MJ Doesn't Miss

We’re officially into fall, the coziest season. It’s probably no coincidence that YEGwords colours tend toward an autumn palette - I love sweater weather, falling leaves, and making the most of the last summer days. My music tastes are slowing down too - I find myself reaching less for upbeat pop and more for the conflicting descriptors of warm and chill. Lately, I’ve been reaching for this autumn-themed playlist some friends and I curated and it has really hit the spot.

This week’s puzzle is not autumnal in any way… but I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts to feel that way in the coming weeks 🍂

Discussion (and spoilers!) below the break.

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MJ Doesn't Miss by Brandon Cathcart

Discussion

I guess I have been in a music mood - the last two puzzles have had themes based on popular songs. Looking ahead, I don’t think this will be a trend - so if you’ve been shaking your fist at me wondering why I would do this to you, know that these times have been fun but are largely behind us.

I got to rediscover The Raconteurs this week! I remember when it was announced that Jack White had a new band, and was pleasantly surprised by this fun song. I don’t believe they made anything after that album, though.

Today’s Theme

There are four italicized/starred clues in the grid that read weird, like they are missing some information. That’s because they are, and while you might be able to discern the answer from context, the revealer, 21-Across, will really help.

21A. [Michael Jackson hit... or what the starred clues are referring to]

The answer here is BLACK OR WHITE, a fantastic song and the information you need to help make sense of the other clues.

Behind the Clues

12A. [It means family, and family means nobody gets left behind... or forgotten] is a not-so-sneaky reference to the fantastic movie Lilo & Stitch (original animated, of course). I haven’t seen the live-action remake, but I’ve heard mixed things. Hopefully they at least kept this iconic line in it!

20A. Okay, you got me - I’ve been finishing up the second book in the ACOTAR series, so I felt compelled to clue ASH as [Wood that prevents Fae from healing in the ACOTAR series]. I’ve got about 10% left, but so far I’ve enjoyed Mist and Fury more than Thorns and Roses. Talk about enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers, am I right?

37A. [She's friends with a monkey and enemies with a fox] makes it sound like DORA the Explorer only has friends with animals, but I can personally attest to there being other human characters in that show. Some days I do wish I had a map as a friend as she does, but one that ideally doesn’t announce that it’s a map every time I call on it.

5D. ["I'll play just about any game except for that super long, boring war one"] could easily be something I would have said. NO RISK is one of my hard stances on board games. Hell, I’ll play Monopoly with you, but please don’t make me fight over territory, get knocked out, then watch you all play for the next 5 hours (Risk-lovers don’t @ me).

10D. [Where CGI is added to movies] is IN POST, as in post-production. I wanted to use this moment to shout out one of my favourite YouTube channels when I want something fun, kind of mindless, but that doesn’t feel like slop. Corridor Crew consistently creates high-quality stuff in the genre of “watching experts be experts” and I love it.

32D. There were two back-to-back video game clues at the end, but FORTNITE was a gimme. The harder was [Fruit you can harvest in "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," if your island has it]. If you haven’t played Animal Crossing, no need to give up! There are only so many four-letter fruits out there, and wouldn’t you know it, PEAR fits just fine. My island was named Peachland, and I’m sure you can guess what fruit was on it.

I hope you enjoyed this puzzle!

Until next week,

Brandon

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