Pao Roy’s New York Times crossword–Zachary David Levy’s write-up

Difficulty: Easy (8m3s)

Pao Roy’s New York Times Crossword 11/23/23 1123

Today’s theme: DOT THE IS (Pay consideration to particulars… and a touch to filling in seven of this puzzle’s squares)

• (DOT) (DOT) (DOT) 
• PALE BLUE DOT
• POLKA DOT DRESSES
• CONNECTS THE DOTS
• DOT COM CRASH

The rebus phrase DOT runs horizontally, whereas the literal DOT sits atop the I on the vertical entry.  Once once more, I picked up the rebus instantly, as PALE BLUE DOT shouldn’t be solely (arguably?) essentially the most iconic {photograph} in human historical past, however Carl Sagan’s 1994 guide of the identical title was an actual eye opener for me.  His oft-quoted caption of the photograph bears repeating as soon as extra:

Look once more at that dot. That’s right here. That’s residence. That’s us. On it everybody you’re keen on, everybody you already know, everybody you ever heard of, each human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The combination of our pleasure and struggling, 1000’s of assured religions, ideologies, and financial doctrines, each hunter and forager, each hero and coward, each creator and destroyer of civilization, each king and peasant, each younger couple in love, each mom and father, hopeful baby, inventor and explorer, each instructor of morals, each corrupt politician, each “superstar,” each “supreme leader,” each saint and sinner within the historical past of our species lived there–on a mote of mud suspended in a sunbeam.

Obviously, the puzzle received me over each due to how rapidly I breezed by way of it, and since it gave me one other alternative to recollect one of many nice ambassadors of science.

Cracking: WEIRD AL — I haven’t seen the tongue-in-cheek biopic but, however seeing Daniel Radcliffe in that mustache is sort of well worth the value of admission.

Slacking: UTA— the abbreviation saves you one complete letter, which makes it look extra like a typo than anything.  Honorable point out to HORNY, which doesn’t go the breakfast desk take a look at.  Additional honorable point out to SYMBOLS, as a result of the right title for a pseudo-minced oath like that (&#$!@) is a GRAWLIX (which is an infinitely extra satisfying phrase.)

Sidetracking: PAEAN — in recognition of the truth that we’re on the precipice of essentially the most great day of the yr, get pleasure from this 90s-era tribute to Thanksgiving courtesy of Garfield and Friends.