Tuesday, September 30, 2025 Zhouqin Burnikel

We're in the Money!

17-Across. Documents submitted after a fender bender: CLAIM FORMS.  CLAMS.

24-Across. "I thought you just left!": BACK SO SOON.  BACON.

39-Across. Is a trailblazer: BREAKS NEW GROUND.  BREAD.

50-Across. Six-time "Dancing With the Stars" champion: DEREK HOUGH.  DOUGH.

And the unifier:

62-Across. Wealthy, and what 17-, 24-, 39-, and 50-Across literally are: IN THE MONEY.  The circles spell out slang words for Money.  The rest of the answer is "in" the Money.

What other wealth has out Blog Mistress given us?  Let's find out.

Across:

1. "Power Up" rock band: AC/DC.  AC/DC is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. 

5. Farfalle or fusilli: PASTA.  Farfalle is also known as bow-tie pasta.  Fusilli is corkscrew pasta.

10. Follow a command: OBEY.

14. Bring to a bubble: BOIL.

15. Helps with the dishes: DRIES.

16. Jakarta's island: JAVA.  The 1983 movie The Year of Living Dangerously took place in Jakarta.

19. Mix: STIR.

20. Alabama march city: SELMA.

21. Detectives, briefly: PIs.  As in a Private Investigator.

23. Like antiques: OLD.

29. Includes furtively on an email: BCCs.  As in Blind Carbon Copies.  The "Carbon Copy" is a relic from the days when carbon paper was used to make typewritten copies.

32. Sippy cup user: TOT.

33. The "I" of IV: INTRA-.  As in an IntraVenous line.

35. "I'm so relaxed!": AAH!

36. Fly like a hawk: SOAR.

37. Make reparations: ATONE.  Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sunset tomorrow.

43. Centipede maker: ATARI.  The video game that first came out over 40 years ago!

44. "Consequently ... ": THUS.

45. "Don't be that __!": GUY.

46. Snooping sorts: SPIES.

48. Gear tooth: COG.

49. Animation frames: CELS.

53. "Ewe talking to me?": BAA.  //  And 18-Down. "Ewe OK?": MAA.

55. __ Lanka: SRI.  In May 1972, Ceylon became known as Sri Lanka.  The official name of the country is the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.  It is the tear-shaped Island country that lies off the southern tip of India.

56. Wear away: ERODE.

60. Crafts partner: ARTS.

66. Hide-and-__: SEEK.

67. Alternative to Midol: ADVIL.  Both are pain relievers.

68. Image reshared for laughs: MEME.

69. "Nothing to it!": EASY.

70. Makes it to the end: LASTS.

71. Spanish "those": ESOS.  Today's Spanish lesson.

Down:

1. Preschool basics: ABCs.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

2. Sprouse of "Riverdale": COLE.  I am not familiar with Riverdale, so did not know Cole Sprouse (né Cole Mitchell Sprouse; b. Aug. 2, 1992).

3. Rotary phone part: DIAL.

4. Tackles a rock face: CLIMBS.

5. File format for some invoices: PDF.  As in Portable Document Format.

6. __/ace: LGBT+ orientation: ARO.  I was not familiar with this term.  It short for aromantic asexual and describes a person who experiences little to no sexual or romantic attraction to others. 

7. Title for the Black Knight: SIR.

8. Pace set by a metronome: TEMPO.

9. Home of St. Francis: ASSISI.  St. Francis of Assisi (1181 ~ 1226) was the founder of the religious order of the Franciscans.  He is also known as the patron saint of animals.

10. Some brunch drinks, for short: OJs.  As in Orange Juice.

11. Mall of Louisiana city: BATON ROUGE.  Let's see.  How many cities in Louisiana are 10 letters?  Lots of choices fit into the spaces provided:  Alexandria; Baton Rouge, Mandeville; Marksville; Morgan City; New Orleans; Plaquemine; Shreveport; West Monroe.  The Mall of Louisiana is a mid-scale shopping mall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, between I-10 and Bluebonnet Blvd.  It is the largest mall in Louisiana.

12. Rather wicked: EVIL.

13. Place for a swing set: YARD.

22. Acoustic location devices: SONARS.

25. Execs behind R&D breakthroughs: CTOs.  As in the Chief Technology Officer.

26. Zen master's paradox: KOAN.  A Koan is a question or riddle in Buddhism to facilitate spiritual growth and enlightenment by challenging logical thought.  Probably we have all heard this example of a Koan:  What is the sound of one hand clapping.

27. Loosen up before exercising: STRETCH.

28. Uno less than nove: OTTO.  Today's Italian math lesson.

29. Daddy, in Chinese: BABA.

30. Golf course rentals: CARTS.

31. Companions who don't mind fast food: CHEAP DATES.  Fast food isn't so cheap anymore.

34. Void: ANNUL.

36. Racers who make tracks: SKIERS.

38. Ben & Jerry's rival: EDY'S.  Both are brands of ice cream.

40. "Brown Skin" singer India.__: ARIE.  India.Arie (née India Arie Simpson; b. Oct. 3, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter.  She will celebrate her 50th birthday on Friday.

41. "What a thrill!": WHOO.

42. "Loki" actress Mbatha-Raw: GUGU.  I am not familiar with this Gugu Mbatha-Raw (née Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw; b. Apr. 21, 1983).  She is an English actress.

47. Story told in episodes: SERIAL.  Many of the novels by Charles Dickens were serialized and appeared either in weekly or monthly publications.

49. Safari alternative: CHROME.  Both are internet browsers.

51. In a way, casually: KINDA.

52. Diamond or ruby: GEM.

53. First coat of paint: BASE.

54. __ rug: floor decor: AREA.

57. Tip jar bills: ONES.

58. Showroom model: DEMO.

59. Organs closed during sleep: EYES.

61. Cloud location: SKY.

63. Sets in hotel rooms: TVs.

64. Smashing success: HIT.

65. Golf great Ernie: ELS.  I learned about Ernie Els (né Theodore Ernest Els; b. Oct. 17, 1969), the South African golfer from doing the crossword puzzles.

חתולה

Monday September 29, 2015 Taylor Johnson

Howdy! It''s RustyBrain and we've made it halfway through sumdaze's absence. I sure miss her!

Taylor Johnson is playing with his food today, despite his mom's scolding.

16A. *"Neato!": COOL BEANS.

38A. *Mensch: GOOD EGG.

9D. *Head honcho: TOP BANANA.

33D. *Influential person: BIG CHEESE.

63A. Marketing term for nutrient-rich fare, or what the answers to the starred clues are: SUPERFOOD. SUPERFOODs are nutrient-dense foods such as berries, leafy greens, nuts, whole grains and legumes. It's the good stuff we should eat more of. 

AWESOME theme; BAD fill. Too many proper names are a DRAG, and one of them sank me. I had "Wiener" instead of WEENIE and fixed the ending to IE, but left the I in place for iLIA. Grrr. Another possible Natick (in red on grid) was at the cross of KENDI and TALENTI, but I guessed right with an N. It didn't feel like Monday material.

On the plus side, I really liked the theme. Five common phrases, and they went in all directions. No wonder the rest relied on [im]proper answers. As I went through, I thought the reveal would have something to do with paleo. Many SUPERFOODS are part of a paleo diet, and all these happen to be ones in common.

So, it's a mixed grocery bag. Let's continue shopping:

Across:

1. Hushed "Hey, over here!": PSST. Be quiet! I'm getting PSST!

5. "What __ I supposed to do?": WAS. Past tense of my first try: AM I.

8. The Beehive State: UTAH. Here's how you can tell if a girl is from UTAH:

12. Flour for chapati and roti: ATTA. 

13. Director Kazan: ELIA. Name #1 (using the "Splynter Convention"). 

15. Love, in Italian: AMORE.

16. [theme]

18. Tangy bud in a piccata recipe: CAPER. Yummers!

19. Multiplex array: SCREENS. Multiplex array: CANDIES. Fun Fact: Movie candies often come in small boxes because they are quieter and make sharing easier, reducing spillage.

20. "Sorta": ISH.

22. Spoiled: BAD.

23. "How To Be an Antiracist" author Ibram X. __: KENDI. Name #2. Unknown, but he's a National Book Award winner and an important voice in anti-racism.

24. Indigenous name of Mount Rainier: TAHOMA. Name #3. "Sorta" knew.

26. Those people's: THEIR.

28. Bar purchases: ROUNDS. 

31. Italian model on the cover of many romance novels: FABIO. Name #4. Here he is about to be smacked in the face by a goose while riding a roller coaster at my old haunt, Busch Gardens Williamsburg. He should have honked.

34. Spiritual guide: GURU.

36. Move suddenly: DART. Was FABIO quicker than a goose? Alas, no. He required a few stitches on his nose.

37. Comedian Wong: ALI. Name #5. There's something funny about this one.

38. [theme].

41. Opposing vote: NAY.

42. Fireplace stack: LOGS.

44. Hankering: URGE.

45. Utility bill info: USAGE.

47. Pendant with a photo: LOCKET.

49. "Hamilton" actress Renée __ Goldsberry: ELISE. Name #6. NAY. Another unknown. I need to get out more.

51. Zedonk or zorse: HYBRID. A zedonk is a sterile hybrid offspring of a female donkey and a male zebra. The much rarer reverse cross—a male donkey and a female zebra—is called a "zonkey." Even though they look alike, please don't confuse them. They are very sensitive.

53. Loses, as fur: SHEDS.  Zebroids (the general term for HYBRIDs above) shed their thin summer coats in the fall and grow a thicker, shaggier winter coat. When spring arrives and daylight hours increase, they shed their striped pajamas to prepare for warmer weather.

56. "__ willikers!": GEE.

58. Spanish sun: SOL. That's odd. I always thought we shared the same sun. 

59. "Gnarly!": AWESOME. 

61. One-named "Skyfall" singer: ADELE. Name #7. I knew this because she only has one name to remember. 

63. [theme]

65. Yellowstone grazer: BISON. Yellowstone gazer: TOURIST.

66. Sailing: ASEA.

67. Like water surrounding a startled cuttlefish, maybe: INKY. This one's very scared.

68. Slow-cooker dish: STEW.

69. Burnable data-storage medium, for short: CD-R. CD-R stands for Compact Disc Recordable, and they can only be written on once. CD-RW is the Read/Write version that allows multiple recordings.

70. Golf pegs: TEES. 

Down:

1. Campaign support gps.: PACS. Political Action CommitteeS. 

2. Soup base: STOCK.

3. One of 500+ in the Mall of America: STORE. Because "screaming kids" didn't fit.

4. Gelato brand in clear jars with brown screw-top lids: TALENTI. Name #8. I don't STOCK up on this.

5. Hot dog, casually: WEENIE. 

6. "Sadly ... ": ALAS.

7. Sloth, for one: SIN. "What did I do to deserve this distinction?"

8. Actress Thurman: UMA. Name #9. She's tall, but famous around here for her short fill.

9. [theme]

10. Vicinity: AREA.

11. Group of buffalo: HERD. Unlike BISON who are seen but not HERD.

14. Nepal's continent: ASIA.

15. "Gesundheit" elicitor: ACHOO. Technically, the answer should be "hatschi," which is German onomatopoeia for the sneezing sound.

17. Sleeper who takes all the blankets: BED HOG. Here's double trouble; a bunk BED HOG!

21. "I dunno" gesture: SHRUG. 

24. Plodded: TRUDGED.

25. Coffee, slangily: MUD. Of all the slang expressions for coffee, MUD is the worst. It evokes stale coffee at work that's been sitting in the pot all day. 

27. "Young Frankenstein" assistant: IGOR. Name #10. Finally a fun one!

29. "What a __!": DRAG. Not sure why this has an exclamation point. I doubt anyone gets very excited about something that is tiresome. Unless, of course, they mean you're racing in a Top Fuel Funny Car!

30. Eyelid affliction: STYE.

31. Autumn: FALL.

32. Potatoes, in Indian cuisine: ALOO. Bench warmer "Potatoes" ALOO is the black sheep of the famous baseball family. 

33. [theme]

35. Instagram video: REEL.

39. Closing section of a song: OUTRO. As you suspected, it's at the opposite end of the intro.

40. Productive oil well: GUSHER.

43. Pie in the __: SKY. Pie in the FACE - because it's funnier!

46. Deems appropriate: SEES FIT.

48. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" actor Buddy: EBSEN. Name #11. Well known actor, but not from this 1961 film. "Let's see, it's Monday so I'll clue a minor role for a famous actor." I remember the movie, but not his immortal turn as Doc Golightly.

50. "Cross my heart!": I SWEAR.

52. "Casablanca" heroine: ILSA. Name #12. Common crossword fill, but still...

54. Lorna __ cookies: DOONE. Name #13. The cookies are named after the protagonist in the romance novel from 1869 because she loved shortbread cookies. I think. I confess I haven't read it.

55. Chimney output: SMOKE.

56. Chats on and on: GABS.It's a gift.

57. Revise a manuscript: EDIT.

59. Mimicked: APED.

60. "Grand" ice cream: EDY'S. Name #14. It's delicious but still a proper name.

62. Burner setting: LOW.

64. L.A. school: USC. University of Southern California.