Swanky Tokyo shopping district / SUN 9-14-25 / Italian architect Ponti / Nintendo character with a long, sticky tongue / Tummy-toning tool / Avoid, as a falling anvil / Gucci who pioneered bamboo-handled handbags / fictional Hawaiian fast-food chain in "Pulp Fiction" / Orange creature in an arcade game / Sax who invented the saxophone / Renowned N.Y.C. venue for divas / DuBois's portrayer in the film "A Streetcar Named Desire"

Constructor: Daniel Grinberg

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "FAST AND FURRYOUS" (60A: 1949 short that marked the first appearance of 91- and 110-Across) — a ROAD RUNNER and WILE E. COYOTE-themed puzzle, with black squares representing an anvil falling on the coyote's head and the appropriate shaded-square caption (which, in the cartoons, is actually a little sign that he holds up): "HELP":

Theme answers:

• ROAD RUNNER (91A: Target of 110-Across)
• WILE E. COYOTE (110A: Devious character who's the subject of this puzzle)
• ACME CORPORATION (26A: Supplier of 110-Across)
• MEL BLANC (52A: Voice of 110-Across)
• CHUCK JONES (54A: Artist and co-creator of 91- and 110-Across)
• "BEEP BEEP!" (88A: Signature sound of 91-Across)
• DODGE (63D: Avoid, as a falling anvil)

Word of the Day: GIO Ponti (108D: Italian architect Ponti) —

Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (Italian pronunciation: [ˌdʒo pˈponti]; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher.

During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hundred buildings in Italy and in the rest of the world. He designed a considerable number of decorative art and design objects as well as furniture.Thanks to the magazine Domus, which he founded in 1928 and directed almost all his life, and thanks to his active participation in exhibitions such as the Milan Triennial, he was also an enthusiastic advocate of an Italian-style art of living and a major player in the renewal of Italian design after the Second World War. From 1936 to 1961, he taught at the Milan Polytechnic School and trained several generations of designers. Ponti also contributed to the creation in 1954 of one of the most important design awards: the Compasso d'Oro, and was himself awarded the prize in 1956. Ponti died on 16 September 1979.

His most famous works are the Pirelli Tower, built from 1956 to 1960 in Milan in collaboration with the engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, the Villa Planchart in Caracas and the Superleggera chair [pictured], produced by Cassina in 1957.

• • •

OK that bird definitely says "MEEP MEEP!" Have a listen for yourself (see video, above). That's a definite "M" sound. Here's a whole collection of "MEEP MEEP!" moments:

You'd think something moving as fast as a car might say "BEEP BEEP," but no, that is not the sound. It's just not. Verifiably not. Getting "B"s instead of "M"s there was incredibly disappointing. Thankfully, that was one of the only disappointing moments I had while solving this puzzle. I admit that I started in a very eye-roll-y place. Black squares, in the most horrendous-looking of formations, clearly trying to do some kind of pictorial something or other ... it all looked so ungainly and awkward. And then I hit the first themer (MEL BLANC) and literally shouted "Again!??!" Didn't we just do a MEL BLANC puzzle!? In fact, yes, we did. Very recently (Aug. 18). So recently that I have to wonder what the editorial team was thinking, scheduling these puzzles so close together.  Anyway, like I said, not inclined to love this one early on. 

But then something changed. There was a vibe shift. The first thing that happened was I noticed what the black squares were trying to do. Now that I was firmly anchored in the Looney-Tooniverse, I could see the anvil falling on WILE E. COYOTE's head. An absolutely gonzo idea. Huge, bizarre swing, trying to make that picture work. Though it's very pixelated and rough, I had to admire the effort. And the execution. Honestly, it's pretty good (better when the color kicks in at the end, but good even before that). And then the little "HELP!" caption—come on, that's nice. I wish the word "HELP" had been either standalone or buried inside an answer where it didn't mean "HELP" at all (like, I dunno, WHELPS?). But the caption is such a clever idea (the cherry on the sundae), that I can't quibble that much with the execution. The picture part of this, rather than being an annoying extraneous thing that compromises the fill, ends up revealing itself over time, unfolding in a really fun, entertaining, and ultimately charming way. I also love the funny punny rightly central cartoon title ("FAST AND FURRY-OUS"). The whole venture felt appropriately loon(e)y. Winning stuff, all around.

The fill was ... inventive. Mostly in good ways, although it is really loaded up with proper nouns, particularly people's names. ADOLPHE ALDO GIO LEIGH JOANN ALI ALEC IVANI GINZA YOSHI YEOH LOHAN ENO Q*BERT ... this is by no means a complete list. Add those (and others) to the names that are part of the theme, and, yeah, welcome to Name Town. Not everyone's favorite Town. Everything seemed pretty gettable to me, though I somehow blanked on the middle letter of AYO (again!) and definitely had a "???" moment at the LEIGH (Vivien!) / GIO (??) crossing. For me, the good outweighed the name-nameiness of it all. "I THINK NOT," MILD SALSA, the triple colonnade of AB ROLLER, MET OPERA, and SPEAK-SING, plus GULP DOWN, A LOT TO LIKE. I have no idea what a TEA PITCHER is, but I liked that I could really feel the constructor going to great lengths to just Make It Work. Like the ROAD RUNNER & WILE E. COYOTE cartoons, this puzzle entertained me. That's pretty rare for a Sunday, of late (sadly). So I'm grateful.

[AB ROLLER]

What else?:

• 63D: Avoid, as a falling anvil (DODGE) — you've already drastically broken the rules of symmetry, why not break some more rules while you're at it! The "G" and "E" in this answer are completely uncrossed. That is, they have no actual crosses, and the puzzle offers no other way of getting at them either (e.g. they aren't part of some longer word or phrase being spelled out across the puzzle grid). Unchecked squares are an out-and-out violation of protocol, but ... come on, what else are those letters gonna be? "DOD--" No other word in the English language could go there. So I'm fine with it, and especially fine with it because those letters go right into the top of the "coyote"'s head, precisely where the looming "anvil" is threatening to fall. Will he DODGE it? He will not.
• 95A: North Carolina college town (ELON) — I knew it was a college, I'm not sure I knew it was a town. Weird to add a completely extraneous "town," but I guess if it confuses the solver a little (as it did me), then why not. This answer crosses another proper noun, JOANN, which gave me more trouble. I think I had her as JOANA and maybe JOANE before ELON set me straight. JOANN Pflug was in Altman's M*A*S*H and then was all over TV in the '70s and '80s, particularly on the game show circuit—a frequent panelist on Match Game, for instance.

• 118A: Part of Wayne's world? (WESTERN) — Think John Wayne, star of countless WESTERNs
• 10D: Gucci who pioneered bamboo-handled handbags (ALDO) — can you really "pioneer" bamboo-handled handbags? Of all the things one might pioneer, bamboo-handled handbags ... I could list things from now til the day I die and never hit bamboo-handled handbags
• 17D: Wine also known as Primitivo, familiarly (ZIN) — as in "ZINfandel." I had no idea. Heard ZIN a lot. Never heard "Primitivo."
• 33D: Big ___ Burger, fictional Hawaiian fast-food chain in "Pulp Fiction" (KAHUNA) — wow, deep cut. But I've seen that movie a lot, so ... easy. The Big KAHUNA Burger features prominently in one scene. It's ... memorable. And pretty violent. It features Frank Whaley (the kid with the burger), and Phil LaMarr (backed against the door), who was, if I remember correctly (... does some mental math ...) my grad school girlfriend's college boyfriend's roommate at Yale. [don't worry, this clip cuts out before things get violent]

One last thing. Today's constructor has a really fun and informative podcast about crossword puzzles. It's called Crosstalk: A Crossword Construction Podcast. Each episode, Daniel has a long chat with an accomplished constructor, in which they talk about why and how they do what they do. He's done five episodes so far, all with excellent constructors (including Rafael Musa, who writes for this blog sometimes). Lots of nuts and bolts construction talk. Charming and, if you're an aspiring constructor, useful. Check it out (wherever you get your podcasts, presumably).

That's all. See you next time.

 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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