The Winter Solver

@Andrzej I always enjoy your comments and think it's nice to see another non-American solver's take on the puzzles. I very much agree about the level of Americana today (mainly because I had to give up in the area around the two crossing brands in the SW). I suppose I shouldn't complain, since today's puzzle did have a gimme for me at 56D! For TOT I believe (but maybe an American will correct me) that the misdirection is that "sticky fingers" means a propensity for stealing, so if read directly the clue would refer to a thief or some other sort of criminal. Instead, it's actually not the euphemism but a literal reading, i.e. a small child having sticky fingers (many small children are messy eaters).

@Francis Nice to meet you! I've never communicated with anyone from Minnesota, so I'm equally thrilled. (All my American relatives seem to have relocated to the Southwest, probably after one too many Norwegian-style winters ...) If you do want to visit the country one day, you should know most people speak decent English, especially those under 40 or who work in the hospitality industry, so no need to learn a language! Our crosswords are different, though, so you may not want to put your NYT subscription on hold. I myself am not looking forward to this upcoming winter, mainly because of the dark — about twenty hours' worth each day around the New Year. Luckily it makes for good indoor weather and a perfect excuse to do more crosswords!

@Kroobey Your comment inspired me to look up some dates: today's constructor, Prof. Blake Slonecker, was born in 1981 and as such is over the age of forty; the EMI record referenced came out in 1967; the book Spiritual Midwifery in 1977; SEGOVIA passed at the age of 94 in 1987 and the (I believe) most recent thing referenced in today's puzzle, the Nintendo WII, was launched in 2006. I wonder what the average age of the references in a NYT crossword might be, and if it's even possible to find a way to determine it (e.g., I'm sure there is some first scholarly article about plosives that would give you a year, but the sounds themselves are obviously ancient). Maybe with the advent of AI maybe someone will make a tool that rates the hipness factor of the puzzle, to go with the freshness score?

@Andrzej Re: "Cupid, e.g.": Cupid is one of Santa's eight reindeer that are named in the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (and as an experienced solver, I'm sure you've filled in TWAS with clues that reference the poem a number of times). The eight reindeer are also named at the beginning of the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," although Rudolph is actually a much more recent character and didn't appear alongside the other eight for more than a century. The poem and song both are both American, so are much bigger parts of the American Christmas tradition. I think most Norwegians would struggle to get past Rudolph if asked to name Santa's reindeer.

@Super8ing I agree, but have spent too much of my childhood watching the SISSO in question not to note that KENOBI and his involvement with the Clone Wars appear in the first movie, in one of the most widely quoted and parodied lines from any Star Wars movie ("Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope"), that the character had appeared in all the tentpole movies until Disney took over, and that the character, the clones and Clone Wars have all appeared in the titles of Star Wars media (meaning it's theoretically possible to have gotten this simply by walking or scrolling past enough enough movie posters without ever watching even a second of Star Wars media). I'd rate this about in the ballpark of "Harry Potter's best friend" as far as cluing obscurity, but of course YMMV. Now, that Broadway name ...

@Nathan Wang I agree with the sentiment, although between Sheena, Mae West, the other kind of PDA, late night hosts and pop singles from 1969, my experience was rather that I had been born fifty years too LATE! It's fun to see someone have the exactly opposite experience. We'll lick them tomorrow!

@Francis No worries! Unless you visit, the time difference will probably always keep us apart (good premise for a screenplay? if so, get in touch with my non-existent agent). Other than that, I'm afraid I don't have anything in the way of good news re: your question. 1. US-Norwegian emigration in general: difficult. (Unless you're married to a Norwegian national. Unfortunately, and before you ask, I'm not single.) 2. Your specific case: very difficult. 3. To escape the election: impossible (it has been at the top or near the top of the news here every day since at least August). I dread it myself! At least, as Margaret Farrar put it (in my paraphrase) "it is impossible to keep your mind on the world's troubles while you're doing a crossword. So I'll keep solving!

@Ιασων My streak would be 200 today! Not playing, and may cancel my subscription depending on the outcome of the strike.