East Asian fiddles / SUN 5-10-26 / Reply feigning guiltlessness / Extraterrestrial British TV villain that debuted in 1963 / "Meek" in "Blessed are the meek," e.g. / Ensure that a task is finished / Arsenic's realm, in years past / Dad, in a euphemism / Baby gift bearing the alphabet, maybe / His first star turn was in the 1995 film "Devil in a Blue Dress" / Slant made with a table saw / Numbskull in Yiddish / Travel guide writer Eugene

Constructor: Rachel Fabi and Adam Wagner

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Come Full Circle" — theme clues have "c"s that must be "closed" to make "o"s for the clues to make sense; also, *you* have to CLOSE THE LOOP on the black-square "C" at the center of the puzzle by entering "block" in three squares (113A: Ensure that a task is finished ... and a hint that might help with finishing this puzzle); those "block" squares are clued as 65D: ◾◾◾, and if you actually fill them in with black, you get a black-square formation that makes an "O" instead of a "C":

Theme answers:

• SPACE INVADER (23A: U.F.C. (i.e. [UFO] fighter)
• MEGAMALL (25A: Where many large cutlets [i.e. outlets] are seen)
• YOUTHFUL INDISCRETIONS (32A: Wild cats [i.e. oats])
• ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME (99A: Chic [i.e. Ohio!] venue that features great bands]
• AWAY TEAM (111A: They're frequently bcced [i.e. booed])
• LIFE STORY (39D: Bic [i.e. bio] filler)
• LATE NIGHT (43D: Arsenic's [i.e. Arsenio's] realm, in years past)
• REST STOPS (40D: Traveler's cases [i.e. oases])

The "BLOCK"s:

• ICE BLOCK / BLOCKERS (64A: Large summer delivery, in past times / N.F.L. linemen, at times)
• SUN BLOCK / BLOCK SET (69A: Lifeguard's tubeful / Baby gift bearing the alphabet, maybe)
• OLD BLOCK / BLOCKADE (73A: Dad, in a euphemism / Naval barrier preventing entering and leaving) 

Word of the Day: CHEWELRY (119A: Gnawable, wearable items that might help with A.D.H.D.) —

Soft, chewable jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets, intended as an oral stim toy to calm and soothe the wearer. (wiktionary)

• • •

OK so Rachel is my friend and I think this theme is quite charming but oh boy did I squeal in non-delight at ADNOUN (6D: "Meek" in "Blessed are the meek," e.g.). What in tarnation and also on god's green earth and/or the world is this word? I learned the term for what you call "meek" in the phrase "the meek shall inherit the earth" when I was in high school and I have never forgotten it and I have occasion to use it from time to time in my teaching and that term is "substantive adjective." Today is the first day in my entire life, to say nothing of my English-teaching life, that I have seen the extremely ugly and awkward and confusing term ADNOUN. It's like that word was someone's very first assignment at portmanteau school. "OK, Billy, what if you combine 'adjective' and 'noun,' what would you call that?" "Uh ... ADNOUN?" "Hmm. OK. Well ... you keep trying, Billy." I'd sooner believe ADNOUN was a noun invented entirely for the purpose of advertising, like "Wessonality" or "Retsyn" (ask your parents, kids!). ADNOUN? And that "D" was crossing SUNSHADE which ... I don't really know that term either (18A: It might hang during the summer). Something that provides shade ... from the sun? As opposed to, what, a MOONSHADE? At least I could infer the "D," so no harm done, ultimately, but oof and ack. SUNSHADE hasn't appeared in over 10 years, and before that the gap was almost 20 years! And as for ADNOUN, it will surprise no one that that word hasn't been seen in the NYTXW since before I was born—nine days before Kennedy was assassinated, to be precise. I know there are various conspiracy theories about who really killed JFK (I once made a crossword on this topic for the playbill of an off-Broadway play, true story!), but ... are we sure ADNOUN wasn't involved somehow? Lee Harvey ADNOUN? Man, that "word" ... I can barely see straight rn (as you can possibly tell).

But let's leave that aside and get to the theme, which is actually quite lovely. It's simple and cute, with an added surprise flourish in the middle (the "block" bit), and some of the cluing is quite clever. Very impressed by some of these finds, esp. "Chic" -> "Ohio"—nice twofer! The surface meaning on many of  the clues works really well. I think it would've been more fun not to italicize the relevant clues and just let us stumble all over the place trying to find them and figure them out, but this way is fine too. Arsenic -> Arsenio, bcced -> booed ... these work so well. I just wish they'd had a chance to fool me, but after I got the first themer (MEGAMALL), I could see that "cutlets" had to be "outlets" and ... there went the whole gimmick. After that nothing about the theme is tricky ... that is, until you get to the "block" bits toward the center. That gave the theme a much-needed extra twist. Anyway, I basically liked it. There were some stray answers that made me roll my eyes or groan, and ... again, there's ADNOUN, pffffffffft ... but overall, I thought this puzzle was far more entertaining than most Sundays have been of late (or ever). 

I'm trying to remember the game Space Invaders in order to make sense of the clue for SPACE INVADER (23A: U.F.C. [i.e. UFO] fighter). I thought the UFOs were the "invaders?" Oh ... wait ... I thought "fighter" was being used to mean "one who fights against," as in "firefighter" or "crime fighter," but I guess it just means "one who fights" (in the case of Space Invaders, the UFO is one who fights against you, the player). OK, I feel better about that one now. I feel less good about CHEWELRY, which I had a hard time finding a credible definition for that wasn't coming from someone trying to sell me CHEWELRY. Are people really gnawing on "jewelry" in public? No judgment, I promise, I just haven't seen (or heard of) such a thing. But there is a chewelryworld dot com, so if it merits an entire website—a website that promises an entire world!—then it would appear that *I* am the one from an alternate universe. "What if ... what if I'm the SPACE INVADER?! ... what if I'm the UFO, man?" At least CHEWELRY is a good portmanteau. I'd give Billy at least a B+ for that one.  

Choked on L'IL OL' ME (92D: Reply feigning guiltlessness). By "choked" I don't mean "failed to solve it easily," I mean "literally choked and sputtered at the preposterousness of the letter string LILOLME." I of course know the phrase "little old me," but was not aware that you could do this particular variation, which, without its folksy letter-droppin' apostrophes, looks like something the SPACE INVADER dragged in. I also keep double-taking on SOILIED, which looks like a cutesy way of saying "dirty." "Did dolly's dress get all SOILIED because Rover buried her in the backyard? It's OK, daddy will wash it." So some of the fill got weird for me, but I appreciate that the constructors seemed to be at least trying to keep things interesting—not easy to do over the entirety of an enormous Sunday-sized canvas. Have I seen that particular spelling of SEE-THRU before? I have not. Does it make sense? Yes. Is it more interesting than, say, SEETHED? It is. So good. Fine. I'll take it.

Bullets:

• 21A: "Well, lah-di-dah!" ("OHO!") — so ... not "OOH!"? Sigh, OK. I don't think I've ever had OOH/OHO confusion before, but there's always a first time...
• 29A: Dadaism, it's said (ANTI-ART) — quite a week for the anti-arts. We had ANTICOMEDY on Friday and now ANTI-ART. Dadaism was "A cultural movement that began in neutral Zürich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1920, which involved visual arts, literature (poetry, art manifestos, art theory), theatre, and graphic design, which concentrated its anti-war politic through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works." (wordnik)

[The Art Critic, Raoul Hausmann, ca. 1919]

• 37A: Extraterrestrial British TV villain that debuted in 1963 (DALEK) — me, instantly, reflexively, off the "D," without reading the entire clue, let alone understanding it: "DR. WHO!" I have never watched this particular TV show, in any of its many, many incarnations, but I do recognize DALEK.
• 94A: Get ad-libby-dibby while singy-ingy-inging? (SCAT) — I appreciate the effort, clue, but that hurt my eary-wearies. You gotta be careful with cutesy. Look at the EWES clue: 120A: Baa-baa mamas. Now that's cutesy done right. Concise and precise. Presentable. Whereas "singy-ingy-inging" is not even a plausible approximation of what a drunk person would make up while attempting to SCAT. Try saying "singy-ingy-inging." It's unnatural. Even with the silliness turned to 11, my mouth doesn't want to do it.
• 108D: 2015 thriller starring Emily Blunt as an F.B.I. agent (SICARIO) — of all the '10s movies I didn't see, I think I didn't see this one the most. I know the title, but I (clearly) had no idea what the movie was about. I think I had it confused with SYRIANA (2005) (which I also, clearly, did not see)
• 7D: Slant made with a table saw (BEVEL) — younger me would've put BEVEL in no problem, but older me knows that the word BEZEL exists and can never remember exactly what it means or how it differs from BEVEL, so I left that middle letter blank and waited for help from the cross (thank you, SPACE INVADER!)
• 9D: His first star turn was in the 1995 film "Devil in a Blue Dress" (CHEADLE) — the "star" of Devil in a Blue Dress was Denzel Washington. The other "star" was Jennifer Beals (of Flashdance fame). CHEADLE isn't even on the poster. It's true, he is *amazing* in Devil, playing Easy Rawlins's loyal but unpredictably violent old friend Mouse; the performance got CHEADLE several critics circle awards for Best Supporting Actor. It's a breakout role. I just ... apparently I'm unclear about what the parameters of "star turn" are. Anyway, good movie, also a good book, worth checking out.

• 84D: Travel guide writer Eugene (FODOR) — started out spelling this guy's name like a shortened form of FEDERER, but came to my senses eventually.
• 86A: East Asian fiddles (ERHUS) — did not remember this, but once crosses started going in, I was like "oh, right, the instrument that looks like four letters chosen from the alphabet at random, I remember this ... sorta."

• 102D: Fidel ___, Philippine president in the 1990s (RAMOS) — got this easily, but only just now realized that I'd been thinking of Ferdinand MARCOS. Luckily, crosswords do not force you to explain your thinking. That ... could get embarrassing (see ... virtually everything I've ever written) 

Good day to you fine people. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. texting with Rachel Fabi just now and … apparently there are no “c”s or “o”s in any of the clues today. This is an added level of constructing difficulty that seems … insane. Something only dogs can hear. Crossword-constructing dogs. Anyway, this dog didn’t hear it. I love the commitment to the bit, though. 

P.P.S. Rachel is one of the founders of These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a series of crossword puzzle collections the proceeds from which go to various abortion funds around the country. To date they've raised almost $400,000 (!!!). These Puzzles Fund Abortion 6 is available now. Go here to learn more about how you can support abortion access *and* get some excellent crosswords in the bargain.

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Set of notes in a seventh chord / FRI 4-17-26 / First Super Bowl won by the Kansas City Chiefs in 50 years / Medicare subsection covering ambulance services / 50, on a table / Modern home of ancient Mesopotamia / 2008 Clint Eastwood film centered around an attempted car theft

Constructor: Rachel Fabi

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: Not on a Friday! TGIF!

Word of the Day: I WANT CANDY (11D: 2000 song for Aaron Carter about seeing someone "tough but sweet") —

Aaron Carter released a cover of "I Want Candy" as his seventh overall single, and the second single from his second album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It) (2000).

This version of "I Want Candy" begins with a phone conversation with a friend about a girl named Candy and features the participation of his brother Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. Carter promoted it by performing it on the show Lizzie McGuire. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Andrew MacNaughtan. Carter released a remix of the song in 2018, self-produced on his LøVë album.

(I know the original Strangeloves version of this song, and I know Aaron Carter from that time he beat Shaq, but this cover was new to me)

• • •

Hey Puzzle People! In case you couldn't tell by the fact that I talked about knowing an Aaron Carter song, it's a Rexplacement day, and you've got Eli blogging your puzzle. And what a delight to get today's puzzle! To be fair, I love Rachel Fabi. She's not just one of my favorite constructors, she's also just awesome. She actually sent me the dry yeast that became my sourdough starter at (or just before) the start of the pandemic. That starter is still living and fermenting like crazy! Anyway, sorry if I'm a little biased. Let's get to it!

17D: BRINGER: "Mars, the ____ of War" (first movement of "The Planets")

I played tuba through high school, so I have a real affinity for Holst's "The Planets" (especially Mars), but that video is still the first thing that pops into my nerd brain when I hear it.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE (6D: "Bad new aside...") I truly enjoyed this puzzle, even if it didn't put up much of a fight. A lot of long fill, natural language, fun trivia, and I still finished well under 4 minutes. I don't think I rolled my eyes once. It was sharp, clean, and modern while staying mostly accessible with very few proper nouns. Even looking back over the grid, I'm not seeing much to criticize (outside of the difficulty). 7 down answers longer than 9 letters (plus a grid spanning Across) and not feeling any strain? That's impressive. LORD IT OVER (28D: Act superior to) and TAKES A HINT (10D: Gets the memo) both stand out.

I don't think Rex has been doing the "Days Without A Star Wars Reference" bit for a little while, but if he was, he'd have to break the sign. We have both HAN (35A: Solo pilot?) and YODA (52D: Weird Al Yankovic Parody of the Kinks's "Lola") in the grid today. But I'm going to consider Yoda to be a Weird Al reference because I will always take the time for Weird Al.

Weird Al is currently fighting Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel (with Ben Folds Five and Marvelous 3 just behind) for "artist I've seen the most times live." If you've never seen his "Yoda Chant" do yourself a favor and check it out:

I love seeing DEAD ASS (34D: Seriously, in modern slang) and LAUDANUM (38D: Opium product used by Anna Karenina and Victor Frankenstein) right next to each other made me giggle. SQUARE UP (20A: Settle a bill) also stood out for me, though I couldn't say why. I also really loved both the answer and clue for GET USED TO IT (5D: End of a gay pride slogan) even if "We don't want anymore bears" didn't fit like I wanted it to:

Simpsons reference achieved!

Trying to find something to nitpick.... I guess ECRU (3D: Natural shade) and PDAS (32D: BlackBerrys, e.g., for short) are a little tired, but that's pretty forgivable. So, yeah, I had a blast solving today, and these days, I'll take any enjoyment I can get. Thank you, Rachel, for sending me into the weekend in a great mood!

Stray Thoughts:

• 13A: Sea Creature known to mourn its dead (ORCA) — Very fun piece of trivia, but for me, there is only one Orca:

Jaws forever!

• 36A: Worst of all imaginable chronologies (DARKEST TIMELINE) — For a show that was constantly struggling to avoid cancellation, Community sure did have a big impact on the pop culture lexicon. And deservedly so! #sixseasonsandamovie

• 22A: Georgia hometown of R.E.M. and the B-52s (ATHENS) — I've spent some time in Athens, GA and it's a very cool town. In addition to the icons noted in the clue (and the University of Georgia), it is also home to Creature Comforts brewing (I have a t-shirt repping their Tropicalia IPA). But really I'm only highlighting this as an excuse to post some R.E.M. 

Are you talking REM, RE: Me?

****MORNING EDIT****

Hi again! I can't believe I forgot to mention that constructor Rachel Fabi is also one of the creators/editors/guiding voices behind These Puzzles Fund Abortion, a series of puzzle packs created around the belief that everyone should have access to safe and affordable abortion care. TPFA6 just launched and is available HERE. For $25 recommended donation, you get access to a fantastic pack of puzzles created by some of the best in the business. It's always one of my favorite projects of the year. In fact, I'm going to go make my donation right now! 

****END OF EDIT****

Ok, I think that's all I've got for today. I went heavier on the videos than I'd anticipated. Rafa will be joining you tomorrow, so have fun and have a great weekend!

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

[Follow Eli Selzer on BlueSky]
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Washington's official state sport since 2022 / MON 3-11-24 / Sturdy shoe, or an Irish accent / Spiral-shelled mollusk / Guide to navigating an internet resource / Beanbag-tossing sport / App craze of the early 2010s, familiarly / Mattel offering with cards for making "hilarious comparisons"

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi

Relative difficulty: Easy (Easy-Medium to Medium if you were solving Downs-only, as I was)

THEME: THE HUNGER GAMES (55A: Dystopian novel/film series ... or what the answers to the starred clues are?) — games with foods in their titles:

Theme answers:

• APPLES TO APPLES (16A: *Mattel offering with cards for making "hilarious comparisons")
• PICKLEBALL (23A: *Washington's official state sport since 2022)
• CORNHOLE (35A: *Beanbag-tossing sport)
• CANDY CRUSH (46A: *App craze of the early 2010s, familiarly)

Word of the Day: APPLES TO APPLES (16A) —

Apples to Apples is a party game originally published by Out of the Box Publishing Inc., and now by Mattel. Players start with a hand of seven "red apple" cards, which feature nouns. A player is selected to be the first judge, and that judge plays a "green apple" card, which features an adjective. The round is won by playing the "red apple" card that the judge determines to be the best match for the "green apple" card. The role of the judge rotates, and the number of rounds is determined by the number of players. The game is designed for four to ten players and played for 30–75 minutes.

Apples to Apples was chosen by Mensa International in 1999 as a "Mensa Select" prizewinner, an award given to five games each year. It was also named "Party Game of the Year" in the December 1999 issue of Games magazine and received the National Parenting Center's seal of approval in May 1999. The popularity of the game led to an increased interest in similar card-matching/answer-judging party games. On September 8, 2007, Out of the Box Publishing sold the rights for Apples to Apples to Mattel. (wikipedia)

• • •

Hey, I know these two people. Rachel is my good friend and neighbor to the north (Syracuse!), and Rebecca is a prolific constructor Whose Puzzle (co-constructed with Adam Wagner) I Just Finished Guest-Editing for the the soon-to-be-released These Puzzles Fund Abortion 4 collection! (More on that collection in this coming Sunday's blog). Nobody I know ever tells me when they have puzzles coming out, so it's always a delightful surprise. Is this the debut of PICKLEBALL!? No. That credit goes to David Steinberg, who debuted the word almost a year ago now. My primary care physician (whom I adore) is ... I wanna say state PICKLEBALL champion in her age group? I may have that wrong, but I do know that she competes For Real, and it always cheers up hypochondriacal me to hear her talk about her PICKLEBALL adventures. She's such a calm, reassuring, optimistic person, but you can tell she would kill you on the PICKLEBALL court. I just know she has a ruthless streak in her somewhere, underneath that kindly exterior. Anyway, whenever I see PICKLEBALL, I think of Dr. Yu, my doctor for 20+ years, just The Best. I've never played APPLES TO APPLES or CANDY CRUSH, but I'm aware that they exist. CORNHOLE is kind of a standard family get-together game around these parts. I haven't played in like a decade, since my kid was much much younger, and before our friends and neighbors Dave & Diane moved away (I'm sure I played it elsewhere, but my only specific memories of playing it involved playing it at their house, just around the block from us). It's fun. You throw beanbags. At a hole. Not sure where corn comes into it, but ... good times. I like that all these games are so different from one another. Digital, tabletop, court-based, backyard-based. It's kind of a leap from food to HUNGER (I kept thinking "huh, food games, wonder how they're gonna tie this all together..."), but not too big a leap. Cute theme. Thumbs up.

Downs-only would've been easier if I could've just remembered Megan RAPINOE's name. I could see her face, but then ... blank. Should've been a gimme. Wasn't. When I (finally) got it, I had a big "D'oh!" / headslap moment. But for a while there, the NW looked dicey; I had GLADES and MALT, but neither of the 7s in between. Had to wait for APPLES TO APPLES and EPIPEN to (eventually) give me the letters I needed to make sense of those longer Downs. I also struggled a bit to get the 7s in the NE. And the 6! LASTLY was oddly hard (12D: "In conclusion..."). I had ELL- in the cross at 30A and was considering only "E" or "A" as a last letter there, not "Y." Not sure I would've ever gotten ALL TALK if I hadn't had DOR-Y at 33A and reasoned (reasonably) that it had to be DORKY. That "K" made all the difference in that NE corner. Elsewhere, the only other issue I had was with 37D: Apt rhyme of "caches" (STASHES). I was hearing it as "cachets" ("cachés"?) and so wrote in SACHETS!!! But the themers eventually came along and helped me correct that error. 

OK, I gotta run along now. This Daylight Saving baloney (abolish it! Standard Time Forever!) has me behind schedule. I've got a (virtual) meeting in 25 minutes, so ... bye!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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"For real," in modern parlance / SUN 11-19-23 / Fruit in the custard apple family / German candy with a caramel center / Inspiration for the tribute band A*Teens / Hairstyle that the Brits call "fringe" / Philanthropist Pratt for whom th Baltimore public library system is named / Certain recyclable, in the Midwest / City on the Kenai Peninsula / Alex's partner in the jewelry industry / Loch Ness monster apparently / Catchy tune, in slang

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: "Thanksgiving Meal Prep" — Thanksgiving menu wordplay, with clues suggesting meal preparation:

Theme answers:

• BANK ROLLS (22A: Stockpile bread?)
• GOOGLE APPS (24A: Research hors d'oeuvres online?)
• CHOOSES SIDES (38A: Selects green bean casserole, candied yams and mashed potatoes?)
• TALK TURKEY (65A: Debate roasting versus deep-frying?)
• SHEPHERDS PIE (91A: Steers the dessert cart?)
• KICK THE CAN (108A: Make cranberry sauce from scratch?)
• TABLE WINE (112A: Reserve the chardonnay for later?)
• SAGE ADVICE (52D: Pro tip about seasoning stuffing?)
• GRAVY TRAIN (37D: Work on one's whisking technique?)

Word of the Day: ELISHA Gray (79A: Inventor Gray who had a patent war with Alexander Graham Bell) —

Elisha Gray (August 2, 1835 – January 21, 1901) was an American electrical engineer who co-founded the Western Electric Manufacturing Company. Gray is best known for his development of a telephone prototype in 1876 in Highland Park, Illinois. Some recent authors have argued that Gray should be considered the true inventor of the telephone because Alexander Graham Bell allegedly stole the idea of the liquid transmitter from him. Although Gray had been using liquid transmitters in his telephone experiments for more than two years previously, Bell's telephone patent was upheld in numerous court decisions.

Gray is also considered to be the father of the modern music synthesizer, and was granted over 70 patents for his inventions. He was one of the founders of Graybar, purchasing a controlling interest in the company shortly after its inception. (wikipedia)

• • •

A perfect puzzle for Thanksgiving Week, and for me in particular, as I'ma leavin' on a jet plane today for Colorado, where I'll spend Thanksgiving Week (also known as Birthday Week) with my mother, sister, and associated family. It is a known fact that Thanksgiving dinner is the best meal of the year, so it would take a lot to make me mad at a Thanksgiving food-themed puzzle. And sure enough, nothing here bugged me at all. It's a pretty straightforward food-pun theme, but it's well built, well organized (TALK TURKEY centerpiece!), and has only a few answers that kinda sorta rankle. KICK THE CAN is kinda funny but you don't eat CAN, whereas you *do* eat all the other theme answer elements, so that was weird. Further, all the edible elements are repurposed (i.e. directed *away* from their comestible identities) in their answers ... except WINE, which remains regular old drinkable alcoholic WINE, whaddyagonnado (PIE also remains PIE, but since its surface meaning is savory, whereas Thanksgiving pies are sweet, I'm giving it a pass). The least on-the-nose of these, though, is GOOGLE APPS, "apps" being no part of a Thanksgiving dinner I've ever heard of, and not nearly evocative of Thanksgiving for a theme like this. As for (CHOOSES) SIDES ... yeah, OK, SIDES, I guess there are SIDES, but not "apps." SAGE is more seasoning than standalone dish, so maybe that's an outlier too. But I liked a lot of the wordplay today, esp. SHEPHERDS PIE as a verb phrase, and GRAVY TRAIN as a straight-up verb. Mainly, this is a pleasant, light-hearted affair—an endearing rendition of a common theme type, with a structurally sound and occasionally sparkly grid overall. SUPERHERO, RIMSHOTS, PLAYDATE, "HELL NO!" ... heck, yes. It all works fine, and there's very little in the way of unappetizing fill. More than tolerable, as Sunday efforts go.

It was not just a clean puzzle, it was an easy puzzle—an uncommonly easy puzzle—except for one notable patch, in which I managed to enter three to four wrong answers, many of them crossing, such that the works got gummed up Very badly. Sincerely had a few moments where I wasn't sure how I was going to finish. I'm talking about the entire area around PH SCALE (87D: Measurer of acidity), which I had written in as PH STRIP—and that was only the start of my wrongness. I crossed PH STRIP with OPEN (120A: Bid first, say => LEAD) ... and then I crossed that with SON! (113D: Boyo => LAD). And this was all on top of my initial wrong guess of OKRA at 102A: Part of some pods (ORCA). I had the WINE part of TABLE WINE but nothing about that clue was leading me toward TABLE (112A: Reserve the Chardonnay for later?). "Reserve" absolutely confused me. I think of "tabling" as "postponing til later," not reserving, so TABLE? Nope. It was only after much flailing that I decided to pull Everything in this section and try again, starting with ... PORTAL (92D: Entrance). And that did the trick. If I'd just started with PORTAL, all of the above wrong answers would never have materialized. I would've seen ALBA (earlier wanted BIEL) (116A: Actress Jessica) and ORCA and LEAD and everything. When in doubt, pull Everything out. Worked like a charm.

No idea how I remembered ELISHA Gray. Was just thinking that the only ELISHA I know is actress ELISHA Cuthbert (who was in the puzzle earlier this week), but then here comes this ELISHA to prove me wrong. Also got SEWARD much faster than I should have, esp. since I have never heard of the Kenai Peninsula (81A: City on the Kenai Peninsula). All other trivia was familiar to me, even RV LOT, which I didn't get right away, but was able to infer after a while (55A: Setting in "Nomadland"). I'm more familiar with the term RV PARK, but yeah, I'm pretty sure in "Nomadland" it was in fact just a lot. Did you know that SHORT and STEVE both work very well for 80A: Martin of Hollywood? It's true. Luckily, I had RIESEN in place (71D: German candy with a caramel center) so SHORT was out. I think of the phrase as ALL TIED UP, but ALL TIED computes, so OK (57D: Having an even score). Uh, anything else? Nope, I don't think so. Oh, "NO CAP!" (95D: "For real," in modern parlance). I learned that from some other puzzle just last month, and then went into my class and asked my students if they knew the term and they just looked at me pityingly. "Of course." OK, I think that is, in fact, it. As I say, I'm taking off for the week. I don't have subs lined up, so I'll probably be filing mini reviews from Colorado ... or else I'll just end up doing the same-sized reviews I always do because I can't help myself. We'll see. Take care, have a lovely day, see you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

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You might take one to a new friend / FRI 9-8-23 / One-a-day, for Dunaway / Olympians score points with their points

Constructor: Rachel Fabi & Ken Stern

Relative difficulty: Medium? Easy + One Hard Corner (19:51)

THEME: Themeless

Word of the Day: IMPRIMATUR (Seal of approval) —

An imprimatur (sometimes abbreviated as impr., from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the Roman Catholic Church effectively dates from the dawn of printing, and is first seen in the printing and publishing centres of Germany and Venice; many secular states or cities began to require registration or approval of published works around the same time, and in some countries such restrictions still continue, though the collapse of the Soviet bloc has reduced their number.

• • •

Hi squad, Malaika here for a.... Malaika MFriday, I suppose. I hope you are all day-dreaming about lovely weekend plans! My plans over here in NYC will be to sweat a lot and attempt to stay hydrated. Pray for me!

For three-quarters of this puzzle I was totally vibing-- I wasn't filling in every answer, but I'd get a few, look at the crosses, and get a few more. You know, how a crossword is supposed to work!! Except for the lower-left, where I got literally nothing, tried to Google some answers, failed completely, stared for ten minutes, guessed some things that I knew were wrong, hit "Check Puzzle" a lot, etc etc until I made it. My last box was the crossing of IMPRIMATUR and MED, where I ran the alphabet-- I have never heard of the former and it does not look like a word in English. (I guess it's not?) The latter is one of those Crossword Abbreviations where you're like "okay I guess...."

But let's talk about the more fun things, like the spanner!!! Amazing!! I say this sooooo often and I've never clocked that it's fifteen letters. Getting delayed on the tarmac on your way to a wedding in Albuquerque? THE LITERAL WORST. Waiting an hour for drinks bc the bar is understaffed? THE LITERAL WORST. Getting fired from your job because you were involved with unionizing efforts? THE LITERAL WORST. I can go on and on. I'm so glad that the NYT is publishing slang like this-- it feels like they're doing it more and more these days, and I'm a huge fan. 

High-word-count themeless puzzles with four stacks are my favorite type, and I feel like you end up having a favorite stack. For me, it was absolutely top-right, with CLEAR AS MUD, TORTELLINI, and EARLY BIRDS. I got to have my smug little "I studied abroad in Italy so I know that the word for "cake" is torta" moment, and plop in TORTELLINI with zero crosses. (I did have "blear..." for a little bit, when I mistakenly put in "B-team" over C-TEAM, but was able to correct.)

Bullets:

• [Beyhive, for Beyonce, or ARMY, for BTS] for FANDOM — When me and my sister, I mean, my sister and I take long car trips, we like to quiz each other on random trivia, and one of our go-to categories is "what is the name of the fandom for X artist?"
• [German swimmer Kristin, who won six gold medals at the Seoul Olympics] for OTTO — I've never heard of this athlete, but she seems to be incredibly talented
• [Longtime weekly companion of Ebony magazine] for JET — I'd also never heard of this, part of the reason it took me so long to break into that lower section.

xoxo Malaika

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Never-seen character on TV's "Mork & Mindy" / SAT 8-12-23 / Perfectly acceptable, humorously / Serpentine symbol of rebirth, from the Greek for "tail-devouring" / Block of text duplicated and reposted online, in internet slang / True-crime series about a physician who commits gross malpractice / A baby one is called a red dog

Constructor: Rachel Fabi and Christina Iverson

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: CROMULENT (1A: Perfectly acceptable, humorously) —

Cromulent first appeared in the February 18, 1996 episode of The Simpsons called "Lisa the Iconoclast," in what could be considered a throw-away line given during the opening credits. The schoolchildren of Springfield are watching a film about the founding father of Springfield, Jebediah Springfield. The film ends with Jebediah intoning, “A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.” One teacher at the back of the room leans over to another and says that she’d never heard the word embiggen before she moved to Springfield. “I don't know why,” the other teacher replies. “It's a perfectly cromulent word.”

The word cromulent ended up in the script courtesy of a showrunner’s challenge to the writers. According to the DVD commentary for The Simpsons, the showrunners asked the writers to come up with two nonce words that sounded like words that could be in actual use. Writer David X. Cohen came up with cromulent as one of those words. It means "acceptable" or "fine."

(merriam-webster.com)

• • •

I think the coolest thing about this puzzle is probably the grid shape. Really love that diagonal mirror symmetry. Very dynamic somehow, and ended up creating the kinds of pathways through the grid that allowed for that "whoosh-whoosh" feeling that I'm typically looking for on Fridays but don't find as often on Saturdays. In fact, in many ways, this felt very much like a Friday puzzle. After I worked out some minor difficulties in the NW corner, there wasn't much left to slow my progress through the rest of the grid. This is likely because so much of the rest of the grid is short stuff. There's enough long stuff to keep things interesting, but you are never at a loss for a toehold—lots of opportunities to grab onto a 4- or 5-letter answer in order to get traction. I never really saw the clues for either BALLET SLIPPER or ATTENTION SPAN, so quickly did both of them fill in because of relatively simple short crosses. The tip of the spear today (metaphorically and, if you squint and imagine the actual NW corner as a kind of spearhead, somewhat literally) is the coming together of two neologisms: CROMULENT (1A: Perfectly acceptable, humorously) and COPYPASTA (1D: Block of text duplicated and reposted online, in internet slang). The former is as familiar to me as the air I breathe (the first decade of "The Simpsons" being as close to a Holy Book as I have), while the latter I have never heard of and don't quite understand the need for. Like, you cut and paste some text ... and? So? Hang on, gotta look up why this even has a name... OK, I'm reading the wikipedia entry for COPYPASTA (one word) and I still don't really get it. Something to do with memes. The examples are ... grim. Did not expect the first example of COPYPASTA to end up referring to a mass shooter's manifesto, but ... that's what happened? I think I'm just gonna quietly step away from Memeville and go back to Old Manville, where I rightly belong and may in fact be mayor. 

The hardest part of the NW, aside from my total ignorance of COPYPASTA, was a. spelling OUROBOROS correctly (I knew the term but had it as OROUBOROS at first) (15A: Serpentine symbol of rebirth, from the Greek for "tail-devouring"), and b. trying to figure out what the hell kind of RACK it was in that damned kitchen if it wasn't a SPICE RACK (17A: Kitchen organizer = PLATE RACK). Legitimately had 4D: Bon ___ as MUC for a bit. Misspelled OUROBOROS + SPICE RACK = Bon MUC. But I fixed the spelling error on the serpentine symbol of rebirth, forced Bon to be MOT and got the car going again. Wanted "OWIE!" before the reduplicative "OW, OW!" (23D: Cry after stubbing a toe, maybe), but that was the last small hiccup before I got dumped out into the center of the grid and things got much simpler. 

I had ITALIANI instead of ITALIANO (35D: Romano o siciliano) ("o" is "or" so yes the answer needs to be singular). I was originally trying to remember the Italian word for "cheese" before realizing that the words were merely terms for inhabitants of different regions. Seemed weird to have PASTES IN in the grid (29D: Affixes to a scrapbook, say) when COPYPASTA's whole second half is essentially a playful, only-one-letter-changed reworking of PASTE. Didn't love that, to be honest. Also didn't love ALAMOS in the plural (41D: Alternatives to Budgets). I got it easily enough, but can't imagine using it. "'Look at all those ALAMOS,' he said, gazing at the section of the rental lot that contained the rental cars that were available specifically from Alamo and not, say, Dollar or Avis." It's not really a plausible scenario. And I don't get how PONY RIDES are "hits?" (31D: Fair hits?). Is the idea that they are popular ... rides? At (county) fairs? Like ... they are "hits" with kids? I know you can't see me, but I'm making a face that's somewhere between dubious and "yikes." Are PONY RIDES still things? Are they hits? I have no purchase on this particular corner of the equine world (or any corner of the equine world, for that matter). Is "DR. DEATH" actually about Kevorkian? [...checks internet...] Huh, it's not. That is what they called Kevorkian, isn't it? [...checks internet...] Yes, it is. Perhaps such a reference was deemed too distasteful or upsetting, although I'm not sure how it's any less distasteful or upsetting than the "gross malpractice" of the actual physician "DR. DEATH" is based on. Seems there's no non-grim way to clue "DR. DEATH" so we have this heavily vague clue that doesn't require you to think about specifics (27A: True-crime series about a physician who commits gross malpractice). I guess that's fine. I thought "DR. DEATH" was also the title of a Stephen King novel, but turns out I was thinking of "DOCTOR SLEEP." 

Speaking of sleep, I've stayed up late to blog (unusual for me) so I need to go get some. See you Sunday, I hope.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Easter starter? / THU 12-29-22 / Hayek who portrayed Frida Kahlo / Draped garment / World Cup datum / Sections of a barn / Cry of accomplishment

Constructor: Rachel Fabi and Claire Rimkus

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: LATE SHIFT — In four rows of the grid, the word LATE "shifts" from one entry to the other

Word of the Day: CLAMATO (42D: Hybrid beverage in a Bloody Caesar cocktail) —

Clamato /kləˈmætoʊ/ is a commercial drink made of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried clam broth and MSG.^[1] Made by Mott's, the name is a portmanteau of clam and tomato. It is also referred to colloquially as "clamato juice". It is consumed in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, to a lesser extent. It is very often mixed with alcohol to make a drink similar to a Bloody Mary.

• • •

Theme answers:

• (LATE)RALLY / TEMP(LATE)S (17A: Gathering of protesters / 19A: Models used in copying)
• CIRCU(LATE)S / EMUS (24A: Makes the rounds / 26A: Large, flightless birds)
• COLD / CLEAN S(LATE) (51A: Chilly / 54A: Fresh start, metaphorically)
• TRANS(LATE) / VENTI(LATE) (59A: Work as an interpreter / 62A: Size option at Starbucks)
• LATE SHIFT (37A: Overnight work assignment ... or a hint to understanding four rows of answers in this puzzle)

Hi everyone -- it's Rafa back for another puzzle write-up! Hope everyone is having a pleasant and restful holiday period. I'm catsitting so it's a one-human two-cat household around here these days. Sadly they do not get along and have to be kept in different rooms, but I've been enjoying plenty of feline snuggles.

Onto the puzzle! I really enjoyed this, as expected by these two constructors I really admire! LATE SHIFT is the perfect revealer to explain what's going on with the theme answers. And the theme answers (both the "shifted" versions in the grid and the "unshifted" versions that are clued) are super solid in-the-language words and phrases. One downside of this type of theme is that you often end up with single-word answers that are maybe less "exciting" entries -- stuff like LATERALLY and COLLATED and CIRCULATES etc -- but one benefit is you get twice as many theme entries because each one has to work both with and without the LATE!

Big Sur! Mac OS but also very pretty!

The theme was solid, but my absolute favorite part about this puzzle was the fun clue echoes. We had both TEN and CHI clued as [X], consecutive [Chicken king?] for PERDUE and [Chicken ___ king] for ALA, [Camper's protection] for DEET and [Camper's detritus] for ASH -- great stuff! I also loved [Euphemism for a lesbian couple] for GAL PALS, both because it's a fresh angle and because I'm a fan of Gay Things In My Puzzles.

If there's one thing I learned from doing crosswords, it's that the EDSEL was a flop

Not much else to say here! The grid was super clean so there's really nothing to complain about ... maybe IN SO is a weird partial? But that's me looking really hard for something to ding. Just super solid gridwork and a delightful theme.

Bullets:

• TYVM (15D: "I really appreciate it!," in textspeak) — It's rare that a 4-letter entry is my favorite in a puzzle but this might be it for me! I'd never seen this in a puzzle before (turns out it is a NYT debut) but it's something I use all the time!
• BLAISE (49A: Good name for a firefighter?) — This seems like an apt name for a pyromaniac ... or I guess a particularly self-loathing firefighter
• SCYTHE (45D: Cutter with a curve) — This is a fun word
• ELIOT (14A: George who wrote "Romola") — I recommend everyone read "Middlemarch" if you haven't already!

Signed, Rafa

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