Simon Marotte’s New York Times puzzle–Darby’s write-up

Simon Marotte’s New York Times puzzle, 8/15/2022 answer

• 17a [“Footwear giant headquartered in Boston, Mass.”] NEW BALANCE
• 25a [“Fait accompli”] DONE DEAL
• 53a [“Downward dog, for one”] YOGA POSE
• 63a [“Group of notes that often sounds sad”] MINOR CHORD

Revealer: 37a [“Ump’s call after a first pitch…or a hint to the ends of 17-, 25-, 53- and 63-Across”] STRIKE ONE

Anything that includes a baseball clue is often going to get my consideration immediately. I used to be in a position to fill in the entire themers aside from MINOR CHORD with out actually needing the revealer to drag all of it collectively for me. However, it was an enormous assist as I completed up MINOR CHORD, having centered an excessive amount of on the thought of the “often sounds sad” a part of the clue. As somebody who is just not a musician, I used to be a bit misplaced there, however the revealer made it straightforward to plop it in.

This felt like a extremely honest grid for a Monday. There had been a number of locations the place I needed to make some fast changes (FLOP as a substitute of BOMB for 6a, RATS as a substitute of DRAT for 16a, and many others.). I believed that the southwest nook was very well completed with SAYS I DO, EGO TRIP, and LEGO ART. I used to be not as aware of MICROSLEEP (however cherished that each this and NAP made it in for one of the vital undoubtedly sleepy days of the week). Its symmetric counterpart, although, SLIP N SLIDE was tremendous enjoyable.

Overall, I cherished how clear this was and loved the 4 themers packed into the grid plus some good 7-letter fill in every of the corners.

Four stars from me.

Priyanka Sethy & Ajeet Singh’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Nebulous”—Jim P’s overview

Theme: IN THE CLOUD (57a, [Stored on a remote server, and a hint to three answers]). The different theme solutions are acquainted phrases whose outer letters spell a cloud-like object.

Wall St Journal crossword answer · “Nebulous” · Priyanka Sethy & Ajeet Singh · Mon., 8.15.22

• 17a. [Birthplace of three major religions] MIDDLE EAST.
• 26a. [Small, bat-eared pooch] FRENCH BULLDOG.
• 42a. [Charmingly persuasive] SMOOTH-TALKING. This .puz model of the grid doesn’t have the ultimate G circled, however the variations on the WSJ web site (each on-line and .pdf) have it circled appropriately.

Works for me. I may see what the theme solutions had been doing as I solved, however I couldn’t determine what the revealer could be. It made excellent sense as soon as I bought it.

Enjoyable lengthy fill with BEFUDDLING, BAD KARMA, FOLLOWED UP, and MANDOLIN. I didn’t know HATHA [Yoga system whose name is Sanskrit for “force”] proper off the bat, however I’ve seen the phrase earlier than. Still it could be robust for a Monday, particularly the place it crosses Japanese beer ASAHI.

ORNATE inlay of the Taj Mahal

Clues of notice:

• 60a. [Scarecrow’s fear]. FIRE. I’m assuming that is referring to the character from The Wizard of Oz and never simply any scarecrow.
• 43d. [Like the inlay on the Taj Mahal]. ORNATE. See image and study extra right here.

Smooth puzzle and pleasant fill. Oh, and it’s Ajeet Singh’s debut. Nicely completed! 3.75 stars.

Carly Schuna’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Times 8/15/22 by Carly Schuna

Always a delight to see a Carly Schuna byline. I had the pleasure of modifying a puzzle of hers for Inkubator a number of months again, and in that puzzle and in others I’ve seen of hers, she’s at all times introduced a contemporary eye to cluing. Themes too, as we see on this mild and straightforward Monday. No revealer wanted with the clues clearly indicating that the primary phrase in every theme phrase is a slang time period for “awesome.”

• 20A [Awesome event in military history?] is a BOSS BATTLE.
• 33A [Awesome side at a barbecue?] is SWEET CORN.
• 41A [Awesome double Dutch accessory?] is a TIGHT ROPE.
• 52A [Awesome tennis racket?] is a FLY SWATTER, a clue/reply combo that made me giggle.

Clues like [Tree in a tray] for BONSAI and a reference to [Judy Blume’s “Tales of a Fourth ___ Nothing”] for GRADE add additional enjoyable. Into it!

Sophia Maymudes’ Universal crossword, “Pushing Boundaries” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 8/15/22 • Mon • Maymudes • “Pushing Boundaries” • answer • 20220815

• 39a^R [Engaging in an adventurous lifestyle, as suggested by this puzzle’s border entries] LIVING ON THE EDGE.
• 1a. [Legislative group] HOUSE.
• 6a. [Movie advertisement] TRAILER.
• 15d. [Verbal jabs] DIGS.
• 38d. [Google spy smart thermostat] NEST.
• 57d. [Scout mother’s group] DEN.
• 67a. [Become embedded] LODGE.
• 66a. [Kind of cheese also called curds and whey] COTTAGE.
• 47d. [Ballet shoe] FLAT.
• 26d. [“The Hate U Give” actress Regina] HALL.
• 13d. [Skater’s knee protector] PAD.

Haven’t seen an edge theme shortly. Good job on managing to largely clue these solutions with non-thematic references.

• 13a [Movie advertisement] POSTER. Never a fan of blending theme and non-theme clues or entries.
• 50a [King with a labyrinth] MINOS. Namesake of Minotaur. Labyrinth is of unsure origin, however in case you’re take a look on the Wikipedia dialogue concerning its etymology, which I gained’t reproduce right here.
• 52a [Jazz composer Mary __ Williams] LOU.
  
• 63d [Sign before Virgo] LEO.
• 9d [Words exchanged by brides] I DO. Cleverly ambiguous.
• 33d [German “You’re welcome”] BITTE. Also means “please”.
• 36d [Danity Kane member Aubrey] O’DAY. Correctly guessed (simply now, not throughout the clear up) that that is the identify of a musical group. A extra up to date reference than jazz singer Anita.
• 55d [Monkey bars piece] RUNG. I nonetheless discover it ironic that what we generally think about monkeys can’t brachiate. That is, they don’t locomote by swinging with their arms above their shoulders, the commonest method on ‘monkey bars’.