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Karen Lurie’s New York Occasions crossword—Amy’s write-up
What a intelligent theme! It wasn’t making any sense to me till all of the sudden it did. And the entire puzzle was breezy, so I rapidly completed filling the grid with out understanding how the theme labored. It’s all tied collectively by “WELL, ACTUALLY …,” clued by way of 55a. [Nitpicker’s lead-in … or a response to 20-, 28- and 49-Across, if they were posed as questions], although many individuals consider “WELL, ACTUALLY …” as the beginning of traditional mansplaining remarks.
- 20a. [Drink from a spring], MINERAL WATER. Learn it as a query: “(Would you want) MINERAL WATER?” “WELL (water), ACTUALLY.” I’m undecided how many individuals are on the market requesting properly water, which may be strong-tasting if not handled/filtered first.
- 28a. [Steakhouse option], MEDIUM RARE. “WELL, ACTUALLY” is the Trumpy steak order. Ketchup, too.
- 49a. [Queasy, perhaps], FEELING ILL. Thoughts you, I’d be extra apt to ask “You’re feeling sick?” than “Feeling unwell?,” however no matter. I nonetheless just like the theme and the way it performs on three various senses of WELL apart from the interjection. (There are over 20 definitions!)
Fave fill: SALUKI (the group mascot for Southern Illinois College, implausibly sufficient), FACE-UP, MEASLY, GAYDAR.
Three extra issues:
- 10a. [Baby aardvark], CUB. Elevate your hand in the event you, too, had no concept what an aardvark’s younger are referred to as. No, wait—elevate your hand in the event you really knew this one earlier than doing the puzzle.
- 40a. [Best-selling video game series beginning in 1997, for short], GTA. That’s Grand Theft Auto. Enjoyable truth: Earlier this yr, my employer merged with GTA’s mum or dad firm. I really feel like GTA’s builders are my cousins now.
- 69a. [First musician to have his first five albums debut at #1], DMX. These rap albums got here out in 1998 by 2003. The primary one’s referred to as It’s Darkish and Hell Is Scorching, which is catchy! He hasn’t had any huge hit singles since 2003, and I didn’t begin listening to rap until extra like 2010, so I don’t know DMX’s work.
4 stars from me.
Karen Steinberg’s Wall Road Journal crossword, “Excessive State of affairs”—Jim P’s assessment
Theme: EDGE CASES (50a, [Problems that occur exclusively in extreme situations, and a hint to this puzzle’s borders]). The entries across the grid’s perimeter are all phrases that may precede “case” to make acquainted phrases.

Wall St Journal crossword resolution · “Excessive State of affairs” · Karen Steinberg · Wed., 8.10.22
Prime: 1a. BOOK (case), 5a. UPPER (case), 10a. SHOW (case)
Left: 1d. BRIEF (case), 28d. SLIP (case), 62d. SUIT (case)
Proper: 13d. WATCH (case), 36d. SEED (case), 58d. COLD (case)
Backside: 68a. TEST (case), 69a. LOWER (case), 70a. HEAD (case)
A strong foundation for a theme and strong entries throughout (haha). I particularly appreciated the positioning of UPPER and LOWER. For some cause, I believed a slipcase was much like a pillowcase, however the Internets inform me a slipcase is a five-sided field for storing magazines and thinnish books.
The fill lacks any very lengthy entries, however we do get a few good 8s: GAS GRILL and WHISTLER clued as [British Columbia resort]. Elsewhere, the 7s ERUDITE, ROBOTIC, and SOONISH are pleasurable. I wanted a lot of the crosses for TOLTEC [Quetzalcoatl worshiper] as a result of I attempted to make it TOLMEC. Little doubt I used to be conflating the TOLTEC with the Olmec. Additionally, that NW nook with OUTRE, ODIUM, and KENDO proved tough, however gettable ultimately.
Clues of word:
- 32a. [Winery array]. CASKS. I agree that this entry matches the clue higher, however it took me a very long time to surrender on CORKS.
- 67a. [Bear call]. SELL. Good misdirection with this one.
- 7d. [Letters seen in geometry class]. PIS. I’m nonetheless ready for the clue [Manneken ___, famous Belgian sculpture]. Critically, it’s one of the vital well-known sights in Belgium; I feel individuals can recover from the truth that it’s a statue of somewhat boy peeing right into a fountain.
Stable theme, impressively executed. 3.75 stars.
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