12D. On some clocks and sundials, IIII represents the number 4 instead of IV. There are several reasons for this. In ancient Rome, it was considered bad form to use the number written his IVPPITER, an abbreviation of the name of the god Jupiter. Later, this use continued for aesthetic reasons. Watchmakers believed that using IIII (rather than IV) would make the dial look more symmetrical with the 8 (VIII) on the opposite side.
46D. This “Dr.” is from Compton, California. ” This is Dr.DRE. He was a member of the hip hop group NWA, which released the album “Straight Outta Compton” in his August 1988, 35 years ago.
47D. “Snap with a Stick” is his SELFIE (snap is a British synonym for photography) taken using a SELFIE stick.
54D. “Standing on the street” means more than just hanging out on a street corner. This clue suggests someone’s street beliefs, or people’s perceptions of them.
Constructor notes
I’m very happy to be able to debut!
If you look closely, you’ll see that you can draw a giant X through the five squares that contain the X. Incorporating this final touch and the answers to the five themes was quite a challenge. What I built was ton Repeat this puzzle. I believe this is the only arrangement that allows for any kind of quality fill, and I feel lucky that it worked.
There were a few tips I wrote about, such as 17-Across, which I wrote as a “Where to make paper airplanes?” I also tried to incorporate all the theme his entries in 59Across’s Liberaler. “17 across common instructions including 10 down and 38 down, and his 5 square hints for this puzzle”. I don’t know why it was shortened. Maybe there were too many words. The tips on 14-Across are great. I wish I had written that.
Shout out to my best friend Anand, a math professor at Oklahoma State University, and his wife Mia. I hope they and all the other math geeks (myself included) get excited about this.
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