Oscar's deskmate on "The Office" / TUE 11-3-26 / Marvel actress Vellani / Michael Jordan and Anatole France? / Set up as MacGyver might / Lego brick protrusion

Constructor: Victor Schmitt

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: pairs of people whose last names are similar types of things — familiar phrases are clued as if they described pairs of people with apt names:

Theme answers:

• COUNTRY BOYS (18A: Michael Jordan and Anatole France?) (Jordan and France are both countries)
• LANDLADIES (28A: Faith Hill and Sally Field?) (hill and field are both … land)
• MATERIAL GIRLS (34A: Jenny Slate and Emma Stone?) (slate and stone are both materials)
• WEATHERMEN (41A: John Snow and Robert Frost?) (snow and frost are both weather)
• CAREER WOMEN (53A: Sabrina Carpenter and Anita Baker?) (carpenter and baker are both careers)

Word of the Day: John Snow (see 41A) —

John Snow (15 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was an English physician and a leader in the development of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology and early germ theory, in part because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in London's Soho, which he identified as a particular public water pump. Snow's findings inspired fundamental changes in the water and waste systems of London, which led to similar changes in other cities, and a significant improvement in general public health around the world.

• • •

Seemed like more of a Wednesday-type theme—no revealer, mysterious pairs of people followed by "?"... it was thinkier than most Tuesdays typically are. Even after I basically got the theme, I kept forgetting that the people were linked by their last names, not their professions. Like with 41A: John Snow and Robert Frost? I thought "there's a poet named John Snow? That's weird, never heard of him." Yes, that's because (unlike Robert Frost) he is not a poet, but an epidemiologist. So I would probably have slotted this puzzle tomorrow, just because of the mild strangeness of the theme, but the theme itself is sound and (in the end) simple enough. I had no idea what was happening with LANDLADIES, my first themer. "LAND" is a pretty big category, and was not at all an intuitive way to link those last names ("hill," "field"). Plus, at that point, I didn't even know we were supposed to link the last names—those last names aren't so alike that I noticed the connection. All I saw were two entertainers—I think Faith Hill has even acted before, so maybe two actresses?; the last name thing missed me. I got it with Michael Jordan and Anatole France—though again, the answer, COUNTRY BOYS, had to come almost entirely from crosses. Jordan and France both say "country" a lot louder than Hill and Field say "land," plus Michael Jordan and Anatole France are different enough from each other that I didn't try to link them by profession. Jenny Slate and Emma Stone *are* both actresses, so again, the last-name link is not the thing that stands out. I think I also got thrown by the similarity of "Frost" and "Snow," weatherwise. I was thinking "cold," not the broad category of "weather." I got through it all without too much trouble, but it definitely involved more thought than Tuesday puzzles typically do. 

I only know one COUNTRY BOY, and that's John Denver, so the plural there felt odd, but ... wait, nope, I know another COUNTRY BOY; I forgot about Willy McCoy, aka "Slim." You know? Comes from South Alabama? Plays pool? You don't mess around with him? Sure, you know him: 

["Well outta South Alabama come a COUNTRY BOY, / He said 'I'm lookin' for a man named Jim. / I am a pool-shootin' boy, my name is Willy McCoy, but down home they call me Slim...'"]

So that makes two noted COUNTRY BOYS. I feel better now about the plural. As for CAREER WOMAN ... that term feels dated. Like, very dated. Very very. Back from the days when the idea of a woman having a "career" was considered a novelty, like a juggling seal. Do seals juggle or just play horns with their noses? Anyway, there's something very "anxiety about women in the workplace"-coded about the very phrase. I cannot imagine anyone's using this phrase to describe a woman today. I guess it's a step up from "career girl" or "career gal," but still, it has a tone. "Well, look at you, doing man stuff, how adorable!" Or, more likely, "Shouldn't you be at home raising babies?" No. 

["A CAREER WOMAN finds that her selfish pursuit of success is costly." (1951)]

I had trouble with several answers today. I've never once thought of the bump on a Lego brick as a STUD, so that was weird (6D: Lego brick protrusion). The PIÑATAS clue baffled me, since I would never think of PIÑATAS as "wrapping" the candy. They contain it. Fooled me there. Also, I couldn't even make grammatical sense of the MacGyver clue (31D: Set up as MacGyver might). Set up what? Is he setting himself up? I really thought the clue was asking about how MacGyver positions himself somehow, which made JURY-RIG a surprise. "Did he JURY-RIG himself??" Probably, but anyway, mostly he JURY-RIGged various devices, repurposing them for some heretofore unthought-of use. I also got slowed down by IMAGERS, despite being the son of a radiologist. Not a word I heard. "Imaging," "Imaging machines," these are familiar to me. I can see how IMAGERS makes sense. Just now a word that leapt to me. I've used it in my life about as often as I've used ONAGERS. 

[picture taken ay an ONAGER IMAGER]

Bullets:

• 4A: Butter up? (BASTE) — this was a great clue for ARIES (when was that, last week?). This is a far less great clue for BASTE. I guess you add the "up" just to be misdirective, but basting is just literally buttering up the ... let's say, turkey.
• 24A: Le Pew who could rightfully ask "Ain't I a stinker?" (PEPE) — first, Bugs asked that, not PEPE Le Pew. Second, no cutesy clues for rapist skunks. Please send this noted sexual assailant back to cartoon oblivion, thanks v. much.

• 46A: Muscle that's a neighbor of a delt (PEC) — second time in two days that I'm gonna quibble with a PEC clue. Actually, it's not a quibble about meaning, it's a quibble about phrasing. I don't think you need "Muscle that's a" in this clue at all. Why not streamline it. [Neighbor of a delt]. Everyone knows the delt is a muscle (and if they don't, then they probably don't know PEC's a muscle either).  Oh, [Delt neighbor]! Even more concise. If you don't have anything clever to offer, opt for concision.
• 37D: "I'm so frustrated!" ("GAH!') — my most consequential misstep today, but far. I wrote in "GRR," which made TEARY impossible to see, which meant that I didn't get the help from TEARY that I needed in order to get PIÑATAS ... real domino effect caused by "GRR," which really felt right. So both "GRR!" and "GAH!" to that answer, I say.
• 51D: Marvel actress Vellani (IMAN) — is that just a thing you can be now? A "Marvel actress?" I've never heard of this person in my life. Thank god we got her (ultimately inferable) first name and not her last. You could at least do her and us the courtesy of mentioning the role she's known for: Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (a character I'm familiar with, though only from comics—I gave up on Marvel movies entirely the better part of a decade ago—I think Black Panther may be the last one I saw).

Now, please enjoy one of the greatest pop songs of all time. WEATHERMEN are fine, but can they do this?:

["I'm gonna go out / I'm gonna let myself get / Absolutely soakin' wet!"]

That's all for today. See you next time. And if you haven't already: VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE! 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. long discussion of "jury-rigged" v. "jerry-rigged" v. "jerry-built" here at M-W.com

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Letterboxd]
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