Hanh Huynh’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Moon Mission”—Jim P’s evaluate

I had a reasonably good guess at what the theme could be by pondering the title, nevertheless it was nonetheless enjoyable to play it out. The revealer is DROP TROU (62a, [Moon, or what three answers in this puzzle literally do]). The letters TROU drop from the Across path to the Down path earlier than the entry completes horizontally.

Wall St Journal crossword answer · “Moon Mission” · Hanh Huynh · Thu., 10.20.22

• 17a. [Subtitle of a 2020 documentary about John Lewis] GOOD (TROU)BLE with crosser GOT ROUGH.
• 23a. [The Upright Citizens Brigade, e.g.] COMEDY (TROU)PE with crosser MONSTROUS.
• 50a. [Gas that can be a gas] NI(TROU)S OXIDE with crosser LAKE TROUT.

Very good, eh? And these lengthy crossers are beautiful as properly. I wouldn’t say “I ADORE IT,” however I actually loved the remedy.

With lengthy crossing theme solutions, there are some trade-offs within the fill. Thus we get entries like SNEERS AT, IN A SHOT, SEASONER, and ATONER. While I did discover them, they served the theme, and it felt price it. Plus, there have been goodies just like the aforementioned “I ADORE IT!,” “SEE TO IT,” “BAD IDEA,” ANALYSTS, and LEISURE. Didn’t know [Luxury shoe brand] TODS, however possibly I’ve seen it earlier than within the WSJ puzzle.

Clues of notice:

• 8a. [Target for a honeybee]. STAMEN. Got me going for POLLEN, particularly with the ultimate letters being the identical.
• 42a. [Marinated seafood salad]. POKE. Have we seen this cluing angle earlier than? Not positive, however I’m all for it. Pronounced as a rhyme of “okay,” by the best way.
• 40d. [A clairvoyant would know what letters go here]. ESP. Cute.
• 60d. [Using it too much could cause you to lose your balance]. ATM. Also cute.

Solid execution of a nifty theme. Four stars.

Alex Eaton-Salners’s Fireball Crossword, “Pack Animals” – Jenni’s write-up

The title actually helped me out this time. Each theme reply accommodates a rebus with the title of an animal packed into one sq..

Fireball, October 19, 2022, Alex Eaton-Salners, “Pack Animals,” answer grid

• 17a [1971 black comedy directed by Alan Arkin] was the final one to fall. The rebus crosses 4d [1982 and 1983 National League MVP] and the solutions are LITT{LE MUR}DERS and DA{LE MUR}PHY, respectively. I discovered it needed to be LEMUR and at last dredged Dale from my reminiscence banks.
• 10d [Geometry class calculation] crosses 38a [Pithy things]. tenth grade was a very long time in the past, however I bear in mind INTERI{OR ANG}LE. The [Pithy things] are {ORANG}ES.
• 25d [Delivering] crosses 40a [Keeping] to provide us HAN{DING O}VER and HOL{DING O}NTO.
• 35d [Dangerous destinations for diplomats] crosses 56a [Place for billfolds]. That’s HARDS{HIP PO}STS and {HIP PO}CKETS.
• 54d [“Kings Row” author Henry] crosses 61a [2005 rags-to-riches biopic]. I do know the film CINDERA{LLA MA}N and that made it doable to determine BE{LLAMA}NN, since I’d by no means heard of him.

The first and final are viciously tough crossings – one outdated film crossing an 80s baseball participant and one much less outdated however nonetheless not new film crossing an writer who died in 1945. I suppose it helps just a little to know there must be an animal in there someplace. I like rebus themes. I particularly like rebus themes that aren’t exactly symmetrical and don’t have the identical string of letters in every rebus sq.. I loved this one and I nonetheless assume it bordered on unfair.

Just a few different issues:

• 3d [Lab equipment provider] is PETCO. Dogs, not scientists.
• 20a [Like PR, but not marketing] is IN CAPS. Cute.
• 22d [Coke product] is COAL TAR. Mining, not soda.
• 46d [“Are you freaking kidding me?”] is OH, C‘MON. I like this.
• 58d [It started 21,874 hours after Pearl Harbor] is D DAY.

What I didn’t know earlier than I did this puzzle: see above re: DALE MURPHY and Henry BELLAMANN. I additionally didn’t know that Zac EFRON appeared in “The Greatest Beer Run Ever.”

Rebecca Goldstein’s New York Times crossword—Zachary David Levy’s evaluate

Difficulty: Average (11m55s)

Rebecca Goldstein’s New York Times crossword 10/19/2022 1019

Today’s theme: BLACK SHEEP (Familial outcast depicted 3 times on this puzzle)

• MORA(L AMB)IGUITY+ (LAMB)ORGHINI
• CHEES(E WE)DGE + HAV(E WE) MET
• EXT(RA M)AYO + ASH(RAM)

Started to search for EWE hidden throughout three black squares (ala Evan Kalish’s DARK ART puzzle, for instance), then realized a) the BLACK SHEEP are additionally rebuses, and b) we’re on the lookout for a RAM, a EWE, and a LAMB.  The “-” clues are a giveaway, so it didn’t play too tough.  The actual coup de grace could be discovering themers whose break up parts can stand alone in order that they don’t should be clued in a approach that factors to the premise, however that’s all the time a reasonably tall order.  There are nice lengthy non-theme entries right here, together with AMY POEHLER, I’VE GOT A PLAN, and…

Cracking: HARLEM SHAKE — this was a “meme” and “went viral” when there have been nonetheless individuals who genuinely hadn’t heard these phrases but.  Get able to really feel outdated: it’s virtually been a decade.

Slacking: SULLY — not due to the phrase itself, however as a result of when somebody lands an airplane on the Hudson River and single handedly saves all 155 souls on board, he will get to be the one approach we clue SULLY from now till the rapture.

Sidetracking: TWAIN — know who received the TWAIN Prize in 2013?  None apart from CAROL BURNETT, whose scene-stealing flip as Marion was a spotlight within the incandescent ultimate season of Better Call Saul.