Completely change course, in business jargon / WED 12-31-25 / Gathering for this puzzle's attendees / Cry of loyalty in old France / One-named performer known as "Mr. Showmanship" / Stipulation for some keto dieters / Engine stat, in brief / Book reviewer, for short / Marketplace of ancient Greece / Veil worn by Muslim women

Constructor: Jeffrey Martinovic

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Gathering for this puzzle's attendees"— This is the clue for four theme answers; the "attendees" are just the squares in the puzzle—every theme answer is a "gathering" involving a word for "square":

Theme answers:

• SQUARE DANCE (19A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
• CELL RECEPTION (35A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
• BOX SOCIAL (43A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
• BLOCK / PARTY (61A: With 63-Across, gathering for this puzzle's attendees)

Word of the Day: Council of TRENT (25D: Site of a historic council) —

The Council of Trent (Latin: Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation." It was the last time a Catholic ecumenical council was organized outside the city of Rome, and the second time a council was convened in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire (the first being the Council of Constance).

The Council issued key statements and clarifications of the Church's doctrine and teachings, including scripture, the biblical canon, sacred tradition, original sin, justification, salvation, the sacraments, the Mass, and the veneration of saints and also issued condemnations of what it defined to be heresies committed by proponents of Protestantism. The consequences of the council were also significant with regard to the Church's liturgy and censorship. (wikipedia)

• • •

Trying desperately to figure out how CELL RECEPTION isn't a fatal flaw. The other "gatherings" are ... actually gatherings. Real names for real events where people get together and have a good time. Whereas CELL RECEPTION refers to the strength of your mobile phone signal. It's not an event at all. What am I missing? Is CELL RECEPTION a variety of party that I just don't know about? A party in prison, maybe? It just doesn't make any sense in this puzzle, where all the other themers are real parties. Those parties cohere so nicely as a set. And then you've got CELL RECEPTION flung down in here like ... like, I don't know what? Like it wants to be the revealer, maybe, but the puzzle doesn't need one ... and then so instead of leaving because it's not needed, CELL RECEPTION just decided to stick around. It's really the fly in the soup today. I mean, if the theme had involved making puns, changing the meaning of the second word in the phrase, you might have something. But today's wordplay involves reimagining the first words, the "boxes," not the parties. CELL RECEPTION is not an actual type of gathering and therefore has absolutely no business being in this grid.

 I probably should've made BOX SOCIAL my Word of the Day, since that will be the least familiar type of "gathering" today, I think. I've been to block parties and I've at least seen square dances in movies, but I don't really know much about BOX SOCIALs. They feel old-fashioned. Like sock hops, but older, and with less dancing. So, not very much like sock hops at all. Merriam-Webster Dot Com tells me that a BOX SOCIAL is "a fund-raising affair at which box lunches are auctioned to the highest bidder." Wiktionary has a somewhat more detailed definition: "A fundraising event in which boxes are decorated and filled with meals for two (traditionally by women) and others (traditionally men) bid on them, anticipating a meal with the preparer." This makes it seem kinda creepy, like the women rather than the lunches are being auctioned off. Whatever the precise meaning, BOX SOCIAL seems like it has less currency in 2025 (soon to be 2026) than the other "gatherings," but it fits the theme perfectly. Really, truly, three of these themers are right on the mark. Shame about that fourth one.

The fill had highs and lows. LIBERACE MANSCAPED is a complete sentence that I would totally believe. "Did he? ... yeah, I can see that." "VIVE LE ROI!" is something I can imagine an enthusiastic French audience shouting at LIBERACE (9D: Cry of loyalty in old France + 36D: One-named performer known as "Mr. Showmanship"). Did anyone ever call LIBERACE "PAPA BEAR" (4D: Fairy tale character with a hard bed)? Seems plausible. Anyway, I like this puzzle's LIBERACEness—very festive, perfect for the occasion (which seems to be a New Year's Eve party, what with this being New Year's Eve and there being balloons and party hats all over the grid). GETS COMFY is also a nice longer answer. I don't like IDLE CHAT because the phrase is "idle chatter." It really is. Googles much better. Shows up on the first page of hits when you try to search "IDLE CHAT." I see that "IDLE CHAT" is a phrase that exists, that people sometimes say, but all it does is make me think of the real phrase, which is idle chatter. NO CARBS is an absurdity, as there is no surviving as a human without some carbs (22A: Stipulation for some keto dieters). The fill gets real ugly in the SW, which is where I finished up, unfortunately—never good to close on a low note. Ugly "a" phrase (ADAB) next to prefix (MILLI) next to absurd plural (NOGOS) two doors down from EKE. Rough stuff. The rest holds up OK.

I had a slow start because I absurdly wrote in MAC for 1A: Big name in pickup trucks (RAM) and then crossed it with MPG at 1D: Engine stat, in brief (RPM). This meant that 16A: Smaller than small (MINI) looked like it was going to be ... GIGA, a prefix that is very much not "small." I also botched the spelling of NIQAB, though that's more predictable and less embarrassing, somehow (13D: Veil worn by Muslim women). I think I conflated NIQAB and HIJAB and ended up with NIJAB? Something like that. The NIQAB extends the concept of HIJAB (head covering) to the face. Will I remember this distinction? Who knows!?

Bullets:

• 30A: Marketplace of ancient Greece (AGORA) — I'm not normally that happy to see AGORA in the grid (it's crosswordese of the highest order), but today, since I imagine the AGORA as a public square, I kinda like the fact that it's here, sitting pride of place, nearly dead center. Guest of honor at all the various square dances. 
• 17A: Completely change course, in business jargon (PIVOT) — a perfectly good word—why steer the clue into "business jargon"? No one wants to think about that.

• 38D: Word fittingly evoked by the phrase "Together everyone achieves more" (TEAM) — turns TEAM into an acronym
• 60D: Book reviewer, for short (CPA) — "Book" in the singular is sort of weird here, since accounting records are almost always "books," but OK, sure [Book reviewer]. Just watched a great film noir about a CPA (unlikely, but true!). Joan Crawford works her way up from poverty to a life of glamour by charming, exploiting, and discarding a series of men, the first of whom is a mousy CPA whom she convinces to become the accountant for a mob boss. Her fortunes get better from there, until, of course, inevitably they get much much worse. The movie in question costars Kent Smith as the mousy CPA, David Brian as mob boss Nick Castleman, and Steve Cochran as a west coast mobster trying to break away from east coast leadership. The movie's title?—one of the pulpiest of all time: The Damned Don't Cry (it's on HBO Max but might be leaving tomorrow, so why not watch it today? I can think of worse ways to spend New Year's Eve) 

Time now for more 🌲🐈Holiday Pet Pics🐕🌲! Note: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE PET PICS, I'M ALL FULL UP FOR THIS YEAR, thank you.

Usually you hang lights on the tree, not the dogs, but Ruby and Poppy are happy to indulge your weird lighting fantasies ...

[Thanks, Jennifer!]

This one is entitled "Orion with visions of sugarplums." Probably actually "Orion sees a squirrel," but you gotta have some imagination. 

[Thanks, Judy!]

OK, this photo is fooling no one, Maggie, but since you went through the trouble of trying to Christmasify your dog, and since your dog is so adorable, I'll allow it. Buffy is a classroom dog! They have classroom dogs now? I never had a classroom dog. I want a classroom dog. All classrooms should have dogs. "As Provost, I will..."

[Thanks, Maggie!]

Kyoshi would prefer that you back up a step or two or twelve.

[Thanks, Thomas!]

And finally, a pair of more and less successful pet photo shoots. First there's Olive, seen here in her puppy days, posing sassily for the camera (RIP sweet Olive, who died earlier this month).

And then there's Moxie, who will not willingly participate in whatever you have planned. The look of betrayal on her face. "How could you?"

[Thanks, Hannah!]

See you next time. Have a fun, safe, happy New Year's Eve.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Fizzled out completely / TUES 12-30-25 / Fun word to shout into a canyon / Oblong tomato type / "Absolument!" / Climactic fight in a video game

Hi, everyone, it’s Clare for the last Tuesday of December — and the last Tuesday of 2025! Hope that everyone has had a happy holiday season and that everyone has a great start to their new year. I’ve been lounging around and baking a lot, watching sports a lot, working (a little), and reading as much as I can. Goodreads gave me a year-end review, and I’ve apparently read (or listened to) 127 books this year — so I guess I know what I’ve been doing in my free time! The books have certainly helped take my mind off the fact that my sports teams have been a bit dismal lately. Even if my Steelers squeak into the playoffs, they’d probably lose in the first game (again). 

Anywho, on to the puzzle…

Constructors: Geoffrey Schorkopf and Will Eisenberg

Relative difficulty: Medium (for a Tuesday)

THEME: BUY A VOWEL (60A: Spend money on "Wheel of Fortune" ... which won't help much for solving 17-, 21-, 36-, 41- and 53-Across!) — The circled letter in each theme answer is the only vowel present… and they appear in sequential order

Theme answers:

• LGBTQ FLAG (17A: Something to wave with pride?) 
• WENT PFFT (21A: Fizzled out completely) 
• BMX TRICKS (36A: Flashy cycling maneuvers) 
• NBC SPORTS (41A: "Sunday Night Football" producer) 
• PR STUNTS (53A: They're pulled to garner media attention, informally)

Word of the Day: RODIN (39A: "The Thinker" sculptor) —

François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay. He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell… The Thinker is a bronze sculpture depicting a nude male figure of heroic size, seated on a large rock, leaning forward, his right elbow placed upon his left thigh, with the back of his right hand supporting his chin in a posture evocative of deep thought and contemplation. This universally recognized expression of "deep thought" has made the sculpture one of the most widely known artworks in the world. (Wiki)

• • •

And now… I’d like to solve the puzzle. 

This was a nicely executed theme with a cute revealer. I liked being able to look back at the puzzle and see the progression of the vowels, and I can appreciate the effort that went into finding so many theme answers that only had one vowel. That said, answers with only one vowel can look pretty strange. WENT PFFT (21A) is a seriously ugly answer. BMX TRICKS (36A) looks odd, too. And the other theme answers didn’t inspire me much. I also initially wondered why they chose not to make it the LGBTQIA flag (17A), then realized that would’ve had too many vowels. 

There was some nice longer fill. I liked AUSPICIOUS (9D: Like good omens) and SQUALL (13D: Sudden, powerful gust of wind). The clue for SEA BED (44A: Wet floor?) was really clever (once I finally got it). I found DROOL (33A: [That looks delicious …]) for some reason to be a fun clue/answer combo. And the world needs more GLITTER (8D: Hard-to-clean-up sparkly stuff). I got BOSS BATTLE (27D: Climactic fight in a video game) because I listened to the audiobook for “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” whose narrator does amazing voices and which made me laugh, so that was a fun callback. 

I didn’t know EDWIN (50D: Scientist Hubble with a telescope named after him) but was able to get the “w” from VOWEL (60A) and figured the rest out from there. I hadn’t heard the expression “And SO TO bed” (4D), so that looked very strange to me. ISOLA (19A: Sardinia, e.g., to Sardinians) made me pause. “Isle” and “isla” are common enough, but I didn’t know the Italian word for “island.” And I’ve never heard of the KARA Sea (46D: arm of the Arctic Ocean) before. I looked it up, and if my sources are accurate, KARA has only appeared in the Will Shortz era of the puzzles 12 times, including today. Only three of those appearances clued it as the KARA Sea — once in a Friday, once in a Sunday, and now once in a Tuesday puzzle. All that to say, I needed the crosses to get the word (which luckily weren’t too hard). 

Some of the rest of the fill was a letdown. Like having 40A and 45A both as "That’s not good!" — as OH NO and YIKES, respectively. As Rex says, if you have bad fill, don’t draw attention to it by doing things like doubling up on clues. And, as I’ve often said, I hate clues that are so ambiguous they could have a bunch of answers. XES IN (37D: Marks, as a ballot square) also looked particularly bad (though I understand the need for the X there). And the clue for SMILE (62A: Upside-down frown) really had me frowning.

Misc.:

• One of the gifts I got for Christmas from my parents was PJS (53D: Nightwear, informally) — or, rather, a PJ top. My mom didn’t realize the pieces were sold separately, so I will get the bottoms later. 
• I was talking with my dad and sister about the puzzle, and ELIDE (64A: Skip over, in speech) produced a funny family moment. While we were all sitting on the couch,, my sister said the word correctly, and my dad insisted she was wrong — e-LEED, he said. She told him he was often wrong about pronunciation, so he pulled up the internet to prove her wrong, and… she was right. 
• In the spirit of a year-end review, here are my top five books of the year, if you’re curious (in no particular order except the first one) — “The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow, “The Raven Scholar” by Antonia Hodgson, “Malice” by Keigo Higashino, “Hungerstone” by Kat Dunn, and “Blood Over Bright Haven” by M. L. Wang. Maybe you could find something to enjoy in there in 2026! 
• And finally, shoutout to Cooper’s owner, whom I met at a dog park in D.C. and who recognized Red from the crossword and asked me, “Is your name by chance ‘Clare’?” Cooper is a very cute doggo! And because I can’t end the year without another picture of my puppy, here’s Red at the beach on Christmas Eve.

I look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Signed, Clr Crrll (who didn’t have enough money to buy a vowel)

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Battle cry of the U.S. Marine Corps / MON 12-29-25 / 1996 #1 hit for the Spice Girls / Where Shrek lives / Tin Man's need

Constructor: Chase Dittrich

Relative difficulty: Challenging (solving Downs-only—a nearly impossible Downs-only solve for me, because of one "word")

THEME: THE TOTAL PACKAGE (63A: Description for an ideal partner ... or what the ends of 17-, 27-, 39- and 47-Across create? — elements of a package

Theme answers:

• WORKS FOR PEANUTS (17A: Is severely underpaid)
• RECORD LABEL (27A: Motown or RCA)
• JURY BOX (39A: Seating area for 12 peers)
• BOOKS ON TAPE (47A: Works that are heard rather than read)

Word of the Day: OORAH (3D: Battle cry of the U.S. Marine Corps) —

Oorah is a battle cry common in the United States Marine Corps since the mid-20th century.

Several anecdotes attributed the phrase to John R. Massaro's time as a gunnery sergeant in the Reconnaissance Company, 1st Marine Division, in the mid-1950s. Massaro (who later became sergeant major of the Marine Corps) and other Marines who trained aboard the submarine USS Perch, beginning in 1949, used oorah in imitation of the vessel's klaxon horn (which sounded like arrugha). Others have attributed the phrase's popularization to Massaro's subsequent time at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, where use of the word spread.

Massaro has said that he did not originate the word (saying in 2015: "It was a phrase or a term originally coming from boarding a ship") and that the word was already in use in 1949. (wikipedia)

• • •

A very dull theme, but that's not the worst thing happening here. The worst thing is OORAH. I thought I was losing my mind. How is it Monday and yet there's a word I've never seen, or heard of, in the puzzle. I use the word "word" loosely. "OORAH!" has never, not once, not ever, appeared in the NYTXW before. If I had encountered this "word" on a Saturday, I'd've been befuddled, but at least I would've thought "hey, it's Saturday, sometimes they throw new stuff at you on a Saturday." On a Monday, however, that answer just feels perverse. It makes absolutely no sense to opt for "OORAH!" over NORAH or TORAH there. What purpose is being served? Why would you do that? It demonstrates the worst kind of aesthetic judgment. It's show-offy in the dumbest possible way. I've talked about how "Not All Debuts Are Good." Well, "OORAH" is the epitome of that proposition. If its appearance had been born out of desperation—perhaps as a result of a dense theme that forced an inventive answer—I might've understood. If something bright or good or original or colorful were being propped up by "OORAH!," that might've made it somewhat more tolerable. But as is, this is a puzzle with a mediocre theme and fairly meh fill. GAIA CERA ERMA ECRU OER ELS ... it's not like this puzzle is being "inventive" or "creative" anywhere else in the grid. So opting for "OORAH!"—a term that looks like nonsense if you aren't familiar with it—when NORAH is sitting right there? Or the TORAH, for (literally) God's sake!? Pardon my French, but that's stupid. A terrible call. Inexcusable. 

I actually "got" OORAH, but only because I entered those "O"s as a kind of joke—I was guessing, going off of the OORAH's aural similarity to that other military exclamation, "HOO-AH" (or however you say it). Looking it up, it seems HOOAH is Army and OORAH is Marines and HOOYAH is Navy and it's all Greek to me.  (You can read about the distinctions among those terms here.)  Before today, literally none of these expressions had ever appeared in the NYTXW. Again, it is Monday. Just tear that whole corner out and start over. Resorting to OORAH is a massive distraction. I don't really remember anything else about this puzzle. If OORAH isn't a massive outlier today in terms of general solver familiarity, I'll be surprised. Stunned, in fact. You wanna get cute with OORAH, your puzzle's gotta be a hell of a lot better than this.

When I saw PEANUTS at the end of one of the themers, I was kinda hoping there'd be a comic strip theme today, but alas, no. Just ... parts of a package. It's a pretty dull concept, but it might've at least had some seasonal relevance if it had run before 12/25. Running it on the Monday after Christmas... again, inexplicable. OORAH wasn't my only struggle point today, just the most nearly fatal one. You can see from this snapshot of my Downs-only solve (taken mid-solve) that I was having real trouble getting the grid to coalesce:

WAIL instead of BAWL (1D: Cry like a baby). AVID instead of AGOG (6D: Really eager). NYLON instead of RAYON (29D: Synthetic fiber). So weird to get all the way to the revealer at the bottom of the grid before getting even a single themer. You can see how NYLON (wrong) caused me to infer SECOND as the first word of that second themer, which got me even more mired. But after getting the revealer, I methodically worked my way back up the grid, filling in empty patches, fixing errors. Until I ended up here:

And that was it. Done. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do but guess. When I look at how blah the rest of this grid, I just get angrier at OORAH. Why not take that "creative" impulse and put it to use cleaning up the rest of the damned grid!? REA? OH RATS? This is what you're serving up? You haven't earned the right to throw an OORAH at anyone. [OK, I have now watched my wife solve this puzzle Downs-only and whaddyaknow!!? She crashed out in exactly the same place—same two squares; I feel at least mildly vindicated. Her: "They could've just made it NORAH." Me: "I KNOW!"].

[Katabasis!]

Bullets:

• 9A: Where Shrek lives (SWAMP) — if I'd been looking at Across clues, I wouldn't have known what to do with this clue. I think I saw one of the Shrek movies once, whenever it originally came out. If I ever read the William Steig book, I forgot the plot. I would've been looking for a specific place here, like CAIRO or MIAMI or OWEGO (winking at my fellow central New Yorkers here).
• 35A: Stephen of "V for Vendetta" (REA) — crosswords have made this guy more famous than movies ever did. See also singer Chris REA (see video, above). I guess either one is better than [Mens ___], but not by much. Looks like REA also (rarely) gets clued as part of FDR's New Deal Alphabet Soup (in this case, the Rural Electrification Act). When you go back to pre-Shortz puzzles, REA clues descend into chaos. [Penn Station builder]? [John ___ Neill, "Oz" illustrator]!? At one point the most popular REA was [Cartoonist Gardner ___]. Looks like he was an "old New Yorker cartoonist," per the last time he was in the puzzle (1999). Wait, there's also [___ Irvin, who designed the first cover for the New Yorker] (what is with the name REA and cartoonist/illustrators!?!?). Also (once), [Peggy of "The Dukes of Hazzard"] (!??!?!). But mostly, since I've been solving, it's been Stephen ___ and Mens ___.
• 45A: Tin Man's need (OIL) — saw this just now for the first time (since it's an Across clue) and thought, "a HEART!" 

• 10D: 1996 #1 hit for the Spice Girls ("WANNABE") — if OORAH didn't get you, Downs-only solvers, then "WANNABE" might have. I was humming the damn song in my head but couldn't remember the name. "Oh, yeah, it's the tell me what you want, what you really really want song! ... 'TELL ME?'"

Some more 🌲🐈Holiday Pet Pics🐕🌲 now! Note: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE PET PICS, I'M ALL FULL UP FOR THIS YEAR, thank you.

Here's Buzz and Kirby, just chilling under the tree. Sorry, you can put your "presents" somewhere else, these seats are taken:

Dogs in reindeer antlers is a surprisingly robust category of Holiday Pet Pictures. Sabrina likes to wear hers low.

[Thanks, Graeme!]

Doc the Jack Russell has moved on to Doggie Heaven. Here now is a live shot of Doggie Heaven. Seems pretty nice. They got martinis and everything. 

[Thanks, Barb & Alan]

Another memorial photo, this one of Perla, who is just as good as any "present," better even. Unwrap Perla next!

[Thanks, Steve!]

Senior cat Georgette is enjoying her second Christmas in her new home. It's tough when your original owner dies, but Georgette seems to have gotten herself into a pretty sweet situation. Loving humans, tuna treats on demand. Could be worse.

[Thanks, John!]

And finally Tostada, I repeat Tostada. Tostada, everybody. It's Tostada. How is this animal real!? A wide-faced puffy ball of sleep. Cuteness personified. Ailurophobe healer. Mythical miniature yeti cat of the central west mountainscape. Voracious hunter, lethal cuddler. Tostada!

[Thanks, Barbara!]

That's it. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld  

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Dodger's comeuppance / SUN 12-28-25 / Personification of darkness, in Greek myth / S.L.R. insert since the early 2000s / Full legislative assembly / Some summers, in brief / Uses an alternate account to play against easier opponents, in gamer-speak / Creatures formed from the fingers of the sea goddess Sedna, in Inuit myth / Blue-necked bird / Eschew the high road / Mythical figure undone by hubris

Constructor: Alex Eaton-Salners

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "Off Broadway Musicals" — theme clues are titles of musicals, which must be taken literally in order to arrive at the correct answers:

Theme answers:

• 23A: Rock of Ages (ROSETTA STONE)
• 25A: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (NEPOTISM)
• 44A: A Class Act (FIELD TRIP)
• 47A: A Strange Loop (MOBIUS STRIP)
• 67A: A Little Night Music (LULLABY)
• 69A: Rent (SPLIT)
• 70A: A Chorus Line (REFRAIN)
• 88A: The Producers (PROLETARIAT)
• 91A: Into the Woods (OUTDOORSY)
• 111A: The Wiz (EINSTEIN)
• 113A: Mean Girls (AVERAGE JANES)

Word of the Day: BABUR (74D: Founder of the Mughal Empire) —

Babur (Persian: ببر, Persian: [bɑː.βuɾ]; 14 February 1483 – 26 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also given the posthumous name of Firdaws Makani ('Dwelling in Paradise'). [...] Religiously, Babur started his life as a staunch Sunni Muslim, but he underwent significant evolution. Babur became more tolerant as he conquered new territories and grew older, allowing other religions to peacefully coexist in his empire and at his court. He also displayed a certain attraction to theology, poetry, geography, history, and biology—disciplines he promoted at his court—earning him a frequent association with representatives of the Timurid Renaissance. His religious and philosophical stances are characterized as humanistic. // Babur married several times. Notable among his children were Humayun, Kamran Mirza, Hindal Mirza, Masuma Sultan Begum, and the author Gulbadan Begum. Babur died in 1530 in Agra and Humayun succeeded him. Babur was first buried in Agra but, as per his wishes, his remains were moved to Kabul and reburied. He ranks as a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems have become popular folk songs. He wrote the Baburnama in Chaghatai Turkic; it was translated into Persian during the reign (1556–1605) of his grandson, the emperor Akbar. (wikipedia)

• • •

[10D: Kylo ___ of "Star Wars"]

"How to Make Musicals Boring." I guess if you like seeing names of musicals, this might hold some interest. I'll admit that a few of the hyperliteral theme answers were kinda funny (NEPOTISM, for instance, for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying; or OUTDOORSY for Into the Woods— that was pretty good). But mostly this was a snooze, both themewise and fillwise. There's not really anything to it. There are presumably hundreds of musical titles to choose from, and you can take any of them literally, and imagine potential answers of all kinds of lengths, and then out of that set, pick a bunch that will fit symmetrically in a grid. The end. I don't even know what A Class Act or A Strange Loop are. If they're iconic musicals, they got past me, that's for sure. But that doesn't matter. No need to have actually heard of the musicals because all the clues are just ... literal. The title of this puzzle is "Off Broadway Musicals," but there's nothing really "Off" about these clues. They're literal. Maybe we, as solvers, are supposed to sense that something is "off," awry, amiss. I dunno. Whatever pun fun is supposed to be happening there is lost on me. 

I also don't know what AVERAGE JANES are. Is that like ... a female version of AVERAGE JOES? Shrug. The whole thing is a shrug. There's "gamer-speak" (ugh) (SMURFS) (48D: Uses an alternate account to play against easier opponents, in gamer-speak). Weapons of police brutality (TASER). CATTLE PEN. Nothing here I was terribly happy to see. And from REDD to PARTA to CIERA to ERMA to LSAT to IMA to AER to YENTE to ETOILE, the grid seemed to lean pretty into tired fill and crosswordese. Didn't really give us any new looks, anything to really admire. I don't see the appeal.

My path through this thing was bizarre. I just sort of ... drifted. Down, down, down. My first themer was SPLIT (which I didn't really recognize as a themer), and then I didn't see another one until I was at the bottom of the grid, with AVERAGE JANES. And from there I started climbing back up. Totally meandering. Not my normal M.O., but cross after cross was easy and I just followed where the crosses took me, and next thing I knew, I'd traversed the grid:

Only tough part was BABUR, a name that made its first NYTXW appearance back in August, but one that I clearly didn't fix firmly in my brain. Needed every single cross. Otherwise, the only toughness in the puzzle came in trying to figure out the theme answers. Some of them were ... unexpected. Stretches, even, you might say. PROLETARIAT was perhaps the most unlikely-seeming. I guess from a Marxist perspective, yes, the PROLETARIAT are the "producers" (of goods) who are exploited in a capitalist system by those who own the means of production. They receive less (in wages) than what their labor is actually worth, "the remainder appropriated by the bourgeoisie as profit" (wikipedia). In case you were wondering what that clue was about, that's what that clue was about. The other theme clues seem pretty straightforward. Not sure what is "of Ages" about the ROSETTA STONE. Is it "of Ages" because ... it's old? When I think of the ROSETTA STONE, I think of translation, not "Ages."

The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts, respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek. The decree has only minor differences across the three versions, making the Rosetta Stone key to deciphering the Egyptian scripts.

Nothing else seems hard to understand today. The "summers" in 81D: Some summers, in brief (CPAS) are people who do sums, that is, people who add numbers together. I completely forgot what the SD part of SD CARD stands for (6A: S.L.R. insert since the early 2000s). Nope, turns out I never knew. Seems to have originally stood for "Secure Digital." Even if I had known that, hard to imagine I'd enjoy seeing SDCARD in the grid. Despite SDCARDs having been in existence for over a quarter of a century, this is SDCARD's NYTXW debut. Definitely falls under the "Not All Debuts Are Good" category. Side note: SIM CARD has appeared in the NYTXW twice. For some reason, I don't mind it nearly as much.

Bullets:

• 20A: One sporting an article of apparel (WEARER) — well, it's a word, but the clue is completely unimaginative, which makes the word seem awkward. [One sporting an article apparel] is literally everyone in the clothed world. I'm a WEARER, you're a WEARER, he's a WEARER, she's a WEARER ... there's gotta be a more specific context for this word.

• 36A: Swallow something hook, line and sinker (EAT IT UP) — author Len Deighton has a series of spy novels from the '80s/'90s called the Hook, Line and Sinker Trilogy. Actor Bill Nighy recommended Deighton on his "ill-advised" podcast, so I've got the first of the series, Spy Hook, sitting next to my comfy chair here at home (thank you, public library!). If I can finish R.F. Kuang's Katabasis in the next few days, I might have time to cram Spy Hook in before New Year's. Otherwise, it's going to have to wait another week or two, since I'm starting the new year with Dickens (an idea stolen from my friend Levi Stahl). This year—my inaugural Dickens year—I'm going with Dombey & Son (1846-48). Got me a beat-up, orange-spined Penguin copy from the mid-late 20th century, since that is what my brain thinks Dickens books are supposed to look like (like they looked when I was in college).

• 56A: Full legislative assembly (PLENUM) — from the Latin for "ugly-looking and ugly-sounding word." Rhymes with "Blenheim," I assume. Or maybe "venom." Or maybe "screen 'em!" I dunno.
• 58A: Personification of darkness, in Greek myth (EREBUS) — I never learned about whoever this is. I learned the name from crosswords, possibly when I learned that the southernmost active volcano in the world is Mount EREBUS in Antarctica.
• 72A: Creatures formed from the fingers of the sea goddess Sedna, in Inuit myth (SEALS) — this clue is interesting! Teach me Inuit mythology, I'm into it. Maybe don't put SEDNA in the grid anytime soon, though. Baby steps. Here is a video of two SEALS at play.
• 99A: Eschew the high road (GO LOW) — a phrase popularized by Michelle Obama: "When they GO LOW, we go high"—how did that strategy work out? I forget.
• 16D: Cheep trills? (TWITTERS) — I like this clue's commitment to the pun. To both puns. The double pun. Puns should be ostentatious and or they should not exist at all.
• 17D: Dodger's comeuppance (IRS AUDIT) — so, a tax dodger. In fact, I had TAX AUDIT here at first.
• 45D: Mythical figure undone by hubris (ICARUS) — was it "overbearing pride" (i.e. "hubris") that caused ICARUS to fly too close to the sun? Or just regular old teenage disobedience?
• 56D: Blue Ribbon brand (PABST) — this reminds me: Blue Velvet is playing at the New Bev (in L.A.) next month, so if you live in the area you should definitely get out and see that on the big screen.

• 85D: Shell filling stations (TACO BARS) — I kinda want "shell-filling" to be hyphenated. Isn't it a compound adjective modifying "stations?" The clue wants us to think of gas stations, which you wouldn't, probably, if a hyphen was in there.
• 100D: Setting for Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" (OCEAN) — [sings parts of the song to himself trying to find the "OCEAN" part ... "hmmm hmmm glimpse of stocking ... silly gigolos ... etc."]. Turns out the clue is referring to the entire show (which takes place aboard an OCEAN liner), not just the song:

• 98D: Gathering of moles (INTEL) — thought this was going to be one of those dumb, made-up names for a group of animals, like ... a sequestering of moles, or something ridiculous like that. But instead it's the stuff that moles (i.e. long-term spies or sleeper agents) gather.
• 111A: Blue-necked bird (EMU) — they have blue necks? This is like learning a new OREO fact (that OREOs come in PIE form—not a new fact) (82D: Black-and-white desserts). 
• 37D: Short boxers, e.g. (PUPS) — as of right now, I have no idea what this means. I can see how [Young boxers, e.g.] might be PUPS, but "Short?" That ... is an expression I don't know. I guess young dogs are "short" compared to adult dogs, but no one talks that way. I thought for a bit that the answer was going to be PUGS, since "boxers" (the kind in a ring with gloves) are sometimes known slangily as "PUGS." But still, there's the matter of "short." Maybe it's underwear? Are there "short boxers" called PUPS? One of you will tell me how this clue works and then I'll come back here and add a note. But if the PUPS in question really are boxer puppies, I'm leaving this comment as is.

Speaking of PUPS (and other small animals)... time once again for 🌲🐈Holiday Pet Pics🐕🌲! Note: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE PET PICS, I'M ALL FULL UP FOR THIS YEAR, thank you.

Let's start with a bunch of memorial pet pics. Here's the late great Zoe Bear, adopted at 8, lived to 18, clearly very very fond of Christmas. Look how fond.

[Thanks, Chris!]

Cleo has been a part of prior Holiday Pet Pics extravaganzas. Sadly, she left us this year and is now leaping into Christmas trees in Cat Heaven. They have Christmas trees in Cat Heaven, right? Of course they do. Stupid question.

[Cleo, pre-leap]
[Thanks, Nancy!]

Look at this sweet, saucer-eyed baby. Eighteen years is a hell of a life for a dog. R.I.P., Toby. 

Here's Rosie. Her person writes: "Rosie is white in the face now but still with us for another Christmas. She buried the neckwear outside years ago."

[Thanks, Claudia!]

Next up, Bella and Cammie. See if you can tell who enjoys Christmas more:

[Bella, who did not consent to being part of this Christmas ring-toss game]

[Cammie, seen her in a still from her one-woman Christmas show, Santa Paws!]
[Thanks, Steven!]

And finally Casper, who does not look like a ghost at all and wants nothing to do with your proposed "all-dog version of A Christmas Carol." Just let Casper sleep.

[Thanks, Brady!]

That's it. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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