Once-faddish robotic toy / TUE 10-24-23 / Specification on a park pass / State capital north of Sacramento, CA / Reason for sneezin' / Muscle car that really drives em wild in a 1960s hit / Mythological forest maiden

Constructor: Daniel Grinberg

Relative difficulty: Challenging (***for a Tuesday***)

THEME: Monster "breakup lines" — familiar phrases clued as if they were breakup lines uttered by classic monsters:

Theme answers:

• "YOU'RE NOT MY TYPE" (20A: Breakup line from a vampire?)
• "TIME FOR A CHANGE" (24A: Breakup line from a werewolf?)
• "THE SPARK IS GONE" (44A: Breakup line from Frankenstein's monster?)
• "LET'S WRAP THIS UP" (50A: Breakup line from a mummy?)

Word of the Day: SALEMOR (5D: State capital north of Sacramento, CA) —

Salem (/ˈseɪləm/ SAY-ləm) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood of West Salem is in Polk County. Salem was founded in 1842, became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851, and was incorporated in 1857.

Salem had a population of 175,535 at the 2020 census, making it the 3rd most populous city in the state after Portland and Eugene. Salem is the principal city of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers Marion and Polk counties and had a combined population of 433,353 at the 2020 census. This area is, in turn, part of the Portland–Vancouver–Salem Combined Statistical Area. (wikipedia)

• • •

No, this wasn't a *hard* puzzle, but I haven't fumbled around on a Tuesday like this in ages. Two wrong answers (DUST, MOLD) on 1-Across alone (1A: Reason for sneezin'). In that same tiny section: I have no idea what's on network TV so ["Undercover Boss" network"]? Pfft, who knows? I haven't seen someone write LMAO in forever, so I was looking for some kind of LOL variation (or maybe "LULZ," is that still a thing?). And as for DAY USE, dear lord, no hope (4D: Specification on a park pass). I had DAYU- and still no idea. Even moving over to the next section, the clue on PLAN just made me shake my head in puzzlement (6D: "___ ahead"). I guess people say that. Why is it in "quotation marks"? I mean, it's a ... saying ... maybe? But it's also just a phrase, so the quotation marks threw me. And then there's the not-hard but completely ridiculous SALEMOR (what's next, ALBANYNY? HONOLULUHI?). All this before I even got my first themer. On a Tuesday. Weird. And then the themers were the kind where you had to imagine some punny ... thing, so aside from the vampire one (which is a well-known joke), they were harder (than usual for a Tuesday) to come up with. Combine that with absurd cluing on "STAY CLASSY!" (17A: "Keep it polite!") and "RIGHT ON!" (42D: "That's correct!") and this definitely felt more Wednesday than Tuesday. As for the theme itself—I mean, you like this kind of thing or you don't. I thought the vampire one worked, the mummy one was OK, and the others felt like reaches: I felt that missing "IT'S" on "TIME FOR A CHANGE," for sure (you can see that the other "breakup lines" are all complete sentences), and I guess the connection between "sparks" and Frankenstein's monster just isn't that strong for me. I mean, I can see it, in the monster-creation part, OK, but "sparks" didn't feel paradigmatic, the way the other creature traits (drinking blood, shapeshifting, being wrapped in bandages) did. But honestly, overall, I kinda like the theme. It's corny, yes, but it's trying to do something fun, and holiday-related, and I appreciate the effort. They must have a hell of a Halloween puzzle lined up for next week, because otherwise it's weird to run this precisely one week early. 

"STAY CLASSY!" is something I've only ever heard said ironically to someone who is being decidedly unclassy. Boorish behavior gets a "STAY CLASSY!" No one ever said it as a genuine admonition (17A: "Keep it polite!"). Ever never ever. And ["That's correct!"] for "RIGHT ON"? For "RIGHT!," maybe, but "RIGHT ON!" is its own thing. It means something more like "Amen!" "You tell em!" "I can dig it!" "Damn straight!"—indicating agreement, not the fact that someone got a trivia question "correct." Maybe "That's correct!" is the "RIGHT ON!" of people who say "GOSH, NO!" But it feels like such a tin-eared clue here. 

I see we've got OATY and OAKY today. Huh. Great. And ROO, too, for roughly the 75th time in the past week. Hurrah. Here's what I actually liked today: "STAY CLASSY" (if only they had clued it right!); BEER SNOB (37D: One whose taste buds may not crave Buds); and TCHOTCHKES (there's something about the spelling of that word that just feels loopy, in the best way) (59A: Trinkets). I see that there was a little parenthetical Batman humor in there, that's cute (9A: Hoodlike garment for a monk (or Batman) = COWL; 35D: Draped garment for an operagoer (or Batman) = CAPE). How long until people look at FURBY and go "... what?" (36A: Once-faddish robotic toy). Seems like maybe that time has already arrived. I remember Rosie O'Donnell talking about these back when Rosie O'Donnell had a daytime talk show, so ... a long time ago now (late '90s). The FURBY is like the Hula Hoop now, except nowhere near as iconic. But it's in constructor wordlists, so expect to see it into the 22nd century. Bizarrely, the only appearances of FURBY in the NYTXW come from *the last four years*, which is hyperbolically on-brand for the NYTXW, where pop culture is concerned. "Is it no longer a thing? ... Perrrrrfect. Run it!" As the IP and nostalgia trend continues, following the success of this summer's BARBIE, I look forward to the inevitable FURBY movie, as well as its inevitable sequels, FURBY: MYSTIC NYMPH, FURBY: Rise of the MYRRH, and FURBY Goes to SALEMOR! See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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