Famed shoe designer / MON 4-21-25 / Cute name for a spouse's task list / Place "rocked" in a Clash song / Sled pullers in the Arctic / Garfield's frenemy in the comics / Only nonrigid weapon in clue

Constructor: Thomas van Geel

Relative difficulty: Challenging (**for a Monday**) (**esp. if you're solving Downs-only**)

THEME: "GESUNDHEIT!" (56A: Polite response to the ends of 17-, 25-, 34- and 48-Across) — the ends of the themers represent a sneeze: "Ah, ah, ah ... Choo!":

Theme answers:

• BAR MITZVAH (17A: Coming-of-age ceremony)
• THE CASBAH (25A: Place "rocked" in a Clash song)
• CHEETAH (34A: Animal that can go 0-60 in three seconds)
• JIMMY CHOO (48A: Famed shoe designer)

Word of the Day: DOJA CAT (36D: "Paint the Town Red" rapper) —

Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (/ˈdoʊdʒə/), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song "So High" caught the attention of Kemosabe and RCA Records, with whom she signed a recording contract prior to the release of her debut extended play, Purrr! in 2014.

After a hiatus from releasing music and the uneventful rollout of her debut studio album, Amala (2018), Doja Cat earned viral success as an internet meme with her 2018 single "Mooo!", a novelty song in which she makes humorous claims about being a cow. Capitalizing on her growing popularity, she released her second studio album, Hot Pink, in the following year. The album later reached the top ten of the US Billboard 200 and spawned the single "Say So"; its remix featuring Nicki Minaj topped the Billboard Hot 100. Her third studio album, Planet Her (2021), spent four weeks at number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned the top ten singles "Kiss Me More" (featuring SZA), "Need to Know", and "Woman". Her fourth studio album, Scarlet (2023), adopted a hip-hop-oriented sound and peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200, while its lead single "Paint the Town Red" became her most successful song to date, as it marked her first solo number-one on the Hot 100 among eight other countries.

Described by The Wall Street Journal as "a skilled technical rapper with a strong melodic sense and a bold visual presence", Doja Cat is known for creating videos and performances which achieve virality on social media platforms such as TikTok. Well-versed in Internet culture, she is also famed for her absurdist online personality and stage presence. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including one Grammy Award from sixteen nominations, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, and five MTV Video Music Awards. She is one of the biggest commercial artists of the 2020s according to Billboard, and was included on the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in 2023. (wikipedia)

• • •

Did not like this grid at all. Ridiculously massive corners (esp. for an early-week grid) with a horribly choppy center. Centering CHEETAH in the grid appears to have had cascading consequences, resulting in ... this. So we get these absurd banks of 7s in every corner, but no good / spicy / interesting long Downs, of the type that tend to liven up themed puzzles. So no long Downs, but plenty of short dull stuff (ALEE AGAR SIS MAHI ODIE TNT AMIN (why!?) ELENA ADAS UNA SMEE etc.). Those banks of 7s are OK—they're not ugly or anything, they're just awkward. They make the puzzle feel lopsided and strange. And for those of us who solve Downs-only, the added challenge was almost too much. I couldn't believe I actually got the NW corner without much trouble. The NE corner, however, yeeeeeeeesh. I had ___ BET and no idea what was supposed to go there. EVEN? SAFE? The clue was not much help (10D: Not quite a sure thing). Its negative phrasing ("not quite") did not have me looking for a word as rosy as "GOOD." And then APPEASE? That seems reasonable, yes, but, when you have no letters but the "A" near the end (----A--), and the clue is 11D: Mollify, let me tell you, PLACATE seems like a pretty good option. 

[Legit love this song (content warning ... it gets a little saucy)]

The SE corner was a snap because I knew JIMMY CHOO and DOJA CAT—if the latter answer flummoxed you, don't say I didn't warn you. (and I quote: "Four letters, half vowels, oddly-placed "J" ... you can see how this name might, occasionally, come in handy when you're filling a grid, specifically when you're filling your way around a (fixed) "J." If DÉJÀ is reasonably prevalent (37 appearances in the Shortz Era), then you can see how DOJA might proliferate. If you "don't like rappers" in your crossword, oh well, too bad. Just learn DOJA Cat now and spare yourself a lot of pain later." (Mar. 17, 2025)). But the SE corner, well, that just about did me in. I got APACHES and then .... zilch. I was able to throw "GESUNDHEIT!" across that section, but it did nothing to help me with the 7s. Nothing did. I wanted a plural of some breed of dog (SAMOYEDS? HUSKIES?) rather than DOG TEAM (42D: Sled pullers in the Arctic). Just as I used the "A" to get PLACATE (wrong!) in the NE corner, I used "I" to get OUTFITS (wrong!) in the SE (43D: Wardrobe = ARMOIRE). And as for STARTLE ... just couldn't see it (44D: Surprise). Not with just the latter "T" in place. I don't even remember how I managed to finish. I think I just tried to imagine 5-letter words starting "MA-," thought of MAGMA, and then the "G" made me think "DOG" and bam, I was back in business. But anyway, the Downs-only solve was brutal.

As for the theme of the puzzle, it left me a little cold, mostly because "VAH BAH TAH CHOO" isn't a thing. I was already sounding out the endings to try to figure out the theme before I ever got to the bottom, and when I hit CHOO and realized I had to ignore the "V" "B" and "T" (respectively) in those final syllables, it just didn't feel right. You say the "CH-" in "CHOO" but not the "V" "B" or "T"? I see why, but I still felt let down that the actual sound gimmick in this puzzle was so banal. I'm gonna start sneezing "Vah ... bah ... tah ... CHOO!" Seems more fun. I've always said sneezing should be more fun, and now I'm going to do something about it.

Some other stuff:

• 16A: Only nonrigid weapon in clue (ROPE) — "nonrigid" is a really awful word, the longer you stare at it. Looks like the name of one of Odin's, uh ... horses? Did he have horses? Well, yes, but just Sleipnir, his 8-legged horse. Nonrigid may not belong to Odin, but she definitely hangs out with Sleipnir.
• 46A: Garfield's frenemy in the comics (ODIE) — I don't remember them ever being "friends." I would've called Odie Garfield's NEMESIS (though Odie is probably too kind-hearted and dim-witted to be anyone's actual NEMESIS).
• 26D: Cute name for a spouse's task list (HONEY-DO) — ugh, define "Cute." Hate this "name" and this whole concept. Reinforces a lot of stupid gender norms. Real '90s-sitcom stuff. Boo.
• 35D: Rock's Emerson, Lake & Palmer, for one (TRIO) — me: "Let's see, we've got Emerson, that's one, and Lake, two, and then Palmer, three ... I'm gonna say TRIO!" You used to see these guys in the grid from time to time as ELP ("... I need somebody, ELP! Not just anybody, ELP! You know I need someone, ELP!!!"). They were a big name in '70s prog rock.

See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]