122A./116D. I drew a blank at both of these clues and had to use trial and error to figure out the letter in the square where they cross. At 122A, [Rest on one’s ____], I got stuck on “laurels” and did not think of OARS (referring to what one might do in calm waters). At 116D, [Third of three X’s, maybe], I pictured XXX and thought of racy movies and the number 30, not a game of tic-tac-TOE. That’s the entry.
124A. This entry doesn’t refer specifically to the mini-fridges and two-burner stoves that furnish small kitchens. [Like some apartment appliances] solves to IN UNIT.
18D. This is television trivia, or lore: [Another name for the Slayer Handbook, in the “Buffy” franchise] is VAMPYR, a Times puzzle debut (and a plot device in many episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).
47D. This [Mexican dip] is SALSA ROJA, which has never been an entry before, either.
53D. There’s some fun wordplay in this puzzle’s fill. I found this clue and entry delightful: [Giving thought to somebody?] solves to TELEPATHY.
Constructor Notes
Emily: This idea dates back three years ago when I first started constructing, and while I loved it from a music perspective, I did have doubts that it was themeworthy. Thankfully, Sala wouldn’t let the idea die, and we would return to this grid over the years, referring to it as “In Parentheses” and wondering if we should give it another whirl. I knew from the get-go that the parentheses grid art around the revealer was a must-have, but the constraint of that made for a frustrating process.
With so many song titles with parentheticals to choose from, we ultimately chose songs that span a wide array of genre and decades. I’d love to go back in time and tell my 16-year-old self that my future self would be putting a Talking Heads song into a Sunday crossword, but she would probably be really obnoxious about it.
Sala: I am going on the record saying this puzzle theme and grid art was all Emily’s idea, but she did not think it had legs (shout-out to this Thursday puzzle) to justify a Sunday. Thankfully Emily and I feel comfortable telling the other when they are completely and totally wrong, and I forced us to plow through and make it. So send all the love letters (or hate mail) to me. We were actually on the phone with each other when we got the acceptance email, so we got to celebrate in real time.
And on the topic of celebrating … as always, we are celebrating this puzzle. Everyone is invited to Third Street Bar in Detroit tonight (Sunday). We even got a cake!
We also share our crossword shenanigans on Instagram: Find us @blockpartypuzzles.
Need a little more help? Subscribers can take a peek at the answer key.
Trying to get back to the puzzle page? Right here.
What did you think?
About The Author
