If you’re looking for Monday NYT hints, go down to the post below this.  Brendan Emmet Quigley posts a seriously hard puzzle each Monday that I also often gives hints for.  

First, full disclosure, I couldn’t have completed this puzzle without doing “check” in Across Lite several times.  I made mistakes on 4 letters before finally straightening things out.   This is a hard puzzle.

Quigley has a knack for a few things, most of them in evidence here:

1.  A word you know (“Where Bjork was born”), but can’t possibly spell.  But it is familiar, so don’t panic.

2.  A word that’s part of modern internet lingo (aka, a meme) that may not make any sense to you once you do get it.  Remember the puzzlers code:  Never google while solving a puzzle, always google after solving.  If the dinosaurs had followed this simple code, they’d probably still be around!  Any way, the idea here is that a common internet expression, in this case one involving the supreme deity, is transformed as though one were trying to enunciate while wearing a retainer.

3.  An answer that’s easy but a clue that’s all but impossible.  (Houthi Rebellion republic) — I never trusted those Houthi, whoever they were.  Even when I got it, I didn’t know where it was when it became clear the answer to 26-down (3-Down’s region) didn’t refer to the continent it’s in.

4.  Slightly “off color” clue/answer combos.  But none in this particular BEQ gem.

More hints:

Viper with distinctive bands:  Two animals in one!

Pool stat? — Pool, as in swimming?  No.  Pool, as in a game played in a seedy parlor? No.  Pool, as in genes? No.  Still one more to go.

Mariscal Sucre International Airport City:  People are quite sweet on this hero’s name in this part of the world.

Chief’s home:  No, not indian chief.  If it said “The Chief’s home” would that help?