The Dog Days of Summer. The first word of each two-word theme answer is a breed of dog.
9-Down. Classmate who helps with a science project: LAB PARTNER. Everything you wanted to know about the Labrador Retriever.
11-Down. Post-retirement period: GOLDEN YEARS. Things you might not know about the Golden Retriever.
25-Down. Briefs alternative: BOXER SHORTS. Everything you ever wanted to know about a Boxer.
30. Hoarse speaker's feature: HUSKY VOICE. Things you might not know about a Husky.
71-Across. Head honcho, and a feature of 9-, 11-, 25-, and 30-Down: TOP DOG. Note that each theme answer is in the Down position with the breed Dog at the Top of the answer.
Here's the Grid, so you can find all the Top Dogs.
Across:
1. Container on a bar top: TIP JAR.
7. Hay bundle: BALE.
11. Wrigley product: GUM.
14. Fire up: AROUSE.
15. Site whose original name was AuctionWeb: EBAY.
16. __ and only: ONE.
17. Literary realm created by C.S. Lewis: NARNIA. Usually its the characters from Narnia are we are asked to identify.
18. Piercing spot: LOBE.
19. "The Book of Mormon" org.: LDS. As in the Latter Day Saints.
20. Winter hat feature: EARFLAP.
22. Big commotions: ADOs. Much Ado About Nothing.
23. "Dancing Queen" pop quartet: ABBA. ABBA was a Swedish pop group that was named using the initials of its 4 members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. In 1974, ABBA was Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo.
26. Harp constellation: LYRA. Can't you just see the harp shape??
27. Actress Russo or artist Magritte: RENÉ. One female, one male.
 |
| René with a René. |
28. "You Bet Your Life" host Marx: GROUCHO. His given name was Julius Henry Marx (Oct. 2, 1890 ~ Aug. 19, 1977). He had two older brothers (Chico and Harpo) and two younger brothers (Gummo and Zeppo).
31. Depleted: DRAINED.
33. Tyrannosaurus __: REX.
34. Throw, as a shot put: HURL.
36. Cafeteria item: TRAY.
37. Fill with wonder: AWE.
38. "Stop asking me!": I SAID NO!
40. Subj. for some citizenship applicants: ESL. As in English as a Second Language. This has become a crossword staple.
43. Skating venue: RINK.
45. Regard as: DEEM.
46. __ moment: AHA!
47. Causes consternation: DISMAYS.
50. Off-campus housing area: FRAT ROW.
52. Amazon gadget activated by saying "Alexa": ECHO.
53. Lemming kin: VOLE. More than you ever wanted to know about Lemmings and Voles.
55. "Full Court Press" network: ESPN.
56. Like some vivid colors: NEON.
57. Wind instrument with an oval body: OCARINA.
60. Sealing goo: TAR.
61. Insta uploads: PICS.
62. Quarterback Joe who was MVP of the 1969 Super Bowl: NAMATH.
66. Writer's rep: AGT. As in Agent.
67. Gets an A+ on: ACES.
68. Small apartment: STUDIO.
69. "__ Misérables": LES. This musical was in the news recently.
70. Love, in tennis: ZERO. Why is Zero called Love in tennis? Who knows?
Down:
1. Browned by the sun: TAN.
2. Nest egg inits.: IRA. As in Individual Retirement Account.
3. __ favor: please, in Spanish: POR. Today's Spanish lesson.
4. Alaska's capital: JUNEAU. The capital of Alaska is named after Joseph Juneau (May 28, 1836 ~ Mar 1, 1899), a French-Canadian gold miner and prospector.
5. Himalayas continent: ASIA.
6. Caboose: REAR. // And 8-Down. On a train: ABOARD.
7. __ laugh: BELLY.
10. Hurricane center: EYE. We have now entered hurricane season. Fortunately, there is no activity yet.
12. Incomplete: UNDONE.
13. Botched, with "up": MESSED.
21. Regional plant life: FLORA.
22. Met solo: ARIA. You knew I was going to include this Aria from Carmen.
23. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.
24. Prepare, as coffee or tea: BREW.
29. Dishes for a special meal: CHINA.
32. Bakery allure: AROMA.
35. To-go cup top: LID.
39. Put off: DEFER.
41. Hunt for bargains: SHOP.
42. Putting green, e.g.: LAWN.
44. "It's showtime!": I'M ON!
47. Insurance type that may complement medical: DENTAL.
48. Global cold spell: ICE AGE.
49. Mia Hamm's sport: SOCCER. Mia Hamm (née Marial Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
51. Join forces: TEAM UP.
54. Coach Ted played by Jason Sudeikis: LASSO.
58. Research org.: INST. As an Institution.
59. Alliance headed by Mark Rutte: Abbr.: NATO. Mark Rutte (b. Feb. 17, 1967) is s a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since October 2024.
61. La __, Bolivia: PAZ.
63. Contribute (to): ADD.
64. Spanish uncle: TIO. More of today's Spanish lesson.
65. Greedy one: HOG.
חתולה
34 comments:
Once again, Tuesday’s
puzzle seems easier than Monday’s, and Monday’s was easy enough. Of course, knowing the gimmick from the first themed solve didn’t hurt at all either. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
No Wite-Out, no drama, just a nice Tuesday romp.
I remember watching GROUCHO in my ute, waiting for someone to utter the magic word which would bring down the duck.
Our TV has Alexa (not an ECHO), but I've never enabled that feature. I don't like appliances that listen or speak.
I wasn't a coffee drinker, but got assigned to make coffee aboard the Navy carrier...just once. Didn't realize I'd drawn the water from a saltwater tap.
Enjoyable exercise, Lee. Thanx for the expo, Hahtoolah. (Fifteen years into my GOLDEN YEARS I can unfortunately appreciate that cartoon.)
FIR, but delay->DEFER and nameth->NAMATH (UNTIE!) Mild guess @ OCARINA x NATO.
I remember when NAMATH guaranteed a Jets victory in Super Bowl III, then delivered. I also remember that commercial. Both were before we got color TV. NAMATH's nickname was Broadway Joe.
My recent trips to the ER have resulted in 1 added prescription med and two others changed in my daily pill routine. Oh, and OTC iron pills have been added as well, but maybe only temporarily
Thanks to Lee for the fun, easy puzzle. For some reason, LDS with LID made me smile. And thanks to Ha2la for another fine review, especially the LABradoordash toon.
T ook 4:17 today.
E njoyable puzzle.
R eally enjoyable review.
R ep didn't tip me off that an abbreviation was coming in 66A.
I knew today's actress (Rene).
E spanol was kind to me today, as I knew "tio."
R oamed around Juneau a couple years ago before catching a flight to the wonderful Glacier Bay National Park.
FIR. Easy puzzle as can be expected on a Tuesday. I had no problems with today's presentation. I didn't even notice the theme until I got to the bottom and saw the reveal.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
quick solve today- enjoyed the humorous cartoons Susan
Good Morning, Crossword friends. Anyone else thing Big Dog before Top Dog?
QOD: I never go out during the day without my sunglasses. ~ Tory Burch (née Tory Robinson; b. June 17, 1966), American designer
Good morning.
The theme answers and reveal were shadowed. Nailed them as my first five fills. Or so I thought. D'oh! I had big DOG rather than TOP DOG in my haste. So close! Must be fading in my GOLDEN YEARS.
Thank you, Lee. I enjoyed your puzzle. Too bad (for me) that you couldn't work in German Shepherd somewhere, but I do love each of those other types of dogs.
A good Tuesday puzzle, but not without a few other missteps:
- I read, "Bakery failure" Oh, Bakery allure.
- Entered Any (moment) before AHA.
- Then I read the 7D down clue "----- laugh" and tried to enter it at 18A.
Hahtoolah, I cracked up at your GOLDEN YEARS cartoon. Great choice. Ten years into my retirement YEARS I can relate. Is there a (quasi) ECHO in here?
I thought I also spotted a MalMan pun in the review. How much did it cost to have your ears pierced? A buccaneer.
Incomplete:UNDONE. Or, as Manitoba based band The Guess Who (and possibly Jinx) spelled it in 1969, "UNDUN", in their album Canned Wheat". Which is a fun title, because wheat is Manitoba's largest seeded crop, and a major source of income for the farmers there. Another tie to today's crossword is that the band broke up largely due to disagreements between Berton Cummings and Randy Bachman after Randy converted to Mormonism (LDS), and with his disillusionment with the group's rock and roll lifestyle. (I love the ease of finding informative articles on the internet.)
Well, that was fun. Terrific puzzle and enjoyable review by Hahtoolah.
Á puzzle free of names of people I don’t know and á review full of cute little jokes.
I saw the doggie theme early so the reveal TOP DOG came easily. One erasure, delay for DETER.
I remember Broadway Joe. His name popped into my head right off.
I’m hoping for á day without thunderstorms which have plagued us daily for almost 2 weeks.
Hahtoolah, I did!
errata: The band didn't break up, per se, when Randy converted. He quit the band after the album American Woman (certified Platinum in Canada, Gold in the US), and they never enjoyed the same levels of success.
Musings
-Golf league got rained out again today. That makes 4 of the last 5 we didn’t play. No one is complaining in this farm state.
-I had to use Susan’s always entertaining write-up to see most of the down clues as I got most of the puzzle without looking at them
-We are cat people and so I didn’t realize GOLDEN was sufficient to describe a type of dog.
-Many venues now only accept credit cards. When paying, the TIP is the first thing on the screen and there are no JARS
-Along with GUM, Mr. Wrigley was the prime mover in establishing this enterprise
-We crossword peeps know Magritte’s famous This Is Not A Pipe painting/semantic lesson
-I wonder how many thousands of meals I have eaten off school TRAYS like that
-The most famous use of an OCARINA?
- Joe Namath is thought to be overrated but in the late 1960’s, he was a phenomenon!
Well, "hot diggety dog". Super easy puzzle today, with only NATO's head as the only unknown. The AKC holds a beauty contest every year to determine their version of the TOP DOG. A canine Miss America contest. Watching the field trials or the agility competitions is a better indicator of the best dogs.
TIP JAR- that grad with 'lots of student debt' needs a better job or has a worthless degree.
GROUGHO- say the secret word and a duck comes down and you get $100.
HURL- if you 'hurled' a shot put, you arm would be dislocated. You have to 'shove' or 'put' that 16# ball. Of course, the younger generation has another connection between 'HURL and throw' and it's throw-up.
NEON gas has only one color and it's orange.
EBAY and ECHO- 'Auction Web' was originally part of " ECHO Bay Technology Group". They later renamed the company EBAY. The EB came from Echo Bay, hence E-BAY.
Good Morning:
I guess I wasn’t very alert while solving this because I completely missed the theme until the reveal. There is something about vertical themed puzzles that throws me off guard, but I do like the surprise factor. And any puzzle focusing on our canine companions is A-OK with me. No unknowns and no w/os led to a smooth and quick solve.
Thanks, Lee, for a fun solve and thanks, Hahtoolah, for an outstanding review. Carmen’s aria and ABBA’s joyous sounds brought much life to another rainy, gloomy Northeast morning. And the cartoons added much delight and enjoyment, especially the Labradordash, the China store bulls, the doomed dinosaurs, and the Hurricane Cat-egories. Thanks for the generous amount of time you expend on providing these much-appreciated funny-bone ticklers.
Have a great day.
Liked the theme of the “dogs” on “top” of the vertical answers. A fair Tuesday. The names were known. Rene Russo, Née Rene Marie Russo, has visited many times (René is actually a man’s name, Renée is feminine).
Inkover: delay/DEFER, Etsy/EBAY
From the Sgt. Pepper album: the “ONE and only Billy Shears” and Guess Who sang “She’s been UNDONE”. I remember preferring to have my ears freeze off rather than lower the EARFLAPS from my cap like a dweeb
“C.S. Lewis” not Lewis Carrol that’s why “Wonderland won’t fit! And… TIP JAR not ashtray. Ted LASSO up against SOCKER
____ the capital of Alaska? …. JUNEAU
Tithing is a type of Christian ____ … BALE
Praise Aprils, ______ DISMAYS
Have a great day 😊
Jinx, against the advice of much more knowledgeable football enthusiasts, I bet $100.00, which I could ill afford, on the Jets to win that Super Bowl. Broadway Joe didn’t let me down. 😉
Nice and easy outing this morning. DW and I have shared our life with all the dogs mentioned except a boxer. Current companion is a way too smart but lovable Huskie. I have never been able to practice putting on a lawn. I think you need a special mower to get the grass that short. Still don't grok the clue for "I said no". On the other hand. I appreciate the dual cluing for RENE. I seem to remember this type of clue from bygone days. It at least gives one a couple of shots at a know it or not entry.
Nice and simple Tuesday puzzle. Completed in 10:37. FIR, but had a slight stumble on deter -> DEFER and coming up with the cross for NAMATH and INST
YP here ~ I bet $5 on the Colts, didn’t think the AFL Jets matched up with the NFL Colts, was I ever wrong 🤣
Nice terrier! Now who's a good boy?
For those of you that hate proper names, this was the puzzle for you. Only two people clued! Made for a swooshy solve. Thanks, Lee.
Hate to be the one to bring this up, but what kind of dog is a GOLDEN? I know it could be a lab or retriever, but if you ask someone what kind of dog they have, no one says, "I have a GOLDEN." By itself it is nothing, just a floating adjective looking for a subject.
"Putting green" seems a stretch for LAWN. Yes, it's mowed grass but do any golfers call it that? "Nice shot! It landed on the LAWN."
Fun write up Hahtoolah - just wondering, are hats with flaps also a buccaneer?
Delightful Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Lee. And it was really fun listening to ABBA singing their "Dancing Queen" song, Hahtoolah--thanks for posting that too.
Well, JUNEAU, ASIA, NARNIA, and CHINA got us started wanting to take a journey to some delightful country, though I think I'll skip that visit to NARNIA until I have time for a pleasant read. I was hoping for some food in this puzzle, as I always do, but as far as I can see all we'll be getting will be a BREW of some coffee or tea on a TRAY in our STUDIO--not much fun. Then I always look for the critters, but who wants to put some shorts on that BOXER or that little TOP DOG on the very bottom. Think I'll just go and do a crossword puzzle and drink that tea or coffee and enjoy my GOLDEN YEARS.
Wishing all you readers some good GOLDEN YEARS too.
Hola! Good Tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Lee Taylor. The DOGS were easy to spot and all filled in quickly. Mine was a small papillon that lived for 17 years, and my daughter had a large one and now I can't recall the breed. The two were good buddies and would cuddle up together.
Luckily, I've not had to wear EAR FLAPS here.
I have been to Alaska but not to JUNEAU. Anchorage and Sitka were also on our agenda. Of course, we took a boat to view the glaciers and nearly froze even from a distance.
i hope your day is going well, everyone!
Many thanks to Lee Taylor for a terrific Tuesday puzzle, and to Hahtoolah for the delightful review. I was looking for a theme, but didn't see it until TOP DOG clued me in. I especially enjoyed Hahtoolah's illustration for 52-Across: the things we really want to say to a smart speaker like Alexa. I'll let one of these gadgets eavesdrop on me when it can take out the trash and clean up under the bird feeder.
Nice easy Tuesday romp. By my expansive count 17 names, but only 3 DNKs. I didn't see the theme until the reveal, and still managed to FIR in 9 on paper, with no W/Os. Thanx LT for the clever, fun CW. The only dog I've ever had was a boxer. Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the terrific write-up. All these things people say they see in the stars, like bears, harps, scorpions, etc., take a whole lot of imagination, too much methinks, to be credible.
My favorite "doomed dinos" cartoon is this Far Side panel.
A "golden" lab is called a "yellow lab." Way back when DW and I had a golden retriever, I think that just about everyone referred to him as simply "a golden."
You are right about green v. lawn. Can't even blame this one on the Brits.
I'll quote NaomiZ: "Many thanks to Lee Taylor for a terrific Tuesday puzzle, and to Hahtoolah for the delightful review."
Speaking of Ennio, last week TCM aired a three hour documentary about him. Worth watching if repeated.
The Professor awards Lee’s puzzle a solid CWPS of A (97.4%).
Always heard the “love” means zero in tennis because in French l' œuf is the word for “egg” in the way we say a zero on the scoreboard is a goose egg.
Mythbusters did a segment on a bull in a china shop. He walked thru the aisles almost daintily until near the very end when his tail knocked a couple plates off the shelf
The expression should probably be "like an Irish Wolfhound in a china shop." Love those big ol' oafs, but they can clear entire tables with those happy tails, and not even realize they've done it.
Cummings and Bachman are reuniting in concert on a cruise in February 2026.
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/guess-who-first-reunion-show-2026/
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Lee and Hahtoolah.
FIRed in very good time and saw the TOP DOG theme. I’ve always had cats
No inkblots, but I hesitated over the A in the cross of OCARINA and LASSO.
The clue for TAN still grates on me. “Browned by the sun” seemed to require the verb “browned”, but instead the adjective “TAN” colour was required.
The Shaw Festival has a wonderful set for NARNIA in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I took my daughter and two granddaughters to see it last weekend. Very well done.
Wishing you all a great evening.
Tan can also be used as a verb
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