Marvel at the Interest – New York Times

Saturday Puzzle — Christina Iverson is a puzzle editor at The New York Times and a prolific contributor to the Daily Crossword: This is her 31st puzzle. Much of her work, however, is collaborative; although this is her fourth Saturday puzzle, it’s her first without a co-author, and her witty style really shines through. There’s a wonderful sense of humor in the wordplay, and plenty of interesting trivia that will resonate immediately (and satisfyingly) with some of the puzzles. There should be something for everyone. Not all of the facts I couldn’t solve were particularly difficult, but they weren’t in my area of ​​expertise, and each had enough accessible entries that intersected with it that I didn’t get stuck for long.

Hard evidence

13A. This is a perfect example of general knowledge: some people will just guess it by reading the manual, and the rest of the people have to hope to know all of its cross-entries because the entrance is the same. [Baseball mascot with a fluffy green snout] Is the Phillie PHANATIC an invention of Bonnie Erickson? Puppet designer who worked with Jim Henson..

18A. This is a hidden word clue, the kind you might find in riddles or word puzzles. [Woman in dire need?] In this case, RENEE, consists of consecutive letters in “di”.ri nee“Dr.”

27A. [Job that anyone could see themselves doing?] It would also be great if this puzzle was connected, and would make a great seed guide and entry. I took the guide literally and came up with a “mirror washer”, a job that might be found in some carnivals (or Versaillesperhaps). The entrance here is quite fitting and a real profession: he is a window washer, watching his reflection as he hangs outside the building with a mop.

42A. I can’t resist including a self-referential backstory to this: [It once ran the headline “Santa Dies on Xmas Trip”: Abbr.] This story was published in the New York Times. On Christmas Day 1913, the story was published on front page of newspaperBut it wasn’t the worst holiday news of the day, it was placed in the second column (above the fold).

59A. [Apollo was conceived in them] It sounds like shit from Greek mythology to me – Delos Island HillsOr something like that. Apollo refers in this guide to American Space Projectwhich came into existence in the 1960s.

4d. This guide appears to be asking for a geographic location — [Where the average American lives] —But it could be any city in the United States, anywhere with an old screen door and a wind chime, right? This article is the first entry in the Times Crossword Puzzle.

12d. I was sure of that. [Trying way too hard, in modern lingo] He was “thirsty.” But the answer is “too much.” Who can keep up with that? It’s embarrassing.

14d. This is another great American start and a great central entry: [Soda shop purchase] In this puzzle is a chocolate bar. You can still get one of these—even better, sometimes you can get Metal shaker with a little extra barley. -But the drink seems to be conjuring up Nostalgia.

Creator’s Notes

After several years of unsuccessful attempts to come up with a good set of topics for the window washer joke, I finally decided to use it as a seed for a riddle without a topic.

It should also be noted that LOTTA’s Sea Lice album (mentioned in 19-Across) is one of my favorite albums. I’ve always wanted to put LOTTA as such, but I’ve never felt comfortable as an editor putting my personal taste into someone else’s puzzle. I also felt it was too inconspicuous to put a puzzle up so early in the week. Finally, on Saturday, I felt it was okay to use this angle! listen to it 🙂

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