One who enjoys the high C's? / FRI 12-19-25 / Afirmativa enfática / Like He and Xe / 2023 musical with a Tony for Best Choreography / L.G.B.T.Q.+ rights activist Windsor / Fashion designer Schiaparelli / Silver of the Silver Bulletin / Prosecco relative / Source of motivation, informally

Constructor: Hemant Mehta

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: ILLINOISE (14A: 2023 musical with a Tony for Best Choreography) —

Illinoise is a 2023 dance revue musical with music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens and an original story by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury. The musical was inspired by Stevens' 2005 album Illinois. The musical follows a young man who joins a group of friends telling stories around a campfire about their childhoods and growing up in Illinois.

After a summer festival premiere, regional production and off-Broadway tryout, the show played on Broadway from April to August 2024 at the St. James Theatre; these productions have all been directed and choreographed by Peck. Reviews on Broadway were generally positive, and Illinoise was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, winning one for Peck's choreography.

• • •

This puzzle seems sufficiently well made but man is it full of things I don't care for. Words and names I just don't want to see, ever. Take back your billionaire sports team owners and your poker-guys-turned-tiresome-pundits and especially take back the word NEPOBABIES, one of my most despised words, right up there with "adulting." Skin crawl every time I hear it. I'm embarrassed for people who say it. It's a feeble term of denigration against anyone who happens to have a prominent parent. It gets used casually and sneeringly and unthinkingly. Lord knows having rich / famous parents is going to afford you privilege, but calling, say, Rob Reiner a "NEPOBABY" (which I've seen *many* times this week) is a petty, stupid, unimaginative move—evidence of a mind and vocabulary that's social media-addled in the extreme. As slurs against the rich and undeserving go, I like the term "failson" because it focuses on the fact of failure, not just the biological connection to a rich/famous person, which, again, no one has any control over. Maya Hawke and Zoe Kazan are good actors, Sofia Coppola is a first-rate director! Calling them "NEPOBABIES" ... do you not feel like an idiot as the sounds that form that word escape your lips? It's somehow worse than INSPO—which, truthfully, I don't mind too much, as it's merely a shortening (of "inspiration") (49D: Source of motivation, informally). Bill Nighy (whose podcast "ill-advised" is my current favorite) put "INSPO" on his "Banned Words" list recently, and while I don't necessarily agree with the decision (it's not actually a terribly serious endeavor, this ever-expanding list), I thought, "... I get it." Some words just make you recoil. I like words, but they have a dark side, and NEPOBABIES is it. Anyway, you should listen to "ill-advised," as its chief virtue is that its charming host doesn't even pretend that you should share his opinions (despite the fact that it's a kind of call-in / advice show). The whole show is "an invitation to squander time." It's remarkably soothing and I can't believe I'm saying this about a podcast but I wish it were longer. I can't remember if NEPOBABIES has made the "Banned Words" list, but Bill, I'm begging you, please, add it. The only good thing with BABIES is the title is Sugar Babies. Oh, and the Manger Babies.

This puzzle started out in heavy crosswordese territory (ELSA to ASTI to start, oh no), but got better once I got into more wide-open territory. STUBBED TOES is weird in the plural, and the clue on it today is especially weird. "In a jam"? Does this mean that you "jammed" them against something, thereby stubbing them? If any clue ever needed a "?" on the end of it, this is it. I, for one, would not put "toe" and "jam" anywhere near each other in my crossword. If you don't understand why, please look up "toe-jam." Just as STUBBED TOES is odd in the plural (you usually just "stub your toe"), FREE-SOLOED is odd in the past tense, but I guess that is how you'd spell it. IN A DEEP HOLE sounds like a place where you'd EAT A BIG SANDWICH (i.e. it's a contrived-feeling phrase, the "deep" part in particular). I liked SWAG BAG and WAGE GAPS and BLENDED FAMILIES, but the only answer I really Loved today was DROPS DEAD. I didn't love OPERA-GOER, but I did love its clue ... once I understood that it wasn't referring to a mediocre student (59A: One who enjoys the high C's?).

No struggles today except with ILLINOISE. Seems very NYC-centric, that one (ironically). Are we generally expected to know what musical wins Best Choreography at the Tonys every year??? Seems like a big ask (pretty sure "big ask" is on the "Banned Words" list, btw). I was lucky enough to be familiar with Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois, which I always thought was called ILLINOISE because this is the cover:

At some point I believe he had a plan to make an album about each of the fifty states, but I don't think he got past Michigan and Illinois before turning to different projects. Illinois has some lovely songs on it—one of which is actually called "Come On! Feel the ILLINOISE!"

Bullets:

• 37A: L.G.B.T.Q.+ rights activist Windsor (EDIE) — remembered ELSA, forgot EDIE. A real win some/lose some crossword experience.
• 44A: ___ Hadley, "Clever Girl" novelist (TESSA) — absolutely no idea. INFERed it from crosses. Let's look at the book.

[my god this is the absolute worst cover design—white lady, standing, shot from behind—generic, ubiquitous; let's look at a better cover...]

[ah, that's better]

• 6D: Yard sale? (ALE) — ALE is (I'm told, by crosswords) sold in units called "yards." Actually, yard glasses—truly, the silliest-looking glasses known to man.

• 7D: Afirmativa enfática ("SI, SI!") — read "enfática" as "enfantica" and thought I was looking for a childish affirmative.
• 30D: Pitch catcher? (EAR) — if someone "pitches" an idea to you, you "catch" it ... with your EAR. Oh, actually, this probably refers to "pitch" in the musical sense. Either way.
• 33D: Like He and Xe (INERT) — this clue made me laugh, so bravo. I saw "He and Xe" and thought "oh, pronouns!" But no. Not "Xe" as in the neopronoun, but "Xe" as in Xenon (one of the noble gases, which are INERT).
• 53D: Half time? (TOCK) — the other half is TICK, presumably.

[Milo and TOCK]

It's time for 🌲🐈Holiday Pet Pics🐕🌲 now. Note: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE PET PICS, I'M ALL FULL UP FOR THIS YEAR, thank you.

Here's Howdy—fierce in his tree-guarding, elegant in his white gloves.

[me, after fawning over the dog, zooming in on bookshelf: "Hey, they own Foucault's Pendulum, neat!"]
[Thanks, Alix!]

Zoey and Malcolm say "thank you for making us this Christmas bed, you may go now,"

[Thanks, Mara!]

Heather couldn't get all three of her cats into one photo, and maybe the photos will give you some indication why. They seem to have ... personalities. Here's Nelson meeting Santa.

Here's Lester being Santa

And here's Linny, two seconds before going full Godzilla on the Christmas Village

[Thanks, Heather!]

Finally today, there's Nelly, who is now caught in an infinite blog photo loop. Here she is proudly admiring her photo from last year. Can't wait for next year ... and the year after that ... and the year after that ...

[Thanks, Ellen!]

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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