It's a Bling Thing!

Difficulty ● ● ◐ ○ ○

Puzzle Notes

Dear Subscribers, 

Welcome, friends! Last Tuesday, folks in downtown Manhattan were treated to an impromptu fireworks display in New York Harbor. On that day, the state reached a milestone: 70% of adults had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. It was a welcome celebration, with somber overtones, given the memories of the dire conditions we faced one year ago.

On Thursday, when the United States Tennis Association announced that the U.S. Open would be at full capacity this year, I bought tickets for the Men’s Final in September. I can’t wait to sit in the middle of a roaring crowd and root for ... anyone. But this is a special year for Novak Djokovic who – if the planets align – has a chance to achieve a Calendar Golden Grand Slam (winning all four majors plus an Olympic Gold Medal in one season). The U.S. Open is the final leg of the slam.

To date, the only tennis player (man or woman) with a Calendar Golden Grand Slam is – the great Steffi Graf.

All these ruminations about the Golden Grand Slam and the sparkling fireworks downtown probably influenced the direction of this week’s puzzle.

Welcome to Week 525 of Crossword Nation. For your immediate consideration, we invite you to solve “It’s a Bling Thing!” as your diversion of the week.

Have a shiny, happy and sparkling week!

Cruciverbally yours,

Liz


Solvers of The New Yorker puzzles: Check out my latest crossword (a "moderately-challenging" diversion, per the editors) in The New Yorker!


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Happy solving and be well!

Liz Gorski

www.crosswordnation.com