crossword 2:50
meta 1:30 

whats up and welcome to episode #745 of matt gaffney’s weekly crossword contest, “Hanging by a Thread”. for this week 2 puzzle, matt challenges us to seek out a synonym of “threadbare”. what are the theme solutions? it’s not instantly apparent what number of of them there are, however one brief one stands out: {Moth-___ (threadbare; not the meta reply!)} EATEN. with that in thoughts, it didn’t take lengthy to note seven different theme solutions with the letters of MOTH so as, with one further letter sandwiched between the MO and the TH:

• {Use blades on blades} MOW THE LAWN.
• {Drink from a blender} SMOOTHIE.
• {Vaguely contemplate a plan of action} HUMOR THE IDEA.
• {March or Ramadan, say} MONTH. this brief themer hangs out inconspicuously within the middle of the grid.
• {1930 tariff act signed by President Hoover} SMOOT-HAWLEY. not the identical SMOOT because the one used to measure the smoot bridge. i like the best way this reply begins SMOOTHly, but when you weren’t aware of the tariff, you may need had bother on the crossing of the H with the comparatively new initialism {“Get in touch,” in three letters} HMU, or crossing of the A with the additionally considerably new {Tanzania’s capital} DODOMA, which has been the capital solely since 1996. when i realized world capitals in highschool, it was nonetheless dar es salaam.
• {Martini ingredient} VERMOUTH.
• {Bronx neighborhood simply throughout the Harlem River from Manhattan} MOTT HAVEN. i didn’t know this.

if these seven further letters have been “eaten”, you’d see the MOTH plain as day. anyway, the seven further letters so as spell WORN OUT, which is a two-word synonym of “threadbare”.

this was a pleasant meta. it felt just a little on the straightforward facet for every week 2—i don’t assume it could have been misplaced in week 1. even not noticing the moth-EATEN clue, i undoubtedly took notice of the MO and the TH in all six longer theme solutions. the one factor that feels just a little pressured is the connection between EATEN and that further letter—an inserted letter because the meta mechanic feels nearly like the alternative of EATEN, which to me is synonymous with “gone” and subsequently suggests a deletion relatively than an insertion. in order that barely diminished my appreciation for the meta.

one other factor that raised an eyebrow, however didn’t diminish my appreciation for the meta, was its scheduling simply two weeks after paolo’s “butterfly effect” puzzle, which was not solely additionally lepidopteran in theme, however really used the affiliation of “destructive insect” with MOTH as a key step within the meta mechanism. however maybe the recency of that meta made the MOTHs on this one simpler to note.

some random, very a lot unconnected observations on the fill and clues:

• {Name that’s Greek for “blossoming”} CHLOE. a missed alternative to clue this as CHLOE kelly, who scored the successful objective for england within the finals of the 2022 euros and subsequently went viral for her celebration.
• {Honeyed hooch} MEAD. a missed alternative to clue this as beth MEAD, who received the golden boot and was named the participant of the event on the 2022 euros.
• {French bread that you just in all probability shouldn’t eat} EUROS. a missed alternative to clue this because the event received by england on house soil a month in the past.
• {Command to a canine} HEEL.

that’s all i’ve obtained this week. how’d you want this one?