Theme: Sticking to the recipe.
Earlier this year -- on Valentine's Day -- I wrote the blog post for another Daniel Hrynick crossword puzzle, which also had a food theme. How nice to be able to come back for seconds!
In today's puzzle, circles help us locate four food items that may be grilled when pierced with sticks or metal rods. Let's look at the reveal, and then at the answers where the food items appear.
14-Down. Stick on a grill, or what passes through this puzzle's circled words?: BARBECUE SKEWER. A barbecue skewer can be pushed through the food items in the theme answers.
16-Across. Rating scale on a film review site: THE TOMATO METER. The circled word is TOMATO, but the reference here is to https://www.rottentomatoes.com/ where movies are rated based on the percentage of positive reviews received from critics.
27-Across. Drink with zero calories and a blend of 23 flavors: DIET DR PEPPER. The circled word is PEPPER, but the clue refers to a soft drink. Diet Dr Pepper and regular Dr Pepper have the same 23 flavors, none of which are discernable to me.
50-Across. Wedding reception activity with flapping and clapping: CHICKEN DANCE. The circled word is CHICKEN, but the clue refers to a dance that became popular at American Oktoberfest events in the 1980s, and at weddings where polka music is played.
 |
| I was blissfully unaware of this activity until just now. |
63-Across. Devices that test internet security: WIFI PINEAPPLES. A WiFi Pineapple is a small, black device with several spikes, developed by Hak5. Positioned between your computer and router, it can inspect all the data moving from one to the other. On the downside, a hacker might use one to see the data moving from a server to a private device.
 |
| WiFi Pineapple -- who knew? |
Well, that was a tasty start to the puzzle, and I hope Misty thinks so, too!
Let's see what else is on the menu ...
Across:1. Pub delivery: ALE KEG.
7. Festoons: ADORNS.
13. Hailed lift: TAXI CAB.
15. Deeply religious: DEVOUT.
16. [Theme clue]
18. Biceps locale: ARM.
19. __ on the side of caution: ERR. Better safe than sorry!
20. Roam: ROVE.
21. Battleship piece: PEG. The game was originally played on paper grids, but Milton Bradley introduced a version with plastic boards and pegs in 1967. A player cannot see his opponent's fleet, but takes turns calling shots by grid location, with the objective of destroying the opposing player's ships.
24. Setting: BACKDROP.
27. [Theme clue]
31. Rest stop in a high-fantasy game: INN. I was thinking of Dungeons & Dragons, with various inns where characters meet, rest, and recover, but it turns out there are also fantasy games focused on running an inn, where a player can manage staff, upgrade the facility, and improve the menu.
 |
| Now I have to work in my fantasies, too. |
37. Like a bubble bath: SUDSY.
39. Tease (out): SUSS. To inspect or investigate so as to gain more knowledge; figure out.
41. Burkina __: West African country: FASO.
42. Harvested plants: CROP.
43. "The Last of Us" protagonist: JOEL.
 |
| Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller |
47. Decidedly meh: SO-SO. Neither very good nor very bad.
49. Pink Mr. Potato Head piece: EAR.
50. [Theme clue]
53. Steel on library racks: DANIELLE. Any Danielle Steel readers here? I haven't read her novels, but I found someone who did, and who summarized each one in 140 characters or less:
56. Young fellow: LAD.
57. Former NHL goalie Kölzig: OLAF. Currently coaching for the Washington Capitals.
 |
| Olaf Kölzig |
58. Shoemaker's tool: AWL.
60. Genetic testing material: DNA.
63. [Theme clue]
68. Goes in: ENTERS.
69. Skynet in "The Terminator," e.g.: ROGUE AI. When Artificial Intelligence goes awry.
70. Rental agreements: LEASES.
71. George's "Gravity" co-star: SANDRA. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.
Down:
1. Chapati flour: ATTA. Atta girl (or boy) if you remember this word from previous puzzles.
2. Bert of "The Wizard of Oz": LAHR.
 |
| Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. |
3. Spared (from): EXEMPT.
4. First-aid __: KIT.
5. Good for the planet, for short: ECO.
6. Risk or Trouble: GAME. When you're tired of playing Battleship, take a Risk on Trouble.
7. Big fuss: ADO.
8. JFK's party: DEM. John F. Kennedy was a Democrat.
9. Account action that may result in a fee: OVERDRAFT.
10. Drone part: ROTOR.
 |
| Drone with six rotors. |
11. New, in Mexico: NUEVO.
12. __ throat: STREP.
14. [Theme clue]
17. Atlanta hip-hop genre: TRAP. Trap is a subgenre of hip-hop music that gets its name from the Atlanta slang term "trap house," a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Nice.
22. Boundary-pushing: EDGY.
23. "Despicable Me" role for Steve Carell: GRU. Another cultural touchstone I've missed. But I like Steve Carell, best known for his role as Michael Scott on the NBC sitcom The Office from 2005–2011.
25. IRS form experts: CPAs.
26. Jeong of "Community": KEN. Ken Jeong is an American stand-up comedian and actor who rose to prominence for his roles in The Hangover film series (2009-2013) and in the NBC sitcom Community (2009-2015). He's been in a bunch of other films, too. Did you see Crazy Rich Asians (2018)?
 |
| Ken Jeong |
27. Burned items: DISCS. "Burning a disc" refers to the process of writing data onto a recordable or rewritable disc, such as a CD or DVD, using a laser. The process is called "burning" because it uses a laser to physically alter the surface of the disc, creating a pattern of marks that represent the data.
28. Accustom: INURE.
29. Finish with: END ON.
30. El __, Texas: PASO.
34. Actress Gillan: KAREN. Karen Gillan is a Scottish actress and filmmaker, who gained recognition for roles in the Doctor Who series, and eventually Hollywood films including some Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Jumanji, and others.
 |
| Karen Gillan |
35. Novelist Asimov: ISAAC.
36. "The Hunchback of __-Dame": NOTRE.
38. Indicates precisely: SPECIFIES.
40. Gin infusion fruit: SLOE.
43. Monopoly corner: JAIL. More fun and games!
44. Pop: SODA. Dr Pepper, anyone? 23 flavors! Where else are you going to get that many?
46. "Weekend Update" co-host: CHE. Michael Che is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He's best known for his work on Saturday Night Live as co-anchor of "Weekend Update" with Colin Jost since 2014. From 2017–2022, the two were also co-head writers for the show.
 |
| Colin Jost and Michael Che |
48. "Weekend Update" program: SNL. See the previous entry -- Saturday Night Live.
51. Group with a tartan: CLAN.
52. Confused: ADDLED.
53. Wooden pin: DOWEL.
54. Flared skirt style: A-LINE. A skirt with a silhouette that is narrower at the top and gradually widens towards the hem, resembling the shape of a capital letter "A."
55. International pact until 2020: NAFTA.
59. China neighbor: LAOS.
61. Just around the corner: NEAR.
62. 59-Down's continent: ASIA. Laos's continent. China's, too.
64. Start to fix?: PRE. A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to produce a related word.
65. Research facility in orbit: Abbr.: ISS. The International Space Station (ISS) orbits Earth at an altitude of approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers). It travels at a speed of about 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour), completing one orbit every 90 minutes. This means the ISS circles the Earth about 16 times a day.
66. Links gp.: PGA. A links golf course is built on sandy coastal land that offers a firmer playing surface than inland courses. PGA is the Professional Golfers' Association of America.
67. Many a one-liner: PUN. When this blog post is published, I'll be getting ready for our youngest daughter's wedding weekend. Everyone will be so emotional, even the cake will be in tiers.
35 comments:
I think this puzzle was
very creative, in fact, ingenious, in how it was designed. And, although it looked intimidating at first, it gradually yielded its secrets without too much fuss. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Never heard of playing Battleship with PEGs. What? It's been around since '67? I knew it must be some newfangled thing. Also never heard of TRAP (as clued) or WIFI PINEAPPLE. Got 'em all, though.
We hired a plumber named LAHR. I asked if he was related to Bert. Bert? Never heard of him.
My Ally bank account has a no OVERDRAFT feature. Any check/debit which would overdraw the account is covered by an automatic $100 transfer from savings to checking. Dw uses it frequently.
Thanx, Daniel (I noticed that personal shoutout at 53A) and NaomiZ. (Will the guests be doing the CHICKEN DANCE at the wedding? I'd never heard of it, either, but recently saw it on a TBBT rerun.)
FIW, missing my WAGs at loREN X ANAl-IN and FoSO. Far too much A&E for me to enjoy this one. But at least I didn't erase anything, so I got that goin' for me. Which is nice.
My nomination for worst clue in July is "rest stop in a high-fantasy game" for INN. C'mon man!
I'm guessing that DANIELLE Steel writes just about as much as James Patterson and other heads of novel factories.
WIFI PINEAPPLE was unknown to me, but it looks like something the Sham Wow folks would sell on late night TV.
PGA is the links org. for golf instructors and other clubhouse professionals. The PGA Tour is the org. for the pros who play in tournaments. The final tournament before the 3-event FedEx Championship starts today. The last two events before the big finale are sparsely attended by the top golfers.
Thanks to NaomiZ for the fun, funny review. That last pun was top-tier.
It wasn't hard to FIR and I noticed the circled food theme when I got down to CHICKEN DANCE. The perps saved me today. THE TOMATO METER (unknown) was guessable but unheard of WIFI PINEAPPLES was filled with 100% perps. So were JOEL, KAREN, OLAF, TRAP, INN, and DISCS. I was thinking of my back, not a CD or DVD.
INN -- "high-fantasy game" is something new to me. Any fantasy I would have would not be on running and INN.
EAR- a 3-letter fill and I didn't think Mr. Potato Head had pink eyes.
OVERDRAFT- don't write hot checks. If banks bounced checks, people would control their spending. Overdrafts are a backdoor method of making short-term loans at astronomically high interest rates. Big profit margin for the bank.
Good Morning:
This was an unusual theme, executed very well, IMO. Several unknowns included Karen, Olaf and Trap, as clued, WiFi Pineapples, and Joel, but the perps were fair, so no complaints. I wish the silly and harsh-sounding Guac would disappear from author’s word lists and I also wish the proper names weren’t so prevalent.
Thanks, Daniel, and thanks, Naomi, for the detailed review and for explaining some of the more unfamiliar entries, e.g., WiFi Pineapples, Rogue AI, Trap, etc.
Have a great day.
FIR. Circles and proper names, oh my. Just what a Thursday puzzle needs, NOT!
I ignored the circles as usual and just went about solving the puzzle. When I got to the end I checked out the theme. I found it to be 47A, "soso".
Overall a 47A puzzle. Nothing to remember here.
Took 5:09 to skewer this one.
The Actresses of the Day (Sandra & Karen) were kind, as was the foreign language lesson (nuevo).
I didn't know "wifipineapple" or the hockey goalie, and took me a little while to parse "rogueai" despite being a fan of the Terminator franchise. I'd call this one a WITP, which is (was?) rare for a Thursday.
Oh joy, circles!
Lots of unknown (to me anyway) names. The theme was excellent. Thanks to Daniel and Naomi.
I almost FIR. I got stuck on AnAKIN crossing KEn and PEg crossing gRU. The UKN names were revealed with perps like JOEL, KAREN, CHE, as clued, INN as clued. ROGUE AI looked weird until the G showed up.
I got the long answers but knew only one, DIET DR PEPPER, which by the way is an abomination IMHO.
There were some clever clues like the ones for DISCS and DANIELLE. There were some theme was also clever, so this CW was above SO SO, but not my favorite.
NaomiZ thank you for your nice review. You never go ROGUE on us.
Well that was á tongue-tied sentence. I meant the theme was clever.
Hi All!
Daniel's puzzle is Thursday level for sure. Out of the gate you gotta remember ATTA & LAHR (I feel for the younger solvers ;-)) but, even with A&E, perps are kind.
Thanks Daniel for the puzzle - the theme was perfectly executed.
Another erudite expo, NaomiZ. And I really enjoyed your personal experience w/ c/as. I remember the CHICKEN DANCE from a few weddings I've been to.
WO: AdAKIN Vader
ESPs: KAREN | FASO, JOEL, OLAF
Fav: ROGUE AI - fun fill and it took me a second to parse.
Though I've used a Pineapple a few of times, I feel like crying foul on behalf of my fellow solvers -- a very specific and, outside of the hacker community, obscure tool. I have a few Hak5 goodies but never ponied up for the Pineapple.
Y'all have a great day!
Cheers, -T
Musings
-Today is the first day in 65 years I am not getting the Omaha World Herald. I had a blizzard of calls trying to get me to continue my subscription but I can’t INURE myself to $10/week since there are so many other sources of news.
-My wife still gets the local daily even thought she has cancelled many times and has not paid any money for two years
-BTW, the caller ID on those calls asking me to reup showed Nebraska cities I had never heard of
-Another 2” of rain last night, the PLATTE is threatening to flood.
-Very little SUSSING required today in this uniquely shaped grid
-The CHICKEN DANCE is a fun dance that everyone of any age can do
-ERR on the side of caution: I never run a red light but might chance a yellow one
-Every math teacher in history has used “Battleship” when teaching the Cartesian plane (X/Y coordinates)
-The FIRST AID KIT in my golf bag got used last year when a playing partner got hit on the top of his head
-My DW SPECIFIES exactly what meal I can bring home for lunch. I will eat anything she brings.
-FORE! We are playing 90 minutes north of here and they got no rain.
fun theme and really fun fill in today's puzzle. Great stuff.
Daniel stuck the landing on this one. I really liked his spit take! And who doesn't love a puzzle with a STRAT in it? (see my avatar!)
Great job, Naomi, in pulling together the games and sodas and all of it, really. Your wedding pun took the cake!
I spent six years in Texas more than 40 years ago and got a few flashbacks from this puzzle.
GUAC is more of a California thing, but BARBECUE (with a C, not a Q!) is an offshoot of barbacoa de cabeza. Thanks to immigrants from Mexicans and Czechoslovakia, Texas barbecue (mostly brisket) is unsurpassed! . . . Dr Pepper originated in Waco, and I note that NaomiZ got it right: no period after Dr is correct. . . . I got my fill of both beer and the CHICKEN DANCE at Wurstfest in New Braunfels.
After receiving my last traffic ticket, in 2008, I opted for traffic school (and strongly considered becoming a traffic-school instructor). The instructor I got decided to label me Steve Carell, who is 10 years younger but has hair kind of like mine and, more important, the big nose.
Zipped through to a FIR despite the many names, of which I only knew Anakin. Fortunately for me, the perps delivered. Enjoyed the recap, NaomiZ!
FIR, but slowed myself down by entering "DoctorPepper" instead of "DietDrPepper" because I evidently didn't read "zero calories", duh. Very ingenious puzzle that got easier when you first noticed it was going to be food items. Nice recap Naomi.
While doing this CW I absolutely HATED it because of all the names, 22, with 8 DNK and many of the names right beside each other and/or crossing each other. DNK ANAKIN or KAREN, so the K was a WAG. It seemed the only letter for _AREN that made a commonly used name. After managing to FIR in a surprising 15 minutes, good time for a Thursday for me, I searched for the reveal, and didn't see one. Then, just before coming to the blog my morning can of V-8 smacked me in the forehead: "OH!! All the items with circles are on the BARBECUESKEWER! How unbelievably clever!!" Still don't like this CW because of all the names, but grudgingly gotta give DH credit for cleverness. BTW, I did drink an actual can of V-8 juice before starting the CW, but it didn't kick-in until I'd finished the CW. Thanx DH for the clever CW. PLEASE try to NOT create any more namefest CWs though. I drew circles around each name with my red pen, and thought I would run out of ink! I wanted to just see what that would look like. (It looks like a mess). The East, with KAREN, ISAAC and NOTRE all beside each other and crossed by FASO? Wow. Also, I tried to fill OVERDRAWALS but ran out of space, my only W/O to fill OVERDRAFT. Thanx too to NaomiZ for the terrific write-up. All the time and effort you put into it for our entertainment is appreciated!
A nice easy Thursday with an even more entertaining write-up. My unknowns were the same already mentioned and the biggest surprise is that HG will drive 90miles to avoid rain and play golf. Be careful, August is almost here. Interesting last name Mr. Hrynick, is the "H" silent?
Delightful Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Daniel. And your commentary and pictures were a pleasure, as always, NaomiZ. And thank you for your kind shout-out to me. I don't ever want to do a chicken dance, but your delicious looking GUAC has me keen on finding a delicious lunch.
Have a wonderful, happy day, everyone.
Hola! This puzzle made my hungry with all the fool references. I was so sure Misty would make a veritable banquet with them. Not today, though.
At almost every wedding I've attended we've done the CHICKEN DANCE and many others with a clever DJ.
I like DR PEPPER but never a DIET one!
In my early thirties I read every DANIELLE Steele book, often out at the swimming pool. She is certainly a prolific writer! I see that the constructor inserted his name in there.
I have no idea what WIFI PINEAPPLES are, but it all filled nicely.
This puzzle was more fun than usual thanks to the clever fill. Thank you, Daniel Hrynick. I hope we see more of his puzzles in the future.
IrishMiss, GUACAMOLE is pronounced "wacamole"; in Spanish the G is always like W so GUAC is actually WAHC.
Have a great day, my friends.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Daniel and NaomiZ.
I FIRed in very good time, and saw the BARBECUE SKEWER foods with the first TOMATO (I’m waiting for the ones in my garden to ripen for BLTs).
Circles were not really necessary today, as I think the reveal would have been sufficient.
One inkblot to change Doctor to DIET DR. Hello Acesaroundagain.
Second inkblot to change foamy to SUDSY.
Unknown-to-me names like KAREN, OLAF, JOEL perped.
I knew AnonT would be one of the few here to know anything about WIFI PINEAPPLES.
I always want eNURE before INURE, but DeET DR PEPPER sounded not ECO friendly.
Wishing you all a great day.
Yummy puzzle today in spite of all the 🤬ing names (I mean, a 3-column block of ‘em with another that crosses?? Argh…). Circles never bother me, because I basically don’t pay any attention to them; however, for today they actually helped a little — I never woulda gotten WIFIPINEAPPLE without knowing it was a skewer item! Nice job, Mssr. Hrynick.
Given a choice in any ice chest full of SODAs, if there’s a Dr P, I’ll be all over it; only Vernor’s Ale will trump the “10-2-4” quaff.
Loved “Crazy Rich Asians”, as I’ve been around a lot of those in my travels. Ken Jeong is good in almost anything he’s in (and, according to IMDB, he’s been in 129 productions, with 6 more in the works — busy guy!).
Nice job again on the review, NaomiZ — your piéce de cake joke at the end was stellar!
====> Darren / L.A.
I’m posting this comment separately in case it is considered political, although this Canadian can be Liberal, Conservative, NDP or independent, but not DEM or Rep. I consider it an educational post in the interest of good relations between our two countries, as they are severely strained at the moment. (Elbows Up!)
NAFTA was replaced by USMCA (US Mexico Canada Agreement) or CUSMA as we Canadians call it (putting Canada first). Currently, many CUSMA- compliant exports avoid the tariffs. There is a provision for review and adjustment of CUSMA in 2026. This will be a crucial negotiation (probably more important than all the current posturing about tariffs).
Ingenious?
Amen!
Thank you for posting this
Interesting; I was just reading about the USMCA/CUSMA in the LA Times; good to get a view from the other side.
====> Darren / L.A.
Sorry, Lucinda, I still find the abbreviated form too harsh and too common place in our puzzles.
"...but DeET DR PEPPER sounded not ECO friendly." Yeah, but one could slather it on the skin and the mosquitos wouldn't bite! I like it!
I liked this puzzle, mostly for the well-executed theme and some nifty fill such as TAXICAB, BACKDROP, EXEMPT, and OVERDRAFT. Other than that, I echo what Irish Miss said.
The main taste I discern in Dr Pepper is prune. In fact, the first time I ever had Dr Pepper was in San Angelo, Texas, and it was served hot, in a mug.
I once tried to program the game of Battleship on a 1060's IBM 370 mainframe computer. Epic fail. The first time I ran my highly flawed program the system terminated it after 15 seconds because it used up too much expensive CPU time. I got roundly disciplined.
To answer your question, NaomiZ, I am not a Danielle Steel reader. Nor am I a Patterson reader. I'm more like a John Steinbeck, Michael Crichton, Robin Cook, Ken Follett, or Jared Diamond reader.
Yep, DW and I saw Crazy Rich Asians. It took a while to get into it but then we liked it.
Back in 2003 we built and launched a small satellite, a "cube sat," that had an orbit at very similar altitude (called "low earth orbit") and velocity as the ISS. We used it to search for earthquakes. It died after about a year and a half of operation.
Good reading you all.
Does anybody here use InstaCart? I just tried it out today and I like being able to shop for groceries from home and have them delivered.
I forgot to mention that I, too, loved CRAZY RICH ASIANS. It was well written, and the acting was superb. If I can find it on Netflix, I'll watch it again.
Hi Lemon,
The golf date was set a week ago and it happens to be 90 minutes away. Nebraska is closing in on setting a record for July rain. BTW, I shot pretty well.
Post a Comment