FRIDAY PUZZLE — This grid has a nice flow to it, which we’ve come to expect from Erik Agard and his creative constructor cohorts, who have entertained us quite a bit over the last couple of years. Today, Claire Rimkus makes her Times debut.
This puzzle shines with surprise entries as well, mainly because of the cleverness of their cluing rather than their unfamiliarity. Of the four debuts, only one was really much of a shock.
Tricky Clues
We can expect a lot of laconic little puns, of course, in a puzzle that comes anywhere near Mr. Agard. Second take entries, for me, include PROM, BULB, HEARD and LEND; PGA required a third take. Also, for some reason, I’m very fond of TROU and its clue.
15A: She’s from a movie I missed and a Times puzzle debut, but this character is somewhat deducible — ELASTIGIRL is the nom de ciné of Mrs. Incredible, or Helen Parr in ordinary life. Her superpower seems to be the ability to expand and flex to traverse the hurdles of her family’s existence.
31A: I couldn’t easily track down the commercial history of couples’ gifts, but fortunately you can buy HIS AND HIS monogrammed bathrobes, towels and sheets.
39A: This clue, referring to the ridiculous work weeks of medical RESIDENTS, reminded me of the band by the same name — those bloodshot eyes. This entry reappears after a 50-year absence.
9D: This is the clue that I found most unexpected today, for a very surgical sounding aesthetic procedure involving eyebrows, MICROBLADING. The name doesn’t indicate the purpose, which is to make your eyebrows look thicker with a technique that’s like a very precise, semi-permanent tattoo (the “blade” is actually a bundle of tiny needles). Who knows what everyone will do if tiny plucked eyebrows come back, but maybe we’ll be so far into 2020 by then that people will just be glad to have their faces.
24D: A bawdy pun that made me chuckle; someone’s “groin pulls” them in the direction of the target of their LUSTS.
28D: This entry and its neighbor to the right are fun! Neither are new, and if you can believe it, PLANETARIA made its debut in 1955 with the clue “Orreries” — on a Monday. I read right over GASTRONOMY at first, with its ordinary clue, but it’s too close to astronomy to ignore in this location (especially with RED GIANT crossing both).
48D: “Bombs” made sense here — movies that get either terrible critical reception or paltry box office receipts. Movie reviewers also “trash” ticket STUBS in great quantity, I imagine. Ah, movies in movie theaters! Nostalgic clue.
Constructor Notes
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"stage" - Google News
July 31, 2020 at 08:40AM
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Stage for a Big Star? - The New York Times
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