Monday, July 29, 2024

Jeffrey Lease’s New York Times crossword — Sophia’s write-up

Theme: phrases in the form of [WORD] [CONNECTOR] [SAME WORD]

New York Times, 07 29 2024, By Jeffrey Lease

• 16a [Cry from someone who has finally had it] – ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
• 26a [Sarcastic non-apology] – SORRY NOT SORRY
• 48a [Perennial optimist’s motto] – NEVER SAY NEVER
• 63a [Way to make incremental progress] – LITTLE BY LITTLE

I like all of the answers here, especially SORRY NOT SORRY which feels modern (or at least, modern-ish). I also like how none of them have the same “connector” word: we’ve got IS, NOT,  SAY, and BY. I do wish there was something connecting the answers a little bit more, because there are a fair number of phrases with this structure in the language, and these four felt a little random to me.

The puzzle is of unusual size, being 14×16. This is actually only one square smaller in area than a 15×15, but it felt much smaller to me. I didn’t feel like I was solving particularly quickly but I ended up with a time much faster than normal. Maybe that was also the repetitive quality of the theme answers? Curious to know if other folks ended up with quick times today.

The fill is very clean, but there are no non-theme answers that are longer than six letters. I liked BANG-UP job and the sheer quantity of V’s in the bottom right corner between EVOLVE and VENTED, but I wish there was more that stood out. My biggest problem was “primp” instead of PREEN for [Fuss over one’s appearance]. Highlight of the puzzle was having [2016 Summer Olympics host, informally] RIO in the middle of the Paris olympics!

Hal Moore’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Behold!”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are familiar(ish) phrases that are indicative of radiance. The revealer is “LET THERE BE LIGHT!” (35a, [Genesis words, and a hint to 16-, 27-, 43- and 59-Across]).

Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Behold!” · Hal Moore · Mon., 7.29.24

• 16a. [Flash of inspiration] BRIGHT IDEA.
• 27a. [Radiant expression] BEAMING SMILE.
• 43a. [Vivid way to go out] BLAZE OF GLORY.
• 59a. [Ritzy Boston neighborhood] BEACON HILL.

My first thought on this theme was that we’re meant to just look at the first words as synonyms of light. But that felt inconsistent with two of them being adjectives and two of them nouns. Then I realized we should look at the phrases as whole entities symbolizing brightness and that seemed to work better.

However, that second entry is not a standalone in-the-language phrase like the others, so it detracts a bit from the theme.

I love the long fill today: MISS PIGGY and STEAMPUNK. I’m less enamored of some of the gluey bits: CBGB, BAAING, FTS. Tough for Monday: SINALOA [Mexican state with an infamous drug cartel].

3.25 stars.

Caroline Hand’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Times 7/29/24 by Caroline Hand

So…I’m pretty sure I understand this puzzle’s theme. Which is not something I’ve had to say about a Monday LAT in a long time, and something I think I can be attributed to an inconsistency in the theme’s execution. The revealer at 61A [Getting paid for work, and what an element of 17-, 23-, 38-, and 49-Across may be] is ON THE CLOCK, and each theme entry includes a feature that might be found on a clock:

• 17A [Mistaken report of an emergency] is FALSE ALARM, with the clock part being the ALARM.
• 23A [Contributing elements to a yawnfest] is SNOOZE FACTORS, and the clock part is SNOOZE.
• 38A [Anthony Doerr novel whose title comes from an Aristophanes play] is CLOUD CUCKOO LAND, and the clock part (I guess?) is the CUCKOO.
• 49A [Exhortation during cold and flu season] is WASH YOUR HANDS, and the HANDS are the clock part.

So: Two theme entries have the clock part at the end, one in the beginning, and one in the middle, which really doesn’t help a beginning solver out (and hell, I am an extraordinarily experienced solver who doesn’t feel 100% secure here either!). I also don’t like SNOOZE FACTORS as an entry, both because it seems questionable as a plural (that clue doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue!) and because a SNOOZE is not a physical feature of a clock the way an ALARM, CUCKOO, and HANDS are. (A SNOOZE BUTTON is, yes, but not the same IMO.)

Sorry to be Debbie Downer today — but I would’ve sent this theme back for revisions if it were my call. I think there’s something there, just that it would have benefited greatly from more consistent execution.

Kareem Ayas’ Universal crossword, “Minitheme Monday 1” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 7/29/24 • Mon • “Minitheme Monday 1” • Ayas • solution • 20240729

I disbelieve the title here. In my opinion it’s simply finding a home for an aborted, apparently otherwise unworkable theme idea.

• 13d. [*Elfish?] LEMON SHARK. A fish starting with the letter L (el).
• 14d. [*Debug?] DUNG BEETLE. A ‘bug’ starting with the letter D (dee/de).

That’s it. It’s a great conceit and I can see how one would be reluctant to abandon it.

In this left-right symmetrical grid, the base is strengthened with a pair of stacked 15s:

• 53a [“Don’t ask me for suggestions anymore”] I’M ALL OUT OF IDEAS.
• 60a [“Tell me how this is even possible!”] MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

The trade-off, a minor one, is that there’s a block of five three-letter words in the bottom-center.

Additionally, there are triple-stacked vertical 9s flanking the upper part of the grid, and they’re all quite good.

• 15a [“30 Rock” Emmy nominee Alan] ALDA. I had no idea he appeared on the show.
• 28a [Subsections of some series] SEASONS. Interesting tack.
• 32a [Act on it!] STAGE. Elegant little clue.
• 42a [Fuse using electricity] ARC WELD. Didn’t realize fuse was a verb here.
• 3d [Bit of needlework around the collar?] NECK TATTOO. I’ve seen some extensive ones; they really change the look of one’s head and face. 29d [Bit of needlework] STITCH.
• 7d [Small size] MINI. Uh… >looks at title<
• 10d [Window box?] ADDRESS BAR. In a web browser, say.
• 49d [Collector of chips] RAKE. In a casino.

Anna Shechtman’s New Yorker crossword—Amy’s recap

New Yorker crossword solution, 7/29/24 – Shechtman

Busy day today, so quickly—

Fave fill: dated ROLODEXES (I had something in that vein in my medical publishing days), DA BEARS, Reinhold NIEBUHR, EMOTIONAL LABOR, TECHNO music, PARADIGM, PICKLEBALL, AL-JAZEERA, CUP-HOLDER. Not keen on POLLEE,and the 3s IN A, CET, MED., ELS as spelled-out letters, plural AYS, IT’D, NO I.

I learned 48d AINU, [Indigenous people of Hokkaido], from crosswords of yore. They’re distinct from the majority of Japanese people and have long been discriminated against. Read up, it’s interesting.

Never heard of LATE STYLE, [Term used by Edward Said to describe the final phase of an artist’s career].

Three stars from me.