11/15/2019: "Is That a Thing?" by Debbie Ellerin

... Yes, indeed it is a thing. Thanks for asking. 

Photo Credit: Kelvin Zyteng

I enjoyed the entries IS THAT A THING and I CANT EVEN (and SUSHI BAR and DATA SCIENTIST). The middle of the grid was smooth -- I got the most traction early on in the center left with RATED R and AXEL, which gave the section away. OLD SCORES was fun and also clued fairly easily, which really opened up the grid for me. I got tripped up in both the NE and the NW -- had HURDLES in for HASSLES for a while, and the combo of OBEAH, LISLE and LATEN wasn't fun at all. Other than IS THAT A THING, which I really truly loved, this puzzle felt like a solid meh. Lots of good, not a lot of great.

Love
IS THAT A THING 45A ("What do think... real or not?") In case you missed it, I really enjoyed this entry. It's something I say and hear all the time, especially in the context of crosswords. Love when modern expressions make it into the puzzle.

I CANT EVEN 31A ("No words") I wish the clue had been a little more fun, but another great entry using modern lingo.

SAMOA 46D (Cookie topped with toasted coconut, caramel and chocolate) I totally got tripped up here, even though I love Girl Scout cookies and especially Samoas. I was expecting this to be a generic type of cookie instead of a brand name. Love the entry, love the long clue that makes it sound much more complicated than it actually is.

Dislike
BRASILIA 17A (World capital designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its modernist architecture) = Every city and its nearest neighbor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site these days. Modernist architecture makes me think Dubai, not Brasilia, which is not a super well known capital to start with. Don't enjoy random trivia nobody knows clues.

OBEAH/ LISLE / LATEN 11-13D = As mentioned above, this is an icky combo. Any one of them could've been overlooked, but altogether they made for a tough and boring corner.

LAVS 53D (Loos) = Felt like this needed an abbreviation marker. Not a common enough abbreviation to my ear, especially in the plural, to do without.

GINS UP 44D (Gets excited) = IS THAT A THING? Never heard this expression before. Vague clue for uncommon language that has a lot of possible answers.

Representation
Love seeing a Friday puzzle by a female constructor, but we could do better on the gender balance in this puzzle.

El Chapo, Ronnie Lott, Leonard Cohen, Ganesh, Mahershala Ali, Ogden Nash, Santa Claus, Helmut Schmidt
Celine Dion, Ida Rolf