TGI(not)F the 13th (New York Times 12/3/2020)

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I always prepare myself for Thursday puzzles. The themes tend to be a little spicy, pushing the boundaries of what is kosher for puzzles. Today I was treated to a theme that wasn't too outrageous, and just spicy enough to be interesting. It erred on the side of being a little easy for a Thursday, but in my opinion was better for it. The themed clues were great, the tie-in final answer was satisfying for the way it brought it all full circle, and the rest of the fill was solid with no misfires.

I've got to say, the whole puzzle felt a little emo, and I'm a little disappointed that word didn't make its way into the grid somewhere. That would have been the cherry on top! I'm going to cover the themed answers first today so I can highlight two other answers that jibed with the puzzle perfectly. 

The themed clues began at 19A clued as "This occurs at least once--and never more than three times--in a year." After an initial sweep through the puzzle, I had the answer... FRIDAYTHE13TH. The '13' part of the answer could have been put in a rebus, but the letter 'B' also satisfied the vertical crossing. 

Next up was 30A "Memorable launch of April 11, 1970." After solving the first clue, my lack of aerospace knowledge wasn't a factor here. I know of only one launch with the required rebus answer and that was ... APOLLO13.

Lastly we have 47A looking for the answer ... OCEANS13 ... from the clue "2007 heist film sequel." Just like the first answer, both subsequent themers are looking for the '13' to be entered as a 'B.' And that makes sense when you solve the tie in clue:

57A, clued as "Bad fortune... as suggest by [the themed clues]," is looking for ... UNLUCKYBREAK. Breaking the letter 'B' in the answers gives the number 13. From a standpoint of being playful and fun and fitting, this theme knocks it out of the part. And I can't help but see my 14-year-old self in all the angstiness of these clues.  

We have a bad day (or a memorable slasher film), a disaster and a heist movie. That all ties into other answers such as ... CINEMA ... at 8D, DOOM at 34A and ... GRIEF ... at 49A. Whether those clues were intentional or simply the best fill for the spaces only the constructor can know, but I'm going to give him (Mr. Jake Halperin) the benefit of the doubt. I can just picture him hunched over a sheet of graph paper, pencil eraser rubbed down to a nub while My Chemical Romance blares in the background as he strives to perfect his puzzle.

And to that, I would say he did. Bravo.

For a Thursday puzzle, the rest of the fill was on the easier side. I'm not going to go into too much detail today, because I want to touch on another subject before giving you the rest of your day--and thanks for sharing this small part of it with me!.

There's a new section on the Solver's Guild blog that I'm happy to announce, and that is Free Crosswords. Every few days I'll be adding a new puzzle to the website, both minis and standard 15x15. The first one up is a mini that you can find here. I hope you enjoy it.

Below you'll find the answers to this puzzle if you need them. What did you think of today's puzzle? Did you try mine? Let me know in the comments and have a wonderful day!

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