Worm found in every ecosystem on Earth, even the deepest oceans / WED 10-2-24 / Literary ___ / A public speaking coach might tell you to avoid these

Constructor: Luke K. Schreiber

Relative difficulty: Hard (13:05)

THEME: ANIMAL CROSSING — Nintendo video game series suggested by every answer running through this one?

Theme answers:

• [U.C. Irvine athlete] for ANTEATER
• [Worm found in every ecosystem on Earth, even the deepest oceans] for NEMATODE
• [Experiment subject] for GUINEA PIG
• [Dollar, informally] for CLAM
• [Complain (about)] for CARP
• [Literary ___] for LION
• [Religious figure in red] for CARDINAL
• [Cupid, e.g.] for REINDEER
• [Airhead] for DODO
• [Member of a historically privileged U.S. group] for WASP
• [Close tightly] SEAL
• [World's largest venomous snake] for KING COBRA
• [State fossil of Indiana] for MASTODON
• [Jungle peeper] for TREE FROG

Word of the Day: NEMATODE —

The nematodes, roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many species are parasitic. The parasitic worms are the cause of soil-transmitted helminthiases.

• • •

Hey squad! It's Malaika here, for your regularly scheduled Malaika MWednesday! I solved this while listening to one of Sabrina Carpenter's new songs. I loooove a sad woman who sings with a guitar! My favorite genre.

I really struggled to get a start with this puzzle-- I wasn't able to put in an answer until I hit ETS, nine entries into the puzzle. For me, that's a hard Wednesday. I suspected this wouldn't be a standard theme (i.e., 3-4 long across answers + one revealer) because of the shape of the grid, and indeed, I had literally no idea what was going on until I hit the revealer in the center. (I usually solve in order, so it took me a while to get there.) At that point, I was a little frustrated. The puzzle was hard for me, and I am really not a gamer at all, so I was preparing myself to have no idea what the theme was. But that wasn't the case!!

I've never played ANIMAL CROSSING, but I absolutely have heard of it from friends, The Internet, etc. And even if you don't know the game, you still understand the concept of animals crossing through the entry. Is every animal in this puzzle an animal that is in Animal Crossing? I have no idea, though my guess would be no. Playing as a NEMATODE does not seem cute and fulfilling, to be quite honest.

This is a real feat of construction, to have so many thematic entries all stacked like that! I can't even begin to think how I would approach making something like this. Actually I know how-- I would have the idea and then immediately go "Nope, that's impossible; moving on." As with every feat of construction, there are some trade-offs. I have never heard the word TEASEL before and I expect I never will again. And that top left corner, with NUMISMATIST, USURER, DOMINI, ERIN, and SENECA was where I spent roughly half of my solve time.

It seems like there was a concerted effort to clue the animals in non-animal ways, when possible. SEAL, for example, was clued as the verb. I liked this touch, which kept the theme hidden from me until I made it over to the down answers and clocked the revealer. Otherwise, I would have noticed all the animals much earlier and the gears would have started turning. I like to be tricked a little by the revealer and then go "Ohhhhh!"

Speaking of animals, this is a baby hippo called Moo Deng.
Will we remember his name six months from now???

The last thing I want to talk about it is only a little bit relevant to this puzzle. But I've been given a soapbox to stand on, so I will use it! (You are welcome to keep scrolling.) In the world of puzzles (the Crossworld, if you will), there's an ever-present tension between wanting to include entries that are "fresh," wanting to ensure that a large part of your audience is familiar with the entry, and handling the turnaround time between creating a puzzle and having it reach solvers. If there's a slang term that Kids These Days are using all the time, should it be in a crossword now, or should it wait until a broader audience is familiar with it? Or if you wait, will the term vanish from our lexicon?? Different publications have different goals and different timelines.

The Times, with its long turnaround time (typically a year from Creation to Publish) and its frequently-published collections, tries to avoid fads, while still including newish terms that they think will have Staying Power. Meanwhile, an outlet like Vulture magazine*, whose puzzles are posted weeks after creation and then sort of disappear into the void days later, leans in to incredibly flash-in-the-pan entries. If "Animal Crossing" were to appear in a Vulture puzzle, it would have run in 2020, when "New Horizons" was released. When it appears in The Times, it runs in 2024, years after the game has cemented itself culturally... perhaps even several years after some people think it's cemented itself!!

Since I've been making puzzles (which is not long! Four-ish years.) it feels like the number of places that are publishing puzzles has tripled. This is good for so many reasons, but one of my favorites is that each publication gets to have its own goals. Five years ago, I think there was a lot more frustration that The Times was unwilling to accept ultra-current entries which could very well become "out" before the puzzle had even been published. Now, those entries find homes in places like the aforementioned Vulture crossword and so many others.

My roommate's KATANAs-- see below for the story

Stepping down from my soapbox now for some bullet points.

Bullets:

• [Samurai sword] for KATANA — When I was twenty, I borrowed my dad's minivan for a couple of weeks to help me move into my apartment. I let my roommate know that if he needed any furniture, he could find stuff on Craigslist and I could drive him there to pick it up. He let me know that he had found something to pick up. I remember thinking "Oh, good!" because this boy did not have a dresser, nightstand, or bed frame. We drove to collect his purchase and it was a set of three katanas.
• [Natty dresser] for DANDY — This clue skewed a little old-fashioned to me; I was surprised to find out the constructor is a teenager. Honestly, I only ever hear the word "natty" in relation to a Natty Light.
• [It might need to be recapped] for PEN — I loved the misdirect here!!
• [Fivers] for ABES — If you have ever used this term to refer to a five dollar bill, please let me know in the comments! I'm not convinced that anyone does this.

xoxo Malaika

*I write puzzles for Vulture magazine and it is delightful to include ridiculous slang like WORK ISLAND, BRAT SUMMER, and NEPO BABY, without needing to worry if people don't know what those are a month from now.

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