Anyway, Mr. Johnson offers us four theme phrases where the second word in each phrase is the name of a character from the video game. For example, at 20A, the answer to the clue “Fruit appearing on a Southern license plate” is GEORGIA PEACH, and Peach is the name of a princess in the game. Similarly, the Washington, D.C., mayor first elected in 2014 is MURIEL BOWSER, and Bowser is the name of the leader of the Koopas, a race of spiky, turtle-like creatures. Bowser’s main goal in life is to kidnap Princess Peach, and Mario’s job is to thwart him.
The one entry I needed help with was the wonderful OOPSY DAISY, because I did not know that Daisy was a character in the game. So I asked my kids. The text thread went like this:
Me: Hey, is Daisy a character in Mario Bros.? (random TikTok clip)
Favorite Child No. 1: Yes. (ultra-current meme that I have not seen before)
Me: What does she do? (current meme that both kids have already seen, even though it has been online for only an hour)
Favorite Child No. 2: She’s a princess. (cat video)
So don’t tell me that technology doesn’t bring families together.
Oh, right, the puzzle. This is a surprisingly fresh take on a franchise that has been around for nearly 40 years. All except one of the theme entries make their debuts, and the one that isn’t a debut, HORNED TOAD, last appeared in 1982.
Constructor Notes
What a thrill it is to be making my New York Times Crossword debut!
I’m 21 and a senior international studies major at Macalester College. I’m originally from Laramie, Wyo. (Special shout-out to any constructors from the Cowboy State!)
I can’t think of a theme concept more perfect for my first New York Times acceptance than MARIO BROS — a game franchise that played a crucial role in my childhood. I’m thrilled and thankful to the crossword editorial team for taking a chance on me and helping me bring Mario to the crossword universe.
The inspiration for this puzzle came to me while watching a CNN interview with 53-Across. The not-so-subtle “Aha!” moment triggered by Mayor Muriel Bowser’s last name sent me down a rabbit hole to see if there were enough Mario characters with names that were both recognizable to a wide audience and could be disguised at the end of crossword answers. Much of the rest was luck: The length of the best theme answers for the only four characters that met both criteria matched up beautifully (10/12/12/10) and stacked favorably on top of one another. At that point, I knew I had to get this puzzle to work.
A lot of the short fill is emblematic of the people around me. YES MA’AM, which saved the southwest corner, is how my younger sister, Leila, jokingly responds to my mom. My friend Mostafa Badran was a first-time HAJJI during the pre-Covid months of 2020. My partner, Annie, loves making travel VLOGS and bought her first drone last summer. “SNL” is one of the few shows my family watches religiously together, and the monologue by the HOST is always a delight. We’re also big tea drinkers, so I was thrilled to be able to debut ROOIBOS in the Times crossword.
Please reach out to me about all things puzzles at adrianjohnson435 [at] gmail [dot] com or at my blog www.ajxwords.com — I’d love to hear from you. Hope you enjoyed the puzzle!
The Link LonkApril 07, 2021 at 06:18AM
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South African Plant Used for Herbal Tea - The New York Times
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Herb
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