Constructor: Spencer Leach and Jem Burch
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: None
Word of the Day: LANOLIN (15A: Source of a foul odor when wool is washed) —
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: None
Word of the Day: LANOLIN (15A: Source of a foul odor when wool is washed) —
Lanolin (from Latin lāna 'wool', and oleum 'oil'), also called wool fat, wool yolk, wool wax, sheep grease, or wool grease, is a wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals.[1] Lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep breeds that are raised specifically for their wool. Historically, many pharmacopoeias have referred to lanolin as wool fat (adeps lanae); however, as lanolin lacks glycerides (glycerol esters), it is not a true fat.[2][3] Lanolin primarily consists of sterol esters instead.[4] Lanolin's waterproofing property aids sheep in shedding water from their coats. Certain breeds of sheep produce large amounts of lanolin.
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Hello friends and enemies! It's Rafa here with one last guest blog before Rex is back. Today we have a really scrabbly Saturday. A double pangram, meaning that every letter features at least twice. There tends to be no free crossword lunch, so puzzles like this tend to either have some questionable fill holding things together, or be blockier and have fewer long entries (or, god forbid, both!). Here the fill is nice and clean (HEP is maybe a bit eh? DID SO?), so it's a bit more of the latter type, but it's overall really nicely executed. |
| A flag-raising at IWO JIMA |
I started in the top right, with the (outstanding) POKEBALL / BOBA TEA crossing, and worked my way clockwise from there. I'm nitpicking here because the constraints of this grid are tremendous, but I did wish EERINESS had been something flashier. There's nothing wrong with it as an entry, really. Just as a frequent solver and constructor I feel very EERIEd out. Those letters sure are amazing though, so it'll keep showing up. (Sidenote the other day my friend texted me that something was "eery" and I gasped and learned that apparently it is listed as a valid variant spelling??!? Have people seen this before? I am very much an EERIE purist and am not open to other spellings at this time.)
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| You always have to flip it twice for the USB to work |
Anyhoo ... is SUSHI PIZZA a thing? Seems like it's a Canadian thing (?!). Never seen it before, but I'm sure it's good. It seems like it's just a sushi roll but without rolling it. Sushi is great so it should be a winner. Fun debut entry in DONEZO. And surprising one in DOJA -- I'd have expected her to have debuted already! (By the way, is she canceled? I feel like there was some drama but I don't really remember and instead of looking it up I will just ask strangers on the internet.)
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| It's LEX avenue in Manhattan |
I'm a *huge* Swiftie, but don't personally use T SWIZZLE. It's absolutely a thing though, just not my preferred moniker. I find it hilarious when her fans call her "The Music Industry" (are we wrong though?). How excited are you for her new album in 2 months? (Correct answer: very!) I am actually deep in my Kacey Musgraves era, so I'm currently anticipating her new album in just one month! I'll be well-fed for quite a while.
Okay I'm being chaotic, sorry. DON'T JINX IT was really fun! My favorite entry in the grid. Colloquial, cute, something I say all the time, love to see it. VR HEADSETS, STEADY GIG, GEE WHIZ, ON TOP OF IT, etc., just loads to love on my clockwise journey around this grid. More like this, please!
Bullets:
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- IN HEAT (16A: Going after the big bucks, say) — Funny clue! Big bucks as in big male animals. (Took me a while to get it)
- TOYS (57D: Barbie and Ken, e.g.)—I had a SNEEZE typo and then I had TOES here. And I spent *so* long trying to make TOES happen. What sort of Saturday trickery was at play here to make TOES work?!?!
- SLANG (43D: Head for the toilet, say) — Another really clever clue here. "Head" is slang for "toilet," in case that needed an explanation.
- PONE (56D: Southern side dish) — I'm starting this thing where I do things that I see frequently in crosswords. I read JANE EYRE a few months ago. I need to watch Frozen (for ELSA!) (no I've never seen it) (don't drag me). And I think I also need to eat PONE. Sounds delicious.
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