Constructor: David Steinberg
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: YAW (39D: Turn in the air, say) —
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Had a feeling this was gonna be a strong effort. Whenever I see bylines from people who are also crossword editors, I think, "OK, this has a shot. David edits the Universal Crossword and I've rarely been disappointed in his NYTXW puzzles of late (he's been at it a long time despite being still very young by crossword standards, or any standards). I guess we should start by talking about the only thing people are going to be talking about—the elephant (poop) in the room: POOP EMOJI (33A: Pile of texts?). Not sure how much the NYTXW has dabbled in defecation—feels like very, very little, if at all. There used to be a tacit rule in crosswords called "The Breakfast Test," which basically dictated that you wouldn't put anything in a puzzle that might spoil someone's breakfast. Nothing too bodily, nothing profane, nothing for the squeamish—nothing that wouldn't sit well with your food. That "Test" has been less stringently applied to the crossword in recent years, as standards for everyday speech change / relax and as the puzzles seek to represent a wider range of experience and language. It's not that the "Test" doesn't come into play anymore—you're still not going to see certain body parts / functions, or hard profanity, though you will see, I dunno, ASSHAT or FBOMB or "YOU'RE A JERK!" (13D: Rude response to rudeness). I feel like "poop" is new territory, though. So congrats to David Steinberg: the Leif Erikson of crossword poop. On the one hand, I guess there's a danger of opening a whole Pandora's Box of poop and of things suddenly getting very puerile and silly. But on the other hand (the hand I tend to YAW toward): that clue! (33A: Pile of texts?). It's hard to say no to this answer when the clue is that good. It has everything you want in a "?" clue. Looks like one thing, but is verrrrrry much something else. Misdirection in both elements ("Pile" and "texts")!! I'm not exactly wild about poop being flung around the grid, but if you can justify the flinging with clues that are that good, I am in.
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
Word of the Day: YAW (39D: Turn in the air, say) —
verb
• • •
Speaking of "?" clues, that was the only part of this puzzle that made me go "please stop." There were eight of them, about twice my comfort level. But my aversion wasn't too heavily triggered today since most of said clues were innocuous, and three of them actually landed. And the ones that landed ended up being on marquee answers (an ideal place to show off a great "?" clue). In addition to [Pile of texts?] (mwah!), I liked 17A: Cramming together? (STUDY DATE), and 33D: Big matter of concern for senior management? (PROM NIGHT). All three of the answers to the winning "?" clues today skew young, but not in an exclusionary way. I know exactly what all these phenomena are even if, in the case of studying and prom, it's been a while (jk I never went to prom or out of the house ever except to go to school or get McNuggets). This is a fine example of how a puzzle with a specific cultural / generational center of gravity, a specific voice, can still be for everyone.
I flew through this puzzle, for the most part. I got ILHAN OMAR with only like two letters in place (15A: Congresswoman who wrote "This Is What America Looks Like"), and I absolutely no-looked HANK AARON (60A: "Hammer with a bat")—the crosses just came so fast and thick down there that the longer Acrosses ended up being obvious. There was exactly one semi-sticky part of the grid for me, and that was the JOKE part of DIRTY JOKE (38A: Something that's cracked and gross). Would've appreciated a "?" clue there, but the clue is actually quite literal, despite being misdirective, so no need for the "?" It's a great clue, but man it stumped me, which meant my entry into the center of the grid was not as smooth (or quick) as it might've / could've been. Picking up JOKE was made much harder by my least favorite answer in the whole grid: PJTOP (36D: Half of an evening outfit, informally). Both PJS and PAJAMA TOP sound great to me, but PJTOP (a debut, no surprise) feels forced. I only got that "J" after arriving all the way at DIRTY-OKE. Along the way, I had occasion to wonder if there was such a thing as a DIRTY CAKE (besides the pornographic kind). I know there's a NAKED CAKE, so why not? (never seen NAKED CAKE in a puzzle ... consider that a challenge). Loved the symmetry of DIRTY JOKE and POOP EMOJI, which feels pointed (!). Also loved the colloquial energy of "C'MERE" (59A: Informal summons)—thought I had an error and the answer was gonna be "SEE ME!" but was happy to find both that I did not have an error and that the actual answer was far better than the crosswordese I had imagined.
That'll do it for me today. Enjoy your day. I gotta work til about noon, but then I'm just gonna spend the day hiking and eating and drinking with my wife, whose BDAY it is. Happy birthday, honey.