Rex Parker Solves The NYT Crossword (2023)

Constructor:Rostrudeau

Relative Difficulty:Easy

IS:"Leaving the Roadmap"— Four movie lines are identified simply by the movie title, then the corresponding responses are ordinary two-word sentences ending in LINE, where the first word is also the name of the actor who said the movie line. This way:

Topic answers:

• "HAKUNA MATATA!" (22A: "The Lion King") is a LANE LINE (24A: Pool Divider, or a bonus track on 22-Across) because "Lion King" actor Nathan *Lane* says so
• "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" (42A: "Jerry Maguire") is a CRUISE LINE (Tom)
• "WHY SO SERIOUS?" (101A: "The Dark Knight") is a LINE READER (Heath)
• "CHEWIE, WE'RE HOME" (76A: "The Force Awakens") von FORD LINE (Harrison)

Word of the day:Invoice VALOREM(10D: Advertising Tax ___) —

Eto appreciateVAT(Latin for “by value”) is a tax based on the value of a transaction or property. It is usually collected at the time of a transaction, e.g. B. a sales tax or value added tax (VAT). ONEto appreciatethe tax may also be levied annually, as in the case of a tax on personal or immovable property, or in connection with some other significant event (e.g. inheritance tax, tax or foreign tax). Stamp duty is levied in some countriesto appreciateOrdering. (Wikipedia)

• • •

Did you know that Harrison Ford was Joan Didion's carpenter? This Didion documentary on Netflix is ​​insane...

This is one of those threads that probably rang in the builder's head (probably from noticing the potential double meaning ofCRUISE LINE), but then ... ugh. Where to start How about the fact that "SHOW ME THE MONEY!?" isn't really a cruise line. I mean, he says, sure, but he's just repeating the phrase Cuba Gooding Jr. once said (and made famous). Then there's the incredible shot of "CHEWIE, WE ARE HOME"Which... what? Since when is this phrase famous? The others are really, really famous.CHEWIE, WE ARE HOME"OK, I've only seen "Force Awakens" once, so maybe I kind of missed the meaning of that line, but... no. Not even close. You can't play that stupid line and you can't fully play it. iconic . like the 4th in a set where the other 3 are classics. absurd . If you want to achieve a theme like this, wait until you've assembled a suitable set of themes. That's Merl Reagle's theme rule: don't take it away - take it out of the damn oven before you're done. Don't push it. Just because you can find *a* list of related topics doesn't mean you're already there. Surprised you passed the exam."CHEWIE, WE ARE HOME", dear sir. "Laugh, Fuzzball" is one of the most famousFORD-LINESby far as "CHEWIE, WE ARE HOME", and even that line isn't that famous. I have a feeling the full word of ____LINE options hasn't been fully explored/explored, so we have... this: this lukewarm expression of what could have been reasonably interesting theme

The padding is more forgetful than bad, but definitely more than enough.KER ESE ADA ADESTurn around. I shuddered dramatically as I playedJUDGEMENT...and came over immediatelyBANCO🇧🇷 Was aJUDGMENT/BANKpuzzle type. Some names that were new to me; McCoyTynerjUSE GAL, the latter of which sounds more like the twitter name of a woman who loves guns than a human name. I knew itGOTYE, but there's really no reason why most people (6D: Sängerin mit 2012 #1-Hit „Somebody That I Used To Know“🇧🇷 I think it caused a lot of people more than a little trouble. Fortunately, the crosses look just right. Also, luckily this puzzle was super easy, so there wasn't much time to develop a good grumpy head.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS I fondly remembered "Friday I fell in love" andA CURA(106A) is by far the best answer in this grid

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Constructor:Jay Kaskel

Relative Difficulty:Medium* (actually no idea... see below)

IS:Hexengebräu– common expressions have hints as if related to witches, because it is October 30th, which of course means hello… wait a minute…

Topic answers:

• SPELLING CORRECTION (18A: Computer help for a witch?)
• MAGIC SCHOOL (26A: reformatory for witches?)
• WARTS AND ALL (41A: How can anyone be forced to accept a witch?)
• MORE WORDS(53A: witch terms?)

Word of the day:INCLUDES(12D: Ohrknochen) —

material

Anatomy

noun:Anvil🇧🇷 plural Nomen:Ambosse

1. a small anvil-shaped bone in the middle ear that transmits vibrations between the malleus and the stirrup. (Google)

• • •

the plural ofINCLUDESis "contains"!? WHERE DOES THE "D" COME FROM!!?!?!?! Now is*MYSTERIOUS.

[SCHOOLToque]

That's really cool. It's a cute pun on witches, and while it's not actually Halloween, it's Halloween-adjacent, so...okay. The filling is very, very, very average (i.e. not great) but it wasn't terrible. That's a "C" average, okay, okay, you passed. You shouldn't have to go to anyoneSCHOOL(!) ÖINCLUDESa Monday, but you persist. I thought FAST as he tried all possible spellings. My main criticism today is not the puzzle itself, but that the NYT crosswords site doesn't offer me a .puz version of the puzzle that I can solve on my desktop using the AcrossLite software; I mean it wouldn't give me the damn puzzle in my preferred format. Instead it gave me this stupid error message:

And then I had to sort it out myself on the NYT website. I think it's called the "applet". And that was awful, because I'm used to AcrossLite's keyboard behavior, which is a little distracting but very different from the behavior in the applet. At high speeds, this difference increases, i.e. I move through a course like a drunk on the starting grid, i.e. in a bad mood. My timing was slow, but I can't fit everything into the puzzle. Hence my default difficulty rating (i.e. "don't know") of "Medium".

had a clotLUMP(26D: Landagglomeration)🇧🇷 Both look correct and the OTS looks great on the cross... so check your damn crosses. Now that I'm looking at CLOT andLUMP,LUMPis obviously the best option. clot = bloodLUMP= Dirt or some fool I guess. We all agree that [U.K. Prizes are among the lowest forms of crossword puzzle answers. One level down [Schoolyard mockery]. I had the biggest problem withBUILT-IN, because I only wanted BRATS and then no other words would come into my head. It was very frustrating. I like the little extra themes offHAGSjMYSTERIOUS, and alsoCRYjEFFORTScross in the middle. Very Halloween. All in all a pretty fun Halloween puzzle game.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Alex Eaton-Salners

Relative Difficulty:Middle

IS:Reform Day 2017: 500th Anniversary of the "Ninety-Five Theses"

Topic answers:

• PROTESTANT (17A: With 24-Across, movement arising from the “Ninety-Five Propositions”)
• REFORM (24A: See 17-across)
• CHURCH OF ALL SANTOS (36A: building where the "Ninety-five Theses" were posted)
• DELICACIES (47A: Practice condemned in the "Ninety-Five Propositions")
• WITTENBERG (58A: City where the "Ninety-Five Theses" were written)

Word of the day:little lady(59D: Madame ___ from 1960s Vietnam) —

Tran Le Xuan(August 22, 1924 – April 24, 2011), better known asFrau like, he was itindeedFirst Lady of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963. She was the wife of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and senior adviser to President Ngô Đình Diệm. Since Diệm was a lifelong bachelor and she and her family lived with him in the Independence Palace, she was considered First Lady. // Known for her harsh and inflammatory comments denouncing the South Vietnamese Buddhist community and the strong American influence and presence in the country, she was forced to live in exile in France after her husband and brother-in-law Diệm, They were assassinated in 1963.

• • •

I've waited 500 years for *that*? World's most boring homage riddle? Dude, I'm going to work on my own 95 crossword theses and nail it to the NYT door.

A set of related words arranged symmetrically. No fun, no intelligence, no consideration. Just a cynical attempt to take advantage of an anniversary. I currently teach Renaissance/Reformation English Literature so the subjects were fairly easy (except forCHURCH OF ALL SAINTS, which I left blank). The rest of the grid looked simple too. I have no idea why my time was perfectly average. I think the slowdown had something to do with the only grid reaction I had to pay attention to (not the ugliest thing on the grid btw):SUAVE(59D: Madame ___ from 1960s Vietnam).Wow,SUAVE🇧🇷 WerSUAVE🇧🇷 Between it and the adjacent oneCEREAL, with his upbeat/downbeat track "Post" (46D: post production?), I kept typing and tearing out the first two letters of62A: "Now it's all clear to me!").SUAVEeven made me uncertain about the [City where the "Ninety-Five Theses" were written🇧🇷 Who the hell are you?SUAVE🇧🇷 Please don't tell me to "be happy to learn something". No, you must be sad that your builder had to resort to such rubble, for I assure you he did notSUAVEhere so I can educate the world about it. desperation man That's the only reason you'll seeSUAVE🇧🇷 I thought "I've never seen this before" but apparently it popped up in a puzzle within the first month of my blog (October 2006). I want to thank the NYT for giving me an 11SUAVE-Years off I will always remember those years fondly.

I have to host Happy Halloween.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS It occurs to me that many solvers may not know whatDRAINare, so here:

In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church aenjoymentit is "a way of lessening the penalty to be endured for sins". It can lessen the "temporary penalty for sin" after death (as opposed to the eternal penalty that mortal sin deserves) in the state or process of purification called purgatory. [...] By the end of the Middle Ages, the abuse of indulgences, largely through commercialization, had become a serious problem that the Church recognized but could not effectively control. Indulgences have been the target of attacks by Martin Luther and all other Protestant theologians since the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Eventually, the Catholic Counter-Reformation curbed the excesses, but indulgences continue to play a role in modern Catholic religious life. 20th-century reforms largely abolished the quantification of indulgences, which were expressed in terms of days or years. These days or years were meant to correspond to the time of penance, although they were generally considered to be a time in purgatory. The reforms also significantly reduced the number of indulgences granted for visiting certain churches and other places. (Wikipedia)

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Constructor:Senhor Schouwerwou

Relative Difficulty:Light-Medium

IS:ANIMAL / COOKIES (54A: Featuring 56-Across, Lunchbox Snacks...or a dash of black squares in front of 18-, 29-, 35-, and 45-Across)— these black squares “break” (?) (as in “break in two”) the names of different animals. So:

Topic answers:

• MCGREGOR ILL ASK
• PERSIMAMONOerectile dysfunction
• ON THE BACKZEA-BHNAGH
• STELEPHANTASMS

Word of the day:AWAKEN(42A: Engraved Column) —

ONEawaken(/ˈstiːli/, STEE-lee) is a slab of stone or wood, usually taller than it is wide, erected as a monument in ancient times. Grave stelae were often used for burial or memorial purposes. Steles, like stone slabs, were also used as ancient Greek and Roman government notices or as boundary markers to mark boundaries or property lines. // The surface of the stele usually has text, ornaments, or both. Ornaments can be engraved, embossed or painted. (Wikipedia)

• • •

Strange. I took my time with this, waiting for the hack to show up, but it never came, and meanwhile I was writing replies, humming as soon as I looked at the clues. Couldn't figure out what the hell was going on? Why is my Thursday riddle so weirdly easy? I ended up in the top 3, too fast for a Thursday... and then I remembered that tomorrow is Wednesday, not Thursday. Taaaaaa... it actually makes sense now. This theme is essentially invisible, and when the developer references the "black squares" the whole effort becomes a bit cumbersome. Also, those black squares don't "break" the animals, they *split* them in two. When I break a plate, it doesn't break in two. Turns out I had never seen the damn animals, and when the developer said, "Hey look!" I looked and didn't care. They are definitely animals. *Broken animals*. thanks for puttingAWAKENon my grid I hope you are satisfied.

It is odd that rows 2 and 14 are un-themed while their neighboring rows (with identical black and white square patterns) are themed.NOTICEIt's a very bad part. I really don't think soTO SURPRISEit exists in real life: I've only seen it in crosswords (and I spent most of my youth in Southern California). First it had NO-GO ZONE instead of AREA, even though the track has "Zone" (all the better for NO-GO ZONE as an answer) (3D: Forbidden Zone🇧🇷 I saw "Clueless" last week, soSTACEYDash was a no-brainer (it would have been a no-brainer even without watching it again, to be honest; I know that movie very well).PARALYSIS-walsy is nonsense because it's seldom said in the 21st century and because the keyword has 80% the same letters (in the same places) as the answer word. 🇧🇷I HOPE NOT"EU"OH COME ON!" are pretty excited answers. But they weren't enough. From a real-time resolution perspective, this was essentially boring.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS about the consecutive[cars are "parked" on it] [cars are parked on it]Hints (49A, 50A🇧🇷 This is pretty cute, except *again* from a real-time solution perspective, the cuteness isn't visible unless you're a newbie or a psycho and solve your crossword by reading the across clues in order (? ). Consecutive *Down* tracks are much more likely to be read consecutively, since consecutive *Down* tracks are usually in the same general section, while consecutive crossovers *never* are.

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Constructor:Peter Sagal and Mike Selinker

Relative Difficulty:Middle

IS:NEW YORK MARATHON (37A: event held on the first Sunday of November, the route of which is recreated in this puzzle)— Each DISTRICT is represented by a word that can follow itCIUDADthe name of in a familiar phrase (45A: What is missing from each step of this puzzle, in order🇧🇷 Tracks for themDISTRIBUTIONSSpecify the "steps" (i.e. distance) of the marathon:

Topic answers:

• [BRONX] CHEER UP (9A: Step 5: A Show of Contempt)
• PROJECT [MANHATTAN] (23A: Steps 4 and 6: A 1940's Program)
• [QUEEN['?]S] ENGLISH (28A: Step 3: Ann's upper class accent)
• [BROOKLYN] DODGERS (51A: Step 2: A former baseball team)
• [STATEN ISLAND] FERRY (67A: Tier 1: An 1817 passenger ship)

Word of the day:Is Rae(47A: Actress Issa and others =RAES) —

Jo-Issa „Issa“ Rae Diop(born January 12, 1985) is an American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator. She is best known as the creator of the YouTube web series.clumsy black girl🇧🇷 Since the debut ofclumsy black girl, Rae has developed her own platform on YouTube where she showcases various content created by People of Color. Rae's shows have gained over 20 million views and over 260,000 YouTube subscribers. // As of October 2016, Rae is the creator, co-writer, and star of the HBO series.unsurethat is partially basedStrange black girl.(WIKIPEDIA)

• • •

Timely and interesting, although there are some execution issues. It's a bit strange to call the districts "stages" and also not have them in order and also have one of the districts (MANHATTAN) beOut ofsteps and then also has one of the districts (QUEENS) be a word with different punctuation in the clue (THE QUEEN🇧🇷 Also, I can't figure out the developer's syntax, specifically how something "in-order" could be "missing". I understand that all stages are missing their districts and that if you follow the stages through the various (missing) districts you're tracking the marathon route, but the wording of that telltale clue is still confusing. Write a more complete and clear revealer. It wasn't hard to understand, but it wasn't easy to read either. Oh, and there's another wayTHE QUEENit's an outlier plus score - all other districts have clues specific to their districts.DIFFICULTcoming from Brooklyn, FERRY going to/from Staten Island etc. ButQUEEN(')S... No. Still, hiding the districts this way is a pretty interesting twist on the word can precede type of puzzles, and the grid holds up very well given the density of the subject. We even have a few blocks of longer acrosses in the NW/SE to spice things up.I do not carethat at all

Issa Rae is great, thoughRAES(plural) is a disaster. Plural nouns are never cool, but unusual plural nouns look damn ridiculous. This riddle pisses me off because it makes me think of the President* (27A: Trump is often involved) andPAIgot Johannes43A: Nickname of pizzer John Schnatter🇧🇷 But putting Stevie online almost pays off. 🇧🇷I DO' sounds crazy for an answer (I wonder how many people ask, 'What the heck is aCRAZYand why would anyone sing about it?") But it's got a great beat and groove and... well, let's hear Stevie now.

I only had problems in the SE part where ATKINS messed me up (48D: Cantante de country Trace =>ADKINS), SheGO ON(which no one really says) took forever to get together (47D: Comment with pinky and index finger up🇧🇷 I didn't know coffeeNEGROit was one thing. Is that a pretentious way of saying "black coffee"? I'm not sure why you would play yoursNEGROTrack like this, especially during Noirvember, but to each their own.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Kameron Austin Collins und Brendan Emmett Quigley

Relative Difficulty:Easy

IS:none

Word of the day:SAND GLUE(1D: Pacific flatfish) —

Lospacific sand dab(Citharichthys sordidus) is a type of flatfish. It is by far the most common sanddab, sharing its habitat with the long-finned sanddab (C. xantostigmas) and the spotted sandalwood (C. Stigma🇧🇷 It is a medium-sized sole, mottled with light brown, brown or black, occasionally with white or orange spots. // The Pacific sanddab is endemic to the northern Pacific, from the Sea of ​​Japan to the California coast. They are most commonly found at depths of 50 to 150 m (160 to 490 ft), although juveniles inhabit shallower waters and occasionally migrate to tide pools. [...] It's a popular wild fish in Northern California, found on menus in the Monterey Bay and San Francisco areas, though it's harder to find in Southern California restaurants and markets. (Wikipedia)

• • •

I think that's the most names ever credited with creating crossword puzzles. Most of the *words* overall are probably one of the jigsaw puzzles created by JASA, but for the human name elements, I feel like six (two recognized first, middle, and last name creators) is the winner. I also think this was a really good puzzle. I say "believe" because I only got a glimpse of it: I did it in 3:53, which... Honestly, I don't know what my record time is on Friday, but it's close. I can name all the places I hesitated to discover because there are so few of them. It took my brain a few seconds to rememberENTRY, although it should come immediately from the initial "E" (7D: City of Uganda on Lake Victoria).WALNUT MEATit's so... disgusting and i rarely hear about it... that i mostly leave it to the crosses (17A: Edible core🇧🇷 never heard of it"ABIEthe agent" but outside of the "AB-" I guessed. Somehow I rememberedRIAAfor the first time in my career as a solution provider (21D: Gold certification organization.), which confirmsABIE🇧🇷 I wrote KAHN insteadABLE TOfirst of all (30D: Sadiq ___, elected Mayor of London in 2016🇧🇷 I had LTD beforelast year(54A: April. in a financial report) butI CRY UGLY(41D: Intense hiccups with a distorted face, in modern slang) took care of it. NeitherAGUA(51D: Tequila hunter) It isLARD(52D: For preparing tamales) was going to pass on the first try, but I just went up and into that SW cornerROB REINER(44A: Filmmaker whose directorial debut was This Is Spinal Tap), and bam, voila, right in the middle "E" inNNEANS(61A: The Muses and others).

I think I may have had problems withSAND GLUEIf only my parents hadn't moved to the Monterey Bay Area when they retired. They like to go to a little seafood restaurant on a pier over there where you can see otters and sometimes Reggie Jackson (true story) and I think their menu was the first place I saw the term.SAND GLUE🇧🇷 I feel like I ordered it and it was delicious. But I have a feeling there will be a lot of people who have never heard of it. I teachMARLOWEthis week and next week, so your name: no problem (26D: Poets "Hero and Leandro"🇧🇷 However, we don't read "Hero and Leandro". Just "Your Love's Passionate Pastor" and then Dr. Fist. I AM T? ticket. Overall I really liked this puzzle. Want it*I CRY UGLY🇧🇷 I recognize itHANGOUTS MAKE GOOGLEIt's original, but I can't say I enjoyed watching it (36A: Piss off platform🇧🇷 Corporate real estate, esp. the ones I don't use, tend not to light my fire. But I take originality where I can find it I guess. See you tomorrow.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Miguel Sheyman

Relative Difficulty:Light-Medium

IS:SPREAD THE TRUTH (54A: Exaggerating...or a non-consecutive five-letter clue in 20-across, 36-across, and 7-ab)— T R U T and H appear sequentially (not sequentially) in each of the three subjects

Topic answers:

• OVER THE YEARS(20A: Over time)
• KALABAZEBUTTER(36A: Fruit from the garden tastes like pumpkin)
• "DOES'NT LIKE ME!"(7D: "Because I said so!")

Word of the day:TEM AHMAD(11D: Alternative to Twinings) —

team Ahmedis a tea company based in London, England. The company produces a variety of tea bags, loose teas and gift items including: black tea, green tea, flavored teas and herbal teas. They opened a new green office in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire in 2010. // Ahmad Tea is distributed in over 80 countries across six continents, where it can be found in select restaurants, hotels, specialty stores and select chains.Ahmad Tea's headquarters also contains a tea museum, which attracts local visitors. In 2015 she received three Great Taste Awards for different blends. In 2012, Ahmad Tea, in partnership with the charity U Support, donated its line of teas to Chariteas, a branded tearoom in Hampshire, with proceeds benefiting disabled children. In 2013, Ahmad Tea received the Ethical Investor of the Year Award for his UK charities and support to orphanages in Mali, Russia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. (Wikipedia)

• • •

why would you do that And by "it" I mean a few things: Why do you think that's a good clue (non-consecutive letters?!), and why would you place it on one of the only reliably good days of the week. Why would you take the joy of a truly themed Saturday just to replace it with this one!? Run this on a Wednesday (with different/easier tracks) if you really need to post. Ugh, non-consecutive letters are supposed to mean things = no. events. NO EVENT. Look: TRUST THE PROCESS! bang! 15, "true" not consecutive, check! See how this "topic" is an offensive nuisance? 🇧🇷Don't argue with me" is the only good answer on this grid, and what I'm going to tell you if you dispute my claim that it's the only good answer on this grid. What the heck is God's green earth?TEM AHMAD🇧🇷 Thank goodness these AHMAD crossings were fair because alas! I had never heard of this supposed tea until Just This Second. Does that even exist in the US? Not polite.MAOTAI, also rude(1D: Chinese strong liquor)🇧🇷 at least I rememberedTENERIFEexists(38D: Major of the Canary Islands).

[WhenAMAHLDatumby him]

Ahmad Ahmad Amorhe is the new master you love, amat. Talk aboutAMAHL, I've solved so many damn mysteries that I take it for granted that this was a gift for everyone else too, just... there's no need for it. BothAMAHLand your silent film crossoverby himThese are names I learned from crossword puzzles. Since then I've seenby himThe name elsewhere, as I've become more of a fan of the films over the years (not through them), but crossing these two feels risky. I knowOLINbecause her daughter is applying for college and they were definitely on her radar. I think she realized they were too small, but... I mean, she's directing Harvey Mudd, and her total student body was barely enough to fill a movie theater, so I don't understand her objectionOLIN, but it's his life, his business. We've been strongly told to stop talking about all this, so I assume she'll tell us in April where she'll be next year. could very well beUniversity of California at Los Angeles🇧🇷 Or not. We will see.

[the only acceptable hint forOVER THE YEARS]

OK, goodbye.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:last Nathan

Relative Difficulty:Light-Medium

IS:lane change- Thread replies have clues in two ways, one that goes in the normal direction (in a straight line) and one that "deviates" at an angle (indicated by squares in a circle):

Topic answers:

• WAYNE'S WORLD / LIFESTYLE(22A: 1992 film based on an "A.H.L." sketch ... or alternatively: modus vivendi)
• DRAG & DROP / SHOW DRAG(39A: Computer Mouse Action...or Divergent: Event for RuPaul)
• THE WAY UNLOCKED / THE WAY TO HELL(67A: Frostverse from 1916... or, deviating: beginning of a saying about common sense)
• DRIVING IN A CARRIER / RIDER DRIVING(97A: Bring Someone Home...or Variant: Common High School Offer)
• PIONEERS / PATHS(117A: Nissan SUV... the, different: emotional attractiveness)

Word of the day:"I AM LEGEND"(120A: Will Smith's 2007 hit film) —

I am Legendis a 2007 American post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film based on the novelI am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith as US Army virologist Robert Neville. The story takes place in New York City after a virus originally created to cure cancer wiped out most of humanity, leaving Neville as the last human in New York alongside the mutants. Immune to the virus, Neville works to develop a cure while fending off enemy mutants. (Wikipedia)

• • •

The concept is kind of interesting, but half of it went unnoticed because those "diverging" parts are completely irrelevant. The first few parts of the topic hints are enough to make the parts understandable, and you can get those circled letters from all the other answers in the puzzle, so... there were five "Who cares, what doesn't?". They". Paths whose divergence meant nothing to me. I can look back now and say, "Hey, that's okay, great". But they were totally immaterial. If the core concept of your puzzle is one that the solver can safely ignore. Security , that seems to be a problem I think the top answer,NOT TAKEN THE ROAD, should not just be another topic, but a kind of second title. Turns out it's an apt title as half the paths weren't taken by me during this fix. Regardless, this worked like a behemoth without a theme. It was good, but not as exciting as a game with no real theme would be, so I'd say it was disappointing overall. The grid is well done, sure, but themes should make an impact, and this one doesn't.

DRIVE IN A RACEit's like a step above EATING A SANDWICH. It's definitely a phrase you hear in baseball, but it doesn't seem strong enough to stand alone, especially as a theme.LEYit took me so long I just sat and watched it even after I had LEI. I'm not crazy about crossbreedsJAFARjAWAY🇧🇷 The crossingNONEimpostorWITHOUT GOING BACK. ÖTO SELLjFURTHER UP🇧🇷 would you really useCATCHESthink [gambilos🇧🇷 Lambs... play? ...on site? I wanted GAMES, but of course there were space problems. I wrote incorrectlyREGENWilson's name twice before hitting (RAYNE, RAYNN). The whole NE was the hardest part for me. None of the longer Across wanted to appear, andTABARDOSjKaraboth were strangers to me. I hadn't heard either.ELSAMorante (63A) and I didn't know [The Freudian “will to live”] I wasEROS, so the central region was a bit risky. I thought it was pretty sneaky when I took a look36D: Monumental supportprefixed with "P" and placed in ZÓCALO. And indeed, a pedestal is a "heavy base that supports a statue or vase." It just wasn't the right answer *here* (PILAR🇧🇷 It ended in SW, with a movie I've never seen and a singer I've never heard (as far as I know). wait, did you do that?BRENDA LEESing "Fever"? Oops, no, it's Peggy Lee. So no,BRENDA LEEI've never heard of it, but I heard *about* it, and that was enough.

SUBHUBis a good answer. By far my favorite on the starting grid.GOD HELP USit was really good too. jADVERTISING ATTACKS🇧🇷 Look, it's actually a decent theme in parts. I wish the topic was, you know, *there*.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS you should see"Gilda" if you haven't already. That's great. Although you would never call a movie a "femme fatale movie" (!?) (34D: Deadly 1946 film)

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BOOO! It's Annabel Monday again!

Constructor:BENJAMIN LAURING AND MAX LAURING

Relative Difficulty:EASY

IS:ANIMAL PART— Thematic answers consisted of an animal and a body part.

Topic answers:

• RAT TAIL (15A: *Unfashionable Mullet Hairstyle)
• HASENGEHIRN (17D: *Cara bobo)
• BEE'S KNEE (22D: *actually something, with "o")
• FINGER (27A: *state with feet turned in)
• PIGGY BACK (32A: *like a child riding on someone's shoulders)
• SNAKE EYES (37A: *Two 1's on the die)
• ANIMAL PART (48A: Like a centaur or a faun...or a clue for each of the clues given in this puzzle)
• Dog-ears (60A: *signs of a well-used book)

Word of the day:BATURRILLO(55D: Miscellaneous) —

That isbaturrilloof pamphlets, speeches, letters, poems and other documents...

-S. R. Slaton

Constructor:Gregor Poulos

Relative Difficulty:Challenger (for a Tuesday)

IS:WORD OF THE YEAR (56A: American Dialect Society's annual award for seven answers in this puzzle)- so it says:

Topic answers:

• MILLENNIUM BUG (20A: Scrolling-Problem? [1997])
• CONTAINER FIRE (28A: Spectacular Disaster [2016])
• BAIL OUT (36A: Insolvenzrettung [2008])
• PLUTO (39A: Demoted [2006])
• SINGULAR THEM (46A: gender-neutral pronoun [2015])
• ADM (13D: Iraque War Concern for Short [2002])
• APP (61D: Snapchat or Dropbox [2010])

Word of the day:MILLENNIUM MISTAKES—

Losyear 2000 issuealso known as theproblem in the year 2000, amillennial error, aY2K error, ÖY2K,is a class of computer bugs related to the formatting and storage of calendar data for dates beginning in the year 2000. Problems were anticipated and arose because 20th-century software often represented the four-digit year backwards with just two digits, making the year 2000 indistinguishable from 1900. The assumption of a 20th-century date in such programs led to a series errors, including incorrect display of data and inaccurate sequencing of automatic recordings of real-time data or events. (Wikipedia entry on “Year 2000 problem”)

• • •

This is a topic of "I found a list and will arrange the words in this list symmetrically in a grid". Whoop dee doo. Nothing intelligent is happening here. Answers can also be dog breeds with a DOG BREEDS control - that's so exciting. Yes, you have some crazy words likePLUTO(which nobody talks about at all) and historical oddities likeMILLENNIUM MISTAKES(?), but the rest is just... words. Oooh APP what fun! APP is now crossword puzzle. See also administration. No theme credits for you! Ugh, and the first topic. I had MILLENNIUM BU- and still had no idea what [rollover problem? [1997]] wanted me to write. Once again, keep your stupid "?" pursues an essentially non-"?" Theme. You are irritating. "Y2K" is something I remember.MILLENNIUM MISTAKES, my pleasure. And I was pretty grown up during this whole "tip" event. PLUTOED also intrigued me as I watched PL--OED say "...no." Aside from this pure list problem, the padding isn't good. ExceptKlaviersaite, which is very unusual. jKING MINOSI take it too. But the big NW/SE curves are boring andUIEISM INO RSTU ESE ANDLO(!?!?!) lol no. I mean,THERE+RSTU= Clear your grid. Hey, what did Santa say when he finally figured out a way to get down the chimney safely?ANDLO, AROPE! OH OH OH!

["If you are ____, / here I am!"]

In addition, this is not the reference tothe courtnot correct (36A: Bailout from Bankruptcy [2008]🇧🇷 This track needs a verb, BAIL space OUT. But the word of the year was a noun -the courtUnless you're trying to convince me they use "rescue" as a noun, which . .. I mean, I guess I can argue that way, but you and I both know you wrote that track and the world will. interpret this note to mean that "redeem" is a verb. In the end, the themes themselves have an inherent charm, but the concept of the theme is just blah, as is the grid.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS I left an answer from the "Good" list:BAR GAY(10D: Stonewall Inn de Nova York, p.)

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

Constructor:Joel Fagliano is Sam Ezersky

Relative Difficulty:Challenging (more than 5?)

IS:phffffff... OK, so normal words are identified by lists of three things, and you take the first few letters of those things (in order) and then the type of things it's about, and then you get the answer ta there!—

Topic answers:

• M, A, R KÖNIGE (19A: Midas, Agamemnon, Richard)
• P-, A-, S-SPORT (32A: polo, archery, soccer)
• BANDAS H, U, S (51A: Herz, U2, Slayer)
• STAATEN A, P, W (15D: Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Ohio)
• D, I, A TRIBES (27D: Dakota, Iroquois, Arapaho)

Word of the day:GROSS(7D: 1/100 Polish zloty) —

material

noun:grosz🇧🇷 plural Nomen:Cent🇧🇷 plural Nomen:Cent

1. a Polish currency unit equal to one hundredth of a zloty.

Origin

Polishing; Compare withCent. (Google)

• • •

That was really hard for me. I mean really hard. NW a disaster, both as a theme andCOUPLE ROCKtotally escaped my notice (maybe because the biggest Steely Dan fan I know is a woman in her 30s) (3D: Genre for Dire Straits and Steely Dan joking🇧🇷 At some point I finally took up the topicBETTING, but still knowing the subject, it was hard work.ARCADIA, difficult (2D: Dominion of Pan, not Greek myth).ARS NOVA, Nuts (29D: a classical music style whose name means "new art".🇧🇷 Zloty, I know, butGROSS🇧🇷 Not. And then so many ugly cross references. I had a GOOD MORNING earlierBEAUTIFUL DAY(26A: Something that people desire very much), and thenCLEAR SKY(31A: Perhaps characteristic of a 26-across) there was nothing, uh, sure. And then [heavy 39-down🇧🇷 And then[In this puzzle, B-E-L begins]🇧🇷 so demanding. A kind of stumbling block that needs to be solved. and what the hell is thatNOT GAYa? 🇧🇷6D: Let's say in a straight line🇧🇷 When do you use it? I see some pretty harmless uses around the internet. For example, an article titled “What it's like to be gay andNOT GAYIdentical twins?" (Vice) So, you know, it's defensible. I just... I don't know. I'm looking at this cautiously.

In terms of theme, it's pretty clever and definitely unusual. Once you get the concept, the themes tend to fade away (perhaps that's why the rest of the grid was so rigid). The builders are shortz employees, so I expect their job to be rigorous above average, and I think that's the conundrum. I like that they *try*, you know, withNOT GAYjCOUPLE ROCK, be it colloquial and contemporary or whatever. But these things can get dangerous, especially when you bring things likeLCDjAMENRAjGreenin your wake. jCOUPLE ROCKIt's such an inaccurate term. Also a bit sarcastic and discriminatory, but whatever. You try and succeed here, so if the options areYES OF NO, also okay, okay, ja.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Bruce Haight

Relative Difficulty:Challenging (although not hard at all once you get the hang of it)

IS:COST— Sentences ending in “BACK” have the penultimate word of the sentence “BACK” (i.e. inverted) instead of the word “BACK”

Topic answers:

• "WE WILL BE BACK IN A MOMENT" --> "WE WILL BE THGIR"
• "I REMOVE IT" --> "I GIVE IT BACK"
• "NO RETURN" --> "NO GNINRUT"
• "RATE WHO IS BACK" --> "RATE SOHW"
• "... AND DO NOT COME BACK" --> "... AND DO NOT COME BACK"

Word of the day:UBS(36A: Rival to Credit Suisse) —

SAGis a global Swiss financial services company registered in the Canton of Zurich with joint headquarters in Zurich and Basel. The firm provides wealth management, wealth management and investment banking services to retail, corporate and institutional clients around the world and is generally considered a major backing bank. In Switzerland, these services are also offered to private customers. The nameUBSIt was originally an acronym for Union Bank of Switzerland, but ceased to be a representative abbreviation after the bank's merger with Schweizerischer Bankverein in 1998. The company dates back to 1856 when the first of its predecessor banks was founded. UBS has over CHF 2.8 trillion in assets under management and remains a leading provider of retail banking and commercial banking services in Switzerland. It is the largest bank in Switzerland and operates in over 50 countries with 59,387 employees worldwide (as of 2016). (Wikipedia)

• • •

This managed to combine very difficult with very outdated (in terms of topic). Me, after spending a lot of time trying to understand the topic: "Oh...just reverse the answers...back...great." In fact, I've seen variations on this type of investment, although perhaps not quite like it. Everything is deadly until you "get it," and then it's just a boring race to the end. It took me about 8 minutes (ridiculously long for a Thursday) of which I probably spent 5 or 6 trying to understand the topic. Once I got it the rest was easy. I knew something was wrong, so I set out to find a riddle. I kept thinking about the phrase "we'll be back after" and trying to see how that concept could fit into the space for the answer in the first thread. So I wanted to "remove" for the next thread reply, but I couldn't do anything either. I could see that "back" was involved, but I didn't know how. So... honestly I don't know exactly when the concept came into focus. It was probably after I finally got through most of the third edition ending, going through all the crosses and realizing they were all spotless, and then... there it was. Return. It was a legitimate "aha" moment, which is understandable, but it was less "wow" and more like "wow, how come I didn't see this idea before?" I'm embarrassed.

I findINGRAM(5A: James oder Luther del R&B) can cause problems for some; The crosses look nice, but if you don't know that name, that partABOVEit can be very, very difficult. So many things I didn't know.MORDECAI🇧🇷 Big breath. I needed tons of crosses. I kept looking8D: Agcy. Frageask a. if an uglier track has already been written and b. what the hell does that mean? It had RE- and I *yet* had no idea what letter to complete it with. Had SPORT insteadSHIRTthrough23A: Polo, except one(as clearly intended by the author of the note). I didn't know who wrote The Black Tulip. I hardly know itUBS(Are there many three-letter banks? Sounds like it.) ReachDECALalso [Transfer] took forever. Things were tough everywhere. But all this struggle came before I got the subject. After that without sweating. There is still a lot of junk in this grid (PSY, ONAT, REG, HOOHA (!), ICER, NIA, NOL, OER... ¿¡¿ENTREVISTA?!?), but overall it's at least the NYT average. Any longer downs are fine. I wish the reward for this thread had been... more rewarding.

The only thing that really amuses me is the crazy East/Central menu where aOEKO-BANANEserved with a side dish ofbuglesand a shot ofMESA🇧🇷 not sure about these thingsRUN WELLtogether. If anyone wants to try this combination let me know.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:patrician baya

Relative Difficulty:Light-Medium

IS:none

Word of the day:NEWS JACKET(10D: A small outfit for a wearer) —

Losmessy jacketIt is a kind of formal jacket that ends at the waist. They are available in a double-breasted version without buttons or in a double-breasted version with buttons. Jackets have shawl collars or pointed lapels. Worn in casual military attire, it became a popular alternative to the white tuxedo for formal wear occasions in the 1930s in warm tropical climates. It was also prominently worn double-breasted as part of Eton College's freshman uniform, leading to the alternative nameEton jacket🇧🇷 A female version named Spencer was popular during the Regency period. (Wikipedia)

• • •

vintage berry. Extremely careful, clean, smooth. There is practically nothing to doCARPRight this way. The responses weren't what you'd call dazzling, but man, it's nice to see an exquisitely designed grid. I found it phenomenally easy for the most part, but the ton of "?" Hints and not knowing anything about navigation (THIS MEDIA) or apparently tank clothes (NEWS JACKET) meant he wouldn't break any records today. Nevertheless, absolutely no significant problems. In retrospect,INCOMEturned out to be a great gift15A: Surname of Dominican fashion designer...due to the way the track was tied16A: ... and name (Oskar)🇧🇷 I started in NW (of course) so I saw [... and names] I had to look back to the previous Across, which took me to a completely different section. By that time he had enough information to write his full name. Again, normal (ie efficient) solvers don't read joins in order, so the little [...] effect on sequential joins just doesn't land as it should, ugh. But today I got at least a free pass into the NE corner, so that was good. This corner turned out to be the hardest part of the puzzle for me, but I appreciated the help the clues connected by ellipses gave me.

I think I knew Jason.ALDEANThe name was from before the Las Vegas shooting, but I *definitely* know it now (7D: Jason Joins Country #1 Hit "Dirt Road Anthem"🇧🇷 Terrible way to cross your name. It took me a while to get itHELBOYbecause although I'm very familiar with the title (I've spent a lot of time in comic shops...) I've never read it. Or saw the movie. So "superhero"? I don't think he knew he fit into that category (6D: Superhero with hooves and a tail🇧🇷 already had a fitHE HAS A COW, is writtenCONTEMPTtimes, uf (23A: Pairing, wie Perlen). it bothers me that bothCONTEMPTand GIBE are real words. We must try to fix this. Confused. That (from Merriam-Webster) doesn't help!

Finally, the capital ofCROATIAis Zagreb, in case you are wondering (35D: Member of the UN whose capital is last in alphabetical order).

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:George Barany is Michael Shteyman

Relative Difficulty:Light-Medium

IS:EINMAL / ELF (z.B. VETERANS DAY)- today is 11.11. There are 11 11-letter answers in this grid

Topic answers:

• VETERANS DAY (34A: Gedenkstunde)
• ELF (60A: how many letters are in the longest answers to this riddle, or how many of those answers are there)

Word of the day:Rin(35D: 1/1000 that by one) —

1.

oneMoneyagainAccountagainJapan,athousandthPartagainoneoneÖatenthPartagainonesen. (dictionario.com)

• • •

I need people to understand that this is not an issue. Having eleven 11-letter answers, none of which are related, is called an off-topic puzzle. I can't tell what kind of cheat this riddle is. It's not a thing, it's not an achievement, it's not difficult to complete a puzzle like this. It's 70 words. It's just an off-topic grid with two replies that actually pretend to be a thread but aren't. I see you and no. So set up another themeless beautiful tag with a fake "theme". and then B. it's not even about thatVETERANS DAY🇧🇷 How do you even superficially celebrate, honor or label veterans? Please don't point to ARES, because that's nonsense. IKE? Come on. It's sort of in the middle of all the puzzles.GUADALCAL CANAL🇧🇷 Okay, this is war stuff, but still, there's nothing here that's cohesive enough to qualify as a topic, and what *is* here doesn't do anything to honor veterans. do you want to make oneVETERANS DAYtheme, make realVETERANS DAYTheme. do you want to make oneONCESubject, well, unless it's based on "Stranger Things," I'm not interested.

While some of the longer fillers are pretty sweet, the amount of junk is a bit surprising. SEPTUM?Rin🇧🇷 And the piece de resistance,AWS!? (41A: Comments like "You're kidding!") What the hell? I'll give all 11 this: They're solid.Internet userswill never be garbage, thoughMASTER KONIGINjROBERTO PILALivens up any party. I had no problems with that. I think I forgot the NOSTRUM partOUR SEA, and that took some time. Oh, and I didn't invent the ERASER partSHOT ANIMAL🇧🇷 I had MOVIE there before FLICK. But these were all small hits. I should probably rate this one as easy, but I feel like it would take me over 6 minutes on a Saturday to really rate it as easy, and I think it was 6 1/2, so... just easy .AWS🇧🇷 Sorry, I'm still shaking my head at this. Well, that's all for today.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:and sex

Relative Difficulty:medium challenge

IS:""S-Q's Me!"": Sentences starting with "W" are changed to crazy sentences starting with "SQ", dear sir, take me now...

Topic answers:

• SQUANDERLUST (23A: Prodigalidade?)
• SQUEALER SELLER (33A: pig seller?)
• SQUINTER'S TALE (57A: Mr. Magoo Biopic?)
• SQUIRREL BIRD (80A: cuckoo or dodo?)
• CUADRA LA CARNE (102A: Do you cook diced steak?)
• SQUAWKATHONS (114A: All Day Rant Sessions?)
• Twisted Holes (32D: ways to get out of awkward situations?)
• SQUISH LISTS (49D: Lists of things to sit on?)

Word of the day:BUILDING(58D: Initial title of Julius Caesar) —

Norte.

oneMagistrateInsideotherRomaInsidesupport financiallyagainPublicityBuilding,roads,Services,Noticed,games,jadistributionagainGrain.(thefreedictionary.com)

• • •

How can Sundays stick to this disgusting combination of moth and corn? It's "*The* Midsummer's Tale" by the way, my god Louise, everything about it makes you shudder.GISINQFEU, your,GISINQFEU🇧🇷 That's what I say about this riddle. The replies were so ridiculous that even though the thread was transparent I still had no idea what most of the threads were until I had typed more than 75% of the replies. Thematic tracks are curvaceous. I had to think about the routeSQUISH-LISTENforever before I (more or less) "get it" (49D: Enumerations of things to sit on?🇧🇷 Me: "Are you sitting on... a squish?" I guess these are lists of things you want to crush... by sitting on them? It's all so, so bad. The track put me in such a bad mood that I couldn't even enjoy a funky track43A: Troublemaker (HASBRO)🇧🇷 It took forever, and when I did it, even though I knew I deserved a round of applause, I just tipped him off for forcing me to work on this lazy puzzle longer than necessary.

Answers I worked with:

• 54A: A part of life? 🇧🇷AVENA)"I was just thinking about a board game. Destructive.
• 76D: Vakuumröhrenkomponente? 🇧🇷SIGNIFICANT)- I do not know what that is. I kept thinking about DYSON...
• 93A: Type down (SILKY)"I… I don't know what that is either. I know this word as slang for "upper class"
• 12D: Gilbert, que escreveu "Love and Death on Long Island" (ADAIR)- I ... ??? If ADAIR isn't red, I don't know.

There is not much more to say about it. Sunday is currently my most hated day of the week (objectively), and that hasn't changed to this day.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Peter A. Collins

Relative Difficulty:Medium Challenge (Slow for a Monday) (3:18)

[Looks like I was leaning on the keyboard at 39-Down...it's Monday I'm sure you can figure out the right letters]

IS:"FRESH / HAND / LUKAS"(65A: 66 and 67 wide, citation font for this puzzle topic) – a quote commemorating the 50th anniversary of the release of this film (November 1967): “WHAT WE HAVE / MISSING HERE / COMMUNICATION" (20A: at 37 and 52 wide, number 11 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes" list)

Word of the day:Susan Isaacs(39D: Susan with the 1978 bestseller “Compromise Positions”) —

His first novel (and first attempt at fiction),compromising positions, was published in 1978. It was voted Best Pick by the Book of the Month Club and, like all her subsequent novels, was a New York Times bestseller. His fiction has been translated into thirty different languages ​​around the world. He also wrote a cultural-critical work,Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on the Page and Screen🇧🇷 // In addition to writing books and screenplays, Isaacs has reviewed fiction and non-fiction forLos New York Times, aLos Angeles Times,the post office from washington, Shenews🇧🇷 He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Isaacs has written about politics, including a series of essays on the 2000 presidential campaign fornews🇧🇷 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 🇧🇷 She is also the author of opinion pieces and articles on topics such as feminism, film and the First Amendment. (Wikipedia)

• • •

I don't know how the builder or publisher or anyone else couldn't immediately see what a bad idea this dating puzzle was. Most people (especially those who haven't seen the movie, i.e. most people these days) think the quote is "WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS ***A LACK OF COMMUNICATION***" (or, if you have a spelling you're a hero like me: "WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A MISSING COMMUNICATION." I understand the quote here is technically correct, but I honestly don't care if it's from a fucking script signed by Donn's fucking Pearson: It's Monday, and Most people only quote one way Now that I've heard the quote in question, there's no doubt that the puzzle quotes it accurately and accurately, and yet the quote is famous.for a reason—because it is *recited*in the movie itselfwith the damn *A* there. Here. Here. Lisssten.

Therefore, for the purposes of the Monday riddle, the accuracy of the original quote does not matter. Most solvers, or... let me mark that again and say "some solvers" (like everyone I've spoken to so far tonight) will rattle about this "A"/non-A part. 🇧🇷 of the quote, and that's all they'll remember about the puzzle. Or it will take most of your attention. Not the effect you want, especially on a Monday. And I mean what for? A basic dating riddle? There has to be a better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this film's release.

The puzzle was definitely a bit slow for me, both because I had to figure out the dating issue and because I didn't originally see the topic clue asking for a date. I thought I was asking about a movie because my resizing software broke through the long strip right after "movie" so the word "quotes" completely disappeared from my line of sight (the strip appears at the top of the grid in Across Lite, and if it's too long the font will be too small). So I was wondering for about 20 seconds how the heck there is a movie with such a long title that I had never heard of that was also kind of the 11th greatest movie of all time (!?!?). Quitting that is pretty blah, but that's what happens when you have a lot of short downs. Only the SW corner is really disgusting. The rest is holding up well. And indeed, the longer acrosses are quite fun. Many, many names in this grid, but onlyISAACHe caused me some trouble (I have no idea who he is) (39D: Susan with the 1978 bestseller “Compromise Positions”🇧🇷 I don't know eitherMITA, but I've never seen this trackMITA, so it was convenient. I thought [alternatives for mothers] could be FATHER, but it wouldn't work :(

See you tomorrow.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Jerry Miccolis and Jeff Chen

Relative Difficulty:Challenging (a minute below my average which is a ton on a Tuesday)

IS:TRIPLE/DOUBLE (37A: With 39-Across, impressive performance in basketball...or common trait of the answers to the six clues presented)- All themes have three sets of double letters in a row:

Topic answers:

• SWEET (17A: *Zuckerhunger)
• WOOD DEER (21A: *carving figure popular for Christmas)
• GOOD WORK (23A: *What never goes unpunished, they say)
• HEEL STRAP (53A: *Wheelchair Foot Strap)
• FEED HOLE (56A: *Pet Cage Feature)
• OFFICE (60A: *figurehead?) (again with the silly "?" in a non-"?" subject)

Word of the day:SPECIAL HINT(33D: Political campaign expense item) —

informal

a short commercial aired during a program break (Collins)

• • •

I've never heard of half of the tracks, so yeah, that didn't do well. I can roughly imagine what aPOWER CONNECTION(I think it's for...gerbils or something?) and I can imagine what kindWALK A LOTis (is he holding his leg up?)WOOD DEER, no, I can't imagine that, unless it's some kind of Rodolfo character, in this case a. is a "wooden" stag and b. these are not and have never been "popular". You have three solid themes, it's much better to find an equally solid fourth and then make a clean grid. There's no need to stuff the damn thing like that, especially when you're stuffing it with weakness. These arcane themes held me much tighter than I usually feel on a Tuesday. Oh, I should probably mention, for those of you who aren't basketball fans, thisTRIPLE DOUBLEis when a player hits double-digit numbers in three of the five main statistical categories: points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals (usually points, assists, rebounds).

I was above my *Wednesday* average. I mean,WOOD DEER, we will. jSPECIAL HINTit was another disaster for me. this crossingPOWER CONNECTION, with very vagueACCIDENTClave (38D: Follow) and a tip forCRISTIANOI didn't know was the meaning ofCRISTIANO(47D: press) all together to make that SW corner hell. althoughACCOUNTHint made me say "???" to say 🇧🇷46A: Creating Site Subscribers: Abbr.) Considering the density of the subject, the padding is quite decent. Sure, I've seen a lot of ELI, butFORMER ELI"I wasn't prepared for that. SinceSPECIAL HINTThe track mentioned political campaigns and had an "S", I wanted something like Smears. inkling ofHIGH RESOLUTION, also hard (70A: In short, anything but blurry) (I had HAIRY first). To be honest, 1-Across basically went wrong right away, where I wrote in OFAGE insteadADULTS(1A: no longer a minor).

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Steve A. Atwood

Relative Difficulty:Middle

IS:BRITISH (11D: words found in answers to clues in this puzzle)- Familiar phrases are reinvented (via "?" clues) as phrases relating to specifically British terms:

Topic answers:

• FLAT RATE (17A: *Monthly fee for a flat in London?)
• POKER CHIPS (26A: *Chips on a London gaming table?)
• MACBOOK (40A: *Catalogue of a London raincoat designer?)
• BOBBY SOCKS (51A: *Part of a London police officer's uniform?)
• SHOP (62A: *Transportation in a multi-story London store?)

Word of the day:PIRITA(48D: Fool's Gold) —

the oredrink, ÖEisenpyrit, also known asNarrengold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula FeS₂🇧🇷 Pyrite is considered the most common of the sulfide minerals. // Pyrite's metallic luster and pale yellow hue give it a superficial resemblance to gold, hence the well-known nickname ofNarrengold🇧🇷 The color also led to nicknames.Messing,battle, SheBrazil, mostly used to refer to the pyrite found in coal. (Wikipedia)

• • •

Today is a day I really wish NYT crosswords had titles. I have no idea why Sunday has one but none of the other days do. In fact, I can imagine why: it probably has something to do with how much space the paper is willing to devote to the daily conundrum. But a title doesn't take up much space and would greatly benefit the puzzle. First, a title, if done well, is a great opportunity for clever and thought-provoking wordplay. Additionally (and this is where today's conundrum comes in) a title would eliminate the need for boring descriptive disclosures like the ones we have today. I can *see* the words in these tracks are all UK, you have "London" on every track to scream out loud. Breaking the naïve and twisted webBRITISHdown there only the work disturbs. Look at this crooked grill. You can see that these NW/SE corners are small and isolated from the rest of the grid, while their NE/SW counterparts are much larger and bulkier (you can see the builder took care to fill them in neatly - hence the black squares in the corners). Getting rid of the developer allows you to create a nicer, cleaner grid and still have some more noticeable, longer downs, one of which isn't just a boring shield.

The padding on this one is pretty solid, although things get a bit tricky in the southCOSEC, EPOS, TOATEE, SheELMO(especially as a track: an obscure "Blondie" track? 2017?) (67A: Dagwood's spoiled neighbor🇧🇷 This was the only area of ​​the puzzle where I encountered a lot of resistance at the beginningPIRITA(whose name I just forgot) and went to the SOCKS partCALCETINA BOBBY(I'm more familiar with the term "Bobby-Soxer" than I was in the Cary Grant film The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), so the full spelling of SOCKS was oddly, if briefly, confusing.) and then downELMO(that was a big "?"). Oh, and this area includes tooKAHLO(54D: Frida, played by Salma Hayek in the film) who is famous enough but whose name I still can't spell properly (I was good today but I'm always willing to entertain KHALO in some way). So my main argument today is: I wish there were titles. But just like my wish for builders to be paid close to their true worth, I hope that wish will not be fulfilled for the foreseeable future.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PD on thatCOPSClave (70A: hit people?) ... sim.

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Constructor:Alex Eyler

Relative Difficulty:Middle

IS:Now you "see" it!— Clues with answers describe the clues themselves:

Topic answers:

• TAUTOLOGY (17A: See 58-Horizontal) (58A: See 17-Horizontal)
• RECURSION (25A: See 25-across)
• A WILD GOOSE PURSUIT (36A: Veja 66-Across)
• AMBIGUITY (46A: Veja ??-Across)

Word of the day:Mike ROWE(28D: Mike is the host of "Dirty Jobs" and "Somebody's Gotta Do It") —

Michael Gregory Rowe(born March 18, 1962) is an American actor, best known as a television host and storyteller. He is known for his work on the Discovery Channel series.dirty workand the CNN seriessomeone has to do this🇧🇷 He also hosts a podcast, The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe, which he describes as "short stories specially designed for the inquisitive mind plagued by a short attention span". Rowe presents a series produced for Facebook entitled Returning the Favor. Rowe finds people doing good deeds and does something for them in return. Rowe has spoken for shows on Discovery Channel, The Science Channel and National Geographic Channeldeadly catch,how the universe works, Sheshark week🇧🇷 He has appeared in commercials for companies such as Ford Motor Company. He was also active as a social activist for the causes of economic growth and job creation. In the past he was, among other things, an opera singer and a salesman. (Wikipedia)

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The concept here is clever and I would say 60% of those threads end up (i.e. if you count the twoTAUTOLOGYtickets, if not half I think).A HUNT OF WILD GOOSEHe's the obvious winner of the group - a perfect 15 right in the middle of the field which makes for a really fun time.TAUTOLOGYx 2, also cute. inkling ofAMBIGUITYit feels wrong Putting "?? there he doesn't do AMBIGUOUS things; frankly makes them indeterminate. Unknown.AMBIGUITYit implies that you have some basis for understanding, but things remain unclear. 🇧🇷 there is nothing for us. nothing is notAMBIGUITY. nothing is nothing YRECURSION...I'm sure that word is used correctly and I understand the basic concept at play, butRECURSIONIt was a difficult word to find. First it had the adjective RECURSIVE because it's a word I've seen. I think I know the noun as "recursion".RECURSIONMaybe it's a math thing(?). Anyway, the whole singing was difficult for me because I just couldn't find the right word. more himSAFARINote forced ambiguity by adding "that".(9D: In which you could see the big game), so of course I wanted some kind of television... and so my quartet had a VIOLA at the beginning(12D: member of the quartet)🇧🇷 So there is no joyRECURSION-City. But TAUT TAUT GOOSE was good. Drop the others and you're in business.

["ARE YOU COUNTING ON IT?"]

Let's stay in this corner a little longer. I feel like I've been doing train wreck turns lately where the rest of the puzzle goes just fine and then there's a turn where a little thing goes wrong and the wheels just fall off. I wrote inBOOM OFFER(22D: short club end) andomit(30A: Scratched), butomitHe gave me an "I" terminal for that damn "The Big Game" track, so I hesitated and pulled it out. Then he went to RAW DEAL. Disgusting. What humbles me the most, what saved me at the top: Crosswords! Save OOXTEPLERNON (the god of evil shortfiller)! I was rescued byESSENjARLES🇧🇷 Lord help me.

how many hellSITare you going to eat at christmas? Jesus! Seriously Jesus! I've never eaten ham for Christmas (which I consider Thanksgiving II) so I missed this answer. how it was doneNIBLET(43D: for example corn grain), because it's probably the rudest word since "wet". your close toGESTURESHe's about to throw up. Okay, that's it, bye.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Constructor:Zhouqin Burnikel

Relative Difficulty:Middle

IS:none

Word of the day:Robert Löll(46D: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet in 1947 and 1974) —

Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV(/loʊəl /🇧🇷 March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that can trace its origins back to the United Stateslily of the valley🇧🇷 His family, past and present, were important themes in his poems. Growing up in Boston also influenced his poetry, which was often set to music in Boston and the New England region. Literary scholar Paula Hayes believes that Lowell mythologized New England, particularly in his early works. [...] He was appointed sixth Poet Laureate Consultant to the Library of Congress on Poetry, where he served from 1947 to 1948. In addition to winning the National Book Award, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1947 and 1974. the National Book Award Critics Circle Book Award in 1977 and a National Institute of Arts and Letters Award in 1947. He is "generally considered one of the most important post-war American poets". His biographer Paul Mariani called him "the poet-historian of our time" and "the last of [America's] influential public poets".

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It wasn't a bright enough Friday. The longer answers weren't sophisticated enough, and the short padding was quite awkward in places. It's not bad, it's just not good enough. I really like the "I" phrases, but oddly I got tired of the third (I FORGOT, CAN I WAIT, I NEED A TRAVEL).I MEN- gets on your nerves after a while.CONCERNEDlooks super uncomfortable. Is something *not* important to you? Well, at least it's not as weird asTESLA COCHES🇧🇷 This is to distinguish them from TESLA DETERGENT or TESLA HANDPUPPETS. Teslas are cars.TESLA COCHES... are superfluous. Overall, I found this whole puzzle very difficult to solve, and yet I ended up with a time of mid-five, which is actually (I think) a bit below normal. However, I was lucky because I knew Robertlowand huntUTLEY🇧🇷 Good luck to those who didn't, dammit.

CITBIKESis a good and new answer in1A: Wheelchairs in the Big Apple, but nothing after that was quite as appealing. I didn't understand the track that wellGrobian(1D: Bad footprints?).are you in a relationship with him?Grobian🇧🇷 I don't think about itGrobianas if it (necessarily) had something to do with "catch"? Now that I look at it, I'm not even sure I understand how "catch" is used here, or what a pun the phrase "bad catch" is. When would you use the term "poor grip" in any context? I think "caught" here means something like "dates" or "friends" or something (as in "he's a catch"), but...Grobianmostly describes guys you *don't* date... right? My biggest problems today were initially in the operating system, where difficult tips came upSCAN(52D: image to email)jWALKS(?) (59A: You can take long walks) andLATELY(65 ___ revised) (?!!) made the singing difficult despite the sweetnessPMETo the right (52A: Unlucky🇧🇷 And then it didn't occur to meANALGESIA*A*(61A: An effect of marijuana🇧🇷 Looking for ANALGESI*C*. This corner was particularly difficult in terms of the short fill:ANO, GRO, ISAO🇧🇷 I also wanted OH OH OH insteadOOH OOH, which is a stupid trap to fall into (11D: Pupil's fearful cry🇧🇷 I'm glad I can continue now. Fridays are my favorite days, so it's always disappointing when they fall short.

Autographed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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