Constructor: Lillian Simpson

Relative problem: Simple-Medium

THEME: FRIED EGGS (58A: Breakfast order visually urged 3 times on this puzzle’s grid) — two eggs (“O”s) seem atop (“over”) the phrases HARD, MEDIUM, and EASY … thus you get your eggs over arduous, over medium, or over straightforward, similar to in a diner

Theme solutions:

• HARD CIDER (17A: Apple product that is not appropriate for teenagers)
• PRINT MEDIUM (29A: Newspapers, books or magazines)
• EASY TARGETS (45A: Supreme marks for scammers)

Phrase of the Day: RIFFLE (46D: Leaf (by)) —

verb (used with or with out object), rif·fled, rif·fling.

to show unexpectedly; flutter and shift: to riffle a stack of letters; to riffle by a e-book.

Playing cards. to shuffle by dividing the deck in two, elevating the corners barely, and permitting them to fall alternately collectively. (dictionary.com)

• • •

I appreciated the way in which this one unfolded, in that the eggness (egghood?) of the entire thing did not announce itself to me in any respect with the primary two themers. If I had mentioned what I used to be seeing, actually, out loud (“two Os over arduous, two Os over medium”, I’d’ve observed the theme. Nevertheless it was all so Tuesday-easy that I did not trouble to cease and course of. I like that EASY comes final of the three, since “over EASY” is by far the most typical technique to order your fried eggs, in order that reply features virtually like a pre-revealer … despite the fact that that is not how I truly skilled it (I hit the actual revealer first after which backed into EASY TARGETS … which I had first as SOFT TARGETS, because it appeared to suit the clue (45A: Supreme marks for scammers) and in addition appeared kinda eggy (over straightforward yolks are certainly gentle). This can be a cute theme, easy and neatly executed. I admire the OVER HARD illustration, since that is how I order my eggs (until I’m consuming bibimbap, runny yolks make me gag somewhat). I additionally actually appreciated the clue on that theme reply—HARD CIDER (17A: Apple product that is not appropriate for teenagers). It seems like it should be an Apple product that solely streams porn, or an Apple intercourse toy, however as a substitute it is simply an alcoholic beverage. Good use of that preliminary capital letter, and the phrase “Apple product,” to counsel the corporate and masks the precise fruit, is what I am saying.

It could be good by no means to see LEONA Helmsley or the derogatory time period WINO ever once more. Each these solutions had been arduous bumps within the highway at present. The fill is usually high quality, total, although issues get somewhat tough within the SW, with USONE and ALOU and LEMMA, which … is a time period I’d by no means ever know if my greatest good friend in school hadn’t been a mathematician (56A: Useful theorem, in math). Does not look like a Tuesday-ish reply. It is NYTXW historical past is bizarre. It is comparatively uncommon (that is simply its sixth look since 2004—we truly went 11 years (!!) with out seeing it in any respect (2004-2015)), however when it does seem, it seems on Monday and Tuesday as typically because it does on Friday and Saturday. It is at all times bizarre to me the maths stuff I do not keep in mind studying regardless of having had math by Calc II. There are many math of us in crosswords, which could make it extra grid-familiar than real-life acquainted. The plural is “lemmata”—how/why did I keep in mind that? My good friend’s mathiness should’ve rubbed off in odd, unpredictable, sporadic methods. However again to the fill. Actually do not like APRS within the plural (34A: Credit score figs.). Hadn’t seen ALEUT in so lengthy that I truly had No Concept what 52D: Language associated to Inupiaq and Yupik was presupposed to be, even with the “A” in place. You used to see ALEUT in all places. You’d additionally see ATKA generally. And even ATTU. Alaska was a crosswordese goldmine, is what I am saying. Anyway, ALEUT frequency has been dialed again significantly, so now it is only a high quality, common time period. One I semi-forgot. I additionally semi-forgot RIFFLE, which simply sounds foolish. I can not think about saying it, and but … “riffling by {a magazine}” … I suppose that sounds OK. It seems like a model of bathroom paper, although I could also be crossing Charmin’s Mr. WHIPPLE with the potato chip model RUFFLES (“RIFFLES has ridges!”—that might be fairly a slogan for a bathroom paper model).