Happy Monday, everyone! Today's puzzle comes to us from the marvelous mind of Amanda Cook. You may recall that Amanda constructed the EXCHANGE puzzle published the Sunday before yesterday. Today marks her 16th LAT publication. Sweet!
Theme: 
We'll start with the four themers:
17 Across. Avant-garde: CUTTING EDGE.
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| CUTTING BOARD |
23 Across. Assets and liabilities statement: BALANCE SHEET.
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| A BALANCE BOARD is a piece of fitness equipment. How to Select the Best BALANCE BOARD for You |
39 Across. Stylistic faux pas that puts an editor between a rock and a black sheep?: MIXING METAPHORS. This clue provides an example of what MIXING METAPHORS is. It takes two metaphors, "between a rock and a hard place" and "black sheep" and combines them in a way that does not really fit.
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| A MIXING BOARD combines audio recordings. Perhaps you have seen one in a movie scene set in a recording studio. |
51 Across. Illumination that sets a tone: MOOD LIGHTING.
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| A MOOD BOARD is a collage of colors, fabric swatches, shapes, etc. They can be helpful when organizing ideas for a decorating project. |
63 Across. List of top-scoring players, and what the start of 17-, 23-, 39-, or 51-Across could be called?: LEADER BOARD.
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| This is a LEADER BOARD from a golf tournament. |
All four of the themed answers are two-word phrases. The first word can be put in front of (i.e., LEAD) the word BOARD to create something new. Not being familiar with a couple of the answers did not impede my solve. MIXING METAPHORS gets full points for not only working with the theme and spanning the grid, but it is also a fun answer for us word lovers.
Now let's close this door and start a new chapter:
Across:
1. Like some histories: ORAL.
5. Scents such as freshly baked bread and clean laundry: AROMAS. Both are appealing smells.
11. Cave mammal: BAT. This was my favorite clue today! At first I was trying to think of big, furry, hibernating mammals.
14. Zilch: NONE.
15. __ Creed: Mass recitation: NICENE. It is recited as part of the Catholic Mass. You can read it here.
16. Flamenco cry: OLÉ.
5. Scents such as freshly baked bread and clean laundry: AROMAS. Both are appealing smells.
11. Cave mammal: BAT. This was my favorite clue today! At first I was trying to think of big, furry, hibernating mammals.
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| a BAT in a cave |
15. __ Creed: Mass recitation: NICENE. It is recited as part of the Catholic Mass. You can read it here.
16. Flamenco cry: OLÉ.
19. Was victorious: WON.
20. Live and breathe: EXIST. This was a fun use of a known expression!
22. Cabin timber: PINE.
27. King Arthur's realm: CAMELOT.
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| 1470 reproduction of Évrard d'Espinques's illumination of the Prose Lancelot, showing King Arthur presiding at the Round Table with his knights, |
30. Compete in a slalom: SKI.
31. Alias letters: AKA. Also Known As
32. Dozes (off): NODS. Off inside the parenthesis means that it is combined with the answer to match dozes. In other words, the clue-writing convention is telling us that dozes means NODS off.
35. Archipelago unit: ISLET.
43. Take potshots (at): SNIPE.
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| I find it difficult to believe this beautiful SNIPE would take potshots at anyone. |
44. Repeated word in a Doris Day classic: SERA. I have previously linked the Doris Day song a few times. Today I am presenting something different. In this song, the artist uses a MIXING BOARD to sample Doris Day. (Sample means to use a piece of a pre-existing work in a new piece.) It might not be your cup of tea but perhaps you will find it interesting.
46. Archer's asset: AIM.
48. Positives: UPSIDES.
56. Storylines: ARCS. Babylon 5 (1994) is usually credited as the first U.S. television series with a 5-year story ARC conceptualized prior to filming. I describe it as "United Nations in space".
Wax Tailor ~ Que Sera ~ 2020
45. Tear (apart): RIP.46. Archer's asset: AIM.
48. Positives: UPSIDES.
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| Bruce Boxleitner is front and center. |
57. Salty expanse: SEA. and 7-Down. Atlantic, for one: OCEAN.
58. Pirouetting, say: ON TOE. Think "ballet".
62. Tabby: CAT.
66. Feasted on: ATE.
67. Achieve fame: ARRIVE.
68. Arancini ingredient: RICE. These are new to me. They are Italian RICE balls.
69. Sopping: WET.
70. Organized workflow: SYSTEM.
71. Flair: ELAN.
Down:
58. Pirouetting, say: ON TOE. Think "ballet".
62. Tabby: CAT.
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| This is Coco, my SIL's new tabby CAT. |
67. Achieve fame: ARRIVE.
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| recipe |
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| "WET dog" smell is up there with those in 5-Across. |
70. Organized workflow: SYSTEM.
71. Flair: ELAN.
Down:
1. __ upon a time: ONCE.
2. Gumbo thickener: ROUX. Def.: (noun) a cooked mixture of flour and fat used as a thickening agent in a soup or a sauce.
2. Gumbo thickener: ROUX. Def.: (noun) a cooked mixture of flour and fat used as a thickening agent in a soup or a sauce.
BTW, the plural form is also ROUX.
3. Against: ANTI.
4. Doesn't disturb: LETS BE.
3. Against: ANTI.
4. Doesn't disturb: LETS BE.
This is a scene from one of my favorite movies, Yesterday (2019). The premise is that a struggling musician wakes up to an alternate reality where he is the only one on Earth who knows who the Beatles are or any of their songs. In this scene, he tries to play Let It Be for his parents. They are completely unaware of how amazing the song was in the previous reality. (3:29 min.) 5. Rashida's "Parks and Recreation" role: ANN.
6. Fix, as a fight: RIG.
8. Soldier trained in first aid: MEDIC.
9. "I teach geometry, so I know all the __": math professor's quip: ANGLES. Groan!
10. Observe: SEE.
11. "Starman" singer David: BOWIE. Me: This clue is too hard because the only Starman song I know is by David Bowie...oh, wait...that fits. Never mind.
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| Rashida Jones as the very likable ANN Perkins |
8. Soldier trained in first aid: MEDIC.
9. "I teach geometry, so I know all the __": math professor's quip: ANGLES. Groan!
10. Observe: SEE.
11. "Starman" singer David: BOWIE. Me: This clue is too hard because the only Starman song I know is by David Bowie...oh, wait...that fits. Never mind.
Here is the 1972 song:
12. Unaccompanied: ALONE.
13. Core belief: TENET.
18. Lang. of Rome: ITAL. language and Italian
22. Run an email scam: PHISH. This term comes from the idea of fishing. Just as a fisherman dangles bait on a hook, internet scammers send out bait to computer users.
12. Unaccompanied: ALONE.
13. Core belief: TENET.
18. Lang. of Rome: ITAL. language and Italian
22. Run an email scam: PHISH. This term comes from the idea of fishing. Just as a fisherman dangles bait on a hook, internet scammers send out bait to computer users.
This is an early scene (not a spoiler) in the movie The Beekeeper (2024). Unfortunately it contains a lot of F-bombs but I encourage you to watch it because it portrays how bad people scam money from good people via the internet. This 4:28 min. scene might help you prevent your life savings from being stolen by nefarious hackers. If you are ever in doubt, call your bank. Do not use the number 'conveniently' provided by the scammer. Do not click on their links!!!
24. __ division: LONG. Yay, it's an excuse for me to insert another Old 97's song! This is Singular Girl from 1999.
25. Molecule makeup: ATOMS.
26. Pass over: SKIP.
27. Zoom devices, familiarly: CAMS. cameras
28. Related (to): AKIN.
29. Ankle-length skirt: MAXI.
33. Hollywood ending?: DEE. This is one of those meta clues. The last letter in Hollywood is the letter D.
34. Confident stride: STRUT.
36. "Bridgerton" title: LORD. Bridgerton is a Netflix drama based on novels by Julia Quinn. It is set in the 19th century and follows eight siblings seeking relationships. It has been compared to a cross between Jane Austen and Scandal. LORD Anthony Bridgerton is one of the characters.
37. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.
38. Baking amts.: TSPS. amounts and teaspoons
40. Apple tablets: IPADS.
41. Singer Diamond: NEIL. (b. Jan. 24, 1941). I'm a fan!
Talking to you girl is like LONG division, yeah 🎵
25. Molecule makeup: ATOMS.
26. Pass over: SKIP.
27. Zoom devices, familiarly: CAMS. cameras
28. Related (to): AKIN.
29. Ankle-length skirt: MAXI.
33. Hollywood ending?: DEE. This is one of those meta clues. The last letter in Hollywood is the letter D.
34. Confident stride: STRUT.
36. "Bridgerton" title: LORD. Bridgerton is a Netflix drama based on novels by Julia Quinn. It is set in the 19th century and follows eight siblings seeking relationships. It has been compared to a cross between Jane Austen and Scandal. LORD Anthony Bridgerton is one of the characters.
37. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.
38. Baking amts.: TSPS. amounts and teaspoons
40. Apple tablets: IPADS.
41. Singer Diamond: NEIL. (b. Jan. 24, 1941). I'm a fan!
Neil Diamond ~ You Don't Bring Me Flowers ~ 1977
written by Neil Diamon with Alan and Marilyn Bergman
42. Heritage celebrated in May, for short: AAPI. Asian American and Pacific Islander
I see that this answer appeared a year ago in a Universal crossword puzzle. It was also used twice in 2023 in USA Today puzzles.
47. Great suffering: MISERY. This is THAT scene from the movie Misery (1990), based on Stephen King's psychological horror novel. WARNING: Do not watch this video if you have not already seen the movie!! It is absolute MISERY and it will haunt you.
47. Great suffering: MISERY. This is THAT scene from the movie Misery (1990), based on Stephen King's psychological horror novel. WARNING: Do not watch this video if you have not already seen the movie!! It is absolute MISERY and it will haunt you.
49. Hoity-toity type: SNOB.
50. Send to voicemail, perhaps: IGNORE. I'm happy to be guilty of this. I try to be present in whatever I'm doing. That means I do not let my phone interrupt me just because it dings or rings. The great thing about a cell phone is that it can accept messages which I can view later.
51. Colorful parrot: MACAW.
52. Deliver a speech: ORATE.
53. Chamber music configuration: OCTET.
54. Bike parts: GEARS.
55. "You've never __ so good": HAD IT.
59. Follow covertly: TAIL. This is a 2:08 min. scene from The French Connection (1971). Gene Hackman is trying to TAIL Fernando Rey:
60. Marine apex predator: ORCA.
61. Idyllic place: EDEN. 
63. __ Vegas Aces: LAS. This is a WNBA team.
64. Night before: EVE. I wonder what EVE did the night before she was cast out of the Garden of EDEN.
65. "Shiny Happy People" band: REM. Here is that 1991 song:
50. Send to voicemail, perhaps: IGNORE. I'm happy to be guilty of this. I try to be present in whatever I'm doing. That means I do not let my phone interrupt me just because it dings or rings. The great thing about a cell phone is that it can accept messages which I can view later.
51. Colorful parrot: MACAW.
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| Both males and females share this brilliant coloration. |
52. Deliver a speech: ORATE.
53. Chamber music configuration: OCTET.
54. Bike parts: GEARS.
55. "You've never __ so good": HAD IT.
59. Follow covertly: TAIL. This is a 2:08 min. scene from The French Connection (1971). Gene Hackman is trying to TAIL Fernando Rey:
60. Marine apex predator: ORCA.
64. Night before: EVE. I wonder what EVE did the night before she was cast out of the Garden of EDEN.
65. "Shiny Happy People" band: REM. Here is that 1991 song:
The grid: 
See you later, crocodile!
(I wrote that before doing yesterday's puzzle.)
Except for “AAPI” I would
ReplyDeletesay this was a pretty typical Monday walk in the park, wouldn’t you? Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWite-Out corrected my NADA to NONE -- my only misstep. Never noticed the reveal. Ergo, never noticed the theme. D'oh. Finished quickly, though. Thanx, Amanda and sumdaze.
IGNORE: My phone usually sits on my desk, even when I'm elsewhere. I try to remember to take in on my M-o-W routes, in case I need to contact a client who doesn't answer the door. I've noticed my phone often "dings" with no accompanying notification or text message. Anybody know why it would do that?
FIR, but erased atoll for ISLET. Lucky guess at ANN x NICENE.
ReplyDeleteScotty Scheffler WON this weekend's BMW Championship yesterday. At the start of the day, the LEADERBOARD showed him 4 strokes behind, but at the end of the day he WON by 2. Over the past two weekends, Scotty has WON $4.76 million in "official" purse money and has been awarded an additional $23 million in bonus money. Pretty good August for Scotty so far. If he wins next weekend, he'll earn another $10 million and become the first player to win consecutive FedEx Cup championships. If he finishes dead last next weekend, he'll still make $355,000. (Fun fact: In his PGA career, Jack Nicklaus made $5.7 million.)
Bob Seger had a hit with Her STRUT, from the album Against the Wind.
I always thought that "Missouri Loves Company" would be a great state motto, but the folks in Jefferson City disagreed.
Thanks to Amanda for the fun start to the week, and to sumdaze for the chuckles.
FIR. Aapi was totally unknown for me. I've never heard of it. Thank goodness for perps.
ReplyDeleteThe theme was clever, except for mood board. I must admit that is not something in my repertoire.
But this is Monday and this was easy. So overall an enjoyable puzzle.
Well, I would agree with SubG’s assessment of today’s puzzle, pretty much a walk in the cake. AAPI was my only complete unknown, as I didn’t recall seeing it before. I’ve heard MOOD BOARD but DNK what is is. Arancina ingredient seems more like a late week clue for RICE. Thanks Amanda for the pleasant start to the CW week, and to sumdaze for your review, enjoyed the vids and cartoons. As with most I would guess, I’ve been the target of PHISHing scams via email and text, lately I’ve been getting a fair amount telling me of unpaid road tolls in states I haven’t even been to in years, pretty easy to recognize as bogus, but I do know someone who actually got swindled on the same road toll scam.
ReplyDeleteYP@8:07. Loved "walk in the cake"!
DeleteHola! Easy and quick Monday puzzle. Thank you, Amanda Cook. Any item I didn't know was filled by perps, especially AAPI, which I wasn't convinced was correct but everything else fit. I'm very familiar with PHISHing schemes and so far, have managed to IGNORE them.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day, everyone!
Today's Penny Dell crossword clues STRUT for "prance."
ReplyDeleteZhouqin authored the puzzle in USA Today
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle, but I had to switch from Edge to Firefox to play.
DeleteMarvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Amanda and sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in very good time and saw the LEADER BOARD theme. It was a very fast WITP today!
CSO to CopyEditor with MIXING METAPHORS clue.
No inkblots, but hand up for doubting the appearance of AAPI by perps. If you Americans have never heard of it, what chance does this Canadian have?
ANN and REM filled with perps.
I thought of “looked”, but it was too long. HAD IT fit.
I thought of HuskerG with that ANGLES pun. We had LONG division for more Math.
We had SEA and OCEAN for the ORCA.
I’m composing this on my IPAD Mini. This is my second one - I love it.
Wishing you all a great day.
FLN ~ I’ve only been to Wawa once, when I was a kid my dad took us on a fly-in fishing trip which originated from there. I do remember the beautiful drive north from the Soo along the east coast of Superior, and of course the statue of the goose. 😊
DeleteChalk this up to a WITP, which took 4:25.
ReplyDeleteGotta run.
WEES so far, á fun easy puzzle, Monday level.
ReplyDeleteI needed Sumdaze’s explanation for the MOOD BOARD.
Some people make á very thick ROUX for their gumbo, so if á guest wants to thin it, that person adds filé, á concoction made from ground up sassafras leaves. So my first fill for the clue was not ROUX but perps corrected me.
Thank you sumdaze for the great review. I loved the pics and toons like the ORCA at á penguin meeting and that poor wet dog.
Monkey@9:22. I've noticed that sometimes knowing more about a topic than the average solver makes a clue more difficult. "File" would never have crossed my mind because I do not know enough about a ROUX nor about gumbo to guess anything but the often used "okra". You, on the other hand, know of other possible answers. Funny how that goes....
DeleteInteresting comment. Thanks.
DeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Like Sumdaze, two of the boards were a little foreign to me but that’s water under the dam.
-FWIW, that is the most famous LEADER BOARD in all of golf. True to many traditions at the Master’s it is analog.
-Waddaya think, too much PINE?
-We witnessed a legal process for our neighbor’s mother last week. She had to use AKA, NKA (now known as) and FNA (formerly known as) in the documents.
-Sampling: Chuck Berry sued the Beach Boys because they sang the chorus, “Surfin’ USA” exactly the way he sang “Sweet Little Sixteen”
-The story ARC for The Fugitive (looking for the one-armed man) ran for five years from 1963 to 1967.
-My DW taught me how to make a ROUX for chipped beef or toast which in the army is called…
-I have managed to avoid taking the PHISHING bait. I hesitate to answer any phone call with no ID.
-Joey DEE and the Starlighters and DEE DEE sharp came to my 60’s music mind.
-AAPI is clearly an “any port in a storm” fill
HG@9:57. I had a feeling you would know something about that LEADER BOARD.
Delete= )
"chipped beef [on] toast which in the army is called…" (crossword favorite fill) SOS.
Deletenever been to that part of the country, but I have it on good authority that Sheetz is the superior option
ReplyDeletemight have meant to leave this on yesterday's puzzle >_>
DeleteWell, that's true in places where Buc-ee's hasn't invaded. They are in a class by themselves.
DeleteA pleasant puzzle to start the week, and an enjoyable review by sumdaze! For some strange reason, I had "Que Sera, Sera" stuck in my head upon awakening this morning, so that clue came quickly! My absolute rule for phone calls is "No caller ID=No answer!" It has served me well, so far!
ReplyDeleteC-Echo@11:30. "no caller ID-no answer". I completely agree. (I echo that comment??) If it is a legitimate caller, they will leave a message and you can call them back.
DeleteI agree, also CE. I’ve had three calls this afternoon: 1) Gaylord, MN, 2) Lake Placid, NY, 3) Cell phone, no name or location. 1 and 2 went unanswered and left no message and 3 left a message that was a legitimate request, but obviously meant for someone else. Wrong number. Caller ID is a life saver, IMO.
DeleteI don’t know why I became Anonymous but above comment is mine.
DeleteThat happens to me sometimes, Irish Miss ☘️ Someone here thought maybe it was because I hadn’t paid my Google dues. LOL
DeleteMy kind of CW: only 8 names, only 1 DNK: R.E.M. song. I even knew AAPI, since my GF is Filipina. It stands for "Asian American and Pacific Islander", if you forgot. Anyway, filled as quick as I could write, FIR in 8. Would have been even faster, but got multiple texts on WhatsApp from some spammer trying to sell bitcoin. Constant interruptions slowed me down, but still a great Monday time. Thanx so very much, AC, great CW. I loved the minimal names, I got the theme, liked everything about your CW. I was tempted to fill OKRA at 2D, but was very sure of ORAL at 1A, so waited for NONE to appear after correcting my only W/O, NADA:NONE. Anyway, great CW. Thanx too for the terrific write-up Sumdaze, you never disappoint.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Amanda's puzzle and FIR but didn't understand the theme until sumdaze explained it. I'm familiar with all those types of boards, but the reveal wasn't revealing enough for me!
ReplyDeleteAAPI is a familiar initialism here on the west coast.
HG, the pine box you linked looks too much like the last one I will (n)ever see.
Delightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Amanda. And your commentary is always helpful and interesting, thanks for that too Sumdaze.
ReplyDelete(Amanda, I'm going to play around about the lack of food references in this puzzle, but this is in no way a criticism at all--just a game I want to play this morning. So please don't be offended.)
Well, I am really hungry this morning and finding no TSPS of food gave my ORAL needs no satisfaction. We got no eggs, no bacon, no toast, no cereal, even. There were only I PADS (whatever they are) but I didn't get much of a taste of apple from them. I hope I don't sound like a SNOB, but not getting any food in the morning does feel like getting caught in a SYSTEM of MISERY. Better to clear out of here, and find a diner that functions more like an EDEN.
I'll see if I can take along some of Amanda Cook's puzzles to cheer me up.
Have a great breakfast and lunch today, everybody.