Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: October 28, 2018

My time: 22:07.

--

Erik Asgard mixes it up a bit with this Sunday, titled "Match Play."  On several Across answers, the clue is given as an apparently unrelated phrase in italics.  Through solving, one discovers that these clues are actually anagrams of the answers, which are split into two words plus the word AND.

For example: "Sou'wester" is SWEET AND SOUR, the words sweet and sour together being an anagram of the clue.  "Peace marches" can be anagrammed to PEACHES AND CREAM (minus the and, of course).  "Growth ring" becomes RIGHT AND WRONG.  And so on.

Thus, the theme suggests a game of... MIXED DOUBLES.

Actress TERI Polo appeared in this blog on September 22 as playing Ben Stiller's wife in the Fockers series.  But here she's clued as being on the TV show "The Fosters."

Never heard of it: the BACHATA is a social dance popular in the Dominican Republic.

There's a word for it: the APOLUNE is the farthest point in orbit around the moon.  It is a type of apsis.  Not to be confused with aphelion.

There's a word for this too: CUESTAS are hills with steep faces on one side and gentle slopes on the other.

ANDY Cohen is the host of a late night talk show, "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."  He is the first openly gay host of an American late-night talk show and the first live late-night host.

Dutch racecar driver and two-time Indy 500 winner ARIE Luyendyk is known as "the Flying Dutchman."

In other sports news, ACE is a term used in tennis (a point-winning serve), golf (a hole in one), and baseball (the best pitcher on a team).

Did you know CHE Guevara is interred in Santa Clara, Cuba?  Do you think the New York Times is right to call him a "hero?"  Please discuss.

More sports: "rhyming nickname in Cardinals history" is STAN THE MAN, which refers to Stan Musial, first baseman who spent 22 seasons with the Cards.

We've all heard of ESPN, but I didn't know they were based in Bristol, Connecticut.

We've all heard of SEGA, but I've never heard of the game Zaxxon.  It is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game (whatever that means), developed and released by Sega, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses.

DIANA Taurasi is a WNBA player with more records and awards than anyone could list in a day.  Her nickname? White Mamba, baby.

The Navajo Nation has its own capital: WINDOW ROCK, Arizona.  It's named for a local landmark, an arch which forms a rock with a hole, or window, through it.  Window Rock's population was 2,712 at the 2010 census, but is estimated to reach around 20,000 during weekdays when tribal offices are open.

I didn't understand the clue "relatively cool stellar phenomenon" for STARSPOT.  But it turns out Wikipedia says "Observed starspots have a temperature which is in general 500–2000 kelvins cooler than the stellar photosphere."

EERO SAARINEN was revealed to be the designer of Dulles on May 3.

I remembered DRU Hill from May 21.

Clever clues: "Do the wave?" is SURF.  "Not able to catch something" is IMMUNE.  "They might break out in hives" is BEES.  "Shed material" is FUR.  "Good throw?" is AFGHAN.

Well, that wasn't SEW difficult!  I liked the theme, and I appreciate learning a few new words.  Still, all this new stuff will TIRE a fellow out.  I'm DONE.  Time to EXIT.