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Woman in a 1982 hit who can be reached using the starts of the answers to the...
Constructor: Christopher Adams and Adam AaronsonRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium (Easy but for some proper nouns that will hold people up to wildly varying degrees)THEME: "867-5309" aka "JENNY" (57D:...
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First word of the song Simple Gifts / THU 7-1-21 / Point value commonly...
Constructor: Joe DeeneyRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: Big— phrases where the last two words are "big ___," but instead of the word "big" appearing in the grid, the final word simply appears in...
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One-named rapper with the 2019 video "Can't Explain It" / FRI 7-2-21 /...
Constructor: Brooke Husic and Adam NicolleRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium (but with one potentially devastating cross)THEME: none Word of the Day: INNU (56A: People of northeastern Canada) — The Innu...
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Verdi opera set during the fifth century / SAT 7-3-21 / Boston's flagship...
Constructor: Kameron Austin CollinsRelative difficulty: Medium-ChallengingJust ignore all the little blue eyes; I closed my puzz file beforetaking a screenshot of the finished grid and just didn't...
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Silk road city near the East China Sea / SUN 7-4-21 / Proposed portrait for...
Constructor: Howard BarkinRelative difficulty: Medium-ish (11-something?)THEME:"I've Got a Feeling ..."— familiar phrases clued as if they were some specific type of person's (or cat's, or horse's, or...
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Employer of Norah O'Donnell / MON 7-5-21 / Ugandan tyrant ___ Amin / Yale...
Constructor: Peter GordonRelative difficulty: HARD (for a Monday)THEME: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT THIS SUCCINCTLY — Theme answers start with the sound of the letter in the circled square - yes I know its...
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Staples of British Christmastime theater / TUE 7-6-21 / User name on an Xbox...
Constructor: Katie HaleRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: ABBA (69A: Pop group with the hits 17-, 39- and 61-Across) — ABBA songs that have repetitive titles, all of which are 15 letters long (!), all of...
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Quiet you quaintly / WED 7-7-21 / Cooler Ghostbusters inspired Hi-C flavor /...
Constructor: Peter A. CollinsRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: The Tortoise and the Hare — TORTOISE and HARE are spelled out in circled squares that traverse the grid, visually representing the TORTOISE...
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Conductor Georg / THU 7-8-21 / Coffee liqueur originally from Jamaica / One...
Constructor: John LampkinRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging to discover theme, Easy-Medium after that[Those "AM" squares are actually "AM/FM" squares]THEME: Two-way RADIO (39A: It can be two-way...
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TV journalist Baldwin / FRI 7-9-21 / Biblical birthday gift / Journalist...
Constructor: Robyn WeintraubRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: none Word of the Day: BROOKE Baldwin (10D: TV journalist Baldwin) — Brooke Baldwin (born July 12, 1979) is an American journalist, television...
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Mischievous character in West African folklore / SAT 7-10-21 / David who took...
Constructor: Trenton CharlsonRelative difficulty: Easy (one long answer I didn't know, but otherwise nothing very daunting)THEME: none Word of the Day: ANANSI THE SPIDER (16A: Mischievous character in...
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Smile with one's eyes, per a modern coinage / SUN 7-11-21 / Campania's...
Constructor: Ashish VengsarkarRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: "No Ruse" — familiar phrases with a "roo" sound in them have the "R" dropped, leaving just ... an "oo" sound ... so the resulting wacky...
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Grilled Japanese dish on skewers / MON 7-12-21 / TV cable channel with...
Constructor: Kevin ChristianRelative difficulty: Challenging (a minute over my Monday average, more of a Tuesday or easy Wednesday)THEME: AFRICA (62A: Where this puzzle's circled letters can be found)...
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Snide question to one issuing a challenge / TUE 7-13-21 / Pseudonym of the...
Constructor: Bruce HaightRelative difficulty: Easy, mostlyTHEME: baseball idioms— that's all:Theme answers:COVER ALL THE BASES (18A: Address every aspect of something)RIGHT OFF THE BAT (28A:...
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Onetime popular blog that covered Manhattan gossip / WED 7-14-21 / Crime...
Constructor: Amanda Rafkin and Ross TrudeauRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: E-READER (38A: Kindle, e.g. ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme?) — author puns where one word in a familiar phrase is...
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Classic comedy figure who sported a bowl cut / THU 7-15-21 / Popular...
Constructor: Max CarpenterRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME:"WHY YOU LITTLE..." (57A: What a solver might growl after catching on to this puzzle's theme?)— a "YU" rebus where "YU" (not "you") is made...
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1995 cult classic directed by Kevin Smith / FRI 7-16-21 / Big name in pizza...
Constructor: Sophia Maymudes and Kyra WilsonRelative difficulty: Challenging (much more Saturday than Friday)THEME: none Word of the Day: PDAS (9D: Palms, e.g., for short) — [abbr. of personal digital...
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Moroccan resort city on the Atlantic / SAT 7-17-21 / Boxer whose full name is...
Constructor: Ryan McCartyRelative difficulty: Medium (Easy for me except the center (Medium) and the NE (yikes))THEME: none Word of the Day: "CRAIG'S Wife" (20D: "___ Wife," Pulitzer Prize-winning...
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Backbone of Indian classical music / SUN 7-18-21 / Pharmaceutical...
Constructor: Jesse GoldbergRelative difficulty: Medium? (guessing jokey quotes isn't the easiest, but on the whole, things seemed normal, difficulty-wise)THEME:"Dig In" — parts of quotes by JULIA CHILD...
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Summery quip / MON 7-19-21 / Large cat you shouldn't trust on a test /...
Constructor: Stephanie LesserRelative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (only because it's a quip puzzle, so it just takes longer than a puzzle with regular theme answers would) (3:30-ish)THEME: A...
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