Constructor: Rachel Fabi and Claire Rimkus
Relative difficulty: Easy
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THEME: LATE SHIFT — In four rows of the grid, the word LATE "shifts" from one entry to the other
Word of the Day: CLAMATO (42D: Hybrid beverage in a Bloody Caesar cocktail) —
Bullets:
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Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: LATE SHIFT — In four rows of the grid, the word LATE "shifts" from one entry to the other
Word of the Day: CLAMATO (42D: Hybrid beverage in a Bloody Caesar cocktail) —
Clamato /kləˈmætoʊ/ is a commercial drink made of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried clam broth and MSG.[1] Made by Mott's, the name is a portmanteau of clam and tomato. It is also referred to colloquially as "clamato juice". It is consumed in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, to a lesser extent. It is very often mixed with alcohol to make a drink similar to a Bloody Mary.
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Theme answers:- (LATE)RALLY / TEMP(LATE)S (17A: Gathering of protesters / 19A: Models used in copying)
- CIRCU(LATE)S / EMUS (24A: Makes the rounds / 26A: Large, flightless birds)
- COLD / CLEAN S(LATE) (51A: Chilly / 54A: Fresh start, metaphorically)
- TRANS(LATE) / VENTI(LATE) (59A: Work as an interpreter / 62A: Size option at Starbucks)
- LATE SHIFT (37A: Overnight work assignment ... or a hint to understanding four rows of answers in this puzzle)
Onto the puzzle! I really enjoyed this, as expected by these two constructors I really admire! LATE SHIFT is the perfect revealer to explain what's going on with the theme answers. And the theme answers (both the "shifted" versions in the grid and the "unshifted" versions that are clued) are super solid in-the-language words and phrases. One downside of this type of theme is that you often end up with single-word answers that are maybe less "exciting" entries -- stuff like LATERALLY and COLLATED and CIRCULATES etc -- but one benefit is you get twice as many theme entries because each one has to work both with and without the LATE!
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| Big Sur! Mac OS but also very pretty! |
The theme was solid, but my absolute favorite part about this puzzle was the fun clue echoes. We had both TEN and CHI clued as [X], consecutive [Chicken king?] for PERDUE and [Chicken ___ king] for ALA, [Camper's protection] for DEET and [Camper's detritus] for ASH -- great stuff! I also loved [Euphemism for a lesbian couple] for GAL PALS, both because it's a fresh angle and because I'm a fan of Gay Things In My Puzzles.
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| If there's one thing I learned from doing crosswords, it's that the EDSEL was a flop |
Not much else to say here! The grid was super clean so there's really nothing to complain about ... maybe IN SO is a weird partial? But that's me looking really hard for something to ding. Just super solid gridwork and a delightful theme.
Bullets:
- TYVM (15D: "I really appreciate it!," in textspeak)— It's rare that a 4-letter entry is my favorite in a puzzle but this might be it for me! I'd never seen this in a puzzle before (turns out it is a NYT debut) but it's something I use all the time!
- BLAISE (49A: Good name for a firefighter?) — This seems like an apt name for a pyromaniac ... or I guess a particularly self-loathing firefighter
- SCYTHE (45D: Cutter with a curve) — This is a fun word
- ELIOT (14A: George who wrote "Romola") — I recommend everyone read "Middlemarch" if you haven't already!
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