Constructor: Spencer Leach and Quiara Vasquez
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: WOZ (1A: Apple co-founder Steve, familiarly) —
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The most memorable thing about this puzzle was that I, like a rube, fell for the "Apple co-founder" prank. That is, I figured the Steve was the very very very famous Steve and not the merely famous Steve. So I'm out there early trying to think of what 3-letter name anyone ever called Steve Jobs. J-BO? S-JO? No clue. Consequently, the entire NW was a bust at first pass—in fact, it was a bust until the very end (as you can see by the cursor in the printed grid, above, that's where I finished—with one of the crown princes of Crosswordese: OLIO). The next most memorable thing about this puzzle, for me, was that—and I cannot stress enough how off-brand this is—the first answer I put in the grid was a Kardashian (KHLOÉ). It pains me that the names of the Kardashians are so transcendent in our culture that even I, a person who has negative interest in the doings of that family, can run through the names like "KRIS, no, too short ... KIM, no, too short ... KOURTNEY, no ... KYLIE? They wouldn't use KYLIE, would they? Anyway, she's KYLIE Jenner, right? Oh, KHLOÉ, that's gotta be it, yes good choice." And sure enough. KHLOÉ. I went from floundering around in the NW to KHLOÉ BEAR URGE NES in quick succession, no hesitation, bam bam bam bam. I figured at least one of those guesses would be wrong and I'd have to work it out with the long Acrosses, but nope, they were all right on the money. This let me wrangle the NE without too much sweat, and once I got the first few letters after QUIT, the roller coaster car finally dropppppppped:
While I never got up to Friday-level whoosh-whoosh speeds, that central Down ended up breaking open every section of the grid. I went spilling down into the SW through a temporary hold-up at CHU / SHEIKH (wasn't sure about the former, never considered the terminal-H spelling on the latter), and then gently swooshed over to the SE via "I'M ON A DIET" and then up via "FROST/NIXON" and over via "EVERYBODY GO HOME!" and then up to the finish line via ZEN GARDENS. I left out a lot of details there, but that was the basic path—a wandering, circuitous journey, from the NW back to the NW, with mostly enjoyable sights along the way.
The most jarring thing today, especially in a puzzle that is proudly flying PRIDE FLAGS, was encountering not one but two (!) words that can be slurs against gay and/or "effeminate" men. Now, they weren't clued that way, of course, but PUSSY and PONCE hit weird today. This is obviously unintentional and not really that important. Those answers just really stood out to me, probably because of the PRIDE FLAGS. I think you were probably supposed to snicker at (the other slang meaning of) PUSSY, which hasn't been in the grid in 21 years (!?) (a long dry spell). But PONCE is a perfectly innocent place name, pronounced very differently from the (British) slur PONCE, which is apparently dated now anyway. Language is flexible and funny and sometimes, depending on context, words can evoke things their users never intended. But you knew that. Anyway, PRIDE FLAGS and PUSSY somehow primed me to see / remember the slur meaning of PONCE, a name I've seen in the grid many times before and never blinked at. I was far more put off today by diet culture ("I'M ON A DIET") and the kinds of people who might say "Thanks, OBAMA" than I was by the wildly multivalent meanings of PUSSY or PONCE.
Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: WOZ (1A: Apple co-founder Steve, familiarly) —
Stephen Gary Wozniak (/ˈwɒzniæk/; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname "Woz", is an American technology entrepreneur, electronics engineer, computer scientist, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Computer with his late business partner Steve Jobs, which later became the world's largest technology company by revenue and the largest company in the world by market capitalization. Through his work at Apple in the 1970s and 1980s, he is widely recognized as one of the most prominent pioneers of the personal computer revolution. (wikipedia)
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| [6D: Words accompanying a snap, perhaps] |
I didn't know the short actor names (IMAN, YOBA), but what's new? Tellingly, those were my only real sticking points (along with WOZ and CHU). Names, man. It's always names. While I enjoyed the marquee answers in this one, my favorite answers were actually less conspicuous. I liked "YOU ARE HERE," especially the clue (16A: Line on a map?), and I really liked the exclamation "WHAT A DAY!" which feels even more on-the-money, wording-wise, than "QUIT YOUR DAYDREAMING" or "EVERYBODY GO HOME." The one "?" clue that really held me up was 23A: Something that needs a spell checker? (BEE) (as in a "spelling BEE"). I was off in the realm of wizarding until I got to -EE and decided to run the alphabet (where "B" comes early, thankfully). The other question-mark clue that baffled me for a bit was 30D: Splits in midair? (JETÉ). I know the (ballet) term, I just never really considered what it looked like before now (like someone doing ... well, let's not start the whole "do a split" / "do the splits" war again) (see the discourse around the May 17, 2023 puzzle). The "?" clue on PRIDE FLAGS is elaborate! (18A: Ones waving at people who might be on their way out?). And I'm realizing now that I somehow never even saw it when I was solving (!?). Probably not ideal to have "waving" in the clue when you've got WAVY in the grid, but the clue is so charmingly ambitious that I guess I don't care (I seem to be *noticing* a lot of things I don't actually *mind* today). Proud of myself for remembering my sushi terminology today (45D: Fatty tuna, on a sushi menu) (Fatty tuna, strong like (Spanish for) bull!) (TORO). Anything else need explaining? BASES are "at least a 7" on the pH scale (38A: They're at least a 7). The "two claws" on a COAT HANGER are ... I honestly have no idea (55A: It has a hook and, sometimes, two claws). Google is oddly unhelpful. Somebody tell me. Are the "claws" just ... dual hooks? No idea. Sorry. I'll be back later to tell you what this is all about. Until then, or until tomorrow, or until whenever ... Bye.