Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Caroline Hand

Fifty Shades of Gray.  or maybe just 4 shades today.

17-Across. Extremely good-looking person, slangily: SMOKE SHOW.  I am not familiar with the term Smoke Show to describe an attractive person.  I guess it refers to someone who is so hot they are on fire.

23-Across. Actress who played Rollergirl in "Boogie Nights": HEATHER GRAHAM.

40-Across. Treat that can help a dog with indigestion: CHARCOAL BISCUIT.

53-Across. Online publication founded in 1996 by Michael Kinsley: SLATE MAGAZINE.  Slate is an online magazine that features stories on politics, the arts, and business.

And the unifier:

65-Across. Range between white and black, and where the starts of 17-, 23-, 40-, and 53-Across can be found: GRAY SCALE.  Is it spelled Gray or Grey?  On this side of the Pond (unless you're Canadian), the color generally spelled with an "A".  On the other side of the Pond, the colour is generally spelled with an "E".  An easy way to remember this is in American, use the "A"; in England use the "E".  Hi, CanadianEh!

Across:

1. Sleep outdoors: CAMP.

5. Salad topped with blue cheese and bacon: COBB.  Robert H Cobb is said to have created the Cobb Salad.  It's made with lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, crisp bacon, roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, blue cheese and a touch of French dressing.

9. __ Sketch: drawing toy: E-TCHA.

14. Spiny succulent: ALOE.  As we learned from yesterday, it's a sunburn soother (See. 2-Down).

You knew I was going to include this cartoon.

15. Major producer of pineapples and bananas: DOLE.  Everything you wanted to know about the Dole Company.

16. Dubbed: NAMED.

19. Peruvian pack animal: LLAMA.

20. Cantina fare: TACOS.

21. Oahu neighbor: KAUAI.

29. Fury: IRE.

30. Quiche need: EGG.

31. __ Jima: IWO.

32. Inquires: ASKS.

36. April 15 agcy.: IRS.  Tax day is coming up soon!

38. Bother terribly: EAT AT.

44. "Access Hollywood" host Lopez: MARIO.  Mario Lopez (b. October 10, 1973) is an actor who has also appeared on Broadway as well as television.

45. Hither and __: YON.

46. Residential units, briefly: APTs.  As in Apartments.

47. Horror movie street: ELM.

48. Mallon in the World Golf Hall of Fame: MEG.  I don't follow golf, so I was not familiar with Meg Mallon (b. Apr. 14, 1963).  She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.

51. Sleeping place: BED.

58. __ Island: New England state: RHODE.  Rhode Island is the smallest state in the Union.  Supposedly, the state got it name from the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who called the island "Roodt Eylandt" (meaning "Red Island") in 1614, referring to the red clay lining the shores of Aquidneck Island, an island in Narragansett Bay.

59. Flatbreads for gyros: PITAS.

62. Belly button type: OUTIE.

68. Monastery member: FRIAR.

69. Jane Austen heroine: EMMA.  Emma is the 1815 novel written by English author Jane Austen (Dec. 16, 1775 ~ July 18, 1817).  It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and is about the relationships among people from a small number of families.  I have never read it.

70. Sledding spot: HILL.

71. Lower leg joint: ANKLE.

72. Proofreader's catch: TYPO.

73. Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL.  I always fly El Al when I go to Israel.

 

Down:

1. Performers in a play: CAST.

2. __ mater: ALMA.   Today's Latin lesson.  Alma mater literally means Nourishing Mother, but it is a phrase used to indicate where one went to college.

3. Freeloader: MOOCH.

4. Tea option: PEKOE.  The gradation and classification of tea is very complicated.  Pekoe tea actually refers to a grade of black tea, specifically referring to the size and quality of the leaves, and not a specific flavor or type of tea.

5. LP successors: CDs.  As in a Compact Disc.

6. __ and aah: OOH.

7. British fellow: BLOKE.

8. Word of caution: BEWARE.

9. Makes bigger: ENLARGES.

10. Actress Shire: TALIA.  Talia Rose Shire (b. Apr. 25, 1946) is probably best known for portraying Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series of movies.  She is also the sister of film director Francis Ford Coppola (b. Apr. 7, 1939).

Francis Ford Coppola and Talis Shire

11. Nashville-based awards org.: CMA.  As in the Country Music Association.

12. Skirt edge: HEM.

13. Tooth care org.: ADA.

18. "La Bamba" actor Morales: ESAI.  Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (b. Oct. 1, 1962) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.  Did you know that his name, Esai, is a Spanish name that derives from the Hebrew root "Yesha'yahu" (יְשָׁעְיָהוּ), which means "God is salvation"?

22. Brand of fluffy slippers: UGG.  The UGG company began in Australia and got its name because the sheepskin boots are ugly.

24. Group of three: TRIO.

25. Queen of Mount Olympus: HERA.  In Greek mythology, Hera, the goddess of marriage, women, and family, is considered the Queen of Mount Olympus.

26. Seek a loan from: HIT UP.

27. Anticipate: AWAIT.

28. Apple juice brand: MOTT'S.  It's more than just apple juice.

32. Zeniths: ACMES.

33. "__ we dance?": SHALL.

34. Cosmic payback: KARMA.

35. Indian honorific: SRI.

37. __ as a fox: SLY.

39. 2010 health law, for short: ACA.  As in the Affordable Care Act.

41. Summoning words: COME HERE.

42. Tea option: BOBA.  Boba tea, also known as bubble tea, is a Taiwanese tea drink with chewy tapioca pearls (boba).   The drink is also frequently sweetened and combined with milk or fruit flavorings.

43. Spanish spelling of Agnes: INEZ. 

49. Angsty music genre: EMO.  A crossword staple.

50. Gizmo: GADGET.  A gizmo is defined as any device that gets the job done, but it often means an unknown object. 

52. Hummus and salsa: DIPS.

54. Dry run: TRIAL.

55. Bacteria-ridden: GERMY.

56. For a very specific audience: NICHE.

57. Online sales: E-TAIL.

60. Penne __ vodka: ALLA.  Yummers!  Penne alla vodka is a popular pasta dish, made with penne pasta, tossed in a creamy, tomato-based sauce that includes vodka, and sometimes chili flakes and other ingredients.

61. Vend: SELL.

62. Birds __ feather: OF A.

63. Self-serve coffee server: URN.

64. "__ Tok": No. 1 hit for Kesha: TIK.

66. Gear for a roadie: AMP.

67. Basketball star Ming: YAO.  Yao Ming (b. Sept. 12, 1980) played for the Houston Rockets from 2002 until 2011.  He is 7 ft 6 in.  In 2007, he married Ye Li, who, at 6 ft 3 in, is also a former professional basketball player.  She played for the Shanghai Octopus team in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

 

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday March 17, 2025 Kit Sheffield

  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

Theme:                Wisdom Teeth

Let's begin with the reveal:

64 Across. Molar, or a feature of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 50-Across: BACK TOOTH.  A molar is a TOOTH towards the BACK of a human's mouth. Our clever constructor Kit has also found words such that TOOTH can be added behind (in BACK of) them to create new, in-the-language terms. Here they are:

17 Across. Hustler with a cue stick: POOL SHARK.  Billards Forum definition  

Also, in case you missed it, CED shared this funny meme with us last Tuesday. Here's one more: 

SHARK TOOTH. Several of my male friends sported these necklaces in the 1980s.  

24 Across. Hunting dogs with a keen sense of smell: BLOODHOUNDS.  

Trumpet was the first BLOODHOUND
to win Best in Show at Westminster (2022).

HOUNDSTOOTH.  You do not have to twist my arm to try on anything with this pattern.  

39 Across. Completely unexpected revelation: BOLT FROM THE BLUE.  This expression is new to me. Its meaning is as defined in the clue. It was first used in the mid-1800s. We have readers from across North America. Perhaps one of you is familiar with this expression and can tell us more.

BLUETOOTH. It is wireless technology that allows you to connect your devices over a short distance.  

The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes
(Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), King Harald Bluetooth’s initials.
He was the one who united Scandinavia. Get it? He connected them.

50 Across. Like chocolate with a high cacao percentage: BITTERSWEET.  Most recipes for chocolate chip cookies call for semi-sweet chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate contains 70% cacao, has less sugar, and has a deeper flavor than semisweet chocolate, which has 60% cacao. One can substitute these chocolates for each other in most recipes.

BITTERSWEET is also this very cool 1990 song by Big Head Todd and the Monsters:  

SWEET TOOTH. This idiom is a way of saying someone has fondness for sweet foods.  ✋

There's more:

Across:

1. "A Star Is Born" star __ Gaga: LADY.  Here she sings Shallow with Bradley Cooper in this video composed of movie scenes. She co-wrote this song for the movie. 

5. Gas additive brand that's a longtime NASCAR sponsor: STP.  

Constructors love this product as much as NASCAR does.

8. Blokes: CHAPS.  

a CHAP wearing CHAPs to protect him from CHAPparral

13. Largest bone of the pelvis: ILIUM.  

I remember this one because in Yoga we stretch the iliopsoas muscles.

15. Kanga's kid: ROO.  characters from Winnie the Pooh 

16. One of two on a 747: AISLE.  A 747 is an airplane with two AISLEs running lengthwise down the plane.  

19. Spot for a brooch: LAPEL.  

20. Tennis great Williams: SERENA.  She is also a fashion designer. Here she is modeling one of her fashion designs. 

21. "Quiet on the __!": SET.

23. Color named for a duck: TEAL.  There are several different types of TEAL ducks. This photo is of a male and female blue-winged TEAL.  

27. Less likely to back down: FIERCER.  

31. Puts a name to: IDS.  Think of someone ID-ing a criminal.

32. Hoped-for result of a brainstorming session: IDEA.

33. Super Mario brother: LUIGI.  According to the internet, Mario is known for his red hat and blue overalls while Luigi often wears green. They are both plumbers and are known for their adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they often rescue Princess Peach from the antagonist Bowser.  

36. Stately tree: ELM.  I listen to Alan Titchmarsh's podcasts on BBC Gardener's World. He often recommends people plant English ELMs for their hedgerow. Here is a pic.  

43. Sneaky: SLY.

44. Allows to use temporarily: LENDS.  A library comes to mind.

45. Gymnast Korbut: OLGA.  (b. May 16, 1955 in Belarus)  She won six medals in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and was the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988. 

46. No longer fashionable: OUT.     and     41 Down. Fashionable again: RETRO.

This was Heidi Klum's tagline on Project Runway.

47. 1960s TV role for Diana Rigg: MRS. PEEL.  I had to look this one up to get the "P". Diana Rigg (1938-2020) was an English actress who played Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965-1968).

55. Textbook section: UNIT.

56. "__ la la!": OOH.

57. Philadelphia NFLers: EAGLES.     and   71 Across. 57-Across, for one: TEAM.  

aka this year's Super Bowl champions

Also, is anyone else spying on the bald EAGLES, Shadow & Jackie? Their three eggs hatched the first week of March. Watch as they bring fish from the nearby lake to feed the eaglets. If you hear one of the parents call out, the other will arrive soon. Their devotion is inspiring!  

I grabbed this screenshot last Wednesday.
That silver thing between Shadow's feet is a fish.
You can watch the live cam here.

62. Fixed prices: RATES.  Fixed is an adjective here, not a verb.

66. Drum kit component: SNARE.

67. "Mr. Blue Sky" gp.: ELO.  This song peaked at #35 in the US Billboard Charts. Here you go, a ticket back to 1977:  

68. __ Monica, California: SANTA.  

69. On edge: TENSE.

70. Raspberry shade: RED.  

This shade goes well on 1-D.

Down:

1. Kissing pair: LIPS.

2. Sunburn soother: ALOE.  

3. Fashion's Christian: DIOR.  There is a bit of a fashion sub-theme going on today.

4. Christmas season: YULE.

5. Spanish Mrs.: SRA.  Hmmmm.....  "Mrs." is in the answer to 47-Across so we should not see it in a clue.

6. Upper body: TORSO.

7. Jabbed: POKED.

8. Orioles great Ripken: CAL.  If you do not know who Cal Ripken is, you should. You can learn about him here.

9. Temporary break: HIATUS.  HIATUS is a fun word. Its etymological origin is from Latin's hiare, meaning "to yawn". When you think about it, we do take a temporary break when we yawn.

10. Colorado ski town: ASPEN.

11. Beseech: PLEAD.

12. Exchanges for cash: SELLS.

14. Rachel Maddow's network: MSNBC.

18. In fine fettle: HALE.  Fettle, like HALE, is a word seldom heard these days. The definition of fettle is (noun) state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form. It also has a verb meaning.

22. Quadriceps locale: THIGH.

25. Synthetic fabric pioneered by DuPont: ORLON.  Its texture is wool-like. more detes here

26. "Garfield" dog: ODIE.  

27. Trivial lies: FIBS.

28. Object of adoration: IDOL.

29. Too wriggly to get hold of: EELY.

30. Rodent in a subway tunnel: RAT.  Freakonomics recently did a three-part podcast series on RATs. I learned that one rat female can have up to 72 pups per year. (Yes, they're called "pups".) A rat pair having offspring and those offspring having offspring can add up to 1,200 rats born in one year just from the original pair. Oof!

34. College Park sch.: UMD.  The University of Maryland is located in College Park, Maryland.

35. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME.  This made me think of this 1981 Men at Work song:  

36. French pronoun: ELLE.

37. Olympics sled: LUGE.  

38. Lunch or brunch: MEAL.

40. Chimney part: FLUE.

42. Jazz style: BOP.  As I said at 47-A, I had to look up the "P". For some reason my concepts of Jazz and Bop were not on the same page. Perhaps I was confusing BOP with Doo-Wop. Learning moment. BOP can be short for bebop, a style of jazz.

46. Playful river mammals: OTTERS.  The subjects of this 57-sec. video are sea OTTERS, not river OTTERS, but I think you will like it anyway. To really appreciate the OTTER'S actions at the end, you need to know that OTTERS have a pocket-like flap of skin in their armpits that they use to carry a favorite rock to use for opening shellfish.  

48. Really stink: REEK.  

49. Data for a sports analyst: STATS.  

Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt in the 2011 movie Moneyball (2:46 min)

I loved this movie but I loved, loved, loved the book.

50. Sudden outbreak: BURST.

51. Vapid: INANE.  Our inanehiker is the opposite of vapid. She is quite sensible.

52. Pre-Olympian god of Greek mythology: TITAN.

53. Temperate: SOBER.  

54. Mammal that feeds on krill: WHALE.  

58. One looking after the kids?: GOAT.  

two minutes of hoppy kid GOATs

59. One and only: LONE.

60. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.

61. Phony: SHAM.

63. "What'd I tell ya?": SEE.

65. Massachusetts cape named for a fish: COD.  Cape Cod was named by English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 with a nod to the abundance of codfish in the area.  

Atlantic COD

Here is today's grid:

This might be an LA Times debut for Kit Sheffield.
If so, congratulations!