Theme: I GET A ROUND. The first word of each theme entry homophonically represents a factor in the formula for the circumference of a circle.
And, in honor of Brian Wilson, who left us a few days ago, here is today's theme song.
17 A. Annoyingly shrewd: TOO CLEVER BY HALF. A bit of smart-assery, perhaps. Note the first word.
37 A. Unrealistic enterprise: PIE IN THE SKY. Something that is pleasant to contemplate but is very unlikely to be realized. Note the first word.
I hated this song when it came out in 1959, but it was very popular, so I must be wrong.
Yeah - I still hate it.
42 A. "Hello?": ARE YOU THERE? A common phrase used to check if someone is present, listening, or available to respond. Note the first word.
58 A. Returns to the beginning, as suggested by the phonetic formula found at the starts of 17-, 37-, and 42-Across: COMES FULL CIRCLE. Returns to a past position or situation, especially in a way considered to be inevitable. Or more literally, scopes the circumference.
OK. Let's put this together [Nobody promised there wouldn't be any math.]. And I won't give you the run around. The formula for the circumference of a circle is 2*π*r, phonetically represented here by TOO, PIE and ARE. The value of π is 3.14159 and r is the radius. Thus, we COME FULL CIRCLE. But wait -- there's more!
24 D. Sundial three, and a loose depiction of the last part of the geometry formula hinted at in this puzzle: III. To understand this subtle clue, you have to think about the center of the grid in a way that is literally figurative. Note that the black squares inscribe a circle about as perfectly as can be done in this medium. The vertical I-I-I then represents a radius [r] of that circle. I have seldom been this impressed by a puzzle feature. Bravo!
Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here to lead us on this circuitous route.
1. Package closer: TAPE. Sticky ribbon that seals the box shut.
5. Closed, as drapes: DREW. I drew my drapes, then drew my bath, then put away my colored pencils.
9. Skilled: ABLE. Having a certain skill set.
13. "You beat me": I LOSE. Concession of defeat.
15. Second helping: MORE. If the first wasn't enough.
16. Place for some finger painting?: NAIL. Clever clue, leading us to a nail salon.
20. "Well, aren't you fancy!": OO-LA-LA. An interjection that expresses surprise, admiration, or excitement, often with a playful or suggestive connotation. It's a French-derived expression, though it's not a direct translation of a common French phrase. In my experience, there is always a suggestion of something at least risqué, and probably inappropriate.
21. Understand: SEE. I got it.
22. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob: PETTIT. Robert Lee Pettit Jr. [b. 1932] is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks. In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times.
26. Reunion attendees: AUNTS. Mom's or dad's sisters.
30. Wine shop order: CASE. A box, usually of 12 bottles.
33. __ away from: SHIES. Avoids something because of fear, nervousness, or dislike.
35. SeaWorld performer: SEAL. Any of numerous carnivorous marine mammals (families Phocidae and Otariidae) that live chiefly in cold regions and have limbs modified into webbed flippers adapted primarily to swimming.
36. Invoice no.: AMT. Amount, per item, and total due.
39. Singer Flack: ROBERTA. Roberta Cleopatra Flack [1937-2025] was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm radio format. She also won record of the year for 1973 and '74. Sadly, she left us in February.
22. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob: PETTIT. Robert Lee Pettit Jr. [b. 1932] is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the NBA, all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks. In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times.
26. Reunion attendees: AUNTS. Mom's or dad's sisters.
30. Wine shop order: CASE. A box, usually of 12 bottles.
33. __ away from: SHIES. Avoids something because of fear, nervousness, or dislike.
35. SeaWorld performer: SEAL. Any of numerous carnivorous marine mammals (families Phocidae and Otariidae) that live chiefly in cold regions and have limbs modified into webbed flippers adapted primarily to swimming.
36. Invoice no.: AMT. Amount, per item, and total due.
39. Singer Flack: ROBERTA. Roberta Cleopatra Flack [1937-2025] was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm radio format. She also won record of the year for 1973 and '74. Sadly, she left us in February.
This might be her most famous song.
41. Tried to win over: COURTED. Attempted to win someone's favor, affection, or attention, often with the intent of forming a romantic or committed relationship. It can also mean to try to please or improve relations with someone, often to achieve a specific goal.
44. London facilities: LOO. What we politely call the rest room or comfort station. I would have clued this as "John in London."
45. Grow dim: FADE. Lose luster, strength or brightness.
46. Pink perennial: PEONY. Peonies are a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Paeoniaceae, and are known for their large, showy flowers. They are popular garden plants, especially in temperate regions, and are also widely cultivated as cut flowers. They come in a wide range of colors, including red, pink, purple, white, and yellow.
47. __ shui: FENG. An ancient Chinese practice focusing on aligning environments with the natural world to promote harmony and balance. It involves arranging objects and spaces to optimize the flow of qi (vital energy). The practice aims to create a positive and beneficial environment for occupants.
48. To-be: ELECT. In politics, a candidate who hs been elected, but not yet inaugurated.
50. Not wholesale: RETAIL. Wholesale is the pricing level used between suppliers and commercial sellers. The sellers' pricing is retail.
52. Chest bone: RIB. Each of a series of slender curved bones articulated in pairs to the spine (twelve pairs in humans), protecting the thoracic cavity and its organs.
54. MLB sluggers: RBI MEN. Batters who generate RBIs [runs batted in] This is accurately descriptive, but I'm not aware of this as an in-the-language phrase.
64. Mystique: AURA. The distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place.
65. Like the center space on a bingo card: FREE. Purpose: The free space acts like a "wild" square or a "joker". It doesn't have a number, but it's automatically considered marked for all players from the start of the game. It's free in the sense that player did nothing to earn it
66. Wild guesses: STABS. Making attempts or tries, especially when you might not be very confident about succeeding. It implies a willingness to try despite potential challenges or lack of certainty. This describes me playing Wordle.
67. Hat part: BRIM. The projecting edge at the bottom of a hat.
68. __ machine: SLOT. A coin-operated gaming machine that generates random combinations of symbols on a dial, certain combinations winning varying amounts of money for the player.
69. "Make it snappy!": STAT. Without delay : immediately — used chiefly in medicine. Get this patient to the operating room, stat!
Down:
1. Salsa star Nieves: TITO. Humberto "Tito" Nieves [b. 1958] is a Puerto Rican-born, bilingual salsa singer and actor with a career spanning over four decades. Born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, Nieves started his professional career in 1975 with Orquesta Cimarrón, replacing Rafael De Jesus.
2. Saag __: spinach and potatoes dish: ALOO. Saag aloo is a popular Indian and Pakistani side dish made with saag (a variety of greens, including mustard greens), potatoes and spices.
3. Hotel amenity: POOL. For swiming.
4. Slip away: ESCAPE. Break free from confinement or control.
5. Real ID issuer: DMV. Department of Motor Vehicles.
6. Caviar: ROE. Processed eggs from a large fish, such as a sturgeon, considered a delicacy. I had shad roe once. Once.
7. Drop the ball: ERR. Fail to complete something, or live up to expectations.
8. Halloween decor: WEBS. Suggestive of spiders.
9. Busch brewing partner: ANHEUSER. Famous for their horses.
10. Call to Bo Peep: BAA. They cried out, sheepishly.
11. Short, for short: LI'L. So to speak
12. One with a pole position?: ELF. North pole laborer. Well played!
14. Allure competitor: ELLE. Fashion magazines
18. Falls for something hook, line, and sinker: EATS IT UP. Something fishy here. Still - going for something in a big way. Alternatively, enjoying something immensely, like attention or entertainment
19. Favorable vote: YEA. As opposed to neigh - the usual response from horses.
23. Staging area: THEATER. Usually this means a location in which people, vehicles, equipment, or material are assembled before use. Here it a place where plays are produced. Clever mis-direction.
25. Like paperback novels, once: TEN CENT. Once, long, long ago, they cost one thin dime. But not any time in my memory, and I'm old.
27. Toll House chocolate chips maker: NESTLE. A Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 2014
28. Acquire: TAKE ON. Take on has many meanings, from hire an employee to accept a task or meet an adversary, to accept a thing or responsibility.
Marginally relevant. Maybe.
29. Foxy one: SLY DOG. A person who is very secretive and sly about their activities, though the creatures in the clue and fill are both canines.
30. Wine bar order: CARAFE. An open-topped glass flask typically used for serving wine or water.
31. Unprincipled: AMORAL. Lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with the rightness or wrongness of something.
32. "Venerable" monk of Eng. history: ST. BEDE. Bede [672-735] was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages,
34. Multiepisode narrative: STORY ARC. This is inexact. It is the overarching structure and progression of a story, guiding the sequence of events and plot progression. It can also relate to a single episode of a TV series, a movie, novel or even a short story.
37. Maven: PRO. One with expertise in a certain field.
38. Tinge: HUE. Tinge refers to a slight degree of coloration in something, while hue is a specific color or shade. They don't seem equivalent.
40. Application for crow's-feet: EYE CREAM. A specialized skincare product formulated to target the delicate skin around the eyes.
43. Turn the soil: HOE. To labor with a long-handled gardening tool having a thin metal blade, used mainly for weeding and breaking up soil. Careful, though - Santa might laugh at you.
47. Toys (with): FLIRTS. Behaves as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions. Seems rather heartless.
49. Poetic contraction: 'TIS. Meaning "It is."
51. Everglades bird: IBIS. A large wading bird with a long down-curved bill, long neck, and long legs.
53. Lifetime pals, briefly: BFFS. Best Friends Forever
55. Future doc's exam: MCAT. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized, computer-based exam used by medical schools in the United States and Canada to assess applicants' problem-solving, critical thinking, and scientific knowledge.
56. Idris of "The Wire": ELBA. Idrissa Akuna Elba OBE [b. 1972] is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Emmy Awards. He was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2016. His films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, making him one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors.
57. Twigs digs: NEST. A domicile constructed from small tree parts? It's for the birds!
58. Uber alternative: CAB. Modes of urban vehicular transportation - the modern and the traditional. Either way, you pay.
59. First word of the Lord's Prayer: OUR. I think we all know this.
60. Source of inside info?: MRI. An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan is a non-invasive medical imaging technique that uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed pictures of the body's organs and tissues - the "inside information."
61. Dot-com address: URL. Universal Resource Locator.
62. Sign for most of August: LEO. The fifth sign of the zodiac, typically spans from July 23rd to August 22nd. It's associated with the constellation Leo and is symbolized by the lion. Leos are known for their confidence, charisma, and natural leadership abilities. They are often described as passionate, loyal, and creative individuals.
63. Tennis call: LET. A "let" occurs when a serve hits the net but still lands within the service box. This results in the serve being replayed, according to various tennis resources. Essentially, a let means the point is replayed, offering the server a second chance at serving.
And with that, we have come FULL CIRCLE.
As usual, I had my nits, but overall, this is a superb puzzle.
Here's a little bonus content. Expanding on aspects of a circle, this Foxtrot cartoon relates to the area. I checked the math. It's right.
Special thanks to those gave me technical and temporal assistance. You know who you are.
If you're in Plymouth, MI this evening, come to the Concert Band Performance at 7:00 pm in Kellogg Park. Say hi to me before or after, and I'll buy you an ice cream.
The weekend is almost upon us. Hope we all get around to having some fun.
Cool regards,
JzB
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