NYT Crossword January 7, 2021

 A fun solve on a sad day.

January 7, 2021

Time: 7:13

The overall theme was a replacement, replacing X's (the proverbial 'strike') with that, as clued by 59A (Words of correction...or a hint to 16-, 20-, 36-, and 54- Across).

• 16A Cocktail specification: "WIXXXXWIST" (WITH A TWIST)
• 20A "Get your negative energy out of here": "DONXXXXE" (DON'T HATE)
• 36A 2007 black comedy directed by Frank Oz: "DEAXXXXAFUNERAL" (DEATH AT A FUNERAL)
• 54A Fedoras, e.g.: "FELXXXXS" (FELT HATS)

I give this puzzle 92 out of 99 senators who chose not to abdicate their duties in preserving our union. #ImpeachDonaldTrump

NYT Crossword January 6, 2021

 A uniclue puzzle! It doesn't play out as nicely on the app, so this would be a great one to do pen and paper. Basically, instead of cluing across or down, it just gives the number. If a number has an across and down solve, then the two are interconnected (in this case Across and Down).

January 6, 2021

Time: 5:20

The grouped uniclues were as follows:

• 1A/D Rubberneck: "STOP" and "STARE"
• 5A/D Stiffly formal: "PRIM" and "PROPER"
• 9A/D Old Glory: "STARS" and "STRIPES"
• 33A/D Kind of sauce in Chinese cuisine: "SWEET" and "SOUR"
• 41A/D Full from, as a place: "BORN" and "BRED"
• 43A/D Footwear fashion faux pas: "SOCKS" and "SANDALS"
• 45A/D Risk losing one's license, say: "DRINK" and "DRIVE"
• 56A/D Proven to be reliable: "TRIED" and "TRUE"

Not too many other clues of note, though I do love the clue for 29A (Second-level = "TIER TWO" is just such a funny solve in my mind). I give 1A over 1D.

NYT Crossword January 5, 2021

Time of a Tuesday crossword! This one is okay. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me as I thought through the solve a bit more.

Tuesday, January 5

Time: 6:18

The theme was basically actors who have verbs for names, finding phrases that use these verbs, and creating a different scenario in which the phrase makes sense (e.g., "pats down" -> "Pat's down"). It's an okay theme and because of the shorter length, it creates more opportunities to see this play out. While I wasn't a huge fan of the theme, I think it's awesome that we got 7 instances of it rather than the typical 3-4.

• 16A Singer Benatar feels blue: "PAT'S DOWN". References singer Pat Benatar, likely after singing "Hell is for Children".
• 20A Author Grafton has arrived for dinner: "SUE'S OVER". References mystery novelist Sue Grafton, in "D as in Dinner".
• 26A Actress Wells has just entered the scene: "DAWN'S ON". References actress Dawn Wells (RIP Mary Ann).
• 37A Actor Nicholson will bat next: "JACK'S UP". References actor Jack Nicholson, who creepily crept up the stairs in The Shining.
• 48A Baseball's Boggs has agreed to join us: "WADE'S IN". References third-baseman Wade Boggs, who's only in if he's getting fried chicken and beers.
• 53A Actor Norris got tagged: "CHUCK'S IT". References actor and martial artist Chuck Norris, who cannot legally be tagged. When Chuck Norris plays tag, the person who is "it" runs from him. (Sidenote - this fill also works for 8D Throws a lo-o-ong pass)
• 59A TV father Cleaver has just left the starting line: "WARD'S OFF". References Ward Cleaver from "Leave it to Beaver", I assume.

No real clues of note, though I did learn about CBGB, the Manhattan music club. I'd never heard of it before, but now I know it stands for country, bluegrass, and blues. I give it 7 out of 7 clues solved.

NYT Crossword January 4, 2021

 A wonderful (it'll make sense later) Monday start to the week! Let's get to it.

January 4, 2021

Time: 4:00

The theme is clued in 61A (Co-founder of the Justice League), and in a fitting tribute to WW1984, the theme is Wonder Woman!

• 17A Identity of 61-Across: "DIANA PRINCE"
• 30A Originator of 61-Across: "DC COMICS"
• 36A Television portrayer of 61-Across: "LYNDA CARTER"
• 44A Film portrayer of 61-Across: "GAL GODOT"

A fitting crossword tribute to Wonder Woman! Some other clues of note:

• 27A Overhaul, as a show: "REVAMP". I had initially put "REBOOT" before seeing the disastrous "OM" and "OE" in after cluing in "SEE ME". My knowledge of Amy Adams helped me realize that REBOOT could not have been correct.
• 49A Lead-in to "man" in superhero-dom: "AQUA". It was four letters so I had initially thought "IRON", but the heavy DC tilt of this puzzle made it easier to see it was AQUA
• 43D Easing of international tensions: "DETENTE". I don't know why, but I just like this word. Maybe it's the triple E's or the fun way to pronounce it.
• 53A Pain in the lower back: "LUMBAGO". I didn't know this word before this puzzle, but it is a much more interesting word than the phrase "lower back pain".

I give this 1984 stars (out of 2000).

WSJ Crossword Contest (12/31 - 1/3) "The Party Starts at 10"

The Wall Street Journal has a fun series where each Friday (in this case, Thursday), they release a meta-puzzle with a phrase you need to find. This was the WSJ contest to begin the year.

"The Party Starts at 10"

The answer to this week's contest is a four-word phrase you might hear tonight (NYE).

Generally speaking, the way metas work is that there is a clue that highlights what answers are most likely to be useful for solving the meta puzzle. Additionally, the title of the puzzle will help, so something with a "10" may be helpful (whether it is an answer, a clue, or something else is still TBD). Lastly, we use the fact that this is a four-word solution on NYE. In this case, a combination of 66A and 67A give us the solution.

• 66A "Three...two...___..." (last words of the year, often): "ONE"
• 67A Some are ten letters long in this grid: "DOWNS"

66A clues us that we are likely looking for the last three of something given that it is a New Years Eve themed quiz. 67A highlights that we should look at the Down answers with 10 letters, of which there are 4:

• 3D Google co-founder: "SERGEY BRIN"
• 18D A candidate might win by it: "WIDE MARGIN"
• 22D Machinist's tool: "METAL LATHE"
• 30D Governor of Maryland in 1968: "SPIRO AGNEW"

I've bolded the last 3 letters as clued by 66A. But I actually realized this because of the NYE tilt. It seemed too perfect that 30D would end in "NEW", and after looking at the other 10 letter clues, I was able to get the groups of letters which in order will spell our answer "RING IN THE NEW".

The party may start at 10, but I'll give this WSJ only 9 out of 10 new years.

WaPo Crossword January 3, 2021 (And Cut!)

I am a huge fan of Evan Birnholz's puzzles, and his last puzzle of 2020 is a must-solve for any crosswords fan. After a tour de force like that, one can be forgiven for a more modest, but still fun, Sunday solve.

January 3, 2021 ("And Cut!")

Time: ~10:55

The bubbles each spell out a move, but they are split across multiple clues. A fun one because you can either know the two parts separately or recognize the film.

• 24A / 25A Mascara site / 1953 western directed by George Stevens / Began ___ (started over): "LASH / ANEW" (SHANE)
• 30A / 33A Sister of Peter Rabbit / 1960 thriller set at the Bates Motel / Food, informally: "FLOPSY / CHOW" (PSYCHO)
• 35A / 36A Oslo Accords grp. / 1961 romantic drama starring Anouk Aimee / ___ Vegas: "PLO / LAS" (LOLA)
• 46A / 47A Author Munro / 2002 animated comedy featuring a woolly mammoth / Movie star's representative: "ALICE / AGENT" (ICE AGE)
• 49A / 50A Tiny tunneler / 1981 drama that follows a group of military trainees / See 80 Down [with 50 Across, dogs first brought as gifts from the Dalai Lama in the 1930s]: "ANT / [LHASA] APSOS" (TAPS) (Sidenote: what a mouthful)
• 66A / 69A Best director award / 1983 crime drama about the drug lord Tony Montana / Aspect: "OSCAR / FACET" (SCARFACE)
• 87A / 88A Parish priest / 2006 animated film with Piston Cup racers / Take a load off: "VICAR / SIT" (CARS)
• 89A / 90A Pulsate / 1995 historical drama set in 18th-century Scotland / Rolls-____: "THROB / ROYCE" (ROB ROY)
• 100A / 101A Hair goo / 2016 thriller for which Isabelle Huppert was nominated for an Academy Award / "My Name is Asher ___" (Chaim Potok novel): "GEL / LEV" (ELLE)
• 102A / 103A Blood fluids / 1996 action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger / "All-Night Vigil" composer Rachmaninoff: "SERA / SERGEI" (ERASER)
• 112A / 113A Linux predecessor / 1995 historical drama that begins at the Watergate Hotel / Black gem: "UNIX / ONYX" (NIXON)
• 114A Film technique showing a divided frame...and what's spelled out by the first letters of this puzzle's 11 divided films "SPLITSCREEN"

At first, I was concerned that this was just about splitting movie titles apart. But Evan Birnholz never disappoints and of course, the movies all were connected. A terrific Sunday puzzle. Other clues and answers of note:

• 7D Deflect, as an epee: "PARRY". It's always fun to see a crossword favorite like "epee" show up in a clue.
• 58A "Frozen" freezer: "ELSA". I'm also a sucker for alliteration, especially when it clues Elsa in a different way.
• 70D Five-time Silver Slugger Award winner Robinson ___: "CANO". Those Silver Slugger Awards are quite blah when you realize he has multiple PED suspensions.

I give this puzzle 23 personalities out of 24 ("Split"...screen, gonna leave the Beast out of it).

NYT Crossword January 3, 2021 (Busting Moves)

 A wonderful Sunday puzzle from the NYT by one of the youngest constructors (as I found out on Twitter). 

January 3, 2021

Time: 14:30

First things first, this is the first themed puzzle of the year for me. The theme is all about busting moves, which can only mean dancing! And not just dancing, but "busting" them up into two sections. With both circles and shades, we can more easily see both the theme and the nice mini-meta-message hidden in the clues.

• 23A Title for Iran's Ali Khamenei: "SUPREME LEADER". The dance is "REEL", a Scottish style. The shaded letter was "M"
• 25A Tailored blouse style: "SHIRTWAIST". The dance is "TWIST", popularized in the film Pulp Fiction. The shaded letter was "A".
• 43A Subject of some teen gossip sessions: "BOY PROBLEMS". The dance is "BOP", though thankfully not of the Kidz variety. The shaded letter was "Y".
• 47A Sure-footed alpine climber: "MOUNTAIN GOAT". The dance is "TANGO", of which it takes at least two. The shaded letter was "I".
• 68A Bakery item that's often messy: "CRUMB CAKE". The dance is "RUMBA", not the vacuum. The shaded letter was "C".
• 88A Caribbean capital: "PORT AU PRINCE". The dance is "TAP", which I'm aware of as a huge Dule Hill fan. The shaded letter was "U".
• 91A Kind of test question: "SHORT ANSWER". The dance is "HORA", the wonderful Jewish wedding dance. The shaded letter was "T".
• 114A Proceeds breezily: "SAILS ALONG". The dance is "SALSA", the source of this great Ben Stiller scene. The shaded letter was "I".
• 117A What a spike goes over: "VOLLEYBALL NET". The dance is "BALLET", as in the Joffrey. The shaded letter was "N".

When you put the shaded letters together, you get the message "MAY I CUT IN", both fitting for a dance and for the overall theme of a letter breaking up a dance. The idea is brilliant and comes with an amazing payoff with the mini-message. Some other clues of note:

• 6D Title nickname in a 1984 sports movie: "KARATE KID". Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence are back in Cobra Kai, but you really can't beat a classic.
• 50D Breaking or entering, say: "GERUND". Where my grammar nerds at?

Overall I give it a 5, a 6, a 5, 6, 7, 8 steps out of 8.

NYT Crossword January 2, 2021

 2 for 2 in 2021! A decently fun Saturday crossword. 

Saturday January 2, 2021

Time: 14:32

Themeless Saturdays! Some fun clues of note:

• 13A It has wheels and flies: "ROLLER BAG". Road warrior mentality all the way.
• 12D ("HALF SIZES") and 60A ("BITE SIZED") both seem to have the mini-sizes involved. A bit unfortunate that there are two uses of the "size", but always great to see Z's in crosswords
• 33D Dance-based class in a pool: "AQUA ZUMBA". Can you do Zumba underwater? Apparently the answer is yes.
• 51A Milk, slangily: "MOO JUICE". Ew. Got Milk? didn't become one of the biggest milk campaigns to become equivalent to MOO JUICE.

I'd like to say I had the best take on this, but I'll leave it to WaPo's own Evan Birnholz:

Saturday #NYTXW: My third letter of 51A before I corrected it was M, please no one analyze what this wrong answer says about me, thanks in advance.

— Evan Birnholz (@evanbirnholz) January 2, 2021

Overall, I give it 3 and a half Moo's out of 5. 

NYT Crossword January 1, 2021

 I decided this year to lean into my love for crosswords and start to review them. Going into 2021, I had solved 1,673 NYT crosswords (as well as a number of other ones), and I enter the year with a solid streak of 33 crosswords completed in a row. I'm fairly certain I wrote at least one of my college essays on the joys of crosswording. So without further ado, here it goes.

Friday Jan 1, 2021

Time: 8:43

Theme? It was a fitting start to 2021, as the central squares read out "2021". I liked 3 of the four solves here, though was slightly disappointed by "01ALUMS" for 38D ("First graduates of the new millennium, informally"). Some other interesting ones of note:

• 51A Passe:  "SO LAST YEAR". Let's leave 2020 in the past now, shall we?
• 21A You might get a kick of this at a restaurant: "HOT SAUCE". Spicy tolerance set high today, and a fitting intersection with "SPICED UP".
• 57A Some instant breakfast packets: "OATMEALS". Can't go wrong with Quakers Instant Oats.

Overall, a fun solve. It falls short of the A-plus average, so I'll give it a solid B / B+.