Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Evan Mulvihill

Constructor: Evan Mulvihill

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none

Word of the Day: WHITE RUSSIANS (39A: Cocktails that might make for poor nightcaps) —

A white Russian is a cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur (e.g. Kahlúa or Tia Maria) and cream served with ice in an old fashioned glass. // The traditional cocktail known as a black Russian, which first appeared in 1949, becomes a white Russian with the addition of cream. Neither drink has any known Russian origin, but both are so-named due to vodka being the primary ingredient. It is unclear which drink preceded the other. // The Oxford English Dictionary refers to the first mention of white Russian in the sense of a cocktail as appearing in California's Oakland Tribune on November 21, 1965. It was placed in the newspaper as an insert: "White Russian. 1 oz. each Southern, vodka, cream", with "Southern" referring to Coffee Southern, a short-lived brand of coffee liqueur by Southern Comfort. // The white Russian saw a surge in popularity after the 1998 release of the film The Big Lebowski. Throughout the movie, it appears as the beverage of choice for the protagonist, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski. On a number of occasions he refers to the drink as a "Caucasian". (wikipedia)

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Nothing really outstanding about this grid, but nothing very rickety either. Just really solid work, corner to corner. I think you either love that central answer (GOES BEAST MODE) or you feel sorta neutral toward it (guilty) or you kinda hate it 'cause you never heard of it (38A: Runs wild, in gamer-speak). It definitely merits its marquee status, being easily the freshest and most original thing in the grid. It's hard to imagine having very strong feelings about anything else in the puzzle, though. Like I say, it just works. Workmanlike, that's what I'd say. That doesn't sound like a compliment, and I guess it's not, but not making me wince at all, not having little irritating soft spots and awkwardnesses ... that is its own kind of success. Also, I do feel somewhat north of neutral about HOUSE REDS and PROSE POET and especially COIN PURSE, which I love for its stalwart obsolescence. The future has deprived us of many cool objects, and the COIN PURSE is one. GHOSTING is a nice modern term (though a SAD one) (38D: Going dark on, as one's love interest, in modern parlance). UNICORNS (as clued) is also modern, but to me a lot less exciting (59A: Majorly successful business start-ups). Less nice. Give me mythologically-clued (real?) UNICORNS any day. "Start-ups," shrug, meh. But my only significant complaint about this puzzle is that (once again, as with yesterday's puzzle) it's just too easy. There were a few speed bumps, I guess, and I had the usual struggle (minor) getting started, but once I got going—SCHUSS SCHUSS! Is that how you use that word? I've never seen it outside of crosswords—see also SCRAG and SALT*. A skinny skiing sailor, that is the brand ambassador for this puzzle.

The only effort I expended came in the NW corner, i.e. the start, where I wasn't entirely sure about those short Downs at first (except, sadly, TEATS), and couldn't do much with the first two Acrosses up there either. [Short shorts] had me thinking DAISY DUKES and then ... nothing. I forgot about HOT PANTS. Do they still call them that? Feels very much like a '70s phenomenon. Makes me think of The Hustle. Why!?

[none of these pants appear to be hot, though some do appear to be harem. The whole video is really a magnificent showcase of '70s disco style; tremendous]

I also don't really know what an OPERA cake is. I've heard of it, but the clue didn't help me out at all (2D: ___ cake, dessert with layers of sponge, buttercream and ganache). That just sounds like a fairly regular cake to me. Further, I had RATS before NUTS (6D: "Drat!"). So there was some flopping and flailing around to start, but it didn't last long at all, and once it was done, there was no other resistance to be found. Nothing of real note, anyway. My brain glitched on DEBRIS because even though I had the DE- all it wanted was DETRITUS (30D: Flotsam and jetsam). Lots of trouble with SCHUSS, because, as I said above, I've never heard anyone use this word outside crosswords (21D: Go on a run, perhaps). Very ambiguous clue. Needed many crosses to see that "run" meant "ski run." But those crosses were not slow in coming. I forgot that LOUIE Anderson existed. Once again, my brain fixated on a wrong (impossible) answer (LONI!) and wouldn't let go. I hesitated at RAMSES because I thought there was another "E" in there (RAMESES?) [whoa, looks like RAMSES has three spellings: RAMESSES (the spelling used in the wikipedia entry), RAMESES, and RAMSES] (24D: Name of 11 pharaohs). I wrote in MODES for MORES (49D: Practices). I think that is the totality of my missteps today. I don't speed-solve anymore, or time myself, but I think if I'd been really trying today, I would've finished this in under 5—more typical of a Wednesday than a Friday for me.

Bullets:

27A: Most desirable candidates in the dating pool, slangily (TENS) — kinda ick. Also, are TENS really the most "desirable" people to date. I think of TENS as poster-pretty. Maybe sexually desirable, but for "dating," I dunno. I've met some pretty undesirable hot people.
56A: ___ Bush, Black Lives Matter activist who served in Congress (CORI) — you can see how under normal circumstances this answer would probably have been CORE, but that would've turned DISKS into DESKS, and you can't have DESKS crossing DESK (in INFODESK). I'm happy enough to see CORI Bush's name, but I do wonder what kind of legs the name of a one-term congressperson is going to have. I bet this puzzle was constructed when she was still in office (i.e. before Nov. 2024).
35D: Artist who made a lot of good points? (SEURAT) — because he was a "point"ilist. Punny!

[Parade de cirque, 1888]

43A: Nile nasties (ASPS) — on behalf of snakes everywhere, boooo! ASPS aren't "nasties." They're just snakes being snakes. You share the planet with some things that can kill you. That's life! The only animal that can be "nasty" is ... well, you know. (that's right: hamsters. pure evil. It's in the bible, look it up)

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

*I concede that I probably have seen the term "old SALT" before, outside of crosswords. Maybe SALT is in Moby-Dick, I dunno. But my go-to sailor slang word is TAR (which I also know primarily from crosswords). Also ... GOB, is that a thing? Ha, yes! A thing! Crossword muscles, still working ...

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