New York Times, Saturday, May 29, 2021

It's great to be back in the Times for my third puzzle, and somehow also my third Saturday puzzle! I promise I make easier puzzles sometimes.

This one's got a bit of an origin story. I'm always on the lookout for fresh entries to include in crosswords, whether it's phrases I hear in conversation or stuff I see online. One day at school, my friends and I were brainstorming random entries to search in XWord Info's database to try to find ones that had never appeared in the Times crossword before (this is surprisingly addictive, try at your own risk).

At one point, my buddy Mark suggested PLOT ARMOR — zero hits on XWord Info — and it was love at first sight. It's such a juicy little term, plus it's decently inferable if you've never seen it before. So I built this grid around it, and I'm pretty chuffed with how it turned out! I was especially happy to squeeze in 24-Down, even though the answer may or may not be missing a word at the end...

If you dug this puzzle and want more, I regularly post indie crosswords over on my site — and only some of them are Saturday-level!

Debut entries can be so divisive, and so subjective. I didn't know yesterday's 1-Across, BEER BAR, and I didn't care for it. I'm sure others enjoyed it! I didn't know today's 1-Across, either, which begs the question, what the hell do I know? (Little to nothing.) I loved PLOT ARMOR, that I do know! As a writer, I wish I'd heard this awesome term before, and I'm going to strive to drop it casually into conversations.

YIPPIE KAY YAY … doesn't it feel incomplete without its final word? And doesn't … huh? I spelled it wrong? For f's sake, fine! YIPPEE KY YEA, are you happy now?

No?

Let's hope you're wearing some plot armor, my friend.

Interesting way to clue RHEA PERLMAN. I grew up with Carla Tortelli and Woody Boyd, so I plunked her in off the initial RH. The RH factor, boom! Sure has been a while since she's had another marquee role. With all the NBC reunions last year — notably "Parks and Rec" and "30 Rock" — I'd love to see the old "Cheers" gang back together.

(Ok, Boomer, I can hear the Millennials snarking.)

Speaking of snark, AND YOU ARE … ? is dripping with so much condescension! I think I love it, although it's a bit too Diane Chambers for my taste.

YIPPY KI YAY, MILLENNIALS!

Entertaining cluing today. [Chuck at high speed] is a perfect way to disguise Chuck YEAGER's first name. Today was the first time I didn't cringe at a MAN BUN. [Bunch of hipsters?], as in hair bunched up, like you're trying too hard to look cool, is awesome.

A lot to love, with IT DEPENDS, FALSE HOPE, PA SYSTEMS, WAKANDA forever! Enough that didn't quite resonate though, with this sushi-lover befuddled by GARI, WHEN IS IT feeling a bit odd, and some wastage with SET FREE.