LAT tk (Stella)
Newsday tk (pannonica)
NYT 6:06 (Amy)
Universal tk (Matthew)
USA Today tk (Matthew)
WSJ tk (pannonica)
Alina Abidi’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 2/8/25 – no/ 0208
I do like themelesses with lots of long entries (but generally not a bunch of 15s). My faves here: BROWN-NOSER, CACAO NIBS, “NOTE TO SELF,” GIN MARTINIS, ONOMATOPOEIA, CHIPS AHOY!, dorm MEAL PLANS, and a PORTOBELLO mushroom (the spellings with one or two A’s are secondary to PORTOBELLO, per Merriam-Webster, not that most restaurant menus pay attention).
Overall, the fill is really smooth. For me, anyway. If you don’t generally know names, this puzzle likely fought you. I wouldn’t be shocked if some folks went for NELMA crossing SAM’S instead of NELLA Larsen and SAL’S Pizza from Do the Right Thing.
Three things:
- 10D. [Common but often counterproductive response to a recurring problem], ANTI-PATTERN. Never ever heard of it. Here’s a Wikipedia page that slightly dilutes things from the “clear as mud” level to “wow, this water is so turbid that you can’t see a thing through it.” I checked with my software-guy husband aaaand … he’s never heard of anti-pattern, either.
- 21D. [2010s satirical reality series starring comedian Fielder], NATHAN FOR YOU. I never did watch it, though I’d heard good things about it. Okay, I concede that stacking ANTI-PATTERN and NATHAN FOR YOU together can make their crossings a good bit harder and dissatisfying.
- 51A. [Teacup], MINI. As in a tiny dog called a teacup Chihuahua, for example.
Four stars from me for my enjoyment level.