Café Au L.A.(IT)
or, the Times Crossword with your Morning Joe~?
Hi there~! Splynter here, commencing my new day blogging. Our first Friday puzzle of 2026 is a crossword from constructor Kevin Curry (alliteration), a regular, and what I gather is one of his three kids, Nate, who is 10(ish) yrs old - he and younger sister Kaela created a puzzle that made the NYT. Today's grid, an oversized 15x16 to accommodate the center spanner, consists of four themers that drop, or "knock off" the I & T at the end of common phrases to create punny new ones. A few too many names for me, a whole SLEW of abbrs, no circles, and a balance of 26 3LWs compared with the 24 five-letter ones. The themers and the reveal;
18. Warning on a note passed in a seminar?: NOT FOR PROF(IT)
more here
25. Crystal ball consulted atop Mount Everest?: HIGH EARTH ORB(IT) - A.K.A. Geosynchronous Orbit
37. The discovery of the Lucy fossils, for one?: SIGNIFICANT DIG(IT)
52. Beauty school treatment?: LEARNER'S PERM(IT) - I got my learning-to-drive permit at 16yrs old
61. "Cut that out!," or an apt title for this puzzle: "KNOCK IT OFF~!"
Two other thoughts:
Unruly CanadianEh!~? - Bad Hab(IT)
Robinson with his musicians~? - Smokey and the Band(IT)
But Wait~!
There's More~! ( all good, -T - Onward~! was my Saturday sign-in )
ACROSS:
1. Charges: BILLS - the contractor "charges" $$ for his time
6. During: AMID
10. House shower?: CSPAN - I wondered if this was "shOU-er", or shOH-er; I finally figured out it was the latter, with the channel that shows Congress, the US "House" of Representatives & Senate
15. More slick: ICIER - 'tis the season~! - I've cleared my driveway three times so far
16. 2024 NBA All-Star Game MVP "__ Time" Lillard: DAME - name #1, and I had "G-ame", since that made more sense at first, but I knew my "AD" at 6D. had to be correct - more about him here
17. In the loop: AWARE
20. Sew loosely: BASTE - I knew this 'cause my mom was a sewing master
21. Not gross: NET - weights and measures, as opposed to icky over sterile
22. Some Duracells: AAs - I'm an "AA" as well, but not a battery
23. Like many fiddle-leaf figs: POTTED - I had p-I-tted, which made sense at first - but figs have seeds, not pits - sigh.
All(IT)eration
24. Land south of Eur.: AFRica
28. Hawaiian for "white": KEA
29. Highest seed: ONE - as of this writing, the Denver Broncos are the #1 seed in the NFL
30. Regret: RUE
31. Marble __: RYE
32. Up and about: ASTIR - if you have to ASTIR, you might need AWHISK - found at 60A.
34. Mother with a Nobel Peace Prize: TERESA - even if we all know who this is, still name #2
42. Agree: ASSENT - all(IT)eration
43. Soccer star Sergio who scored more than 100 goals for Real Madrid: RAMOS - no clue, name #3
45. Audible sighs: "AHs"
48. Long. crosser: LATitiude, the grid of the globe - all(IT)iteration
49. "Rugrats" dad: STU - name #4, learned doing crosswords
51. Tiebreaker periods, for short: OTs - OverTimes
56. Opposite of oui: NON - yes/no - ah, my first Friday Franwche fill - all(IT)eration
Oui~! Oui~! Très Oui~!
57. Release: LET OUT - "who let the dogs out~?" woof, woof
58. Singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE - name #5, we see her a lot in crosswords
59. Paramount+ partner, briefly: SHO - SHOwtime, streaming services - all(IT)teration
60. Batter beater: WHISK - what a whip~! - all(IT)eration
65. Like déjà vu: EERIE
66. Cry of dismay: "OH NO~!"
67. Leaves for dinner: SALAD - my first thought was the leaf sections when expanding the dining room table, but it's the 'other' leaf - lettuce, romaine, etc.
68. Freezing temps: TEENS
69. Large number: SLEW - Hercules "slew" a whole slew of heads off the - - -
70. Monster with regenerative heads: HYDRA
1. Recycling container: BIN - my blue recycling bin goes out every other week - my garbage, rarely once a month
2. Admission of guilt: "I CONFESS."
3. Well-read individuals: LITERATI - filled via perps
4. Not right?: LEFT - I am a LEFTY, so I nailed this one
5. Sold-out letters: SRO - crossword staple, Standing Room Only
6. Magazine income source: AD PAGE - I had figured it being "AD" something . . . .
7. Swampy habitat: MARSH - I had BAYOU to start; been reading a lot of James Lee Burke books that take place in Louisiana, so this 'hab(IT)at' was on my mind; I did get a David Weber Sci-Fi book, "Off Armageddon Reef", and finished "Hail Mary" from Andy Weir; great book - thank you all for the reading suggestions
8. Texter's qualifier: IMO - In My Opinion
9. Pt. of HDTV: DEFinition; High and TeleVision were too long
10. Novelist Meg: CABOT - name #6, had no clue, learned she is the author of "The Princess Diaries", and the "O" does seem more likely than the "I" that I had from p-I-tted
11. Broad strip: SWATH - as in a swath of destruction laid down by a tornado
12. Tacos al __: PASTOR - never heard of this, so the NE corner was messy; name (ish) - the Wiki
13. Aorta, for one: ARTERY
14. (If) necessary: NEED BE - in hockey playoffs, games 5,6 and 7 may be "if necessary"
19. Picnic spoiler: RAIN - I pondered "ANTS" first
23. Groom feathers: PREEN
24. Pseudonym preceder: A.K.A. - Also Known As
25. Features of orchestras and rhinos: HORNS - clever
26. Upright: ERECT
27. Spiritual glow: AURA - it was either HALO or AURA, and I guessed correctly
33. Four-time French Open winner Swiatek: IGA - name #7, learned doing crosswords
34. Window shades: TINTS - slightly meh; I think windows GET tinted - OR - treatments like drapes, curtains, blinds, shades, etc.
35. Play guitar: STRUM - well, that is part of the mechanics - there's also picking, fretting, tapping, bending, sliding - did I miss anything~?
Eddie would have turned 71 on Jan 26th
36. Org. for orthodontists: ADA - American Dental Assoc.
38. Key: ISLET - That kind of key
39. Dread: FEAR
40. Comment from someone listening to elevator music, perhaps: "I'M ON HOLD."
41. Push beyond acceptable limits: GO TOO FAR - "you've gone far, Ted" was a classic Benny Hill gag
44. ID with two hyphens: SSN
45. Totally wrong: ALL WET - I had heard this phrase before, usually from my mother
46. [Giggle]: HEE-HEE - I had TEE-HEE, so 5/6ths correct - and technically, our Monday dupe~!
all(IT)eration
47. Many a mockumentary: SATIRE - this ROCK-umentary comes to mind
49. Manatee, e.g.: SEACOW - Awww, this puzzle shoulda been blogged by MM~!
50. Taxing trip: TREK - All(IT)eration
53. Gymnast's gripping aid: ROSIN - Dah~! Not CHALK
54. Zaps: NUKES - Ah. I use this term all the time when referring to the microwave
55. Susceptible (to): PRONE - as in "prone to lying down while sleeping" 😜
59. "Don't go!": "STAY~!"
61. MMA stat: KOs - Mixed Martial Arts, a sport I do not watch, and Knock Outs
62. Kraken's realm, briefly: NHL - the 'briefly' should have clued me in to the abbr, but I went with "SEA" - yet this is also correct , as the Kraken of the National Hockey League hail from SEAttle
63. "Or so": "ISH." - I'll be over about nine"ish"
64. HHS agency: FDA - Health & Human Sevices, and the Food & Drug Administration; here's the hierarchy on the website
Splynter
Grid Flow 29.9
33 comments:
I got the “gimmick”
right away, which helped me solve this fun puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Also, I figured “Cabot” was much more likely than “Cabit” so I didn’t get fooled by “pitted/potted.” Thank goodness!
Good morning!
Tough one. D-o suffered a mind-meld with Splynter on gAME, tEEHEE, and SEA. I also wanted my tacos al CARBON at first. Everything finally worked out. Clever, Nate and Kevin. You'll be a welcome addition to the permanent Friday rotation, Splynter.
GRRRR! Was nearly done with my daily ramblings and fat-fingered my browser closed. To make a long entry shorter, FIW @ CABiT x PiTTED. alas->OHNO, bayou->MARSH, carbon->PASTOR, needed->NEED BE, teehee->HEEHEE.
I wanted Hawaiian for white to be haole, but it wouldn't fit.
Until today I didn't know that there are two types of SEA COWs, the manatees and the dugongs. Don't know if both are malodorous.
Thanks to Nate and Kevin for the fun Friday challenge, and to Splynter for another fine review.
A tough one to FIR today. It didn't help my cause filling AD RATE, then AD SALE, before finally getting AD PAGE in the North. Then starting with AGENT for the House shower. CABOT and PASTOR were both unknown, as was 'fiddle-leaf figs', but the V8 hit me. The House of Congress. Duh! POTTED was guessed after CSPAN. Like SubG, potted & Cabot made more sense than pitted & Cabit.
DAME Time- I wanted DIME; gotta rhyme to be a real nickname. Perps.
LITERATI- only if you read what 'they' think should be read to join that club. I'm not in it.
Swampy habitat. BAYOU is a slow river. SWAMP has trees. MARSH is a grassland under water.
Kraken-I filled SEA until the manatee clue gave me SEA COW. Then I remembered the hockey team.
FIR. I got fooled by giggle and threw down tee hee before realizing ats couldn't be right. Hee hee! Finally saw the light.
I got the theme early on which was confirmed when I filled in the reveal.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
What does FIR E
Finished it right
A nice offering from the Curry duo which I managed to FIR, forgot to look at the time, but this seemed a little easier than a typical Friday. Familiar with all the theme phrases except SIGNIFICANT DIGIT. Needed perps for the NBA player, the soccer star, and the taco, had to change Cabit to CABOT for the congratulatory message. Thanks to the Curry’s and to Splynter for the fine review.
Writing from gate K20 at ORD, waiting for a flight to Ft. Myers ☀️ 🌴. Were supposed to leave on 12/30, but the two feet of snow we got in the U.P. Sunday/Monday wreaked havoc with air travel, flights there were canceled and we rebooked for today.
Musings
-An oh so clever gimmick that was mysterious and then helpful
-Me too, my first house shower was an AGENT
-Yeah, Splynter, GAME time also made more sense to me for this guy
-The NCAA gave the top SEEDS to four teams and they got a first round bye for the FB playoffs. Three of them got beat after their extra rest.
-One of Broderick Crawford’s taglines from 1950’s Highway Patrol was, “Reckless driving does not determine who’s right but who’s LEFT”
-The SWATH of desctruction caused by a tornado is very destructive, but narrower than that of a hurricane.
-“I’M ON HOLD” but they told me my call is very important to them
-How long was he at sea? He mistook a manatee for a mermaid.
-OCD would have trouble with ISH as to when someone might be here
misF(it)ting Friday. Thanks for the fun, Nate and Kevin, and Splynter (LOL re Bad Hab(it) but a better clue would be “Unruly French CanadianEh!”
Officially a DNF plus a FIR. OH NO, not a great start to the year, but it is Friday. But I did get the KNOCK IT OFF theme early in the solve.
All my issues were across the North. I needed a “call a friend” to Lucina for the first letter in that taco. I had chosen a C. (Apparently the PASTOR refers to “shepherd style”).
I couldn’t figure out what kind of ScAN was in a “house shower”, and resorted to Google for the unknown to me CABOT (which corrected my PiTTED to POTTED). I’ll blame my slowness to see CSPAN on Canadian disadvantage.
In the NW, I had tIN instead of BIN, and scratched my head at TILLS = charges, but never corrected.
I had started with _ _ _ Ads before perps rearranged to AD PAGE. More inkblots.
Hand up for tEEHEE before HEEHEE. I corrected ReSIN to ROSIN.
TKO changed to KOS.
Those leading zeros that are not SIGNIFICANT DIGITS by definition are very significant in medical terminology. “ In prescriptions, a leading zero must always be used for doses less than one to prevent potentially fatal 10-fold medication errors. Failing to use a leading zero (e.g., writing ".5 mg" instead of "0.5 mg") means the decimal point can be overlooked, leading to the dose being misinterpreted as a whole number (e.g., "5 mg"). “. On the other hand, “ Never use a trailing zero for whole numbers. This is also a major source of error, as 5.0 mg could be misread as 50 mg if the decimal point is missed.”
Our thermometer is in the minus TEENS Centigrade (-11C). Now that’s freezing (12F).
Wishing you all a great day.
Learning moment: ah nuts! Im going to have to reload the puzzle, because I already forgot what that meat cooked on a vertical spit is called... wait, pastor? Maybe? I dunno, all I know is that NE corner kicked my butt.
(Whack a vowel to finish...)
Oh well, a new year, and new things to learn. I was going to google a silly link for "knock it off," and then thought better of it. Can I learn how to generate an A.I. image? Can I link them? I dunno! So I googled it:
Google Gemini came back with this...
I looked at it for a moment, wondering how could A.I. know anything about funny, or even silly... and then it dawned on me! Who else is better at knocking stuff off! And the outfits are definitely silly?
Here's an old fashioned google search for silliness if you need time to adjust...
(Hmm, did they just move the furniture around in Helen Kellers house again?)
(Well, Knock It Off!) Dagnabit...
Almost FIR but fell into the CABiT/PiTTED trap. Theme eluded me for few. Add “IT” not KNOCK “IT” OFF. Unless I’m missing something some theme answers make sense as stand alone answers:
SIGNIFICANTDIG but: NOTFORPROF?
Almost fooled me, but I eventually figured it was “House show-er” but realtor was too long. Ah, the less specific AGENT? No, even more clever: CSPAN. Also liked “leaves for dinner”
“Mockumentary”: I rewatched “This is Spinal Tap” 1984 and then 2025 right after a couple nights ago. Amazing those guy wrote, sang and played those songs.
“Nobel Peace prize” tried a name that started with a “D”. Correct letter count but perped wrong. 😉
resin or ROSIN I never remember.
The infamous Seinfeld battle for the MARBLE RYE
Have a great weekend.
Great Friday puzzle, with just enough bITe! DNK DAME (Damian) Lillard (of course). House "shower" was an aha moment! Fiddle-leaf figs have been a big interior design trend for several years. When my daughter's plant got to be too tall and bare-stemmed, she broke it down into one-foot sections, stuck the sections in pots, and gave me one. It is now about waist high in its pot, and I'll know just what to to when it reaches the ceiling.
Many thanks to Nate & Kevin Curry for the puzzle, and to Splynter for the fine review. Nice to see you on Friday!
Hola! Tricky puzzle from the Curry's but definitely doable. I saw that "IT" was missing and so KNOCK IT OFF came easily.
The clue for SALAD made me laugh. In the movie "Hercules" which my granddaughter watched endlessly, the HYDRA is a prominent creature.
Me too, on the decision between PITTED and POTTED but ALEXA confirmed that Meg CABOT was correct. I did not know she wrote "The Princess Diaries".
Have a lovely day and week, everyone! This will be my last post until I return from my travels.
Good luck. Will be flying into Ft. Myers in exactly one month. Finally convinced DW to stop complaining about the snow and renting a condo in N. Naples for 2 months. Plan to return alone for two weeks for work in between otherwise I’ll forget how my computer systems work 😅
FIR, but it was aggravating.
For starters, I’ve never heard anyone refer to an AD PAGE. AD sale made it difficult to parse what the gimmick was doing, because the first entry appeared to be “not for sale,” with a backward version of the word “for” converging with the other “for” at the ‘s’ in SALE. By the time I realized it was AD PAGE, I was already having trouble with the Everest entry, which happened to begin with the first letters of Sir Edmund Hillary’s surname.
It didn’t help that “high Earth orbit” was a new-to-me phrase, and that HIGH EARTH ORB is an enormous reach. And if SIGNIFICANT DIGit is a common thing, that’s a surprise too. LEARNER’S PERMit was the only entry of the four that worked even nearly as well as Splynter’s ideas, and even that is sophomoric – and I wrote that before I realized children indeed were involved in the construction. It shouldn’t show!
Other issues: I’ve never heard of Sergio RAMOS, but the name is common enough. I remember an American soccer player named Tab Ramos, for what it’s worth. . . .the clue for SHOwtime hadn’t quite kept up with current events regarding Paramount’s acquisition aspirations. . . . Hand up for “tases” before NUKES. . . I guess déjà vu is eerie, but not necessarily so or even usually so. . . .Meg CABOT was an unknown, and I went through the same process with the “pitted” figs that Splynter described. . . . The window shades pertain primarily to vehicles, which prods me to point out what a low opinion I have of tinted windows. I communicate with other drivers visually, if I can see them. I’m thoroughly convinced that the reason for tinted windows is shady, not shade. . . . I doubt most of you were familiar with Tacos al PASTOR. I never saw them in Texas, but they’re common in California.
Oh, yeah: DAME was my first fill, because I’ve known who Damian Lillard is since he was still at Weber State. But I’ve never heard him called “Dame Time.”
FIW at CABIT/PITTED. Did not care for this crossNAME puzzle. Sports names are bad enough for someone who does not follow a particular sport, but to throw in foreign sports figures is just cruel. The plethora of initials also detracts from the enjoyment. Not a fan of this one, but at least Splynter injected some fun back into the morning.
I, too, was reminded of the Seinfeld episode, which is my favorite. The best comes at the end, with a rather obscene joke involving Elaine's saxophone virtuoso boyfriend.
How about Unruly Canadien's player
I was just happy that RAE was clued with something other than "Issa" for a change.
Damian "Dame" Lillard is a local (to me) kid who worked his way to NBA superstardom.
His nickname is derived from his propensity for making big shots in big moments. "It's Dame Time!" He would often tap his wrist (and imaginary watch) after hitting a game-winning shot, as if to remind everybody "what time it is."
This twoth of January CW brought 10 names, and DNK 7, so that made this tough. Eventually FIR in 23 minutes. "House shower" = best clue. I was definitely NOT on the same wavelength, so struggled. Thanx for the Friday struggle, NC&KC, and thanx for the nice write-up and triple fine picture, Splynter.
Welcome to Friday Splynter. The NE corner got me. House "show-er". Duh. I still enjoyed this one. Well done Currys.
Tricky puzzle, indeed. I too had the PiTTED fig thinking it was a special kind, but I looked up the author CABiT and made a correction. My other weird entry was the themed SIGN OF I CANT DIG!!! Then the ISLET changed all that. I also had to change tEE to HEE, so I could have a sigh.
I thought there were a few too many names since most of them were unknown to me like DAME, RAMOS, STU, RAE, CABOT.
Anyway I enjoyed the theme and found a few clever clues like the one for SALAD, CSPAN, TERESA.
Thank you Splynter for a fine Friday review. You’re a natural,
Show-er?! I can't believe I didn't get this until your post!
It was even spelled out in the write up!
(I thin' I musta lost a few more brain cells greeting the new year...)
Copy editor, when you said "obscene," of course I had to look it up. But I can't find it! (They want $'s to see the full episode...)
While I remember Seinfeld stealing the rye from the old lady, I did not remember this: OMG, it hilarious!
So, saxophone player?? What happened?
Jerry kept calling Elaine's relationship with the sax player "hot and heavy," but Elaine noted that in their love life, the sax player didn't do "everything." Finally he came through, but in the final scene he no longer could play saxophone.
Congrats, Splynter, on snagging one of the most difficult days of the week...and nailing it! You and Fridays go together like splinters and fingers. I think? Hammers on thumbs? Nevermind, just keep nailing it!
Hadn't6 thought about the lack of communications with other drivers. If I have tinted windows and a broken horn, how are other drivers going to see my finger?
The “reckless driving” line may have birthed the ‘70s peace slogan: “War doesn’t determine who’s right, only who’s left.”
For once, I read the reveal clue before starting, making this one from Curry & Co. (not the one at Yosemite!) seem like an easy TREK to a FIR. BZZZZT! Even though I nailed all the theme fills, I had no idea who the 10D author was, so stayed with PiTTED just like Ray-O did…and never came back to check it. Oh well, no matter, b/c this puzzle was awash with great clueing — ASTIR, CSPAN, SALAD, and HORNS all came with snazzy clues, so assuming Patti had her hand in this, props to her 🤙🏽😎 My Hawai’i time again gave me a “gimme” on KEA (Mauna KEA = white mountain) but when i was in high school gymnastics (highly unsuccessfully, i must add) we never had ROSIN, just chalk…
A fine job by our new Friday Sherpa, Splynter — every minute of Spinal Tap was golden! I had the pleasure of shooting Chris Guest ( Nigel Tuffnell”) for a Marshall amplifiers ad years ago (“This one goes to 20 — that’s 9 louder, innit?” 😆); a very affable, laid-back guy…but as soon as he put on the blond wig, he instantly morphed into Nigel! One of the more fun shoots I did in the ad photog era of my careers. Anyway, great job, Splynter, and thank you for your efforts. ASTIR and AWHISK indeed! 🤣
Window TINTS are common in automotive circles. Kinda dumb on a non-show car, if you ask me.
====> Darren / L.A.
Enjoyed the theme, but there were quite a few names and 3-letter words, which I'm not fond of.
I think our Florida and Arizona contingent would beg to differ about the window tint. Gets pretty hot and glary in those parts. Around Norfolk, I think it is mostly so the police officer can't see your beer can, smoking joint, and/or the Glock that you have pointed at the window.
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