Dessert cocktail with crème de cacao / MON 5-12-25 / Scottish archipelago west of Norway / Noted painter of soup cans / Jazz singer's improvised syllables / What the circle on the Japanese flag represents / Classic board game with the Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Lane

Constructor: Christina Iverson

Relative difficulty: Easy (solved Downs-only)

THEME: ANDY (56D: Boy's name ... or how you might describe 17-, 34-, 42- or 59-Across?) — the answers have two "AND"s in them ... so they are "AND"-Y (that is, they are rife with "AND"s—"-Y" is an adjectival suffix, as in, say, "minty")

Theme answers:

• BRANDY ALEXANDER (17A: Dessert cocktail with crème de cacao)
• CANDYLAND (34A: Classic board game with the Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Lane)
• HANDSTAND (42A: Move from an acrobat or breakdancer)
• SHETLAND ISLANDS (59A: Scottish archipelago west of Norway)

Word of the Day: SHETLAND ISLANDS (59A) —

Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about 50 miles (80 kilometres) to the northeast of Orkney, 110 mi (170 km) from mainland Scotland and 140 mi (220 km) west of Norway. They form part of the border between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The island's area is 1,467 km² (566 sq mi) and the population totalled 23,020 in 2022. The islands comprise the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The islands' administrative centre, largest settlement and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, before which time the capital was Scalloway. Due to its location it is accessible only by ferry or flight with an airport located in Sumburgh as well as a port and emergency airstrip in Lerwick. [...] From the 10th to 15th centuries, the islands formed part of the Kingdom of Norway. In 1472, the Parliament of Scotland absorbed the Lordship of Shetland into the Kingdom of Scotland, following the failure to pay a dowry promised to James III of Scotland by the family of his bride, Margaret of Denmark. [...] Many areas on the islands have been set aside to protect the local fauna and flora, including a number of important seabird nesting sites. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well-known Shetland animal breeds. Other animals with local breeds include the Shetland sheep, cow, goose, and duck. The Shetland pig, or grice, has been extinct since about 1930. (wikipedia)

• • •

An extremely easy Downs-only solve that made me laugh at the end. Well, chuckle. OK, maybe just grin. The point is that I did not understand that revealer at first ... and then I did, and thought it was cute. In my first attempt to understand the theme, all I saw was the first "AND" string in each answer, and while two of those were, in fact, part of "ANDY" (BRANDY ALEXANDER, CANDYLAND), the others ... weren't. And so I didn't get it. Why "ANDY" twice, but then, after that, "ANDS" (HANDSTAND) and "ANDI" (SHETLAND ISLAND). Clearly "AND" is important, but what's the "Y" got to do with it? Eventually I somehow saw the second "AND"s in the themers and then realized how I was supposed to interpret the revealer (punnily!). ANDY? Characterized by ANDs. Rife with ANDs. ANDful. Having two "AND" letter strings in each answer, on its own, not that interesting, but with the silly revealer? Mwah. Great. It also helps that the theme answers are strong all on their own, regardless of their thematic relevance. BRANDY ALEXANDER and SHETLAND ISLANDS would be worthy additions to any grid. I also like UNDERDRESS (27D: Show up to a gala in a T-shirt). The puzzle is a little heavy on the crosswordese / repeaters, and no one is ever going to convince me that TADAS travel in packs (64A: Magicians' cries), but overall this is polished and clever and very Monday-appropriate.

Love the little wink the puzzle gives you with (Andy!) WARHOL (29D: Noted painter of soup cans). Did you know Andy WARHOL was on the last season of The Love Boat? (Season 9, Episode 3, 1985). It's true. I don't remember much about the episode except that Andy had very few lines and a bizarre entourage, and Marion Ross (aka Mrs. C from Happy Days) played a woman who had once been part of Andy's whole art scene but had since gone on to be some kind of midwestern housewife. And she just happened to be on the same cruise as Andy! What a coincidence! Of course she's been hiding her freaky New York art-world past from her husband because she thinks it's embarrassing, or she thinks he'd find it shameful, but if I remember correctly, she ends up telling her husband all about it and he understands; I mean, of course he understands, he's Tom Bosley—Mr. C from Happy Days! Married on Happy Days, married on The Love Boat! What a power couple.

No trouble with the Downs-only solve. Only answers that gave me pause were END AT (30D: Go until), and, for some reason, RITE (55D: Formal ceremony). I was thinking "formal" more in the party sense—GALA or FÊTE. I also hesitated at ON TAP because that answer, with that clue, seemed like it should just be TAP (37D: Alternative to bottled). That's because I was thinking water, not beer. "Bottled or TAP?" is a question I've gotten re: water many times at restaurants. But if we're talking beer, which we apparently are, then yes, "ON TAP" is the appropriate "alternative" to "bottled."

Bullets:

• 6A: Relative of a milkshake (MALT) — mmmm, one of the best things about summer. Committing to maximum MALT consumption this year. I figure if I just call it "lunch," I'll be fine.
• 24D: Nitpicker (PEDANT) — I of course went with the somewhat nicer CRITIC.
• 49D: "Wise" bird (OWL) — LOL scare quotes. "So-called." What, are OWLs not actually wise now? Which member of the editing team hates OWLs? Everyone knows OWLs are wise. How else could they become professors?

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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