Sarah Sinclair’s New York Times puzzle – Sophia’s write-up

New York Times, 10 03 2022, By Sarah Sinclair

• 17a [Be determined by] – HINGE UPON
• 25a [Critical moment in tennis] – MATCH POINT
• 37a [Extremely flammable, as vegetation] – TINDER DRY
• 50a [Fuzzy buzzers] – BUMBLEBEES
• 59a [Modern medium for meeting someone … or what each of the starts of 17-, 25-, 37- and 50-Across is] – DATING APP

Sometimes after I clear up Monday puzzles I’ve to get to the revealer to grasp what the theme is. That was not the case at this time in any respect (…please don’t learn into what that claims about my life). After I acquired the primary two theme solutions, I might drop to start with of TINDER DRY and all of BUMBLEBEES and DATING APP no downside. It’s a cute theme, even when a few of the solutions don’t stand out a lot ( you, HINGE UPON). Also, and perhaps that is private bias, however Match appears a lot much less well-known/used as a relationship *app* specifically to me – I nonetheless instantly consider it as match.com. But they do actually have an app so it does match the theme!

Given the 9-letter heart theme reply, I’m not stunned that the grid feels segmented into massive corners. Making an enormous nook like those on this puzzle with none dreck is a problem, and I appreciated a whole lot of the phrases Sarah selected – CATS PAW, CARGO BAY, UTOPIAN, TOY BOATS all add worth to me. There are a number of phrases that aren’t optimum – the international DANSE, the vowel salad EIEIO, the plural PEDROS – however they have been usually straightforward sufficient to puzzle out. I needed to spend the final 30 seconds of my clear up error looking; seems I had “dead men” and never DEAD MAN for 29a [Sort who tells no tales, per an old saying].

I beloved how a lot character was packed into the clues of this puzzle. Some of my favorites: 49d [Common eyeliner shape] for WING, 13d [One of up to 200(!) on a scallop] for EYE, and the considerably morbid 1d [Gives the Anne Boleyn treatment] for BEHEADS. Congrats to Sarah on her NYT debut at this time!

Kelly Ball’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Inside Joke”—Jim P’s overview

LOL is the revealer (65d, [Text tee-hee found in 17-, 30-, 48- and 62-Across]). Each theme reply has these letters hidden inside.

Wall St Journal crossword answer · “Inside Joke” · Kelly Ball · Mon., 10.3.22

• 17a. [Biennial sporting event since 1968] SPECIAL OLYMPICS.
• 30a. [Power dining spot inside the Beverly Hills Hotel] POLO LOUNGE.
• 48a. [Cubic meters] KILOLITERS.
• 62a. [Pre-Beatles song by John Lennon] HELLO LITTLE GIRL.

Okay, let me get this nit out of the best way. It’s probably not a joke that’s “inside” because the title implies, it’s the response to a joke. I’d fairly the title was one thing like “Laughing On the Inside” (although you in all probability couldn’t use “laughing” since one of many Ls is “laugh”). Anyhoo.

This is a nice instance of a hidden phrase theme. I like each the grid spanners, although I’d by no means heard of the John Lennon track. (Here’s a good model of it by one other ’60s band.) There don’t appear to be that many potential theme entries, so having the only phrase KILOLITERS is a compromise, but it surely pairs with the great entry POLO LOUNGE, so I don’t have a lot of an issue with it.

Elsewhere, the lengthy fill is stable with APPLAUSE, HOLDS OUT, and BARRETTE. However, I contend {that a} horse making the sound CLOP CLOP should be lacking a pair legs. Where are the CLIPs? Of course, that first O is utilized in one of many LOLs.

Some tough-for-Monday fill contains ENOCH, LE ROI, and “PEG O‘ My Heart” (1913 track).

Clues of notice:

• 22a. [Have the high score in a golf tournament]. LOSE. Nice switcheroo right here. It threw me for a pair seconds.
• 67a. [Org. that Finland and Sweden petitioned to join in 2022]. NATO. Add Ukraine to that listing as of September thirtieth.

A nice debut puzzle. (Congrats!) 3.5 stars.