Apple co-founder Steve, familiarly / SAT 6-24-23 / Stronger than grease sloganeer / Steamed Chinese snack also called char siu bao / 2006 play with question Why didn't you burn the tapes / Biggest city on Puerto Rico's southern coast / Words accompanying a snap, perhaps / Video game console sold with a Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.) / It has a hook and, sometimes, two claws / Words accompanying a snap perhaps

Constructor: Spencer Leach and Quiara Vasquez

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: WOZ (1A: Apple co-founder Steve, familiarly) —

Stephen Gary Wozniak (/ˈwɒzniæk/; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname "Woz", is an American technology entrepreneur, electronics engineer, computer scientist, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer with his late business partner Steve Jobs, which later became the world's largest technology company by revenue and the largest company in the world by market capitalization. Through his work at Apple in the 1970s and 1980s, he is widely recognized as one of the most prominent pioneers of the personal computer revolution. (wikipedia)

• • •

The most memorable thing about this puzzle was that I, like a rube, fell for the "Apple co-founder" prank. That is, I figured the Steve was the very very very famous Steve and not the merely famous Steve. So I'm out there early trying to think of what 3-letter name anyone ever called Steve Jobs. J-BO? S-JO? No clue. Consequently, the entire NW was a bust at first pass—in fact, it was a bust until the very end (as you can see by the cursor in the printed grid, above, that's where I finished—with one of the crown princes of Crosswordese: OLIO). The next most memorable thing about this puzzle, for me, was that—and I cannot stress enough how off-brand this is—the first answer I put in the grid was a Kardashian (KHLOÉ). It pains me that the names of the Kardashians are so transcendent in our culture that even I, a person who has negative interest in the doings of that family, can run through the names like "KRIS, no, too short ... KIM, no, too short ... KOURTNEY, no ... KYLIE? They wouldn't use KYLIE, would they? Anyway, she's KYLIE Jenner, right? Oh, KHLOÉ, that's gotta be it, yes good choice." And sure enough. KHLOÉ. I went from floundering around in the NW to KHLOÉ BEAR URGE NES in quick succession, no hesitation, bam bam bam bam. I figured at least one of those guesses would be wrong and I'd have to work it out with the long Acrosses, but nope, they were all right on the money. This let me wrangle the NE without too much sweat, and once I got the first few letters after QUIT, the roller coaster car finally dropppppppped:

[6D: Words accompanying a snap, perhaps]

While I never got up to Friday-level whoosh-whoosh speeds, that central Down ended up breaking open every section of the grid. I went spilling down into the SW through a temporary hold-up at CHU / SHEIKH (wasn't sure about the former, never considered the terminal-H spelling on the latter), and then gently swooshed over to the SE via "I'M ON A DIET" and then up via "FROST/NIXON" and over via "EVERYBODY GO HOME!" and then up to the finish line via ZEN GARDENS. I left out a lot of details there, but that was the basic path—a wandering, circuitous journey, from the NW back to the NW, with mostly enjoyable sights along the way. 

The most jarring thing today, especially in a puzzle that is proudly flying PRIDE FLAGS, was encountering not one but two (!) words that can be slurs against gay and/or "effeminate" men. Now, they weren't clued that way, of course, but PUSSY and PONCE hit weird today. This is obviously unintentional and not really that important. Those answers just really stood out to me, probably because of the PRIDE FLAGS. I think you were probably supposed to snicker at (the other slang meaning of) PUSSY, which hasn't been in the grid in 21 years (!?) (a long dry spell). But PONCE is a perfectly innocent place name, pronounced very differently from the (British) slur PONCE, which is apparently dated now anyway. Language is flexible and funny and sometimes, depending on context, words can evoke things their users never intended. But you knew that. Anyway, PRIDE FLAGS and PUSSY somehow primed me to see / remember the slur meaning of PONCE, a name I've seen in the grid many times before and never blinked at. I was far more put off today by diet culture ("I'M ON A DIET") and the kinds of people who might say "Thanks, OBAMA" than I was by the wildly multivalent meanings of PUSSY or PONCE.

I didn't know the short actor names (IMAN, YOBA), but what's new? Tellingly, those were my only real sticking points (along with WOZ and CHU). Names, man. It's always names. While I enjoyed the marquee answers in this one, my favorite answers were actually less conspicuous. I liked "YOU ARE HERE," especially the clue (16A: Line on a map?), and I really liked the exclamation "WHAT A DAY!" which feels even more on-the-money, wording-wise, than "QUIT YOUR DAYDREAMING" or "EVERYBODY GO HOME." The one "?" clue that really held me up was 23A: Something that needs a spell checker? (BEE) (as in a "spelling BEE"). I was off in the realm of wizarding until I got to -EE and decided to run the alphabet (where "B" comes early, thankfully). The other question-mark clue that baffled me for a bit was 30D: Splits in midair? (JETÉ). I know the (ballet) term, I just never really considered what it looked like before now (like someone doing ... well, let's not start the whole "do a split" / "do the splits" war again) (see the discourse around the May 17, 2023 puzzle). The "?" clue on PRIDE FLAGS is elaborate! (18A: Ones waving at people who might be on their way out?). And I'm realizing now that I somehow never even saw it when I was solving (!?). Probably not ideal to have "waving" in the clue when you've got WAVY in the grid, but the clue is so charmingly ambitious that I guess I don't care (I seem to be *noticing* a lot of things I don't actually *mind* today).  Proud of myself for remembering my sushi terminology today (45D: Fatty tuna, on a sushi menu) (Fatty tuna, strong like (Spanish for) bull!) (TORO). Anything else need explaining? BASES are "at least a 7" on the pH scale (38A: They're at least a 7). The "two claws" on a COAT HANGER are ... I honestly have no idea (55A: It has a hook and, sometimes, two claws). Google is oddly unhelpful. Somebody tell me. Are the "claws" just ... dual hooks? No idea. Sorry. I'll be back later to tell you what this is all about. Until then, or until tomorrow, or until whenever ... Bye. 

[UPDATE: it seems the “claws” are clips that hold (in one commenter’s words) “fancy pants”—the “hook” part of the clue really had me thinking wall hook / coat rack hook]

[UPDATE UPDATE: apparently it’s going to be this kind of day …:]

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Gradually develop literally / THU 1-26-23 / Southwest city in 1947 news / Trademarked coffee holder / Opposite of dry to a vintner / Punished for the weekend maybe / Developing phenomenon literally depicted three times in this puzzle

Constructor: Dan Ziring and Quiara Vasquez

Relative difficulty: Challenging

THEME: SNOWBALL EFFECTS (33A: Developing phenomena literally depicted three times in this puzzle) — three Across answers unfold gradually, box by box, with letters accruing in each box, one letter at a time, so instead of GROW, written in the grid at 1A: Gradually develop, literally, you get "G" and then "GR" and then "GRO" and *then* "GROW"—so it's a kind of rebus, with multiple letters in all non-initial boxes for all related theme answers:

Theme answers:

• GROW (G/GR/GRO/GROW)
• Downs = GRAMPS (1D: Pop-pop) / GRANARY (2D: Farm storehouse) / GROUNDED (3D: Punished for the weekend, perhaps) / GROWLERS (4D: Beer containers)
• FORM (F/FO/FOR/FORM)
• Downs = FAKER (10D: Total phony) / FORCEPS (11D: Some surgical tools) / FORTUNES (12D: Enormous amounts to spend) / "FOR MY PART..." (13D: "As far as I'm concerned ...")
• SWELL (S/SW/SWE/SWEL/SWELL)
• Downs = ETS (47D: Fabled visitors to 49-Down, in brief) / SWEET (55D: Opposite of dry, to a vintner) / SWEATY (56D: Evidencing physical exertion) / SWELTER (57D: Suffer in the summer heat) / ROSWELL (49D: Southwest city in 1947 news)

 Word of the Day: CAPRI SUN (40D: Big name in juice pouches) —

Capri Sun (UK: /ˈkæpri/, US: /kəˈpriː/, stylized as CAPRISUN in the United States and Capri-Sun internationally) is a German brand of juice concentrate drinks owned by Capri Sun Group Holding in Germany, which is a privately held company of Hans-Peter Wild. It was introduced in 1969 and named after the Italian island of Capri. Capri Sun has been distributed in the United States since 1981. [...] The standard box is filled with ten 200-millilitre (7 US fl oz) pouches of liquid. In the U.S., Capri-Sun pouches are now 180 ml (6 US fl oz); previously they were 240 ml (8 US fl oz). The pouch is trapezoidal in profile when filled and rectangular when flat, with a flared bottom that makes the pouch able to stand upright when placed on a horizontal surface. A straw is supplied with each individual pouch. [...] In 2014, after continued pressure to fix what consumers described as worm-shaped food mold in Capri Sun pouches, Kraft released a clear bottomed pouch to allow consumers to better inspect the product before consumption. Additionally, the non-recyclable packaging has spurred environmental groups to pressure Kraft into redesigning their iconic pouch.

• • •

Oh, wow, it is too e ea ear earl early for this, man. Hell of a puzzle to throw at me on the morning when I have the least amount of time to solve & write! I guess my wish for "harder puzzles" finally came true in a not-gradually-developing way. Just bam, here's the hardest puzzle you've seen in months, enjoy! Well ... I did enjoy it, so there. I would've enjoyed it more if I hadn't felt the tick tock of my morning solving/blogging window fading away as I was solving, but that's not the puzzle's fault. The one thing this puzzle did provide was a genuine "aha" moment that was so long-coming and pent up that I think it came in the form of a semi-audible "oh my god" moment. This moment, right here:

[LOL 51-Across, "LEO" doesn't even fit, my god I was out of it]

I actually filled in this corner and then erased back to this initial moment so I could screenshot it. I wanted to capture the precise moment of revelation. so that you will understand why ... I didn't actually understand the theme completely, even after the "oh my god!" I just assumed that the "snowball effect" had to do with the Downs—that is, I thought that with where the theme answers were concerned, each subsequent Down cross picked up one more letter on its front end. So ... essentially, the Across was just rounding the corner a bunch of times. I was not cramming multiple letters into squares, I was assuming that the letters just flowed from the start of the Across and dropped down. It never occurred to me to put multiple letters in a square. Here, I'll try to demonstrate what *I* thought the theme was doing using arrows:

From where I was standing / solving, those Downs (above) all started at the "F" and then proceeded across and *rounded the corner*, dropping and finishing where they finish. There was no question of multiple squares in a box, just a matter of walking that Across answer over and Down. Turns out my understanding of the theme works perfectly ... and then suddenly, one time, doesn't. That time: ROSWELL (49D: Southwest city in 1947 news). I ended up, at the very end, staring at ROL and wondering how on god's green earth that was supposed to work. Never occurred to me that it was a themer. And when, finally, it *did* strike me as a themer, I couldn't make it square with the rest of the Down themers, *all* of which followed the drop-down pattern I was seeing in my head (and on my screen). Only after hitting "reveal all" did I see that my grid was correct enough: I had all the "right" answers, but was entering those three Across themers "wrong." I was supposed to be rebusing the Acrosses, adding one letter at a time to each subsequent box. I never do that with regular rebuses (when I'm actually solving, I just type the first letter and let it stand for the whole, and the app usually accepts that). So ... yeah, it didn't play great on screen, and it's super duper Duper weird that my understanding of how the theme unfolded worked for every involved answer but one (12 out of 13!). Would've been nice (helpful!) to mix it up a bit, have a few more of those Downs that enter from the top. Would've made what was going on clearer (maybe). But I still think that this is a brilliant conceit and that the execution is mostly masterful.

OK, very quickly, as this has taken way too long to solve and explain. The fill was good but they did not ease up on the difficulty in order to offset the theme difficulty. You got hard, vague clues for simple stuff like AIR (7D: Put on) (who wrote in "DON"?). I had ROO instead of SYD (for Sydney, Australia) and SALAD before BASIL (31A: Leaves in the kitchen?) and was really really not sure of the SCALAR / AYS / CHATTER nexus (25D: Quantity contrasted with a vector, in physics / 44A: Shakespearean cries (are they?) / 46A: Chinwagging). There was no part of this grid that I flew through. I was so so grateful to know CAPRI SUN today. It was the end of the solve and it had been such an ordeal and I got to that SE corner and thought "what fresh hell awaits?" and then CAPRI SUN was like "nah, I got you, come on in." And the puzzle was over. Well, I had to hit "reveal grid" to fully understand, but ... yeah, over. Hope you survived!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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