Fragrant neckwear / TUES 4-30-24 / Pixar film set in Mexico / Three-word Last Supper question / Why Pinocchio's nose grows

Hi, everyone! It’s Clare for the last Tuesday — and last day — of April. Hope everyone stays cool as the heat ratchets up. We already had a high of 90 degrees here in D.C. today. I tried to enjoy the fair weather over the weekend and went for a nice long bike ride. But I had to contend with the fact that, well, everyone else also decided that being outside was a great idea. In other news, I’ve been crying over the Premier League and my Reds. But I’ve been celebrating how the Steelers did in the draft this year! It seems like quite the good class, led by Troy Fautanu, an offensive tackle we took in the first round, who seems to be just about the loveliest (and most talented) person around. 

Anywho, on to the puzzle…

Constructor: Michèle Govier

Relative difficulty: Easy-medium

THEME: WIGGLE ROOM (62A: Space to maneuver, or a hint to five sets of circled letters in this puzzle) — The circled letters zig zag going down and form five names of rooms one might find in a home

Theme answers:

• PARLOR 
• PANTRY 
• LOUNGE 
• STUDY 
• ATTIC

Word of the Day: BREADFRUIT (16A: Crop named for its doughy texture when cooked) —

Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family believed to be a domesticated descendant of the breadnut originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines. It was initially spread to Oceania via the Austronesian expansion. Its name is derived from the texture of the moderately ripe fruit when cooked, similar to freshly baked bread and having a potato-like flavor.The trees have been widely planted in tropical regions, including lowland Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean. In addition to the fruit serving as a staple food in many cultures, the light, sturdy timber of breadfruit has been used for outriggers, ships, and houses in the tropics. (Wiki)

• • •

Well, that was a cute theme. I initially saw LOUNGE and STUDY and thought we were in for a Clue-themed puzzle. But WIGGLE ROOM (62A) is clever, and it’s an impressive bit of constructing to get five theme answers to work like that in the puzzle. I was initially quite confused about where the circles started and stopped for whatever they were going to spell out, so I mostly just focused on the fill rather than the theme. But looking back, I appreciated the theme’s ingenuity. The only thing is that LOUNGE there in the top-middle of the puzzle looked a bit lonely without another room at the bottom, but that would’ve been very tricky for the constructor. 

The thing about a clever, complicated theme, though, is that it often leads to a lot of crosswordese and meh fill. And this puzzle, I’m sad to say, was no exception. SPRIER (19A: More agile) and APER (3D: One doing impersonations) are just ugly. IRR (6D: Nonstandard: Abbr.) and HGT (38D: Fig. on a driver's license) and YTD (31A: Since Jan. 1, on pay stubs) are abbreviations that aren’t particularly exciting. Then you’ve got ERA (45A), EONS (54D), ESAU (10D), LEI (44D), TRE (47A), ENYA (65A), and ESS (68A) (among others), which you’ve seen a million times in crosswords. Side note: ESS (68A: This + vertical line = dollar sign) was clued in maybe the weirdest way I’ve ever seen. 

I got stuck in a couple spots in the puzzle, which slowed me down. I unfortunately didn’t know DEY (17A: Susan of "L.A. Law"), and I struggled with SPRIER (19A) and BREADFRUIT (16A) (not something I’ve ever eaten). That speed bump was compounded by the fact that I knew the Romanian currency began with “le” but took a while to come up with LEU (7D). And in the SW corner, KETOSIS (53A: Metabolic state on a low-carb, high-fat diet) threw me. 

Then there were some oddities in the puzzle. I think it’s generally sophomores who are taking the PSAT (15A) (while juniors start taking the SAT). A sourdough starter begins with flour and water exposed to the air, where there’s natural yeast, but it seems off to refer to YEAST (31D) as an ingredient. My biggest issue in the puzzle was with TEASES (21D: "Still ahead ..." and "Coming up next ...," in broadcasting lingo)! Those phrases are teasers, not TEASES, in TV terminology. 

But then there was NATTER (23D: Talk idly), which is objectively a fun word. Some others I liked were NO FRILLS (5D: Without bells and whistles), GIBRALTAR (34A: British territory visible from Africa), OREGANO (40A: Contents of a pizzeria shaker), and ELDEST SON (43A: Usual heir in patrilineal systems), none of which you usually see in a crossword. I liked NILLA (5A: Nabisco wafer brand) on top of OREOS (14: Ingredients in some black-and-white cheesecakes). My favorite clue was for LEI (44D: Fragrant neckwear). Having COCO (58D: Pixar film set in Mexico) (which is a fantastic movie) in the puzzle was fun. And I really liked STREET (46A: Auto setting), even though the constructor definitely tricked me on that one.

Misc.:

• I have this very distinct memory of NILLA (5A) wafers, where I was at a dance recital in Lake Tahoe when I was maybe seven years old. I was a grasshopper in a ballet performance (complete with a head-to-toe green outfit and a green hat with antennae). When I was backstage watching all these older, cooler people get ready, I saw a box of Nilla wafers. I didn’t know who they were meant for, but I tried a couple and thought they were the best things ever. And since then… I’ve barely ever eaten any. 
• With YTD (31A), I’m reminded of work and the number of paystubs, W-2s, 1099s, and tax returns I look at for my clients. I often have to calculate yearly income or create financial charts detailing the financial hardship they face. At this point, I probably know more about my clients’ financial situation than my own. 
• I read historical romance books, and they talk about ELDEST SONs (43A) a lot. 
• My dad, like everyone else, began a sourdough starter (31D) during the pandemic, and his is still going strong! He’s become a pro at making whole wheat bread. I only wish I could enjoy it, but, sadly, I’m intolerant to gluten:( 
• I hope the basic list of theme answers worked for everybody at the top. I wasn’t sure how to clue them or otherwise describe them…. If I’d written out each answer that had a circled letter in it, I’d have basically been rewriting the whole puzzle.

And that’s all from me! See you in May. 

Signed, Clare Carroll, writing this from the F 

                                                                A 

                                                             M 

                                                                  I 

                                                                L 

                                                                   Y 

                                                                      room

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"Hello, sailor!" / TUES 8-29-23 / Key of Dvorák's "New World" Symphony / Morrison with a Presidential Medal of Freedom / Corduroy feature

Hello, everyone! It’s Clare, back for the last Tuesday in August. Summer has flown by, and I’m rather excited for the weather to cool off (*crosses fingers*). I’m also excited for the U.S. Open and soccer and football and and…! My sister and I placed second at trivia last night with the name “Team Coco,” so you know we’re rooting for Coco Gauff to win the U.S. Open. I’ve now been at my new job for a month or so, and I’m really loving it. I’m amazed at how much I enjoy going to work; I got to call a client the other day and tell her she was granted asylum, and that was pretty incredible. Anywho… on to the puzzle!

Constructor: Michèle Govier

Relative difficulty: Fairly easy

THEME: BOW TIES (With 61-Down, accessory worn by 19-/21-, 26-/29-, 45-/49- and 54-/56-Across, as depicted four times in this puzzle's grid)

Theme answers:

• KRUSTY THE CLOWN (19A: With 21-Across, "The Simpsons" character who is a children's TV host) 
• COLONEL SANDERS (26A: With 29-Across, fast-food spokesperson with a goatee) 
• CHARLIE CHAPLIN (45A: With 49-Across, silent film star who portrayed the Little Tramp) 
• THE CAT IN THE HAT (54A: With 56-Across, title Dr. Seuss troublemaker)

Word of the Day: ICE WINES (31A: Vineyard products made with frozen grapes) —

Ice wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape juice to develop. The grapes' must is then pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet juice. With ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. (Wiki)

• • •

This puzzle was pretty cute. At first, I thought there were insects crawling over the puzzle, before realizing that those were, in fact, bow ties that nicely cinched together the two parts of the theme answers. The design element of the puzzle really tied things together (see what I did there?), and none of the theme answers were especially hard to get. My least favorite was definitely THE CAT IN THE HAT (54/56A) because of the way it was separated; the other answers made sense, but breaking this answer as THECATIN and THEHAT looked quite odd. I was also super bummed that The Doctor didn’t appear in the puzzle!! The Eleventh Doctor (in the incredible TV show “Doctor Who”) is known for his epic bow ties and for saying, “Bow ties are cool.” (Which they are). 

Some of the fill was fun, but some was pedestrian. The SW corner, in particular, did nothing for me. The only answer that stood out there at all was CD TRAY (45D: Retractable feature of a PC or stereo, once), and a reference to a bygone, not-exactly-central feature of electronics isn’t especially a highlight for me. I got a bit tired, too, of the CAN I (22D: "Please?"), WILL DO (15D: "I'm on it!"), and ARE TOO (47D: "Am not!" response) type answers. See also: YOO (66A: "____-hoo!") and ELSE (68A: "What ___ is new?"). One of the central answers is NICE (36D: "Sweet!"), which feels rather basic. And, I have a vendetta against SELF HEAL (37D: Herb named for its medicinal properties). I’ve never heard of this, and the idea of that being an herb makes very little sense to me (even if a Google search tells me it’s kinda sorta a thing). 

On the other hand, OCTUPLES (3D: Grows eightfold) was a fun word, DISRAELI (42A: British P.M. before Gladstone) is a good old name to have in the puzzle, and I always love seeing TONI (20D: Morrison with a Presidential Medal of Freedom). PHO (23A: Dish eaten with both chopsticks and a spoon) is a fun word, too. EYE (24A: Camera lens, essentially) was nicely clued. TANG (55D: Zesty taste) and TART (56D: Fruity pastry) were symmetrical and played off each other well, and I got to learn all about ICE WINES (31A). I also let out an audible chuckle at SPF (53A: Block number, for short?), PLOT (1A: Feature of a garden or novel), and ABACK (5A: One way to be taken). Maybe it’s the margaritas we drank at trivia night talking, but I do think there were some clever and fun clues/answers in the puzzle! 

All in all, this was a nice debut from Michèle Govier.

Misc.:

• Mini marijuana theme in the puzzle, anyone? With CBD (10A), TOKE (58D), and sort of the SELF HEALing herb (37D). 
• For 43D, I started running through all the symptoms I get when my allergies hit — runny nose, itchy eyes, breathing issues, etc. Funnily enough, the allergy symptom I don’t get is a RASH (43D: Allergy symptom). 
• I initially saw 33A: MIO as being a Spanish word and started to break out the Spanish I’ve been relearning. I’ve got my little 18-day streak on Duolingo, and I’ve been reading a book in Spanish that I know well, watching a Spanish TV show, and listening to some Spanish lessons on the Metro. Maybe I’ll finally be fluent in, like, eight years. 
• I know there’s no soccer connection in the puzzle, but hey, did everyone see the Liverpool game on Sunday?! The Reds went down 1-0 in the 25th minute and then three minutes later went a man down when our captain/star defender got a red card. Then a Liverpool player scored in the 81st minute. And he scored again in the third minute of stoppage time, to give us a 2-1 win. It was wonderful. 
• I shall leave you with Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor:

Signed, Clare Carroll, taking a bow (tie)

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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