Constructor: Erik Agard and Andy Kravis
Relative difficulty: Medium (5:29)
![]()
THEME: JUMPERS (25D: Some basketball shots ... and the theme of this puzzle) — theme answers are two-word phrases that "jump" an answer *and* contain (in circled squares) a word that means "jump"; *that* word, the "jump" synonym in the circled squares, is required to make sense of the jumped answer; so:
Theme answers:
![]()
This was nifty. Might've helped me a little if I'd managed to fully process what was going on while I was solving—I saw that the answers were "jumping" other answers, but I kept having to infer what the verb involved was because I Somehow Didn't Notice The Circled Squares Spelled It Out. Sigh. I think my initial impression—that there was some kind of "missing letter" thing going on with those jumped answers (see circled "LE" preceding YEAR, which made me think "AP" were somehow buried in the black square???)—got dispelled but never fully replaced, i.e. I never mentally revisited those circled squares after I figured out "jumping" was involved. It's continually amazing to me what my brain will and won't do. So I probably lost some time trying to figure out what "jump" synonym was in play with the "jumped" answers, but still the puzzle was pretty doable. And enjoyable. There's an impressive complexity to the theme even though it feels and looks so simple. This is highly accomplished and *very* polished work. The fact that they were able to stick a revealer in there, in the damn middle of the grid, going Down *through* a theme answer—well, that's just showing off is what that is.
No major sticking points today. Had DOPA and then SOPA (?) before SOMA at 1D: "Brave New World" drug. Seen it many times, couldn't call it up today. Had trouble with BAY because I forget that's a type of horse *and* I hadn't fully worked out the theme at that point, and YEAR seemed definitely wrong for 18A: 2020, but not 2019 or 2021. Took me a while to put "hotel room" and ARMOIRE together (not that it's wrong, just ... if I had to name ten things in a hotel room, that's not one of them). TARPS has one of those cutesy "?" clues that play way too fast and loose with grammar for my taste, so that took some work (48D: Sheets of rain?) ("of"? sideeye). My biggest holdup, though, was pretty funny in retrospect, in that I ran through all the different plausible *wrong* answers you could get from 23D: Aquarium attractions with a --T--- letter pattern in place. First stop, TETRAS. Then I got the initial "O" from TVMOVIE (22A: Film not seen in theaters), and thought, "Oh, I see now: OTTERS." Eventually the OCTOPI showed up and ate the OTTERS, as often happens in (my very limited understanding of) nature.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Medium (5:29)
Theme answers:
- MOBILE APP (17A: iPhone download) "leaps" over (LEAP) YEAR (18A: 2020, but not 2019 or 20121)
- ECHO PARK (40A: Los Angeles neighborhood that includes Dodger Stadium) "hops" over (HOP) ON POP (41A: Classic Dr. Seuss book)
- SKI PATROL "skips" over (SKIP) TOWN (63A: Flee to avoid obligations, say)
As I Am is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released on November 9, 2007, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 2005 to 2007. Production was handled primarily by Keys, Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, Jack Splash, and Linda Perry, with a guest contribution from musician John Mayer.The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week, highest ever for a female R&B artist and eventually earned a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It became an international commercial success and produced four singles that achieved chart success, including "No One", which became the song most listened to of 2007 in the United States. Despite some criticism towards Keys' songwriting, As I Am received positive reviews from most music critics and earned Keys several accolades, including three Grammy Awards. It has sold over five million copies worldwide. (wikipedia)
• • •
No major sticking points today. Had DOPA and then SOPA (?) before SOMA at 1D: "Brave New World" drug. Seen it many times, couldn't call it up today. Had trouble with BAY because I forget that's a type of horse *and* I hadn't fully worked out the theme at that point, and YEAR seemed definitely wrong for 18A: 2020, but not 2019 or 2021. Took me a while to put "hotel room" and ARMOIRE together (not that it's wrong, just ... if I had to name ten things in a hotel room, that's not one of them). TARPS has one of those cutesy "?" clues that play way too fast and loose with grammar for my taste, so that took some work (48D: Sheets of rain?) ("of"? sideeye). My biggest holdup, though, was pretty funny in retrospect, in that I ran through all the different plausible *wrong* answers you could get from 23D: Aquarium attractions with a --T--- letter pattern in place. First stop, TETRAS. Then I got the initial "O" from TVMOVIE (22A: Film not seen in theaters), and thought, "Oh, I see now: OTTERS." Eventually the OCTOPI showed up and ate the OTTERS, as often happens in (my very limited understanding of) nature.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]