Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Esha Datta

Constructor: Esha Datta

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: WILD PITCHES (57A: Mistakes in baseball ... or what 18-, 24-, 34- and 51-Across might produce?) — animals with instruments in their names, clued via pictures of said animals playing said instruments:

Theme answers:

FIDDLER CRAB

HARP SEAL

TRUMPETER SWAN

HORNBILL

Word of the Day: Jhumpa LAHIRI (62A: Jhumpa ___, Pulitzer-winning author of "Interpreter of Maladies") —

Nilanjana Sudeshna "Jhumpa" Lahiri (born July 11, 1967) is a British-American author known for her short stories, novels, and essays in English and, more recently, in Italian.
Her debut collection of short-stories Interpreter of Maladies (1999) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award, and her first novel, The Namesake (2003), was adapted into the popular film of the same name.
The Namesake was a New York Times Notable Book, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and was made into a major motion picture. Unaccustomed Earth (2008) won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, while her second novel, The Lowland (2013), was a finalist for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Award for Fiction. (wikipedia)

• • •

This would've been a pretty hard puzzle if they hadn't resorted to child's placemat cartoons for the clues. You wanna see the alternative, text-only clues (which showed up alongside the picture clues in my solving software, somehow)? Here, check it out:

18A: Asymmetrical crustacean*
24A: Creature whose scientific name translates to "ice-lover from Greenland"*
34A: North America's heaviest flying bird*
51A: Zazu from "The Lion King," e.g.*

Now *those* would've provided a proper Thursday challenge. As it was, I read the note in my software that said there were picture clues, and so I dutifully switched over and solved on the NYTXW website, where (as promised) I got the picture clues and ... yeah, I just filled in all the theme answers with hardly any thought at all (as hardly any was required):

You should not be able to do that with themers. Not on a Thursday. I can see why people might like the picture clues—they're "new," "fresh," "innovative," "cute," whatever. I don't think they're a flaw. But I hope you can see how someone (namely me) might be disappointed that difficulty was sacrificed for a visual gimmick. The non-theme stuff played like a Wednesday for me, and with the themers practically filling themselves in (faster than I could ever hope to fill in even a set of Monday themers), the puzzle ended up feeling very slight. Toothless.

In retrospect, I would've preferred the written-out clues. But there's at least one substantive reason to prefer the pictures to the written clues. The picture of a bird playing a horn kind of masks or distracts from the anomalousness of HORNBILL. It's the only answer that doesn't have an animal in its name. That is, you have CRAB playing a fiddle, a SEAL playing a harp, a SWAN playing a trumpet, but you do not have a BILL playing a horn. BILL is only a part of the animal playing the horn. A HORNBILL is a real bird, for sure, but you have to fudge the specific instrument (or instrument player) + animal wordplay of the theme to make it work. It's fine. All the answers are animals with instruments (or instrument players) in their names, and that's sufficiently coherent. But HORNBILL is, structurally, a bit of an odd-man-out.

The fill on this one is average to slightly below. ESO PIA TSETSE AARE AGEE ÉTÉ ATA AVIA AWW have this one feeling pretty crosswordesey, and IN A TUB ... well, you know how awful I think that is, since we Just Had It In A Puzzle Last Week. And then there's COR, which is not only crosswordese, but also adds an extraneous instrument to an already instrument-themed puzzle. For elegance's sake, all instruments should be banished from the non-theme answers, especially ones that are clued Using Words That Are Actually In The Theme Answers (30D: ___ anglais (English horn) / HORNBILL). There's a doubling of "IT" ("I SWEAR IT" / "NAILED IT"), which is not that big a deal, and yet I noticed ... it. ZAATAR is pretty spicy, I like that (12D: Mideast spice blend). Seems conspicuously, if not gruesomely, understated to clue GAZA as simply a "site of conflict" right now. I mean, true, and yet ... kinda euphemistic. There are ways to clue GAZA that don't point straight at violence ([Largest city of Palestine], [Historic Mideast city where Samson died], etc.). Maybe one of those would've been preferable here. But maybe the clue doesn't matter because the very name GAZA is going to evoke images of violence right now, no matter how you clue it.

Notes and explanations:

26A: Game island represented by hexagonal tiles (CATAN) — I had trouble understanding what a "game island" even was. Like, what category of thing is that? Here, it's the title island in the game "Settlers of CATAN" (which is apparently now just called "CATAN")
19D: Pause to play? (RECESS) — I'm not sure what the surface-meaning is supposed to be here (why would you hit "pause" in order to "play" something?), but the clue ultimately wants you to understand the answer as a pause (from school during which children often go outside) to play, i.e. RECESS
1A: Line just above "total," maybe (TIP) — I had TAX, which had me wondering what kind of [Energizing snack] started with an "X"—maybe an XXTRA BAR ("20 Times The Protein Of Our Regular Bar!") (3D: Energizing snack = POWER BAR)
62A: Jhumpa ___, Pulitzer-winning author of "Interpreter of Maladies" (LAHIRI) — the only thing that really slowed me up today, and it was my own dumb fault—I misremembered her name as LAHARI and never bothered to check the cross, which should be HIT, but when you've got HAT in the grid, well, HAT doesn't exactly scream "Error!" at you, so ... I had to hunt my error after I was done, and didn't discover it until I'd checked every answer in the puzzle (since LAHARI didn't register as wrong, I didn't see my error til I got to HIT, which is the very last answer in the grid, 59D: Popular song).
33D: More quickly? (ETC.) —the idea being that if you want to indicate that there are "more" things in your list, but you want to do so economically (without enumerating every single item), then you use the abbreviation ETC. It indicates "more" ... quickly (i.e. in a short abbr.)
42D: Place for soap? (MELROSE) — kind of a deep cut: this is a reference to the '90s primetime soap opera MELROSE Place.

Please enjoy the rest of your Leap Day.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

Constructor: Esha Datta

Relative difficulty: Easiest Thursday Of All Time

THEME: "YOU'RE ON MUTE" (35A: Oft-used phrase during Zoom meetings ... or the reason for the misunderstandings at 17-, 26-, 50- and 60-Across?) — for the theme answers to make sense, you have to mute them, i.e. remove the word that represents a form of speech:

Theme answers:

BEANS~~TALK~~ (17A: Chili ingredients)
MAGI~~C HAT~~ (26A: Three wise men)
TI~~RE MARK~~ (50A: Note after la)
PIKE'~~S PEAK~~ (60A: Predatory freshwater fish)

Word of the Day: TABLA (57A: Indian tonal drum) —

A tabla is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent, that is somewhat similar in shape to the bongos. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments and vocals, and as a part of larger ensembles. It is frequently played in popular and folk music performances in India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The tabla is an essential instrument in the bhakti devotional traditions of Hinduism and Sikhism, such as during bhajan and kirtan singing. It is one of the main qawwali instruments used by Sufi musicians. The instrument is also featured in dance performances such as Kathak. Tabla is a rhythmic instrument.
The name tabla likely comes from tabl, the Arabic word for drum. The ultimate origin of the musical instrument is contested by scholars, though some trace its evolution from indigenous musical instruments of the Indian subcontinent.
The tabla consists of two small drums of slightly different sizes and shapes. Each drum is made of hollowed-out wood, clay or metal. The smaller drum (dayan/tabla) is used for creating treble and tonal sounds, while the primary function of the larger drum (baya/dagga) is for producing bass. They are laced with hoops, thongs and wooden dowels on its sides. The dowels and hoops are used to tighten the tension of the membranes for tuning the drums. (wikipedia)

• • •

***ATTENTION: READERS AND FELLOW SOLVERS IN SYNDICATION (if it's currently mid-January, that's you!)*** : Hello from the first properly wintry week of the season in Central New York! It's January, which means it's time once again for my annual week-long pitch for financial contributions to the blog. Every year I ask readers to consider what the blog is worth to them on an annual basis and give accordingly. So ... 17 years ... not bad. At this time last year, I was recovering from COVID and still dealing with the very fresh grief brought on by the untimely death of my cat, Olive. I was very grateful for the blog at that point, since it grounded me in routine and gave me a place where I could lose myself in a pastime I love, and share that love with others. OK, yes, true, I don't always *love* crosswords. Sometimes it's more hate-love or love-hate or "Why are you being like this, you stupid puzzle!?" It ain't all positive vibes, as you know. But I realized last year that part of what makes this blog so fun for me, and what makes it a solace to many readers, is the sense of commiseration it provides. Sometimes the puzzle thrills you, and maybe I agree with you, and maybe I don't; and sometimes it infuriates you, and maybe I agree with you, and maybe I don't. But either way, the blog is here; it's *always* here. You get to have your feelings validated, or you get to shake your head at my errant judgment and often breathtaking ignorance, but either way, you get to share an experience that's an important part of your daily life, and maybe you learn something new. Above all, I hope you feel that there is a real person with a real life and real emotions and (very) real human flaws who's telling you what it was *really* like for him to solve the puzzle. I never wanted to be an expert, offering some kind of bloodless know-it-all advice and analysis. I wanted blood. Blood on the page. There will be blood! ... But also, music videos. And Words of the Day. And, if you hang around long enough, cat pictures. Like this one:

This is Ida (she put herself in the bin, I swear). Ida is the happy sequel to last year's grief. At the beginning of January, I was mourning. By the end of January, I was still mourning, but now I had a new companion (as did my other cat, Alfie, who *really* needed one). Why am I talking about my cats? Because they are constant, they give shape and rhythm to my day, and I love them even if they sometimes drive me crazy. Just like crossword puzzles! (See that! Segue! This is why you should pay me the big bucks!)

However much I love writing this blog (and I do, a lot), it is, in fact, a job. This blog has covered the NYTXW every day, without fail, for 17 years, and except for two days a month (when my regular stand-ins Mali and Clare write for me), and an occasional vacation or sick day (when I hire substitutes to write for me), it's me who's doing the writing. Every day. At very ... let's say, inconvenient hours (my alarm goes off most mornings at 3:45am). Over the years, I have received all kinds of advice about "monetizing" the blog, invitations to turn it into a subscription-type deal à la Substack or Patreon. But that sort of thing has never felt right for me. I like being out here on Main, on this super old-school blogging platform, just giving it away for free and relying on conscientious addicts like yourselves to pay me what you think the blog's worth. It's just nicer that way.

How much should you give? Whatever you think the blog is worth to you on a yearly basis. Whatever that amount is is fantastic. Some people refuse to pay for what they can get for free. Others just don't have money to spare. All are welcome to read the blog—the site will always be open and free. But if you are able to express your appreciation monetarily, here are three options. First, a Paypal button (which you can also find in the blog sidebar on the homepage):
Second, a mailing address (checks can be made out to "Michael Sharp" or "Rex Parker"):

Rex Parker c/o Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905

The third, increasingly popular option is Venmo; if that's your preferred way of moving money around, my handle is @MichaelDavidSharp (the last four digits of my phone are 4878, in case Venmo asks you, which I guess it does sometimes, when it's not trying to push crypto on you, what the hell?!)

All Paypal contributions will be gratefully acknowledged by email. All Venmo contributions will get a little heart emoji, at a minimum :) All snail mail contributions will be gratefully acknowledged with hand-written postcards. I. Love. Snail Mail. I love seeing your gorgeous handwriting and then sending you my awful handwriting. It's all so wonderful. My daughter (Ella Egan) has once again designed my annual thank-you cards, and once again those cards feature (wait for it) cats! My cats: Alfie & Ida. This year, an elegant set of five!

These really capture the combination of beauty and goofiness that I love in cats (and puzzles, frankly). I'd say "Collect All Five!" but every snail-mail contributor will get just one and (hopefully) like it! Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just indicate "NO CARD." Again, as ever, I'm so grateful for your readership and support. Please know that your support means a lot to me and my family. Now on to today's puzzle...

• • •

The most notable thing about this puzzle was how easy it was. I have never solved a Thursday with this little resistance. After initially wanting OOZE or LAVA at 1A: Semiliquid stuff (GOOP), I checked the shortest cross, 4D: Ice cream units, which really seemed to want to be PINTS. After I wrote in PINTS, I never looked at another clue that I didn't know instantly (or with a few seconds' cogitation). Not one clue. Not one. I have never experienced anything like this on a Thursday. I've barely experienced anything like it on a Monday. Now, I always look at the clue for the answer that it seems I'm mostly likely to get, i.e. the one that has the most letters already in the grid, or has letters in such unusual positions that the answer options seem like they'd be significantly narrowed. I'm always playing the percentages, that is, in terms of what I give my attention to. But still, I had to move on from *zero* clues today. Hmmm, it's possible my first thought for 3D: How detectives might start their investigation was ON SPEC. But OMEARA NAP ONATIP OMNI GOBLIN bam bam bam no hesitation, and that just kept happening, all the way to ALBEIT in the SE corner, the last thing in the grid. I got to the revealer so fast that I actually slowed down and started paying attention to how I was solving. Could I make it through the *whole* thing without ever once having to move on from a clue I couldn't guess? I'm excluding the themers from this discussion—but only the first one, because after the first one, I got them all without even having to look at their clues. I made a game of it. And I wobbled a bit a couple times. Took me a few moments to get DAWN from DA- at 66A: Beginning, and a few more moments to get YELLOW from YE- at 52A: Discolor from age. But I did it. Coast to coast, no misses. Absurd for a Thursday. Not what I want from a Thursday at all. But once I turned it into a private little game of "Can I Do It!?" the easiness didn't rankle as much. This is why I solve Downs-Only on Mondays—gotta give myself an extra challenge to make ultra-easy puzzles more interesting.

Now the theme. I like it, but the execution, the logic ... it feels upside-down to me. Or reversed. Because if *I* am on mute, then ... you can't hear me talk ... but the problem is that I, the solver, am actually "hearing" extra talk, talk that is impeding my understanding of how the theme clue works. Only when I put *the puzzle* on mute (i.e. take out the word representing some form of speech) can I make sense of things. The one way I can make sense of the revealer is that with each theme answer, there is talk that is not being heard (just like you when YOU'RE ON MUTE). Still, there's a perspectival / grammatical confusion to the revealer that I wish weren't there. But for all that, it's still a cool idea. Ordinary words that, when you take out the "talk," make other words. It's a nifty trick. I only wish I actually had to pay attention to the clues to deal with the trick.

I raced to the center of the grid before even looking at a theme answer, so ... this was me, maybe a minute in:

Wasn't sure at all what that was going to mean for the themers, so I got the remainder of BEANS- from crosses: DST SWAN DESI EWAN SALEM INKPAD, rat-a-tat, no stopping, which gave me BEANSTALK, which ... yeah, if I take out the "TALK" I get BEANS, which are [Chili ingredients] (note: this clue seems designed to cause drama, since whether chili needs or should even have beans in it is a matter of ongoing and occasionally heated contention). With the gimmick firmly in hand, I just filled in the remaining themers via crosses, waiting to see what word meaning (roughly) "talk" I could make out of the ends of the longer answers. Got MAGIC HAT entirely from crosses, which confirmed the gimmick, and then down below, those themers just seemed to fill themselves in. But the time I looked at them, I could see what they were from the letter patterns, no need to look at the clues. I don't have superpowers—this was just far too easy.

The fill is a little on the dull side, *but* I appreciate that the grid does make the most of its few longer answers—the banks of longer Downs (two 7s and an 8) in the NE and SW are all really solid. OMEARA (old-school crosswordese) and ON A TIP (yuck) made me bristle early on, but the rest of the grid is smooth enough, mostly cringe-free. It's got a lot of familiar stuff, but it doesn't grate. It just kind of disappears into the background in order to let the theme shine. I think it disappears far too much, to the point of near insubstantiality, but at any rate, it never gets ugly, which I appreciate. Tighten the screws on this thing and you've got a lovely Thursday puzzle. As is, it's a Monday dressed up like Thursday. Looking forward to much more challenge this Friday and Saturday. See you then, I hope.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. the Holiday Pet Pictures keep coming in, thank you! Again, if you send them to me (rexparker at iCloud dot com), I will post them, so don't send anything you don't want public (I'll always hide your last name, don't worry). Here's Foxglove (belonging to Anthony B.), in both shy and less shy modes: