The shifty April 13 crossword

[Thomps2525]

Brent Sverdloff earned a master's degree in linguistics at UCLA. His crossword puzzles have been appearing in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times since February 2017. His puzzle for today includes these theme answers:

Cheddar shredder: CHEESEGRATER
Orson Scott Card sci-fi novel: ENDERSGAME
Park warning sign: KEEPOFFTHEGRASS
Toon spouse with a blue beehive: MARGESIMPSON

"Go from neutral to reverse" is SHIFTGEARS. Each theme answer includes the letters G, E, A, R and S – but shifted.

Brand names used to be taboo in crosswords. Today's includes seven: YSL ("Couture initials"), GES ("Some appliances"), DAYGLO ("Radiant pigment"), HOGS ("Harleys, familiarly"), REVLON ("Elizabeth Arden parent company"), GALLO ("Ernest or Julio of wine fame") and CARFAX ("Website providing vehicle history reports").

Yes, Day-Glo is a brand name. Brothers Joseph and Robert Switzer founded the Day-Glo Color Corporation in 1946 in Berkeley, California. They created the first black-light fluorescent paints and the first daylight fluorescent paints. Collins English Dictionary gives the definition: "Day-Glo colors are shades of orange, pink, green and yellow which are so bright that they seem to glow. [trademark]."

https://www.dayglo.com/

"Bolivian bruin" is OSO, which is not used in English. "Parisian pal" is AMI, which is not used in English. "Seat in un parc" is BANC, which is not used in English.

"When tripled, 'Yum!'" is NOM. The website Know Your Meme says "nom nom nom" is "an onomatopoeic phrase used to indicate that someone is eating or that a food item is particularly delicious." Parry Gripp, a singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist who leads a band called Nerf Herder, has written more than a hundred songs for children and has released four albums of children's songs. One of them is Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom. Listen at your own risk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Krrczljx9w

Thinking about gearshifts reminded me of a former college classmate who accidentally destroyed his Ford Mustang. He told me, "I put the gearshift into N for 'now' and I started the engine and began driving. Then I put it into L for 'let's go.' Then I put it into D for 'drive.' Then when I put it into R for 'race,' the whole car fell apart!"