Constructor: Michael Schlossberg
Relative difficulty: Easy (well under 10 minutes for me, which is pretty much my Sunday "Medium" threshold)
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THEME: Crunch Time — Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar is eating its way through the theme answers,
Word of the Day: SOLERA (Spanish wine classification) —
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Theme answers:
Quick Notes:
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Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld
[Follow Eli Selzer on Twitter (I may not even last through the weekend there) and BlueSky at @eliselzer.bsky.social]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easy (well under 10 minutes for me, which is pretty much my Sunday "Medium" threshold)
Word of the Day: SOLERA (Spanish wine classification) —
Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. The purpose of this labor-intensive process is the maintenance of a reliable style and quality of the beverage over time.
(NOTE: As a beer brewer, I know of solera as an aging process as described above. I've never really seen it described as a classification, but I suppose it fits).
• • •
Hey everybody, it's Eli back again! I flew through this Sunday offering despite not being very familiar with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I'm of the right age to have read it as a child, and I'm sure I must have at some point, but when I see Eric Carle's illustration style, my first thought is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Sadly, one of the main connections my brain makes with this book is that George W Bush named it as a favorite of his as a child despite it being published when he was in college. Not the book's fault; I'm sure it's lovely.
Theme answers:
- IN SPITE OF
- ALICIA KEYS
- PULLED A FAST ONE
- CUP BEARER
- APPLIED SCIENCE
- FAT CONTENT
- PLUS MINUS
Overall, I thought the themers were a pretty nice set of long answers. I dropped PULLED A FAST ONE immediately, and liked how in the language it felt. Sometimes having your first instinct be right is incredibly satisfying. FAT CONTENT stood out as something that could have felt boring, but for some reason worked. Maybe I'm just hungry for avocados. The weakest of the set to me was PLUS MINUS, but I'm sure there are valid reasons for that symbol to exist that I'm not aware of.
Nothing really stood out as bad on this puzzle, which is about all I ask for on a Sunday these days. Not a bad way to pass the time with a cup of coffee.
Quick Notes:
- 99D: Slow dance with quick turns (BOLERO) - JEFF BECK vs RAVEL! (Note: I may not have realized how amazing the lineup on Beck's Bolero was).
- 68D Member of a furry race (EWOK)— I'm the right age to enjoy the Ewoks (ie - I was a child when Return of the Jedi came out). Not enough to want to watch the cartoon, of course.
- 27A Big shows (EXPOS) — The only slowdown I had on this puzzle was putting TODOS in here and just abandoning the corner until the end. I may have only pointed this out as an excuse to post Montreal Expos mascot Youppi!
- 101A ___ Eisley, where Luke Skywalker meets Han Solo (MOS)— That's right, I'm highlighting another Star Wars clue. Also, as good a reason as any to post a clip from Comedy Bang Bang with Scott Aukerman and Paul F. Tompkins singing the Caninta Song.
- 1A Wildfire season stat, for shot (AQI) — If you don't live somewhere where this is a concern, this stands for Air Quality Index. Between Maui, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest, this was a bit of a tough pill to swallow at the start of the puzzle. Living in Los Angeles, I've had to keep an eye on AQI quite often. But tonight, I have to prepare for a hurricane/tropical storm; the first to make landfall in the area since the 1930s, apparently. Everything seems just great, globally.
Like last time I posted, I'm going to leave with a personal note. I'm currently training for the Malibu Triathlon, which raises money for Children's Hospital Los Angeles, a leading pediatric cancer research and care facility. If you should feel generous and want to donate, you can do so at this link:
[Follow Eli Selzer on Twitter (I may not even last through the weekend there) and BlueSky at @eliselzer.bsky.social]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]