BEQtk (Darby)
LATuntimed (Gareth)
NYT7:58 (ZDL)
Universaltk (Sophia)
USA Today11:43 (Emily)
WSJ7:36 (Jim)
Fireballtk (Jenni)
AJ Phillips’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Heavy Lifting”—Jim’s review
Theme answers are familiar (though unclued) words and phrases that feature the word OVER. Remove the OVERs (mentally) to get the entry to match the clue. The revealer is OVERLOADED (59a, [Carrying way too much, and a punny description of four Across answers in this puzzle]).
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Heavy Lifting” · AJ Phillips · Thu., 5.2.24
- 17a. [Prone to mischief] IMP
OVERISH. - 25a. [Frisbees, e.g.] DISC
OVERS. - 35a. [Retail giant begun in 1892] SEA R
OVERS. - 50a. [Matches, at a poker table] C
OVERALLS.
It’s a fine theme though I can’t say I got too excited about it. I’d like a Thursday puzzle to have less duplication (for example, “COVER” is the same root in both DISCOVERS and COVERALLS). But hey, it’s a debut, and it did take me some time to suss things out, so I can certainly offer my congratulations to the constructor. Kudos!
New to me is the term SEA ROVERS which online dictionaries define as “one who roams the seas” or in other words a “pirate.”
The longer fill mostly consists of 7s due to the central 9-letter theme answer bisecting the grid. Highlights include ZOMBIES, “I REPEAT,” SPENSER, RAVIOLI, STRUDEL, and “LET’S SEE“. Not too much in the way of crosswordese, which is an achievement with those stacks in the corners. Nicely done.
Clues of note:
- 24a. [Division in the church?]. AISLE. Good clue. Also good: [It’s hard on your teeth] for ENAMEL and [No-brainers?] for ZOMBIES.
- 64a. [2023’s “Cop Slide,” e.g.]. MEME. I totally missed this one last year. See video below.
- 49d. [Part of an open-door policy?]. “SESAME.” As in, “Open SESAME!”
Solid puzzle. 3.5 stars.
Brandon Koppy’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up
Difficulty: Easy (7m58s)
Brandon Koppy’s New York Times crossword, 5/2/24, 0502
Today’s theme: TEA LEAVES(Divination aids … or a phonetic hint to the shaded squares in this puzzle)
- (t)EMP(t)RESS/ (t)RIG/ BA(t)E
- A(t)LAN(t)IS /LAS(t)ED/MAR(t)INE(t)
- FI(t)NESS (t)ES(t) /PE(t)AL / LEVI(t)ES
- (t)EX(t)ILES /MA(t)RON /S(t)ALE
IsGONE PRO anything like Gone Fishin’? Do newly minted big leaguers stick a GONE PRO post-it on their day job desks and ride off into the sunset? I’d like to think not.. I can think of few better ways to storm out of the office than to announce you’ve just signed a multi-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers. Your e-mails will never find me well again. The Zamboni calls,PEONS.
Cracking:CALABRIA, whose chili paste is the (no longer) secret ingredient par excellence of every outstanding marinara recipe on God’s green earth
Slacking:ILE sit this one out.. no wait
Sidetracking:SALSAS
Alex Eaton-Salners’s Fireball crossword, “Drop Everything”–Jenni’s recap
Fireball crossword solution, 5/2/24 – “Drop Everything”
Note from Amy: Jenni will be by later with her write-up. Meantime, here’s the grid. The theme involves paired entries. BLACK BEANS, once you’ve subtracted the letters in BACK (because backdrop is a word), yields LENS. START AT THE TOP gets to SHOP “after teardrops.” MARIANO RIVERA “after raindrops” is MOVE. And AHA MOMENTS “after namedrops” is HOTS.
Zhouqin Burnikel’s LA Times crossword – Gareth’s summary
LA Times 240502
Today’s puzzle by Zhouqin Burnikel features a theme with a couple of commonly-seen concepts. The revealer is ROOTSUP (UPROOTS would’ve sounded better to my ear, perhaps the fill was worse?) and each of four other down answers spell out edible roots in reverse, from left to right: YAM, CARROT, BEET and TARO. So:
- [Spiritual path of action], KARMAYOGA. Appears to be a Hinduism term; rather vaguely clued. Did y’all know this phrase?
- [Event for minor leaguers?], TEEBALLGAME
- [Sport with pit stops, in Britain], MOTORRACING.
- [Lab animal with white fur], ALBINORAT.
Other difficult / noteworthy clues & answers:
- [Vegetable in a yellow pod], WAXBEAN. I’m not sure I’ve encountered this in real life either? Is it an American thing?
- [Kung __ tofu], PAO. Not sure I’ve encountered this as anything except chicken, though it made sense would could substitute tofu.
- [Color of rambutan skin], RED & [Like a yellow papaya], RIPE – a lot of colourful fruit action today!
- [“The Prisoner’s Wife” author Bandele]], ASHA. Never seen this in a puzzle, despite the leters.
Gareth
Marshal Herrmann’s USA Today Crossword, “Juju” — Emily’s write-up
All I want now are some jujubes!
USA Today, May 02, 2024, “Juju” by Marshal Herrmann
Theme: each themer contains JU—JU—
Themers:
- 20a. [Destiny’s Child song that starts “Ladies, leave your man at home”],JUMPINJUMPIN
- 37a. [South Korean legal drama about minor offenders],JUVENILEJUSTICE
- 54a. [Improvised alcoholic drink that might be served in a giant cooler],JUNGLEJUICE
A variety of themers in this set today, starting with the bop JUMPINJUMPIN, followed by the show JUVENILEJUSTICE, and finishing with a sip of JUNGLEJUICE. A fun mix though I needed a few crossings on each to get me started, especially since it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard that tune. It’s rolling around my head now though—and I’m glad for a Thursday pick-me-up!
Favorite fill: IDSAY, ACUTE, and STARLIGHT
Stumpers: JABBERED (“droned” was my first thought), GUINEAPIG (needed crossings as I was misdirected and kept thinking about topics), and DWEEB (needed crossings for this one as well)
A challenge for me today—how about you all? The entire south half and the east area took me the longest to break into. Cluing a bit harder for me today so I pieced things together in those sections but once I got a foothold then things started falling into place easier. Great grid design and nice overall fill though!
4.0 stars
~Emily
