At 46D today, the clue was “Modern suffix with situation,” and the answer was SHIP. Situationship. Here’s a string of comments it inspired:
SharonAK: ??Situationship?? Is this really a word? How is it used and by whom?
Anony Mouse 1: Situationship is a very common current term (prob the most current in this puzzle). It’s when you are hooking up and going on dates with someone but there’s no formal label or commitment so you are sitting in limbo.
Anony Mouse 2: Situationship is Gen Z slang. Its something in between “friends with benefits” and an all out relationship.
Anony Mouse 3: Situationship is a real term! It means like a temporary relationship that works for the time being, it’s kinda the new “it’s complicated.”
Liveprof (me!): It’s a naval term describing the conditions on board a vessel. The captain will often ask his second in command to provide him with the situationship each morning.
This poem is called “The Age of Reason.” It’s by Mary Jo Salter, below, and is from today’s Writer’s Almanac.
“When can we have cake?” she wants to know.
And patiently we explain: when dinner’s finished.
Someone wants seconds; and wouldn’t she like to try,
while she’s waiting, a healthful lettuce leaf?
The birthday girl can’t hide her grief—
worse, everybody laughs. That makes her sink
two rabbity, gapped teeth, acquired this year,
into a quivering lip, which puts an end
to tears but not the tedium she’ll take
in life before she’s given cake:
“When I turned seven, now,” her grandpa says,
“the priest told me I’d reached the age of reason.
That means you’re old enough to tell what’s right
from wrong. Make decisions on your own.”
Her big eyes brighten. “So you mean
I can decide to open presents first?”
Laughter again (she joins it) as the reward
of devil’s food is brought in on a tray.
“You know why we were taught that?” asks my father.
“No.” I light a candle, then another
in a chain. “—So we wouldn’t burn in Hell.”
A balloon pops in the other room; distracted,
she innocently misses talk of nuns’
severities I never knew at seven.
By then, we were Unitarian
and marched off weekly, dutifully, to hear
nothing in particular. “Ready!”
I call, and we huddle close to sing
something akin, you’d have to say, to prayer.
Good God, her hair—
one beribboned pigtail has swung low
as she leans to trade the year in for a wish;
before she blows it out, the camera’s flash
captures a mother’s hand, all hope, no blame,
saving her from the flame.
Today’s puzzle was all about the Sondheim musical Sunday in the Park with George. There were circled letters we were to connect to spell out “Look, I made a hat,” and they formed the shape of a hat. (See it?)
“Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981–2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Wafflings, Diversions and Anecdotes” was the second book of two covering SONDHEIM’s lyrics. The two volumes were packaged together as Hat Box: The Collected Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. “Look, I made a hat where there never was a hat” is also an actual lyric from the song “Finishing the Hat” from Sunday in the Park with George.
Commenter Danny added: George Seurat, the main character of the musical at hand, was a pointillist—so the dots/circles are incredibly apt!
Sondheim was an avid fan of puzzles and games. He is credited with introducing cryptic crosswords, a British invention, to American audiences through a series of cryptic crossword puzzles he created for New York magazine in 1968 and 1969. Sondheim was “legendary” in theater circles for “concocting puzzles, scavenger hunts and murder-mystery games”, inspiring the central character of Anthony Shaffer’s 1970 play Sleuth. Sondheim’s love of puzzles and mysteries is evident in The Last of Sheila, an intricate whodunit written with longtime friend Anthony Perkins. (Wikipedia)
Bernadette Peters was in George. Phil complains that it’s hard for the camera to pin down how beautiful she is. Still, gotta try, buddy.
At 51A, “Unappetizing gruel” was SLOP. SLOP was the “Word of the Year” for 2025, per the editors at Miriam Webster. They define it “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The flood of slop in 2025 included absurd videos, off-kilter advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks pretty real, junky AI-written books, “workslop” reports that waste coworkers’ time… and lots of talking cats. “AI Slop is Everywhere,” warned The Wall Street Journal, while admitting to enjoying some of the cats.
Speaking of George, we had to wake up our own George early today to open up the Owl Chatter Hall of Fame for the immediate induction of T. J. Sabula, the Ford employee who shouted “pedophile protector” at Trump yesterday. Sabula was immediately suspended by the toadies at Ford but donations in excess of $500,000 have already gushed in for TJ from admirers.
TJ, 40, and a proud union man, says he has no regrets. “I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” he said. “And today I think I did that.” So do we. Scoot over folks — make room in our Hall of Fame for him. And get him a beer, George.
Closing up shop a little early tonight. Tired from a hunting/gathering outing to Costco. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 