Just to put you all on notice: Today each of you is permitted a single shenanigan. But you can also have one antic, one frolic, and one high jink. Plan carefully! Our Sam may be keeping track.
@Cat Lady Margaret Oh boy....I hope everyone reports back tomorrow. I have a few ideas
@Cat Lady Margaret If I keep to a low jink, can I please have an additional antic?
Cat Lady Margaret, A single monkeyshine? Horsefeather.
@Cat Lady Margaret Kudo, Cat Lady, this was a brilliant collection!
@Cat Lady Margaret The singular "antic" reminds me of Bill Bryson writing about words in English for which there seem to exist only the negated form. "She is so wonderfully competent and ept"
"This is just a line to buy dolls! You told me this was a cookout." "No, I said it was a Barbie queue." (I had to Ken-centrate for this one.)
@Mike You outdid yourself today. One verbal high jink above past entries.
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Little crack (4) 2. Play with one's food? (6)(7) 3. What's holding up dessert? (4) 4. Bud after Jack, perhaps? (6) 5. Head of a noted animal rescue project (4) QUIP DINNER THEATER CONE CHASER NOAH
@Lewis Dinner Theater indeed. I got it trouble once before for having the audacity to reply to you, but dinner theater is in my wheelhouse and the source of some of my best friends. Not to mention steamed peas. Mine was Paradise Playhouse in Excelsior Springs, MO. I was Barefoot in the Park there and the owner died from Arsenic and Old Lace (actually just drank himself to death backstage).
A perfect Monday puzzle for beginners? Accessible revealer and theme. Straightforward clues. Hopefully familiar proper nouns (and fairly crossed too). Minimal (if any) crosswordese. No MESS, no SASS, no DISMAY. TRUE?
I remember having an alien doll with exposed brains and a spaceman doll. Both died in a flaming UFO crash aided by plastic cement and barbecue lighter fluid. I was nine. My older brother was also a pyromaniac and offered useful conflagatory advice. (He became a firefighter, to my parents great relief.)
Sweet to uncover the beautiful GLAD I ASKED, then to later learn that it’s never appeared in a Times puzzle before. Great find! Sweet to course through the puzzle’s schwa-de-vivre with its ten answers ending in that sound – BALSA, BAMA, NINA, DATA, MICA, ARENA, HENNA, SIGMA, SIA, and TO A. Sweet to work my brain, trying to figure out the revealer without looking at its clue. I failed, but my brain was glad for the trying. So, I read the clue, uncovered the revealer's first letter, then BAM the answer came with a happy-burst from simultaneously cracking the riddle, seeing the DOLLY pun, and the funny thought of saying “Hello, Dolly” to a doll. That was a sweet moment. One answer triggered a sweet memory of how my older sister and I, as little kids, got a big kick out of funny-sounding words. When we heard one, we’d look at each other with mirth in our eyes; it was our little secret. And BOSOM, to us, was one of the funniest-sounding words of all. Sweetness in the box today for me – a lovely gift. Thank you so much for coming up with this, Emily.
@Lewis There was a sandwich place where I grew up that had an amusing menu, and chicken BOSOM was one example. That always got a chuckle from me.
When I was about four years old, I gave tea parties for my dolls. I was the last of five kids, so home alone with my mother, who was so swamped with housework she was never able to join us. Parties were held on the stair landing—just enough space for the four of us—my favorite, the patient girl doll I'd had my whole life (she had a new wig); the rather intimidatingly sophisticated, tall, young lady doll, in a pink taffeta dress that my father had won on a punchboard at his local bar; and a dark brown teddy bear, who seemed not quite to belong because he was a boy (all teddy bears are boys), but we tolerated him, even though he didn't say much. There wasn't any tea because we weren't old enough, so the cups had cornflakes in them (nobody would eat them for breakfast, but they were fine at teatime). It was lovely to spend time again in those innocent, uncomplicated times on Clinton Avenue in Des Moines. Thank you Emily. I had a wonderful time solving that delightful puzzle.. I never had any of those dolls, but I didn't mind. I loved the ones I had. Life is always all about time, isn't it?
@Constant Reader Thank you for the story 🙂 Could you please explain "There wasn't any tea because we weren't old enough"? Over here in my lifetime kids have always been served tea. In fact, tea has been the default hot drink for people of all ages in Poland. Coffee seems to be an adult-only thing though, or adult and young adult, these days. I visited Sweden in my early twenties, and stayed with my mother's childhood friend: a Jewish-Polish emigree, and her wonderful Swedish husband. They introduced me to Swedish culture, including coffee drinking for people of all ages. Does the US have a similar taboo against children drinking tea as Poland has regarding coffee?
@Constant Reader, I am not Constant Reader. That was somewhere else, about something else. Here, I am dutchiris—always have been before and will be again. Next time I will pay more attention to where I am when I post.
@Constant Reader Just be you, whoever you are. We love you all the same.
Just a quick note on cultural dissonance I read the clue to 49A as 'Where Zed is in the alphabet", and spent a confused 15 seconds trying to figure out how to get England, Canada, or any short form of those to fit in 3 spaces, all while wondering why it wasn't clued to indicate a shortened form. Then the penny dropped, and I realised the clue was about where in the alphabet the letter I call zed appears, not where in the world the letter you call zee is called zed. The mind is a funny place.
@Grumpy What a funny night to choose the phrase “the penny dropped”!
RAGGEDY ANN! 😍 She is the most special of memories. I still have my Raggedy Ann doll, which was made for me by a sick neighbor who I never got to know because she died before I was two, but it is precious to me. I was also into Barbie for a while.... I vividly remember cutting up my mother's underwear to make Barbie and Skipper some special dresses. Mother wasn't impressed! Hahaha! I thought they were quite fancy evening gowns for them. I mean, not my fault we couldn't afford to buy a bunch of extra Barbie clothes. This is what you call creativity. Should have been rewarded! But not so... 😂 Anyhow, a sweet and fun Monday puzzle!
@HeathieJ The best thing about today's puzzle are people's stories and memories in the comments, including yours 🙂. It's so cool you still have that doll! All my childhood toys were lost when I was a teenager. We had a small-ish apartment so my parents stored the toys I was no longer playing with in the attic of a house they were building (and given the economy and our complicated financials at the time, it was a very slow process). Then another opportunity presented itself - dad's colleague was selling a larger house closer to the city center, and our family could just about afford it if we sold almost everything we had. So the apartment and the other house were sold. Sadly, we forgot to clear out the attic before the new owner took possession - and when we realized the mistake, he refused to give us the boxes of toys. I still miss my favorite plushie, a fox I can remember getting as a gift when I was four or so. I suppose it would just be gathering dust somewhere now, anyway, but it would be nice to still have it...
Dolls were never my thing. I did end up with a Barbie at some point, though. She was subjected to indignities I will not go into here. I wasn't a total miscreant. My stuffed animals were treated very well.
Crossword Revolution Day 20: NINA Nina Simone — “Everything Must Change” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgX2EAdvFyw" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgX2EAdvFyw</a> A CSD ™ production.
@Puzzlemucker Nice. I don’t think I had heard that one before.
I was seven years old when I witnessed the demise of my Barbie at the hands of my ten-year-old brother. I picked her up off the bedroom floor, her tummy cut wide open. "Why did you do this?" I cried. "Because I'm a doctor, and she needed surgery," he said. I pounced at him. "Well, if you're a doctor, close her up!" "Not gonna happen," he answered with an evil smile, "That's beyond what I know how to do." I'm not sure, but he must have gotten in trouble for playing with a knife. At least that's why I think he veered to computer programming instead! It's nice to have a puzzle that brings up memories that make us laugh. Thank you for this, Ms. Rourke, as well as for making a puzzle that perfectly SATED that hunger for a breezy and fun grid. Considering the news, this was just what the, erm, *real* doctor ordered.
@sotto voce 😂😂😂 Yeah, a lot of misfits find their way into computer programming. In fact, at times I've thought that *only* misfits find their way into computer programming. I can say that because I've come down through that funnel.
@sotto voce Considering the news…Trump slashing NIH funding will probably cost daughter her job. She writes grant proposals for Dana Farber cancer researchers. Good thing we don’t need any more cancer research. Total federal spending on all medical and health research adds up to about 1% of the federal budget. Savor those tax savings, who needs to save lives?
@sotto voce Hi there, dear friend! Loved the story! And loved your brother's reply to you... "she needed surgery." Sounds like a smarty! emu food more emu food
Nice memories from today's puzzle. Three uncles were WWII vets and I remember fighting with my brother over a GI Joe doll. Later on 2 daughters had Barbie & Ken and Cabbage Patch kids. Christmas season always included a trip to NYC for visits to FAO Schwartz & Radio City Music Hall. Started the puzzle early this morning then ran out to take my wife to the train with maybe one or two blanks remaining. Returned after gym & grocery stops to find the clock still running. Personal Monday "high" of over 5 hours!
We had cabbage patch kids in our youth. Mine accidentally had its head split wide open, total accident I am sure. But there were events at the local mall where they had doll doctors or some other clever name. They would be dressed as doctors and fix up any hurt or fatally mauled dolls. So my half headed cabbage patch kids was sewn up along with a few other of my stuffies that also accidentally lost their heads.
Now I know totally and completely and forever, what BAMA is. No need to include it again, I've got it! I barely needed to think twice during this entertaining and very agreeable crossword (I find my self drifting towards 'easy-breezy' and 'fun' but am resisting). Despite never have seen a RAGGEDY ANNE or an AMERICAN GIRL, never had a BARBIE (I had baby dollies) and my sons didn't want CABBAGE PATCH KIDS, it all came right easily. I couldn't understand at first why Mme didn't fit the Madam Doubtfire clue, but that was the book, and why armour didn't work. Excellent.
I done did the puzz in record time!
@Eddie I almost did but got hung up on Feur de lis sic lys, as I never did the crossing answer, so I spent time searching for my error!
"Oh. you beautiful doll, You great big, beautiful doll." Nice trip down memory lane and nice way to start the week. Thanks for the smiles.
Nice Monday puzzle. None of the theme answers dawned on me just from the clues, but everything came together with some crosses. Really enjoyed it. Looked up Ms. Rourke's two previous puzzles and both were similarly cute and enjoyable. One was a Tuesday from January 10, 2023. Answers in that one: PINKPANTHER TONYTHETIGER COWARDLYLION CHESIRECAT And the 'reveal': HELLOKITTY Looking forward to more. One more puzzle find that I'll put in a reply. .....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened. A Sunday from December 3, 1972 by Elmer Toro with the title "Wild Life." Seven long theme answers in that one - all quite familiar terms and each appearing for the first and only time but all with cute clues. A couple of clue and answer examples: "Bye-bye, blackbird? :" QUOTHTHERAVENNEVERMORE "Start of a certain recipe :" EYEOFNEWTANDTOEOFFROG And some other theme answers: ANDLETSLIPTHEDOGSOFWAR SAIDTHESPIDERTOTHEFLY ANDWHETHERPIGSHAVEWINGS TIGERTIGERBURNINGBRIGHT Here's the Xword Info link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/3/1972&g=77&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=12/3/1972&g=77&d=A</a> .....
Well done! Thanks for a fun puzzle!
I only remember having a baby doll and trying to treat her like a real baby. I can’t remember what I named her; this would have been the early 40’s. Fun Monday puzzle.
@suejean My baby doll was named "Sally" because she reminded me of my little cousin Sally, who was slightly younger than I (and thus smaller, though we were the same size when fully-grown.) Sally (the doll) had a slightly caved-in mouth (she was made of papier-mache') from being kissed too often.
This was fun! ARTIE / ECRU was hard but nothing a little keyboard smashing couldn't fix. 48D was quite clever, loved getting that one. As our summer season ends, South Pole Crossword Club wants to thank you for keeping us entertained at the bottom of the world! Although I haven't been able to post much, we've been solving every week. Crossword Club has made friends out of people that otherwise may not have spent time together-- what a beautiful gift!
@Michael huh, you’re really at the South Pole? Wow!
Michael, Glad to hear you're still there, and solving with new friends. Thanks for checking in.
@Michael If finally getting to the puzzle this late in the day means that I managed to catch your post, I'm glad my day worked out that way. Very nice to see you back here again! Safe travels to you and the rest of the Crossword Club!
@Michael how fun! My cousin has gone to Antarctica for the Corps of Engineers and probably gets annoyed I ask him about it every time we get together. Always so fun to hear about such a unique experience.
I thwarted all my educated, professional parents' efforts to direct me toward a non-traditional female role in the 60's & 70's. I was a little girl who played dolls, and had a very involved pretend life. Raggedy Ann was a big part, but also baby dolls. (No Barbie - my parents scorned plastic.) I played house and always was the mother. Cooked and baked starting at age 9. Babysat early. I was academically "gifted", but my dream was to be a housewife and mother. It came true, and I LOVED every minute of it. Thanks for letting me reminisce.
Hi everyone! My wife and I enjoyed today's puzzle. Yes it was easier than other Mondays, but the topic was refreshing. Although I am a man, I am a "girl dad". I recall the days of my daughter playing with Samantha (American Doll). I also recall my mother and my Aunt (both from the Silent Generation) bemoaning the fact that my daughter would leave her Barbie lying around without clothes! Now my daughter has a baby of her own and I await sharing the play toys that our new grandson will play with naked or not! Thank you Emily and Sam for the memories!!!!!
@John F As a young guy I never minded when my sisters left their Barbie dolls lying around naked. As a result though, my first real girlfriend walked around on her tiptoes displayed stiff and limited movement and her mom had to pick out her wardrobe. Oh--and she wanted to be an astronaut.
I saw a production of HELLODOLLY in Pittsburgh back in the 80s; my father was playing cello in the orchestra. The male lead was Barry Williams, aka Greg from The Brady Bunch. His singing was a bit on the flat side to my ear. Regarding the dolls in this puzzle, I've owned all of them except for AMERICANGIRL. But my favorite memories are of the dolls my grandmother made; she was an excellent seamstress.
What a memory Pax!! Do you remember if he was playing the younger romantic lead, Cornelius or the older man (Vandergelder)? Also--if Alice wasn't the Dolly you should have been given your money back. (Actually--I'll bet she would have made a good one if she could sing.)
No one seems to remember the finest US doll maker of them all - Madam Alexander, the go-to doll of the 1940s and 1950s. They had the sweetest faces and most sensible cloths. I remember being horrified when the anorexic Barbie was introduced and glad I had carefully preserved my own dolls so my daughter never had to own one of those ridiculous skinny monstrosities. Many happy memories of both of us sharing with friends and dressing the dolls for different activities. Mme Alexander also made dolls that tied in with classic books - Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland were two that I owned, thanks to an indulgent grandfather who liked to shop for toys at FAO Schwartz. I also have fond memories of the soft and huggable Raggedy Ann.
@Connie I recall them as highly desirable collectible dolls.
@Connie My kid sister and I adored our Madame Alexander dolls! We had ones based on the Louisa May Alcott girls. The clothes were wonderful, rich colors and velvet trim. But we played only very carefully with them! More rowdy play was for heartier dolls -- and the one beleaguered Barbie my sister somehow came to own.
A nice nostalgic Monday. BARBIE was my generation's go-to doll, although my cousin also had RAGGEDY ANN and Andy.
@Liz B Though a girl, I never could figure out how to play with dolls, but Barbie dolls were the worst. My best friend had a large collection and I remember stitting there glumly wondering what on earth I was supposed to do. I had more luck with Raggedy Ann, whom I would prop up next to me and then read stories to her.
When I was very young I would sometimes play with a girl who lived next door to my grandfather. She had a fairly creepy doll called Saranade [sic] that was equipped with a speaker. She knew I hated the doll, so took delight in plaguing me with the doll's songs. I still remember: "Saranade, Saranade, that's my name, I can walk, I can talk, and play with you, a game or two ... Aside from the creepy memory, this was an easy one to take. I matched my best time to the second.
@Mark I was tempted to change my handle and post as Saranade to creep you out 🤣 Great post, thank you 🙂
@Mark Are you an X-Files fan? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCyI0-sXr-c" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCyI0-sXr-c</a> The most memorable line of this episode for me is the doll saying in that most creepy way, "I want to play. I want to play." and "Let's have fun." and then she seemingly tortures people.
@Mark I so wanted to find a link to the song, but instead here's a tinkerer playing a 45 of "Sandman" through the speaker in her belly. 🫣 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nryd-PIevFM" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nryd-PIevFM</a>
@HeathieJ Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to watch anything along these lines at home, but I watched your video! Thanks for sharing it. 😊
@Bob T. Thanks for the video! Too bad you couldn’t find her record. Maybe someone else will have it.
There are lots of horror movies about creepy dolls, but perhaps the most disturbing is Todd Haynes' 1987 film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (wiki link below) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstar:_The_Karen_Carpenter_Story" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstar:_The_Karen_Carpenter_Story</a> fast solve typical Monday, but I agree with the observation that the memories and anecdotes in today's comments are rich.
I think it was yesterday that Vaer posted about the Ladies and Gentlemen 50 years of SNL Music special. Not sure why I hadn’t heard of this, but I happen to have Peacock and gave it a look. It is really quite remarkable. Not suggesting that people run out to subscribe to this, Vaer mentioned a free trial perhaps. You can see the trailer here. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/3ztsfhah" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/3ztsfhah</a>
@Hardroch Thanks for the endorsement. How about baby Dave Grohl? I also mentioned that if you are still plugged in, it might be On Demand with your cable supplier. And, also not to plug Peacock, but a month is only $1.99. And Conclave and Wild Robot, two Oscar nominees, can be streamed there. And also the Jesse Eisenberg movie, I think, but could be wrong about that one.
First time under 10 minutes. No lookups.
The closest I have to a doll story isn't close at all. I remember thinking when the GI Joe doll came out, I was glad I was too old for it. I didn't want to be accused of playing with dolls, which in my childhood was a massive gender deviation.
@Francis "Gender deviation" is a fine term. Thank you.
Was this a hard Monday or did I just have too much to drink during the game? Enjoyed it, either way!
@Betsy I was scared when I saw the theme and revealer were culture-based but in the end I solved the puzzle in typical Monday time, and just 30% longer than my Monday record. I've never heard of Hello Dolly (which is no surprise as I don't enjoy musicals so I have zero interest in them) or American Girl though.
As I recall, we had at some point both a Raggedy Ann and a Raggedy Andy when I was growing up, most likely after my sister was born, so sometime in the 1950s. My daughters were not much into the Barbie thing, but I'm pretty sure one was gifted to us. We certainly were aware of the Cabbage Patch Kids, but my youngest was interested and invested in a couple of the American Girl dolls. We ended up giving them to the local library for their toy library when we moved to Florida. A very nice Monday puzzle, thanks, Emily.
I had a very large family of dolls; none of them were named RAGGEDY-anything (although we did have Johnny Gruelle's book with its enchanting illustrations and a much larger cast of characters vs this puzzle.) Anyway....my sister (older by 4 years) outgrew her dolls and was a neglectful 'mother,' so her dolls were "re-homed" and became my responsibility. There was "Tickle-me Elmo" when my kids were small, at a price we couldn't afford, and of course I was not going to buy a BARBIE doll. (Available earlier than this puzzle claims, an only-child spoiled brat four houses down on May Avenue had the first BARBIE any of us ever saw: 1957/58. It was about as far from a 'baby-doll' as you could get. ) I vowed that we would be a BARBIE-FREE ZONE...and then PhysicsDaughter received a BARBIE at her 4th or 5th birthday party, which end-run of course outsmarted Old Mom...but I could see that a doll who fit into a pocket was an asset, so, oh well. Our nursery-school fund-raiser made quite a bit of money selling clothes for CABBAGE-PATCH KIDs, along with doll-beds and little quilts. Ah, memories. Do kids still get dollies?
@Mean Old Lady My first and only Barbie came as a gift also. A clueless aunt thought it would help me become more "ladylike". Things didn't go as she planned.
@Mean Old Lady I’m fascinated by your Barbie recollections from the 50’s. I just wonder if your spoiled-brat friend on May Avenue actually had a Bild Lilli doll from West Germany. Seems that Ruth Handler, who created Barbie (and founded Mattel with her husband) based her doll on the German doll launched in 1955 by Greiner & Hausser GmbH. Mattel acquired the rights to this doll in 1964 and ceased its production in favor of the new Barbie. The Mattel website indicates that Barbie was launched in 1959, as indicated in the clue today. Here’s some interesting background of the Bild Lilli doll, oh boy…who knew? <a href="https://tinyurl.com/2e57aeh2" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/2e57aeh2</a>
@Mean Old Lady The young kids (girls) in my life are definitely still into dollies but they have other interests too. I feel like they have a more well-round variety of toys though. Of course, my favorite gift to them is always books. I adored my Raggedy Ann. She was hand made for me and I felt the kinship of red-heads.
I loved this puzzle! I think it’s perfect for a Monday, and has lots of fun and interesting clue-and answer combinations. I also thought the doll theme was clever and good.
To my mom’s, DISMAY I made a huge MESS by DYEING the hair of my life size BARBIE. Good times.
I had a Cabbage Patch Doll and the Garbage Pail Kid cards
Hit a new record time with this puzzle and saw Raggedy Ann’s smiling face in my head as a reward. I was never too much for dolls, but the cozy features of Ann and her companion Andy meant they were constantly being tugged around by their soft arms and floppy legs.
When she was a little girl she had a rag doll.... And she grew up to be Tina Turner. <a href="https://youtu.be/CCM_JGrv8UI?si=YBvMma1BNTxo-TEa" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/CCM_JGrv8UI?si=YBvMma1BNTxo-TEa</a>
@Vaer Yay, Tina! emu food more emu food
Unsurprisingly the only DOLL in this group I’m aware of is BARBIE. I had a Sindy, which I think was the British response to Barbie. No idea what, if any, differences there were. My Mum used to make her clothes for me. I had the best dressed doll in the school. I think Mr Shortz is on a mission to incorporate crimson tide/BAMA into as many puzzles as possible. I’ve gone from Who? to Oh, them again in a very short space of time. Nice Monday puzzle. Nothing BLAH about the solve.
@Helen Wright I think Sindy was a bit less BOSOMy.
@Helen Wright I think BAMA was in the puzzle three times in the last week. The new crosswordese?
If you want to carve a Naomi Campbell doll, is it okay to use BALSA, or do you need a supermodel dolly wood? (Asking for an American girlfriend)
Agree with everyone else that this was a great Monday crossword - no major stand-out difficulties, but plenty of nice clues and answers to kick off the week. A few minutes under my Monday average :) Many thanks Emily!
I had a handmade raggedy Ann, and the very first Barbie. My daughter had a cabbage patch kid and an American Girl doll. Lovely memories today—sometimes it’s more than a puzzle.
My first try for 17 A was Testa Rossa, the classic Ferrari model. Guess what my favorite toys were.
@Finland Taipan Same here, but mine was a 250 GTO.
Delightful romp. Although I never had any of these dolls I remember other children having them. I was blessed with Tiny Tears and little Rukkas and some generic dolls. This one was a joy to solve.
Never heard of ICE IT, are the alleged wonder fruit du jour, ACAI, so finished this one on a best-guess at the C in the cross. For me, YOYO stands for "You're On Your Own", so that was a puzzle. Fortunately I had LYS in the cross (never encountered the LiS version mentioned by Sam in the blog), so didn't compound the problem. Enjoyable solve, despite a certain amount of premonitory despair when the theme became evident.
@Oikofuge ACAI had never been used until 2010, when it was clued as an [Exotic berry in some fruit juices]. But it has appeared 110 times since then. It's one you will see again and again. LIS has appeared 173 times in total, compared to 119 for LYS. In fact, [Fleur-de-___] has clued LIS nearly 100 times! (That clue has only clued LYS a bit over 20 times.) It's a true "kealoa", so always be aware that the middle letter varies. Both of these things are common entries; I had the impression you were more experienced than that!
@Oikofuge 67A: YOLO, not YOYO. You misread the clue. You Only Live Once. It refers to the title of a James Bond film from 1967. He dies when he falls into the Loch Ness and is devoured by the monster. Sorry about your premonitory despair. Have a shot of Lagavulin and you'll be fine.
Fun puzzle! Thank you, Emily! emu food more emu food
I was never interested in Barbies or Cabbagepatch Kids, but I do have fond memories of my childhood Raggedy Ann doll. I think I still have her, boxed away somewhere. I also have an American Girl horse with all the accessories (never owned an AG doll though!) 😄 This was an enjoyable romp through nostalgia.
@Janine I also have fond memories of my Raggedy Ann! Also my Hollie Hobby dolls, which were of similar construction. My mom saved those so I still have them.
I enjoyed the puzzle, though referring to a single shenanigan (in 22D) caught my eye as well. Also, I think the revealer clue is worded in a misleading way, as it suggests taking the first part of the theme entries. Something along the lines of "or how one might respond upon being introduced to 17-, 24-, 39-, and 50-Across" works better for me.
Richard, Interesting take on "introductions" in the revealer clue. Having filled in all the themers before getting to the revealer, I had no doubt what it meant. I read your comment, and could not recall the word "introduction" in a revealer referring to the first parts of theme entries. I checked xwordinfo.com; it never has.