"Oscar" of the French film industry / FRI 5-29-26 / Currency in The Legend of Zelda / Road maneuvers featuring lazy braking / "La Tulipe Noire" novelist, 1850 / Someone attracted to intellect over looks, say / Swing dance originating in Harlem / Adhere to the kashrut dietary rules / Smurf who is more than 500 years old / Dream interrupter / Redheaded monster on TV

Constructor: Hemant Mehta

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: LINDY / HOP (20A: With 19-Across, swing dance originating in Harlem) —

The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the African-American communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many dances that preceded it or were popular during its development but is mainly based on jazz, tap, breakaway, and Charleston. It is frequently described as a jazz dance and is a member of the swing dance family.

In its development, the Lindy Hop combined elements of both partnered and solo dancing by using the movements and improvisation of African-American dances along with the formal eight-count structure of European partner dances – most clearly illustrated in the Lindy's defining move, the swingout. In this step's open position, each dancer is generally connected hand-to-hand; in its closed position, leads and follows are connected as though in an embrace on one side and holding hands on the other. [...] 

Lindy Hop is sometimes referred to as a street dance, referring to its improvisational and social nature. In 1932, twelve-year-old Norma Miller did the Lindy Hop outside the Savoy Ballroom with her friends for tips. In 1935, 15,000 people danced on Bradhurst Avenue for the second of a dance series held by the Parks Department. Between 147th and 148th street, Harlem "threw itself into the Lindy Hop with abandon" as Sugar Hill residents watched from the bluffs along Edgecombe Avenue.

• • •

This played somewhat harder than most recent Fridays, which isn't saying too much, but it's saying something. The bulk of it was fairly whooshy, but I got very bogged down in a couple of places: the NE and especially the dead center. Could not get into the center of the puzzle via either HOLY (... MOLEY?) or ZEN (... KOANS? MASTER?). I figured with momentum on my side and two paths in, handling the center would be a breeze, but ... nope. I also didn't recognize the word "kashrut" and so could not parse EAT KOSHER (30D: Adhere to the kashrut dietary rules). So ... I ended up stopped dead right here, around the halfway point:

That's right, I had ZEN STA- and still no idea what the answer was supposed to be. In retrospect, the problem for me was the cluing—ZEN STATES don't "make you" one with everything. If you're in a zen state, then you already are "one with everything." That's the state. The state you are in. Whatever you use to get into that state, that is what "makes you" one with everything. The clue seemed to be confusing cause with effect, at least the way I was reading it. This is why ZEN MASTER or ZEN KOANS were the only things my brain could think up. ZEN MEDITATION, maybe, but that (like the others) just wouldn't fit. As for HOLY MOSES, I should've remembered that, but MOLEY really ran interference, and then COW jumped in there and started mooing and I couldn't think of anything else. I had to start all over in the NE, which was not nearly as welcoming to me as the NW had been. I knew SARA, but RUPEE? (12D: Currency in The Legend of Zelda). No clue. ALARM? (11D: Dream interrupter). I had APNEA!!!! ALUM? Of course, makes sense, but w/o crosses I couldn't see it. I figured the 500yo Smurf had to be PAPA (there is no MAMA, that I recall), but even his "P"s didn't help much. I think I finally plunked down AMASS (13D: Hoard), and that got me the traction I needed. Oh, and SAPIOSEXUAL?! (10D: Someone attracted to intellect over looks, say). Come on, man. No one says that. I guess I've heard it before, but it's such a made-up, created-in-a-lab media-driven non-thing. No one is attracted to one thing alone. The fact that you find smartness hot does not mean you have some niche sexuality that needs a name. You're just straight, or gay, or whatever you are. Boo to this dumb word.

Outside the middle and the NE, though, the puzzle was pretty simple, and largely delightful. Nice start with ALL TOO SOON and "SMALL WORLD!" and then the puzzle rolls right into ROLLING STOPS, which I loved as answer almost as much as I hate them in real life, especially as a pedestrian (5D: Road maneuvers featuring lazy braking). We called them "California stops" when I was growing up, but I grew up in California, so ... maybe every state thinks they invented it. Hmm, looks like only Rhode Island wants a piece of the action (wikipedia is telling me that in addition to "California stop," the rolling stop is also called the "Rhode Island roll"). I think the vast majority of people do ROLLING STOPS at lightly-trafficked stop signs. But I love coming to a complete stop. It feels almost perverse, especially when there's no one around. But I find it satisfying, especially if someone is behind me and seems, let's say, impatient. I don't hang out at the stop sign, but I damn sure come to a full and complete stop. Just for a little treat. And for the children and animals and cyclists and other drivers etc. It's a little reset. A road awareness check-in. Stop. Look. Go. Relax. Have a nice day. 

LINT SCREENS is another good answer, and I love "WHAT'D I MISS?" over TERRY GROSS, as you can imagine a car passenger listening to "Fresh Air," popping out of the car to run a quick errand, then getting back into the car and asking "WHAT'D I MISS!!?" Oh, nothing, just Christian Bale admitting on air that he's doing this interview and all his Batman Begins promotional interviews not in his natural voice, but in a put-on more-or-less inflection-less American accent. Also, he thanked Terry for noticing that his body in Batman looked like it was bulky and muscly from real physical activity, not like it was sculpted at the gym. Hard bod, not gym bod. (Why do I remember the details of this one Terry Gross interview from over two decades ago so clearly??). 

Bullets:

• 23A: Only player to win three Super Bowl M.V.P. awards before turning 30 (MAHOMES) — I stopped paying attention to the NFL a long time ago now, but this guy's name definitely broke through to me at some point. It's pretty crossword-friendly, as seven-letter words go. I saw this clue and my mind went to older players (Brady, Favre, Montana, Bradshaw...), but of those, only MONTANA fit, and crosses made that impossible. Once I had the answer to MAH- ... well, then it was easy. MAHOMES has played in five Super Bowls and won three (all with the Kansas City Chiefs).
• 39A: "La Tulipe Noire" novelist, 1850 (DUMAS) — because ["The Three Musketeers" novelist, 1844] and ["The Count of Monte Cristo" novelist, 1846] would've been too obvious, I guess. I'm rereading the first two books of Colson Whitehead's Harlem trilogy in anticipation of the third installment (which comes out this summer), and in those books, there's an elite association of Black leaders and businessmen called The DUMAS Club (DUMAS‘s father, Thomas-Alexandre, was born in present-day Haiti, the son of a French nobleman and an enslaved woman).

• 15D: Outstanding, in a way (OWING) — there's nothing remarkable about this answer except that it starts an -ING avalanche: OWING ROLLING RAZING ICING ing ing ing ing. It's like the grid is glitching and I need to smack it in order to get regular reception back.
• 28A: Apt anagram of NOTES (TONES) — me, confidently: "STENO!"

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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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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Replacement for the Spanish colonial real / FRI 8-9-2024 / Animals that appear in the fossil record before trees / Stigmatize sexual preferences, in modern lingo

Constructor: Hemant Mehta

Relative difficulty: Medium (9:07)

THEME: Themeless

Word of the Day: TELEX (Email ancestor) —

Telex is a telecommunication service that provides text-based message exchange over the circuits of the public switched telephone network or by private lines. The technology operates on switched station-to-station basis with teleprinter devices at the receiving and sending locations. Telex was a major method of sending text messages electronically between businesses in the post–World War II period. Its usage went into decline as the fax machine grew in popularity in the 1980s.

• • •

Hey friends, it's Malaika! I solved this puzzle while listening to Orville Peck's new album, which is called Stampede. I think my favorite song off it is Chemical Sunset. I simply adore a country song with a little harmonizing!!

Easy themeless puzzles are my fave, and this one rocked. Such a blast! This grid shape seems to lend itself to Really Good Friday Puzzles; at one point it was used on a Friday three weeks in a row. When I make a themeless puzzle, I start with one entry locked into place, and then construct everything else around it. I know others who do the same, and I like to guess what the Inciting Entry was. Here, I'd expect it to be KINK SHAME.

I'm really stunned at how many of the long answers were delightful. INDIE BANDS / GO OUT ON TOP was an awesome way to begin the puzzle, and the little column of LET ME EXPLAIN / BREATH MINTS / ALMOST DONE was also very fun. I particularly liked that last entry which sounded so conversational. I say ALMOST DONE way more than I ever say "I'm almost done." (I will say that I found the clue for BREATH MINTS (Apt anagram of TINS BEAR THEM, minus an E) difficult to parse, and not particularly interesting or fun. I feel like we've been getting more of this type of clue since Joel took over for Will-- is that true, or am I totally off-base here?) 

On the right side of the puzzle, I liked MUSEUM TOURS with it's clue, [Journeys into the past?]. Although that is making me realize how few wordplay clues we got here. That was one of just three in the whole puzzle. One reason for this is that it's tough (though not IMPOSSIBLE hehehe) to clue conversational phrases like I MISSED YOU with a pun. But I think GLASS TUMBLER and BARREL RACE definitely could have had some punny options.

I know a couple people who don't like to include weapons or violent entries in their puzzles, but it doesn't bother me (as a constructor or as a solver). I thought it was nice to get a Godzilla mention in reference to H BOMB-- it reminded me of how the production team of the most recent Godzilla movie wore matching shoes to the Oscars.

And they won!! Best Visual Effects on a budget of $15 million

As a final note... what do you guys think about how he stacked A PLUSES atop B TEAMS? Do you think it was on purpose, or a happy coincidence?

Bullets:

• [Wedding planning website, with "the"] for KNOT — This site is ubiquitous amongst thirty-somethings in NYC. I've gotten three wedding invites on it so far, and there are always ads on the subway for it.
• [Where you can find ME] for US MAP — The "ME" in the clue is referring to an abbreviation for Maine
• [Line drawn after an early wrong guess in hangman] for TORSO — This puzzle may not have had a lot of punnery, but this was some nice imagery
  

xoxo Malaika

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Court figure, in old slang / FRI 5-17-24 / Modern TV attachment / Last thing left in Pandora's box / Long rows? / Dessert skipper's explanation / Hill's partner in publishing / Food item that's fittingly shaped like a mouse cursor

Constructor: Hemant Mehta

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: TANGRAMS (40A: Seven-piece puzzles) —

The tangram (Chinese: 七巧板; pinyin: qīqiǎobǎn; lit. 'seven boards of skill') is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat polygons, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective is to replicate a pattern (given only an outline) generally found in a puzzle book using all seven pieces without overlap. Alternatively the tans can be used to create original minimalist designs that are either appreciated for their inherent aesthetic merits or as the basis for challenging others to replicate its outline. It is reputed to have been invented in China sometime around the late 18th century and then carried over to America and Europe by trading ships shortly after. It became very popular in Europe for a time, and then again during World War I. It is one of the most widely recognized dissection puzzles in the world and has been used for various purposes including amusement, art, and education. (wikipedia)

• • •

[What I pictured when I read
"Dessert skipper" (37D)]

Can you wavelength a constructor just by following them on X (née Twitter)? Is "wavelength" a verb now just because I want it to be? Whatever the answers to these provocative questions, I absolutely destroyed this puzzle. I don't time myself anymore, but it feels like I would've been somewhere near a record Friday time today. Hit the ground running in my NIKES (1A: Jordans, e.g.) and Did Not Stop. OK, I paused, slightly, in a couple of places, but virtually every clue just seemed transparent, even the ones that seemed to want to get tricky or vague or trickily vague on me. So there was lots and lots of whoosh today. Almost too much whoosh (not usually a problem!). The marquee answers could maybe have used a little more spice, but they're all rock solid and occasionally lovely. Except "I'M ON A DIET"—it's solid enough, but ugh, "dieting," the practice and especially the industry, boo. Much better were FELL IN LOVE (yay) and LOSING SLEEP (boo in life, yay in grid) and CHEESE WEDGE (mmm) and CTRL-ALT-DEL (esp. as clued—makes it sound hilariously profane) (53A: "Three-finger salute," to help reboot) (and it's a little poem, too; like "Be kind, Rewind," only ... longer). Laughed professionally at 56A: Outpaces the syllabus (READS AHEAD) since some small but significant portion of my students seem never even to have read the syllabus itself. "It's In The Syllabus" is maybe the longest running professor joke. Evergreen response 1/2 of all student questions. Put it on a T-shirt (pretty sure someone already has). LOL, there's an entire Etsy store dedicated to this phrase!

[from phdcomics.com]

So it was easy. This is not to say that I didn't make a few wrong moves along the way, starting with SNIDE COMMENT at 5D: Cutting lines (SNIDE REMARKS). "Lines" did not necessarily mean the answer was going to be plural, since a bunch of "lines" can be understood cumulatively as a single "comment," so COMMENT in the singular didn't faze me. But then I checked the COMMENT crosses, starting (as always) with the shortest cross, and, well, I know my Scottish islands reasonably well, especially the four-letter ones, and I don't know of one with "T" in the second position, but I do know SKYE, so in went SKYE, out went comment, and in went REMARKS ("K" is a high-value letter in both Scrabble and crosswords). Wasn't sure about the Navy answer—thought it might be NAVY or NAVAL something or other, but I wanted CADET and NAVAL CADET didn't fit so I tried NAVY CADET and whaddya know? Perfect. Eventually had the PLAN part of FALLBACK PLAN and couldn't think of anything but BACK-UP PLAN, which I guess is the same thing as a FALLBACK PLAN, just with BACK in a different place. Took a little hacking at the crosses to make the FALLBACK part come into view, but just a little hacking. Not strenuous hacking. Had the CAB- part of 28A: 1873 invention first used in San Francisco and ironically couldn't do anything with it. I say "ironically" because I was born in San Francisco and so books about the place, usually featuring CABLE CARs on the cover, figured large in my childhood.

BEDIM before GO DIM (34A: Fade out) and LEGAL before LEGIT (25D: Not sketchy) and STOP before DROP (57A: Not keep hanging on). Wow, that last one is pretty literal, and potentially painful! (note: I misread the clue: It's [Not keep harping on] ... that's better, and less grim]

Was prepared to be mad at the clue for CMAS for including the word "Award," which I thought was what the "A" stood for (23A: Awards won by George Strait in three separate decades, familiarly). But no, the "A" stands for "Association," as in "Country Music Association," so having "Award" in the clue doesn't violate any cluing rules (namely, the rule where you can't clue an initialism using any of the words represented by the initials in question). Not much to explain today. ROKU is a popular streaming service with set-top boxes that attach to your TV (11D: Modern TV attachment). The "rows" in 21A: Long rows? are "arguments," "fights," i.e. FEUDS. We don't really say "row" (rhymes with "cow") on this side of the pond, but that's OK, it's not exactly obscure. CAGER is holy-cow-old slang for a basketball player. Like, it was old when I was young. I am no longer young. It was one of the first bits of crossword slang I learned back when I started solving in the early '90s. Me: "Wait ... how is this basketball slang? I've been following basketball for most of my life and I have never, never ever, heard anyone use this term?" Crossword: "Welcome to crosswords, buddy! We've got all kinds of stupid words! You're gonna love it!"  

[I learned about this (great) song from Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) when she played it on one of the episodes of her Apple Radio program "St. Vincent's Mixtape Delivery Service"]

See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Temper, quaintly / FRI 1-12-24 / Pair of percussion pieces / It doesn't run below the bridge / Futura, for one / A-list guest, to a host / Long-nosed swimmer

Constructor: Hemant Mehta

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: HI-HAT (29A: Pair of percussion pieces) —

A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist of a matching pair of small to medium-sized cymbals mounted on a stand, with the two cymbals facing each other. The bottom cymbal is fixed and the top is mounted on a rod which moves the top cymbal toward the bottom one when the pedal is depressed (a hi-hat that is in this position is said to be "closed" or "closed hi-hats").

The hi-hat evolved from a "sock cymbal", a pair of similar cymbals mounted at ground level on a hinged, spring-loaded foot apparatus. Drummers invented the first sock cymbals to enable one drummer to play multiple percussion instruments at the same time. Over time these became mounted on short stands—also known as "low-boys"—and activated by pedals similar to those used in modern hi-hats. When extended upward roughly 3 feet (76 cm) they were originally known as "high sock" cymbals, which evolved over time to the familiar "high-hat" term. [...] 

While the term hi-hat normally refers to the entire setup (two cymbals, stand, pedal, rod mechanism), in some cases, drummers use it to refer exclusively to the two cymbals themselves. (wikipedia)

• • •

***ATTENTION: READERS AND FELLOW SOLVERS*** : Hello from the first properly snowy day of Winter 2024! It's early 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... 

• • •

[these are the best Skittles and I can't
find them anymore!]

Lots to enjoy here, but again, as with yesterday's, there's no late-week bite. No difficulty, no challenge, no wrestling with demons, nothing of the sort. Lots of whoosh-whoosh (hurray), but unallayed whoosh-whoosh is like a meal of Skittles. I love Skittles, but I cannot live on them. I need ... what's the nutritional equivalent of puzzle difficulty? Fiber? Vitamins? Anyway, I need the puzzle to push back a little, and this one simply didn't. I had a few hesitations: "Is TV CAM really a thing people say?" (1A: What might make the news, for short?). "What is this surgery prep term that isn't SCRUBS UP or SCRUBS IN or SHAVES THE PATIENT or the like?" (15D: Preps for surgery). "Why won't BLACK OUT fit in these squares!?" (35D: Eclipse). "What is a Futura? Is it a FORD? ... no? ... is it a FIAT? ... no. Not a car, eh?" (38D: Futura, for one = FONT). But that's it? I think that's literally it. Yes, I had to wait for a few crosses to get the ostentatiously wordplayish clue at 17A: It doesn't run below the bridge (STUFFY NOSE), but the crosses came easily, in abundance, and when the crosses come that way, the longer answers just don't stand a chance, no matter how hard they're trying to be clever. I don't think of a STUFFY NOSE as not running. The Mayo Clinic says:

Nasal congestion, also called stuffy nose, is a feeling of fullness in the nose or face. There also might be fluid running or dripping out of the nose or down the back of the throat. (mayoclinic.org) (my emph.)

This would seem to contradict today's clue, at least a little, but points for effort, man, that clue is really giving you all it's got. Once I got out of the NW and started zinging around the grid, I found a lot to like about this puzzle, particularly SHOOK THINGS UP and UP TO NO GOOD (yes, the "UP"s are doubled, and no I didn't really care—somehow the word is small enough, and the expressions long and vivid enough, that the double-UP is not really something I noticed as I sailed along; whereas the doubled THATs from Wednesday's puzzle were conspicuous and jarring, perhaps because there were just fewer long (non-theme) answers to distract me ... also THAT is twice as long as UP, so that ... probably had something to do with my different reactions as well). 

I think BORE THE COST is probably a fine answer (24D: Covered expenses), but it feels like it has some EAT-A-SANDWICH DNA in it, somehow. It's a real thing but doesn't *quite* want to stand on its own (though, to be fair, it stands alone much better than EAT A SANDWICH, which is why it's more a distant relative than a sibling or first cousin). "MY FAULT" doesn't want to stand on its own nearly as much as "MY BAD" (5D: "Sorry, I messed up"). This clue also has that issue I complained about recently where a complete sentence is used to clue a fragment (or vice versa). The equivalent "Sorry, I messed up" is "It was my fault." So there are two reasons why "MY FAULT" felt off to MY EARS. Ooh, SPOILED ROTTEN, I forgot to include that in the list of Loved answers. The longer answers really do have a lot of sassy, mischievous energy today. I also like the clue on BANNED BOOKS—fun to go in unexpected rather than predictable directions with the examples (6D: Merriam-Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and "Where's Waldo?," once). What did people think Waldo ... was up to? No good? Hmm, gotta reread that one ...

A list of other things!:

• 21A: Temper, quaintly (DANDER) — this made me smile. "Quaintly" is exactly right, right on the money. I've only ever heard this meaning of DANDER in the phrase "get one's DANDER up." I think IRISH was once used this way too ("get one's IRISH up"), but maybe that was considered a slur (??) and people stopped using it. I don't mind the quaintness today. I don't need more pet DANDER in my life.
• 
  36A: "Bridgerton" actor Regé-___ Page (JEAN) — no idea, but with the French-looking first part and then the hyphen, I figured JEAN was more likely than, say, JOAN.
• 45A: Figures that are best kept low, in brief (ERAS) — baseball stat that I just assume everyone knows but if not, "Earned Run Average" is a pitching stat that's good if it's low because it means the pitcher gives up fewer runs, on average (the "average" is over a nine-inning period) (please don't carp with this definition, I just haven't got time to explain earned v. unearned runs, let alone the morass of other stats I'd surely run into if I kept writing about this topic, I mean, pretty soon you're explaining FIP and people start quietly leaving the room so they can get on with their lives...).
• 8D: High ways? (ELS) — the elevated (or "el") trains, specifically in Chicago. Second plural ELS this week. Ernie ELS sits sadly by wondering what he did wrong.
• 16A: First American woman in space (RIDE) — Sally Ride (forever musically linked with "Heavy Metal Suicide")
• 9D: Response to an approaching embarrassment (CRINGE) — I think I do not understand what "approaching" is doing here. Don't you CRINGE when the embarrassment is already upon you? Or upon someone else, and you are embarrassed on their behalf? Or is the "approaching embarrassment," like, your uncle, coming toward you, making puns and discussing his political, uh, insights?
• 37A: A-list guest, to a host (GET) — nice use of verb as noun here. Very in-the-language.
• 50D: The Big Apple's "bravest," in brief (FDNY) — the quotation marks around "bravest" made me laugh, as they look like ironic "air quotes." Guess the NYT doesn't think the FDNY are actually brave. If I were a really bored writer at a conservative website, I would make a big deal of this.

I found a stray (!) Holiday Pet Pic, so please enjoy Felix and Chester basking in the warmth of holiday cheer and their own obvious greatness. To a cat, Everything is a throne. These two make adorable co-regents:

[Thanks, Liam]

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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