Polite rejection at a dance / MON 9-8-25 / 2013 movie about an A.I. crush / 4K screen precursor / Bakery display piece / Limited releases on Spotify, informally / Hit on a vape pen
Monday, September 8, 2025
Constructor: Margaret Seikel
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (solved Downs-only—real trouble with that NE section)
Theme answers:
- POWDER PUFF (16A: *Pad in a makeup kit)
- SEAT NUMBER (62A: *Assignment on a plane)
- CAKE STAND (10D: *Bakery display piece)
- FALL BREAK (33D: *Days off following October midterms)
[not found on merriam-webster.com or thefreedictionary.com or dictionary.com etc. There are "pull tabs," and there are "pop-tops," but POP TAB ... unaccounted for]
• • •
Not a fan of ACTONE written out like that, especially since ACT I appears so often in the grid. Feels contrived. Also didn't love ROIL as the answer for 32D: Make annoyed. That answer riled me, but it did not ROIL me. You ROIL water (or the waters). I acknowledge that it can also mean "to upset someone emotionally," but I don't have to like it. My interest in vaping is zero, so I had no idea DAB was another word for toke, hit, whatever (35D: Hit on a vape pen). Thank god the crosses on that one were all easily inferrable. I stupidly (and hastily) wrote in YOUTH instead of YOUNG at 7D: The "Y" or Y.A. books. Otherwise, no real problems. Just that POP TAB-area debacle, and even that I was eventually able to work my way through.
A few more things:
- 24D: Limited releases on Spotify, informally (EPS) — I think I don't understand how "Limited" is being used here. EPS contain more tracks than a single but fewer than an album. The "EP" stands for "extended play." What is "limited" about it? When you talk about "limited releases" in the world of music, you're usually talking about physical media (like vinyl) of which there is a limited number. But obviously on "Spotify," no such "limits" exist. "Limited release" actually has more currency in the film industry. Maybe the clue today was thinking "well, EPS are shorter than full albums, so in that way they are ... limited?" But I don't know.
- 45A: 4K screen precursor (HDTV) — oh, are 4K screens not hi-def. I keep putting off upgrading my TV (and Blu-ray player), mostly because so far I don't have any pressing need. "The blacks are really black, man!" I'm sure they are. So far, I don't care.
- 2D: Higher than on the totem pole (ABOVE) — not sure why you had to bring a "totem pole" into this. [Higher than] works just fine.Maybe leave sacred objects out of your workplace metaphors.
Totem poles are sacred objects used by many Indigenous and Alaska Native Nations of the Pacific Northwest to honor a deceased ancestor or share an important event. This idiom denigrates these sacred objects. Further, the idea that the lowest figure on the totem pole is the least important is also incorrect. In actuality, the designs on the bottom are often considered the most prestigious because they are the ones that will be seen at eye level. (Forbes.com)
See you next time.
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3 comments:
That NE corner threw me off for a minute or two, even looking at the acrosses.
Had “Pop Top” in there to begin with (I share your dislike of the real answer) and, not being American, I know nothing of baseball and thought of the Olympics for 2008/12 long before your elections.
The rest was easy enough - though I never believe I’ve ever heard a dog “arf”?!
My five favorite original clues from last week
(in order of appearance):
1. Getaway where guests are out of fashion? (6)(4)
2. When ties get untied, for short (4)
3. Bold choice, perhaps? (8)
4. One who tries to make a good impression (7)
5. Nothing needs to be said to do it (3)
NUDIST CAMP
INOT
TYPEFACE
DENTIST
HUM
My favorite encore clues from last week:
[Traffic director] (4)
[Sound from a chicken] (3)
CONE
EEK
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