Caesar's first stabber / THU 12-26-24 / Peak picker-uppers / Dutch banking giant / Hawaiian dish with cubed fish / Astronauts' outpost, for short / Forgo a ring, maybe / Slangy term for an obsession with branded fashion items / Early 20th-century composer who introduced the typewriter as a percussion instrument / Unapproved, pharmaceutically / Bass organs

Constructor: Ella Dershowitz

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: SKI LIFTS (55A: Peak picker-uppers, as depicted three times in this puzzle's grid) — the letters "SKI" literally "lift" (i.e. go up) three times, elevating three different Across answers by two rows before they continue on across:

Theme answers:

• "THIS KISS" (28A: Faith Hill hit with the lyric "It's perpetual bliss")
• PENCIL SKIRT (29A: Slim-fitting bottom)
• "CASH IS KING" (60A: "Money talks")

Word of the Day: CASCA (45D: Caesar's first stabber) —

 

[Murder of Caesar, Karl Theodor von Piloty (1865)]

Publius Servilius Casca Longus (died c. 42 BC) was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar and plebeian tribune in 43 BC. He and several other senators conspired to kill him, a plan which they carried out on 15 March 44 BC. Afterward, Casca fought with the liberators during the Liberators' civil war. He is believed to have died at the Battle of Phillipi either by suicide or at the hands of Octavian's forces. // Despite his being initially a childhood friend of Caesar, Casca and his brother Titedius joined in the assassination. Casca struck the first blow, attacking Caesar from behind and hitting his bare shoulders, after Tillius Cimber had distracted the dictator by grabbing his toga. Caesar replied "Casca, you villain, what are you doing?" and tussled with him for several seconds. Casca simultaneously shouted to his brother in Greek, "Brother, help me!" The other assassins then joined in. // In December 44 BC, Casca assumed office as plebeian tribune. No unrest was associated with his taking office and he allied himself with Cicero and Brutus' mother Servilia. However, after Octavian marched on Rome during the War of Mutina, Casca fled the city and joined Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus, the leaders of the assassins, in the Liberators' civil war against the Second Triumvirate of Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian. When he fled the city, his colleague, Publius Titius, had Casca's tribunate abrogated. He seems to have died, probably by suicide, in the aftermath of their defeat at the Battle of Philippi, in October 42 BC. There is no reference to him in any of the sources after this date. (wikipedia)

• • •

Such a simple concept, I'm surprised it's never been done before (not in the NYTXW, anyway). The very term SKI LIFT(S) seems to be crying out to be a Thursday revealer. And maybe it was, but it just wasn't crying hard enough. Buried under too much snow? Anyway, its cries were heard, and so we get this puzzle, which, thematically, is quite nice. The simplicity is elegant instead of insipid or remedial. I actually had quite a bit of trouble picking up the gimmick (I was painfully aware that I could just jump down to the revealer, and that would likely speed the process of my "getting it" along, but some days (most?) I'm stubborn). What made the gimmick hard for me to see was the fact that my first theme answer was "THIS KISS," a song title I knew, but because the (apparent) answer was "THIS," I assumed I was dealing with a "missing 'kiss'" puzzle. Maybe the letters "KISS" were hidden somewhere, or there was an "X" (shorthand for "kiss") that I was supposed to find, or make ... maybe buried in a black squares? I don't know. All I knew was I was on the hunt for kisses. Then I got to PUTTIES (35A: Fills in the gaps of, in a way), which ... obviously not a theme answer. Obvious now. Not obvious to me then. The clue on that was so odd  that I thought the full answer was PUTTIES [OVER], and so now, in addition to a missing "kiss," I had a missing "over" to find. It wasn't until PENCILS that I could see the gimmick, because you could feel the break—that is, the answer wanted to be PENCIL SKIRT, but instead of standalone PENCIL (the way I had standalone "THIS" with the first themer), I had that extra "S"—PENCILS. So then I just followed the "S" to the obvious next letter ("K") and thought, "Oh, I just write in IRT ... here" (and that, in fact, was right). So there was some fumbling around before I grasped it all, but otherwise the puzzle was very doable, clued more like a Wednesday than a Thursday. The tricky gimmick offset the easy fill and so you end up with a pretty average Thursday difficulty—though above-average Thursday quality, I think.

I appreciated the lightness of the theme, i.e. the fact that there were just three theme answers. Themes that involve answers hopping up or otherwise jumping their lanes can put a Lot of pressure on the grid and make it hard to fill cleanly, so it's nice to see a constructor know not to push it—to trust the strength and charm of the theme and let the grid breathe. Makes for a smoother solving experience. Not that it was smooth all over. I'm used to seeing pretty polished work from this constructor, and this one felt more crosswordesey than usual (CASCA TEC ERMA SERTA etc.) (giving ING and IRT a pass because they're part of the theme). Also, DODGSON is not exactly a winning name (huge shrug from me) (40D: Lewis Carroll's real last name, hence Lewis's last name in "Jurassic Park") and LOGOMANIA ... :( ... if you say so (30D: Slangy term for an obsession with branded fashion items). Admittedly, fashion terminology is not my strong suit, but that feels made up. Do people really use it? LOGOMANIA sounds like a passion for words or reason, not a passion for the little polo-playing guy or the "LV" on the Louis-Vuitton luggage. Not excited by that answer. Very excited, however, by full-named ERIK SATIE (among my ten, maybe five, favorite composers) (14D: Early 20th-century composer who introduced the typewriter as a percussion instrument). 

You see his name in parts a lot in crosswords, so it was fun to see the parts all together. Also enjoyed AIM TO PLEASE and BEATNIKS and RUBIK'S CUBES, though an ASTUTE editor (or editor's assistant) would've vetoed the "cubed" part of the POKE BOWL clue (13A: Hawaiian dish with cubed fish) on the grounds of duplicate "cubes." That's too conspicuous a word to (needlessly) double like that. On the whole, I thought this was pretty GREAT. A simple theme concept that was sufficiently tough to uncover, and a smooth grid full of varied answers (light on names—DODGSON notwithstanding—heavy on polish).

Notes:

• 19A: Like the last name of swimming legend Diana Nyad (APT) — naiads = "nymphs who lived in and presided over brooks, springs, and fountains" (American Heritage), i.e. water nymphs. Swimmers swim in (surprise!) water. So: APT.
• 33A: Forgo a ring, maybe (KNOCK) — gah! Anyone else reflexively write in ELOPE!? Any five-letter answer with a punny-looking clue, and my first instinct is always ELOPE. Not sure why ELOPE in particular tends to attract the punny clues (e.g. [Take the honey and run?]), but it does, and this clue had ELOPE written all over it. Until it didn't. "A ring" here is the doorbell.

• 50A: Dutch banking giant (ING) — back when I thought 43D: Hamper, e.g. (BIN) was BOX, I thought this [Dutch banking giant] was OXO ... because I misread "banking" as "baking" ... and then thought maybe the clue was talking about the kitchenware brand, OXO. There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.
• 63A: CBS drama with five spinoffs (NCIS) — first thought: "... all of them?" How many CSIs were there? How many FBIs are there? Chicago [blank]s? I mean, if the franchise formula works, why stop? But it's still a bit ridiculous.
• 48D: Bass organs (GILLS) — Oh, that kind of bass. And that kind of organ. Double-ambiguous! Clue really looks like it wants a musical instrument for an answer.
• 11D: Chess : check :: go : ___ (ATARI) — I assume I'm like most people (in this one way) in that I had to piece this together from crosses and then infer it from the idea that I know that "go" is a Japanese game, and ATARI is a video game company with a Japanese name. The company was named after this "go" term, it turns out: "Before Atari's incorporation, Bushnell considered various terms from the game Go, eventually choosing atari, referencing a position in the game when a group of stones is imminently in danger of being taken by one's opponent. Atari was incorporated in the state of California on June 27, 1972" (wikipedia).
• 18A: Astronauts' outpost, for short (ISS) — International Space Station.
• 39A: Samira Wiley's role on "The Handmaid's Tale" (MOIRA) — more TV I haven't watched. I read that novel in the '80s and loved it and have never had any desire to see it revisited. I did see the 1990 film adaptation when it came out, though. I remember liking it, though apparently most people didn't. The screenplay was written by Harold Pinter!? Kinda want to revisit it now ...

• 61A: Unapproved, pharmaceutically (OFF-LABEL) — could not get beyond "OFF-BRAND." Until crosses forced me.

More Holiday Pet Pics now.

A few memorial photos to open today's set. First up, Maxine, playing her favorite game, "Where's Maxine?" "Screw Waldo, Maxine is best hider! Master of disguise. I am plush toy! They never find me now..." RIP, Maxine.

[Thanks, Cyndie]

Next up are two animals from the family of frequent blog commenter Mimi ("@A"). First, there's Eudora Welty aka "boo-boo," in typical "not a place for cats" position. Cats—turning four square inches of real estate into a throne since forever:

And then there's Kaya, who wants to open presents now, can we? (RIP to both these babies)

[Thanks, Mimi]

The following animals are still with us, as far as I know. I really feel like I've featured Milo and Grey here before, but I can't find any evidence, and anyway, look at them. I could feature them every day and who would complain?

[Thanks, Christopher]

Here's Amelia, next to that damned crossword ornament that we apparently all own. Amelia is part Dalmatian part Ewok all sweetness.

[Thanks, James and Megan]

And lastly, in honor of the official start of Chanukah (yesterday), we get a triptych of Bodie. The many Chanukah moods of Bodie. One minute he's belting out "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah"!...

... the next, he's a professional model. Do you need dignified, or relaxed and casual? Bodie can give you any look you require. 

[Thanks, Jill and Ronnie]

See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]