Laura Dershewitz and Martina Waluk’s Inkubator crossword, “Top Billing”—Jenni’s write-up

The Inkbuator Email says that this collaboration is Laura’s debut, however our archives present one LAT and one Universal to her credit score and I reviewed an Inkubator puzzle by Martina in 2021. In any case, it’s ‘un. I don’t typically agree with the Inkubator issue rankings and certainly didn’t discover this one reasonably difficult. I loved it anyway.

Each theme reply has letters in circles that unscramble to spell the identical phrase.

• 20a [Keep from burning, as risotto] is STIR FREQUENTLY. Why do contestants on “Chopped” proceed to attempt to make risotto? They by no means have sufficient time and if Scott Conant is judging it won’t go effectively. Yes, Discover+ is my drug of selection once I’m making an attempt to keep away from, effectively, all of the information. And I reside in PA, in order that’s just about on a regular basis.
• 25a [Person appearing in deleted Instagram photos, perhaps] is an EX–BEST FRIEND.
• 42a [Fast way to make money] is HAND OVER FIST.

See the anagram? If not, we now have a revealer that can assist you out: 48a [Protector of the right to free expression and a literal hint to each group of circled letters] is the FIRST AMENDMENT. Each set of circled letters will spell FIRST when re-arranged and so they’ve been “amended.” Fun!

A number of different issues:

The Inkubator, November 3, 2022, Laura Dershowitz and Martina Waluk, “Top Billing,” answer grid

• 1a [Author who wrote of freckles, fudge, and fourth grade] is Judy BLUME. This was a gimme and the previous tense despatched me right into a panic – did she die? She didn’t. She’s nonetheless alive at 84 and continues to combat ebook banning – her books are frequent targets for all the explanations that made me love them as a child.
• 15a [Ellie’s love in “Up”] is CARL. I actually actually didn’t like that film. Ellie – who by no means speaks and solely seems in a brief prolog to the precise film – offers up her personal adventuring to marry Carl, who seems to have fallen for her as a result of she was an explorer. It’s mawkish patriarchal sentimentality at its misogynist finest. I’m glad I noticed it so I may talk about it with my then 9 yr previous daughter. She was possibly a little bit older once we settled in with our popcorn at a unique film and he or she stated “Mom, are you gong to make that noise? You know. The kind of huffing noise you make when you think something in the movie isn’t fair to women.” The reply, in fact, was “Almost certainly.”
• 42a [Threw a fete] is an excellent clue for HOSTED.
• 44a [“Sure, OK”] is I S‘POSE. I expect a bit more of a signal that it’s a non-standard reply.
• Speaking of non-standard we even have YA FEEL ME?

What I didn’t know earlier than I did this puzzle: by no means heard of the drag queen MONET X Change. I’ve heard of ION TV and didn’t now they syndicate “NCIS.” And I’m not aware of Missouri rep CORI Bush. And no, not that form of Bush. She’s from the opposite aspect of the aisle and a unique gene pool.

Juliet Corless’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap

NY Times crossword answer, 11 4 22, no. 1104

An straightforward Friday NYT (although it took me 50% longer than Weintraub’s Thursday New Yorker puzzle—the epitome of “easy themeless” today is Thursday’s TNY) with the weird selection of vertical triple stacks.

Fave fill: JACK OF ALL TRADES, FREAKING AWESOME, DRAMATIC LICENSE, PAROLE VIOLATION, TEMPORARY TATTOO, GODIVA goodies, REDEPLOY (higher than another RE- phrases for positive), Angela BASSETT.

Can’t say I see AMOEBIC as [Amorphous, in a way], vs. modifying dysentery brought on by amoebae. Didn’t know FERRITE ([Ceramic iron compound that’s nonconductive]). Can’t say I knew that POLARIS is a [Star that’s actually three stars]! Also had no concept that 56d. [Give: Sp.] is DAR, however I’ll guess at the least 1 / 4 of solvers know sufficient Spanish to get that.

Was NOT OK with NOT OK close to “OK, OK.”

A number of clues that popped:

• 63a. [One backward musician?], ENO. Sort of a cryptic crossword clue, ENO being “one” backward.
• 34a. [Truffle hunting option], GODIVA. When attempting to find chocolate truffles, not having a pig root round for buried fungi.
• 5d. [Good faith agreements?], AMENS. As in non secular religion.

3.9 stars from me.