I'm the mom of crossword constructor and editor David Steinberg; I'm also a writer and psychologist, even though in high school math was my favorite subject and an occupational interest test told me I should become a computer programmer (!). As a teenager I solved crosswords in magazines and logic puzzles in books but stopped when I got to college. I didn't start up again until more than 35 years later, when David began constructing.
As for this puzzle, ZILLENNIAL was the seed entry—as soon as I heard the term, I wanted to make a puzzle using it. I listen to many podcasts and watch many (too many!) reality TV shows, so I'm constantly hearing new words and expressions and writing them down. I was lucky that some other good long entries (especially ZETTABYTE and BELLY BUTTON RING) worked well with the grid. Despite all the great new words these days, though, I'm trying to focus more on themed puzzles now. I do have a couple of other themelesses I'm working on too, however, so we'll see which I end up finishing first!
Best,
Karen
On a sadder note, Karen told me that her husband Paul passed away in 2023. Losing someone like Paul is heavy, but there’s something genuinely powerful in what Karen said—“the puzzles go on.” It speaks to continuity, legacy, and probably something they shared deeply as a family.
Karen, Paul and son David had the first "Family Puzzle" in the NYT on 5/22/22
Across:
1. Studies: GAZES AT
8. Google Play download: APP GAME - Subway Surfers is said to be the most downloaded APP GAME numbering over 3 billion.
15. Woodcutter in a tale told by Scheherazade: ALI BABA.
16. Went by yacht: CRUISED.
17. Navel brass?: BELLY BUTTON RING - Karen supplied a very gettable grid spanner.
19. Patisserie treat: ECLAIR.
20. Cocktail whose color comes from grenadine: PINK LADY.
21. Winter hrs. for most of western Indiana: EST.
22. Relieve (of): DIVEST.
23. "Milk" director Gus Van __: SANT - You may have to blow up the image to see Gus's name below the title.
25. Sector: ZONE.
26. Not discourteous: CIVIL - CIVIL discourse is as desirable as it is rare in some venues
30. The CW predecessor: UPN - United Paramount Network. CW stands for the parent networks CBS and Warner brothers.
31. "Ooh, burn!": ZING - I stuck with DING too long
32. "The Tale of __ Puddle-Duck": JEMIMA - You can get this 1908 first edition for $650.00
33. Winless racehorses: MAIDENS.
35. Apple cultivar that dates to American colonial times: WINESAP - Some say WINESAP apples came to America as seeds from Europe and some say they are native to our country.
36. Euchre kin: ECARTE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Here it is as an APP GAME
37. Oscilloscope display: WAVE - This Heathkit oscilloscope is the same model I used in my physics classroom for years.
38. Sch. in Athens: UGA - The University of Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA have had 11 bulldogs name UGA for their mascot. Here is number 10.
39. Sparked again: RELIT - Grilling in a wind might require this action
40. Connection point: NODE.
41. Barbaro's role in "A Complete Unknown": BAEZ - Monica Barbaro played Joan BAEZ in this biopic about Bob Dylan.
Joan Baez. Monica Barbaro
42. Pyle player: NABORS - Jim NABORS was supposed to be a "one off" character in The Andy Griffith Show but was an immediate hit, became a regular and eventually got his own spinoff series
44. Berkeley, familiarly: CAL.
45. Kodai Senga's signature pitch: FORK BALL - The pitch is thrown with fingers forming a fork around the ball
48. Yoga pose that alternates between arching and rounding the spine: CAT COW.
51. Beyoncé challenge in the song "Energy": EVERYBODY ON MUTE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
53. Shows some major respect?: SALUTES.
54. Mythical hunter transformed into a stag: ACTAEON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Google this gruesome story if you must.
55. Cunning: SLYNESS.
56. Lunar event: MOONSET - Today the Moon will rise at about 6:00 am and set at about 7:30 pm. The Moon is in the Waning Crescent phase and will be so close to the Sun that it will be invisible for all practical purposes. My students were always amazed that the Moon is not visible every night.
Down:
1. Kapler who was NL Manager of the Year in 2021: GABE.
2. Obi-Wan player: ALEC - Sir ALEC Guiness played the role in the 1977 Star Wars but said this about it
3. Microgeneration of the 1990s: ZILLENNIAL - The group that spans the gap between Millenials and Gen Z's and a seed entry for Karen.
4. Marketing method: EBLAST - An EBLAST (email blast) is a one-time mass email sent to a large group of recipients simultaneously, often to promote, announce or inform
5. "Just tell me!": SAY IT.
6. Dict. tag: ABBR.
7. __ cross: TAU.
8. On the move: ACTIVE.
9. Tending (to): PRONE.
10. Anticonformist subculture: PUNK SCENE.
11. Some brunch dates: GIRL TIME 😀
12. China setting: ASIA.
13. Make better: MEND.
14. Anxious: EDGY.
18. Halloween prank: T-PING - A leaf blower and toilet paper is a great demo of Bernoulli's Principle
22. Puts on: DONS.
23. Ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates: SUMER.
24. Quickly: APACE.
25. Niche mag: ZINE - A magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter”.
27. Facial expressions, e.g.: VISUAL CUES - Read the room!
28. PR concern: IMAGE.
29. Bolivian cultural center: LA PAZ.
31. One sextillion memory units: ZETTA BYTE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Today's constructors are husband and wife team Paul and Karen Steinberg.
I believe this is Paul's LA Times debut. This is Karen's second puzzle
here, the first being published on Saturday, May 28, 2022. See Husker Gary's review for a capsule bio. Paul and Karen are also the parents of prolific constructor David Steinberg has had over 20 puzzles published here and numerous others at that other paper. In fact the three of them have co-constructed a puzzle for the NYT. What fun to be a fly on the wall at one of their Sunday morning breakfasts!
We'll start with the reveal where they admonish us to ...
56A. "Remember what you were about to say," and what the answers to the starred clues literally do: HOLD THAT THOUGHT. ... and remind us with four theme phrases holding an IDEA spanning two of the words:
16A. *External troublemaker: OUTSIDE AGITATOR. OUTSIDE AGITATOR
is a term that has been used to discount political unrest as being
driven by outsiders, rather than by internal discontent. Many books
have been written on the subject including this one:
See also 18D.
23A. *Prized possession: PRIDE AND JOY. Here's Stevie Ray Vaughan with his Pride And Joy (Live at Montreux 1982):
33A. *Camera attachment for a panorama: WIDE ANGLE LENS. Formerly the province of photo-jocks, relatively low-cost add-on lenses are now available for cell phones. Here's a review.
47A. *Space-saving option for overnight guests: HIDE AWAY BED. Make sure you read the directions before you get into one:
Here's the grid (with nary a circle):
Here's the rest:
Across:
1. Salinger title girl who says, "I prefer stories about squalor": ESME. For Esmé—with Love and Squalor
is a short story by J. D. Salinger. It recounts a sergeant's meeting
with a young girl before being sent into combat in World War II.
Originally published in The New Yorker on April 8, 1950,[1] it was anthologized in Salinger's Nine Stories two years later (while the story collection's American title is Nine Stories, it is titled as For Esmé—with Love & Squalor in most countries).
5. Spanish "other": OTRA. Today's Spanish lesson.
9. Las Vegas WNBA team: ACES. The Las Vegas Aces
are an American professional basketball team based in the WNBA Western
Conference. The Aces won the 2022 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup and WNBA
Championship.
13. Dress up like: GO AS.
14. French endearment that means "cabbage": CHOU. Today's French lesson. Only in "Le pays de l'amour" would you call your loved one a "cabbage". "Petit Chou" is their word for Brussels sprout, a tiny cabbage.
15. Pound the pavement?: STOMP. These folks will pound just about anything. Here's the overture to their DVD Stomp Out Loud. 16A. [Theme clue]
19. __ Pueblo, New Mexico: TAOS. Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community
designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic
Landmark.
Multi-level adobe dwelling
20. PowerPoint unit: SLIDE.
21. Brewpub fave: IPA.
22. Bubble bath sigh: AHH.
23A. [Theme clue]
26. More spread out: SPARSER. The population of Canada is nearly 9 times SPARSER than the US. Perhaps that's why Canadians live longer than Americans. Hi CanadianEh!
Comparative population density of Canada vs United States
28. Dice game: CRAPS. How to play craps for beginners (12 min.). It's complicated.
29. Tech journalist Swisher: KARA. Kara Anne Swisher (/ˈkɛərə/KAIR-ə)
is an American journalist. She has covered the business of the internet
since 1994. As of 2022, Swisher was a contributing editor at New York, the host of the podcast Sway, and the co-host of the podcast Pivot.
Kara Swisher
30. Vegetable in aloo matar: PEA. Potatoes and peas (Hindi: आलू मटर). Here's a recipe.
Aloo Matar
32. Craft project initials: DIY. Do It Yourself and a CSO to TTP, Anon-T, Picard, and Moi. Hand up if I missed you?
33A. [Theme clue]
38. Acne treatment brand: OXY. There are several treatments available for mild acne.
You may try, or your doctor may recommend, treatment with a
nonprescription drug that contains benzoyl peroxide (the generic name
for OXY). It's believed that this compound works by destroying the bacteria associated with acne.
39. Lout: OAF.
40. Indie rock's __ Kiley: RILO. Rilo Kiley
was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California (1998
- 2014). The band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de
Reeder, and Dave Rock.
Here's their Silver Lining (lyrics):
42. Passport mark: STAMP. A passport stamp is an inked impression in a passport typically made by rubber stamp upon entering or exiting a territory.
45. Make damp: MOISTEN.
47A. [Theme clue]
51. Frustrating groove: RUT.
52. "One more sleep" time: EVE. This is a new clue for Christmas EVE, based on the song One more sleep by British singer Leona Lewis. This was the shortest version I could find:
53. Gushing reviews: RAVES. Apparently One more sleep got RAVE reviews in 2013 (see link in previous clue)
54. "__ You Babe": I GOT. All you need is love! But it ended when Cher became a mononym.
56A. [Theme reveal]
60. "Hamilton" Tony winner Renée __ Goldsberry: ELISE. A DIY YouTuber created this pastiche of 3 songs from Hamilton, featuring Renée (and a CSO to our Monday sherpa): 61. Dance move: STEP.
62. Stink: REEK.
63. Cambodian currency: RIEL. The Cambodia RIEL (KHR) has been the official currency since 20 March 1980. Here is the current exchange rate for US$. Between 1975 and 1980 (during the Vietnam War era) the country had no monetary system, . Between 1953 and
May 1975 a currency also called the RIEL was issued. Between 1885 and 1953 when Cambodia was a part of French Indochina the piastre was used. Prior to that time a variety of regional currencies were used.
64. Picks up a Bug, say: TOWS. Presumably the Bug being a disabled VW.
65. Edit menu option: UNDO. Hands down the most useful editing command.
Down:
1. Self-importance: EGO.
2. Lefty: SOUTHPAW. IMHO lefties are less "handed" than righties, because we've had to adapt to a right-handed world. OTOHit's easier for us to ESC from pages we wish we hadn't stumbled into. Hand up if you're a SOUTHPAW 👍
3. Spy played by Greta Garbo: MATA HARI. Mata Hari is a 1931 American drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice loosely based on the life of Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan executed for espionage during World War I. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film stars Greta Garbo
in the title role. It was Garbo's most commercially successful vehicle.
Since Greta prefers to be left alone, here's the real Mata Hari:
Margaretha MacLeod
4. Big petrol seller: ESSO. The word "petrol" in the clue indicates that they sell in places like England, Ireland, and Canada (another CSO to CanadianEh!!). They're also a big seller in crossword puzzles.
5. Med. condition that may be treated with Paxil: OCD. Do you have to be OCD to review crossword puzzles, or is it just me.
6. Alter ego of "Batman" villain Lorelei Circe: THE SIREN. Played by siren Joan Collins, this character draws from the wellsprings of Greek mythology (Circe), German folklore (Die Hexe Lorelei), and such historical figures as the seductress Mata Hari (see 3D).
The Siren
7. Explorer Amundsen: ROALD. Norwegian Roald Amundsen (16 July 1872 – c. 18 June 1928) led a party of 5 explorers who were the first to successfully reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911.
On 12 May 1926, Amundsen and 15 other men in the airship Norge became the first explorers verified to have reached the North Pole. Amundsen disappeared in June 1928 while flying on a rescue mission for the airship Italia in the Arctic. The search for his remains, which have not been found, was called off in September of that year.
Roald Amundsen 1908
8. Saul Bellow's "The Adventures of __ March": AUGIE. The Adventures of Augie March
is a picaresque novel by Saul Bellow, published in 1953 by Viking
Press. It features the eponymous Augie March, who grows up during the
Great Depression, and it is an example of Bildungsroman,
tracing the development of an individual through a series of
encounters, occupations and relationships from boyhood to manhood.
9. __ moment's notice: AT A.
10. Crumbly Mexican cheese: COTIJA. Cotija is an aged Mexican cheese
made from cow's milk and named after the town of Cotija, Michoacán.
White in color and firm in texture, its flavor is salty and milky.
Cotija cheese
11. Hybrid music genre: EMO POP. I threw a dart at this list of EMO POP bands and in keeping with our secondary theme of seductresses the band Sleeping with Sirens popped out at me. Here's their If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn (lyrics):
12. Wets with a hose: SPRAYS.
15. Lettering guide: STENCIL.
17. Web access cos.: ISPS. Internet Service Providers. Actual access to the World Wide Web is the first, and perhaps most important of, many types of services provided by ISPS.
18. Wyo. neighbor: IDA. Wyo. is short for Wyoming. My grandson (the long distance axe thrower in my last review) goes to Wyoming Catholic College, and like all the students there, he is majoring in the Great Books.
The college also teaches a lot of outdoor skills, among them wilderness
survival training and advanced first aid. He has already had an
introductory course as a backwoods EMT and may pursue that as a career.
IDA is short for IDAHO, sometimes clued with IDATarbell, the woman who took on Standard Oil (see 4D ESSO). She was often accused of being a 16A.
22. Query: ASK.
24. Get even with: REPAY.
25. Laundry room appliances: DRYERS.
27. Semicircular antenna housing: RADOME. A radome (a portmanteau of radar and dome) is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna.
The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves.
Radomes protect the antenna from weather and conceal antenna electronic
equipment from view.
Radomes
31. Before now: AGO.
32. Author who wrote on Friday?: DEFOE. Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant, journalist, pamphleteer, social critic, and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719.
He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English
novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Aphra Behn and Samuel Richardson.
Defoe wrote many political tracts, was often in trouble with the
authorities (an outside agitator no doubt), and spent a period in prison. Intellectuals and political
leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted him. Oh yes, Friday? He is the manservant of the novel's protagonist, Robinson Crusoe.
Daniel Defoe 1660
34. One-sided, in legal proceedings: EX PARTE. ex parte (ex par-tay, but popularly, ex party) adj.
Latin meaning "for one party," referring to motions, hearings or orders
granted on the request of and for the benefit of one party only.
36. Much of the atmosphere: NITROGEN. Nitrogen, or N, using its scientific abbreviation, is a colorless,
odorless element. Nitrogen is in the soil under our feet, in the water
we drink, and in the air we breathe. In fact, nitrogen is the most
abundant element in Earth’s atmosphere: approximately 78% of the
atmosphere is nitrogen! Nitrogen is important to all living things and plays a key role in plant growth: too little nitrogen
and plants cannot thrive, leading to low crop yields; but too much
nitrogen can be toxic to plants.
The Nitrogen Cycle
37. Did some digging: SLEUTHED. Our favorite sleuth is Vera Stanhope, played by actress Brenda Blethyn, OBE, who is the Detective Chief Inspector of the Northumberland Constabulary
in Northern England. She's about as frumpy and unglamorous as they
come, but with her leadership, gritty no-nonsense MO, detective skills,
and the determination to keep digging, her team always gets the perp.
The eagerly awaited Season 12 of Vera started last week. Here's a trailer from Season 10:
41. Toronto's prov.: ONT. CanadianEh! just scored a hat trick!
42. Feminine pair: SHE HER. Clever clue. As it turned out this was filled by a pair of pronouns, not by several possible collective nouns that I suspect some of the males on the Corner might have thought of first.
43. Copenhagen's __ Gardens: TIVOLI. Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli,
is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The
park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating
amusement park in the world:
Tivoli Gardens
44. Antarctic penguin: ADELIE. The Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)
is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic
continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most
widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor penguin, is the
most southerly distributed of all penguins.
50. BTS hit "__ Come": YET TO. "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)"
is a song by South Korean boy band BTS, released on June 10, 2022,
through Big Hit Music and Universal Music Group, as the lead single from
their first anthology album Proof. It is the band's first original Korean-language single since 2020's "Life Goes On". An alternative hip hop
track, the song's lyrics are a reflection on the past nine years of the
band's career while also looking forward to what the future holds. All the clips of YTC were in Korean, with no translations. Pass.
55. Ashram adviser: GURU.
57. Broadband letters: DSL. Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop)
is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over
telephone lines, which were originally created for voice
communication. Data transmission via DSL is provided by an Internet Service Provider (see 17D) in this case usually a telephone company.
58. Some PCs: HPS. This review was created on one.
59. Ref's ruling: TKO. You folks have suffered enough. I'm calling this match.
Cheers, Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
I'm the mom of crossword constructor and editor David Steinberg; I'm also a writer and psychologist, even though in high school math was my favorite subject and an occupational interest test told me I should become a computer programmer (!). As a teenager I solved crosswords in magazines and logic puzzles in books but stopped when I got to college. I didn't start up again until more than 35 years later, when David began constructing.
