Rhythm-interrupting jazz method / THU 11-16-23 / So-called “African unicorn” / Married a lady, archaically / Mack 2010s Disney present / 2012 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis single with the lyric “I am unable to change even when I attempted”

Constructor: Paolo Pasco

Relative problem: Medium-Difficult

THEME: Evel Knievel leaping over a line of buses — this feat is actually depicted within the grid, i.e. EVEL KNIEVEL seems in circles that type a bell-curve arc, and that arc goes over a line of three BUSes, every entered in a single sq. (63A: Group that is cleared by this puzzle’s topic, depicted actually). 

The BUS squares:

• COLUM(BUS) (41D: State capital with the nickname “Arch Metropolis”)
• RE(BUS) (57D: “T_RN,” for “No U-Flip,” e.g.)
• SYLLA(BUS) (42D: Paper handed out as a matter in fact?)

Different theme materials:

• GET OVER IT (3D: Punny recommendation to this puzzle’s topic)
• DAREDEVIL (9D: Description of this puzzle’s topic)
• LIVING ON THE EDGE (23A: Appearing dangerously, like this puzzle’s topic)

Phrase of the Day: URL hijacking (56A: ___ hijacking, one other time period for “typosquatting”) —

Typosquatting, additionally known as URL hijacking, a sting website, a cousin area, or a pretend URL, is a type of cybersquatting, and presumably brandjacking which depends on errors akin to typos made by Web customers when inputting a web site handle right into a net browser. Ought to a consumer by chance enter an incorrect web site handle, they could be led to any URL (together with another web site owned by a cybersquatter).

The typosquatter’s URL will often be one in every of 5 varieties, all just like the sufferer website handle:

• A standard misspelling, or overseas language spelling, of the supposed website
• A misspelling based mostly on a typographical error
• A plural of a singular area identify
• A distinct top-level area: (e.g. .com as an alternative of .org)
• An abuse of the Nation Code Prime-Degree Area (ccTLD) (.cm, .co, or .om as an alternative of .com)

Related abuses:

• Combosquatting – no misspelling, however appending an arbitrary phrase that seems respectable, however that anybody might register.
• Doppelganger area – omitting a interval or inserting an additional interval
• Appending phrases akin to sucks or –suckes to a website identify

As soon as within the typosquatter’s website, the consumer may additionally be tricked into considering that they’re actually in the actual website, by using copied or comparable logos, web site layouts, or content material. Spam emails generally make use of typosquatting URLs to trick customers into visiting malicious websites that appear like a given financial institution’s website, as an illustration. (wikipedia)

• • •

Conceptually, that is ridiculous. The nice form of ridiculous. I imply, it is absurd, fantastical even, that any DAREDEVIL, even Evel, might get that form of raise. He is ten buses excessive at his apogee! Or perhaps he is leaping Matchbox buses. Additionally, in the event you construct ramps which are three buses excessive, I am fairly certain plenty of people, even non-DAREDEVILs, might bounce a line of three buses (and solely 3? looks like Evel would bounce extra). It is proportionally preposterous, however as a visible evocation of the act, mwah, it is excellent. Wheeeeee, there he goes by the air. Excellent touchdown! The one query is: what, precisely, is he leaping. I assumed perhaps a shark, however that is Fonzie. And it did not match. The trickiest factor concerning the puzzle was most likely that BUS line, in that it is tucked down there, very lower off from the remainder of the grid, and each pathway in (i.e. all three Down solutions that attain down there) is a rebus-containing reply, which implies the lengths are all unsuitable. I spent a great deal of time refusing to go ahead till I might keep in mind the six-letter state capital that began COL-. I assumed I knew all of the state capitals! No, I do know all of them! Ugh, what am I forgetting? Solely by crawling down into that vacant part can you discover the revealer (I usually observe crosses and don’t bounce into any empty part except I’ve to). When you do see the revealer, OK, nice, it is BUS. However BUS … matches within the three letters, so most likely a few of you’ll be like silly me and simply write in BUS. I figured COLUM-, RE-, and SYLLA- all simply shared the one BUS. However no, in fact, there is a *line* of BUSes. As soon as I rebusified these three squares, increase, Comfortable Accomplished Puzzle Message! It wasn’t swish, however I landed unscathed.

What I appreciated most concerning the puzzle, although, was how stupidly punny and playfully self-referential it was. It taunts you proper off the bat with the corny GET OVER IT pun (earlier than you even know what the puzzle is about), after which backs that up with a literal dad-joke STEAK pun (36A: “___ puns are a uncommon medium nicely finished” (dad joke)—get it? uncommon? … medium? … nicely finished? … STEAK? … it is fairly delicate). However the actually, really nice pun are the buses themselves. A REBUS puzzle that makes use of REBUS as a REBUS reply!? A REBUS puzzle that’s about buses—that’s RE: BUSes!?! That … is daring. That’s the further layer that takes this theme from good to nice. From nice to artwork. Now I do know why EVEL appears to enter decrease orbit there on the peak of his bounce—it is a visible illustration of the puzzle’s personal thematic ambition … simply leaving the earth’s gravitational pull for a bit (“truly, if he left the earth’s gravitational pull he would not come again down” “you do not say, fascinating”). There’s additionally one thing oddly pleasing, even soothing, about the truth that each ramps have EVEL’s identify on them. And that EVEL is a major piece of crosswordese in his personal proper. This theme simply retains on giving.

What I did not look after an excessive amount of was the Heavy reliance on correct nouns, notably up to date popular culture correct nouns. The popular culture lane feels slightly slim, and it is undoubtedly gonna show exclusionary for an enormous chunk of the fixing inhabitants. I depend three hip-hop/R&B solutions, not less than three TV reveals, and a Tremendous Mario Bros Film —and that is on high of your regular array of correct nouns. Received to feeling like a trivia check at instances, and although I knew among the trivia … I dunno, it simply felt prefer it was leaning into popular culture so closely that it was sure to wreck some solvers, and that’s the worst option to get wrecked. I do not assume there are any dangerous crosses. Every part appeared in the end gettable, which is what counts. Nonetheless, the popular culture stuff felt mildly extreme at present. However then I lookup LIL MAMA (53A: Rapper with the 2007 hit “Lip Gloss”) and discover that she truly performed Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes within the TV film CrazySexyCool: The TLC [!] Story (see 43A: R&B trio with the album “CrazySexyCool”), and I am proper again to admiring the puzzle’s winking playfulness. Regardless of the puzzle’s doing, it is aware of it is doing it, and it is doing it with confidence and function. And humor. And good will, I assume.