Hedgehog-like mammal of Madagascar / SAT 6-14-25 / Grocery retailer surname / Movie lover’s haven, in short / Relative of a skeleton / Singer with the 1991 autobiography “I Put a Spell on You” / Glass holding about three pints of ale

Constructor: Barbara Lin

Relative issue: Simple + TENREC (!?)

THEME: none 

Phrase of the Day: TENREC (15A: Hedgehog-like mammal of Madagascar) —

A tenrec () is a mammal belonging to any species throughout the afrotherian household Tenrecidae, which is endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are a really numerous group, because of adaptive radiation, and exhibit convergent evolution, some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial environments. A few of these species, together with the better hedgehog tenrec, may be discovered within the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. Nevertheless, the speciation charge on this group has been larger in humid forests.

All tenrecs are believed to descend from a typical ancestor that lived 29–37 million years in the past after rafting over from Africa. The cut up from their closest kin, African otter shrews, is estimated to have occurred about 47–53 million years in the past. (wikipedia)

• • •

A kind of puzzles the place all I actually keep in mind is one phrase. That phrase is TENREC. Six random letters, so far as I can inform. By no means heard of it, no option to infer any of it. This is able to’ve been … perhaps not positive, however tolerable, if all of the crosses had been clear, and perhaps they had been to you, however that final one, that “C” cross, was not (in any respect) clear to me. I assume the referent for CROCKER is Betty (“Do not Name Me BETTE“) CROCKER. It will by no means have occurred to me to think about (Betty) CROCKER as a [Grocery store surname]. That is like cluing KING as a [Bookstore surname]. CROCKER is a reputation you would possibly discover *in* a grocery retailer, simply as (Stephen) KING is a reputation you would possibly discover *in* a bookstore, however [Grocery store surname] actually does indicate that the identify of the grocery retailer will characteristic somebody’s surname. Like ALBERTSON, say (based by Joe Albertson in Boise, ID in 1939). Here is the humorous factor. Effectively, not haha humorous, however “humorous” within the sense of “almost wrecked my puzzle”—I spent a lot of the ’90s in Michigan, the place the first grocery retailer chain was KROGER, which, in the present day, I inconveniently misremembered as KROEGER, which, like KROGER, is a German surname (variant of “Kruger”). So my TENREC was a TENREK for just a little bit (humorous (once more, not haha) story: TENREK is the German spelling of TENREC, although I certain did not know that, having by no means heard of the rattling factor within the first place). TENREK / KROEGER would’ve been a correct German crossing. Downside: the “E” and “G” from KROEGER would not work, and that is what finally saved me, although I nonetheless left the TENRE- / -ROCKER sq. clean till the very finish, then ran the alphabet to verify nothing else made any actual sense besides CROCKER. You’d assume I would be mad at TENREC for being the obscure thriller phrase, however I am not. I am mad at that absurd clue on CROCKER. And at the truth that this one crossing fairly obscured the rest that may have been occurring in the remainder of this puzzle (which was, in contrast to TENREC/CROCKER, overwhelmingly straightforward).

There have been just a few different moments that stood out sufficient for me to search out them comment-worthy. I utterly no-looked FRIENDLY REMINDER. Nonetheless have not appeared on the clue, as I sort this sentence. I drove so many crosses by means of the reply that by the point I went to take a look at it, it was already a couple of third stuffed in, and people letters (which included the “NDL” and a lot of the again finish) had been sufficient to make FRIENDLY REMINDER apparent. Gonna take a look at the clue now: 36A: Mild nudge. Certain, that appears correct. There have been two EYEs on this puzzle (RED EYE / SNAKE EYES), and whereas two eyes could be commonplace for people and plenty of different of God’s creatures, in a grid it is un…sightly. A conspicuous dupe. Boo. Additionally boo to exhumed crosswordese like ELIA and ERST. Not like yesterday’s puzzle, this one did not appear so polished across the edges. I imply, “PAH!”? I say “Bah” to that reply (I truly had “HAH” in there at first) (5D: “As if!”). By no means heard of GOTCHA DAY. Do individuals actually have a good time that anniversary? I cherished my canines One thing Terrible, however I’ve solely a imprecise sense of once they had been adopted. Time of the 12 months, I might inform you that. Truly, my chocolate lab got here from a breeder so there have been in all probability papers, however shrug. Gabby was a complete last-minute determination when my pal went to choose up her chocolate lab pet and stated “, there are nonetheless a pair unclaimed…” And yoink, identical to that, I had a second canine. What a sweetie. Crap, the place was I? Oh proper, by no means heard of GOTCHA DAY. Not mad at it, simply took some time to parse. I LOL’d at GALUMPHED, what an ungainly, ugly, but additionally sort of magnificent phrase (32A: Moved clumsily). Is perhaps the spotlight of the puzzle for me. That, and NINA SIMONE.

[Singer with the 1991 autobiography “I Put a Spell on You”]

Extra:

• 1A: Go over strains, say (READ PALMS) — good clue. Fooled me, although my improper assumption (that the phrase began with the prefix “RE-“) ended up yielding fast dividends (“ROGER” and ENOLA, particularly) (1D: “I obtained you” / 2D: Sleuth Holmes).
• 26A: Movie lover’s haven, in short (TMC) — there’s just one “movie lover’s haven” on tv and it is TCM (Turner Basic Motion pictures). Nonetheless do not know what The Film Channel is or who (on the earth) makes it their “haven.” Whereas TCM followers … have you ever met them? They’re … avid.
• 40A: Relative of a skeleton (LUGE) — “skeleton” would’ve been my Phrase of the Day had been it not for the pesky TENREC. It is simply one other sort of racing sled.
• 12D: Sticky-footed amphibians (TREE TOADS) — one other reply that gummed issues up a bit within the TENREC / CROCKER space. I wrote in TREE FROGS, that are additionally “Sticky-footed amphibians.”
• 45D: Warmly welcome on the door (SEE IN) — jogged my memory of this WSJ article I learn yesterday on the brand new prevalence of the greeting “welcome in” (used, apparently, with rising frequency at numerous retail institutions, to the annoyance of people that (like me?) hate the “off-putting faux-warmth” of retailspeak) (h/t to Jesse Sheidlower for the hyperlink).
• 36D: Oldest sports activities franchise that has by no means received a championship within the “Massive 4” leagues (N.F.L., N.B.A., M.L.B., N.H.L.) — used to like their helmets, again once I actually cared about soccer (i.e. in elementary college). Obtained an entire set of soccer helmet magnets from IHOP once I was like 9 and I can’t overstate how a lot these magnets solidified my understanding of the league and its iconography. I can nonetheless really feel these rattling issues. Within the olden days, we did not have “units,” so we needed to play with fridge magnets for enjoyable. It was that or hoop rolling. And we had been completely happy.

Have enjoyable and keep protected at your numerous “No Kings Day” demonstrations in the present day. Here is some extra NINA SIMONE, for inspiration. 

See you subsequent time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]