Kids' chasing game with head taps / MON 1-1-24 / Off Broadway musical made into a 2021 film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda / Tokarczuk who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature

Constructor: Harry Zheng

Relative difficulty: Easy (solved Downs-only)

THEME: XXY — three-part phrases where the first two parts are identical:

Theme answers:

• DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE (20A: Kids' chasing game with head taps)
• TICK, TICK, BOOM! (27A: Off Broadway musical made into a 2021 film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
• HIP, HIP, HOORAY! (43A: Reply to "Three cheers!")
• THERE, THERE, NOW (51A: Soothing words)

Word of the Day: "TICK, TICK, BOOM" (27A) — 

Tick, Tick... Boom! (also stylized as tick, tick... BOOM!) is a 2021 American biographical comedy musical film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda in his feature directorial debut. Written by Steven Levenson, who also serves as an executive producer, it is based on the stage musical of the same name by Jonathan Larson, a semi-autobiographical story about Larson writing a musical to enter into the theater industry. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Larson, alongside Robin de Jesús, Alexandra Shipp, Joshua Henry, Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Tick, Tick... Boom! had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 10, 2021, and began a limited theatrical release two days later, before streaming on Netflix on November 19. The film received acclaim for Garfield's performance, the editing, and Miranda's direction. It was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, and Best Picture at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards. For his performance, Garfield earned numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. (wikipedia)

• • •

Hello and happy actual new year! Gonna have to be a short one tonight because as I am writing this it is still, in fact, night—New Year's Eve, to be exact, and since we've already been out to a special dinner and I've already had a *little* to drink, I am a *little* not up to my usual laser-focused and erudite writing self, as you can probably tell by this sentence that I am currently writing. In short, I am already a bit tired, and want to spend what's left of the year just hanging out in my pajamas with my wife and cats. Maybe you can relate, Maybe you can't. It matters not. Here's a photo of my wife getting a tarot reading at the fancy dinner we went to earlier:

I didn't get a reading tonight because I had one done last New Year's Eve (same establishment, different reader) and the next day I got COVID, which I took as a clear message not to mess with the Dark Arts. But my wife can do whatever the hell she wants. Seems like she got a hopeful and positive reading, which does not surprise me, you're not exactly gonna tell someone they're gonna get gout and their hair's gonna fall out this year. Not before dessert, anyway. Here's the menu for the evening, which includes an in-the-wild sighting of NYE (3):

And here's me, the goer-outer, after having gone out (also pictured: Alfie, sullenly waiting to be fed):

And now, the first puzzle of the year ... sure, sure, fine. A little word waltz, one-two-three, one-two-three ... or one-one-three, I guess. Would've been nice if the set had been tighter. DUCK and TICK start out a nice -CK pattern, but then that fades. TICK, TICK, BOOM! and HIP, HIP, HOORAY! are both Exclamation Point-worthy ... and maybe DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE! is as well, but "THERE, THERE, NOW" is not. What's the opposite of an exclamation point, because that is what "THERE, THERE, NOW" should have. Also, the phrase is just "THERE, THERE," or else it's "THERE, NOW"—"THERE, THERE, NOW" feels like an odd mash-up of the more common, shorter soothing phrases. All the other opening pairs need their third element to make sense, whereas "THERE, THERE" absolutely does not. So it's an outlier, and kind of a big one. As I say, the set could be tighter. But it's totally inoffensive, so shrug, whatever, I'm not mad.

Solving Downs-only was a piece of cake today. I weirdly, bizarrely forgot what a [Bacon slice] was called ("... slab? ... rasher?") but got it easily once the crosses got inferrable. The biggest sticking point today was TRA-la-la!" for "OOH-la-la!" (38D: "___-la-la!") Luckily I got "COPY THAT" without much trouble, and since CTATS is not (as yet) a thing, it was out with TRA and (eventually) in with OOH. CTATS became COATS. And that was pretty much that. Why would you go and ruin your puzzle by putting ELON in there? Serious unforced error. I'd rather see HODA Kotb in my puzzle any day (I'm sure an ELON-free grid can be done better than this, but I'm just spitballin' here)

Or here, just go with the abbr. on ELEM, no one will care!

Or you could just clue ELON as the North Carolina university. That's all. Here are some more Holiday Pet Pics to start your new year off right:

["Yes ... yes, all for me ... this all going according to pl— No! Higher, higher, you stupid human, I need a challenge!" (thanks, Eric)]

[Elvira is hiding until this holiday business is over, thank you very much (thanks, Louise)]

[Maggie May will fit in your stocking if you let her (thanks Craig!)]

[Exactly how you'd expect a cat to look when it realizes the present is from a dog (it's true!) (thanks, Rebecca)]

[Theo joins a long line of Cats Under Christmas Trees! (thanks, Shannon)

See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]