Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here.
Theme:
Call Me ~ Blondie ~ 1980
Today's puzzle has five fun themers. Each begins with a word that can be used to mean "make a telephone call".
18 Across. Trendy bits of jargon: BUZZ WORDS.
24 Across. Choice spots at a prizefight: RING SIDE SEATS.
38 Across. Carol lyric before "Oh! What fun it is to ride / In a one-horse open sleigh": JINGLE ALL THE WAY.
48 Across. First line of "Moby-Dick": CALL ME ISHMAEL.
58 Across. Do a job half-heartedly: PHONE IT IN. 
Let's let our fingers do the walking through the other clues...
(Note: To catch that reference, you have to be old enough to remember phone books and yellow pages.)
Across:
1. Soft support for an injured arm: SLING.
6. Halogen bulb unit: WATT. 
10. Sneaker, e.g.: SHOE. 
14. Social no-no: TABOO.
15. Jane Austen matchmaker: EMMA. The protagonist's full name is Emma Woodhouse. This novel was originally published December 23, 1815. Did they schedule releases for Christmas must-haves back then?
16. Shed, as feathers: MOLT. Penguins do a "catastrophic MOLT". That sounds serious, doesn't it? Whereas most birds lose and replace feathers here and there, penguins lose their feathers all at once. This is so they can remain waterproof most of the time. Their MOLT takes 2-3 weeks.
17. Photographer Adams: ANSEL. He is usually associated with his images of Yosemite but I have a pretty cool book of photos he took of University of California features called Fiat Lux. This photo is of Lick Observatory. (Jayce knows this place.)
20. Writer/actress Issa: RAE.
21. Beaver creations: DAMS. Here is a 3:51 min. BBC video about beaver DAMS. Baby beavers (kits) appear at 2:08.
23. Natural sweetener: HONEY. A typical beehive makes more than 400 lbs. (181.4 kg.) of HONEY per year.
28. Etymologist's ref.: OED. An etymologist specializes in word histories. One might study a reference book such as the Oxford English Dictionary.
29. School subject with fractions: MATH.
30. First course of action: PLAN A.
33. Understands: SEES.
64. __ Field: Queens stadium: CITI. I know this one from doing XWDs.
65. "We Got the Beat" band: GO-GO'S. They are an all-female rock band. This video is from American Bandstand in 1982.
2. Roofed patio: LANAI.
3. "A Doll's House" playwright Henrik: IBSEN. This is another answer I know from doing XWDs.
4. __ Valley, San Francisco: NOE. This neighborhood guide extols the area's virtues. Redfin says the median sale price of a home in Noe Valley last month was $2.2 million.
5. Shiny embossment on a certificate: GOLD SEAL.
6. Online health info source: WebMD.
7. Make chuckle: AMUSE. It turns out that the ancient Greek word muse is not related to AMUSE. The latter comes from Latin.
8. Tabloid news org.: TMZ. From wiki: TMZ on TV is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007.
9. Looney Tunes character who spins wildly, informally: TAZ.
10. Like satin: SMOOTH.
11. Traffic jam noisemakers: HORNS.
12. Ye __ Tavern: OLDE.
13. Online seller of many bespoke gifts: ETSY.
19. "Come again?": WHAT.
22. Provide support: AID. The 2025 Tour de France began last Saturday. I watch the daily recaps on YouTube. Cycling is very much a team sport, with team members providing support for their lead rider.
25. "The __ Show": talent competition: GONG. Its first run was from 1976-1980. One might describe it as the '70s version of America's Got Talent.
26. Refine using heat, as metal ore: SMELT.
27. Sunrise direction: EAST.
30. Jammies: PJS.
31. Chapstick target: LIP.
32. Marilyn Monroe portrayer de Armas: ANA.
33. Oregon's capital: SALEM.
35. Really impress: AWE.
36. Chum: PAL.
37. Needle hole: EYE.
39. __ Grey tea: EARL.
40. Symbols on social media: HASHTAGS. This octothorpe has several names. For this clue, the HASH symbol (#) is used to metaTAG something in a post. #LMGTFY
41. Dutch cheese: EDAM.
45. Art classroom supply: PAINTS.
46. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE. This diagram helps you SEE that while the leeward side of an island is more protected, it is also more arid than the windward side.
47. Handspeak.com subj.: ASL.
48. Serenade, perhaps: CROON.
49. Party request opened with a tap or a click: EVITE.
50. Greek column style: IONIC.
51. Latina chum: AMIGA. Latina is feminine so we knew the last letter was an A.
52. Software flaw: ERROR.
53. Rental contract: LEASE.
54. Lhasa __: Tibetan dog breed: APSO.
55. DIY tutorial site: EHOW.
59. Zamboni surface: ICE. Who doesn't love the word Zamboni?
60. B'way buys: TIX. Broadway and TIckets ???
62. Keystone bumbler: KOP. Both cop and KOP are acceptable spellings.
1. Soft support for an injured arm: SLING.
14. Social no-no: TABOO.
15. Jane Austen matchmaker: EMMA. The protagonist's full name is Emma Woodhouse. This novel was originally published December 23, 1815. Did they schedule releases for Christmas must-haves back then?
16. Shed, as feathers: MOLT. Penguins do a "catastrophic MOLT". That sounds serious, doesn't it? Whereas most birds lose and replace feathers here and there, penguins lose their feathers all at once. This is so they can remain waterproof most of the time. Their MOLT takes 2-3 weeks.
17. Photographer Adams: ANSEL. He is usually associated with his images of Yosemite but I have a pretty cool book of photos he took of University of California features called Fiat Lux. This photo is of Lick Observatory. (Jayce knows this place.)
20. Writer/actress Issa: RAE.
21. Beaver creations: DAMS. Here is a 3:51 min. BBC video about beaver DAMS. Baby beavers (kits) appear at 2:08.
"A beaver can lift its own body weight in timber."
28. Etymologist's ref.: OED. An etymologist specializes in word histories. One might study a reference book such as the Oxford English Dictionary.
29. School subject with fractions: MATH.
33. Understands: SEES.
 |
| SEE'S understands me. |
35. King Kong, e.g.: APE.
42. Place for a facial: SPA. "Face" was one letter too long.
43. Landed on a perch: ALIT.
44. One-named "I Drink Wine" singer: ADELE. I know we have some Adele fans here on The Corner. Here is this 2021 song with lyrics:
45. Use a peeler: PARE. If you think of the phrase PARE down, you might think of a knife slowly peeling away layers. This article lists six uses for a PARing knife: peeling, coring/pitting/deseeding, segmenting, deveining, scoring bread, and making detailed cuts. (Apparently coring, pitting, and deseeding are all one use.)
47. Simile phrase: AS A.
54. Hawk's nest: AERIE. This word is also used for an eagle's nest. Perhaps you are familiar with the clothing store American Eagle. They have a sub-brand called Aerie. 
56. Nine-__ battery: VOLT. Last night I replaced one of these in my smoke detector. Why do they always start the low-battery chirp in the middle of the night? It really freaks out my dog.
57. Army ration, briefly: MRE. Meal, Ready-To-Eat. I think I've mentioned I take these backpacking. You only need an ounce of water to activate the heating pouch. Each one is about 1,250 calories. I figure on one per day plus oatmeal for breakfast, a few Luna bars, and some herbal tea bags.
61. "Rashomon" director Kurosawa: AKIRA. Rashomon is a 1950 film set in Kyoto, Japan.
63. Chimney sweep's target: SOOT.
42. Place for a facial: SPA. "Face" was one letter too long.
43. Landed on a perch: ALIT.
44. One-named "I Drink Wine" singer: ADELE. I know we have some Adele fans here on The Corner. Here is this 2021 song with lyrics:
45. Use a peeler: PARE. If you think of the phrase PARE down, you might think of a knife slowly peeling away layers. This article lists six uses for a PARing knife: peeling, coring/pitting/deseeding, segmenting, deveining, scoring bread, and making detailed cuts. (Apparently coring, pitting, and deseeding are all one use.)
47. Simile phrase: AS A.
56. Nine-__ battery: VOLT. Last night I replaced one of these in my smoke detector. Why do they always start the low-battery chirp in the middle of the night? It really freaks out my dog.
57. Army ration, briefly: MRE. Meal, Ready-To-Eat. I think I've mentioned I take these backpacking. You only need an ounce of water to activate the heating pouch. Each one is about 1,250 calories. I figure on one per day plus oatmeal for breakfast, a few Luna bars, and some herbal tea bags.
61. "Rashomon" director Kurosawa: AKIRA. Rashomon is a 1950 film set in Kyoto, Japan.
63. Chimney sweep's target: SOOT.
Dick Van Dyke ~ Chim Chim Cher-ee ~ Mary Poppins (1964)
64. __ Field: Queens stadium: CITI. I know this one from doing XWDs.
65. "We Got the Beat" band: GO-GO'S. They are an all-female rock band. This video is from American Bandstand in 1982.
Hand up for being a fan back in the day!
66. Possesses: OWNS. not in the creepy The Exorcist sort of way
67. Corporate VIP: EXEC. Very Important Person and EXECutive
68. Just-in-case tire: SPARE.
Down:
67. Corporate VIP: EXEC. Very Important Person and EXECutive
68. Just-in-case tire: SPARE.
1. Ringo of the Beatles: STARR. On January 10, 2025, Ringo released Look Up, a solo country album.
3. "A Doll's House" playwright Henrik: IBSEN. This is another answer I know from doing XWDs.
4. __ Valley, San Francisco: NOE. This neighborhood guide extols the area's virtues. Redfin says the median sale price of a home in Noe Valley last month was $2.2 million.
5. Shiny embossment on a certificate: GOLD SEAL.
6. Online health info source: WebMD.
7. Make chuckle: AMUSE. It turns out that the ancient Greek word muse is not related to AMUSE. The latter comes from Latin.
 |
| AMUSEd muses ??? |
8. Tabloid news org.: TMZ. From wiki: TMZ on TV is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007.
and
The name "TMZ" is derived from the initialism for "thirty-mile zone" that was historically used in the film and television industry to refer to the so-called "studio zone"—an area with a 30-mile (48 km) radius centered on the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.
9. Looney Tunes character who spins wildly, informally: TAZ.
 |
| Tasmanian Devil |
11. Traffic jam noisemakers: HORNS.
12. Ye __ Tavern: OLDE.
13. Online seller of many bespoke gifts: ETSY.
19. "Come again?": WHAT.
22. Provide support: AID. The 2025 Tour de France began last Saturday. I watch the daily recaps on YouTube. Cycling is very much a team sport, with team members providing support for their lead rider.
 |
| Tadej Pogacar's team car was equipped to provide whatever AID was needed at this year's Paris-Roubaix. (I do not know how much that Audi costs, but there is easily over $100K in bikes on its roof.) |
25. "The __ Show": talent competition: GONG. Its first run was from 1976-1980. One might describe it as the '70s version of America's Got Talent.
26. Refine using heat, as metal ore: SMELT.
27. Sunrise direction: EAST.
31. Chapstick target: LIP.
32. Marilyn Monroe portrayer de Armas: ANA.
 |
| Ana played Marilyn in the 2022 film, Blonde. |
33. Oregon's capital: SALEM.
34. Former quarterback Manning: ELI.
35. Really impress: AWE.
36. Chum: PAL.
37. Needle hole: EYE.
39. __ Grey tea: EARL.
40. Symbols on social media: HASHTAGS. This octothorpe has several names. For this clue, the HASH symbol (#) is used to metaTAG something in a post. #LMGTFY
41. Dutch cheese: EDAM.
45. Art classroom supply: PAINTS.
46. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE. This diagram helps you SEE that while the leeward side of an island is more protected, it is also more arid than the windward side.
47. Handspeak.com subj.: ASL.
48. Serenade, perhaps: CROON.
49. Party request opened with a tap or a click: EVITE.
50. Greek column style: IONIC.
 |
| neither dull nor too much |
51. Latina chum: AMIGA. Latina is feminine so we knew the last letter was an A.
52. Software flaw: ERROR.
54. Lhasa __: Tibetan dog breed: APSO.
 |
| I was surprised to read that they do not shed. |
55. DIY tutorial site: EHOW.
59. Zamboni surface: ICE. Who doesn't love the word Zamboni?
62. Keystone bumbler: KOP. Both cop and KOP are acceptable spellings.
That was the last one. You are now dialed in!
Here is the grid:
 |
| There was no "reveal" today; so, no, you did not miss it. 😀 |
No reveal needed on
ReplyDeletethis WITP (that’s SS’s abbreviation for “a walk in the park”). FIR, so I’m happy.
This might just be a happy coincidence, to include Ringo STARR in the puzzle, but today happens to be his 85th birthday. I for one am glad he's still spreading joy and love, doing concert tours and putting out albums. Happy birthday, Ringo!
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteYay, an obvious theme with no reveal for d-o to miss. What's not to like? Wasn't familiar with TMZ; back in my day we knew of the DMZ at the 17th parallel. Thanx for the AMUSEment, Janice, and for the expert expo, sumdaze.
Took 4:21 today for me to ping this one.
ReplyDeleteI knew today's actress (Ana) and foreign language lesson (amiga), but struggled with the director (Akira) and didn't know "Noe" Valley.
I agree with SubG's declaration of this being a WITP.
FIR. I had very little trouble today. No circles. No obscure proper names. My kind of puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI picked up on the theme by the third long answer, although it made little difference to the solve.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
Janice always provides a tight grid and theme and today is no exception. Sussing out five themers that fit a 9-13-15-13-9 pattern is what makes constructors like her a standout. This was my fastest solve in months with my only unknown NOE VALLEY in San Francisco. I have not been in San Francisco in years, but coincidentally one of my nicknames as a youth was NOEY which is how the valley's name is pronounced. I watched some of the Tour de France last evening and it was a very tight race. Sumdaze dazzled again with her words and pictures. Thank you both.
ReplyDeleteI’ll use today’s BUZZ WORDS, á walk In the park. There were á few unknowns like NOE and ANA as clued, but no problem, all SMOOTH.
ReplyDeleteI liked the theme and I noticed it at JINGLE.
Thank you sumdaze for that nice review and videos. Beavers are workaholics.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI think Janice might be giving the Queen of Monday Puzzles, Lynn Lempel, a run for her money. Janice’s offerings, like Lynn’s, are clean, solver-friendly, with basic but cute themes and familiar fill, all of which favor newbies, yet satisfy solvers of all levels. I agree this was a WITP, but a very pleasant one, indeed.
Thanks, Janice, and thanks, sumdaze, for the cheerful Dick Van Dyke song and antics and for the informative commentary. Loved the generational phone advances comic and, of course, who doesn’t love Snoopy!
Have a great day.
Good morning! It's nice to see the positive comments.
ReplyDeleteIM@9:26. I agree with you about Janice's offerings. So far in 2025 she has had 6 Monday puzzles and 3 Tuesday puzzles. Perhaps we can dub her the M&T Diva. (I'm hoping someone will improve on that suggestion.)
Jinx. I saw your post about your post disappearing but now that post seems to have disappeared. I did not see the original post nor do I have access to it so I do not know what is happening. I am sure that you are familiar with Blogger's idiosyncrasies enough by now to figure out a way around it. Good luck!
I responded positively to Jinx's posts that you mention. It was published, but almost immediately it vanished along with Jinx's.
DeleteBrain dumps:(Apologies to HG.)
ReplyDeleteThis was a SOTB (Stroll on the Beach. Apologies to SG.);
I use the “battery-less” smoke alarms that supposedly last for ten years. Then you throw them in the trash and install new ones.
I lived 45 miles south of Salem for 8 years. Never went there.
Built a PC from scratch over the weekend. Didn’t use EHOW.
Zipped right quickly through the park today, which gave me more time to savor sumdazes excellent review. Chuckled at the amusing "Garden of Edam"!
ReplyDeleteJanice's puzzle was pure enjoyment. I came here looking for more of the same, and Sumdaze did not disappoint! Thank you especially for the Cheese of Knowledge. Monday is off to a good start.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what others have said, Janice never disappoints with her early week offerings, much in the similar style of two other Monday mavens, Lynn L and the late Gail Grabowski, always makes for a pleasant start to the CW week. The only true unknown for me was NOE, but that perped easily along with others I didn’t suss at first glance of the clue. Well done Janice! sumdaze ~ like Janice, your Monday blogs are always an enjoyable upbeat read, very fitting the nature of the Monday puzzles, thank you for today’s. ‘We Got the Beat’ is my ear worm of the day 😂.
ReplyDeleteDelightful Monday puzzle, many thanks for this pleasant project, Janice. And thank you, as always, for your helpful commentary, Sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteWell, this puzzle seemed to me as though it might be planning a theater performance, where we could book RINGSIDE SEATS to maybe see a play by IBSEN--or, even better, a Beatles performance starring Ringo STARR!. That ADJUSTMENT would be pretty SMOOTH and it would really AMUSE us to have us hear some of these favorite singers of ours CROON. But, sadly, there's no food anywhere in this puzzle, so we'd probably need to go to Ye OLDE Tavern for a drink, and see if we could order some EDAM cheese there. Well, I just heard a GONG, so it's time for me to take off to get some lunch. Maybe later I can hear some music from ADELE. See ya later, AMIGAS and Amigos.
Have a sunny, cheerful day, everybody.
Hola! This was quick and easy today. Thank you, Janice Luttrell. I solved it early then had to go for my three-month blood draw and it's already sweltering out there. i did not JINGLE ALL THE WAY but I'm thankful for A/C which is desperately needed. Thank you, perps.
ReplyDelete"MOBY DICK" is another book required in lit classes but I needed a prod for the opening line.
AKIRA Kurosawa is becoming a C/W staple as is EMMA clued in various ways. Going to SALEM, NC, is a nice tour when I visit my sister in Charlotte. It's a stark lesson on how our predecessors lived before electricity and all our other conveniences.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
oops. Perps is misplaced! It should be in the next line.
ReplyDeleteMarvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Janice and sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and saw the Call Me (I thought of Carly Rae Jepsen) early in the solve. RING crossing GONG was interesting. (Can I call it an anti-Easter Egg?)
Misspelling ISHMAEL (EA before AE) held up that S EASTcorner.
APSo before APSA held up the SW corner briefly.
I finally remembered MRE from previous CWs.
Hand up for not knowing NOE.
We had EVITE, EHOW, ETSY, and WEB MD. Hope for no computer ERRORs if you want to use any of them.
I noted ALEE, ALIT, AMIGA, AKIRA and ADELE, plus AERIE, ANSEL and APE. At the end of words, we had AMIGA, SPA and EMMA (do PLAN A and AS A count?).
Belated Happy Birthday to waseeley.
Wishing you all a great day.
I always like the way you group the words, C-Eh!
DeleteHappy belated birthday to waseeley!
Zipped through to FIR in 13, a bit long for a Monday due to all the names, 21, DNK 6. As usual forgot to look for the theme. No W/Os; coulda been SUGAR or HONEY but only needed one perp to get that sorted. Not much else to say. Thanx JL for the nice Monday CW. Thanx Sumdaze for the terrific write-up.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Janice for a smooth puzzle with a fun theme dialed in.
LOL Garden of Edam, sumdaze. Your Monday reviews are always a chuckle fest.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: ADELE as clued and likely other names. Definitely the spelling of ISHMAEL
Fav: WATTs = VOLTs * amps if you do the MATH.
Ohm, what was I saying?
Nice HONEY fun fact, sumdaze. Mom has 18 hives and the product is some of the best I've tasted.
C, Eh! - Another Easter Egg is HORNS @11d. AS in, "Get him on the HORN."
Y'all have a great evening!
Cheers, -T
HORNS...good one! Definitely before my time but I've heard it in old movies. A very quick search says it is Navy slang.
DeleteWhoa... I may be getting older in a few days but old movies?... I still say that :-)
DeleteNavy slang - interesting. I assumed it was the old telephones on the wall with an earpiece you hold in one hand while shouting into the "horn" on the wall ala Mary Poppins [at the begging of that scene]
Well, I did get the "fingers do the walking" reference. Thanks for all the great cartoons, sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this puzzle a lot, as well as sumdaze's write-up.
ReplyDelete