Number of U.S. states with a single-syllable name / TUE 12-2-25 / Blue Moon, for one / Scandinavian city that's home to a bunch of Munch / Bible figure invoked by O. Henry / Subject of the Tenth Commandment

Constructor: JONATHAN BAUDE

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: RAISING CAPITAL (7D: With 43-Down, seeking funding from investors ... or what you're doing in 4-, 9-, 15-, and 38-Down?) — The long, down themers feature circled letters that contain state capitals "raising" within the answers (so the letter appear in reverse order). That's a very elaborate way of describing something you can see much more plainly in the grid image above.

Theme answers:

• TAKE POTSHOTS AT (4D: Criticize unfairly)
• CAME LAST (9D: Brought up the rear)
• BELVEDERE VODKA (15D: Grey Goose competitor)
• NOT SO BAD (38D: "Huh, better than I expected")

Word of the Day: DETOX TEA (45A: Herbal remedy in a cleanse) —

The detox teas - sometimes referred to as “teatox” or “flat tummy teas” - that are being heavily promoted on social media claim to be natural and packed with healthy ingredients, such as Chinese oolong tea, mate leaves, peppermint, ginger, and lemongrass. However, there is one ingredient that has doctors concerned: Senna leaf. Senna can typically be found in laxatives and is one of the main reasons why detox teas are successful in quick, but temporary, weight loss. (Source: Brown University Health - there is no Wikipedia entry)

• • •

Hey everyone, it's Eli! Rex invited me here since I am on Jeopardy TODAY (check your local listings at jeopardy.com/watch or watch next day on Hulu & Peacock). He thought, correctly, that I might want to self promote; but I'll save that for the end. First, the puzzle! Today is an NYT debut for constructor Jonathan Baude, and I don't want to diminish that for my own ego.

I generally liked the concept of this theme. It's a pretty impressive technical feat to get that many letters in the correct order and not have everything fall apart. Unfortunately, the revealer left a bad taste in my mouth. *BEGIN RANT* Finance/investing/venture captial/private equity are just repulsive to me. I work for a corporation that is on its way to its 4th ownership change in the 4 years I've worked there, and in an industry where I've watched private equity repeatedly destroy every good thing about it. The idea of personal profit at all cost and the product doesn't matter leads to nothing but harm and destruction. *END RANT* 

But my personal hangups aren't really the puzzle's fault. I did have some small quibbles with the theme answers. The "AT" in TAKE POTSHOTS AT feels a bit extraneous. And I really want 9D to be CAME IN LAST, but the clue (Brought up the rear) implies a group of things in a line, so the answer works. I also think adding "Vodka" to "Belvedere" when the clue only mentions the brand name ("Grey Goose" not "Grey Goose Vodka") is a touch sloppy, but I'm not too mad at it.

Oh, top shelf vodka. How can I stay mad at you?

There's also just a lot of stuff I don't like to see in the grid today. MMA (10A: Sport with striking and grappling, for short) has never appealed in the slightest, DETOX TEA (and almost everything marketed as "Detox") is a pseudoscience scam, Nicki MINAJ (1D: Nicki __, "Starships" rapper) hasn't been doing herself any favors lately, BETA as clued (60A: Weak, submissive person, in modern slang) is really only used as bullying by over-compensating meatheads. You get the idea. Not my cup of tea, but again, not really hurting the puzzle. 

There were also several answers that felt less than ideal, likely from the constraints of the theme. I'm looking at ON CD, CBSTV, ER DOC, ITE (which also appears in 33D: BITE), OTOH... just less than stellar. Also not sure if ARAB (29D: Many a Mideast native) being directly above ISLAM (51D: Belief system for almost two billion people) is intentional or if it matters either way. Though, typing this, I did just notice the clue symmetry between 51D and 50D: Communication system for almost two billion people (GMAIL). That makes me like both answers better. Cute.

Spare Thoughts:

• 23A: Oscar-winning "GoodFellas" actor (JOE PESCI) — Pesci made GoodFellas the same year as Home Alone. That's a pretty wild year for an actor.

• 18A: Breakfast brand originally known as Froffles (EGGO) — Am I alone in thinking that Froffles is a better name? I like the whimsy.
• 37A: Many a TikToker's music rendition (LIP SYNC)— TikTok? Whatever. Bring on the  DRAG (36A) Queens! Lip Sync For Your Life!

Ok, on to my excitement! I've been auditioning for Jeopardy for close to 15 years now. I've gone through the audition process so many times I've lost count (it's at least 5). So to finally get the call was a dream come true. And the experience lived up to the dream! I won't talk about how the game went to avoid spoilers, but I'll probably post some in depth thoughts on BlueSky later in the week if anyone's interested.

What I can say is that the entire staff at Jeopardy was just wonderful. They run the show like a well-oiled machine and treat all of the contestants extremely well. They know how big a deal it is for everyone who gets on the show and they make sure it's special. The stage manager (Jimmy, formerly of the Clue Crew), the contestant wranglers, the hair and makeup team, the technical crew... all absolutely fantastic. You could tell they really cared. And Ken Jennings is a delight! I knew he was a good host, but trivia people are his people, and he knows how to make them feel welcome and at home. I hope you'll all watch and be a part of this wonderful experience for me.

 

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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