Tuesday, October 10, 2023, Nate Cardin

Hoho! Toto and Coco Chanel were pulled over by the po-po, making their evening only so-so.

Which are all the other words that could fit into the pattern featured in today's puzzle's theme, revealed at 70A: Affectionate sign-off ... or a pattern hinting at the starts of the answers to the six starred clues (XOXO). And of my examples, only the fashion designer would fit into the symmetry demanded by the grid.

Some good answers in the theme. JOJORABBIT was a fine film. LOLOJONES is a worthy crossword puzzle answer. NONONANETTE has gone down in Boston history as the reason that Babe Ruth was traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees. Turns out this is incorrect. Although Harry Frazee's theater career saddled him with excess debt, it turns out that other financial difficulties as well as pressure from the rest of baseball pushed him into selling a huge number of players to the Yankees. Curse of the Bambino, my foot.

Cluing is an interesting art form. Even though there are no truly tricky clues in this puzzle, we can still appreciate things like 18A: Stereotypical techie or Trekkie (GEEK) for the rhyme. Or 25A: Ready for dental work, say (NUMB) for immediately recognizable reference. Or 52A: Smallest prime number (TWO) for a nice if basic ROI. Also, the pair of clues at 1D (Layered haircut) and 52D (Quick haircut).

- Colum