Michael Hawkins catches us at home with a screwball puzzle.
SATURDAY PUZZLE — We’ve had a nice long run of themeless grids from Michael Hawkins, who constructs puzzles that are approachable but rich and with great flows. This might not be the most difficult Saturday grid you’ve laid eyes on lately, but it’s perfect for a day off, maybe a little chilly and autumnal, spent cuddled up with the hot drink and media of your choice.
Tricky Clues
You could watch “You Laugh but It’s True,” an exploration of the comedy of Trevor NOAH, or read a prizewinning mystery (and, for more suspense, Mr. Hawkins’s notes). Heck, I wouldn’t blame you for succumbing to temptation and queuing up CARY Elwes and “The Princess Bride.” Or put on “AMAHL and the Night Visitors” — holiday decorations will be going up on Monday, or soon after.
17A: Did everyone think, “Now, this is a job I can do”? Less obvious is whether the lucrative career of SEATFILLER can survive social distancing.
30A: Lots of eggs in this puzzle! The LUMPFISH makes its debut today; we’ve probably all sampled its roe on a sushi roll without realizing it, but it’s not considered “pearl spoon” worthy by connoisseurs. Escamoles, a delicacy that’s called “Mexican caviar” by gourmands, is composed of the larvae of velvety tree ANTs. That’s no YOLK (larvae are already hatched).
32A: I have to take a puzzle’s word for it on most European soccer trivia, which I always solve in reverse, although LA LIGA makes perfect sense as a reference to “the league.”
6D: This is an interesting debut, as it’s an old word and one that refers to incorrect word usages, which means that if you’ve gotten it wrong here it counts as meta. I’ve seen SOLECISM written but never used it myself; it seems that it can be used for a variety of faux pas, spoken words or poor decorum. It also seems to have a snobby-sounding provenance, born from the name of a Greek town, Soloi, whose inhabitants were said to have used bad grammar.
25D: This wonderfully chunky term makes its way into a crossword puzzle every so often. It’s possibly a rhyming reduplication of the British exclamation “Hullo,” meant to suggest an uproar — a HULLABALOO.
35D: Solving this entry cost me about an hour and 20 minutes. Coming up with GIRL TALK was easy enough. Is its clue dated? Everyone can have a slumber party, after all. This entry debuted in 1966 as a “Highlight of a pink tea,” which also sounds dated, until I learned that a century ago, suffragists threw “pink tea” parties with abundant ruffles and frills, intended to throw off the menfolk so attendees could plot political action.
(That took only a moment to find, as well. Then I was sharply reminded of a D.J. who goes by GIRL TALK, and this cheerful movie-length dance showcase that mashes up hundreds of songs and frolics all over New York City. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I’ll bet, but it’s infectious and its pre-pandemicness transfixed me. So I watched the whole thing.)
Constructor Notes
The original submission for this puzzle featured an entirely different northwest corner. The editors liked it but felt one of the crossings would be unfair, and asked if I could tweak it. Unfortunately it wasn’t a simple edit and my “ultrafresh 1A” (their words) was nixed in the process. That debut word must wait for another day.
I’m disappointed to see my clue for 22-Down (Part of a spotty work history?) get the ax, but I’m glad to see they kept some of my favorite clues, including 39-Across, 44-Across and 1-Down.
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