Jump to Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
MONDAY PUZZLE — December feels, more than any other month, like a time of music. These are the days when I can reliably walk into a friend’s apartment and hear Vince Guaraldi or Nat King Cole playing in every room; order hot ciders or toddies at my neighborhood bars against a backdrop of the blues; and enjoy, as most of my inner circle does, a personalized musical recap, from Spotify, of who I was this year.
Spotify Wrapped dropped last week on the audaciously early date of Nov. 29 and I consider its analysis to be as valid as astrology or the Myers-Briggs test — even I’ve never heard of what my playlist claims are two of my favorite genres, “bubblegrunge” and “countrygaze.”
In today’s crossword, constructed by Sean Ziebarth, you may find yourself reminiscing over the soundtracks that played you through the significant moments of your year.
Today’s Theme
İçerik Tablosu
Radio-themed clues seemed to be getting a lot of play — or AIRtime, per 36-Across — in today’s puzzle, so I assumed that Mr. Ziebarth intended for them to hint at his larger theme.
As it turned out, I was half right: The central figures of Mr. Ziebarth’s puzzle are “Workers at dance clubs” (54D) who perform the actions of 20-, 25-, 43- and 48-Across. Who do we expect to do things like TURN THE TABLES (25A) and MOVE THE NEEDLE (43A)? The DJS.
I say “half right” because disc jockeys began in broadcast radio before moving into live clubs. And yes, I’m aware that jumping so instinctively to a reference from the previous century instead of the current one may date me.
Tricky Clues
6D. Sure, “From the beginning” could be described as AFRESH — it’s just not something I’m going to say in conversation. For example, “Do you mind starting the episode of ‘The Great British Baking Show’ afresh? I was in the bathroom!” I’d simply never say that.
31A. It’s both apt and cruel that a few different expressions for “Impersonate” can fit in these boxes, but the correct one is POSE AS.
41A. The “Followers of an ‘enduring’ philosophy” are STOICS. The word “enduring” in quotes refers wittily to both the central teachings of stoicism and the fact that its teachings persist today.
4D. I was briefly excited to learn about some kind of musical “band” that played on the radio “for news and talk formats.” But as I filled in my crossings, I realized my mistake: This clue refers to the radio’s frequency band, AM STEREO (and I AM very embarrassed).
34D. “Little Energizers” might have had you thinking of some of the smallest commercial batteries around — AAAs — but entries must always match the number of their clues, so this one has to be a plural. The answer is AAS.
Constructor Notes
I am a music freak! My favorite way to enjoy a few good tunes is to put a record on and crank it to 11! (The record I have on while writing this? The ’80s club favorite: Visage). I’m old enough to remember a time when this was the only way to hear your favorite album, other than clacking a cassette or 8-track into your stereo, and I wanted to mix my appreciation for this revered form of media into a crossword.
This puzzle was my third attempt at doing so. In my first, I tried playing with the different parts of a vinyl record but that only earned a boilerplate rejection from the editors.
I thought back to my past career — as a radio and club disc jockey — and used phrases that hinted at spinning records, like “puts a spin on.” I moved the editors a little closer to the dance floor with this attempt, and they responded with very helpful feedback.
So I dug through the crates and came up with a set of themed entries that got the editors up and cutting the proverbial rug! I hope you did too!
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