This puzzle was right in my vein - literally; my Blood type is B+, er, B-plus, I mean, B "positive"~! Jeff Stillman is a regular contriButor for the L.A. Times - this is his second in January of 2026 already, and typically offers two or three puzzles a year - needs only a Saturday puBlication for a"week steak". A simple theme of adding the letter "B" to four in-language phrases to create a humorous change - and just three stray non-theme "B"s in the grid; pretty impressive. A smooth solve for me - Better than yesterday's. Single digits on the 3LWs ( nine~! ), no circles, a standard grid, But a few too many names again. The four themers, with no reveal;
20. Add to one's ear piercings?: HIT A NEW LOBE - Hit a new low - which was a clue we sorta saw yesterday; spelling change, same "oh" sound
I learned some new anatomy here
27. "There's nothing like the feeling of posting a vlog!"?: "I LOVE YouTube~!" I love you, too~!" - a different spelling change. Below is my first "official" post to YT, the raw, unedited - boring - clip of my first time doing epoxy on the table for my brother; not much to see, but you can hear my furnace, Santa go by in the background, and a quote from Ghostbusters.
46. Trio trying to sneak past the guard at a sauna?: THREE IN A ROBE - Three in a row - same spelling change as the first themer
Does this count as three men in a ROBE~?
55. "Get your own die, pal!"?: "THAT'S MY CUBE~!" - "That's my cue~!" - NO spelling change
"I've wandered, and can't find my cube~!"
BuBt WaBit TheBre's MoBre
ACROSS:
1. Word on some birth announcements: GIRL - gonna be multiple choice, soon
5. Bowlers, e.g.: HATS
Pierce Brosnan from The Thomas Crown Affair - loved the movie
9. Storage box: CHEST - I am thinking about building an LP record chest for my bother to match the table I gave him for Christmas
14. French friend: AMIE - Frawnche lesson #1
15. Bread maker: OVEN - I made my best chicken crust pizza this past weekend; oh so good~!
16. Video counterpart: AUDIO - the "A" in A/V Club
17. Uneven do: SHAG
18. Mallet game: POLO - Ah. I was stuck in croquet-mode
19. Rapinoe who won the Ballon d'Or Féminin in 2019: MEGAN - Frawnche lesson #2, "Women's Golden Ball" - the "N" was my last fill; this was more like a Saturday clue/answer, as I had no clue - or answer 😜 - name #1
23. Onetime owner of Virgin Records: EMI - Iron Maiden, one of my musical favorites, started out on EMI; their early management led them to fifty years of albums and touring. There's also a girl who works at my BJs club named Emi; I wondered if it was short for Emilia, or something. Name(ish)
24. Michael of Monty Python: PALIN - Glad I am a MP fan, otherwise, name #2
37. Body shop fig.: ESTimate - these days, the car is usually totaled
39. "The King and I" role: ANNA - name #3
40. Uses a Brillo pad on: SCOURS
43. Meditation spot: YOGA MAT
48. Location: SITE - think construction
49. Evasive maneuver: DODGE - I own a Dodge Grand Caravan; taking the ferry on Tuesday to Long Island to deliver and install a new trellis to replace the one that was run over at a friend's house last year - it was "totalled" 😝
52. Dejected: SAD - I am SAD; the Buffalo Bills are out again - as is their coach; I did call it on Jan 2nd
59. Words to live by: AXIOM - "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
61. Home overhaul, informally: RENO - renovation; I like HGTV's show "No Demo Reno"
My business name is "Re-Mölisher" - I try to reduce the demo/waste, too
62. Iranian money: RIAL - Learned by doing crosswords
63. Amazon assistant: ALEXA - I have Alexa, but I put her away to "renovate" my living room, and she's still in her box. I still love this always funny SNL skit - name #4
Amazon Alexa Silver - uh-huh
64. Small fastener: BRAD - at least it wasn't clued as a name . . .
65. Utah home of Sugarloaf Mountain: ALTA - Dah~! I knew ASTA was wrong, however long the name has appeared in crosswords; he's the classic movie dog; geo name #5
66. Back, as a racehorse: BET ON - I read this as 'back OF a racehorse'
Hey, croup fit . . . .
67. "Holy moly!": "YIPE~!"
68. Existed: BEEN - WERE did not gibe; I had - - EN, so I went with THEN; BEEN was slow to come to me, as its pronunciation is more 'bihn', than 'bean', as it looks
DOWN:
1. Nasty cut: GASH - I start with the Down clues, and was on a roll . . .
2. "Ya dig?" reply: "I'M HIP." - but I had "Uh-Huh" here . . .
3. Rodeo rope: RIATA - and LASSO, so the NW was a mess
4. Motivation for seeking counsel: LEGAL ISSUES - great fill, but waited on perps
5. "Heaven forbid!": "HOPE NOT~!" - waited on perps
6. Assert: AVOW - Filled in the A & V, waited on perps - could always be avER
7. Disclose: TELL
8. Comics canine: SNOOPY - name #6
9. Required remittance: CAME DUE - pondered "WAS OWED" - Twurd
10. Peach or plum: HUE - I was not fooled. Yes, they happen to be fruits as well . . .
Plus burgundy, coffee, ivory....
11. Border: EDGE - good WAG; could have been the verb ABUT
12. "The King and I" setting: SIAM - learned by doing crosswords
13. "Knives Out" actress Collette: TONI - name #7 - no clue, more here
21. The Aswan High Dam's river: NILE - geo name #8 - found this video with the unfinished obelisk featured as well
22. Snout-touching sound: BOOP - toyed with OINK
26. Seafood dish that turns from blue to orange during preparation: STEAMED CRAB
29. Gut course: EASY A - I am not aligned with "easy" meaning "gut" in this instance
30. Arm bone: ULNA
31. Out of shape: BENT - FAT was, ironically, not big enough . . .
32. Timeline stretch: ERA - Dah~! not EON
33. Sumptuous: RICH - POSH, LUSH~? - ah, my actual name - but did not need to be clued as such
34. Fragrance: ODOR - I associate "fragrance" as positive, say "aroma" - "odor" with "stink", funk", etc.
36. Winter hrs. in Halifax: AST - Atlantic Standard Time
Circled in green, bottom right
38. Craggy hill: TOR - Learned by doing crosswords
41. Surname of two directors in the "Ghostbusters" franchise: REITMAN - Ivan did the always quotable original, and the less entertaining "II"; his son Jason did "Afterlife", which I have, embarrassingly, never heard about . . . now I gotta see it - name #9
42. Enemy of the Jedi: SITH - from the ubiquitous Star Wars - name(ish)
44. Period of invincibility in video games: GOD MODE - I like playing Sim City, and I can literally play "God" by turning on - or off - the natural disasters.
45. "About __": Hugh Grant film based on a Nick Hornby novel: "A BOY" - the IMDb
47. Within earshot: NEARBY
50. Skillful deceit: GUILE - My one unspottable error; GUI S E was good enough, and crossing a name, AL(S)TA, I was not going to notice I was wrong 😜
51. Online cash-back offer: eBATE
52. Automaker that declared bankruptcy in 2011: SAAB - The Monday dupe - now on Wednesday~! I once owned a 1983 900 - buy now, SAAB later - name #10
53. Wagon part: AXLE
54. Lose on purpose?: DIET - the verb; I am back on track - down now at 207lbs, and still "losing"
56. Actress Hatcher: TERI - 'Bond girl' Paris Carver from Tommorow Never Dies, name #11
Pierce again - yet not my favorite Bond, by far
57. Pic: SNAP
58. Joie de vivre: ELAN - Frawnche #3, "Joy of Living"
60. Ergonomic brand: OXO - another Thursday dupe; 'kitchen gadgets', but that phrase was already in the crossword today as a clue, @ 35A.
Splynter
Grid Flow 29.8
Notes from C.C.:
Agnes sent me this precious photo she recently came across. She said "'It's about 30 years old and there are only 4 of us left out of the 9. Brings back many happy memories."
L to R, Seated: Joe, Agnes, Eileen, Anne
L to R, Standing: Bill, Peggy, Jack, Bud, Mary
The SE took many WAGs before it submitted. Hand up for WERE before BEEN. AST -- d-o spent a night in Halifax years ago, returning from Sable Island. Cold place to visit. Cute "to B or not to B" theme, Jeff. Enjoyed your expo, Splynter.
Speaking of cold, we're expecting a weekend cold snap here in the southland. I've got a hose bibb to wrap in the front island, and I plan to make a foray to the grocers to pick up a pot roast -- comfort food for the duration.
Ditto on the pot roast. Picked up a chuck roast Wednesday, specifically for today's brutal temps. DW doesn't care much for beef, except for her sauerbrauten, goulash and an occasional filet mignon. Since we don't eat a lot of beef, I was surprised at the cost. $8.27 / lb for USDA Choice chuck roast. Not Heaven forbid. More like For Heaven's sake!
TTP: Phil is on his own. I suspect he'll turn into a short mushy pile of slime. Pehaps by April or May he'll be showing signs of life again. It's too bad -- he'd finally gotten to a pretty good size. We had no hard freeze last year to knock him out.
Not sure about 68 across. Been for existed? I guess the tense is correct, just doesn’t seem to sound right to me. No errors today, and done pretty quickly too. For me with a Friday puzzle, I’m happy. I liked the puzzle.
"A rift has been between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans for more than a century." "A rift has existed between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans for more than a century."
In my college days, a common EASY A was "football fizicks." Allegedly created for athletes, it was popular with many folks pursuing an arts degree, but needing a science class.
I know Ivan REITMAN mainly as being the producer of Howard Stern's Private Parts. Betty Thomas from Hill Street Blues directed the movie. In essence the film was a love offering to his long-time wife, whom he divorced shortly after the movie came out.
I'm so old I can remember when Howard Stern and SNL were both funny. Guess I need to get myself a Silver Alexa, when my heart was set on a silver Lexus.
Thanks to Jeff for the fun, doable Friday challenge, and to Splynter for being our tour GUIdE.
She was a great player back in the day. MEGAN is now the self-appointed pro-trans spokeschick for women's soccer. Easy to take that position, now that she's retired and literally has no skin in the game.
Sorry to be Debbie Downer but this is one of my least favorite theme types, si I really didn’t enjoy the solving process. OTOH, though, props to the author for a clean grid, no dreck, and some interesting, fresh fill. Also, any puzzle that includes everyone’s favorite Beagle is a winner in my book!
Thanks, Joe, and thanks, Splynter, for the spot on analysis and commentary. Your Connecticut (Long Island Sound) references remind me of the many happy years I spent there.
FIR. I found this to "be" quite easy for a Friday. My only misstep was using a variant of riata and entering reata instead. All soon corrected! I got the theme on the first long answer and that helped a lot with the solve. Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
I thought yesterday's crossword was easy. Today was even quicker. And also clever, IMO. Great phrase word play.
Caught the "common phrase / change a word" gimmick early, and then saw that the changed word was probably going to be a word with the letter B in it when I got the second themed entry. With only one entry, the other theme answers could have been any letter added. The second theme answer suggested the others were probably going to need a B.
But wait. There's more.
The next layer to today's puzzle theme is that it was consistent that the original phrases were W sounding words. LOW, ROW, TOO and CUE.
So the W sounding words changed to B sounding words. LOBE, ROBE, TUB and CUBE.
I don't understand how anyone can say they knew all of that with only one themed entry completed. It could have been just change a word, and it could have been just add a B.
I guess I've solved enough of Jeff's crosswords that I'm comfortable with his wordplay. Or phrase word play, as it were.
But what kind of old fashioned slang is 2D? Ya dig reply: I'M HIP. - That skibidi is sus. NGL, it's cringe. Just ick. :>)
Nouns - people, places or things...
I knew the people names MEGAN, TERI, PALIN and ANNA right off the bat. I did not know TONI Collette, but the perps filled her in. Ditto REITMAN. The editors missed the chance to use the answers BRAD and RICH as name clues.
Musings -Splynter, your blogging and craft skills are amazing -AUDIO is my starter word for Wordle. My streak of 70 was broken but I’m back up to 27 -My school’s GBB star goes by Emme with her birth name being Emerson -The current exchange rate is 1,411,000 Iranian Rials for an American dollar. -Where can I get that Amazon Echo Silver? :-) -SIAM is the home country for our three kitties that have enriched 50 years of our lives -I agree, “What is that ODOR you are wearing?” just doesn’t cut it -Teri’s most memorable line was delivered to Jerry Seinfeld: “They’re real and they’re spectacular” -Irish and I part company on this one. I enjoyed the gimmick. I also enjoyed your picture! I lost two classmates in the past year. Neither time nor tide…
Somehow I got the theme at the first fill. Just lucky , I guess TTP.
However I had two stupid entry errors. One was entering AsTA crossing GUIsE. I should have been more vigilant on that one. The second was in the South, entering REdO and YIkE, giving me SDAK. Can’t win them all.
Other than that I had no major problems. I knew most of the names, except REITMAN. We had SNOOPY NEAR BOOP.
Not only did we have SAAB but NILE a day or two ago. Oh, I don’t get gut for EASY A.
Thank you Splynter for a great review and congratulations on your weight loss if that’s your goal. I had seen that SNL Alexa skit before, but I enjoyed it again in spite of its being agist.
I hope all you cornerites who live where it’ll be super cold will stay warm. Here in south Louisiana my main fear is losing electricity but we have a “reservation” at my niece’s house who has a generator.
I don't know how "gut class" became "EASY A," but I've heard both interchangeably all my adult life (so far.) If I had to guess, "gut" means just answer with what you already know by listening to your instinct. No, or very little, studying needed. (I had two older sisters who graduated before I started college, so it might have been from them, or their boyfriends.)
15 names, DNK 9, so I'm surprised I managed to FIR in 15. Last two cells to fill were P in PEELER followed by the B in LOBE. It took the second themed fill for me to suss the theme.
EASYA is a "Gut course"? Huh? Never heard that definition of Easy A.
W/Os: WERE/BEEN, SCRUBS/SCOURS, HEP/HIP.
"Snout touching sound" = BOOP? Huh?
I know OXO, I have a few of their kitchen gadgets, like a can opener that cuts along the side instead of the top, so you can put the lid back on. And no sharp edges. But didn't know OXO from the clue.
The NE was a struggle for a bit due to the crossing names (SIAM, TONI, MEGAN). I knew SIAM, and eventually got CAMEDUE, which rang the bell in the NE.
Thanx JS for the fun Friday CW. I hope you can construct more CWs but with fewer names. And please: NO CROSSING NAMES.
Thanx too to Splynter for the terrific write-up. Your picture of the horse with parts labeled had me wondering: the front legs ELBOW above a KNEE and a FOREARM. So is this the horse's LEG or ARM?
Thanx too Splynter you outdid yourself in the shapely leg category.
Extremely easy Friday. I LOVE YOU TUBE seems like the probable seed entry, and HIT A NEW LOBE was the only weak theme entry.
I had ONO before EMI before perps set me straight. I needed perps for GOD MODE. My final fill, YIPE, was my least favorite. Do we need variations of “yipes?”
I didn’t much like BOOP, either, unclefred. It’s an interjection for what some people exclaim when they squeeze or lightly bop a child’s nose.
Splynter, I think Jeff creates mostly themed puzzles, so we're not likely to see him on a Saturday. 58 puzzle here and 9 at the NYT, and only 1 themeless.
A coworker of mine was also named Jeff Stillman. When I solved my first Jeff Stillman crossword puzzle here, I thought they might be one and the same. But after a little research, no. However, I did learn that Jeff proposed to his wife in a crossword puzzle that he created. How neat is that?
FIW. Carelessly fell into the AsTA/GUIsE trap in the Southeast corner, but I enjoyed the puzzle today. Clever clues and fair perps, with a nice Splynter write-up to top things off. I too remember when SNL was still funny!
Hola! It's words like BOOP that often beat me, but LOBE made sense. I had LASSO before RIATA which easily filled the NW corner. Of course, I've never heard of MEGAN Rapinoe. I'm not a sports fan. But YOGA MAT was an instant fill. I can relate to that. I make good use of ALEXA for keeping lists, for information and much more. I can't say I LOVE YOU TUBE, but I use it when necessary. RENO is also a city so why torture it unnecessarily? It could have been paired with ALTA somehow as western cities. Thank you, Jeff Stillman, for a Friday-worthy puzzle. Irish Miss, I liked seeing the photo of you and your siblings. I, too, have lost a couple of brothers. Please stay warm, everyone, if you live in those very cold climates. Have a great day, all!
Noticing the extra B was easy, as was filling in the puzzle. GOD MODE, MEGAN, TONI, & A BOY were unknowns.
STEAMED CRAB- expensive in a restaurant but cheap, real cheap if you have your own crab nets and live on the water. DW loves them but the only ones I like are the fried soft-shell crabs. You don't have to pick out the crab meat.
Only one change- RE DO to RENO. The abbr. is new to me even though DW did it two years ago with complete painting inside and out, new faucets, windows, plantation shutters for 8 windows, bathroom tiles, light fixtures and granite countertops, new carpets for upstairs bedrooms which have not had anybody living there for 34 years.
EBATE- never had one but with the ever increasing cost for postage, most mail in rebates are not worth the trouble.
The beginning of this puzzle immediately put us into the world of a young GIRL, her clothes (HATS), her body (CHEST), her friend (AMIE), her hair (SHAG), and her games like POLO. Yes, she probably heated up something in the OVEN, but we don't know what. And we learned that she might wear some ornament on her ear LOBE. Is she the one who ended up saying I LOVE YOU, TUBE, and ended up enjoying some ROSE TEA? Does she do exercises on a YOGA MAT? We can't be sure but she's probably the one who says THAT'S MY CUBE--so I think we'd best leave her alone.
Thanks again for a great puzzle, Jeff, and a very helpful commentary, SPLYNTER. And have a lovely day, everybody.
Good work on the diet Splynter and the Amazon Silver was hilarious. Easier than most Fridays once I stopped trying to put "Redo" where it didn't belong. My favorite was "lose on purpose". Pretty easy for a Friday. Good luck on the weather everyone!
A few issues in the SW, but otherwise a good FIR for a Friday puzzle! Hardly ever try to parse the theme, but fortunately this one was evident almost immediately.
“To B or not to B;” that is the question our man Jeff posted for us today! Surprised that this was noticeably easier than yesterday’s grid; I thought the custom is supposed to be the other way around. Should we be in dread of tomorrow’s??
But it was a fun cruise, even with all the names (at least they were not obscure ones) and I grokked Jeff’s gimmick on the first theme fill, HITANEWLOBE, so that gave a boost right away; I like his phraseplay. Thanks for the fun!
Splynter, your recap added to the grins today. I’d forgotten that SNL skit about Alexa — classic! And thanks for the gag illustrating THREEINAROBE; a bit of good ol’ Monty Python goes a long way (and supported PALIN in the fill). Plus I can appreciate your Saab story; even though I never had the pleasure (?) of owning one, they were a blast to drive; the people behind the engineering of those cars were all ex-fighter-jet guys, so the build was pretty tight on Saab cars. Loved the old Sonnets. And good on ya for the weight loss, sir — keep rockin’ it!
Life was pretty good to me in my younger days — I learned to ski in ALTA (“best snow on Earth”) and learned to surf in Hawai’i (best waves in the USA). Talk about being spoiled rotten…
Well, for all y’all facing the Big Freeze, try to stay toasty. My BiL moved from sunny CA to Wisconsin a couple-3 years ago, so this morning I had to razz-text him about it being a shuddering 64° here today. They had -14° this morning in his ‘hood, haha. 😎
====> Darren / L.A.
PS — Husker G., AUDIO is also one of my two go-to’s to start Wordle. The other is ALIEN 👽
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With the first themed
ReplyDeleteanswer, I understood the gimmick. And it was pretty much off to the races from there.
FIR, so I’m happy.
I’m early and don’t mean to upstage subG; however, I FIR but not happy about it . I thought the clues were clever, but the fill not so much.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThe SE took many WAGs before it submitted. Hand up for WERE before BEEN. AST -- d-o spent a night in Halifax years ago, returning from Sable Island. Cold place to visit. Cute "to B or not to B" theme, Jeff. Enjoyed your expo, Splynter.
Speaking of cold, we're expecting a weekend cold snap here in the southland. I've got a hose bibb to wrap in the front island, and I plan to make a foray to the grocers to pick up a pot roast -- comfort food for the duration.
Desper-otto, what about Phil?
DeleteDitto on the pot roast. Picked up a chuck roast Wednesday, specifically for today's brutal temps. DW doesn't care much for beef, except for her sauerbrauten, goulash and an occasional filet mignon. Since we don't eat a lot of beef, I was surprised at the cost. $8.27 / lb for USDA Choice chuck roast. Not Heaven forbid. More like For Heaven's sake!
TTP: Phil is on his own. I suspect he'll turn into a short mushy pile of slime. Pehaps by April or May he'll be showing signs of life again. It's too bad -- he'd finally gotten to a pretty good size. We had no hard freeze last year to knock him out.
DeleteNot sure about 68 across. Been for existed? I guess the tense is correct, just doesn’t seem to sound right to me. No errors today, and done pretty quickly too. For me with a Friday puzzle, I’m happy. I liked the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"A rift has been between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans for more than a century."
Delete"A rift has existed between Yankee fans and Red Sox fans for more than a century."
"There has been a rift between..." sounds a lot less clunky.
DeletePotato, potahtah
DeleteFIW, like Splynter I missed AsTA x GUIsE.
ReplyDeleteIn my college days, a common EASY A was "football fizicks." Allegedly created for athletes, it was popular with many folks pursuing an arts degree, but needing a science class.
I know Ivan REITMAN mainly as being the producer of Howard Stern's Private Parts. Betty Thomas from Hill Street Blues directed the movie. In essence the film was a love offering to his long-time wife, whom he divorced shortly after the movie came out.
I'm so old I can remember when Howard Stern and SNL were both funny. Guess I need to get myself a Silver Alexa, when my heart was set on a silver Lexus.
Thanks to Jeff for the fun, doable Friday challenge, and to Splynter for being our tour GUIdE.
Was Too many crossing names!
ReplyDeleteRapinoe? Really?
She was a great player back in the day. MEGAN is now the self-appointed pro-trans spokeschick for women's soccer. Easy to take that position, now that she's retired and literally has no skin in the game.
DeleteThis is politics
DeleteNo, Anon...this is an opinion. Chill.
DeleteMegan could qualify as a blue-haired CRAB before she got STEAMED after losing a match. Then it changed color.
Delete14 losses in 199 caps, so what you describe would be quite rare.
DeleteA fact-averse opinion. She did not wait until she retired to advocate for trans athletes. She did so as an active player.
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteSorry to be Debbie Downer but this is one of my least favorite theme types, si I really didn’t enjoy the solving process. OTOH, though, props to the author for a clean grid, no dreck, and some interesting, fresh fill. Also, any puzzle that includes everyone’s favorite Beagle is a winner in my book!
Thanks, Joe, and thanks, Splynter, for the spot on analysis and commentary. Your Connecticut (Long Island Sound) references remind me of the many happy years I spent there.
Have a great day.
Sorry, thanks, Jeff, not Joe.
DeleteFIR. I found this to "be" quite easy for a Friday. My only misstep was using a variant of riata and entering reata instead. All soon corrected!
ReplyDeleteI got the theme on the first long answer and that helped a lot with the solve.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
I dunno,
ReplyDeleteThis is the type of theme, that makes me even more confused about what a crossword theme is supposed to be...
maybe if it had a little more meaning...?
Thank you, Jeff, and thank you Splynter.
ReplyDeleteI thought yesterday's crossword was easy. Today was even quicker. And also clever, IMO. Great phrase word play.
Caught the "common phrase / change a word" gimmick early, and then saw that the changed word was probably going to be a word with the letter B in it when I got the second themed entry. With only one entry, the other theme answers could have been any letter added. The second theme answer suggested the others were probably going to need a B.
But wait. There's more.
The next layer to today's puzzle theme is that it was consistent that the original phrases were W sounding words. LOW, ROW, TOO and CUE.
So the W sounding words changed to B sounding words. LOBE, ROBE, TUB and CUBE.
I don't understand how anyone can say they knew all of that with only one themed entry completed. It could have been just change a word, and it could have been just add a B.
I guess I've solved enough of Jeff's crosswords that I'm comfortable with his wordplay. Or phrase word play, as it were.
But what kind of old fashioned slang is 2D? Ya dig reply: I'M HIP. - That skibidi is sus. NGL, it's cringe. Just ick. :>)
Nouns - people, places or things...
I knew the people names MEGAN, TERI, PALIN and ANNA right off the bat. I did not know TONI Collette, but the perps filled her in. Ditto REITMAN. The editors missed the chance to use the answers BRAD and RICH as name clues.
I knew the place name ALTA
I knew the things names ALEXA, SNOOPY, NILE, SAAB
Should have been LOBE, ROBE, TUBE and CUBE.
DeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-Splynter, your blogging and craft skills are amazing
-AUDIO is my starter word for Wordle. My streak of 70 was broken but I’m back up to 27
-My school’s GBB star goes by Emme with her birth name being Emerson
-The current exchange rate is 1,411,000 Iranian Rials for an American dollar.
-Where can I get that Amazon Echo Silver? :-)
-SIAM is the home country for our three kitties that have enriched 50 years of our lives
-I agree, “What is that ODOR you are wearing?” just doesn’t cut it
-Teri’s most memorable line was delivered to Jerry Seinfeld: “They’re real and they’re spectacular”
-Irish and I part company on this one. I enjoyed the gimmick. I also enjoyed your picture! I lost two classmates in the past year. Neither time nor tide…
My opening word for wordle is "humor."
DeleteThe closest I ever got to nailing the word on the opening, was when the reveal was "mirth."
My one and only winner was ALIEN
DeleteThe statue has been on that corner for 60 years.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I got the theme at the first fill. Just lucky , I guess TTP.
ReplyDeleteHowever I had two stupid entry errors. One was entering AsTA crossing GUIsE. I should have been more vigilant on that one. The second was in the South, entering REdO and YIkE, giving me SDAK. Can’t win them all.
Other than that I had no major problems. I knew most of the names, except REITMAN. We had SNOOPY NEAR BOOP.
Not only did we have SAAB but NILE a day or two ago. Oh, I don’t get gut for EASY A.
Thank you Splynter for a great review and congratulations on your weight loss if that’s your goal. I had seen that SNL Alexa skit before, but I enjoyed it again in spite of its being agist.
I hope all you cornerites who live where it’ll be super cold will stay warm. Here in south Louisiana my main fear is losing electricity but we have a “reservation” at my niece’s house who has a generator.
I don't know how "gut class" became "EASY A," but I've heard both interchangeably all my adult life (so far.) If I had to guess, "gut" means just answer with what you already know by listening to your instinct. No, or very little, studying needed. (I had two older sisters who graduated before I started college, so it might have been from them, or their boyfriends.)
DeleteI taught at a university for 40 years, but I never heard my students use the term gut class. It might be regional. I’ll have to look that up.
Delete15 names, DNK 9, so I'm surprised I managed to FIR in 15. Last two cells to fill were P in PEELER followed by the B in LOBE. It took the second themed fill for me to suss the theme.
ReplyDeleteEASYA is a "Gut course"? Huh? Never heard that definition of Easy A.
W/Os: WERE/BEEN, SCRUBS/SCOURS, HEP/HIP.
"Snout touching sound" = BOOP? Huh?
I know OXO, I have a few of their kitchen gadgets, like a can opener that cuts along the side instead of the top, so you can put the lid back on. And no sharp edges. But didn't know OXO from the clue.
The NE was a struggle for a bit due to the crossing names (SIAM, TONI, MEGAN). I knew SIAM, and eventually got CAMEDUE, which rang the bell in the NE.
Thanx JS for the fun Friday CW. I hope you can construct more CWs but with fewer names. And please: NO CROSSING NAMES.
Thanx too to Splynter for the terrific write-up. Your picture of the horse with parts labeled had me wondering: the front legs ELBOW above a KNEE and a FOREARM. So is this the horse's LEG or ARM?
Thanx too Splynter you outdid yourself in the shapely leg category.
Extremely easy Friday. I LOVE YOU TUBE seems like the probable seed entry, and HIT A NEW LOBE was the only weak theme entry.
ReplyDeleteI had ONO before EMI before perps set me straight. I needed perps for GOD MODE. My final fill, YIPE, was my least favorite. Do we need variations of “yipes?”
I didn’t much like BOOP, either, unclefred. It’s an interjection for what some people exclaim when they squeeze or lightly bop a child’s nose.
Splynter, I think Jeff creates mostly themed puzzles, so we're not likely to see him on a Saturday. 58 puzzle here and 9 at the NYT, and only 1 themeless.
ReplyDeleteA coworker of mine was also named Jeff Stillman. When I solved my first Jeff Stillman crossword puzzle here, I thought they might be one and the same. But after a little research, no. However, I did learn that Jeff proposed to his wife in a crossword puzzle that he created. How neat is that?
That reminds me - I read yesterday that Vanna White just got married to her boyfriend of 14 years. Guess they finally decided to exchange vowels.
DeleteEasier’n yesterday with a simple B+ theme. Inkover: redo/RENO
ReplyDeleteThe Natick of TONI and MEGAN was fairly easy to parse.
In med school anatomy class we learned that the “arm bone” was connected to the “wrist bone” from the chapter in Grey’s Anatomy “Dem Bones”
Two SIAM clues. Two SAABs in a row. (That “ear” has as many parts as the “racehorse.” ). RIATA cuz lasso always seems to be wrong and lariat too long
Thought “gut course” might be colon … Michael PALIN: “I can see France from my house!!”
the year I was born my Dad bought a DODGEMeadowbrook
It must be a local expression that has since died off but when I was a tyke adults used to refer to an impish kid as a PEELER
Happy Friday 😊
FIW. Carelessly fell into the AsTA/GUIsE trap in the Southeast corner, but I enjoyed the puzzle today. Clever clues and fair perps, with a nice Splynter write-up to top things off. I too remember when SNL was still funny!
ReplyDeleteHola! It's words like BOOP that often beat me, but LOBE made sense.
ReplyDeleteI had LASSO before RIATA which easily filled the NW corner.
Of course, I've never heard of MEGAN Rapinoe. I'm not a sports fan.
But YOGA MAT was an instant fill. I can relate to that.
I make good use of ALEXA for keeping lists, for information and much more.
I can't say I LOVE YOU TUBE, but I use it when necessary.
RENO is also a city so why torture it unnecessarily? It could have been paired with ALTA somehow as western cities.
Thank you, Jeff Stillman, for a Friday-worthy puzzle.
Irish Miss, I liked seeing the photo of you and your siblings. I, too, have lost a couple of brothers.
Please stay warm, everyone, if you live in those very cold climates. Have a great day, all!
Thank you, Splynter, for the great review. We can always count on you for a leggy photo.
ReplyDeleteNoticing the extra B was easy, as was filling in the puzzle. GOD MODE, MEGAN, TONI, & A BOY were unknowns.
ReplyDeleteSTEAMED CRAB- expensive in a restaurant but cheap, real cheap if you have your own crab nets and live on the water. DW loves them but the only ones I like are the fried soft-shell crabs. You don't have to pick out the crab meat.
Only one change- RE DO to RENO. The abbr. is new to me even though DW did it two years ago with complete painting inside and out, new faucets, windows, plantation shutters for 8 windows, bathroom tiles, light fixtures and granite countertops, new carpets for upstairs bedrooms which have not had anybody living there for 34 years.
EBATE- never had one but with the ever increasing cost for postage, most mail in rebates are not worth the trouble.
Took 6:46 today to begone.
ReplyDeleteI knew the Actresses of the Day (Teri & Toni).
I miss the old Friday puzzles.
I hope everyone is prepared to hunker down through this snow/ice/cold storm that's coming.
Gotta run.
The beginning of this puzzle immediately put us into the world of a young GIRL, her clothes (HATS), her body (CHEST), her friend (AMIE), her hair (SHAG), and her games like POLO. Yes, she probably heated up something in the OVEN, but we don't know what. And we learned that she might wear some ornament on her ear LOBE. Is she the one who ended up saying I LOVE YOU, TUBE, and ended up enjoying some ROSE TEA? Does she do exercises on a YOGA MAT? We can't be sure but she's probably the one who says THAT'S MY CUBE--so I think we'd best leave her alone.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for a great puzzle, Jeff, and a very helpful commentary, SPLYNTER. And have a lovely day, everybody.
Good work on the diet Splynter and the Amazon Silver was hilarious. Easier than most Fridays once I stopped trying to put "Redo" where it didn't belong. My favorite was "lose on purpose". Pretty easy for a Friday. Good luck on the weather everyone!
ReplyDeleteGhostbusters Afterlife was pretty darn good imo
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIf interested, C.C. has today's USA Today puzzle:
https://play.usatoday.com/crossword/807d8ab0-3e4e-47be-a72a-fdef9f0fe067
A few issues in the SW, but otherwise a good FIR for a Friday puzzle! Hardly ever try to parse the theme, but fortunately this one was evident almost immediately.
ReplyDelete“To B or not to B;” that is the question our man Jeff posted for us today! Surprised that this was noticeably easier than yesterday’s grid; I thought the custom is supposed to be the other way around. Should we be in dread of tomorrow’s??
ReplyDeleteBut it was a fun cruise, even with all the names (at least they were not obscure ones) and I grokked Jeff’s gimmick on the first theme fill, HITANEWLOBE, so that gave a boost right away; I like his phraseplay. Thanks for the fun!
Splynter, your recap added to the grins today. I’d forgotten that SNL skit about Alexa — classic! And thanks for the gag illustrating THREEINAROBE; a bit of good ol’ Monty Python goes a long way (and supported PALIN in the fill). Plus I can appreciate your Saab story; even though I never had the pleasure (?) of owning one, they were a blast to drive; the people behind the engineering of those cars were all ex-fighter-jet guys, so the build was pretty tight on Saab cars. Loved the old Sonnets. And good on ya for the weight loss, sir — keep rockin’ it!
Life was pretty good to me in my younger days — I learned to ski in ALTA (“best snow on Earth”) and learned to surf in Hawai’i (best waves in the USA). Talk about being spoiled rotten…
Well, for all y’all facing the Big Freeze, try to stay toasty. My BiL moved from sunny CA to Wisconsin a couple-3 years ago, so this morning I had to razz-text him about it being a shuddering 64° here today. They had -14° this morning in his ‘hood, haha. 😎
====> Darren / L.A.
PS — Husker G., AUDIO is also one of my two go-to’s to start Wordle. The other is ALIEN 👽