Theme: Punny professions.
Today's constructor, Tara Holland, had a puzzle published in these pages on March 19, 2025. I find no others under her name, so she appears to be new to the craft. Good for her! We need all the crossword puzzles we can get. In today's puzzle, Tara interprets common phrases as punny professions, arranged in symmetrically placed rows across. Elegant silliness.
The theme clues and answers are:
17-Across. Peculiar anesthesiologist?: ODD NUMBER. We all know that odd numbers are numbers that cannot be divided evenly by 2. But an odd number might be a person who makes one feel numb. This pun works in print, but would be hard to pull off in spoken form, because number sounds like nummer, not number. It's the only one of the theme answers that has this limitation.
24-Across. Sad maker of simple dresses?: DOWN SHIFTER. A shift is a simple dress, and a person who feels "down" is sad, so a down shifter might be a sad person who makes dresses, as opposed to a person who puts a vehicle in a lower gear, or someone who leaves a demanding job for a less stressful lifestyle.
37-Across. Slightly loopy purveyor of Scottish attire?: OFF KILTER. Off kilter usually means out of balance, but it might also be an ecccentric person who makes or sells kilts.
55-Across. Highly critical grain producer?: SHARP CORNER. A sharp corner is where two edges of an object meet in an angular juncture. But sharp also means intelligent or even harsh, as in "sharp criticism." Apply that to someone who makes corn, and you have a sharp corner.
63-Across. Deadpan mathematician?: DRY SUMMER. We've had a dry summer here in So Cal (as usual), but if a person works with sums, and their wit is dry, you might call them a dry summer.
If you want to imitate Tara's puns, you have to go looking for nouns that end in -er, and what you find are a lot of nouns that already describe certain people or professions, like achiever or adjuster. The words that Tara turned into jobs did not start out that way. Well, maybe "shifter" is a person, but "number," "kilter," "corner," and "summer" are not. And then you have to think of a common phrase which includes that -er noun. It's not easy to come up with these phrases, let alone have them match in length to fit the grid. My best attempt is "car bumper," but I am unable to redefine that as a profession. Having failed to match Tara at this game, I'll move on to the rest of Tara's clues and answers.
1. Soup noodles: SOBA. Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour.
5. Touch: ABUT.
9. "Heavens, no!": PSHAW. An interjection used to express irritation, disapproval, contempt, or disbelief.
14. Baked custard: FLAN. Yummy dessert common in Spanish speaking countries.
15. Fibrous, as roots: ROPY. Resembling a rope, especially in being long, strong, and fibrous.
16. Stradivarius alternative: AMATI. Amati is the surname of a family of Italian violin makers who lived in Cremona from about 1538 to 1740. Their importance is considered equal to those of the Bergonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari families.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Dish with a vinegared rice base: SUSHI.
20. "You know you wanna!": C'MON. C'mon is used in writing to represent the sound of "come on" spoken quickly, especially when urging someone to do something, or expresssing surprise or skepticism.
21. Like taupe: NEUTRAL.
23. Noodle soup: PHO. A Vietnamese broth with noodles.
24. [Theme clue]
28. Components of a square meal?: RAVIOLI. Ravioli are stuffed pasta that are usually square.
30. Exit key: ESC.
31. Social follower?: ITE.
32. Receptive (to): OPEN.
33. Aardvark snack: ANT.
35. Loathed: HATED.
37. [Theme clue]
41. Pelvic bones: SACRA. Oh, I get to use this GIF again!
44. Shy: COY.
45. Paper clip for an attachment, e.g.: ICON. Most email programs have a paper clip icon a user clicks to attach a file to a message.
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| Your paper clip icon may vary. |
49. Somewhat: ISH.
50. Football VIPs: QBS. Quarterbacks are Very Important Persons in football.
53. Luxurious: OPULENT.
55. [Theme clue]
58. Root word?: RAH. A cheer. Rah rah sis boom bah.
59. Molasses relative: TREACLE. Treacle is a thinner, sweeter version of molasses. Both are byproducts of refining sugar from cane or beets.
60. Trade: DEAL.
62. Bond actor: CRAIG. English actor Daniel Craig got his start on stage, and then had several supporting roles in films before playing James Bond in Casino Royale (2006) made him an international star.
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| Daniel Craig as James Bond |
63. [Theme clue]
67. Grasslike plant: SEDGE. Sedges have solid, triangular stems, and their leaves and flowers are arranged in threes. Grasses have hollow, round stems with swollen nodes, and their leaves are arranged in two ranks. When in doubt, "sedges have edges," that is, triangular stems.
68. Narwhal feature: TUSK. The narwhal is a species of whale native to the Arctic. Males of this species have a 5-10 foot long tusk, which is a protruding left canine tooth, thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, or for just being a sexy narwhal.
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69. Stick in the mud: MIRE. Mire as a verb means to cause something to become stuck in mud.
70. Chilly temps: TEENS.
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| DH used to live there. He's not leaving So Cal now. |
72. When Romeo says, "Thus with a kiss I die": ACT V. Well, you knew he didn't die in Act I, and Act X would have made for a very long play.
Down:
1. Calif. hub: SFO. San Francisco International Airport.
2. English gent: OLD CHAP.
3. Poor decision: BAD MOVE.
4. Part of A.D.: ANNO. "Anno Domini" is Latin for "in the year of the Lord." It refers to the years following the presumed birth year of Jesus Christ, with "AD 1" marking the first year of this era. We are now, of course, in AD 2025. The Hebrew calendar year 5786 began at sundown on September 22, 2025, counting years since the creation of the world according to Genesis and subsequent Bible stories. I was raised by a paleontologist who thought in terms of geologic time, which puts us at about 4.6 billion years since formation of the earth.
5. Branch: ARM.
6. "Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama" memoirist Odenkirk: BOB. Bob Odenkirk is an actor, screenwriter, comedian, and producer. He started his career writing for Saturday Night Live, wrote and acted in The Ben Stiller Show, and also wrote for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. As a dramatic actor, Odenkirk gained recognition for playing Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill on Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul. DH and I recently saw him star in the action film Nobody, which he also produced. He's a pretty great actor.
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| Bob Odenkirk |
7. Sch. with a Quaker mascot: U PENN. AKA University of Pennsylvania.
8. Gibson of the "Fast & Furious" films: TYRESE. Tyrese Gibson is a singer and actor from Los Angeles, California. His 1998 debut single hit the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album the same year went platinum. His fifth album, Open Invitation (2011) received a nomination for Best R&B Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. He's appeared in several films, and plays Roman Pearce in the Fast & Furious franchise.
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| Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce |
9. Artistic style that imitates another: PASTICHE. A pastiche can be an artwork that imitates the style of another work, artist, or period. Another meaning of pastiche is an incongruous combination of materials or styles.
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| The Lego Lisa -- pastiche? |
10. Part of a blue crew: SMURF.
11. Gives an enthusiastic try: HAS AT IT.
12. Olympian, for one: ATHLETE.
13. Switch predecessor: WII. WII and Switch are Nintendo video game consoles.
18. Take back command?: UNDO.
22. Hesitation sounds: UHS. Who else tried UMS first?
23. All for: PRO.
25. Character who says, "Some people are worth melting for": OLAF. Olaf is an enchanted snowman in Disney's Frozen movies.
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| Olaf |
26. ;): WINK.
27. Crimson or carmine: RED.
29. "Are you __ out?": IN OR.
34. Muscle spasm: TIC.
36. Edible part of a pomegranate: ARIL. A fleshy seed covering.
38. Web sections for the curious or confused: FAQ PAGES. Frequently Asked Questions pages.
39. Great Lakes diving bird: LOON. Loons in western Canada and Alaska migrate to the Pacific Coast to avoid the northern winter. Loons from the Great Lakes region migrate to the Gulf of Mexico or to the Florida coast. Loons from eastern Canada migrate to the Atlantic coast. I love the way they sit low in the water, and the eerie calls they make.
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| Common Loon |
40. Kind: TYPE.
41. Girl of the fam: SIS.
42. Growth threatened by an emerald borer: ASH TREE. The emerald ash borer is a green beetle, native to northeastern Asia, that feeds on ash trees. In its native range, it is found at low densities and does not cause significant damage. Outside its native range, it is an invasive species and is highly destructive to ash trees native to Europe and North America.
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| See the ash borer on the coin for actual size. |
46. Like some tile: CERAMIC.
47. Vigilant: ON ALERT.
48. Last in a long series: NTH.
51. Secretly loop in: BCC. Blind Carbon Copy.
52. "__ the highest bidder!": SOLD TO.
54. Pakistani language: URDU.
56. Dominion: REIGN.
57. Episode shown after the series finale: RERUN.
61. Austen protagonist: EMMA. One of our favorite crossword actresses, Anya Taylor-Joy, played the title role in the 2020 film based on the 1815 novel by Jane Austen. I love a good costume drama.
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| Anya Taylor-Joy (on the right) as Emma |
62. Wisc. winter hrs.: CST. Central Standard Time.
64. Fashion logo initials: YSL. Yves Saint Laurent.
65. Sun spot: SKY. Yes, a very good spot for the sun is in the sky. Stay there, sun!
66. Step (up): REV. Increase speed or activity.
