Malaysian state or island / FRI 5-2-25 / Bams, cracks or dots, in mahjong / Literary chook with a one-word vocabulary, apparently / A lot of northern Arkansas / Sides of circles? / Titular feminine Disney character whose title additionally seems in a Shakespeare play / Sunfish characteristic / Lincoln Middle’s former ___ Fisher Corridor

Penang is a Malaysian state positioned on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia alongside the Strait of Malacca. It has two components: Penang Island, the place the capital metropolis, George City, is positioned, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. These two halves are bodily related by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.

Penang is considered one of Malaysia’s most developed financial powerhouses, with the highest GDP per capita and Human Improvement Index of all states. It additionally ranks second among the many states when it comes to common wages. Penang is Malaysia’s main exporter with over RM447 billion (US$108.94 billion) in exports in 2023, primarily by way of the Penang Worldwide Airport which can be the nation’s second busiest by plane actions. […] 

With 1.74 million residents and a inhabitants density of 1,659/km² (4,300/sq mi) as of 2020, Penang is considered one of Malaysia’s most densely populated and urbanised states. Seberang Perai is Malaysia’s third largest metropolis by inhabitants. Penang is culturally various with a inhabitants that features Chinese language, Malays, Indians, Eurasians, Siamese and expatriates. (wikipedia) 

• • •

This puzzle had most of the issues I’ve come to count on from a Robyn Weintraub Friday puzzle, but additionally a pair issues I’ve come not to count on—particularly, obscure (or not less than completely unknown-to-me) correct nouns. I’m vaguely accustomed to the existence of the musical “Howdy, Dolly,” however the place LEVI components in, I do not know. Is that her final title? Dolly LEVI? Oh yeah, appears to be like like. Dolly Gallagher LEVI. I’ve seen LEVI within the puzzle 1,000,000 alternative ways, but when I ever noticed it this method, I forgot it, for certain (16A: Dolly of “Howdy, Dolly!”). So LEVI per se, not obscure, however as clued, yeesh. Wanted many of the crosses. Then there’s PENANG, which … effectively, ya received me. I’m accustomed to PANANG curry, however I am fairly certain that is spelled the way in which I simply spelled it (seems it is spelled some ways in English, however sure, PANANG is considered one of them, and PENANG … is not). I confess I do know subsequent to nothing about Malaysia. PENANG is residence to the nation’s second-most populous metropolis (George City), however off the highest of my head I could not title Malaysia’s *first*-most populous metropolis (it is Kuala Lumpur, which, not like George City (and PENANG), I’ve heard of and will’ve identified, my unhealthy). Within the days earlier than I began fixing, the NYTXW was once nearly awash in PENANG. It made 20 of its 24 complete appearances earlier than I used to be ever born, and final appeared in a grid in 1993. The truth is, that is the primary look of PENANG within the Trendy (Shortz) Period. The island in all probability had WWII significance, which gave it some lasting post-war cultural relevance. However by the ’70s its appearances waned, and even Maleska (Shortz’s notoriously obscure geography-hungry predecessor) solely used it twice, late in his profession (aspect be aware: the final two folks to make use of PENANG in a puzzle have been named Patterson Pepple (1991) and Faucet Osborn (1993), that are some nice names. Annnnyway, big “what the!?” at PENANG. And now, after a little analysis, I do know why. Again to my preliminary level, or considered one of them: I do not usually must hunt geographical obscurities after I’m completed fixing considered one of Robyn’s puzzles. I believe the truth that PENANG is throwing me so unhealthy at present is testomony to how excessive my expectations are for smoothness and common familiarity on the subject of Robyn’s puzzles.

Exterior of PENANG, and to a lesser extent, LEVI, I had solely minor bother at present. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the HALF clue at first (25D: One in every of two for one). I’m doing so many cryptic crosswords today that I simply appeared on the clue and began fascinated about it on a really literal foundation, i.e. “what does the phrase ‘one’ have two of? Uh … vowels?” No no no. I imply, sure, it has two vowels, however no, that’s not related right here. However sure, anybody factor, reduce in half, has two … halves? I suppose you’ll be able to’t actually argue with that. I additionally did not discover “Effectively, THEN …” intuitive.  Or, I discovered it too intuitive—so odd that I could not imagine it was being handed off as a standalone phrase. In funnier struggles, I put [Much of northern Arkansas] within the AZORES for a second or two (which is what occurs when your inside Sample Recognition Software program fails at pace). I additionally had a ROBIN (Robyn!) because the one-word chook (“tweedly deedily dee [short birdsong], tweedly deedily dee, tweedly deedily dee, [short birdsong]” and many others.) as an alternative of Poe’s RAVEN (“Nevermore!”) (38A: Literary chook with a one-word vocabulary, apparently). 

Bullets:

• 17A: Sides of circles? (ONION RINGS) — by no means noticed the clue. I remedy brief stuff first after which take a look at clues for longer solutions … however I have to’ve had most of ONION RINGS already stuffed in and did not even hassle? Or perhaps I did, and simply noticed the phrase “sides” and that was sufficient? All of it occurred so quick. 
• 29A: Titular feminine Disney character whose title additionally seems in a Shakespeare play (ARIEL) / 30A: Titular male Shakespeare character whose title additionally seems in a Disney movie (TIMON) — in order that’s The Little Mermaid and The Tempest for ARIEL, and TIMON of Athens and The Lion King for TIMON. You understand, I’ve by no means seen The Lion King. I finished seeing that first new wave of Disney movies proper after Aladdin, I believe. TIMON is the meerkat who’s greatest associates with Pumbaa, the warthog.

• 36A: Sunfish characteristic (SAIL) — oh this was barely toughish for me too. No thought {that a} sunfish was a kind of sailboat. Even after I received the reply, I assumed that SAIL was only a title for the precise sunfish’s fairly massive fin…

• 12D: Lincoln Middle’s former ___ Fisher Corridor (AVERY) — familiarish, however … why would you place a “former” corridor within the puzzle? What occurred to the corridor? … [Looks it up] … Ah, I see. It is nonetheless there. However … appears to be like just like the Yale Faculty of Drama is not the one factor David Geffen has managed to plaster his title on. 
• 24D: Concrete instance of rotational forces and fluid dynamics? (CEMENT MIXER) — the five-year-old in me loves seeing a CEMENT MIXER. He does not a lot love the clue, however vroom vroom, chug chug, spin spin, CEMENT MIXER, enjoyable. Jogs my memory of studying Richard Scarry books as a child. So many nice automobiles in there…

• 46D: Tremendous Monkey Ball model (SEGA) — once more, no thought. Far more “no thought”s than I am used to in a Weintraub Friday, however SEGA is such a well-known sport model that I did not get held up an excessive amount of right here. 
• 36D: Bams, cracks or dots, in mahjong (SUITS) — didn’t know this, however guessed it instantly, and thank god, or else I would nonetheless be coping with the sunfish’s TAIL.

See you subsequent time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]