Interception returned for a touchdown / TUE 10-6-26 / Strategic disk game played on a vertical board / Feline adoption option / Bank with a lion in its logo / Coin dated with the year of its country's imperial era

Constructor: Adam Vincent

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: ACTION / FIGURE (67A: With 68-Across, posable plaything ... or a verbal hint to each half of 4-, 7- and 10-Down and 46-Across) — four familiar two-word phrases where the first word is an "action" and the second word is a "figure" (i.e. a number):

Theme answers:

• PICK SIX (4D: Interception returned for a touchdown)
• TAKE FIVE (7D: Break for a few minutes)
• HANG TEN (10D: Surf with one's toes off the front of the board)
• CONNECT FOUR (46A: Strategic disk game played on a vertical board)

Word of the Day: PEAKY (20A: Pale and sickly) —

• adjective Sickly; peaked. [emph. mine]
• adjective Characterised by peaks. (wiktionary, via wordnik)

• • •

Strange, but in a good way. From the concept to the execution to the grid shape, everything about this theme feels original, imaginative. It took me a few beats to understand it, though. I came down the west side and ended up at the revealer quite quickly. Despite the fact that I already had two theme answers in place at that point, I thought I had only one—CONNECT FOUR—and based on that alone, I couldn't figure out how ACTION/FIGURE worked. The "each half" part of the clue was throwing me—I was expecting both CONNECT and FOUR to be "doing" the same thing, but couldn't figure out how either one related to ACTION/FIGURE. I think the revealer would actually have been clearer if they'd just left the whole "half" part out of it. "... or a possible verbal hint to blah, blah, blah." The entire phrase "ACTION/FIGURE" is the "verbal hint." Yes, the first half is the "action" and the second half is the "figure," but you can see that. The "half" business isn't important. And for me, initially, it was a distraction. It was only when I went and found the other theme answers I had in place (PICK SIX), that the "half" business became clear. Not "both halves" but "each half"—each was relating to a different part of the phrase ACTION/FIGURE. One, the action; two, the figure. Got it. Liked it.

One thing I did not like—that made me literally stop and exclaim (in a whisper—my wife is still sleeping), "Noooo!": the clue on SENSE (24A: One of six, supposedly, for a seer). The clue itself is just fine, or would be, if the answer to that clue didn't cross the "SIX" in PICK SIX, and answer I had just written in. Bad enough to dupe the "six" in the clue, but to dupe it so close to the SIX in the grid—right on top of it. That seemed like such an editorial own-goal that I briefly thought there was gonna be some kind of "six" theme, or number theme. I guess I was right about the number theme, sort of, only duplication of the numbers had nothing to do with it. So that "six" in the SENSE clue was extremely jarring. Less jarring, but still disruptive, was "PEAKY," a word I've only ever heard preceding the word "Blinders" in a well-regarded TV show. I had the "PEA-" part and thought "OK ... why won't 'PEAKED' fit? Is there a rebus? An 'ED' rebus? That seems ... unlikely." I did not know PEAKY was a synonym for (bastardization of?) PEAKED, so I wrote in that "Y" with some trepidation at first, but YEN ended up rock solid, so ... PEAKY it is. "PEAKED" (pronounced with two syllables, like "NAKED") is a word I associate heavily, maybe exclusively, with my MOM. I think she's the only person I've ever heard say it—when I was a child, when either my sister or I didn't look well. "You're looking a little PEAKED." I like the word PEAKED. PEAKY, I like les, but is is, in fact, a word, nothing I can do about common USAGE, sadly. 

[My city weighs a TON (423D: Suffix in the names of many U.S. cities)]

There's maybe a little more gunk than I would like in the short stuff today (CSI ONO ARIA ING MAI NGOS SHH ASEA IFI), but it's holding together a theme that's pretty hard to pull off, architecturally—two 7s, an 8, and an 11 are not gonna fit in any kind of standard theme answer arrangement, so the puzzle gets creative. None of the gunk bothered me nearly as much as RIDES ON did (39A: Gallops into the sunset, say). Something about the clue just seems off. Riding into the sunset implies a conclusion (to a movie, specifically), whereas riding on is just ... continuing on one's way. Which, I guess, is technically what the person galloping into the sunset would be doing ... OK, maybe the clue is fine, on a literal level, but I still feel like there's some kind of temporal wobble here, a concluding vs. continuing incongruity created by the whole "riding into the sunset" image.   

Bullets:

• 46A: Strategic disk game played on a vertical board (CONNECT FOUR) — I was CONNECT FOUR champion in grade school (5th grade? 6th?). I would sometimes get to class early and play this game with whoever was around. I remember it being like a glorified tic-tac-toe, in that, if you played it right, it was possible to never lose—the worst outcome would be "no-winner." But it's been 45 years since I played, so maybe I'm misremembering how easy it was to master. It's also possible my competition was simply feeble. No offense, guys. We were 11!
• 35D: Spur-of-the-moment (IMPROMPTU) — when I got the FIGURE part of ACTION/FIGURE, I remember thinking "What the hell word are they gonna use for the terminal 'U' in the Down." Figured it would some phrase ending in "YOU." Then saw it was gonna end "-TU" and thought "oh that doesn't bode well ... what is that, some long Latin phrase?" but then pow, IMPROMPTU came along and surprised me. What a great word. 
• 45D: Starbucks keepsake, perhaps (MUG) — why would you shill for Starbucks like this? Who gets "keepsakes" from Starbucks? "Ah, this MUG reminds me of that time we went to Starbucks. Remember, honey?" "The one in the airport or the one in the mall?" "No, the one across from Walmart. I can't believe you've forgotten already!? Do our visits to ubiquitous coffee shops mean nothing to you!?"

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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Dance craze of the 2010s / MON 10-5-26 / Cheap hooch / Internet meme feline / One way to sit while meditating / Clickables at the top of a computer screen / Bygone electric Chevy / Follower of Jah, informally

Constructor: Chase Dittirch

Relative difficulty: Challenging (for *me*, solved Downs-only)

THEME: "THERE'S THE RUB" (52A: "Ah, that's where things get difficult" ... or what can be said about 20-, 35- and 40-Across?) — things associated with "rubs":

Theme answers:

• MASSAGE TABLE (20A: Spot to work out knotted muscles)
• SPARE RIBS (35A: Memphis barbecue staple)
• MAGIC LAMP (40A: Key to Aladdin's success)

Word of the Day: The DOUGIE (46D: Dance craze of the 2010s) —

The Dougie (/ˈdʌɡi/ ^ⓘ DUG-ee) is a hip hop dance move generally performed by moving one's body from side to side and passing a hand through or near the hair on one's own head.

The dance move originated in Dallas, Texas, where it took its name from similar moves performed by 1980s rapper Doug E. Fresh. The Dougie gained notoriety through rapper Lil' Wil, whose song "My Dougie", released in late 2007, became a local hit. Then, a person called C-Smoove in Southern California taught the future members of Cali Swag District how to do the dance. Cali Swag District recorded the song "Teach Me How to Dougie" and filmed the music video in Inglewood, California during the summer of 2009. Subsequently, the video along with the dance became popular on YouTube. (wikipedia)

• • •

80% easy, 20% dead stop, thought I wasn't gonna be able to finish. Eventually, the Downs-Only gods are gonna kneecap me, but not today, satans! It was close, though, partly because I'm an idiot but partly because the puzzle was playing a little dirty. A little DIRNDL-y, in fact. Actually, DIRNDL is a real word that I know, but trying to parse it today, lol, no way. I went through what I thought was every possible letter permutation that could make a word out of DIR--L and ... nothing. No dice. All the crosses seemed rock solid, but I just couldn't get a word to go there. Which meant I started doubting those rock-solid crosses. Which meant everything just kept falling apart even more. [SIGH]!!! I was literally SIGHing and thinking "that's got to be SIGH"! Indeed. But DIRNDL, man, DIRNDL. Oof. Abetting DIRNDL in its mission to kick my ass was The DOUGIE. Ask me for a 2010s dance craze in six letters, I've got NAE NAE, and then I've got nothing nothing. All I had for sure in that dance craze answer was the "U" from RUB, and that wasn't helping. 

Eventually, the only reason I was able to break out of this prison of confusion was PRISON BREAK, which I managed (eventually!!) to see from just the "I" and the "R"! I had been assuming that 26D: Escape from jail was a verb phrase, not a noun phrase. [SIGH] and Aargh. But perhaps the biggest impediment to my Downs-only solve was a clue I'm still mad about: 27D: Clickables at the top of a computer screen (TABS). I had the "B" and ... nothing. Because TABS are not at the top of my computer screen, they're at the top of my computer browser. At the top of my screen is a menu, with headings like (in order) "Chrome," "File," "Edit," "View," "History" ... and the rest! Are menu headings called "TABS"? I just don't think they're the same thing. I assume the clue means browser TABS, but again, I refer you to the fact that those are absolutely not "at the top of [my] computer screen." So understanding that damned "B" in --B-,  oof and aargh. "B"rutal. But PRISON BREAK really broke things loose, and I finished without cheating (i.e. without looking at an Across clue), so victory is mine and it is sweet. 

So the theme: I liked it! Surprised it hasn't been done. It's cute to link these disparate theme answers together this way, and I really enjoyed seeing the revealer come into view and realizing what the theme was going to be. The fill could've been a little stronger—a simple four-theme answer probably shouldn't be relying so heavily on ECRU ACTI SUPE (all in one tiny section!) and then EKES ERE SGT SAO CITI ATAD ATSEA ACH RAH IMO OTOE OHS AWS ESS ETS etc. But CROSS-LEGGED is great (3D: One way to sit while meditating) and PRISON BREAK is good and COWHAND and REPLETE aren't bad, and as I say, the theme seems very nice, simple and funny and elegant, very Monday-appropriate. So I come down solidly on the Plus side.

Bullets:

• 29A: Internet meme feline (LOLCAT) — I feel like we should retire this one. It's too ... Aughts, somehow. Just feels not relevant anymore. Bygone. Stale. A ghost reference. Cats are still big on the internet, but somehow LOLCAT sounds very dated to my ears.

[LOLCATs in a more serious, squirrel-patrol mood]

• 5D: Cheap hooch (ROTGUT) — speaking of dated, everything about this one seems like it came out of Prohibition. ROTGUT sounds like 1920s slang, but it actually dates from 1632 (!). "Hooch" is a much more recent term, dating only from 1897. Did you know that "hooch" is "short for hoochinoo, a distilled liquor made by the Hoochinoo (Hutsnuwu) Indians, a Tlingit tribe" (merriam-webster.com)? Me neither!
• 36D: "___ Window" ("REAR") — the ESE of this puzzle had me so turned around that I actually started doubting My Favorite Movie. "R... ROAD WINDOW? ROSE WINDOW? ROY'S WINDOW? It's gotta be REAR!!" (true). [Note, I don't have a favorite movie, but I do have a Mount Rushmore of favorites, and REAR Window is on it—my cinema gateway drug, for sure]

• 56A: Singer Baker (ANITA) — Just as REAR Window is one of my favorite movies, ANITA Baker's Rapture is one of my favorite albums. Not what you'd expect a 16yo boy to be blaring from his '77 Toyota Sports Coupe in 1986, but that's what was happening, I promise you. I had no shame.

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

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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

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