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Speed reading, for short / FRI 10-4-24 / Liu regarded as China's first...
Constructor: Zhouqin BurnikelRelative difficulty: Extremely easy (like a Tuesday or Wednesday)THEME: none Word of the Day: POORI (6D: Indian fried bread) —Puri, also poori, is a type of deep-fried...
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Epitome of completeness / SAT 10-5-24 / Oldest city in France / "Reward" for...
Constructor: Natan LastRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: none Word of the Day: BAYARD RUSTIN (5D: Political activist who organized 1963's March on Washington) — Bayard Rustin (/ˈbaɪ.ərd/ BY-ərd;...
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Lead-in to coin, for a meme currency / SUN 10-6-24 / James Joyce short story...
Constructor: John KugelmanRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME:"Teacher's Marks"— familiar phrases are clued as if they are teacher responses to grammatical mistakes on a student paper:Theme answers:"DON'T...
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Gillette razors / MON 10-7-24 / Fictional archaeologist with a fear of...
Constructor: Desirée Penner and Jeff SinnockRelative difficulty: Very easy (solved Downs-only)THEME: TIME AND TIME AGAIN (39A: Repeatedly ... or what can precede both halves of the answers to 19-, 25-,...
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Charlotte's first draft for "Some Pig"? / TUE 10-8-24 / Name of Athena's...
Constructor: Justin WerfelRelative difficulty: Very easyTHEME: MAKE ENDS MEAT (62A: summary of the phonetic puns at 17-, 31-, 38- and 45-Across?)— familiar phrases have their final words ("ends")...
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What might be out for a spell? / WED 10-9-24 / Soldier for hire, in brief /...
Constructor: Jeffrey LeaseRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME: LIGHTNING BOLT (37A: What's formed by connecting this puzzle's circled letters from A to F and then back to A) — four things that feature a...
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Melancholy Musketeer / THU 10-10-24 / Like many Keats works / Swahili...
Constructor: Grant BoroughsRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME:"W" OR "D" CHOICE (58A: Author's concern that, when parsed as four parts, provides a hint to this puzzle's theme) — six circled squares...
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Ivy descriptor / FRI 10-11-24 / Online provocateur, in slang / Called out on...
Constructor: Billy BrattonRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: none Word of the Day: kri-kri (19A: Island home of a goat known as the kri-kri (CRETE)) — The kri-kri (Capra hircus cretica), sometimes...
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Insectoid moon dwellers in H.G. Wells's "The First Men in the Moon" / SAT...
Constructor: Katie HoodyRelative difficulty: Medium to Medium-Challenging THEME: none Word of the Day: Anna MAGNANI (39D: Anna ___, first Italian to win an acting Oscar) — Anna Maria Magnani (Italian:...
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Train in the Washington-Baltimore area / SUN 10-13-24 / Texter's shrug /...
Constructor: Gary Larson and Doug PetersonRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME:"Manual Dexterity" — familiar phrases clued as hypothetical titles for "manuals" of various types, where the first part of the...
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Charming first encounter in a rom-com / MON 10-14-24 / Entertainment news...
Constructor: Dana EdwardsRelative difficulty: Very easy (solved Downs-only)THEME: QUADRUPLE DOUBLE (54A: Statistical feat achieved four times in N.B.A. history ... or what the answers to the starred...
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Blood of the gods, in Greek mythology / TUE 10-15-24 / Montana city nicknamed...
Constructor: Lindsay RosenblumRelative difficulty: Easy-MediumTHEME: SWIPE RIGHT (60A: Show interest on a dating app ... or what 16-25-, 36- and 51-Across must do to be successful?) — theme answers...
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Dystopian horror film of 2013, with "The" / WED 10-16-24 / First British P.M....
Constructor: Hanh HuynhRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: BEGINNER SPANISH (39A: Introductory foreign language class suggested by this puzzle's theme) — what look like regular two-word clues are really...
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Big feller? / THU 10-17-24 / Punny summary of the battle between editor and...
Constructor: August Lee-KovachRelative difficulty: On the easy side for a ThursdayTHEME: ALTERCATION (56A: Punny summary of the battle between editor and writer seen in 17-, 24-, 35- and 46-Across) —...
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Cryptaesthesia, more familiarly / FRI 10-18-24 / Accommodates, in...
Constructor: Jesse CohnRelative difficulty: MediumTHEME: none Word of the Day: É-D-O-U-A-R-D MANET (27A: Artist whose full name anagrams to A MAN DETOURED) — Édouard Manet (UK: /ˈmæneɪ/, US: /mæˈneɪ,...
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Real wowers / SAT 10-19-24 / "Anything goes" period in early Hollywood...
Constructor: August MillerRelative difficulty: No idea (felt hard, but I'm up late with a stupid stupid head cold, so everything feels hard)THEME: none Word of the Day: RICK STEVES (58A: "Travel as a...
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Modern H.R. initiative / SUN 10-20-24 / Futuristic microscopic machine /...
Constructor: Jerry MiccolisRelative difficulty: EasyTHEME:"Triple Features" — each answer is an imagined "Marquee at the Tri-Plex" featuring three movie titles, which, together, seem to describing a...
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Oblong yellowish fruit / MON 10-21-24 / Unenjoyable, to put it mildly / Mushy...
Constructor: Neil Padrick WilsonRelative difficulty: Easy-Medium (solved Downs-only)THEME: ELMER'S GLUE (58A: What a kid might use to hold 17-, 24-, 35- and 47-Across together)— I have no idea what...
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So-called "Las Vegas of the East" / TUE 10-22-24 / Offering in Eilish's...
Constructor: Barbara LinRelative difficulty: Medium (i.e. normal for a Tuesday)THEME: Dial "S" for "PantS" — familiar phrases have an "S" tacked to the end—the "S" turns the final word into clothing...
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Birth day party? / WED 10-23-24 / Website that contributed to the decline of...
Constructor: Matthew Stock and Brooke HusicRelative difficulty: Medium (maybe a little north of that, for me)THEME: A MATTER OF DEGREE (54A: Not distinguished by large differences ... or an apt title...
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