Try and crack the theme of today’s puzzle!

SUNDAY PUZZLE –  Hello solvers! This week we’re publishing what I think will be a slightly more difficult puzzle than usual. I phrase it that way because it’s so hard to tell as a constructor just how hard a puzzle will be. Even with people solving it beforehand, it’s not easy to predict how a general audience will assess it. Nevertheless, I wanted to try and test the waters with a slightly more obscure set of entries and clues, hopefully appeasing those of you who fly through our usual puzzles. If you would like to contribute to the crossword or berate me for a job poorly done, email me at pavkan@umich.edu. Happy solving!

Tricky Clues:

25A. It’s always hard to clue simple words (EAT, SAD, MAD, etc.) without being totally boring, so I was very happy with this clue. “No longer fast” refers to, in this context, EAT. The idea that somebody eats to break a fast is not revolutionary, but a bit of wordplay adds some misdirection. I am a massive fan of misdirection. 

28A. I am so sorry if you haven’t hopped on the “Succession” hype train, but I think about that show too much for me not to use it as a clue. “Youngest Roy sibling in ‘Succession’” refers to ROMAN, as in Roman Roy. Roman used to be a character that I somewhat empathized with, but his recent behavior (no spoilers) has been absolutely disgusting. That’s what I get for trusting a billionaire.

51A. “Brazilian soccer star, to fans” refers to NEY, as in Neymar. Definitely a difficult entry, especially for people who aren’t the biggest soccer fans. That being said, I had to fill my quota of at least one soccer reference per puzzle, and this silky smooth Brazilian seemed like the perfect choice. Neymar will do things with a ball that look impossible until you watch it back in slow motion. He is a walking cheat code who was unfortunate enough to peak at the same time as two of the best to ever play the sport. In any other generation, Neymar is seen as one of the very best. 

66A. Speaking of quotas, I hit my world capital quota with another clue that I’m quite proud of. “World capital that becomes its country when you add two letters” refers to TUNIS. Tunis is the capital of Tunisia, one of a few African nations with direct access to the Mediterranean Sea. I think that world capitals such as Tunis and Mexico City are so lazy. Give me wild and eccentric world capitals. Give me more of Ouagadougou and Podgorica. In my opinion, this is the true first step to world peace. 

1D. This one is tricky mostly due to how obscure it is. “Brainy bunch” refers to MENSA, the self proclaimed “High-IQ society.” Personally, I am not a huge fan of that whole concept. Isaac Asimov wrote this short piece titled “What Is Intelligence Anyway?” where he talks about the idea of being “intelligent.” It changed my entire perspective on what it meant to be smart, so I have trouble taking groups like Mensa seriously. 

50D. This one is my favorite. “Rest of the afternoon” refers to SIESTA. A siesta is a midday nap, more specifically as a cultural norm in Spain. The New York Times recently published a puzzle which clued SIESTA very similarly, which freaked me out when I was solving it as I had just written the clue myself. I felt a lot less clever after that experience.

Today’s Theme:

Hopefully, you found this theme to be both straightforward and engaging. The revealer can be found at 44-Across, with SALT SHAKERS. The idea is simple: you take the letters in SALT, and you “shake” them. For example, at 20-Across, we have SOCIAL STUDIES. The theme is continued at 37-Across with LEGISLATION, and is rounded out by a shoutout to Purdue with WEST LAFAYETTE. I mostly enjoyed the process of finding potential theme entries, but the letters S, A, L and T are found in what feels like infinite words and phrases. Whittling it down to just three felt impossible. Some honorable mentions that didn’t make the cut were VIOLA STRINGS, EAST LANSING, and FINAL STRETCH.

Answer Key: