Solution to Evan Birnholz’s Feb. 7 Post Magazine crossword, “Making the Leap”
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26A: [Bill who played a role in the Epcot attraction “Ellen’s Energy Adventure”] is Bill. I went on this ride many years back, before it shut down in 2017. Apparently the people who went on the ride during its final run got to explore the set and pose with the dinosaurs.
62A: [Pryor knowledge?] is COMEDY . Richard Pryor, if you didn’t know. It occurs to me that I could have done a similar joke for JOKES at 66D: [“Inside” ones may be hard to get].
66A: [Tightfitting denim attire that Tobias wears at all times on “Arrested Development”] is. There will never be a time when I don’t find this word funny. Tobias wears jorts at all times because he’s what the show called a never-nude
93A: [Spots for heating pads when treating neck pain] is NAPES. I don’t know how this has happened, but there have been six Post Magazine puzzles so far in 2021 and three of them have featured the answer NAPES (the other two instances were on Jan. 3 and Jan. 31). It might actually be in the early lead for most common answer in my puzzles for 2021. Chalk it up to really convenient letters.
Yellowstone Attraction
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THURSDAY PUZZLE — What a friendly-looking grid! Not only that, but it’s oversize (15x16, as opposed to the typical 15x15) and has the maximum number of words that one would expect to see in a weekday puzzle (78).
The constructor Jeff Chen has used a similar “smiley face” pattern before, but in this collaboration with the constructor Erik Agard, that smile comes with an artfully crafted observance of a specific peaceful protest.
Tricky Clues
18A. Watch out for those capitalized letters. “Where Miners have majors” isn’t referring to people who work in a mine. That capital M means that Miners is a proper name, and it happens to be the name of a University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) sports team.
32A. Hand up if you filled in LYFT for “Uber alternative?” Me, too, what with that supposedly veiled capital that really isn’t one. But this clue is not hinting at taxis. It refers to “uber” as in “huge,” so the answer is MEGA.
Starts Hearts, Say
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TUESDAY PUZZLE — One of the things I love about crossword puzzles is the wide variety of trivia and knowledge they contain. Even in an early-week puzzle like this, I’ll probably end up not knowing a few answers. Asking a friend, using the reveal tool or taking to the internet to find the answers to a crossword are all not only allowed, but I would also even go as far as to encourage it. There’s no fun in being stuck.
Dan Schoenholz has given us a grid with an electrifying theme that’s straightforward, but with enough lateral thinking that it makes for a good Tuesday. I think you’ll have a great time with this puzzle. I found it to be a blast.
Tricky Clues
13A. “Starts hearts,” in this clue refers to card games, not a doctor’s job. The answer here is DEALS.
19A. I’ll often get tripped up by a wordplay clue like this, even on answers like ORE that appear in the crossword regularly. I like this style of clue because I think it brings an extra dimension to a puzzle, even if the clues are a little more challenging.