Constructor: Paolo Pasco
Relative difficulty: Medium (just north of 10 min.)
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THEME:"Busting Moves"— theme answers all feature letter strings that spell out dances, with each dance being interrupted (or "busted," I guess) by a single square; those squares (which are gray in the app and probably in the paper) read, in order: "MAY I CUT IN?"
Theme answers:
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***HELLO, READERS AND FELLOW SOLVERS!*** . The calendar has turned on another year (thank God), and while that might mean a lot of things to a lot of people, for me it means it's time for my annual week-long pitch for financial contributions to the blog. Every year I ask regular readers to consider what the blog is worth to them on an annual basis and give accordingly. Last year at this time, I wrote about what a melancholy year 2019 was; my oldest dog had died and the world was kind of a wreck. And then 2020 happened, and I learned what a real wreck looks like. In February, my other dog died (R.I.P. Gabby). And then, well, COVID. And let's be honest, even with a new president, 2021 is going to be, uh, challenging as well. But I hope that the regular ritual of solving crosswords brought some solace and stability to your lives this past year, and I hope that my blog added to your enjoyment of the solving experience in some way. This year my blog will celebrate its 15th anniversary! I feel so proud! And old! A lot of labor goes into producing this blog every day (Every. Day.) and the hours are, let's say, less than ideal (I'm either solving and writing at night, after 10pm, or in the morning, before 6am). Most days, I really do love the writing, but it is work, and once a year (right now!) I acknowledge that fact. As I've said before, I have no interest in "monetizing" the blog beyond a simple, direct contribution request once a year. No ads, no gimmicks. Just here for you, every day, rain or shine, whether you like it or, perhaps, on occasion, not :) It's just me and my laptop and some free blogging software and, you know, a lot of rage, but hopefully some insight and levity along the way. I do genuinely love this gig, and whether you're an everyday reader or a Sunday-only reader or a flat-out hatereader, I appreciate you more than you'll ever know.
How much should you give? Whatever you think the blog is worth to you on a yearly basis. Whatever that amount is is fantastic. Some people refuse to pay for what they can get for free. Others just don't have money to spare. All are welcome to read the blog—the site will always be open and free. But if you are able to express your appreciation monetarily, here are two options. First, a Paypal button (which you can also find in the blog sidebar):
Rex Parker c/o Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905
All Paypal contributions will be gratefully acknowledged by email. All snail mail contributions will be gratefully acknowledged with hand-written postcards. I. Love. Snail Mail. I love seeing your gorgeous handwriting and then sending you my awful handwriting. It's all so wonderful. And my thank-you postcards this year are really special. They are portraits of my new cat Alfie (a bright spot of 2020), designed by artist Ella Egan, a.k.a. my daughter. And they look like this:
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Yesssssssssss. Where has this puzzle, or puzzles like it, been (seemingly) all my life!? The Sunday is usually such a drag—often the stuffiest, stalest, tiredest puzzle of the week despite being the *marquee* NYTXW puzzle, with decidedly more regular solvers than any other day of the week (if my blog traffic is any gauge). Such a waste of a captive audience. A real chance to shine, and yet nearly every week, thud thud thud. But then, new year, New Attitude! This would've made a great, great contest meta puzzle: just cut out all indicators of where the dances are, all gray squares, and just ... let it ride. Tell solvers: "The answer to this puzzle is a question," and force them to figure it out from the title alone ("Busting Moves"). It would've been hard, and would've left a lot of solvers frustrated, which is why the NYTXW didn't present it this way, but I bet most of you could've figured it out, eventually. You'd be surprised what you can figure out from a punny title alone. People who subscribe to Matt Gaffney's Weekly Crossword Contest actually sign up for this type of torture on a regular basis. It's "fun"! But ANYway, the NYTXW is a different animal, and they basically hand you the trick, but that's fine—that way, everyone gets to appreciate it immediately. And it's so good. I mean, no, you don't actually "cut in" in, say, "BALLET," but that's not the point; you do "cut in" at a dance, and these are all dance *types*, and that's all they have to be. I didn't have the gray squares in my software, so while I could see that there were "busted" dances, I was like "Why?" But my first thought, from solving metas for so many years, was to look at the break. Surely the "break" squares must do something, I queried, wearily, assuming that they would not, in fact, do something. But then they did. They spelled out a thing! A relevant thing! And that, readers, is how I had my first genuine, eye-popping "aha" moment with the NYTXW in a long, long time. 2021 should just stop right here. Walk away while you're on top, 2021!
Relative difficulty: Medium (just north of 10 min.)
Theme answers:
- SUPREME LEADER (23A: Title for Iran's Ali Khamenei)
- SHIRTWAIST (25A: Tailored blouse style)
- BOY PROBLEMS (43A: Subject of some teen gossip sessions)
- MOUNTAIN GOAT (47A: Sure-footed alpine climber)
- CRUMB CAKE (68A: Bakery item that's often messy)
- PORT-AU-PRINCE (88A: Caribbean capital)
- SHORT-ANSWER (91A: Kind of test question)
- SAILS ALONG (114A: Proceeds breezily)
- VOLLEYBALL NET (117A: What a spike goes over)
Gigi Saul Guerrero (born February 27, 1990) is a Mexican-Canadian filmmaker and actress. She gained recognition for creating and directing the 2017 horror web series La Quinceañera. In 2019, she directed episodes of The Purge and the anthology horror series Into the Dark.
Guerrero has been praised as one of the top emerging directors in the horror genre by Empire, Dread Central, Bloody Disgusting and Creators.co. Variety described her as part of the new wave of Latinx talent. (wikipedia)
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How much should you give? Whatever you think the blog is worth to you on a yearly basis. Whatever that amount is is fantastic. Some people refuse to pay for what they can get for free. Others just don't have money to spare. All are welcome to read the blog—the site will always be open and free. But if you are able to express your appreciation monetarily, here are two options. First, a Paypal button (which you can also find in the blog sidebar):
Rex Parker c/o Michael Sharp
54 Matthews St
Binghamton, NY 13905
And heck, why don't I throw my Venmo handle in here too, just in case that's your preferred way of moving money around; it's @MichaelDavidSharp (the last four digits of my phone are 4878, in case Venmo asks you, which they did that one time someone contributed that way—but it worked!)
He's eating kale in that middle one, in case you're wondering. Anyway, these cards are personally meaningful to me, and also, I believe, objectively lovely. I can't wait to share them with the snail-mailers. Please note: I don't keep a "mailing list" and don't share my contributor info with anyone. And if you give by snail mail and (for some reason) don't want a thank-you card, just indicate "NO CARD." Again, as ever, I'm so grateful for your readership and support. Now on to today's puzzle...
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This puzzle started out with two of my fill nemeses in one corner: ETAILER and EGESTS were like twin monsters trying to keep me from entering the grid and enjoying myself, but I was like bam, pow, take that you two, and I blew past them and things got much nicer after that. Best / worst moment was my total and complete inability to parse "KARATE KID," LOL "sports movie" WTF? (6D: Title nickname in a 1984 sports movie). I had KARATEK- ... and still, I swear, no idea. Woof. Not my finest hour. Had PLATES for ROUTES, yikes (7D: Courses). Real bad miss with "I FIGURE..." for ODDS ARE (15D: "My guess is ..."); between the -RE at the end and the "My" part of the clue (suggesting "I" in the answer), I really Really thought I was right. Oof. But again, I fought through it. I don't mind a puzzle that roughs me up a little if the payoff is nice. LOLAT is iffy but so iffy that I admire its chutzpah (52A: React to, as an online joke). I had some more trouble with MUFASA / FAULT. Wanted MUMBASA (which is a vowel away from a Kenyan city), and that FAULT clue just fooled me (61A: It's ground-breaking) (I figured if there's a FAULT, the ground is already ... broken?). I completely blanked on KONMARI despite having read and partially followed the advice in MARie KONdo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up"! Never seen "Zootopia," but now mad at myself for guessing EEL at 127A: The antagonist Bellwether from Disney's "Zootopia" (EWE), as a "wether" is a sheep and I *knew* that. Oh ... it's a castrated male sheep. I did Not know that.