Behind a book

Must object strenuously to POETRIES. Poetry is an abstract noun. "Types of poetry" or similar is the way to say this. Kind of upset that it was allowed. Ugh. No.

Me, me, me--is this puzzle conceited? EMu EMT saME tryME LeBron JaMEs sesaME eatME EMploys AiMEe YEMEn

Those who have never heard of the names that cross at square 39 could never fill it in. That includes me. To my mind that is a fatal flaw and the editors should not allow it. Otherwise rather nice.

Bela Fleck is among the performing artists who canceled their Kennedy Center appearances for political reasons. <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5676519-bela-fleck-kennedy-center" target="_blank">https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5676519-bela-fleck-kennedy-center</a>/

I didn't love "saucy" to describe some teens and pasta. It's an outdated word that could pertain to anybody, and for pasta, I believe the word is SAUCED. I suppose that by entering FRESH I fell into an intended trap, but it was a more appropriate answer.

Really fun and clever. Halloween is already a success.

22A, FISHEYE If she's tired of getting the fisheye from the hotel clerk, A person can develop a cold. "Adelaide's Lament," Frank Loesser, Guys and Dolls <a href="https://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/g/guysanddollslyrics/adelaideslamentlyrics.html" target="_blank">https://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/g/guysanddollslyrics/adelaideslamentlyrics.html</a>

Others have criticized or defended the use of Inuits. (Previous use really cuts no ice as to whether an entry is worthy or not.) This was only the tip of the iceberg in this puzzle's "pushing it" for plurality, however. Some top constructors consider it a sign of weakness to rely heavily on words ending in "-s." This puzzle does that. Sheds, cops, Hokies, ribs, and "your roots" . . . plus adios, SMS, Oikos, LDS . . . OK. But: While pho, cedar, spoor, and A.M. can of course be made plural, they are singular in common parlance. Anchors, sets, and eras (except in T. Swift's tour title) are only slightly less of a stretch. All could confuse and frustrate the relatively new puzzle-doer who might be attempting a Wednesday. Constructors are allowed considerable leeway, but using too many of these creates clutter in a weekday-size puzzle. One is left wondering: Would Will have allowed it?

It's unusual for me to give up before finishing a puzzle, but this one was among the few. I was sure Passing measures was ASSENTS, which threw me off. Sports lingo is the language of another planet to me. If it wasn't GREEN SALAD, surely it was GREEK SALAD, although that would be pushing it (spinach? dolmades?). Trying to recall whether I have ever heard the phrase FRESH SALAD in my life, I have to say no. Never heard of EchoDot, so that corner remained only partly filled in. SOOT is an abstract noun. Constructors need to respect those more. SW also had issues. I "knew" that what should have been INQUIRY was INQUESTS and didn't erase when I should have. I was confident about LOUNGEWEAR, but IS BIG didn't occur to me; the closest I got was IS SET. Never heard of a rapper called Warren G., so that mostly didn't happen. The rappers and pop stars and their so-called songs are becoming increasing deterrents to filling in crosswords. I would really like to know who The Times thinks its readers are or ever will be. Still proud of myself for getting the rest, even VAPE JUICE and eventually McNuggets (I have never eaten at a McDonald's and figured this would be some kind of pasta), LA LA, and (almost) Yas, Queen (I thought it was Yes). For my age, stage, and reference level, GALOPS, Aunt ELLER, and ex NIHILO were more like it.

What a lucky break that this puzzle was rejected as a weekday entry! Really good as a Sunday. Lots of fun.

Trying to understand HONOR THE DEW. Donner the hue? Calling Dr. Spooner. Too many weird words and for pity's sake NO MORE ASSES OR ARSES. I can't say I loved this one at all. Found the humor lame overall. So very many young 'uns lately--it's wearing thin.

Welllllll...... A lifelong pencil-and-paper fan, I print out the crosswords using a toner-saving command. On my puzzle, nothing was underlined. After filling out the entire puzzle, I looked at Wordplay to comprehend the uppercase clues. So overall, rather confusing, but I get it now. Another point: In today's Constructor Notes, the puzzle makers share five examples that didn't make it into the puzzle. I'm not the first to observe that nothing there was underlined. I see nada on my screen even without printing anything out. Are we supposed to guess what they are?

As an oldster I am increasingly tripped up by the names of pop stars, rappers, and their songs and albums. Had to look up Sara McLachlan and figured TPAIN had to be wrong (but couldn't see how) until I checked the answer grid. The longer I continue this lifelong hobby, the better I get at it--except for the references above, which have been causing my confidence to erode. Dickens in 42A? No problemo. Otherwise I thought this puzzle was terrific and original. Gas station sushi made me LOL.

Nice one. To boost my brainwaves I devoured a warm, freshly baked banana coconut macadamia muffin while working on the puzzle. If you have trouble with a puzzle, bake muffins, make tea, and voila. Could work!

Does the second earring also cost $42 million or do you get a discount for buying the pair?

Characters and terms related to Mario games are among many categories that have entered crossword language as something "everybody knows" . . . as history, literature, and music once did. Like many other puzzle fans, I have never played a video game and probably never will. Nor have I ever watched an episode of The Simpsons, but crossword constructors are clearly fans. Over the years, crosswords have taught me the names of the family, a friend, a neighbor, the owner of a favorite bar, and the owner of a shop. Yay? Less frequently seen, but sometimes, and also out of my personal experience: the kids in "South Park." Someone could write a dissertation on how far we have fallen.

Two points for proper use of "nauseated." Seeing that word shouldn't calm the stomach, but it does. At least ten points for proper use of "elated," largely thrown to the wolves in favor of the non-word "elate," which always gives me a stomach ache. This was a lovely little Wednesday.

I would call this a perfect Thursday puzzle. Thank you, Kevin Curry.

Gotta say No. Contrived and tortured. Too many extremely weird entries.

Lon does not sound like lawn, at least where I come from. The Shrek clue was appalling. That line is in a cartoon?

I'd call this one at least as tortured as clever; tries too hard. The author's awful self-congratulatory "poem" says it all and should not have been published. I'd have guessed a person in his 20s, but he turns out to be an experienced attorney.

The average person sheds one lung a day! Ha. Ow. Gasp.

A strange thing happened last night. I printed out the puzzle to work on paper (old-school type) and at the top it said "Edited by Will Shortz." The online version said "Edited by Joel Fagliano," as usual for many months. Must have been a weird glitch, but I was excited for a minute. Hoping Will is doing well.

Really fun, especially when the meta appeared.

Ah yes, that famous rock guitarist Virgule. Love his riffs.

Just don't pack a Magic Eight Ball in a carry-on for a plane ride. It's banned! But okay to pack in checked luggage. TSA is pretty cute about this. The website says: For Carry-on bags: We asked the Magic 8 Ball and it told us…Outlook not so good! For Checked bags: We asked the Magic 8 Ball and it told us…It is certain! <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/magic-8-ball" target="_blank">https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/magic-8-ball</a>

Early in play today, before discovering the trick of the puzzle, I had the last five letters of [ALPH]AMALE and proudly filled it out as HOT TAMALE. A sexy agent, maybe? Huh? Nope. Thank Hera for erasers.

In "Barrymore," Christopher Plummer came onstage singing "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo."

Excellent. Agree with at least one other reader about the large number of abbreviations, but the theme answers compensated.

As soon as I had read the hint for 24A, Key of "Spring" in Vivaldi's "Four Seasons": Abbr., I started to hum that well-worn but beloved piece in my head and still haven't been able to drop it. Lacking perfect pitch, I didn't know which major key it was, but by golly, it was major, not minor, so at least I got three of the four letters in that answer until later. If only I could stop singing it in my head.... I appreciated Deb's explanation of 53A. Even after filling the squares correctly, and despite many years of attempting not to be tricked by such verbal contortions, I could not see "Number" as "Something that numbs"--maybe because it's only sort of a word. But okay. 55A: I'd never heard of "lash-up," so it was quiet a while before I was willing to erase the first letter of "mashup." But eventually I was forced to accept the unlikelihood that a senior of any age, whether 17 or 65+, has sought a safety schoom.

A jolly, holiday- and weather-appropriate theme from Sam that includes one of his Spelling Bee favorites. Fun.

Thanks for a fun-filled ride. An important part of the string of aha! moments was to realize that some answers were upside-down--pretty close to the way I feel after driving around one of these.

Enjoyed this one, which rewarded perseverance. Yes, Mr. Constructor, for me, a question mark would have helped with 32A, Patient check-ins. With language in NYT puzzles increasingly incorporating terms formerly considered crass, I was dismayed by 8A, Crapper, and disappointed that the constructor was proud of it. Oh, sure, it's an old word, et cetera, but please, no more. I entered "corn lot" for "corn pit." Having never watched "WKRP (speaking of KRP) in Cincinnati" and therefore not knowing Tom (who may not exist) from Tim Reid (58A), that mistake potentially worked. Corn LOT for PIT also made 54A, Kitchen mess, "slatter" instead of "spatter." Wondered whether that word had come from the same root as "slattern." Well, yes--but it's a verb, and not too far off. Pretty antique, though.

A million years ago I dimly recall that boys used to type 8008 on calculators because it looked like BOOB. Hilarity ensued.