Sunday, September 21, 2025 |
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Adrianne Baik’s New York Times Crossword “Gimme a Break!” — Eric’s Review
Adrianne Baik’s New York Times Crossword “Gimme a Break!” — 9/21/25
A tasty little rebus for your Saturday evening or Sunday morning pleasure. It took me a bit to figure out exactly what was going on, which I’m glad to say I did before I hit the revealer:
- 23A [Traditional form of Japanese drama] KABU{KI T}HEATER/18D [Regular at a park with half-pipes, informally] S{KAT}E RAT 18D threw me a bit because ski areas — which I am much more familiar with — often have half-pipes.
- 34A [2012 Disney film set inside an arcade] WREC{K IT} RALPH/21D [Breaded, fried Japanese pork cutlet] TON{KAT}SU I’m not really up on my Japanese foods, but I’ve heard of this dish before. I just couldn’t remember exactly what it’s called.
- 59A [Festive outdoor lighting options] TI{KI T}ORCHES/40D [“I made it big time!”] LOOK AT ME NOW
- 72A [Place to perfect a recipe] TEST {KIT}CHEN/52A [Members of the mongoose family] MEER{KAT}S I credit those adorable little guys with helping me figure out the trick here, because I knew the answer and didn’t immediately realize that it didn’t fit.
- 98A [Certain rescue pet] FOSTER {KIT}TEN/78D [Ambush] SNEA{K AT}TACK
- 112A [Bite-size chocolate-covered wafers … or a hint to what’s found in five squares in this puzzle] KIT-KAT MINIS
You could argue that the entire puzzle is just one big candy advertisement and I’d agree with you. Or you could say that the MINIS of 112A justifies squishing KIT-KAT into five squares, and I agree with that, too. (Do I lack principles or am I just flexible?) Either way, it’s kind of a fun theme if you’re not philosophically opposed to rebuses.
Other stuff:
- 30A [Far from conscious] IN A COMA Constructors beware: Inhaling green paint fumes often leads to unconsciousness.
- 69A [Puck’s king] OBERON From A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (But you knew that.)
- 90A [Reform Party founder] H. Ross PEROT He got 8.4% of popular vote, but that was almost 30 years ago. Maybe it’s time to let him rest in peace?
- 3D [Tik-Tok in the Oz books, for one] ROBOT I have no idea where I learned this. Not from L. Frank Baum’s books, because I’ve never read them.
- 12D [Filing services?] MANICURES Cute.
- 60D [Graham Greene’s “___ Man in Havana”] OUR I think I read that book decades ago, but I could easily be confusing it with The Quiet American. But the title was familiar enough that I didn’t stumble with THE or HIS or anything else that might have made sense.
- 99D [What the “dalai” of “Dalai Lama” translates to] OCEAN I saw a similar clue just the other day — and I’d already forgotten the answer.