USA Today's themers lead off with the all-to-topical LONGCOVID. Unfortunately we cannot say WEREDONE with COVID.
In the LAT, I wanted DRONERACING instead of DRONESOCCER, which is new to me. What kind of rules does that have?
Universal has AVIDREADER down the middle, which reminds me I have some books to get to...
Loved this week's New Yorker puzzle. That central stack of SANCTUARYCITY, AMITHEASSHOLE, and MEALSONWHEELS is amazing, with nice bonuses TACOTRUCKS and the excellent portmanteau HIPHOPERA (are there any others than "Hamilton"?)
LAT had a nice selection of SPILLEDMILKs. Can you still get anything for collecting cereal BOXTOPs?
Kind of surprised to see the Sony PSP in the Universal. Didn't think anyone remembered those, though they had some good games. I mostly played PSP games via PSTV.
HULKSMASH! I'm not into skate culture, but that entry made the LAT puzzle fun.
USAT made me hungry with APPLEPIEALAMODE. Also liked the reminder that the whole CARBONFOOTPRINT thing is BP greenwashing.
Universal reminded us of the lockdown fad of SOURDOUGH baking. I do love fresh hot bread, but never been a big SOURDOUGH fan myself (I'm not a fan of sour flavors in general).
Universal has TOEBEANS and CATEYES, so that automatically wins puzzle of the week. It also has some fun entertainment with a DRAGSHOW and SOAPOPERAS. Hopefully you don't need a SIDEHUSTLE to pay all those cover charges and streaming fees. I'll forgive it RAWDATA, even if I get too much of that in the day job.
The highlight of the LAT is the clue on 43A for PETS.
The Stumper definitely tried to stump. Really wanted the "Early influence on Asimov" to be VERNE or WELLS, but I suppose PULPS is accurate as well. That central pairing of INCAN DESCENT and INCANDESCENT is wild.
The Newsflash has me wondering why OREOs are the official cookie of the NBA? I am glad that Chrome has gotten reliable enough that I'd almost forgotten the AWSNAP message. I hadn't heard Disney+ was planning a new PETERPAN. Hope it's good.
#crosswords #SaturdayStumper #LATXword #UniXword #FireballNewsflash
USAT gets us into a proper kitty mood with KITTEN and CATTAIL. Then the Universal has BELLYDANCE; not quite as good as a bellyrub, but close. LAT reminds us to neuter our cats by removing their BALLS.
USAT features the delightful entry CATPARENT. Universal has "Catwoman" as a clue for VETERINARIAN. And the LAT leads with BIGCAT at 1D. Overall, a very satisfying catty day of crosswording.
Fun LAT puzzle today, with its GENDERCREATIVE reveal. I was initially confused by 18A; my first thought whenever I see CBT is not mainstream-crossword-friendly...
USAT had a fun selection of artists for its theme. 68A caused more trouble than it should have: "Rats!" -> DRAT -> DANG -> DARN!
Universal had some groanworthy (even if a bit over-familiar) puns, though I was a bit confused by 48A; "ROOTS" and "routes" (in the navigation sense) are not homonyms to me.
COOLCAT reminded me of the "I'm cool cat bad" catchphrase played upon collecting all the brains in each level if Dr. Lunatic Supreme. Which I have now discovered was made available with all formerly available downloadable levels on itch.io. And there's an opensource Hamamu engine called Hamsandwich that fixes various annoyances on modern hardware!
Also, the crossword itself was delightful. Who doesn't love a GRAVYTRAIN of FOODTRUCKs? And I don't eat sushi, but I've always loved the presentation of a SUSHIBOAT.
I am Mr CRANKYPANTS if you interrupt me while I'm doing a crossword, or reading the comics. Thanks to Universal for reminding me of that excellent expression.
LAT left me wondering, what is a lucky ACORN?
Kind of jolting to have BEACHREAD in the NYT on one of the coldest days we've had this year (I'm late posting, but I did that one on Saturday when it was 11F out).
Universal reminded us that SHARINGISCARING. I hope y'all enjoy my posts :)
LAT was unusually tricky, but you have to love any puzzle that leads off with PEPPAPIG. I enjoyed learning that Cape Canaveral's AREACODE is 321. And that clue on GAYBARS is fabulous. But EARLAP crossing a tough clue for ASTA was a rough finish.
The Stumper featured favorite vehicles DIRIGIBLES. And the retro DIALO for 411 was a fun trick. But CALUMNIATE and the obscure battery size AAAA made the SW tough.
AndyHat