Zhouqin Burnikel’s New York Instances crossword—Amy’s write-up
NY Instances crossword answer, 3/28/25 – no. 0328
Beautiful to seek out Zhouqin’s byline above the puzzle tonight! Numerous great things inside.
Fave fill: WASABI MAYO, SCUBA DIVER, WIN BY A MILE, an apian BEE DANCE, PO’BOY (didn’t realize it’s a [Food specialty that might be topped with Creole mustard]; was anticipating a remoulade), YOGA MATS (favored the clue, [People have a variety of positions on these]), NO-HIT GAMES because the baseball season’s simply begun, “STAY CLASSY” (additionally a catchphrase from the film Anchorman, although with out the returned aggression of the clue, [Sarcastic response to a rude comment]), PLAY DATES, the game CANOE POLO (can’t say I knew this existed and it sounds exhausting), SINGLE MOM, TOP SPEEDS (attention-grabbing that it’s TOP SEEDS with a P added). Re: CANOE POLO: you’ll be able to play it in an OCEAN or a POOL if you happen to’re into anagramming.
I’d dispute this: 3D. [The crack of dawn], SUNUP. I say the break of day is when the sky first begins to lighten, however the precise SUNUP happens a while after that. Equally, it’s not nighttime-dark instantly upon sundown; the identical twilight that occurs earlier than dawn is current within the night.
Geo trivia: 51A. [Country with 14,125 islands (and only 260 inhabited!)], JAPAN. Indonesia’s acquired about 920 inhabited and round 15,000 islands. The Philippines has a mere 7,641 islands! So few.
4 stars from me.
Katherine Simonson’s Los Angeles Instances crossword — pannonica’s write-up
LAT • 3/28/25 • Fri • Simonson • answer • 20250328
Theme right here is phrases starting with the letter E, reparsed wackily to have the E/digital prefix, as in e-mail, e-tail, e-waste, et cetera.
- 16a. [Headquarters for a simulated space launch?] E-MISSION CONTROL (emission management).
- 29a. [Recognition for top cyber snoops?] E-SPY AWARDS (ESPY Awards).
- 47a. [Group of online church leaders?] E-RECTOR SET (Erector Set).
- 62a. [Co-branding by web-based sellers?] E-MERGING MARKET (rising market).
The principle downside is that the primary entry is a lot weaker than the opposite three. Whereas spy awards, rector set, and merging market aren’t actually issues, mission management most appreciably is; not solely that, I daresay it’s extra frequent than emission management (as a phrase in frequent utilization, no less than). Nonetheless, I’ll word that Ngrams (printed sources) tells a distinct story:
However, my level stands, as mission management is a really recognizable factor.
- 12d [Fine-grained soil] SILT. 18d [Fine-grained soil] CLAY.
- 27d [Guide] USHER. etymology: Center English ussher, from Anglo-French ussier, usscher, from Vulgar Latin *ustiarius doorkeeper, from Latin ostium, ustium door, mouth of a river — extra at OSTIUM (m-w.com)
- 35d [Household expenses] MORTGAGES. The massive one.
- 1a [Legato symbol on a score] SLUR, which I at all times misremember as SLUE.
- 36a [Jasper Johns genre] POP ART. Amongst a number of others that he’s been related to. He’s nonetheless alive, age 94.
- 37a [Cal State city] CHICO.
- 46a [Brew in a mug] TEA. 64d [Brew in a mug] ALE.
- 65a [Silky fabric] SATEEN. “Sateen is a cloth made utilizing a satin weave construction however with spun yarn as an alternative of filament yarn. It’s a cotton or different non-silk material that has the traits of silk satin however is inexpensive.” (Wikipedia)
Aside from the weak point I identified, it was a great crossword total, flowing and well-clued.
Adrian Johnson’s Common crossword, “Spring Themeless Week, Puzzle 5”—Jim’s evaluation
Beautiful themeless grid as we speak with grid-spanners galore going each which means and stacked atop each other.
I loooove “AND YET, HERE WE ARE“. I ponder if that was the seed for this puzzle. Different goodies: THAT’S MORE LIKE IT, CEREMONIAL START, EVERYTHING BAGEL, SAN ANTONIO SPURS, MADAME PRESIDENT, REAL ESTATE MOGUL, “ARE YOU LISTENING?” and GLUE GUNS.
On the opposite finish are entries like AIWA, ELAN, and UNS, however for a puzzle filled with grid-spanners these are hardly value mentioning.
Clue of word: 3d. [Title for no U.S. head of state, so far]. MADAME PRESIDENT. Ugh. I can’t think about pondering the present bonehead-in-chief was the higher alternative. AND YET, HERE WE ARE.
Very good themeless puzzle. 4 stars.
