Saturday, August 2, 2025, Adrian Johnson and Will Nediger

Saturday August 2, 2025 by Adrian Johnson & Will Nediger

 

Adrian

Will

I had a collaborative puzzle from these two constructors back in February. As you can see by the colorful grid, there was a lot of "Unique" fill in this one! I had to work around some alternate fills that I love to do and, of course, the long horizontal and vertical fills were the real key. This was about a 40-minute excursion to get to an unassisted "got 'er done" 

Across:

1. Strategic chess move, casually: SAC - SACrificing a piece so that you can gain an advantage

4. Vegetable in Nigerian cuisine: TARO.

8. 41-Across developer: SALK and 41. Major medical breakthrough of the 1950s: POLIO 

VACCINE - Some of us stood in lines just like this

12. Thin reed: OBOE.

14. Each: A POP.

15. Home of the Nubian Pyramids: SUDAN.

16. Handy navigational aids: ARROW KEYS 😀

18. Came to the surface: AROSE.

19. Chap with chaps, perhaps: RANCHER 😀 - RODEOER? seemed right to me in this part of the world. Yeah, spell checker didn't think much of it either.

20. "Let's meet up then": I'M FREE.

21. Cold draft in the winter, say: SEASONAL BEER.

24. Not altogether in the altogether: SCANTILY CLAD 😀 Not quite naked!

26. Least sanguine: PALEST.

27. Niger neighbor: CHAD - It's a 26-hr drive between their capital cities 

28. Opposite of fore: AFT.

31. Org. that accepts returns: IRS 😀 - Amazon does a good job too.

32. Ballpark souvenir: CAP - When we were in D.C. this hat was $29.95 at the Pentagon Mall. I got it for $9.95 from a kiosk across the street from Ford's Theater.

34. Spanish pronoun: ESA - ESA pista para el número 19 fue inteligente (That clue for 19 Across was clever)

35. Opposing vote: NAY.

36. Brew that might have ice or spice in it: TEA.

37. "Glad and big" protagonist of an e.e. cummings poem: OLAF.

Sunday Sermon: "i sing of Olaf, glad and big"

XXX (by E.E. Cummings)

i sing of OLAF glad and big

whose warmest heart recoiled at war:

a conscientious object-or

39. Tie: KNOT UP - If your team is behind 1 - 0 but then hits a solo home run, that will KNOT UP the score.

43. Places for puffers: SMOKING AREAS - Here's one at Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. I can't imagine...

45. Shell casing?: PIE TIN 😀

46. Tidbits: MORSELS.

49. City west of the Wasatch Mountains: OGDEN.

50. Salvadoran eatery: PUPUSERIA - I had my first PUPUSA in a great El Salvadoran restaurant here in town. PUPUSARIA made sense to me at first.

52. Area of expertise, casually: THING.

53. Brownie point?: OVEN.

54. Home of many a steppe family: YURT 😀 - Home, home on the steppe

55. Fantasy football datum: STAT - Top 10 Fantasy Football Points for running backs for 2024

56. "Charlie's Angels" star Cheryl: LADD.

Cheryl    Farrah         Kate

57. Astronaut Jemison: MAE.

Down:

1. Reach great heights: SOAR.

2. Pokémon that ultimately evolves into Alakazam: ABRA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

3. Summery dip: CORN SALSA.

4. Savors the moment: TAKES IT ALL IN.

5. Liqueur similar to Campari: APEROL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

6. Dodgers legend Campanella: ROY - A man discovered this decades old program in his basement. It was signed by Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella. Branch made Jackie and ROY the first and sixth black men to play MLB baseball in 1948.

7. Covert __: OPS.

8. Enjoyed the motion of the ocean: SURFED.

9. Crush on: ADORE - Modern slang for "have a crush on"

10. Element of a security grid in many an action film: LASER.

11. Arthroscopy target: KNEE - I have many friends who have gotten relief with this procedure 

13. Epoch that produced the earliest primate fossils: EOCENE.

15. Carnival performers: SAMBA DANCERS - I felt so comfortable with GANDY DANCERS but I needed to think of Rio de Janeiro!

17. "Something smells good in here!": WHAT'S COOKING.

20. "Someone in my circle probably knows the answer": I'LL ASK AROUND.

22. Loc. of an annual November marathon: NYC 

23. Need kneading, maybe: ACHE 😀

24. Bar tended to at a cookout: SPIT.

25. __ package: CARE. They were a vital operation just after WWII. It is what we used to call "stuff" we sent to our girls when they were in college.

28. Source of immunity: ANTISERUM.

29. Satyr kin: FAUN.

30. "Just My __: A Book About Fonts": TYPE 😀

33. Annoyance: PAIN.

38. Concert stage effect: FOG or other occasions 

40. "Juno and the Paycock" playwright: O'CASEY - Set in the 1922 Irish Civil War. Juno is the wife of Captain Boyle who she calls a paycock (Irish for peacock) because he struts around all day.

41. Heady: POTENT - The early 1970's and middle 1990's were heady days for Husker FB

42. Took off at a jazz club: VAMPED - Herbie Hancock's piece to use an intro or to fill time (left, then right and then both hands)

43. Spectacle: SIGHT.

44. __ fast: MEDIA - I could not give up all my media for 21 days.

45. Kitchen stack: POTS.

47. Source of some Turkish delight?: LIRA.

48. Fully appease: SATE.

50. D.C. insider: POL.

51. Cavaliers sch.: UVA.

Notes from C. C.:

 

Today we celebrate the 71st Birthday of Subgenius (Darryl), who is often the very first to post on the blog each morning. Wishing you a beautiful day, Darryl!

Friday August 1, 2025 Kyle Beakley & David Levinson Wilk

Here's the ghost of Chairman present - as envisioned by RustyBrain. Two Friday's down; one to Moe!

Kyle Beakley is a TV writer who has teamed up with 30-year veteran constructor David Levinson Wilk, who also writes for TV. I may not be the sharpest spoon in the drawer, but I'll bet they met working on a TV show. 

The theme of this one is easy in retrospect, but hard to describe. Each answer is an unclued famous battle. Hidden inside circles(!) is the actual answer. The list of battles made for a rather somber puzzle. With Purple Heart Day coming up on August 7th, let's remember the brave men and women who have been wounded or killed in action while serving in the U.S. military.

31. With 42-Across, encouraging words to someone making a good effort, and an apt description of this puzzle's circled letters: THAT'S HALF THE BATTLE. The revealer is stretched across two lines, and informs us that some sort of battle is involved. Cleverly, exactly HALF the letters of each themer are circled to form the clued word. HATS off for finding four battles that hide words that fit this constraint.

17. Zooplankton eaten by whales: BUNKER HILL. → KRILL. The Battle of BUNKER HILL, Mass. is from the American Revolutionary War - June 17, 1775.

25. Berets, bonnets, etc.: HASTINGS. → HATS. The Battle of HASTINGS was between Norman-French and English Anglo-Saxons - October 14, 1066.

52. More than a few: NORMANDY. → MANY. The Battle of NORMANDY was an Allied invasion of German-occupied France during World War II, beginning on June 6, 1944 (D-Day).

59. Art museum named for an oil magnate: GETTYSBURG. → GETTY. The Battle of GETTYSBURG, PA was a turning point in the American Civil War - July1-3, 1863.

While I appreciate the symmetry of the revealer in the center, I prefer the "aha" moment to be at the end, assuming I haven't figured it out already. In this case, I was at sea with 17A, wanting Beluga kill or something. Then, with the start of 25A in place, I wanted Hat ___ or Haberdash, and moved on. Nothing fit until the revealer, when it became obvious. Unfortunately, once I knew the trick, I filled in all the circles (the clues were very straightforward) and that immediately led to their matching battle. If the reveler had been at the end, it would have made for a tougher Friday. 

Battling on:

Across:

1. Pyramid city with the Great Sphinx: GIZA. Pyramid game with the Great Strahan: Hollywood.

5. Carry (off): CART. This is a grocery CART, unless you're from the South, then it's a buggy.

9. Border: EDGE.

13. Full house components, perhaps: ACES. The infamous "Dead Man's Hand" would be a full house if jacks were wild. 

14. See-through dish: ASPIC. I don't find the see-through aspect of aspic appealing.

16. Shelved item: BOOK.

17. [theme]

19. Hidden mic: WIRE. This one bugged me.

20. Waste time: DALLY.

21. Make a beeline for: DASH TO. These are a little different. When I dash to the store, I don't necessarily travel in a straight line. But close enough for crosswords.

23. Sidewalk artist's supply: CHALK. I'm always amazed by the talents of these street artists and their willingness to create such temporary showpieces.

25. [theme]

27. Belafonte song starter: DAY-O. "Daylight come and me wanna go home."

28. Educational ad: PSA. Public Service Announcement.

30. Didn't play: SAT OUT. I had a radio that SAT OUT in the rain. It didn't play after that.

31. [theme]

34. Banister post: NEWEL. If you're lucky enough to have two of these, the second one is called a re-NEWEL post.

35. Email pioneer: AOL. My oldest brother still uses his American On Line account. If it ain't broke...

36. Snack brand based in Hanover, Pennsylvania: UTZ. Ruining appetites before dinner for over 100 years (according to moms everywhere).

38. "Forrest Gump" role, for short: LT. DAN. Although various CGI effects were used to erase Lieutenant DAN's legs, some scenes used a modified wheelchair with a slanted seat so actor Gary Sinise could fold his legs underneath.

42. [theme]

48. Some silver cups: AWARDS. Get some plates, too, so you can have tea and scones.

50. St. with 14 HBCUs: ALA. ALAbama is home to the most Historically Black Colleges and Universities. There are 101 HBCUs in total, mostly in the South.

51. Shoe support: HEEL. 

52. [theme]

54. Full-bosomed: BUXOM. I'd better leave this one up to your imagination.

55. Sunflower shade: YELLOW. Flowers are safe though. Yes, I can show you flowers.

56. Gush: SPURT.

58. Mexican coin: PESO.

59. [theme]

63. Info in a bank: DATA. Here's DATA in a snow bank.

64. City served by Incheon International Airport: SEOUL. Located in the capital of South Korea, Incheon is one of the busiest airports in the world. In addition to outstanding architecture, it features indoor gardens, a golf course, spa, ice skating rink, casino, a video game center and a museum. That would take some of the sting out of a cancelled flight!

65. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's lake: ERIE. The R&R HOF is in Cleveland, Ohio. "Ain't never been there, they tell me it's nice." - Joe Walsh (inducted in 1988 with the Eagles).

66. Three-time AL MVP in the 2000s: AROD. Heeee's back...great players with short nicknames will be with us forever!

67. Fossil, perhaps: BONE.

68. Comedian Foxx: REDD. The popular actor and stand-up comedian was know for his raunchy nightclub act. Amazingly, he put out over 50 records. (Hey! I managed to squeeze in an unlikely album!)

Down:

1. Yak: GAB. I guess, I never spoke with one. 

2. Hosp. area: ICU. Intensive Care Unit in a hospital. 

3. "Dune" actress: ZENDAYA. She's one of a handful of celebs that go by a single name.

4. Make demands (of): ASK A LOT.

5. Planetary scientist Sagan: CARL. "That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

6. Wan: ASHY.

7. Tech sch. in upstate New York: RPI. My dad's alma mater, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A wonderful father and engineer, his pencil holder still sits on my desk. (I wonder if Irish Miss has seen one of these?)

8. Oscar winner Swinton: TILDA. She signs her name: ~ Swinton (probably).

9. Writer who studied under William Strunk Jr. at Cornell: E.B. WHITE. Elwyn Brooks WHITE was the author of highly popular books for children, including Stuart Little, and his masterpiece, Charlotte's Web.

10. "Why are you waiting!?": DO IT NOW. "And if you're the first caller, we'll throw in another piece of garbage at no extra cost!"

11. Ignore orders: GO ROGUE.

12. Squeeze (out): EKE. Always used with earning a living and never with earning the last bit of toothpaste in the tube.

15. "__ dismissed!": CLASS. Wanted "case(s) dismissed" at first.

18. Great Plains grazer: ELK. Great Plains geezer: also an ELK (sometimes).

22. Poem part: STANZA.

23. Summer hrs. in 26-Down: CDT. Central Daylight Time in St. Louis, Mo.

24. Derisive laugh: HAH. We're not laughing at you, we're laughing with you. Yeah, right.

25. Actor Holbrook: HAL.

26. Mo. town: STL. St. Louis, Missouri, the "Gateway to the West." Mo. town is a fun misdirect to Detroit, the Motor City.

28. Vietnamese soup: PHO. Pronounced "fuh", PHO has taken our area by storm, with new restaurants opening everywhere. It comes in many varieties and is delish! Where has it been my whole life?

29. Pretzel topping: SALT. And a little mustard doesn't hurt.

32. Birkenstock product: SANDAL. Wear them with socks! [see DWEEB]

33. Stoke: FUEL.

37. Scheduling abbr.: TBA. To Be Announced, similar to "TBD" - To Be Determined.

38. PC hookup: LAN. Local Area Network. Not to be confused with a Politically Correct hookup which is between two consenting adults.

39. 24-month: TWO YEAR. 

40. Bravely decides one can: DARES TO. 

41. Carrying capacity: ARMLOAD. I hope I got her enough. Don't want to appear cheap.

43. __ fever: HAY. 

44. 9-Down's "Is Sex Necessary?" collaborator James: THURBER. Who'da thunk? White and Thurber wrote alternate chapters, combining them into a spoof of popular books about Freudian sexual theories. Being fledgling authors, they held little hope of publication but Harper's, which had published White's first book of poetry, came out with a small printing of 2,500 copies in November 1929. The humorous book became a bestseller and launched both their careers.

45. Feel: TEXTURE.

46. Papal name chosen by Robert Prevost: LEO. Not a summer Zodiac sign this time!

47. Shade tree: ELM.

49. Southampton smooches: SNOGS.

53. Nerdy type: DWEEB. Of course, I live in Florida where we never wears socks, so this couldn't happen to me.

54. City vehicle: BUS.

56. Amaze: STUN.

57. Gomer of 1960s TV: PYLE. Played to perfection by actor Jim Nabors, his stint in the Marines was a spin off of the Andy Griffin Show. Shazam!

58. Smooching at the movies, say: PDA. Public Display of Affection, although I remember being in the back of a darkened theater and thinking we were virtually in private. What I can't remember is what movie was playing...

60. Overly: TOO.

61. Purge (of): RID.

62. HS equivalency test: GED. General Educational Development test. I thought it was Graduate Equivalency Diploma, or something like that. I would have failed the test!

Notes from C.C.:

Today we celebrate the 81st birthday of Tehachapi Ken. Wishing you a wonderful day, Ken!