Scene in Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" / THU 9-2-2021 / Harold who sought the Republican presidential nomination nine times over 48 years / Co-star of 2019's "Joker" / Parents and grandparents, in slang, with "the" / Mideast locale of Sira Fortress

Theme answers:

• ZEN GARDEN [Fencer's cry]
• PROSECUTE [Style of diamond with a flat base]
• STABLEMATE [Spot for a dinner plate]
• WEATHERED [Roadside restaurant sign]

Word of the Day: FIONA (Apple on Apple Music) —

Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose five albums have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, stretching from 1997 to 2020.

The youngest daughter of the actor Brandon Maggart, Apple was born in New York City and was raised alternating between her mother's home in New York and her father's in Los Angeles. Classically trained on piano as a child, she began composing her own songs when she was eight years old. Her debut album, Tidal, containing songs written when she was 17, was released in 1996 and received a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Rock Performance for the single "Criminal". She followed with When the Pawn... (1999), produced by Jon Brion, which was also critically and commercially successful and was certified Platinum.

For her third album, Extraordinary Machine (2005), Apple again collaborated with Brion and began recording the album in 2002. However, Apple was reportedly unhappy with the production and opted not to release the record, leading fans to protest Epic Records, erroneously believing that the label was withholding its release. The album was eventually re-produced without Brion and released in October 2005. The album was certified Gold, and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2012, she released her fourth studio album, The Idler Wheel..., which received critical praise and was followed by a tour of the United States and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2013. Apple's fifth studio album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters, was released in 2020 to widespread acclaim, earning two Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance for the lead single "Shameika". (wikipedia)

Apologies for the lateness of this—was too tired to solve this last night, set an alarm to solve it early this morning, and then the alarm did not go off™. This not a LIE ["I was stuck in traffic," maybe], though I can't say I was shouting I'M LATE ["Alice in Wonderland" cry] as I sprinted from bed to my computer to solve posthaste.

Anyway, indie constructor Christopher Adams filling in for Rex one more time on a Thursday that was alright—as noted above, the circles kinda gave it away, and getting to ZEN GARDEN with the first five letters already filled in from the downs made it really clear. To be honest, with the circles, I don't think this puzzle needed a revealer—solvers will see what's going on, and as far as reveals go, ENDLESSLY is a bit boring. Why not just give us a fifth example of this sort of wordplay? I'll add that ZEN GARDEN was my favorite of the four that were here because its a two word phrase that got cut down to another, completely unrelated two word phrase. But four good finds, and some great fill throughout as well, made for a fun solve even with a revealer that wasn't really needed.

Olio:

• OBERON (Titania's spouse, in Shakespeare) — we would have also accepted a reference to Bell's Oberon Ale, which is how I know this name (and by extension, how I knew this clue).
• T-PAIN (Rapper featured on Flo Rida's "Low")— this is the song about the apple-bottom jeans, the boots with the fur, the baggy sweatpants, and the Reeboks with the straps; I'm not sure if one person is wearing all this at once, or there's multiple people wearing this, or it's one person over multiple visits to the club, or what have you, but it's a fun song, with plenty of memes (e.g. this "car seat headrest" ("quote quote") "cover" ("quote quote") that's really just "bodys").
• JEAN-LUC (First name on "Star Trek: The Next Generation") — Captain Picard, played by Patrick Stewart. Not getting into the whole Kirk/Picard debate other than to say that I live 15 minutes from the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise, so I might be biased here?
• SEN (Ottawa N.H.L.er, to fans)— short for SENATOR, which at least makes sense, unlike HAB being short for CANADIEN somehow. Also not making sense: the style guide that insists N.H.L.er and not NHLer. Drop the periods! It's more aesthetically pleasing!
• DINER (Scene in Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks") — there's no door, so it's like the Hotel California, in that you can never leave, and hey, NIGHTHAWKS DINER and HOTEL CALIFORNIA are both fifteens...do I smell a theme brewing here?

Yours in puzzling, Christopher Adams, Court Jester of CrossWorld

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