SUNDAY PUZZLE –Hello, solvers! At long last, I’ve reached the end of my time with Games, and what is a more fitting conclusion than to publish The Daily’s first 21×21-sized puzzle? This epic task was necessitated by my best theme yet, as the revealer is too long to fit into a regular 15×15. I am much more verbose about my goodbye to The Daily in my senior goodbye, but from gems to sex to Chappell Roan, I truly hope that people have enjoyed the puzzles I’ve made in the past four years. For questions or comments about this puzzle (or even just to say goodbye), reach out to me at madihamm@umich.edu. For general questions and concerns, reach out to crosswords@umich.edu. And, for the last time — happy solving!
Tricky Clues
41A. Unless you are chronically online like I am, this one probably is tough. In the song “Boat,” Trim raps, “I wanna twerk on the flo / she wanna twerk on ABOAT.” It’s an earworm that I cannot fight, and I couldn’t resist a niche pop culture reference in my final puzzle.
101A. I love the Arb, the colloquial name for Nichols ARBORETUM. It’s lovely to walk through, and even more lovely to tell people that you like going there because it makes you seem much more outdoorsy than you actually are. Oops, secret’s out!
114A. With 21×21 grids, there will always come moments when you have to make hard decisions about what words you include to make the best grid. ELMONT, unfortunately, is a sacrifice of the grid for the sake of 101-Across, ARBORETUM. I wanted to fit another Ann Arbor reference into this puzzle, if possible!
46D. Recently, Artemis II landed safely back on Earth after its mission around the moon and back. I used to be way more into ASTR., the abbreviation for astronomy, and this mission (as well as the recent release of the science fiction movie “Project Hail Mary”) has rekindled my joy and wonder for the stars.
53D. While this answer began as another sacrifice to the grid, I do love Katherine HEIGL. I first saw her in “Grey’s Anatomy” before I stopped watching that show of death and depression, and then later in “27 Dresses.”
69D. Amid a cold, sunless Michigan winter, I rediscovered the joy of oranges. After some experimentation, I determined that the best orange for eating is a CARA cara orange. Try one for yourself. Trust.
Today’s Theme
Graduation looms, I don’t know what comes next and, most importantly, I am constantly asking myself the question in 90-Across: WHEREDALLTHETIMEGO? This song by Dr. Dog inspired this whole puzzle. The theme entries are all words or phrases missing “time”: 22-Across, DAYLIGHTSAVING(time); 32-Across, WONDERFULCHRISTMAS(time); 47-Across, GOOD(time)CHARLEYS; 65-Across, THE(time)SAREACHANGIN; 81-Across, SEN(time)NTALVALUE; and 109-Across, SPACE(time)CONTINUUM.
