Wednesday, Apr 30th, 2025 ~ Tim D'Alfonso

 TRAVELING RIVERSIDE BLUES

A "red" version of the Led Zeppelin cover

I have not had the pleasure of blogging a puzzle from Tim - this is his fifth construction for the LA Times - his last grid was almost a year ago.  An impressive collection of triple sevens in each corner, without being "Saturday" level difficult - and that's hard to do midweek.  I sailed though this one and I enjoyed it.  We have twelve seven-letter words, 18 fivers, 20 4LW, and 21 3LWs; a handful of names, but none that were too obscure, IMHO.  My first thought was we were looking at some "double letter" fills for a theme ( e.g. the Y-Y in 17A., and the R-R in 25A. ), but no - instead we have four places described by a shade of BLUE.  Three of the five themers are unique to crosswords, and the other two have only appeared one other time.  The themers & reveal;

17. Sites for shipbuilding: NAVY YARDS - navAL yards sounds more natural

25. Spots for guests to freshen up: POWDER ROOMS - there's only one bathroom in my house, and it's my yellow/orange/red "dragon" room - see 1 Down

39. Metropolitan area at the junction of three rivers, familiarly: STEEL CITY - officially known as Pittsburgh - but I found this list of several others ( not at a three-river junction )

55. Home for a king and queen: ROYAL PALACE

66. Geographic regions known for the longevity of their residents, and what 17-, 25-, 39-, and 55-Across are?: BLUE ZONES - the Wiki

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Oscar winner Sorvino: MIRA - her Wiki, name #1

5. __ moss: PEAT - what do you call a man in a bog~? see 22D.

9. Italian luxury brand: PRADA - name(ish)

14. Eden resident: ADAM - We've had similar three times this week now - it sucks when you're only one of two 'renters', and you get evicted . . . name #2

15. Bit of baby talk: DADA

16. Narrow margins of victory: HAIRS - semi-meh; I don't care for the plural in this instance - one does not win by hairS, but by 'A' hair

19. Fairy tale monsters: OGRES

20. Frito pie topper: CHILI

21. Itinerary approx.: ETA

23. "Yes," in Tokyo: "HAI."

24. Chicago's __ Center: AON - the Wiki

30. Flying geese formation: VEE

31. Venue for wraps and scrubs: SPA

32. Laptop alternative: TABLET - I now have three laptops, and one tower - the latest laptop is to be kept in the "music room" for playing songs and recording - see 1 Down

33. Feminine Italian pronoun: ESSA - sort of like contESSA

35. Early Peruvian: INCA - I'd like to see the ruins

38. Potential jurors: PEERS

42. Ferret relative: STOAT

45. Come across as: SEEM

46. Rogen of "Kung Fu Panda": SETH - name #3

50. "Shoulda listened to me!": "TOLD YA~!"

52. Bio class: LAB - I skipped Biology in high school

54. Once known as: NÉE

58. "Step away from my kibble": GRR - Dogspeak

59. Sofa headrest, for a napper: ARM

60. Classic record label: EMI

61. Racket: NOISE - how 'bout this Racket Noise~?

Alexander Bublik

63. View from Everest: NEPAL

69. Investment profits: GAINS

70. Doesn't keep pace: LAGS

71. Bits in citrus sorbet: ZEST - learned from doing crosswords

72. Spanish folk hero: EL CID - name #4 - Happy travels, Naomi~!  My parents honeymooned in Spain in 1966 - and attended a bullfight, no less

73. Fifth letter of the NATO alphabet: ECHO - We were challenged about this last Friday - I caught your Unicorn~!

74. "Salus populi suprema lex __": Missouri motto: ESTO - Latin; "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law" - shout-out to inanehiker~!

DOWN:

1. Sanctuary in the basement, maybe: MAN-CAVE - When I first told my coworkers at my last NY job that I was going to make the basement of my new CT home a "man-cave", they said the WHOLE house would be a man-cave - and this turned out to be quite true~!

My living room is my "blue" room - the office is the "green" room, ....

2. Some spuds: IDAHOES - sssss, close - I had IDAHOAN

3. Steep-sided gorges: RAVINES - I had CANYONS

4. __ acetate: banana-scented compound: AMYL - no clue, filled via perps - the Wiki - some interesting facts in this short article

5. Shared intimacy, briefly: PDA - Public Display of Affection

6. Musician's gift: EAR - I play by tablature - but I am getting better and knowing my guitar notes by name now, rather than positions, which means I am growing as a musician

Can anyone tell me what song this intro is from~?

7. Tossed in: ADDED

8. Personal style: TASTE

9. Soup with rice noodles: PHO - we've seen this before; I needed P_O to recall what it's called

10. New use for an old T-shirt: RAG - yup

11. Pet carrier opening: AIR HOLE - sounds like a soft insult - don't call me an air-hole~!

No new four-legged friend yet, but I'm a(n)- - - next clue/answer

12. Idealist: DREAMER 

13. Hockey stat: ASSISTS - the fast pace of the game results in TWO players getting points for assists

The Broadway Blueshirts failed to make the 2025 playoffs

18. High-pitched barks: YIPS - and golfer woes, too

22. Work on the wall?: ART - Ah.  Now that I see the answer ( filled via perps ), I get it.  Reminds me of names-that-can-be-nouns/verbs jokes - a list here

26. Andy Taylor's son, on classic TV: OPIE - speaking of funny names . . . .#5

27. Opposite of waxes: WANES - like the phases of the moon

Nice shade of  background blue - and there's a "BLUE" moon, too - more here

28. Intensely focused: RAPT

29. Falls into line: OBEYS

34. Carne __: taco option: ASADA

36. The Browns, on scoreboards: CLEveland - hardcore NFL rivals to Pittsburgh

37. Amtrak's fast service: ACELA - Here's a B1M construction channel clip as to why the service cannot get to European/Asian "bullet" speeds (name(ish))

40. Brief "Bye for now!": TTYL - textspeak, Talk To You Later

41. Apple variety: IMAC - not fooled by the fruit / computer ambiguity

42. Bizarre: STRANGE

43. "Scary how lifelike that is!": "TOO REAL~!"

44. Washington's __ National Park: OLYMPIC - I had to wait for crossings before I recalled this

47. "Start your __!": ENGINES - here's another YouTube clip about the facts behind the Ford vs. Ferrari movie - which I thought was a great film

48. Most succinct: TERSEST

49. Toast opening: "HERE'S TO..." - I better start thinking of something to say at my brother's wedding in July....

51. Mimic: APE

53. Auto pioneer Karl: BENZ - Dah~!  I put in OTTO, and should have known better; name #6

56. Stroll: AMBLE

57. Fragrant purple bloom: LILAC

62. Move like honey: OOZE

64. Singer DiFranco: ANI - crossword staple, name #7

65. Psychedelic initials: LSD - Not "L D S"

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home

67. "I hate it": "UGH~!" - I keep a daily journal ( a "captain's log", if you will ) and UGH makes frequent appearances, usually when I don't care for something, some statement, or some outcome

68. Spanish "that": ESO

Splynter

Tuesday April 29, 2025 Susan Gelfand

Favorite places.  Each profession in the theme clue has a favorite "to-go" place that relates to his or her job. 

20-Across. Journalist's go-to place for getting scoops?: ICE CREAM STAND.  A good Journalist would get Scoops on a story, then go to the Ice Cream Stand for a Scoop of Ice Cream.

31-Across. Novelist's go-to place for spinning yarns?: CRAFT STORE.  A good Novelist Spins Yarns for a story, the goes to the Craft Store for yarn for knitting.

40-Across. Screenwriter's go-to place for envisioning stories?: SKYSCRAPER.  A Screenwriter Envisions Stories, then might climb Stories in the Skyscraper.

52Across. Business writer's go-to place for establishing accounts?: BROKERAGE FIRM.  A Business Writer might Establish Accounts, which are at the Brokerage Firm.

Across:

1. Scallion kin: LEEK.  What's the difference, you ask.

5. Call at the plate: SAFE.  //  And 39-Across. Diamond experts?: UMPS.

9. Furniture in a cozy inn's common room: SOFAs.

14. Tehran's land: IRAN.

15. Colorful breakfast cereal: TRIX.  Trix are for rabbits.

16. Lyric poem: EPODE.  An Epode is a form of lyric poem written in couplets, in which a long line is followed by a shorter one.

17. Savory paste in Japanese cuisine: MISO.  It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus Aspergillus).

18. Tick off: RILE.

19. __ City, Iowa: SIOUX.

23. Movies that aren't silent: TALKIES.

24. Luxury watches such as Seamaster and Speedmaster: OMEGAs.  A brief history of the Omega watches.

This Speedster will set you back about $32,500.

27. Many a time, poetically: OFT.

28. Burlap fiber: JUTE.

30. Nutritional fig.: RDA.  As in the Recommended Daily Allowance.

35. "And not a moment too __!": SOON.

36. 50%: HALF.

37. Hankering: YEN.  Also the currency of Japan.

38. __ sock: TUBE.

43. "Doesn't do much for me": MEH!

44. Club membership charges: DUES.

45. Pillbox, for one: HAT.  Jackie Kennedy was known for wearing Pillbox hats.

46. Attach with a click: SNAP ON.

48. Open-sided garden shelters: GAZEBOs.

55. Steel girder: I-BEAM.

57. Tart: SOUR.

58. Theater box: LOGE.

59. Barista's brew: LATTE.

60. Bearers of gold, frankincense, and myrrh: MAGI.

61. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL.  Amal Clooney (née Amal Alamuddin; b. Feb. 3, 1978) married George Clooney in 2014.  She holds duel Lebanese-British citizenship.

62. Performed an optical procedure, perhaps: LASED.

63. Idyllic place: EDEN.

64. Well-mannered fellow: GENT.

Down:

1. Set a boundary: LIMIT.

2. CNN journalist Hill: ERICA.  Erica Ruth Hill (b. 1976) is an American journalist who has been with CNN since last year.

3. Painter's canvas holder: EASEL.

4. Merchandise that's not the real deal: KNOCK OFFS.   We had expensive Omega watches above.  Can you spot the knock off?

5. U2's "Where the __ Have No Name": STREETS.

6. Opera solos: ARIAS.  One of my favorite arias.

7. Festival showing: FILM.

8. Post-breakup pair: EXES.

9. Bagel variety: SESAME.

10. Express a viewpoint: OPINE.

11. Dairy or grains: FOOD GROUP.

12. Garage converted to rental space, e.g., for short: ADU.  Apparently this is short for Accessory Dwelling Unit.  Unknown to me.

13. Driver's license datum: SEX.

21. Falling-out: RIFT.

22. Reusable bag: TOTE.

25. Photoshop company: ADOBE.

26. More reasonable: SANER.

28. Baby kangaroos: JOEYs.  Kangaroos typically have one baby at a time. A female kangaroo can give birth to several joeys per year.  The word Joey comes from the aborigine language and joey means ‘small animal’. Joey is the collective norm for any small animals.

29. Caterer's coffee containers: URNS.

31. Pals: CHUMS.

32. Quick-cooking noodles: RAMEN.

33. Collections of letters: ALPHABETS.

34. Youngster: TYKE.

35. Waver over a capital building: STATE FLAG.  There is a mother pelican feeding her babies with her own blood in the center of the Louisiana state flag.  A white ribbon beneath the crest displays the state motto, "Union, Justice, Confidence" in blue. The flag was officially adopted on July 1, 1912, one hundred years after Louisiana became a state.  Louisiana joined the union in April 1812.

40. Done for: SUNK.  //  And 44-Down. Done for: DOOMED.

41. Embarrassment: CHAGRIN.

42. Bulldoze: RAZE.

47. Go on and on: PRATE.

48. Tire pressure indicator: GAUGE.

49. Ecological community: BIOME.  A biome is an area classified according to the species that live in that location.

50. Church pipes: ORGAN.  Hi, Splynter!

51. Silvery fish: SMELT.

53. Name in a Salinger title: ESME.  For Esme is a short story that was originally published in 1950.

54. Took the high __: ROAD.  The term Taking the high road means behaving in a moral and ethical way, even when faced  the temptation to act in a less honorable way.  It implies choosing a course of action that is righteous and upright.

55. Under the weather: ILL.

56. Sheep sound: BAA.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה