Happy Monday, everyone!
Today's theme is: 
Constructor Zachary David Levy gives us four themed clues and an earworm reveal that might very well stick with you all day. Let's take a closer look:
17 Across. Film edition typically longer than its theatrical release: EXTENDED CUT.
EXTENDED FAMILY are relatives beyond a nuclear family such as grandparents and cousins.
24 Across. Big name in nonprescription reading glasses: FOSTER GRANT.
A FOSTER FAMILY provides temporary care for children who cannot live with their biological parents due to various circumstances.
39 Across. Opinion formed when shaking hands, perhaps: FIRST IMPRESSION.
The FIRST FAMILY is the family of the president of the United States. 
49 Across. Wrestling event with a series of combatants: ROYAL RUMBLE. This is a WWE event available on pay-per-view.
A ROYAL FAMILY is an EXTENDED FAMILY with titles. 
62 Across. Sister Sledge classic whose second line is "I got all my sisters with me," and a hint to the starts of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 49-Across: WE ARE FAMILY.
The starts of the themed clues are all types of families. Works for me!
Here is the song from 1979:
Yes, the four singers in Sister Sledge are real sisters!
Their names are Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge.
Next we'll look at the members of this FAMILY grid seated at the kiddie table:
Across:
47. Anger: IRE.
54. PC "oops" key: ESC. One might use the ESC key to close an unwanted window.
57. "Your Friends & Neighbors" actor Jon: HAMM. I was unfamiliar with this show. It first aired this past April on Apple TV+.
58. Insurance co. for mil. families: USAA. To take out a policy with USAA, one must be a current or past military member or their FAMILY member.
59. "Inside Out" studio: PIXAR. I was unfamiliar with this 2015 animated film.
61. Medium's claim, for short: ESP.
64. Sundial three: III.
65. Busy, busy, busy: AT IT.
66. Increasingly rare web access method: DIAL-UP.
67. Surveillance org.: NSA. Perps inform us on whether it will be CIA or NSA.
68. Gets into, as clothes: DONS. 🎵 "DON we now our gay apparel...." 🎵
69. "BoJack Horseman" voice actor Will: ARNETT. I have not seen this one either. BoJack Horseman was an animated Netflix TV show for adult audiences that ran from 2014-2020. I do know Will Arnett from his Smartless podcast. He is quick-WITted.
Down:
1. Sounds from a chicken coop: CLUCKS. Here you go....
7. Spew forth, as oil: GUSH.
11. Cleverness: WIT. WITty clues are appreciated.
14. Sell every last copy: RUN OUT. ... as in "Did the newsstand RUN OUT of copies of today's paper?"
15. Not for: ANTI. ANTI can be a stand-alone word or a prefix.
16. Slip up: ERR. To ERR in the Tour de France peloton (large group of riders) can have disastrous outcomes as seen in this crash from Stage 7. We later learned that Joao Almeida from Portugal broke a rib in this crash. He continued to ride but ultimately left the race during Stage 9. This was a tough blow since he placed 4th in last year's Tour and was the #2 man in this year's top-seeded team.
19. Female sheep: EWE.
20. Performing: DOING. ... as in "She is performing a tracheotomy."
21. Mardi Gras city nickname: NOLA. New Orleans, LA
22. Et __: and others: ALIA. Latin
23. Mine output: ORE. What's mine is (y)OREs.
27. "I inhaled it!": YUM. Perhaps the clue writer was thinking: "It tasted so delicious that I ate it all up quickly."
28. Little kiddos: TOTS. and 33 Down. Little scoundrel: IMP.
29. Broadway "Auntie": MAME. I had an advantage on yesterday's puzzle because I had already researched this for today's blog. Mame is a Broadway musical based on a 1955 novel entitled Auntie Mame. Angela Lansbury played Mame Dennis in 1966. The song We Need a Little Christmas is from that musical.
7. Spew forth, as oil: GUSH.
 |
| It's a GUSHer! |
14. Sell every last copy: RUN OUT. ... as in "Did the newsstand RUN OUT of copies of today's paper?"
15. Not for: ANTI. ANTI can be a stand-alone word or a prefix.
16. Slip up: ERR. To ERR in the Tour de France peloton (large group of riders) can have disastrous outcomes as seen in this crash from Stage 7. We later learned that Joao Almeida from Portugal broke a rib in this crash. He continued to ride but ultimately left the race during Stage 9. This was a tough blow since he placed 4th in last year's Tour and was the #2 man in this year's top-seeded team.
19. Female sheep: EWE.
20. Performing: DOING. ... as in "She is performing a tracheotomy."
21. Mardi Gras city nickname: NOLA. New Orleans, LA
House of the Rising Sun ~ The Animals ~ 1964
<The authorship of this traditional folk song is uncertain.>
22. Et __: and others: ALIA. Latin
23. Mine output: ORE. What's mine is (y)OREs.
27. "I inhaled it!": YUM. Perhaps the clue writer was thinking: "It tasted so delicious that I ate it all up quickly."
28. Little kiddos: TOTS. and 33 Down. Little scoundrel: IMP.
29. Broadway "Auntie": MAME. I had an advantage on yesterday's puzzle because I had already researched this for today's blog. Mame is a Broadway musical based on a 1955 novel entitled Auntie Mame. Angela Lansbury played Mame Dennis in 1966. The song We Need a Little Christmas is from that musical.
Auntie and 11-Down are Easter eggs.
32. Courteous: NICE.
36. Dance venue with a mirror ball: DISCO.
42. Scent: AROMA.
43. British baby stroller: PRAM.
44. French head: TÊTE. and 55 Down. French "Hi": SALUT.
32. Courteous: NICE.
36. Dance venue with a mirror ball: DISCO.
 |
| This one cracks me up! |
43. British baby stroller: PRAM.
44. French head: TÊTE. and 55 Down. French "Hi": SALUT.
45. Café au __: LAIT. ... more French. This time we have a coffee with hot milk added.
47. Anger: IRE.
54. PC "oops" key: ESC. One might use the ESC key to close an unwanted window.
57. "Your Friends & Neighbors" actor Jon: HAMM. I was unfamiliar with this show. It first aired this past April on Apple TV+.
58. Insurance co. for mil. families: USAA. To take out a policy with USAA, one must be a current or past military member or their FAMILY member.
59. "Inside Out" studio: PIXAR. I was unfamiliar with this 2015 animated film.
61. Medium's claim, for short: ESP.
65. Busy, busy, busy: AT IT.
66. Increasingly rare web access method: DIAL-UP.
 |
| I sometimes wonder what "latest tech" will soon seem terribly outdated. |
67. Surveillance org.: NSA. Perps inform us on whether it will be CIA or NSA.
68. Gets into, as clothes: DONS. 🎵 "DON we now our gay apparel...." 🎵
69. "BoJack Horseman" voice actor Will: ARNETT. I have not seen this one either. BoJack Horseman was an animated Netflix TV show for adult audiences that ran from 2014-2020. I do know Will Arnett from his Smartless podcast. He is quick-WITted.
Down:
1. Set of beliefs: CREDO.
2. Pyramid-shaped hotel in Las Vegas: LUXOR. Every time I Google something about Las Vegas for this blog, I get Vegas ads on my computer for weeks.
3. Open, as a knot: UNTIE. Or, as those of us who are spelling-challenged might say, "Open, as a not: unite."
4. "Fargo" filmmakers Ethan and Joel: COEN. These brothers wrote, directed, produced, and edited this 1996 movie. BTW, I did see this movie ... and liked it a lot!
5. Martial art practiced by a panda in an animated franchise: KUNG FU. "Kung Fu Panda" rings a bell but I somehow missed seeing these movies, too.
6. Time zone wd.: STD. word and standard
7. Actress Gal: GADOT. (b. April 30, 1985) her IMDb page
8. Dad's brother: UNCLE. Easter egg!!!
9. E.B. White's "__ Little": STUART. (1899 - 1995) E.B. White was born in Mount Vernon, New York. His three most popular children's books are Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte's Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970).
10. Punch: HIT. If you watched Saturday morning cartoons in 1975, you might remember this commercial:
11. Little girl, in the Highlands: WEE LASSIE.
12. "Crocodile Hunter" Steve: IRWIN. (1962 - 2006) He was an Australian TV personality who hosted a show on Animal Planet. His untimely death was caused by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary in the Great Barrier Reef.
13. Pay for: TREAT.
18. Nav. rank: ENS. Naval and ensign
22. Adept performer: ARTISTE. What is the difference between and artist and an ARTISTE?
25. Potent prefix: OMNI-. Def.: universally.
26. Divine beings: GODS.
27. Polite affirmation: YES MA'AM. An 18-Down might say this to an adjuster at 58-Across.
29. Painter's deg.: MFA. degree and Master of Fine Arts
30. Run on TV: AIR. If you RUN OUT of clues, you might have to reuse a word from the grid.
31. Bodybuilding competition for men since 1965: MR. OLYMPIA. This one was in the punchbowl because I remembered that Arnold Schwarzenegger was one. He won six years in a row from 1970 to 1975 then again in 1980.
34. EMT skill: CPR. 
35. Notable time: ERA.
37. Camper's bed: COT. This RV bed takes camping up a notch.
38. Single: ONE. and 62 Down. Bundle of dollars: WAD.
40. Kite extension: TAIL. I wanted to pair this with 56-Down but it was the wrong type of tale.
41. Actor Jannings: EMIL. (1884-1950) He was a Swiss-German actor. Hollywood historians would know him for sure.
46. Always there for: TRUE TO.
48. Put back together: REPAIR.
49. Deutschland river: RHEIN. Native spellings are used in the clue and, therefore, in the answer.
50. Caravan refuge: OASIS.
51. Sprinter Bolt: USAIN. (b. Aug. 21, 1986) In 2025 he became Jamaica's global tourism ambassador.
52. Small shops: MARTS.
53. Sweetie: BAE.
54. Kick out: EXILE.
2. Pyramid-shaped hotel in Las Vegas: LUXOR. Every time I Google something about Las Vegas for this blog, I get Vegas ads on my computer for weeks.
3. Open, as a knot: UNTIE. Or, as those of us who are spelling-challenged might say, "Open, as a not: unite."
4. "Fargo" filmmakers Ethan and Joel: COEN. These brothers wrote, directed, produced, and edited this 1996 movie. BTW, I did see this movie ... and liked it a lot!
5. Martial art practiced by a panda in an animated franchise: KUNG FU. "Kung Fu Panda" rings a bell but I somehow missed seeing these movies, too.
6. Time zone wd.: STD. word and standard
7. Actress Gal: GADOT. (b. April 30, 1985) her IMDb page
8. Dad's brother: UNCLE. Easter egg!!!
9. E.B. White's "__ Little": STUART. (1899 - 1995) E.B. White was born in Mount Vernon, New York. His three most popular children's books are Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte's Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970).
10. Punch: HIT. If you watched Saturday morning cartoons in 1975, you might remember this commercial:
11. Little girl, in the Highlands: WEE LASSIE.
12. "Crocodile Hunter" Steve: IRWIN. (1962 - 2006) He was an Australian TV personality who hosted a show on Animal Planet. His untimely death was caused by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary in the Great Barrier Reef.
13. Pay for: TREAT.
18. Nav. rank: ENS. Naval and ensign
22. Adept performer: ARTISTE. What is the difference between and artist and an ARTISTE?
25. Potent prefix: OMNI-. Def.: universally.
26. Divine beings: GODS.
27. Polite affirmation: YES MA'AM. An 18-Down might say this to an adjuster at 58-Across.
29. Painter's deg.: MFA. degree and Master of Fine Arts
30. Run on TV: AIR. If you RUN OUT of clues, you might have to reuse a word from the grid.
31. Bodybuilding competition for men since 1965: MR. OLYMPIA. This one was in the punchbowl because I remembered that Arnold Schwarzenegger was one. He won six years in a row from 1970 to 1975 then again in 1980.
 |
| 1971 |
37. Camper's bed: COT. This RV bed takes camping up a notch.
38. Single: ONE. and 62 Down. Bundle of dollars: WAD.
40. Kite extension: TAIL. I wanted to pair this with 56-Down but it was the wrong type of tale.
41. Actor Jannings: EMIL. (1884-1950) He was a Swiss-German actor. Hollywood historians would know him for sure.
46. Always there for: TRUE TO.
48. Put back together: REPAIR.
49. Deutschland river: RHEIN. Native spellings are used in the clue and, therefore, in the answer.
50. Caravan refuge: OASIS.
51. Sprinter Bolt: USAIN. (b. Aug. 21, 1986) In 2025 he became Jamaica's global tourism ambassador.
52. Small shops: MARTS.
53. Sweetie: BAE.
54. Kick out: EXILE.
"An English sea captain being asked if he had read The Exile of Erin replied, 'No, sir, but I should like to anchor on it.' Year afterwards, when he had been hanged as a pirate after a career of unparalleled atrocities, the following memorandum was found in the ship's log that he had kept at the time of his reply, 'Aug. 3d, 1842. Made a joke on the ex-Ile of Erin. Coldly received. War with the whole world!'"
56. Burial chamber: CRYPT.
60. Somali-born supermodel: IMAN. (b. July 25, 1955) Happy almost-70th birthday to IMAN! 🎂
63. HHS agency: FDA. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is abbreviated, so is the Food and Drug Administration.
56. Burial chamber: CRYPT.
60. Somali-born supermodel: IMAN. (b. July 25, 1955) Happy almost-70th birthday to IMAN! 🎂
63. HHS agency: FDA. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is abbreviated, so is the Food and Drug Administration.
22 comments:
“Iman” crossing “Arnett” gave me a little pause.
Nevertheless, I am still going to give this puzzle the “coveted” title of “a walk in the park.” We’ll see if other friends agree with me. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
The SE was a mystery until I kicked out EVICT in favor of EXILE. Whew. Embarrassment averted. EMIL Jannings won the first Best Actor Oscar back in '29, but he wasn't present to accept it. "I inhaled it." is the opposite of what one former president maintained back in BC days. Nicely done, Zachary and sumdaze.
Took 7:01 today for me to get with my kin.
Didn't seem like a true WITP for me, with French (tete), German, Iman, and Mame crossing MFA. At least I knew the Actress of Today (Gadot).
Have a great week.
FIR, but hand up for evict->EXILE. Also director cut->EXTENDED CUT, and rhine->RHEIN.
I knew FOSTER GRANT sunglasses, but not readers. Mine come from Costco.
DNK Your Friends and Neighbors,, but Jon HAMM has been as busy as sumdaze's bees and beavers. Making TV ads must pay well.
Honest BAE! I got that STD from my clock, not that trip to NOLA!
Everything is bigger in Texas. Even their "small shop," the InfoMART, has nearly 1.5 million square feet.
I'm not up to speed on modern methods of crossword construction, but it seems like constructors are getting their ideas from the same web sites. MAME and ARTISTE have suddenly become as common as OREO. (I take on at least 3 crosswords every day, so I'm exposed to a lot of fads.) Will these two fade away? I still expect "rizz" to show up as fill any day now. I think I was the last living fossil to have heard of that one, so its time is nigh.
Thanks to ZDL for the fun Monday puzzle, and to sumdaze for another clever review.
Good Morning:
Hand up for Evict/Exile misstep which caused a holdup in that quadrant until, eventually, Iman, Pixar,and Arnett came to mind. I thought the theme and reveal were a notch or two above Monday fare and, therefore, so was some the cluing and fill. No complaints here.
Thanks, ZDL, and thanks, sumdaze, for the entertaining and informative review. Favorite comic today was the CPR-performing mice.
Have a great day.
FIR. Nice and easy Monday puzzle, but i do take exception to yum for "i inhaled it". And the crossing of Iman and Arnett seems wrong too.
But the theme was clever. I had to go deep in my memory banks to remember the first.line of that great song.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
first wag unedited cut way wrong
I actually had eject before exile… to me not as easy as most Mondays but I FIR!
I was walking in the park through this puzzle until I paused in the SE. ARNETT/IMAN crossing barred the way. To add another obstacle I had misspelled USeIN. Once that was corrected, the Sister Sledge song appeared, and I was able to finish my walk.
So, this NICE puzzle was á TREAT this morning.
Thank you sumdaze for á nice review. For some reason I loved the CLUCKing hens video.
Nice Monday stroll, easy puzzle, fun blog from SD
When our kids were little we would sing and dance to the "We are Family" song by Sister Sledge with the adapted lyric : "We are family, Mommy, Daddy, ____, ______, _____" (filled with our kids names)
Not the old usual Monday “stroll down the path” (WITP) … had blanks and starts and stops.
Inkovers: cript/CRYPT, Extended run/CUT, expel/EXILE, Rhine/RHEIN … How many honestly put RHEIN cuz the German word for Germany (which I can never spell!) was in the clue.
Liked Jon HAMM in “Your Friends & Neighbors” and it’s ending seems to set up a second season
ATIT sounds more like two people fighting…. USAIN is back.
Liked the. “Get down” dog toon. 😆
Mullet: EXTENDED CUT
Monet’s initial painting …. FIRST IMPRESSION
Nice toast: SALUT
Happy top of the week😊
Irish Miss didn't mention me (or Ray-O) at 33 down?
(I'm feeling left out...)
:(
a href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a6/8e/74/a68e746a1cd398e2c5e05145e5309d50.jpg">exhibit A
exhibit B
Hmm, forgot closing bracket...
exhibit A
Nice and easy puzzle, with RHEIN being the only "gotcha" moment.
There was a time when one couldn't pass a magazine rack without seeing Iman on a cover or two. She is also famous for her marriages to basketball Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood and rock legend David Bowie.
Nowadays, I can't pass a magazine rack without seeing at least 10 magazines devoted to guns and ammo. A sad and scary sign of the times.
It is interesting to read that several of you stumbled at EXILE with Evict. I'm asking myself why I did not do the same. Perhaps it is because last Monday we had two clues with PIXAR in them. I still had PIXAR on the brain and that "X" marked the spot for EXILE.
Monkey@9:09. I'm glad you liked that silly hen video. It made me miss the days when I had laying hens.
Ouch. A rare Monday failure. My brain locked up completely in the Southeast corner with "evict" and the unknown names, and I couldn't shake it loose. Never got around to the theme until sumdaze explained it. Should've had a couple more cups of coffee! Also don't particularly care for clues related to premium TV services I have never seen. Give me a good book any day!
Hola! A good Monday to all! I thought this puzzle was a bit more interesting than most Mondays. The top filled with a quick rhythm and I did not ERR but the lower part caused me to use wite-out. I had RHINE which changed to RHEIN when III emerged then SALUT instead of VOILA. I don't know either German or French.
Of course, I love WE ARE FAMILY; besides being a good tune it evokes a scene from the movie, BIRD CAGE, which is hilarious.
Have a great day, everyone!
Hand up for trouble in the southeast! I had EJECT and then EVICT before EXILE, but DIAL UP solved that problem, and then PIXAR filled in. I also had RHine before RHEIN, not noticing that the clue was Deutschland, not Germany. A pretty good time in the crossword puzzle today -- thanks, ZDL! And thanks, sumdaze, for making enjoyable sense of it all.
Interesting and pleasant Monday puzzle, many thanks, Zachary. And thank you too for your helpful commentary, Sumdaze--also much appreciated.
Well, this certainly was a FAMILY puzzle, as they announced near the end of the puzzle with WE ARE FAMILY. We did get an UNCLE right off the bat, and a little further down there was MAME, not far from her TOTS one of whom was seated in a PRAM, while the other one acted like a little IMP (although he said YES, MAAM, after he was scolded a little. Being FOSTER parents is never very easy, even if the kids are relatives and everyone is TRUE TO them. But there is no food in this puzzle for any of them, so I'd best visit one of the MARTS and do a little shopping.
Have a lovely afternoon and evening, everybody.
I liked this puzzle but didn't like the clue for YUM.
Got RHEIN right away. Das Rheingold is one of my favorite Wagner operas.
Good reading all your comments.
Musings
-Joann’s mom raised chickens and she called any hen that made noise but laid no eggs a CLUCK.
-The extreme violence in the Coen’s Fargo didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the quirky movie
- I’ll bet you all know this lyric from “one-hit-wonder” Bobby Boris Pickett:
… The scene was rocking, all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, The CRYPT-Kicker Five
-Always a treat, Renee!
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