I pulled out 2D Grassy South American plain: LLANO because that’s a word that I had missed time after time in the NYT Spelling Bee. Finally I learned it and find it almost routinely. Solving this clue was super easy for me, and I’m very proud of that.
This puzzle was another of those bad-pun theme ones. I use the term pun loosely because puns can work both ways. These really couldn’t.
18A Good snack for a pilot?: WINGNUTS. Wingnuts are a terrible snack for anyone. I mean I get that nus can be on a plane, and wins are on a plane, but wingnuts are not food.
24A Good snack for a gangster?: TOUGHCOOKIES. Tough cookies may be a great snack for a teething child. I mean if frozen minibagels are good for teething children, tough cookies should be fine. But for a gangster? Lame.
39A Good snack for a flea market dealer?: BARGAININGCHIPS. We all know about bargaining at flea markets, but if they’re going with flea market, why not make a flea joke? And if they’re not going to make a flea joke, why not just opt for used car lot? And bargaining chips aren’t meant for eating! Then you can’t use them!
51A Good snack for an arsonist?: FIRECRACKERS. Also not food! Hot Tamales would have been way better because it would have made sense.
Or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos
Firecrackers are not food.
62A Good snack for an optometrist?: EYECANDY. Shame on you, Eric Bornstein. Let’s get Eric Baird in there instead.
Finished this one in 8:02.
| Day | This Wk | Best | Average | 4-Wk Avg | Streak |
| Monday | 8:08 | 3:49 | 9:27 | 8:27 | 72 |
| Tuesday | 8:02 | 5:22 | 13:21 | 10:18 | 15 |
| Wednesday | 7:38 | 17:18 | 11:34 | 12 | |
| Thursday | 12:12 | 28:57 | 26:20 | 12 | |
| Friday | 16:23 | 33:50 | 28:18 | 12 | |
| Saturday | 27:43 | 34:22 | 34:49 | 12 | |
| Sunday | 15:11 | 54:58 | 44:30 | 1 |