Podcast host Maron / THU 12-10-20 / Grassy plain of Southwest / Discussed over Slack say / Main squeeze in modern lingo

Constructor: Jack Murtagh

Relative difficulty: Easy (untimed, but only the (initially) inexplicable themers posed a significant challenge)

THEME: Element-ary! — themer clues have to be reimagined as [Chemical symbol] + [remaining letters in the clue]; thus:

Theme answers:

• SILICON CHIP (16A: Siding?) ("Si" = symbol for SILICON, "ding" = CHIP)
• OXYGEN SUPPLY (27A: Oration?) ("O" = symbol for OXYGEN, "ration" = SUPPLY)
• IRON MAN (36A: Female?) ("Fe" = symbol for IRON, "male" = MAN)
• SILVER BULLET (43A: Aground?) ("Ag" = symbol for SILVER, "round" = BULLET (think ammo))
• CARBON-DATED (57A: Cold?) ("C" = symbol for CARBON, "old" = DATED)

Word of the Day: URIAH Heep (25A: ___ Heep, David Copperfield rival) —

Uriah Heep is a fictional character created by Charles Dickens in his 1850 novel David Copperfield. Heep is one of the main antagonists of the novel. His character is notable for his cloying humility, unctuousness, obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to his own "'umbleness". His name has become synonymous with sycophancy. (wikipedia)

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***HELLO, READERS AND FELLOW SOLVERS IN SYNDICATIONLAND (if the date is Thursday, January 14, 2021, that's YOU!)!***. The calendar has turned on another year (thank God), and while that might mean a lot of things to a lot of people, for me it means it's time for my annual week-long pitch for financial contributions to the blog. Every year I ask regular readers to consider what the blog is worth to them on an annual basis and give accordingly. Last year at this time, I wrote about what a melancholy year 2019 was; my oldest dog had died and the world was kind of a wreck. And then 2020 happened, and I learned what a real wreck looks like. In February, my other dog died (R.I.P. Gabby). And then, well, COVID. And let's be honest, even with a new president, 2021 is going to be, uh, challenging as well. But I hope that the regular ritual of solving crosswords brought some solace and stability to your lives this past year, and I hope that my blog added to your enjoyment of the solving experience in some way. This year my blog will celebrate its 15th anniversary! I feel so proud! And old! A lot of labor goes into producing this blog every day (Every. Day.) and the hours are, let's say, less than ideal (I'm either solving and writing at night, after 10pm, or in the morning, before 6am). Most days, I really do love the writing, but it is work, and once a year (right now!) I acknowledge that fact. As I've said before, I have no interest in "monetizing" the blog beyond a simple, direct contribution request once a year. No ads, no gimmicks. Just here for you, every day, rain or shine, whether you like it or, perhaps, on occasion, not :) It's just me and my laptop and some free blogging software and, you know, a lot of rage, but hopefully some insight and levity along the way. I do genuinely love this gig, and whether you're an everyday reader or a Sunday-only reader or a flat-out hatereader, I appreciate you more than you'll ever know.

How much should you give? Whatever you think the blog is worth to you on a yearly basis. Whatever that amount is is fantastic. Some people refuse to pay for what they can get for free. Others just don't have money to spare. All are welcome to read the blog—the site will always be open and free. But if you are able to express your appreciation monetarily, here are two options. First, a Paypal button (which you can also find in the blog sidebar):

Second, a mailing address (checks should be made out to "Rex Parker"):

Rex Parker c/o Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905

And heck, why don't I throw my Venmo handle in here too, just in case that's your preferred way of moving money around; it's @MichaelDavidSharp (the last four digits of my phone are 4878, in case Venmo asks you, which they did that one time someone contributed that way—but it worked!)

All Paypal contributions will be gratefully acknowledged by email. All snail mail contributions will be gratefully acknowledged with hand-written postcards. I. Love. Snail Mail. I love seeing your gorgeous handwriting and then sending you my awful handwriting. It's all so wonderful. And my thank-you postcards this year are really special. They are portraits of my new cat Alfie (a bright spot of 2020), designed by artist Ella Egan, a.k.a. my daughter. And they look like this:

He's eating kale in that middle one, in case you're wondering. Anyway, these cards are personally meaningful to me, and also, I believe, objectively lovely. I can't wait to share them with the snail-mailers. Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just indicate "NO CARD."  Again, as ever, I'm so grateful for your readership and support. Now on to today's puzzle...

* * *

Well, there was no [Clicking sound?]. Never got an AHA out of this one. Not while I was solving, anyway. This one played like an easy, Tuesday-ish puzzle with five absolutely random, may-as-well-have-been-unclued long answers plunked down in the middle of it. I just waited for the themers to look like actual phrases and then filled them in. Didn't bother to stop (for more than a few seconds) to think about how I was supposed to get from the clue to the answer. Figured the more I solved, the more it would become clear, but it never did. It only took me about thirty seconds, probably, after I was finished to figure out the theme, which ... thank god. If I finish the puzzle and have no idea what was going on theme-wise, the clock is ticking, and the longer it ticks, the more enjoyment ebbs out. Luckily I caught this one soon enough to be impressed by the cluing cleverness. I'm never going to adore a puzzle where the *entirety* of its interestingness is in the clue writing, but as that type of puzzle goes, this seems a fine example. I am quite aware, however, that much of the reason I am able to appreciate what the puzzle is trying to do is because the puzzle was a. very easy to handle, and b. not laden with gunk fill. If a puzzle is doable and the grid is polished, the puzzle has a lot of leeway to get loopy with the theme. If you allow me to get through it without grueling effort and you don't throw garbage in my face along the way, I will follow where you lead.

Unsurprisingly, the hardest part of the puzzle for me happened around the oddest theme phrase: CARBON-DATED. I still don't know if it's an adjective or verb. I am going with adjective. Before I figured out the theme (but after I'd finished the puzzle) my first thought was "oh, CARBON-DATED, that's one letter off from "carbonated," maybe that's something ..." (it wasn't). Anyway, the DATED part was hard for me, especially the last letter. Since the clue on it meant nothing to me at that point, I was just trying to make a real phrase. CARBON ... DATES? DATER? It's clear now that DATED is the best option, but you see, that "D" runs through the hardest clue in the entire puzzle: 52D: A constant celebration? (PI DAY). Because "Pi" is a constant and you "celebrate" it (really, do you?) on Mar. 14 (i.e. 3/14 i.e. 3.14 ugh it's so dumb). Anyway, at first pass I ended up with PISAY in that slot. Checked all the crosses, realized the "S" was the problem, ta da. End of puzzle. Beyond that, my only missteps were writing in SAUDIS before SOMALI (14A: Like some residents on the Gulf of Aden) and writing in EAR CANDY before EAR CANAL (22A: Sound track?). No SAUDIS on the Gulf of Aden unless they're visiting Yemen, which ... ugh, let's not go there today (or, what the hell, go there if you like). Not too thrilled that something that looks like a themer (8-letter Across) and has a "?" clue like the other themers ended up Not being a themer. Unnecessary confusion, bad editing. Made it weird when I got to TALK SHOP and ... no "?" clue (49A: Discuss work outside of work, say). But this didn't hold me up too much, so no big deal. Best wrong guess on the themers (which, again, I had to build entirely from crosses, having no idea how the clues worked): I had the -VERBU- in the middle of 43A: Aground? and the first plausible thing my brain rolodexed to was GO OVER BUDGET. SILVER BULLET is better. 

Favorite answer today was SMELL TEST, and this puzzle passed it. See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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