Sunday, August 25, 2024

John Kugelman’s New York Times crossword, “Is There an Echo in Here?” — Nate’s write-up

08.25.2024 Sunday New York Times Crossword

21A: DOUBLE CLICK [“Tsk, tsk”?]
23A: SECOND MATE [Buddy-buddy?]
44A: RAP DUO [[Knock, knock]?]
45A: ONE AFTER ANOTHER [11?]
64A: THIS BEAR(‘)S REPEATING [Pooh-pooh?]
88A: THE MUMMY RETURNS [Tut-tut?]
93A: ALL(|)OWS [“Ow! Ow!”?]
110A: BACKUP COPY [“OK, OK”?]
114A: PAIR OF PANTS [“Hubba, hubba!”?]

Y’all, this theme made me smile with pretty much every theme entry – what a tight theme set and joyful, smart reimagining of each echoed clue! I can’t pick a favorite because they all felt quite strong, but a bonus gold star goes to RAP DUO for [[Knock, knock]?] for doing so much in such a short entry! ONE AFTER ANOTHER for [11?] and THIS BEAR(‘)S REPEATING for [Pooh-pooh?] were also ::chef’s kiss::. I’ll pay this puzzle’s constructor the ultimate compliment – I wish I’d come up with this theme set!

One other thing I appreciated greatly about the puzzle was how fresh and modern the entries and cluing felt. Nothing felt stodgy or phoned in. We had ARO, STAN, KENS, TIME LAPSE, PARIS TEXAS, BRAIN DUMP, the RANGER / VALET clue echo and so much more. The puzzle took a bit longer than my average time to solve, but none of that time was spent annoyed or frustrated. Instead, I felt engaged and curious in all the best ways. Kudos!

What did you think of the puzzle? Did any of the themers double you over in laughter? Let us know in the comments – and have a great weekend!

Shannon Rapp and Will Eisenberg’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Say It With a Song”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are song lyrics (actually, song titles) that punnily answer the clues of the form [___ line?].

Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Say It With a Song” · Shannon Rapp and Will Eisenberg · 8.25.24

• 21a. [*Bottom line?] BABY GOT BACK.
• 30a. [*Fault line?] BLAME IT ON THE BOSSA NOVA.
• 53a. [*Sky line?] GONNA FLY NOW.
• 70a. *[Hot line?] LIGHT MY FIRE.
• 86a. *[Guide line?] WALK THIS WAY.
• 107a. [*Punch line?] HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT.
• 120a. [*Blood line?] WE ARE FAMILY.

Lively theme with fun wordplay. I love the variety of songs with some older and some newer. Nothing too old and nothing too obscure. A good mix.

Lots to like in the long fill, too, with some fresher entries like JANELLE Monae and “WE GOOD?”. Also nice: TRUE SELF, FRENETIC, CASH COWS, SNIFFLES, TOUPEES, and TRIASSIC. Most challenging bit of fill: IDLI [Rice cake served with sambar].

Clues of note:

• 39a. [Reaction image in a Twitch chat]. EMOTE. Sure wanted this to be EMOJI. I’m not up on my Twitch slang.
• 80a. [Portland professional soccer player]. THORN. Only in Portland, I guess.
• 85a. [NASA spacewalk]. EVA. I had forgotten it stands for Extravehicular Activities.
• 127a. [Ones just getting into the habit?]. NOVICES. Good clue.
• 79d. [Season when every day is a gift?]. ADVENT. Maybe this is referring to an ADVENT calendar that might have a little gift for each day? Otherwise, I can’t make sense of this clue.

Four stars.

Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword, “On a First-Name Basis” — Matt’s write-up

Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword solution, “On a First-Name Basis,” 8/25/2024

There’s a replacement element going on in these themers: words in familiar phrases are swapped out for the first names of notable people who use those words as a surname. Theme clues nod toward the narrator being “On a First-Name Basis” with the notables.

• 23a [Glass protectors in a lot (“She and I met on the set of ‘Suddenly Susan.'”)] WIND BROOKE (Brooke Shields)
• 35a [Nonprofit that “evolved into an arm of the charter school movement,” per a 2019 ProPublica headline (“I knew him long before he was Blackbeard.”)] EDWARD FOR AMERICA (Edward Teach)
• 56a [“Our ticket had the winning numbers!!!” (“I’ve known him for years. He asked me to read his first New York Times op-ed before it was published.”)] WE’RE FRANK (Frank Rich)
• 58a [Tool also known as a hex key (“We played basketball in high school. I didn’t know then he’d become one of the best three-point shooters of all time.”)] RAY WRENCH (Ray Allen)
• 74a [Chewy cookie (“We were at Cambridge together. He was better at physics than I was.”)] FIG ISAAC (Isaac Newton)
• 79a [Signal that drivers wait for (“I met her at the premiere of ‘Casino Royale.'”)] EVA LIGHT (Eva Green)
• 89a [New Jersey city with a fruit in its name (“He and I did jazz sessions. I still remember that bass sound.”)] NATHAN ORANGE (Nathan East)
• 104a [Cereal with the mascots Snap, Crackle and Pop (“I met him backstage during his ‘My Favourite Faded Fantasy’ tour. We’ve been close ever since.”)] DAMIEN KRISPIES (Damien Rice)
• 119a [Get on a first-name basis with, and what’s spelled by the first letters of eight first names in this puzzle] BEFRIEND
• 122a [One with whom you are likely not on a first-name basis, and what’s spelled by the first letters of eight replaced last names] STRANGER

I was pleased to reach the double revealers. I had made my way through some unfamiliar names to fill the grid, and I’m glad they had a secondary theme purpose. An enjoyable theme once I figured it out, though still some difficulty in the tougher names.

I also found the fill on the tougher end of Evan’s spectrum. In particular, getting through the second themer in the transition from top of the grid to middle, and the center-right area of the grid put up some resistance. It’s a somewhat segmented grid, with ten themers and mirror symmetry, and there wasn’t a lot of help if a couple clues in a row were tricky. But I enjoyed it – a satisfying challenge.

• 33a [___ Maria] TIA. Hands up for taking the “Ave” bait
• 98a [John or Matthew’s state?] SAYEST. As in a synonym for “state” in the King James Bible and the like.
• 113a [People of the Oil Springs Reservation] SENECA. I grew up in this neck of the woods and didn’t know about Oil Springs. It’s a small holding with few (if any) residents near Cuba, New York.
• 10d [Italian cheese that’s half off?] PARM. “Parm” being the first half of “parmesan.”
• 44d [Its slogan was once “Fields of Opportunities”] IOWA. The slogan is now “Freedom to Flourish.” I prefer the old one.
• 65d [Back line?] MISS ME. A like someone might say when they come “back.”