Good clue on SPF, but very Saturdayish ( 63A: Letters on some foundations). Too often (for my taste) the clues got super vague and misdirective. Which is sad, because SIREN SONG is a very nice answer. Also, I don't really know what a SEMITONE is, not specifically, so basically everything east of and including SEMITONE in the middle there was just a chore. And HBO made me think the "leafy perennial" was BASIL (instead of HOSTA). This section was already a drag because of SHO, which I had as HBO because I barely know what "Shameless" is and it just sort of floats free of any particular channel in my mind ( 33A: "Shameless" airer, for short). I mean, it means self-referential, in a way, but the "?" in the clue is doing a lot lot lot of work. ![]() I don't even really get how META works here. You've wasted an attempt at an original clue in order to make some kind of "joke." And when both clues are in the same section (as they are today, right on top of each other), ugh, huge pleasure drain. Unless both clues are Dead On, it's actually awful. I don't know why this kind of echoing is thought to be clever or enjoyable. The thing where you repeat a clue, or nearly repeat a clue (today: 41A: In and of itself + 44A: In and of itself?) almost always yields terrible, cringey results, and one of them is always hard because the clue just Isn't Right. And 16A: That's the spirit! already used up the "literal!" clue type, so OPTICAL ILLUSION's clue just made me think "again?" rather than "ah, cool." Some clues are meant to be used only once-going back to the well just deadens the effect. but because its clue duplicates a clue type that already got used earlier in the grid and really should only be used once in a puzzle (that is, the "literal clue with an exclamation point" clue type), I wasn't so taken with it. But because the fill rarely sizzles, and the clues try so so hard to get cute (more on this below), the overall vibe was a bit plodding. Some of the shorter connecting stuff is actually really strong, in a low-key sort of way-I'd like to give some love to GET REAL and CHATS UP in particular. Hard (for me) to get excited about MATHLETE or SEMITONE or TWO POINTS or (esp.) A-LISTERS. ![]() There are pairs in all the quadrants, but (aside from NUDE SCENE) none of the involved words are sensational, and at least one of every pair kind of lands with a thud. And the longer answers never really come together to produce a strong effect. Felt like I was seeping through this puzzle more than zoom-zooming through it. It's a very choppy, highly segmented grid, so the flow is not great. The only thing I (predictably?) genuinely got excited by in this puzzle was NUDE SCENE (good answer, well clued - 54A: Raw footage?). It's a very solid puzzle, but way more slog than thrill-ride for me. In 2020, she starred in and recorded the soundtrack album for the musical film The High Note. In 2019, she co-created a prequel spin-off of Black-ish titled Mixed-ish. She has also received nominations for two Critics' Choice Television Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Her work on it has earned her three NAACP Image Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Rainbow Johnson in the ABC comedy series Black-ish. ![]() Since 2014, Ross has played the starring role of Dr. Carla Reed on the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines (2011), for which she received her third NAACP Image Award. She also has appeared in the films Hanging Up (2000), I-See-You.Com (2006), and Daddy's Little Girls (2007), before returning to television playing Dr. From 2000 to 2008 she played the starring role of Joan Clayton in the UPN/ CW comedy series Girlfriends, for which she received two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. She hosted the pop-culture magazine The Dish on Lifetime. She began acting in independent films and variety series. She is the daughter of actress and Motown recording artist Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein. She is known for her lead roles in the television series Girlfriends(2000–2008) and Black-ish (2014–present). She owns Pattern Beauty, a hair-care line for curly hair. ![]() Tracee Joy Silberstein (born October 29, 1972), known professionally as Tracee Ellis Ross, is an American actress, singer, television host, producer and director.
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