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Michael Schlossberg’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “The In Crowd”—Jim P’s evaluation
Today’s theme clues are acquainted(ish) phrases within the type X in Y. The theme entries are additionally acquainted phrases (or phrases) with circled letters spelling phrases that symbolize the Xs and the entries themselves representing the Ys.
- 20a. [Back in the game?] SPORTING EVENT. The SPINE is a part of one’s again, and a SPORTING EVENT is a sport.
- 35a. [Minor in mathematics?] PROBABILITY. A BABY is a minor, and PROBABILITY is a self-discipline in arithmetic.
- 41a. [Puss in Boots?] WELLINGTONS. This is way and away the perfect entry. Puss in Boots is a well known title (or character), a LION is a cat, and WELLINGTONS are boots (“Wellies” to you Anglophiles).
- 56a. [Dog in the manger?] FEEDING TROUGH. This one’s good too, when you knew that The Dog within the Manger is an historic Greek fable (I didn’t) and {that a} manger is a FEEDING TROUGH (I didn’t).
Pretty good theme! Not all of them are sure-fire winners, however it may possibly’t have been straightforward to seek out these, so some leeway ought to be afforded. I don’t recall seeing a theme prefer it, so kudos for originality.
VAPORWARE, PANTOMIME, PRINCETON, RARE COINS, NEWTONS, and MARINER high the fill. Interesting that MARINER crosses SEAMAN, however they aren’t cross-referenced. The entry RELIEF ORG feels bizarre to me. That decrease left part with ARIANE crossing ASWAN and EMERY proved a bit troublesome however gettable ultimately. I additionally stumbled within the NW particularly since [Herbicide target] appeared to need WEED and AU COURANT was robust to see (and spell).
Clues of notice:
- 22a. [Fleet fellow]. SEAMAN. The clue had me making an attempt to considering of somebody identified for his or her velocity.
- 45a. [SpaceX competitor]. ARIANE. The ARIANE household of launch autos are a European effort.
- 9d. [Change of value?]. RARE COINS. Good misdirection right here.
- 11d. [Silent show]. PANTOMIME. But not in Britain the place Christmastime “pantos” are raucous affairs.
- 29d. [Column people are dying to appear in?]. OBITS. A bit on the morbid facet.
- 36d. [Aid for the back burner?]. ALOE. The similar “back” pun as in a theme clue?
- 43d. [Nabisco cookies]. NEWTONS. Those are cookies?
Clever theme and loads of lengthy, attention-grabbing fill. Four stars.
John Wrenholt’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up
Difficulty: Average (10m35s)
Today’s theme: Arithmetic.
- 21a: TWO TIMES (Cheats on)
- 23a: FIFTEEN (What comes after love)
- 40a: TRIPLED (Didn’t fairly make it residence, say)
- 54a: PLUS ONE (Date for a celebration)
- 62a: DO THE MATH (“Figure it out!” … or learn how to arrive at this puzzle’s resolution, utilizing the solutions to the italicized clues) — which supplies us:
- 17a: NINETY ONE (This puzzle’s resolution)
I haven’t seen something this easy on a Thursday in fairly a while. I suppose the status here’s a) six theme entries in a 15x puzzle, and b) a math equation made up completely of symmetric parts that may be rephrased accordingly. Outside of that, I couldn’t divine something vital from (15 x 3 + 1).
Cracking: NADA COLADA (Mocktail with a rhyming identify) — I’m a Professional Gentleman of Leisure, and nothing says “I’m on vacation” like a piña colada with an enormous slice of pineapple. Hadn’t heard of the virgin selection, nevertheless it reads actual good.
Slacking: NINETY ONE — I’m nonetheless not over the arbitrary resolution.
Sidetracking: ERIC / IDLE (With 68-across, co-creator of the British parody band the Rutles) — Epcot superfans acknowledge Idle as Dr. Nigel Channing, Figment’s would-be foil on the “Journey into Imagination” journey. Some folks hate the tacky visuals and simplistic journey components; these persons are useless inside.
Overall, appears like a Wednesday puzzle that acquired misplaced within the shuffle, although my time was within the common Thursday territory. 3.5/5, as a result of the maths checks out and the grid made me consider Figment in the present day.
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