Listened to "Rigoletto" way too many times? / SUN 10-11-26 / Depression formed by a volcano's collapse / Stress-induced discomfort / Young newts / Daniel ___ (children's TV character) / Boulderer's safety item / Secrets known only to E.N.T.s? / Needlessly adorns, in an idiom / Sleuth, slangily / Infamous Russian mystic / N.K. ___, "Broken Earth" trilogy author / "The Bear" matriarch played by Jamie Lee Curtis

Constructor: Michael Lieberman

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: "Heart Transplants" — wacky phrases where one word (or phrase) is "transplanted" into the "heart" (center) of the other word (or phrase):

Theme answers:

• KLINGON LINGO (23A: Some "Star Trek" slang?)
• EAR CANAL ARCANA (34A: Secrets known only to E.N.T.s?)
• OVERDID VERDI (43A: Listened to "Rigoletto" way too many times?)
• PAPER CUT APERÇU (64A: "A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.?)
• ELICIT FELICITY (75A: Spark joy?)
• HINDI SHINDIG (98A: Diwali or Holi?)
• LAST IN BLASTING (106A: Like the world's worst demolition company?)
• LOTSA FLOTSAM (120A: A whole bunch of ocean detritus?)

Word of the Day: Daniel TIGER (85A: Daniel ___ (children's TV character)) —

 

• Daniel Stripèd Tiger (performed by Fred Rogers) – Daniel Stripèd Tiger is the first puppet ever to appear on Children's Corner and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He is a shy tiger who lives in a non-functioning grandfather clock with no hands, as it is whatever time can change in The Land Of Make-Believe. Despite his shyness, Daniel exhibits wisdom and intelligence when he does speak. His favorite toy is a small dump truck and he wears a watch on one arm because he lives in the clock and always has to know what time it is. He was the ring bearer for Betty and James's wedding. He was named after Dorothy Daniel, who gave Fred his first puppet. Daniel was the puppet most frequently brought along by Rogers for live performances and Rogers stated that Daniel represented certain aspects of his personality. In July 2011, PBS announced that Daniel's son (also named Daniel) would be the star of his own show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. (wikipedia)

• • •

I kept wanting the shaded squares to do something. To spell something. To be meaningful in any way. But they were just the shell, the outer casing for the other word/phrase to be "transplanted" into. The effect is a bunch of random shaded letters and theme answers that are way, way, way too easy to uncover. Repetition is built into the theme, so any challenge that the theme clues might present is practically eliminated. I think some of the theme answers work OK—OVERDID VERDI is probably the nicest, the most compact, the most plausible, and LAST IN BLASTING the funniest—but mostly they're just there, doing this trasplanty thing in a a kind of ho-hum way. And about APERÇU ... look, no one likes this word. The only time you ever see it is in crosswords. I thought I knew what it meant, but that clue makes me unsure (64A: "A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.?). Are APERÇUs just ... sayings? Aphorisms? The ones in the clue read like bad fortune-cookie fortunes. I thought the term meant something like "pithy observation," and I guess that's what those are, but woof. Since when did whispers start being "thin?" Don't tell me, probably the 18th century. I'm used to things being "whisper quiet" and "paper thin." My point is, a theme answer where your wordplay is built around the word APERÇU, probably not gonna be a crowd-pleaser. Mostly, this puzzle just felt insubstantial. I had some very minor trouble in and around the NE, but otherwise, the themers made it very easy to move through the long stuff, and the short stuff put up next to no fight, so pfft—game over quickly, little impression left.

["With just three days more / I'd've just about learned the entire score / To AIDA (4)"]

The one real highlight for me was when I remembered the word "CALDERA" (38A: Depression formed by a volcano's collapse). It did not happen immediately. I was like "what's that word, I know I know it" and so I left and came back, then I had the "-ER-" and thought "I think it ends in 'A'" and that checked out and then I was like "ha, CALDERA, it's CALDERA!" And I was right. Hurray, brain! Slow, but still got it! On the other hand, my brain was less cooperative in the NE, particularly with the second themer, where I could see very quickly that the word "ARCANA" was gonna be involved, but I just couldn't parse the EAR CANAL part. I was like "EAR ... CANADA?" I think the fact that EAR CANAL was two words threw me. Also throwing me in that area was IN PEN, which I had as INKED (31A: Like most autographs). And since I have never seen a single episode of "The Bear," the "matriarch played by Jamie Lee Curtis" ended up looking like it was gonna be DONDA, and I thought "sure, why not? Weird name, but maybe that's why they're using such a niche reference." But the "K" in INKED eventually made everything buckle. I was staring down PET KASS- at 15D: Document used for a travel companion who might sit under a seat and after I entertained PET KASSETTE for about a half second, I realized INKED had to be wrong. PET PASSPORT, IN PEN, DONNA, done done done. Weird to actually get INK just a few answers down from there, at INK PAD (53A: Rubber stamp go-with). Weirder still to get a second PAD (see 15A: Boulderer's safety item). Doubling PAD feels bad, especially when one of the PADs is stand-alone. I understand tolerating some minor duping (like CHANCE IT / YES IT IS / 'TIS), but duping PAD is conspicuous. Makes the editing seem sloppy.

[25A: Infamous Russian mystic]

Bullets:

• 101D: Vietnamese sandwich (BANH MI) — this was how I distinguished LIS from LYS (128A: Fleur-de-___). But I still managed to spell "BANH" wrong (like the German road instead of the ... Vietnamese sandwich)

• 62A: Sleuth, slangily (TEC) — still not sure who's using this when? I see it all the time in crosswords, but not in crime fiction, which I teach regularly. Dick, shamus, gumshoe, P.I. ... all valid. TEC, blecch.
• 130A: Needlessly adorns, in an idiom (GILDS) — as in "___ the lily."
• 8D: Stress-induced discomfort (AGITA) — a Crossword Condition, like APNEA or ACNE or a STYE, except I've actually heard all those used outside crosswords (not true of AGITA).
• 90D: Home of the N.C.A.A.'s Flyers (DAYTON) — me, stubbornly: "Why Won't PHILLY work!?!?!" (by "stubbornly," I mean "stubbornly ignoring the 'N.C.A.A.' part of the clue)

• 92D: Train sound (WHISTLE) — had the "W-" and really wanted "WHOO-HOO" or "WOO-WHOO" or some other "sound" vaguely resembling whatever sound a train WHISTLE makes. Something like this:

• 114D: Young newts (EFTS) — EFTS crossing AREEL is a real crosswordese low point today, rivaled in its nadirnity only by ORO crossing ARCO crossing APERÇU. Oh, and that rotten PEI ÉTÉ REI center. The heart of the Tootsie Pop is supposed to be good, not evil!

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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Hip-hop's birthplace, colloquially / SAT 10-10-26 / 1980s chart-topping band with a semi-duplicative name / Peak overlooking the Grindelwald Valley / Animated character with a signature quiff hairstyle / Danny who was UNICEF's first goodwill ambassador / Natives call it Muncibeddu, meaning "mountain of mountains" / Neighbor of Francia

Constructor: David Levinson Wilk

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none 

Word of the Day: Frito PIE (23A: Frito ___ (Tex-Mex dish)) —

Frito pie is a dish popular in the Midwestern, Southeastern, and Southwestern United States, whose basic ingredients are chili, cheese, and corn chips (traditionally Fritos, hence the name). Additions can include salsa, refried beans, sour cream, onion, rice, or jalapeños. There are many variations and alternative names used by region. Frito pie can be prepared in a casserole dish, but an alternative preparation can be in a single-serve Fritos-type corn chip bag with various ingredients as toppings. (wikipedia)

• • •

"OH HELL NO" is right. OH crossing OH (at "OH WELL")?! And "OH WELL" absolutely does not mean 8D: "What a pity." I had "AH WELL" there at first, both because it's more apt (apt!) and because, well, surely they wouldn't cross "OHs." Ha. Speaking of Ha, HAHAS, plural, more awful (and improbably plural) noises. Also, speaking of HA, you've got HA, backward, at AH (OK). Then you've also got some OWS (another possibly even more improbable plural). At the level of two-letter noises alone, this thing is off-puttingly cacophonous and messy. With longer, non-noise answers, there are also problems. TO THE SIDE is wobbly and seems desperately to need an "off" in front of it (33D: Where a wallflower often stands). HAD A SOLO not only ate a sandwich, it ate *all* the sandwiches (57A: Played by oneself). The clue on APT TO is completely inapt because the clue is pointedly slangy, whereas the answer ... isn't (31A: Likely gonna). People take GROUP SELFIEs all the time, why doesn't that clue at least have a question mark on it? (27A: It's a lot for one person to take). Do you mean "a lot of people are in the shot"? Is that why it's "a lot to take"? Yeah, that needs a "?" ... like the clue on ABET (22A: Do a bad job of helping?). Only that clue doesn't quite work either. I mean, I see what you're doing, if you ABET, you help someone in committing a crime, and crimes are "bad," but ... if you get away with the crime, then you did a good job of helping. I guess the "?" covers you here, but barely. Moving on: this puzzle made me remember MR. MISTER, automatic demerit (38D: 1980s chart-topping band with a semi-duplicative name). Closing: there's just too much tired and / or gunky short fill: ESTOP ORALB ABET STE EES NOTTE PLEBS ULNA OWS TEE ETNA EPI KAL KEW INE AHOK HAHAS EOS SIA ISSA INCA. You might say I chose to focus only on the negative today. To which I'd say, OH WELL—we all make choices.

[I once nearly got beat up for making a crack about MR. MISTER which honestly would've been the funniest reason anyone ever got their ass kicked—I would've had to take ... my broken legs ... and learn to walk again, learn to walk so free; thankfully the kid in the MR. MISTER muscle TEE managed to calm down]

I will say that BOOGIE DOWN BRONX absolutely rules. One full star added to the rating for that answer alone. 

["'Cause we roll with a posse / From Strong Long to Canarsie / QBC, BOOGIE DOWN BRONX, back to Marcy ..."]

Bullets:

• 1A: Artist whose first two initials stand for "Maurits Cornelis" (ESCHER) — too easy, come on. MC ... who else is it gonna be? (Note: If you wrote in HAMMER here, god bless you, that's amazing):

• 20A: Peak overlooking the Grindelwald Valley (EIGER) — an ALP. Forgot it existed. Crosses bailed me out.
• 44A: Round and round and round? (BOXING MATCH) — Pretty short match but OK.
• 50A: Determine the going price? (SET BAIL) — as today's "?" clues go, this was one of the better ones. I was a little worried this clue was gonna have something to do with pay toilets, but thankfully no.
• 59A: Animated character with a signature quiff hairstyle (TINTIN) — more of a comics / cartoon character than an "animated" character, although I guess he was, technically, "animated" at some point. The Adventures of TINTIN is a long-running series by pioneering artist Hergé, master of the ligne claire style. Comfort reading for me. The stories themselves don't matter much—I just want to live in the beautiful worlds he creates (also, they are just at my level of French literacy—so all those years of high school and college French weren't for nought).

• 9D: Sports figure who traditionally wears an orange armband, in brief (NHL REF) — I was not aware the NHL had "traditions." Do the refs perform various rituals, hand down lore, etc.? I assume there are rules and regulations. Looks like the orange armband has been standard NHL REF gear for a while now (since the '69-'70 season, best I can tell).
• 24D: Like a sketchy person (SUS) — short for "suspicious." First appeared in 2024 and has come on like gangbusters since, that's right I said "gangbusters!" (this is the 9th appearance). There were 21 pre-Shortz SUSes ("susses?"), but they were all [Swine genus]. Fun fact*: SUS is actually a contraction of "Swine genUS" 

That's all for today. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

*this is not, in fact, a fact, fun or otherwise

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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