Notice: Fireball is on vacation till September.

Joah Macosko’s Wall Road Journal crossword, “Suppose Contained in the Field”—Jim P’s assessment

Given the title and the grid design, I knew one thing can be happening with that enormous, central sq.. So after I uncovered 20d ICE(field), I instantly crammed within the different 4 entries touching the perimeters of the sq.. What I didn’t anticipate was that all of the entries touching the field are “field” entries. Thus we’ve…

Wall St Journal crossword answer · “Suppose Contained in the Field” · Joah Macosko · Thu., 8.4.22

High:

• 6d. [Ready for a fight] SHADOW◼️
• 20d. [Refrigerator, old-style] ICE◼️
• 7d. [It might have a game on the back] CEREAL ◼️

Left:

• 29a. [You shouldn’t stuff it] BALLOT ◼️
• 35a. [Possible locale for eating green eggs and ham] IN A ◼️
• 37a. [Burmese relief spot?] LITTER ◼️

Proper:

• 32a. [Film take, so to speak] ◼️ OFFICE
• 36a. [Amount of chocolate given to a Valentine, often] ◼️FUL
• 40a. [Their backs often open like garage doors] ◼️ TRUCKS

Backside:

• 46d. [Christmas follower] ◼️ING DAY
• 47d. [Proof of purchase, often] ◼️ TOP
• 48d. [Hairstyle popularized by Janet Jackson] ◼️ BRAIDS

Spectacular execution. I used to be not anticipating to have that a lot theme materials concentrated within the heart of the grid, and it’s dealt with (largely) properly. Sure, with that many constraints in a single space, you get an entry like OCA, however the crossings have been honest sufficient. New to me are the phrases “field vehicles” and “field braids,” however once more, these weren’t laborious to deduce.

Because of the nature of the grid design, there aren’t any lengthy fill entries, however there are nonetheless some 7s to take pleasure in like TSUNAMI, SOMALIA, REAR END, “ANY IDEA?”, and ORIGAMI. I needed to give BEAMISH [Radiantly happy] the side-eye, since I wished it to be “beaming.” However apparently that’s an actual phrase.

Clues of word:

• 64a [Beyond blue]. FIILTHY. The place “blue” is a synonym of “profane.”
• 2nd [Like an Indianapolis race]. MAYORAL. Good misdirection there. Identical with 11d [Crane-construction technique] for ORIGAMI. And once more with 13d [It’s used for tracking shots] for BAR TAB.

It’s good to have one thing completely different every so often, and this match the invoice, particularly with its robust execution. Strong fill and good clues spherical it out. 4 stars.

Ella Dershowitz’s New York Instances crossword—Ben’s assessment

NYT #0804 – 08/04/2022

Right now’s puzzle from Ella Dershowitz might be greatest defined by beginning with its revealer:

• 60A: Short-term spot to do enterprise … or a touch to answering 17-, 35- and 41-Throughout — POP-UP SHOP

And certainly, in every of those entries the letters in SHOP pop “up” into the grid entry above it, making a little bit of a bump:

• 17A: World’s oldest golf match, familiarly — BRITI[SH OP]EN
• 35A: “Fingers crossed” — HERE'[S HOP]ING
• 41A: After-dinner drink made with crème de menthe — GRAS[SHOP]PER

I spent a good period of time making an attempt to do one thing with rebus squares right here, however neither SHO or HOP was actually doing something.  Then I spotted every SHOP varieties just a little sq. that pops into the entry above it, and that was that.

51D: Dwelling of Nijo Fortress, constructed by the Tokugawa shogunate — KYOTO

Glad Thursday