Joseph Knecht

  Bug Fixes Rebecca Goldstein's theme features don't exactly jump out at you ... She uses 4 cross references to another clue to identify the theme clues, a feature unpopular some solvers, some of whom might even call it 49D 😀.  She uses mixed Across (1) and Down (3) clues ... ... here are the themers ... 49A. 58-Across of a social crafting event:  QUILTING BEE .  Here are two quilts made by Teri's sister Rose.  Rose was formerly the seamstress for the Maryland Ballet Company ... 3D. 58-Across of some jeans:  BUTTON FLY .  I thought these went out of fashion after the publication of  Erica Jong 's novel Fear of Fly ing   (link rated PG13 😀). Button Fly Jeans 7D. 58-Across of the German auto industry:  VW BEETLE .  Over the years we had 5 of these -- 3 bugs and 2 vans.  VW stopped making them after awhile, but they're back -- you just can't kill 'em ... 2024 VW Beetle 11D. 58-Across of 1990s rock:  PAPA ROACH . Papa R...

Four What It's Wurth Today constructor Rebecca Goldstein presents us with three straightforward theme clues and a rather cryptic reveal, one of those puzzles within a puzzle.  Here are the theme clues. 17. Patrons of the arts:  CULTURE VULTURES .  After getting this on perps, I thought it might be a rhyming theme -- but it wasn't.  There seem to be several definitions for this phrase .  Here's a poetic definition by  Christopher Lindsay   Vultures in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves 27. Fluffy blockers of the sun:  CUMULUS CLOUDS .  This one was pretty obvious.  Cumulus clouds   have flat bases and are often described as puffy, cotton-like, or fluffy in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin cumulus, meaning "heap" or "pile",  as in "to accumulate".    C...

  ALMOST HEAVEN   After he retired my father built a small home on a mountain top in West Virginia .  We made many visits to it, then my mother had to sell it.  But one of sister's children bought it recently so it's back in the family.  And it was, and still is "Almost Heaven", a space where we can go and be at peace in a world with a starlit sky in the night, forests as far as the eye could see, meadows in the valleys, and a bucolic town with a yearly Apple Butter festival in the town below. Today's constructor Rebecca Goldstein challenges us with 3 theme clues that re-imagine our world as a safe space where all people are free from bias, discrimination, and hatred -- a noble ideal ... 20. Mindset that may hinder growth: COMFORT ZONE .  A COMFORT ZONE is a familiar psychological state where people are at ease and (perceive they are) in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress . But the clue hints that there is buil...