Go to: Today’s Theme | tricky clue
Monday Puzzle – In an article in The Cut last year, Allison P. Davis wrote about a concept that was recently coined by a trend forecaster, known as the “vibe shift.” He characterized the change in vibe as the point at which “a once-dominant social wavelength starts to seem outdated” – and coolly pointed out, that “not everyone survives that”.
Some of us adopt the culture. But many of us simply get lost in obsolescence, seeing that this environment continues without us (me). So while solving today’s crossword, created by Zachary David Levi, I was amazed to see how quickly I recognized the themes of his themed entries; I wonder how many other solvers will be able to catch up so quickly.
One could argue that these are forces that have played a central role in changing our emotions. If not, at the very least, they’ve changed the way we do everything else.
today’s theme
It could be said that, ahem, your appreciation of the four themed entries in today’s puzzle depends on your investment in the 61-across clue: “Many new ventures in Silicon Valley…or 17-, 26-, 37 – A sign for and 52-across.”
Silicon Valley is practically synonymous with tech start-ups. And really, what does each of today’s theme entries start with besides the name of a tech company?
For example, “Kitchen Gadget” on 37A is a Apple Peeler (and just as useful as any iPhone, harrumph). “Nietzsche’s superior man of the future” (52a) uberMensch.
My only fault is that breaking the revelation of this puzzle does not make it easier to distinguish the insertion of the “hand bone” (26a) – the metacarpal – from the foot bone, I often confuse it with the metatarsal. Who named them anyway? I blame Mark Zuckerberg.
tricky clue
1A. Never mind the fact that “Daddy’s Daddy” can inspire wildly different interpretations among different age groups, if last week’s Wordle solution was any indication. Its entry – GRAMPA – is an unusual spelling for the word, having appeared only three times since 1997.
42A. Now it’s time to talk about ÉLAN. It means “pizazz” (see also from previous clues: flair; idiosyncrasy; panache; zip). Etymology links the word to a 16th-century French noun meaning “inspire” and to a Latin verb meaning “to throw a spear.”
4D. A decade after being declared the next big thing by The New York Times’ spirits critics, the “agave-based liquor” known as MEZCAL is still growing in popularity. (I’m a fan of mezcal margaritas myself – and if that makes me basic, so be it!)
11d. In baseball parlance, “hits that barely clear the infield” are bloops. Outside of baseball parlance, they are the sound of a dripping faucet. Bloop.
49D. Once you’ve managed to say “Aleve alternative” three times fast, you’ll probably need some Anacin. I’ve only heard of this drug in crosswords, but I found this ad from the 1950s that tells me everything I need to know.
54D. Even if you’re not a professional manicurist, you may still find yourself using an emery board from time to time to keep your nails in shape.
Constructor Notes
Constructors often talk about “seed entries” when discussing themed puzzles – long, interesting words or phrases that they want to display in the grid and use as scaffolding to build the rest of the puzzle. When it comes to thematic crosswords, I think of these as big bang entries: an interesting turn of phrase or play on words that suddenly becomes the inspiration for a new puzzle. The nickname may be appropriate: sometimes the whole set impresses you at once. Collide!
Here, my ersatz genesis began with ÜBERMENSCH, which led to AMAZON BASIN, METACARPAL, APPLE FRITTER, “TESLA COILS,” and “ALPHABET SOUP.” (For the record, I make no claims of being a god in this scenario.) I had to leave out those last two entries (everyone still thinks of ALPHABET as Google, and TESLA COILS was a very close company) . Shell the dumplings for uniformity, and your puzzle is finished. QED
There are two rather ugly “Utah blocks” in the grid – those centered black squares that resemble the Beehive state – which are an unfortunate consequence of having to center the 11-character entry in a 15 x 15 crossword and being unable to fill the puzzle otherwise.
Don’t Be Afraid of Friday: About the Easy Mode Newsletter
If you sign up for the Easy Mode newsletter, Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor, will send a weekly Friday crossword with more accessible clues straight to your inbox. This extra goodness is for those who want to try the Friday puzzles but have heard how difficult they are.
Take a look at the differences between regular and easy-mode clues below. These links are a small sample of the clues for this Friday’s puzzle. When you click on them, you will see the version that will play the regular puzzle as well as the easy version.
(Warning: The following contains spoilers for Friday’s Puzzle.)