAT King Cole. Even [Sergeant's superior, slangily] felt like a thing people would've been much more familiar with a half century+ ago than now. Almost all these things are before *my* time, and I am ... less and less young. Even the thing that is from Exactly my time is, I have to admit, quite old (19A: "___ Lips Are Sealed" (1981 Go-Go's hit) ("OUR")). First album I bought with my own money, that Go-Go's album—Beauty and the Beat— at the Wherehouse Records in the Fashion Fair Mall, Fresno, CA. I think I picked up Billy Squier's Don't Say No as well. Good times. This puzzle, in both theme concept and fill, was less of a good time. It's fine to wax nostalgic, but this is taking it all a little far. The crusty, overfamiliar fill (EIEIO ONEK OSE REFI NSA INURE GEST LOOIE) only makes the datedness more apparent. I do think the theme answers have some charm all on their own, though "JUST THIS ONE TIME" really really would rather be "JUST THIS ONCE" (in that it seems much more like what one would actually say). The clue on GHOSTS stands out for its relative currency (46D: Ends a relationship with by suddenly cutting off communication). I also like LITHUANIA. Challenged my geographical knowledge (totally forgot the capital was Vilnius). This is the sixth LITHUANIA appearance in NYTXW history. There was once a 56-year gap between LITHUANIA appearances (1953-2009). Not a fun fact, exactly, but a weird one.

No real challenge today for the Downs-only solver (i.e. me). Took a few inferred crosses for me to pick up LITHUANIA, as I say. I idiotically wanted "FIRED" and "RILED" before having a massive "Duh" + D'oh!" moment with "SHOOK" (26D: "All ___ Up" (Elvis #1 hit)). [Bogeymen] seem like something other, something more specific than MONSTERS, so that also took some crossing. Otherwise, no issues. Saw right through the "trick" clue at 1D: Firing offense? (ARSON), and mostly cruised the rest of the way.

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

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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