Constructor: Carl Larson
Relative difficulty: Medium (super easy ... and then the SW corner ... which took us back to normal easy Monday)
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THEME: LOOSE ENDS (64A: Unresolved details ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters)— circled letters on either "end" of the theme answers spell out a word that can follow "loose" in a familiar phrase:
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Relative difficulty: Medium (super easy ... and then the SW corner ... which took us back to normal easy Monday)
Theme answers:
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This theme is a little, uh, loose. I think it's fine, conceptually, but why these "loose" answers, why "tooth" and not "cannon" or "leaf" or "morals" or "knit"? I probably wouldn't have thought to ask this question about all the other possible "looses" were it not for the semi-glaring fact that "loose talk" and "loose lips"mean the same thing! Why would you do this? Why would you use a duplicate "loose" meaning when there are other "loose" phrases there for the taking? Bah. The talk / lips thing is bugging me. It's a simple theme, you'd think you could at least avoid a sense duplication like that. Also, I resent LIQUICAPS. No, more specifically, I resent the clue on LIQUICAPS. See, I don't really know the term LIQUICAPS, but I sure as hell know the term LIQUIGELS. Advil makes LIQUIGELS. Other companies probably do too ... so ... how are LIQUICAPS different from LIQUIGELS, exactly? It's weird to have "Gel-filled" in a clue for a kind of "cap" that is not"gel"—and there's yet another term I know better than LIQUICAP: GELCAP! Maybe my beef is with the stupidity and redundancy and redundant stupidity of branding and product naming, but this is far too many names for "soft pill go in mouth." Don't tell me a "cap" is "gel-filled" and then tell me it's a LIQUI-CAP. It's like you're just deliberately lying. DECEPTICAPS! Sigh. Otherwise, as I said, it's a fine idea for a Monday theme—simple and playfulish.
- TAKE A WALK (17A: Go strolling)
- BAND SHELL (25A: Outdoor concert stage)
- CHALLENGE (30A: Stiff test)
- TOLLBOOTH (45A: Turnpike feature made obsolescent by electronic passes)
- LIQUICAPS (51A: Gel-filled NyQuil offerings)
Giada Pamela De Laurentiis (Italian: [ˈdʒaːda paˈmɛːla de lauˈrɛnti.is]; born August 22, 1970) is an Italian-American chef, writer, and television personality. She was the host of Food Network's Giada at Home. She also appears regularly as a contributor and guest co-host on NBC's Today. De Laurentiis is the founder of the catering business GDL Foods. She is a winner of the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lifestyle Host and the Gracie Award for Best Television Host. (wikipedia)
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The whole "LIQUI-" thing slowed me way, way down. I was going lightning-fast, so the "slowness" here is relative, but still, it's jarring how much more resistance the SW corner puts up compared to the rest of the grid. Couldn't come up with ALL SQUARE easily either, so the "Q" stayed well hidden til almost the end. The other flummoxy thing down here, for me, was GIADA. Not only do I not know the celebrity chef in question, I don't think I've ever known any GIADA, ever. I needed every cross and was genuinely concerned that I had an error, as GIADA just didn't look like a name. Unsurprisingly, this is the first time GIADA has ever appeared in the NYTXW. Looking her up, I recognize her face—maybe I've seen it on cookbooks in the bookstore?—but I clearly never registered that first name before. I am happy to learn the name, but come on: GIADA, but still no Agnès VARDA!? No Yasujiro OZU!? Y'all are killing me with this nonsense. Crossword justice for legendary movie directors! Crossword justice for cinema!
Just a couple more notes. TOLLBOOTHs have not been "made obsolescent" by anything. They still exist, often right alongside EZ-Pass booths (and the like). I guess they are becoming obsolete to the extent that cash is become obsolete, but ... not yet. Also, no one's going to write a legendary children's book called "The Phantom Electronic Pass," so ... no need to shove all non-automated things out of the plane just yet. Yeesh. Also, that's enough Tracee ELLIS Ross for one week (month, year) *unless* you go all in and use TRACEE. She can come back as TRACEE. But as ELLIS, she's gonna have to wait til 2023. Give other ELLISes a chance! (Actually, I don't mind Tracee ELLIS Ross at all, I'm just still mad about the continued VARDA and OZU snubbing). See you tomorrow.