Happy New Year! It's RustyBrain kicking off 2026. Starting today, I'll be your host every Thursday. NaomiZ, who always did a fabulous job on Thursdays, is moving to Mondays to take over from sumdaze who is retiring after an incredible run. Big shoes to fill all around (not to imply they have big feet!). Moving on before I get in any more trouble this year...
Jill Rafaloff and Michelle Sontarp have me at a disadvantage here. I never got into women's clothing, so I didn't know most of the designers. We picked the wrong day for Naomi to move! That being said, the perps were fair so the solve went smoothly. All the themers are compound nouns for everyday things, but one or more of the words is also an article of clothing. Let's try them on for size:
17. Crossover design from Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Fürstenberg?: BUBBLE WRAP. Our fashion show begins with two models on the catwalk: Westwood's BUBBLE skirt and von Fürstenberg's WRAP dress. Iconic looks from their signature designers that should never be worn together.
29. Creative team behind Lilly Pulitzer's signature frock?: SHIFT WORKERS. Pulitzer's bright, colorful clothes were very popular and worn by the likes of Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. She rose in prominence when her original SHIFT dress, a simple loose-fitting garment that allowed a women to "shift" around, was photographed on Jackie Kennedy.
47. Item in Giorgio Armani's 50th anniversary collection?: BIRTHDAY SUIT. The devil wears NADA! I know Armani also makes SUITs for men, as I have a closet full. Not.
So, everything fits but this puzzle didn't have anything to do with the New Year. Not the constructors' fault as puzzles are created months in advance, but I'll see if I can work some magic for you!
Across:
1. Complete failures: BOMBS. BOMBS can also be explosives, just like the fireworks used to ring in the New Year over Sydney Harbour.
6. "Now!": STAT. I wrote ASAP at first, but I was too quick.
10. A couple of bucks?: DEER. Fun clue!
14. Oak tree, once: ACORN. This little fella has a secret ACORN stash.
15. Words of dismay: OH NO.
16. New Age artist who often sings in Irish: ENYA. ENYA is Irish, but I'd like to hear her sing this old Scottish favorite:
19. Suds: BEER. Hopefully you didn't overdo it last night!
20. Former quarterback Manning: ELI. Peyton's younger brother, Archie's son and Arch's uncle.
21. __-Caps candy: SNO. Is your maple syrup candy SNO-Capped on January 1st?
22. Give a damn?: CURSE. Fie on you!
23. __ gel: contents of "Do not eat" packets: SILICA. Interestingly, SILICA gel is non-toxic. It's the packets themselves that may pose a choking hazard to children and pets.
26. On the decline: WANING.
29. [theme]
33. Liturgical vestment: STOLE. Sorta related to the women's fashion theme.
36. Really, really enjoy a joke: ROAR.
37. Madre's sister: TIA. Your mother's sister is your aunt.
38. Greek cafe: TAVERNA.
40. Alive and __: KICKING. I'm happy to be here!
44. Pinnacle: ACME.
46. Affection from a dog: LICKS.
47. [theme]
51. Patterned fabric woven on Jacquard looms: DAMASK. The fashion show continues. DAMASK is woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. This creates a fabric that when flipped over makes a mirror image of the often intricate pattern.
56. __ shorts: CARGO. You probably won't find these hanging in a fashionista's closet. Then again, you might. Everything I know about fashion would fit in a thimble.
58. Be in debt: OWE.
60. Briny: SEA.
61. Vaping device: ECIG. Electronic Cigarette.
62. [theme]
66. Place for pews: NAVE. These congregants in the central NAVE of a church in Chicago are celebrating the Lunar New Year, an ancient tradition in Chinese and other Asian cultures. It typically falls between January 21st and February 20th.
67. Legend: ICON.
68. Wet bars?: SOAPS. Another fun clue!
69. Even: TIED.
70. Keyboard locale: DESK.
71. Really hard to see: EENSY.
Down:
1. Innocents: BABES.
3. Synergy Supreme+ gasoline retailer: MOBIL. Pegasus was part of the MOBIL logo for many years.
4. "Putting my phone down a sec": BRB. Be Right Back in textspeak.
5. Weekly skit show, for short: SNL. Saturday Night Live.
6. Scattered: SOWN.
7. Target in a game of catch: THROW TO. I thought "target" was a noun at first and went through a list of people one could THROW TO.
9. Blouse: TOP. And yet another fashion reference.
10. Expose as false: DEBUNK.
11. Peppy: ENERGETIC.
12. Seeing things: EYES.
13. Redder than medium: RARE. Unless we're talking about your EYES on the morning after a NYE party!
18. Actor Morales: ESAI.
22. Round fig.: CIR. A CIRcle is the roundest of FIGures.
24. Remote getaway spot: ISLE. Remote getaway spot: SOFA.
25. "Moonstruck" Oscar winner: CHER.
27. Faces the day: AWAKES. This is the perfect time to try something new.
28. Musubi seaweed: NORI.
30. Brawl: FRACAS.
31. Playing surface surrounded by boards: RINK.
32. Droops: SAGS. Just like these banners!
34. Call with a raised hand: TAXI.
35. State of ramped-up productivity: OVERDRIVE.
39. Zilch: NADA. The number of days left in 2025.
42. Beach toy: KITE.
45. Greek island in the Cyclades: MYKONOS. Known for luxury and high-end tourism, MYKONOS is a great place to greet the New Year...if you can afford it.
48. Caught off base?: TAGGED.
49. Med. plan option: HMO. Health Maintenance Organization is a medical plan option, but you already knew that.
50. Functions: USES. Functions: NYE parties!
53. Nepali, e.g.: ASIAN.
54. Stays fresh: KEEPS. How long will you KEEP your New Year's resolution?
55. "Listen to __": podcast that covers a classic teen magazine: SASSY.
57. Berry native to the Amazon rainforest: ACAI.
59. "Don't take me too seriously" indicator: WINK.
62. Prefix with way or wife: MID. MIDway or MIDwife.
63. Raw bar need: ICE. Also a NYE bar need!
64. Language suffix: ESE.
65. Caviar: ROE.
Thank you, C.C., for this wonderful opportunity to be a permanent part of the smartest and friendliest corner of the web. And for those of you who are frequent visitors but haven't commented yet, here's a New Year's Resolution for you: introduce yourself and join the conversation. We'd love to hear your thoughts!
Wishing all of you a happy, healthy (and Natick-free) New Year!
Be good. RB
13 comments:
“Mykonos” was a bit
of a WAG. Otherwise, I didn’t have too much trouble with this fun puzzle. I have no idea what the named “designers” have to do with the themed answers, but that didn’t stop me from solving the puzzle!
FIR, so I’m happy.
P.S. Happy New Year, everybody!
May happiness, health and prosperity be yours in abundance this coming year!
Good morning and Happy New Year!
Caught the clothing theme by the time I'd finished. It was no help with the solve. Cute, though. Hope everyone is sober and SASSY this morning. Thanx, Jill, Michelle, and RustyBrain. (Nice to see you in the permanent rotation. You'll do well.)
What a fun beginning to the year. The perps made everything solvable, even 8D, ANA. Great job, RustyBrain! And Happy New Year, everyone.
Good Morning:
Well, this was certainly a fun and fresh start to a new year! I caught the theme immediately because Diane Fürstenberg is famous for the Wrap Dress, although the Bubble dress is unfamiliar. All of the themers were clever and matched the cluing quite well, yet still required some thought. The fill was above average, IMO, and perp friendly, so the solve was both pleasantly challenging and rewarding.
Thanks, Jill and Michelle, and thanks, RB, for the entertaining review. You did a great job emphasizing the puzzles relationship to the New Year, despite the non-holiday theme. Welcome to the Thursday slot!
Happy and Healthy 2026!
41 DOWN •Rate of speed: One of my major pet peeves: Rate and Speed are redundant. Speed IS a rate (distance / time). I regularly hear / read: "The car drove at a high rate of speed." NO. NO. NO. The car drove at a high rate. Or, the car drove at a high speed.
Thanks for allowing me to vent. Happy 2026 to all the Cornerites!
FIR. Happy New Year everyone!
I didn't have much trouble with the first puzzle of the year. Except for forgetting how to spell Mykonos, I breezed through and got the win.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
FIR, but flub->BOMBS, and here->TAXI.
I DNK the designing women (but knew Armani,) TAVERNA, DAMSK, STOLE, DAMASK, and OCULI.
I use Google KEEP for information I need to access across devices. It has taught me to appreciate tags instead of categories.
Thanks to Jill and Michelle for the peek into the forbidden world of women's fashion. And thanks to Rusty Brain for decoding that world.
Usually the day after humpday the puzzle soars in difficulty but this was a breeze.
Inkover: Mykinose/Mykonos
First time I saw a MINISKIRT was about 1966 in HS French class on the cover of the French magazine “Paris Match” La Mini Jupe
When the the sun hit the OCULUS in the roof of the basilica in Bologna where I went to Uni it cast a beam of light, which illuminated a long meridian line , like a sundail, on the floor, forming an astronomical instrument used to study planetary orbits and determine precise noon.
Today is the ACME of the new year.
“Hey, new age artist, do you have any other Irish songs ____?” …. ENYA
Synergy Supreme+ gasoline retailer: MOBIL is what makes your ____ …. CARGO
At Disney World you’ll see mouse ears but never a ______ … Mykonose
Great job Rusty: excellent succinct mix of info and humor. 👍
Happy, healthy and let’s hope peaceful New Year….. (from under a few feet of central NYS snow.)⛄️
Brilliant job making a new year's day festival out of today's crossword, RustyBrain! Also, very nice handling of the fashion clues. "The devil wears NADA," indeed! Jill and Michelle served up a real treat today. Many thanks.
Hola! Happy New Year!
thanks to Jill and Michelle for a KICKING puzzle today. I see ENERGETIC, KICKING, OVERDRIVE and a TAVERNA with BEER. What's not to like?
There's even an E-CIG for those who want it, a NAVE for praying and a RINK for skating. And thank you, Rusty Brain, for bringing it all together and welcome to the group of narrators!
I wish you all good health and a prosperous year ahead.
Jill, Michelle, and Rusty Brain certainly got us off to a great start in 2026!
I enjoyed both the puzzle and the recap tremendously. Had heard of the designers but was unaware of their specialties. Turned out that wasn't an impediment to the solve, as the theme phrases were all familiar and the perps were kind. I found the clueing to be particularly clever on this one: CURSE, SOAPS, EYES. Always appreciate it when constructors come up with a new way to think about a common word. Thanks Jill and Michelle!
RB, I am delighted to see you in the lineup - and thanks for a recap that was like a little holiday party all on its own! Loved the squirrel pic, we enjoy watching both grey and Abert's squirrels frolic in our yard.
Happy New Year to everyone!
It looks like so far we are all in agreement this was a great and fun puzzle and RB delivered a marvelous New Year’s recap.
At first I feared when 1 across was so negative, but things looked up after that. I had to correct a few answers like naïfs to BABES, and apse to NAVE, but perps took care of the switches. I really enjoyed the theme in spite of not being quite sure of my BUBBLE WRAP fill. I don’t remember that style of dress.
Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year.
Musings
-A delightful slog to start 2026! My ignorance of designs or designers was not a real issue.
-Speaking of slogs, like every New Year’s Day I’m watching the Rose Parade from soggy Pasadena.
-ELI’s “boy next door” persona plays very well on TV
-I remember being jolted when I heard my first CURSE word on TV. Now they don’t even raise an eyebrow.
-We had a DAMASK couch for years
-Our NAVE, narthex and all other areas were full to SRO for Christmas mass.
-Since 1996, college FB games never end TIED
-Before SNL went off the political deep end, it had some very clever skits and added many catchphrases to the language
-Temps around 50F have hurt RINKS and sledding hills around here
-With my memory and lack of will power, New Year’s resolutions are pointless. I wish you good luck with them and a happy and healthy 2026.
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