ACL Grid: 15 mins, Meta: 2 minutes 
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G’day! It’s Ben here with another release from Ariadne’s Crossword Library. This month, we have a collab from two guest constructors: Carina da Rosa and Shannon Rapp. The puzzle title is “Use Your Inside Voice”, and the meta answer is a well-known children’s novel.
Tricky 15×16 grid! There’s something very strange going on with four long across entries. Fortunately, the downs are all pretty gettable:
- 19A. {Units in which light’s travel time might be measured} MICSHHHCONDS
- 32A. {Features of two games in the 2025 World Series} EXTSHHHNINGS
- 44A. {Band that might go doo-bah, doo-bop, bah-doo-bah} JAZSHHSEMBLE
- 58A. {Heavy-duty slab found in a deli} BUTCSHHHLOCK
What’s going on here? I saw what was happening pretty much straight-away (which with metas is always nice!) In fact, it helped me fill in the grid! Parts of the themers have been shushed, as per the puzzle title, which is definitely appropriate if we’re in a library. Replacing what has been shushed reveals:
19A. MICROSECONDS- 32A. EXTRAINNINGS
- 44A. JAZZENSEMBLE
- 58A. BUTCHERBLOCK
What do ROSE, RAIN, ZEN and HERB all have in common? They are all types of garden. That can only mean that the well-known children’s novel we are looking for is THE SECRET GARDEN, by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Well done to all involved – constructors and series editor, Emma Oxford! The grid was a fun challenge, and the meta worked very nicely.