Gets zero m.p.g., say / MON 3-10-25 / Singer Goulding with the 2015 8x platinum hit "Love Me Like You Do / Anxiety about exclusion, for short / Jazz singer Anita

Constructor: PATTI VAROL
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium 

     

THEME: DOUBLE BACK (63A: Turn around and return ... or a feature of 17-, 24-, 32-, 45- and 51-Across?) — The "Back" of each of the theme answers features a "doubled" set of letters.

Word of the Day: SEAMUS (31A: Nobel Prize-winning poet ____ Heaney) —

Seamus Justin Heaney MRIA (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is Death of a Naturalist (1966), his first major published volume. American poet Robert Lowell described him as "the most important Irish poet since Yeats", and many others, including the academic John Sutherland, have said that he was "the greatest poet of our age".^[3][4] Robert Pinsky has stated that "with his wonderful gift of eye and ear Heaney has the gift of the story-teller."^[5] Upon his death in 2013, The Independent described him as "probably the best-known poet in the world"

• • •

Hi everyone, long time no blog! It's Eli, taking my turn as a Rexplacement for today's Monday puzzle. And I'm lucky enough to get to blog a puzzle by Patti Varol, editor of my hometown LA Times crossword. If you aren't familiar, under Patti's stewardship the LA Times has gone from an afterthought puzzle for me to a must solve. I don't think it's a coincidence that the rise in quality has corresponded to a focus on women and other under-represented constructors. If you liked today's puzzle (like I did!), be sure to check out the LA Times.

Today's puzzle was just delightful to me. The theme wasn't anything too special, but it's a Monday; all I really want is a puzzle with some pop. If I wanted to nitpick (and I guess I am blogging about a crossword), the revealer of DOUBLE BACK implies more to me that the ends of the themers should reverse (ie - LADY GAAG instead of LADY GAGA). But the actual answers were sparkly enough that I didn't dwell on it. When the aforementioned Lady Gaga is the least interesting theme answer, that's a nice Monday. I guess there's a few more pop culture proper names than some people might like, but it does put it squarely in my wheelhouse.

Theme answers:

• LITTLE LULU (17A: Girl of classic comics who sported ringlets and a red outfit)

I couldn't tell you anything about Little Lulu, but I could identify her on sight. Also, here's notoriously cranky comic writer Alan Moore singing about her on (what else) The Simpsons:

• TEAM COCO (24A: Producer of the "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" podcast)

I've been a massive Conan O'Brien fan since his time at (what else) The Simpsons. I thought he did a great job hosting the Oscars, and his Hot Ones appearance last year is legendary. Speaking of Hot Sauce, here's a clip from his old Late Night show that holds a special place in my heart:

• FUNNY HAHA (32A: Entertaining, as opposed to disturbing)

Conan O'Brien is funny haha. So is (what else) The Simpsons.

• PROUD PAPA (45A: Words on a Little League dad's T-shirt, perhaps)

Another small beef: I like this answer, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen it on a t-shirt. Or if I have, it wasn't at a Little League game.

• LADY GAGA (51A: "A Star Is Born" co-star (2018))

I'm also a big fan of Gaga, but she doesn't need me to promote her new album here.

So, nice answers for a basic theme, right? I had fun solving it. But the fill was a step above your average Monday, too. I just don't see much objectionable. I like that IONA (16A: University in New Rochelle, N.Y.) and SKYE (59D: Terrier breed named for a Scottish isle) almost make a plug for Ione Skye's new memoir. She's been making the podcast rounds this week, and I've been enjoying her. OSHEA (27D: ___ Jackson Jr., "Cocaine Bear" actor) and UHURA (33D: "Star Trek" role for Saldaña and Nichols) make for a nice pairing of black pop culture. I also would never turn down a SIDECAR, even if the clue is about the motorcycle car and not the cocktail (10D: Passenger compartment on a motorcycle). It was a nice, breezy solve that put up just enough of a fight to make me work and had me smiling the whole way through.

Bullets:

• 42A: ___ and whey (CURDS) — I have cheddar cheese curds in my fridge right now. I have to go to a different, farther out grocery store to get them, but when you want to make poutine, what choice do you have?
• 4D: Jason of "Ozark" (BATEMAN) — Between this answer (and its related Smartless association) and TEAM COCO, this puzzle is really reminding me what podcasts I'll be getting this morning.
• 47D: Wetland area where organic fuel is harvested (PEAT BOG) — Mmmmm, peated whisky. I'm due for a bottle of Lagavulin...
• 49D: "Doctor Who vehicle that mimics a police box (TARDIS) — TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Its chameleon circuit broke in the 60s, freezing it in the shape of a London police box. It's bigger on the inside. That pretty much covers what you might need to know about it for crosswords. Here's some pictures of me with both the exterior and the interior console from when my wife and I visited the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff 12 years ago. In case you were wondering what kind of nerd cool kid it takes to blog about crosswords.

 

I hope you all enjoyed the puzzle as much as I did. Not a bad way to start the week at all!

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

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