Bootleg booze / WED 3-26-25 / British politico Corbyn / Different to a Stella or Sam Adams / Handouts from road preachers / Rave over, metaphorically / Pre-covenant title for a biblical father / Different to a Stella or Sam Adams / Cloth that George Costanza stated he’d drape himself in if it have been socially acceptable / Downward pressure on earth, informally

Constructor: Nathan Hale

Relative issue: Simple-Medium

THEME: COVER ALL THE BASES (40A: Maintain every part … or a touch to what 4 squares on this puzzle do) — black squares “cowl” all of the “bases” on a baseball diamond: 1st, 2nd, third, and residential:

Theme solutions:

• NOT MY [FIRST] RODEO (19A: “I’ve accomplished this earlier than”)
• HAVING [SECOND] THOUGHTS (25A: Not so positive a few marriage ceremony)
• GIVES THE [THIRD] DEGREE (54A: Completely interrogates)
• WRITE [HOME] ABOUT (63A: Rave over, metaphorically)

Phrase of the Day: SATIVA (3D: Hashish selection) —

Hashish sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant. The species was first labeled by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The particular epithet sativa means ‘cultivated’. Indigenous to Jap Asia, the plant is now of cosmopolitan distribution because of widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated all through recorded historical past and used as a supply of industrial fiber, seed oil, meals, and medication. It’s also used as a leisure drug and for spiritual and religious functions. […] The casual designation sativa and indica could have numerous, controversial meanings. Morphologically, the title sativa designates tall crops with slim leaves, whereas indica refers to brief crops with huge leaves. Among the many marijuana neighborhood nonetheless, sativa fairly refers to equatorial varieties producing stimulating psychoactive results, whereas indica-type crops from Central Asia are used for enjoyable and sedative medication (THC:CBD > 1). (wikipedia)

• • •

I really feel such as you already know what the issue is right here. Definitely if you happen to’ve ever seen a baseball diamond, you understand. How on the planet do you make this puzzle and *not* put the “bases” in the appropriate place???? Or at the least in a “diamond”-type form? I bought the [SECOND] sq. first, then bought the revealer and thought “OK, it isn’t gonna sit completely symmetrically, however that is OK, a tough ‘diamond’ will do, I assume.” However no. I bought no diamond. None. Only a squiggly top-to-bottom association of the “bases.” It is unfathomable to me that you’d trouble to do that theme with out placing the bases in the appropriate place. 4 squares. “The place ought to I put them? I do know… random locations!” SMH, what the hell? And on Opening Day, no much less. Oh, no, sorry, that is tomorrow, not immediately—another factor this “tribute” to baseball will get mistaken. I do not thoughts in any respect that the “bases” do not work with the Downs, however the non-diamond association is killing me. The idea right here is ok—I’ve considered it myself, as has just about any baseball-loving constructor, I assure you—however the level is it will be robust to do proper as a result of if you happen to do not put these bases in (roughly) baseball-field place (which is a problem!), your puzzle will look foolish—kinda like this puzzle. I like baseball, and I notably love Opening Day, so this puzzle simply makes me unhappy. Disenchanted, actually.

So it is a non-starter, by way of its execution. I do like the best way the “bases” are dealt with, with black squares standing in for (or “protecting”) lacking phrases in longer phrases, and all of the phrases themselves are colourful, notably NOT MY (1st) RODEO. Apart from the theme, the spotlight of the puzzle for me was in all probability the very finish, once I crossed PBR (51A: Different to a Stella or Sam Adams) with “BEER ME!” (52D: “I might like a brewski”) to shut issues out. I’ve had puzzles finish on lowlights far too many instances, so it was semi-thrilling to lastly do one which went out on prime—peak puzzle expertise, proper on the finish. That PBR / “BEER ME!” second was particularly welcome as a result of it adopted laborious on the heels of absolutely the worst second of the resolve—”GOT YA!” The time period is “GOTCHA!” It’s important to pressure your mouth gap to say “GOT YA!” Like, it’s a must to attempt to enunciate, and differentiate the “T” and “Y,” as a result of that “T”-to-“Y” shift simply comes out “TCH”…. which is why we’ve got GOTCHA within the first place! GOT YA, lol, no, what, cease. You coulda simply turned the YAMS into TAMS and been accomplished with it. Nobody blinks, nobody balks, nobody winces. Some editorial choices (or non-decisions) are unfathomable to me.

SOAMI stays one of many worst bits of fill on the planet, proper up there with its kealoa* counterpart, SODOI (4D: “Likewise”). SLIGHT BIT feels odd to me, as I might use ONE BIT or THE SLIGHTEST (as in “not in ___”) earlier than I might ever used SLIGHT BIT. “LITTLE” is the adjective that desires to go together with “BIT.” I by no means cared for Seinfeld (Julia Louis-Dreyfus was the one one on that present I might stand to take a look at for very lengthy—I watched each episode of Veep, a far superior present). Since George is such a dip, I figured the “cloth” he would cowl himself in was VELCRO (33D: Cloth that George Costanza stated he’d drape himself in if it have been socially acceptable = VELVET). That is actually the material I would cowl him in, if referred to as to take action. 

Bullets:

• 3D: Hashish selection (SATIVA) — went right into a dispensary for the primary time in my life earlier this month, in Michigan, a state that screams “WE HAVE LEGAL WEED!” at you the second you cross the border from Ohio. I used to be with a good friend who is much better versed in such issues, way more acquainted with the hashish world. I do not smoke, so I used to be largely only a spectator. It was so skilled, clear, nicely organized. The supervisor might’ve been the supervisor of a spa, she was so environment friendly and pleasant. I do not know what I used to be anticipating. One thing … else. One thing cornier, actually. Anyway, I could or could not have left with gummies which I could or could not have tried since and which can or could not have had any impact on me. Cannot stand the scent of pot, so I will not be smoking any time quickly, however I’ll admit to being cannabis-curious. Anyway, SATIVA and INDICA are acquainted phrases to me, as they need to be to you by now, if just for xword functions.
• 69A: Pre-covenant title for a biblical father (ABRAM) — after the covenant: ABRAHAM. I a lot choose this clue for ABRAM to the Presidential center title clue … I am unable to even keep in mind whose center title ABRAM is!!?!? Ah, it is James ABRAM Garfield. Good to remind your self of these items sometimes.
• 48D: British politico Corbyn (JEREMY) — So bizarre to me that we get JEREMY Corbyn earlier than we get KEIR Starmer, the precise Primer Minister of the UK, and a man whose first title (in contrast to JEREMY) is begging to turn out to be crossword-common (RIP, KEIR Dullea, you’ve got accomplished yeoman’s work, buddy, however it is time to let another person take over). Hey, do you know a KIER is a [Large vat for bleaching cloth]? Me neither, in all probability as a result of the final time it appeared in a crossword was July 12,1992—the fourteenth (!) and remaining (!!) look of KIER. However I’ve a sneaking suspicion that KIER may be making a comeback very quickly …

[Severance, renewed for a 3rd season, hurrah]

I am glad to announce (all this week) {that a} re-creation of These Puzzles Fund Abortion is out there now (These Puzzles Fund Abortion 5!). Donate to abortion funds, get a set of 23 top-notch puzzles from a few of the finest constructors within the enterprise—largely normal U.S. crossword puzzles, but additionally some cryptic crosswords, selection puzzles, and even an acrostic. Rachel Fabi and C.L. Rimkus have accomplished such an amazing job with these collections over the previous few years, elevating over $300,000 for abortion funds across the nation. I assist a lot of charitable organizations, however hardly any of them give me crosswords in return. So I’ll give TPFA5 my cash immediately [update: done!], and I hope you do too. Here is the hyperlink.

See you subsequent time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

*kealoa = a pair of phrases (usually brief, frequent solutions) that may be clued identically and that share at the least one letter in frequent (in the identical place). These are solutions you may’t simply fill in rapidly as a result of two or extra solutions are viable, Even With One or Extra Letters In Place. From the traditional [Mauna ___] KEA/LOA conundrum. See additionally, e.g. [Heaps] => ATON or ALOT, [“Git!”] => “SHOO” or “SCAT,” and many others.  

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