Title: IS IT CASUAL NOW?
Constructor: Amanda Rafkin
Editor: Amanda Rafkin
Theme synopsis:
- FLIRTATIONSHIP (20A: Dynamic in which you might by coy and playful for fun)
- IMPROMPTU SPEECH (37A: Public talk made with no preparation)
- INFORMAL ATTIRE (52A: Relaxed dress code)
IS IT CASUAL NOW?: Each of the theme answers is something to which the answer to "IS IT CASUAL NOW?" would be "yes."
What I learned from today's puzzle:
- O'NEIL (13A: Kitty once called "the fastest woman in the world") Kitty O'NEIL (1946-2018) was a stuntwoman and race car driver. The description of her as "the fastest woman in the world" is a reference to the multiple land speed records she broke. One of those records was the women's land speed record. In 1976, Kitty O'NEIL drove the "SMI Motivator," a three-wheeled rocket car. Her average speed for the run was 512.710 mph, with a peak speed of 621 miles per hour. That's fast! That record stood until 2019. Kitty O'NEIL also set women's speed records on water, including water skiing at 104.85 mph. Kitty O'NEIL led an interesting life, and I enjoyed learning about her. Perhaps if we see her in another crossword I'll talk about her career as a stuntwoman, her diving career, or the fact that Mattel made a Kitty O'NEIL action figure doll in 1978.
- FLIRTATIONSHIP (20A: Dynamic in which you might by coy and playful for fun) FLIRTATIONSHIP, a word formed by combining the words "flirtation" and "relationship," is a new term to me. It reminds me of the term SITUATIONSHIP, which we saw in the September 14, 2025 puzzle. As I was learning about the difference between a FLIRTATIONSHIP and a situationship (the latter usually involves a romantic or sexual aspect), I came across the similar term "textationship." That term refers to a relationship that is maintained solely through text messaging. I wonder if textationship will be the next "ship" we see in a puzzle.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
- LAMP (1A: Bedside light source) and LAVA (5A: Molten rock) It amuses me that this puzzle starts off with a LAVA LAMP (even if the words are in reverse order).
- BLT (24A: Crunchy diner sandwich) and MELT (25A: Crunchy diner sandwich) This is a fun clue echo. When I encountered the clue the first time I immediately filled in BLT, as that's a fairly common way to clue BLT. When the next clue was again [Crunchy diner sandwich], I definitely had a moment of, "Wait, didn't I just fill in that answer?" Nicely done.
- MASA (31A: Dough for tamales) MASA is a corn dough. To make tamales, MASA is wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks and then steamed.
- RAO (34A: Name on a pasta sauce jar) RAO's is an Italian-American restaurant located in New York City with a sister restaurant in Los Angeles, California. RAO's sells their pasta sauces in stores.
- AMELIA (35A: ___ Bedelia (kid-lit character who takes everything literally)) AMELIA Bedelia is the title character of a series of children's books written first by Peggy Parish (from 1963 until her death in 1988) and then by Peggy Parish's nephew Herman S. Parish III (from 1995 to 2022). In the books, AMELIA Bedelia repeatedly misunderstands directions given to her and takes figures of speech literally, which results in humorous situations. For example, one time AMELIA Bedelia was asked to make a cheesecake, and she did so by decorating blocks of cheese to resemble cake.
- ICARUS (40A: He flew too close to the sun) I have previously written about ICARUS, a character in Greek mythology whose wings of feathers and wax melted when he flew too close to the sun.
- RUST (57A: "Salt air, and the ___ on your door / I never needed anything more") The 2020 song, "August," by Taylor Swift (from her Folklore album) contains the lyric, "Salt air, and the RUST on your door / I never needed anything more." The song is told from the perspective of a young woman discussing a summer romance. Perhaps she's trying to decide if she's in a FLIRTATIONSHIP or a situationship. (Side note: I'm always happy to see a Taylor Swift reference in Amanda's puzzles. It just feels like all is right with the world.)
- ERIE (60A: Only Great Lake whose deepest point is above sea level) Lake ERIE is the shallowest of the Great Lakes. The mean elevation of Lake ERIE is 571 feet above sea level, and its deepest point is 210 feet deep. Our crossword friend ERIE is having a good month; this is its third September appearance.
- LOAFS (1D: Lies around like a lazy cat) I had "lolls" here at first, but that was easily fixed when crossing answers made it clear that was wrong. My cat, Willow, never LOAFS. Well, that's her story anyway. Her take is that when she appears to be loafing she's actually storing up energy for important hunting expeditions. It takes a lot of energy to round up all those cat toys, you know.
- LINT TRAP (5D: Debris catcher in a dryer) It's a bit quirky, but I find emptying the LINT TRAP of the dryer to be particularly satisfying. This is particularly true after drying a load of brand new towels or a fluffy blanket.
- ADAI (6D: Dosa made with lentils) In South Indian cuisine, a dosa is a thin crepe made from a fermented batter of lentils and rice. ADAI dosa is a variation of dosa made with an unfermented batter.
- HOLI (10D: Hindu festival celebrating Radha and Krishna) HOLI is a Hindu festival celebrating the end of winter and the arrival of spring, as well as the divine and eternal love of Radha and Krishna. In Hinduism, Radha and Krishna are forms of God. HOLI will be celebrated next on March 3-4, 2026.
- ALARMS (21D: Cause of some eye-opening experiences?) This clue ties in well with the AMELIA Bedelia reference in the puzzle, as the question mark at the end of the clue is alerting solvers to take the expression "eye-opening experiences" literally.
- PARROTFISH (26D: Colorful aquatic species found in coral reefs) There are about 95 species of PARROTFISH, most of which live in coral reefs and along rocky coasts. PARROTFISH are named not only for their bright parrot-like colors, but also because they have a bird-like beak. Here's a fun PARROTFISH fact: As these fish grow, they change sex from female to male. When they do so, they also change color.
- AMCS (32D: Theater chains with Stubs and A-List programs) Stubs is the customer loyalty program of AMCS, started by the theater chain in 2011. For a yearly fee, Stubs member received perks such as discounts on tickets and concession upgrades. In 2018, AMC split Stubs into three programs: Stubs Insider, Stubs Premiere, and Stubs A-List.
- DEMURE (44D: "Very ___, very mindful") "Very DEMURE, very mindful" is a catchphrase of TikTok personality Jools Lebron. The phrase went viral last year.
- ERRED (47D: Used a Sharpie on a dry-erase board, say) I read this clue too quickly and entered in "wrote." When it became clear that I had ERRED, I went back and read it again, which caused me to think, "Oh, yeah, that's not good..." In case you ever discover you have ERRED in this particular way, here's a helpful hint. Simply scribble over the Sharpie with a dry erase marker. Then wipe the board clean. (This works because the dry erase marker acts as a solvent, but it's okay if, like me, you prefer to think of it as magic.)
- FIONA (49D: "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" artist Apple) Fetch the Bolt Cutters is FIONA Apple's fifth studio album, released in 2020. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music. Here's a fun thing: "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" was the title of the November 19, 2020 crossword. When writing about that puzzle, I discovered that FIONA Apple's album Fetch the Bolt Cutters received a rare perfect ten rating from Pitchfork (an online music magazine).
- ASIA (54D: Japan's continent) Japan is an island nation in Southeast ASIA. It's fun to see our crossword friends ASIA and ERIE in the same puzzle today. This is only the second time we've seen them together this year. ASIA is lagging a bit behind ERIE in yearly appearances. Today is the 15th time we've seen ASIA this year; it's the 17th time we've seen ERIE this year. All this means, of course, is that I like data.
Comments
Post a Comment