Maine city near the mouth of the Kennebec River / WED 9-2-26 / Multiple-choice selection on a midterm, say: Abbr. / Meh … or medium-temp

Constructor: Mac Motz

Relative difficulty: Easy (9:53)

THEME: M AND MS — Each clue starts with an M and has a second M-word in it

Theme answers:

• [Multicolored implements in many art drawers] for BMAGIC MARKERS
• [Marauder's Map encryption phrase in "Harry Potter"] for MISCHIEF MANAGED
• [M.L.B. M.V.P. nicknamed the "Commerce Comet"] for MICKEY MANTLE
• [Maniacs, maybe] for MAD MEN

Word of the Day: EFT (Movement of money digitally from bank to bank, in brief) —

Electronic funds transfer is the transfer of money from one bank account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, via computer-based systems.

• • •

Hi pals! It's Malaika here for a Malaika MWednesday! The weather in NYC has been atrocious today, like being inside of a swamp. Blech. I hope wherever you are reading this from, things are clearer, sunnier, and brighter! 

just swamp things iykyk

Y'all... I opened this puzzle and I sighed. Deeply. I am sure Mac Motz is a lovely person, and I hope he continues to make puzzles, and I get that his name matches this theme. I really get it!! I, in fact, did a similar thing when I first started making puzzles!! Samesies!!!!! This is not a blog post hating on Mac Motz, it is a blog post hating on the NYT editors, because they should have clocked that this is not a theme worthy of being published by an outlet with like a 3% acceptance rate.

First of all, we already did this. Not only have we already done this, but we already did this on a Malaika MWednesday and I already wrote a write-up about how much I hate this type of theme!!!!! Here it is.

I simply do not understand why you would challenge yourself to make the clues less fun, more monotonous (M&M lol), and clunkier. Why?? Why????? I do not want to be stumbling over confusing phrasing, I want to be delighted by wordplay! [Made eyes at in the manner of a satyr] ???????? wtf is this!!!! In a way, the constructor is the one who gets the puzzle... They get to play a game of Scattergories with entries that they themselves picked. We get to glance at the page for one second, say "Oh boy there are a lot of Ms" and then read clues like [Milliners manufacture them]. 

As I said in my previous Deja Vu Malaika MWednesday write-up, the solver is left with a themeless puzzle that has bad clues. And the stats on this one are rough. There are only five entries in the whole grid that are longer than six letters. (Yesterday's puzzle had fourteen, for comparison.) Three are the theme entries and the other two are.... RICOCHET and ILLINOIS. There are also twenty-five three-letter entries, which is pretty frowned upon. (There are only so many three-letter entries in the world, so we see the same ones over and over in puzzles and they can be hard to clue in an interesting way. In a puzzle where the theme is already "tortured clues," a ton of three-letter words is yet another obstacle.)

This is maybe the meanest I've ever been on this blog. I'm sorry :( Mac, I am ready to solve your next puzzle, whenever and wherever it is!!

Bullets:

• [Making out openly or a mobile device, in brief] for PDA — I don't think I've seen the NYT do this before where they literally just give two different definitions for the entry
• [Multiple-choice selection on a midterm, say: Abbr.] for ANS — The puzzle wants you to think that ANS is an agreed upon abbreviation for the term "answer"
• [Mild-mannered characteristic?] for HYPHEN — This was a good clue!
• [Maximum measure of attractiveness, say] for A TEN — Parse this like "she's a ten out of ten"

xoxo Malaika

P.S. I had a little themed puzzle on Puzzmo last week, if you'd like to solve!

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Rolled out unannounced? / TUE 9-1-26 / Noted magnate on the Titanic / Highest-grossing moviei of the 1970s / Indigo dye / Writer ___ Rogers St. Johns / Like un homme with a Napoleon complex / Fidget spinners and Labubu dolls, for two / Andy Taylor's boy on old TV / "Ism" that might result from a schism

Constructor: Paul Hudes and Margot Kohn

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

[5D: Highest-grossing movie of the 1970s]

THEME: on the web... — familiar phrases are clued as if they were websites (the clues are actual URLs)

Theme answers:

• BURIAL SITE (17A: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil?)
• SAUSAGE LINK (26A: https://www.hot-dog.org?)
• HOME ADDRESS (41A: https://www.zillow.com?)
• SENATE PAGE (54A: https://www.congress.gov?)

Word of the Day: Labubu dolls (36D: Fidget spinners and Labubu dolls, for two) —

Labubu (/lɑːˈbuːbu/ lah-BOO-boo; Chinese: 拉布布; pinyin: Lābùbù) is a line of collectible plush toys created by Hong Kong illustrator Kasing Lung. The series features zoomorphic elves with exaggerated facial expressions, of which the central figure is Labubu, a monster with sharp teeth, large ears and a scruffy appearance.

The toys are produced and sold exclusively by the China-based retailer Pop Mart, which primarily releases Labubu figures in sealed "blind box" packaging that conceals the specific character inside. Over time, the series expanded to include different versions of Labubu and other related figures, often released in limited runs or as part of themed sets.

Labubu toys became especially popular in 2024 across East and Southeast Asia, becoming one of Pop Mart's signature characters and a central figure in the global blind box collecting trend. The character has also inspired collaborations with fashion brands and limited-edition art figures. Academic research has examined consumer behavior surrounding the Labubu series, particularly in relation to scarcity-based marketing strategies. [...] 

In 2025, New York magazine's Liza Corsillo wrote that the "toy's appeal is fueled by a hard-to-explain cuteness—they're kind of ugly, but huggable, with a devilish grin—as well as surprise and scarcity." Corsillo also wrote that, like Jellycat, Labubus blur "the line between toys and fashion". [...] In July 2025, authorities in Iraq's Kurdistan Region announced they had banned the sale of the doll due to claims that they resulted in behavioral problems in children. Authorities also seized at least 4,000 dolls in the Erbil area, following media reports of the dolls also containing 'demonic spirits'. (wikipedia)

• • •

[in case you're wondering what the good folks at hot-dog dot org get up to...]

If nothing else, this puzzle finally made me look up what the hell "labubu" meant. For a while now, it's been one of those words that would fly by me in various pop culture discussions, maybe on podcasts or something, and I'd think "nope, don't want to know." Honestly, it sounded like a euphemism for genitals, something cutesy you'd call your vagina. Probably the "lab-" part. Labubu, labia; vajayjay, vagina. You can see why, with zero context, my brain went there. Or you can't. Whatever, the point is, like most pop culture fads, None of My Business. I did not particularly want to know what a "Labubu doll" (!) might be. But today I had a reason to find out, so ... I did. And honestly the reality is kind of disappointing. They're just ... like Beanie Babies? Again? We're doing this again? OK. Enjoy! Also, you should now definitely look for LABUBU—coming soon to a grid near you. As for the grid that is currently near you (i.e. today's puzzle), it's fine. It does a little pun thing four different ways. Using actual URLs is kinda clever. And I like how the theme clues managed to hit four different internet domain names (mil, org, com, gov). The variety is a small but nice detail. Overall: straightforward, simple, cute.

The fill drifts into some rickety and ye olden territory at times, though. You brought back ANIL and ADELA back from the dead in the same puzzle? (51D: Indigo dye / 61A: Writer ___ Rogers St. Johns). You can see how these once-popular answers ("popular" because constructors did not have software to help make them go away) have faded dramatically in prevalence over time:

Finding both those words in the same SE corner was kind of jarring. Less jarring but still rough were ACTAS and RTS sharing a corner, and OPIE crossing EPEE. Unremarkable stuff, except ... I remarked upon it because of the density. The longer fill is decent, but the shorter fill made me wince a little today. Just felt stale, like not enough care had been taken to polish the grid, to scrub it of abbrs. and dated and/or ugly little stuff. Also, the combo of TPED (a "word" that always looks horrible spelled out) (52D: Rolled out unannounced?) and PANTSED gave the puzzle an unappealingly childish vibe (39D: Pulled down a pair?) (the fact that both clues are cutesy only deepened this vibe). NO SPOILERS lost whatever juice it might've had because we just saw it a few days ago—not the puzzle's fault, but it added to the kind of anemic feel of the fill. But PASADENA and SETH MEYERS are pleasant proper nouns—I really like PASADENA, as a place—and STAR WARS ... well, it's a Star Wars reference, obviously, but at least it goes whole hog. It's the whole damn title, not just some piece of detritus like LEIA, HAN, YODA, REN, etc. Overall, the grid is at least competent, and the theme is nice enough that the puzzle ends up in "thumbs up" territory.

Bullets:

• 29A: Risky bets (FLIERS) — I use this term all the time, but mostly when I decide to try something (often food, or maybe a record) that I've never tried or possibly even heard of before ... which I guess is a form of "risky bet."
• 26D: Amy Poehler's onetime partner on "Weekend Update" (SETH MEYERS) — kind of a throwback clue, considering he's got his own late night show now and has for ... a while (since 2014, wow, longer than I thought).
• 40D: Like un homme with a Napoleon complex (PETIT) — this was weird. I guess you had to go to French because PETIT is a word in English only in legal contexts. PETITE is a word, obviously, but it's got that "E" and applies almost exclusively to girls and women. In French, "PETIT" just means "small" (masc.), so a man can be PETIT there. I am a tall man myself, so whatever complex I have, this ain't it, but I do have to say "Napoleon complex" seems like a "derogatory social stereotype" (wikipedia's words), a way of mocking guys for being short, perhaps for doing the very same (obnoxious) things that taller men do all the time. If you know a number of short guys who are "overly aggressive or domineering," consider how many average-sized and tall guys you know who behave exactly the same way. You can criticize a short man for various shortcomings and leave his shortness out of it (see also fat people / fatness—even more so). 

That's all for today. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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❤️ Support this blog ❤️: 

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