Constructor: Chandi Deitmer
Relative difficulty: Medium
![]()
THEME: BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER — Theme answers are homophones break across a black block
Word of the Day: NARNIA (41D: Aslan's world) —
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER — Theme answers are homophones break across a black block
Word of the Day: NARNIA (41D: Aslan's world) —
Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, The Chronicles of Narnia. The world is named after the country of Narnia, where much of the Chronicles takes place.
• • •
Theme answers:- WHO + TOWEL = HOOT OWL (21A: Nocturnal bird known for its distinct calls, informally)
- LAUNCH + HEIRS = LAWN CHAIRS (30A: Some outdoor seats)
- HIGH + DOUBTS = HIDEOUTS (37A: Secret lairs)
- FORK + WARTS = FOUR QUARTS (49A: Equivalent of one gallon)
- NEIGH + MITT = NAME IT (67A: "Anything you want!")
- PLAGUE + EARL = PLAYGIRL (80A: Former magazine that featured male nudes)
- QUEUE + BRUTES = CUBE ROOTS (86A: 2 vis-à-vis 8, 3 vis-à-vis 27, etc.)
- SLOPE + OAK = SLOWPOKE (99A: Lollygagger)
- BREAK THE SOUND BARRIER (58A: Hit Mach I … or a hint to answering eight pairs of consecutive entries in this puzzle)
 |
| This is a vicuña |
Having said that, I thought the theme finds were all fun. All the meanings and spellings changed a lot, so it was satisfying to piece the sounds together to figure out the overall answer. There are 9 pairs of theme answers and the spanner revealer, so it's a pretty dense puzzle. Very little (if any!) iffy fill given these constraints.
 |
| This is Mount Shasta |
The longer non-theme stuff was great ... BOHO CHIC, I GOTTA GO, WHERE WERE WE, TRASH TALK, MIND BLOWN, etc., etc. Just great stuff all around that elevated the solve for me. Not a ton more to say about this one. There's really very little to nitpick. I just wish the revealer had landed a bit more strongly for me!
 |
| This is Sparky the Sun Devil |
Bullets:
- OTTESSA (25A: ___ Moshfegh, author of the 2015 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award-winning novel "Eileen") — I've read "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" and "Lapvona" by this author. I enjoyed both but the latter in particular is very ... weird? Please let me know what you thought if you've read this book!
- TAMALES (57D: Steamed food items eaten with the hands) -- I will come clean and say that I have never eaten a tamale before, though it looks delicious
- DUCTS (9A: Tear things)— Fun misdirect here ... "tear" in this clue rhymes with "fear" not "fare"