Constructor: Margaret Seikel and Sophia Maymudes
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: LEAD climbing (2D: ___ climbing (discipline that debuted at the 2020 Olympics)) —
This is a solid puzzle, though it didn't provide the whooshy flow that I love to see on Friday. I think this may be due to the fact that there just aren't that many flow corridors (or "flow-idors" ... just kidding, that's not a term). That is, there are only four (!) answers of eight letters or longer, and they all run Across, in what is conventionally a themed-puzzle pattern. This had me thinking that the puzzle was themed at first, especially since the first two long Acrosses both get "?" clues, the way wacky theme clues might. I had a momentary "no, not a theme, not on my precious themeless Friday!" panic attack and so quickly jumped to the next long Across, saw it had a regular, non-"?" clue, and breathed a sigh of relief. Those long Acrosses just look theme-ish. But they aren't. I hope. If they are, hoo boy did I miss the theme. Let's just say there's no theme. "There's no theme." There, that's better. But back to my original point—the fill runs short today, with very few marquee answers, and the only marquee answer I really loved was SNEAKERHEAD (22A: One who collects just for kicks?) ("kicks" are another word for "shoes"). I want to love NO-MAKEUP MAKEUP, but I don't know what it is (13A: Discreet look?). Is it make-up that is supposed to make you look like you aren't wearing any? If so, that ... I just ... I don't get it. It's make-up still, right? Is it just that you don't look like a clown? Or are there just no obvious non-face elements (like blue, or glitter)? I've never dated / married people who wore much make-up, so you got me here. OK, google tells me:
Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: LEAD climbing (2D: ___ climbing (discipline that debuted at the 2020 Olympics)) —
Lead climbing is a climbing style, predominantly used in rock climbing. In a roped party one climber has to take the lead while the other climbers follow. The lead climber wears a harness attached to a climbing rope, which in turn is connected to the other climbers below the lead climber. While ascending the route, the lead climber periodically connects the rope to protection equipment for safety in the event of a fall. This protection can consist of permanent bolts, to which the climber clips quickdraws, or removable protection such as nuts and cams. One of the climbers below the lead climber acts as a belayer. The belayer gives out rope while the lead climber ascends and also stops the rope when the lead climber falls or wants to rest.
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| [8D: One of two penguin species endemic to Antarctica] |
“No-makeup makeup is makeup that you wear that just slightly enhances your features in a very natural and minimal way,” says makeup artist Lindsay Katsuk.
I wrote in NO MAKE-UP MONDAY. Seemed legit. "I didn't know that was a thing. Cool!" Alas, no. To be very clear, I'm not mad at this answer at all. It seems original and others will recognize it and enjoy it. It's just one of those answers that missed me. I do like its fearless repetition of MAKE-UP. Bold.
["Put on a little make-up, make-up..."]
Wish I could like anything about CONTENT CREATOR, but it just reminds me of the reduction of everything online to undifferentiated sludge of "content." Gotta fill that feed, get those posts up, go go go. Distraction arms race leading god knows where. "Content" has a dystopian corporate vagueness that makes my skin crawl. But there's no doubting that CONTENT CREATOR is a type of ... person. And it's an original answer. It's just that seeing it doesn't make me feel good feelings. But again, not all puzzles are for me, and that's good. Probably.
Never heard of LEAD climbing and wasn't sure if it was the "lead" as in "leader" or "lead" as in "lead balloon.""Why are they climbing [the element] LEAD?" I kind of briefly wondered. I also balked and rebalked at TINE (20A: What musicians pluck on an mbira). I think VINE and TONE were in there before TINE, which I stared at, thinking it must be wrong. I'm really Really glad I have seen ADÉLIE penguins before, because that "I" ... if I were a more novice solver, I might believe TONE or TUNE there. I mean, they're both musical—more (apparently) musical than TINE, that's for sure. Mbira are a "family" of Zimbabwean musical instruments, and each instrument consists of a "wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal TINEs" (wikipedia). Looking forward to seeing MBIRA in some future, let's say, Saturday grid.
I didn't encounter much difficulty beyond the difficulties already mentioned. I could not get ROBYN from that particular clue (33D: One-named singer with the 1997 hit "Show Me Love") both because I don't know that song (I didn't discover ROBYN til sometime around 2010, I wanna say), and because if you say "hey, do you know that song from the '90s called "Show Me Love?" my response is gonna be "hell yes I do ... and it goes a little something like this":
[How is this "Show Me Love"also by a ROB(I)N!?!?!]
GAY ICON and POP STAR are fine answers, but I've seen them an awful lot now, and since they are the longest fill the grid has outside of the Big Four, their lack of freshness costs the puzzle some much-needed sizzle. Ooh, forgot to mention that I do love "I SURE AM!" (5D: Emphatic confirmation about oneself). I like the brash confidence, as well as the genuine originality. And I like BALL HOG (31D: One unlikely to make a pass). And I really love MEZCAL (37D: Spirit of Oaxaca). Maybe too much. But we may be talking about my life and not the grid now, so let's wrap things up. Good puzzle, out of my wheelhouse, that's OK! See you tomorrow.