I love how the clue for RHYMED (26A: Paired “scared” with “dared”) also rhymes, and how the two words chosen suggest a story.They are very much a thing in NYC! I am curious how popular they are elsewhere. I have been to a drag show and I have been to a brunch, but I have not yet been to a DRAG BRUNCH.“Cultivar” means a variety, i.e., there’s a type of fig called a “Brown Turkey fig.” I thought the clue on FIGS (6A: Fruits with a Brown Turkey cultivar) was quite hard for a USA Today puzzle.Theme explanation: The first word of each phrase (drag, pull, carry) means the same thing. 34A: PULL THE GOALIE (Risk an empty-netter, in hockey).21A: DRAG BRUNCH (Event with mimosas and pop diva impersonations).She co-wrote the classic “ Good Morning Heartache“.Īmanda Rafkin & Brooke Husic’s USA Today puzzle– malaika’s write-up Good misdirection I was thinking about water pipes. 41d GNAT, which is ¾ ANT, orthographically.But at least this one has something to do with kitchens. That’s essentially the suggestion of the title, but to be vigilant in parsing said title, there really isn’t much of a connection to kitchens aside from the stereotype of ANTs ‘invading’ there: not in the answer nor the clues. Not to pry, but do you have ants in your pantry? 3.25 stars.īrian Gubin’s Universal crossword, “Kitchen Invasion” - pannonica’s write-up Not every grid is going to have room for long non-theme fill, but some fresher cluing would have been welcome. I would’ve liked a better revealer with this theme or a title that could do the same job (“Energetic Starts”, perhaps?). I’m of the belief that only the castle was called CAMELOT, not the entire realm. I’m not sure why the word “Letter” is in the clue. The entry sure reads differently in the grid without any context. A missed opportunity is KAT which could’ve been clued as instead of old-timey comics character Krazy KAT. And wow, all of them are pretty old-timey crosswordese. I also like BELOVED, NAPOLI, and ASTORIA, Oregon, since I’m in Ashland, Oregon, at the moment, road-tripping from the Puget Sound to the Bay Area.ĭid not know EATON, and there sure are a lot of dudes in the grid: James AGEE, ORSON Welles, ERLE Stanley Gardner, ISAAC Stern, IRA Gershwin, SAL Mineo, James ARNESS, and LEVI Strauss compared to solitary AVA Gardner. There’s nothing especially long in the non-theme fill, but CAMELOT and MORONIC are fun. My main nit, though, is that the revealer is not some play on words, but just the word being synonymized (feel free to use that). This is well done as far as synonym themes go. I didn’t think the term is used the same way in the States. This one I love since it reminds of my days in England where this is the generic term for any large inflatable. “Brisk pace” outdistances BRISK WALK on Google’s ngram viewer. Larry Nargi’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Pep Talk”-Jim P’s review What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: I’ve never heard the word UBERIZE although it was obvious from the clue as soon as I had the U. NEURAL network will never not make me think of Data from TNG.Happy to see TONI Morrison in the grid, and hadn’t heard this quote: “A writer’s life and work are not a gift to mankind they are its necessity.” Amen.A bit of Googling suggests several possible origins of the phrase, including a reference to the Christian practice of crossing oneself to make an oath and the need for rapid burial in times of plague. is a creepy expression when you think about it.I am so grateful for a functioning immune system that allows me to go, and will continue to mask indoors because it’s safer for everyone. Speaking of vacation, I’m a bit RUSTY when it comes to travel.I am considering having some NAIL ART done before I go on vacation. I also appreciate the fact that the countries all span at least two words. I like this theme not just for the reasons I mentioned above. I’m not usually a cross-reference fan but that one amused me. I would have put an upper-case G in “general” and I would have been wrong. New York Times, July 12, 2021, #0712, Kevin Christian, solution grid
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