Thursday, October 16, 2025, Chandi Deitmer

Theme:  Innovative inventories

Chandi Deitmer is a frequent crossword constructor here and elsewhere.  Slate hilariously says, "Chandi Deitmer is a Slate crossword constructor from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her puzzles are most recognizable by odd visuals, long entries featuring her favorite foods, and references to pop lyrics people barely cared about when they were released 20 years ago."  Chandi has redeemed herself from these charges today!  I could go on and on about the reasons why, but Chandi herself has enumerated enough, reinterpreting common two-word phrases as inventories.  Each two-word phrase ends with a word that means enumeration or inventory.

The theme clues and answers, in symmetrically placed rows across, are:

17-Across. Amex, Visa, Discover, etc.: CARD CATALOG.  As a former cataloging librarian, the CARD CATALOG is a subject close to my heart, but in this case, it's just an enumeration of "What's in your wallet?"

27-Across. Dell, Acer, Apple, etc.: COMPUTER MENU.  Nowadays, rather than searching through friendly file drawers, we click on COMPUTER MENUs, wondering where the latest software update has hidden our favorite options.  But in this case, the MENU is just an enumeration of computer brands on the market.

45-Across. Ones, fives, tens, etc.: CASH REGISTER.  When my mother was young, she worked downstairs in a department store, making change for sales slips and cash sent by pneumatic tube from the sales desks upstairs.  She taught me the useful art of counting change.  Today's cash registers make that art unnecessary.  But in this case, the REGISTER is just an enumeration of currency denominations.

59-Across. Whites, knits, delicates, etc.: LAUNDRY LIST.  A LAUNDRY LIST is a long list of things, perhaps an overwhelming or unrealistic list.  But in earlier times, when you might not have been able to afford your own washing machine, you might have taken your clothing to a commercial laundry, where it was important to make a record of what you left there.  By the 1860s, commercial laundries were using pre-printed forms with exhaustive lists of all the possible articles of clothing you might submit.  All you needed to do was jot a number next to socks, shirts, etc.  Eventually the actual, exhaustive LAUNDRY LIST became the metaphorical, exhausting LAUNDRY LIST.  But in this case, the LIST is just an enumeration of categories of items we throw in our washing machines.

I like a theme that reinterprets common phrases.  Very creative.  Let's see what other clues and answers are on Chandi's to-do list for today.

Across:

1. Hairstyle of Diana Ross and Bob Ross: AFRO.  Diana Ross, the "Queen of Motown," was the lead singer of the Supremes in the 1960s.  She celebrated her African American hair with an exaggerated Afro style, aided by extensions and wigs.  Bob Ross was a painter who hosted a PBS instructional television show called The Joy of Painting from 1983 to 1994.  When Bob launched his career, he permed his hair to save on the cost of frequent crew cuts.  When his "Afro" appeared on his art supplies company packaging, he felt locked into the style forever.

Diana Ross and Bob Ross -- no relation

5. Ruffle playfully: TOUSLE.  To tousle is to playfully disarrange someone's hair.  Don't you dare!

11. Sound of disgust: ICK.

14. Wasn't colorfast: BLED.  A real problem if you don't separate the colors on your LAUNDRY LIST.

15. Sounded hoarse: RASPED.

16. Lad: BOY.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Get it wrong: ERR.

20. Occasion for pampering: SPA DAY.

21. Inclination to stay put: INERTIA.

23. Overlook: SNUB.

24. Japanese honorific: SAN.  I have a Japanese client who calls me Naomi-San.

Anna Sawai as Mariko-San in Shōgun

26. "We're __ crossroads": AT A.

27. [Theme clue]

32. Therapeutic application on a 20-Across: MASK.

35. 63-Across's cry: OUT.

36. Vandykes, e.g.: BEARDS.  A Van Dyke, or Vandyke, is a style of facial hair named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck.  A Van Dyke specifically consists of any growth of both a mustache and goatee with all hair on the cheeks shaved.

Who wore it best?  Anthony van Dyck or Johnny Depp?

37. Type: ILK.

38. Decorated, in a way: HONORED.  One thinks of a decorated war veteran.

Audie Murphy was the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.S. history.

40. "Golly!": GEE.

41. Servings of cheese or oranges: SLICES.

43. According to: PER.

44. Light rope: CORD.

45. [Theme clue]

48. Undergrad deg. option: BLA.  Bachelor of Liberal Arts.

49. Nosh: EAT.

50. UNESCO World Heritage Site in England: BATH.

53. Edible arrangement: FOOD ART.

I don't touch these at parties.  They seem over-handled.
And who wants to ruin the centerpiece?

56. Well-trained groups: CADRES.

58. Latto genre: RAP.  Alyssa Stephens, known professionally as Latto (formerly known as Mulatto), is a rapper and singer from Atlanta.  She has picked up some awards and Grammy nominations.  DNK.

Latto

59. [Theme clue]

62. Mined find: ORE.

63. Stay-at-home worker?: UMPIRE.  In baseball, the home-plate umpire stays at the plate when there are runners in scoring position.

64. "What __ is there?": ELSE.

65. Degs. for House and Grey: MDS.  TV doctors.

66. Wasn't straightforward with: MISLED.

67. Scores: SLEW.


Down:

1. Basics: ABCS.

2. Book jacket pair: FLAPS.

3. Played anew: RERAN.

4. Curious character: ODD DUCK.

5. Airline passenger's table: TRAY.

6. Stout grain: OAT.

7. Chant from fans dressed in red, white, and blue: USA.

8. First-aid item: SPLINT.

9. "Bet Ain't Worth the Hand" singer Bridges: LEON.  Leon Bridges is a singer, songwriter, and record producer.  His 2018 single, "Bet Ain't Worth The Hand," won Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.  Another DNK for me in contemporary music.

Leon Bridges

10. __ case: EDGE.  An edge case is a situation that occurs only at an extreme operating parameter. For example, a stereo speaker might noticeably distort audio when played at maximum volume.  It is challenging to engineer for edge cases because of unpredictable user behavior, product complexity, and resource limitations.  DNK this either!

11. "Just look at the time!": I BETTER GO.

12. Raita herb: CORIANDER.  Raita is a side dish served with Indian cuisine that provides a cooling contrast to spicy foods.  It is yogurt, often mixed with chopped cucumber, and seasoned with coriander, cumin, mint, and other herbs and spices.  Finely chopped red onions and tomatoes are popular additions, along with lemon or lime juice.  Raita is not as thick as Greek tzatziki, and has a greater potential variety of ingredients.

13. Sedgwick of "The Closer": KYRA.  Kyra Sedgwick is a film and television actress best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on The Closer (2005–2012), for which she won a Golden Globe in 2007 and an Emmy Award in 2010.  Another celebrity DNK for me, but I recognize Kevin Bacon, to whom Kyra Sedgwick has been married since 1988.  They have two children.

Kyra Sedgwick

18. Resort town near El Arco, familiarly: CABO.  El Arco de Cabo San Lucas -- the Arch of Cabo San Lucas -- is a rock formation at the southern tip of Baja California.  When DH and I flew with the family to San Jose del Cabo in January, instead of heading west to see the Arch and Cabo San Lucas -- which I imagine to be mostly golf courses and bars -- we took dirt roads east to enjoy empty beaches and watch the grey whale migration.  Biggest surprise -- Cabo del Este, the East cape, is part of the Sonoran desert.  Saguaro cacti march right down to the beaches of the Sea of Cortez, and the birds were familiar to me from Arizona.

El Arco de Cabo San Lucas

View of a grey whale from my front porch in Cabo del Este.

22. Epic hero of Indian mythology: RAMA.  In Hinduism, Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu (one of the principal deities), and is the protagonist of the Ramayana.  In the story, Rama is born to royalty, but suffers difficult circumstances and ethical challenges.  His behavior serves as a model of moral life.

Rama

24. Like some textiles: SPUN.

25. Racetrack attraction at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris: AUTOPIA.

28. Many a native of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom: MOOSE.

29. Critic Roger: EBERT.

30. Crimson: RED.

31. Like most flea market goods: USED.

32. Catchall abbr.: MISC.

33. Conductor's call: ALL ABOARD.

34. Run-down areas?: SKI SLOPES.

38. She/__ pronouns: HER.  As opposed to he/him and the myriad other choices now available.

39. Take a time out: REST.

42. Home to the Lakes of Ounianga: CHAD.  The Lakes of Ounianga are 18 lakes in the Sahara Desert, in northeastern Chad. The lakes were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2012.  Water from an ancient aquifer supplies the lakes, which evaporate quickly because of the arid environment.  Some of the lakes are saline, but others are fresh due to varying vegetation and topography.  Early human settlers in the area tried to stop the desertification that buried their orchards and crops at the end of the last ice age, 11,000 years ago.  Alas, climate change wiped them out.

Lakes of Ounianga

44. Carries protectively: CRADLES.

46. Outfits: GETUPS.

47. Site for a bidding war: EBAY.

51. Flutist's quaver: TRILL.

52. "Siddhartha" novelist: HESSE.  Siddhartha: An Indian novel is a 1922 novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha. The book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in German and was published in the United States in 1951. The character Siddhartha attains enlightenment through his experiences, which Hesse was also seeking through his studies of Hinduism and Buddhism, and through his reclusive life.  The book sparked a lot of interest in Buddhism in the 1960s and 70s.

Hermann Hesse

53. Born in: FROM.

54. Grad: ALUM.

55. Actor Malek: RAMI.  Rami Malek is an American actor whose parents immigrated from Egypt.  He portrayed Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in the biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.  He played a computer hacker in the television series Mr. Robot (2015–2019), for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Rami Malek

56. Rep: CRED.  Reputation: credibility or credit. 

57. Étouffée, for one: STEW.  Étouffée is a dish found in Louisiana's Cajun and Creole cuisines, consisting of a thick sauce made with crab, shrimp or crawfish, along with onions, celery, bell peppers, and roux, and served over rice.  In French, "étouffée" means "smothered."

Crawfish étouffée

60. Low, low score: NIL.

61. Beats by __: DRE.  Popular headphones.

Beats by Dre

Here's the grid:

Solvers, how is our constructor's CRED with you now?

Do you feel HONORED to have been offered this puzzle?

Or did the experience put you on EDGE?

I BETTER GO.  Let us know in the comments!

-- NaomiZ

 

 

 

Notes from C.C.

 

Happy Birthday to our beloved Dave (CrossEyedDave)! Your warmth, humor, and perfect birthday cakes bring smiles to us all. We're so grateful to have you in our corner, Dave!