google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 Norman M Aaronson

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Dec 2, 2025

Tuesday, December 2, 2025 Norman M Aaronson

I'm so SMART and BRIGHT!


16-Across. Whatever the outcome: WIN OR LOSE.  Wise.


24-Across. "Please lower your voice": KEEP IT DOWN.  Keen.

45-Across. Fabric piece for a sewing circle: QUILT BLOCK.  Quick.

55-Across. Cameo role, e.g.: SMALL PART.  Smart.

And the Unifier:

35-Acr0ss. "It's not all bad news ...," and what the circled letters in this puzzle literally are?: ON THE BRIGHT SIDE.



Here's the Grid so you can see how the circles, which spell a synonym for intellectually "bright", are on the "sides" of each theme clue.

What other bright clues and answers can be found?

Across:
1. Stick (out): JUT.

4. Raw fish dish: SUSHI.  Yummers!

9. Enjoy recess in a schoolyard: PLAY.

13. Darth Vader's childhood nickname: ANI.  A reference to the Star Wars movies.

14. "Come on in!": ENTER.

15. Tylenol alternative: ALEVE.  They are not exactly the same.  Aleve is a NonSteroidal Anti-Inflamatory Drug (NSAID) pain reliever.  It's effectiveness last longer than Tylenol, however it may have a greater risk for stomach issues.  Tylenol is better for fever reduction and pain but does not have anti-inflammatory properties. 


18. Fan frenzy: MANIA.

19. Hibernation spots: LAIRS.


20. Covering that keeps a pant leg dry: GAITER.


21. Copied: APED.


26. Edit: REVISE.

28. Purple garden flower: IRIS.

29. Idaho's capital: BOISE.  Do any of you play the daily puzzle on The Economist?  The theme of last week's puzzle was American State Capitals.  Boise, however, was not one of the answers.


30. Penny: CENT.  We learned recently that the last penny has gone to press.


32. "The Raven" poet Edgar Allan __: POE.  Edgar Allen Poe (Jan. 19, 1809 ~ Oct. 7, 1949) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.


39. Pastrami bread: RYE.

40. Young blokes: LADS.

41. Mani-pedi place: SALON.


42. Stash away: STOW.

44. Fully enjoys: SAVORS.

50. Site with handmade goods: ETSY.
51. Loosens, as shoelaces: UNTIES.


52. "Such a tease!": OH, YOU!

54. Amy of "Enchanted" and "Disenchanted": ADAMS.  Amy Lou Adams (b. Aug. 20, 1974) is known for her dramatic and comedic roles.  Her first major role was in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can.  Her first leading role was Giselle in the 2007 film Enchanted.



59. Rented again: RELET.

60. Snorer's affliction, maybe: APNEA.

61. Piña colada liquor: RUM.  Yummers!


62. Walked (on): TROD.

63. Fisherman's __: waterfront district in San Francisco: WHARF.


64. Brimless hat with a tassel: FEZ.


Down:
1. Mandible: JAW.
Anatomy of an ant head.

2. College, to Aussies: UNI.

3. Word before can or Man: TIN.  The aluminum paint used to make the tin man appear tin, was actually quite toxic.  Buddy Ebsen (Apr. 2, 1908 ~ July 6, 2003) was cast as the Tin Man, however, the paint made him very ill and he was replaced by Jack Haley (Aug. 10, 1898 ~ June 6, 1979)


4. "Buona __": Italian "Good evening": SERA.  Today's Italian lesson.

5. Different from: UNLIKE.  You can also Unlike someone on Facebook.

6. Retail outlet: STORE.

7. "Steppenwolf" novelist Hermann: HESSE.  The band Steppenwolf is named after this 1927 novel by Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877 ~ Aug. 9, 1962).


8. Fury: IRE.

9. Tartan patterns: PLAIDS.  When I was in high school, my mother made me a MacLeod plaid skirt. 



10. Slowly, in music: LENTO.

11. Arthur Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW.

12. Be homesick (for): YEARN.

15. Rare and expensive Italian violin: AMATI.  The Amati family were violin makers in the 16th and 17th  century.  


17. Getting on in years: OLDISH.  When does one actually become "oldish"?  Isn't old age 10 years more than your actual age?

20. Circumference: GIRTH.  In addition to his six wives, Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 ~ Jan. 28, 1547) was known for his girth.


21. Ann __, Michigan: ARBOR.  Ann Arbor is home of the University of Michigan.


22. Pink garden flower: PEONY.


23. Party notice sent with a click: EVITE.

25. Problematic engine sounds: PINGS.

27. "Get it?": SEE.

30. Move on all fours: CRAWL.


31. __ al-Fitr: end of Ramadan: EID.

32. Cockpit figure: PILOT.


33. Scents: ODORS.

34. Itty-bitty: EENSY.


36. Splotches: BLOBS.

37. Luggage-checking org.: TSA.


38. Put money away for the future: SAVE UP.

42. Covered in goo: SLIMED.


43. Statistical tool for checking a hypothesis: T-TEST.  A t-test is a statistical tool used to determine if the means of two groups are significantly different.

44. Anna's "Breaking Bad" role: SKYLER.  Anna Kathryn Gunn (b. Aug. 11, 1968) is best known for portraying Skyler White on Breaking Bad.


45. Two pints: QUART.


46. Lower than: UNDER.

47. Writer Calvino: ITALO.  Italo Calvino (Oct. 15, 1923 ~ Sept. 19, 1985) was an Italian novelist who was born Havana, Cuba.  He has been considered one of Italy's greatest writers.  
48. Extra zip: OOMPH.

49. __ masala: spiced chickpea dish: CHANA.  Yummers!  It looks delicious.


53. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF.


55. Wood-cutting tool: SAW.


56. Dog park sound: ARF.

57. Regret: RUE.

58. Celebrity gossip site: TMZ.  As in Thirty-Mile Zone.  Who knew?

חתולה


11 comments:

  1. Another Tuesday puzzle
    that was pretty easy. I dare say that the themed descriptions could be said about just about every person on this site.
    Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning!

    Wasn't familiar with TTEST or CHANA Masala, but this one flowed smoothly from top to bottom. Just right for a Tuesday. Thanx, Norman and Hahtoolah. (Loved Santa's heated seats.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. SHot through this one in 5:48, without much cARP.

    But, carp I will at these answers: ttest, chana, Italo, Amati, Skyler, quilt block, and oldish. "On the bright side," I knew the Actress of the Day (Adams).

    As usual, I agree with SubG - about the puzzle and about the people on this site.

    Oh joy, circles!

    ReplyDelete
  4. FIR. Circles! Really? Of course I ignored them.
    This was an easy solve till I got to the bottom half. T-test and chana made it more difficult there. But persistence paid off and I got the win.
    I went back to see what the circles were all about and was left unimpressed.
    Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brief case of hiccups in the Deep South: Had blots instead of BLOBS first which screwed up the QUILT clue. And I thought I remembered Walter’s wife as Saylor. I take Advil for overuse joint pain; it works there but not as an answer here.

    BOISE (Boy zee) actually from the word boisé (Bwa zay) French for “forested”

    Other inkovers: favors/SAVORS

    You can’t deny it’s an intelligent theme 🧐

    Tin man: “Oil can!”

    ADAMS and EVITE… RUM and RYE

    For toddlers avoid a toy with a ____ …SMALLPART
    Energy drink made from reptiles : ____ aid… GAITER
    Optimist is a life ___ … SAVOR

    My blog page is being overrun by ads. Today despite reopening the app multiple time the first part of the puzzle reveal I could actually see was the 16a answer.

    ReplyDelete
  6. FIR, thanks to a second thought about QUILT cloth after I had all the little squares filled in. Didn't think that BLOcS could be right in the clue's context, and SKYLER seemed a little more likely than ShYLER. But I did know T-TEST, so I've got that goin' for me. Which is nice.

    The cross of EENSY and ETSY caught my eye. Here's Carly Simon in a wonderful live performance of TSY Bitsy Spider / Coming Around Again.i (Carly wrote Coming Around Again for the movie Heartburn, starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep.)

    I only knew GAITER as something to keep your neck warm.

    PINGS aren't usually problematic engine sounds. In older cars it was a sign that the car's gas grade was too low. These days the computer adjusts the spark timing if the knock sensor detects early ignition, so even a car that is supposed to run on premium gas won't PING if its running on regular.

    I walk BOISsEvain Avenue with Zoё most every morning, including today. It was pouring cats and dogs this time.

    Thanks to Norman for the Tuesday wakeup exercise. And thanks to Ha2la for another fun review, especially for that poor lady with the GAITER on her leg.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Another fine CW this rainy, cold morning. I had to REVISE BLOtS to get the BLOCK and the unknown T TEST. CHANA was my other unknown.

    ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ITALO Calvino is one of my all time favorite writers.

    Fun review Hahtoolah. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good Morning:

    There were a few non-Tuesday entries (Chana, Italo, Skyler), but all were aided by fair and generous perps. I saw the connection of the themers, but the reveal was a total surprise. As DO said, this was a perfect Tuesday.

    Thanks, Norman, and thanks, Hatoolah, for the fun and facts, as usual. The comics today were spot-on and a few of my favorites were the Copy Cats, The Three Wise Women, and Santa’s Heated Seats. Also enjoyed the Monty Python music.

    FLN

    Charlie Echo, sending best wishes and positive thoughts.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Norman and Hahtoolah.
    (LOL - we pharmacists were overjoyed when our doctors started using those apps that printed out the Rx in legible type)

    I FIRed in very good time and saw the BRIGHT SIDEs theme.
    A lovely WITP today to match the beautiful winter wonderland outside my window this morning. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! (I’ll take my walk inside today.)

    Hand up for BLOtS before BLOBS.
    CHANA beside SKYLER slowed down that SE corner finish line.
    I started to enter axe before I saw SAW.

    I was unaware that you Americans were losing your CENTs. (SAVE UP a few shiny ones for your descendants to laugh at!) Canadians have adjusted long ago to rounding up or down. (In fact, I find that I am rarely using any form of cash now.)
    You may want to join us in going metric, as calculating is much easier on base ten. But I am OLDISH, and remember being taught “2 cups=1 pint, 2 pints=1 quart, 4 quarts=1 gallon”. (Lol - auto fill tried to give me 4 quarts=3.785 liters, which is a US gallon. 4 Imperial quarts=1 Imperial gallon which is 4.546 litres. Confused yet?)

    My OLDISH brain cannot remember the name of our previous comrade who was a Shriner and wore a FEZ. Aha, my brain was LENTO but turned to QUICK - it was Abejo RIP.

    Wishing you all a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Musings
    -ADAMS, TTEST and ITALO resided somewhere in my non-QUICK memory, and I earned a “got er done.”
    -I loved the “Three wise women” cartoon that I first heard as a riddle.
    -Granddaughter introduced us to SUSHI. Meh…
    -From what I see, it has to be really cold for elementary teachers to keep kids in at recess
    -Fan frenzy/MANIA: Watch any football game
    -Speaking of BOISE and football, check out this unique field
    -GAITER is new to me and GARTER begged to be entered
    -In my chem lab, kids dissolved out all the zinc inside a penny and were left with a flimsy piece of copper (2% of the coin)
    -Have you ever felt uneasy when someone was trying to STOW something over your head on an airplane?
    -Amy ADAMS starred in a very engaging movie about trying to communicate with ET’s.Trailer
    -I had to UNLIKE people on FB who thought I was very interested in their political beliefs
    -Encountering all the modern slang in cwd’s can make me feel OLDISH
    -We’ve all sung the song about the Sisyphus-like EENSY spider
    -ANNA Gunn played George’s girlfriend in Seinfeld who refused to let him break up with her

    ReplyDelete
  11. All the best to Charlie Echo with treatments this week.

    ReplyDelete

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