Sunday, September 8, 2024

Meghan Morris’s New York Times crossword, “Life Milestones” — Nate’s write-up

09.08.2024 Sunday NYT Crossword Puzzle

Today’s puzzle has us journeying through a life well (and long!) lived, through reinterpretations of otherwise-known idioms and phrases:

– 24A: AMATEUR STANDING [Age 1]
– 37A: FIRST IN CLASS [Age 5]
– 48A: DRIVING CRAZY [Age 16]
– 66A: GIVE IT THE OL’ COLLEGE TRY [Age 18]
– 83A: BAR ADMISSION [Age 21]
– 98A: FINISH THE JOB [Age 65]
– 110A: CENTENNIAL STATE [Age 100]

This was largely a breezy solve for me, and the fun, straightforward theme helped with that. I was interested to see the theme focus more on the early stages of life for most and found myself drawn in to learning the path this person would be taking – it turns out, they got their driver’s license, went to college, then law school old enough to drink (thanks Barnyard for helping me see the obvious!), onto work until 65, and then living life until (at least) 100! More interesting to me than what was included was what was left out – anything having to do with relationships, weddings, having kids, etc.

I almost wonder if this would have been an even more successful theme had it kept to its focus on the birth to age 21 range? Even still, this was a fun solve and not the first Sunday NYT from this constructor – here’s to many more!

Random thoughts:
– Did anyone else get stumped at parsing BAR ADMISSION? I sat staring for longer than I’d care to admit, wondering what BARAD MISSION could possibly be!
– Today I learned that the CENTENNIAL STATE is a nickname for Colorado, “because it became a state one century (and four weeks) after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence,” per Wikipedia.
– I enjoyed a lot of the fun bonus fill, including PROTEST VOTE, SUCKY, PADDED BRA, WAVY ARROW, EXASPERATED, ICEMAN, MATHLETES, and (aptly) SPARKLY. Those types of entries make a solve so much more enjoyable for me!

Okay, off to tackle my defining [Age REDACTED] task of take a midday Saturday nap. Enjoy your weekend and be sure to let us know what you enjoyed about the puzzle in the comments section below. Take care!

Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post crossword, “Shift Dress” — Matt’s write-up

Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post crossword, “Shift Dress” solution, 9/7/2024

Two things going on in this theme, each nodded to in one of two central revealers. First, in each themer, an article of clothing is moved from its normal place in a familiar theme, to the end, indicated by a revealer at 65a, FASHIONABLY LATE:

• 22a [Piece of neckwear worn by actress Arthur’s sons?] BEAS BOYS TIE (Beastie Boys)
• 32a [Undergarment worn when ruling over a country?] IN POWER BRA (brainpower)
• 34a [Lounging garment worn when speaking into audio devices?] MICS ROBE (microbes)
• 58a [Skirt worn when a job applicant is invited to join a company?] OFFER KILT (off kilter)
• 65a [Making an appearance after the party starts, or a description of the shifted articles of clothing in this puzzle] FASHIONABLY LATE
• 78a [Hat worn by mathematician Alan at a baseball game?] TURING CAP (capturing)
• 98a [Draped garment worn by reddish deer?] ROES SARI (rosaries)
• 101a [Winter coat worn when booking an event location?] VENUE PARKA (Park Avenue)
• 117a [Short-sleeved shirt worn when adding up the numbers?] TOTALING TEE (teetotaling)

It was a bit difficult to parse these during the solve, but the clues were pretty spot on to help for the actual grid entry, and to leave me to fully understand the theme later. There’s a range of complexity here – TOTALING TEE and TURING CAP are simpler changes, while IN POWER BRA and OFFER KILT are pretty twisty.

The second aspect of the theme is found in the central down answer…

• 39d [Adjustments provided by businesses specializing in this puzzle’s circled word] ALTERATIONS

… and circled letters through the themers, which aptly spell TAILORING. If I have a very slight nitpick, it’s that the circled ‘T’ in BEAS BOYS TIE is also the first letter of the moved article of clothing, which distracted me as I parsed the next few themers. But it’s a small nit.

Highlights: vocab word ‘pullets’ in the clue for HEN; a new-to-me clue for ORAL B at 15d; and the playful [Movie stars, e.g.?] for RATING

Sam Koperwas and Jeff Chen’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Lower-level Functions”—Jim’s review

Theme answers come in stacked Across pairs. The longer entries contain circled letters which spell out a type of party. The entries directly above these entries start with letters that spell out words that can precede the circled word. Note that the upper word ends just before the circled word. Got all that? Clues for the party events go along with the upper entries. The revealer is PARTY DIPS (111a, [Salsa and guac … and a hint to the circled letters plus the start of the entry above them]).

Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Lower-level Functions” · Sam Koperwas and Jeff Chen · 9.8.24

• 23a. [*Anticolonialist philosopher Frantz / Gathering of stans] FANON / FAN FEST with 27a. [Adulthood, e.g.] LIFE STAGE.
• 25a. [*Rock genre / Annual NYC fundraiser] METAL / MET GALA with 29a. [Round Table knight] SIR GALAHAD.
• 49a. [*Precedence / School event with a coronation] SENIORITY / SENIOR PROM with 57a. [High-end Apple offering] IPHONE PRO MAX.
• 75a. [*Blue bloods / Cinderella’s event] ROYALTY / ROYAL BALL with 80a. [Voting system preserving anonymity] SECRET BALLOT.
• 100a. [*Sightseeing guide / Urban festival] STREET MAP / STREET FAIR with 109a. [They’re used in some eye exams] PUFFS OF AIR.

This came together slowly. Before getting to the revealer the challenge was in trying to determine which clue was leading you where and which parts of which entries to read with what. I did spot the parties in the circled letters but I think I needed the revealer to put it all together.

I also want to note what a challenge it must have been to find pairs of theme answers. Take the SENIORITY / IPHONE PRO MAX duo. Presumably, you’d start by saying you want to include the phrase SENIOR PROM as a theme answer. That leads you to SENIORITY as the top answer in the pair. You then need to find a partner entry that hides PROM starting very specifically at the 7th letter. Then of course your top entry and bottom entry have to play nice and allow you to have decent fill. That’s a tall order for each of the five theme pairs!

Despite those challenges, we get a lot of meaty long fill entries: THE ILIAD, ANCHO CHILES, LEGAL TEAM, REGULAR FOLK, SANTA ANNA, and WHIP-SMART.

Clues of note:

• 26a. [Was duped, in a way]. CCED. “Duplicated” I take it. Not sure I buy this one.
• 95a. [Server’s caution]. “IT’S HOT.” Another iffy clue. My first thought was a computer server. But I think it’s a server at a restaurant warning about a hot plate. I’ve heard, “The plate’s hot” more than just “IT’S HOT.”
• 124a. [It’s a rush!]. REED. Tough clue along with clues for JUNO and ASIA helping to make that SE corner extra challenging.
• 17d. [Step-in relative]. TEDDY. Lingerie? New to me. Help me out here.
• 112d. [Speedy ally of Mario and Luigi]. TOAD. Hmm. I’ve played a lot of Nintendo games, and I can’t think of a game where TOAD is known for his speed. My kid agrees with me.

Impressive construction though the solve was more challenging than usual. 3.5 stars.