CATWALK-ING
Superstitious~? The Quadruple Whammy
THIS is what a real crossword looks and solves like - with gratitude from my heart to our constructor, whose last appearance for the LA Times was here. The puzzle has a standard 15 x 15 grid, no gimmicks, no circles, a level of difficulty hinting at what's to come with the Saturday themeless ( I'm looking at you, 11D. ). Just six names, maybe a few too many abbrs ( and a high 3LW count ), with with two pairs of nines in the Downs, and enough vagueness/deception to make me have to think about the answers. The themers, "add-ING" to common phrases, are all unique, and such that if a solver can get a hold on one, they can go back and get some assistance for the others; no contrived reveal or 'forced' fill, either. I give it Four Moe ⭐ stars~! The themers;
19. Reservation with impeccable timing?: THE GOOD BOOKING - The Good Book, better known as The Bible; add ING, and you get the last room available at Comic Con - I so want to dress up and go~!
27. Task for a pet store with too many cats?: KITTY HAWKING - I thought this might be an outlier, with Kittyhawk being one word, but no - the town in North Carolina is Kitty Hawk - more here
A kitty hawking "real estate"
54. Night when one leaves the closet?: COME OUT EVENING - Gaming, gambling, etc., where one "buys in" and leaves at the end with the same 'investment'; I have had many a poker night where I was glad to have "come out even"
But Waiting, There's Moreing
ACROSS:
1. Elevator choice: FLOOR - Ah. Clever; I was thinking brand name, then "LOCAL", as opposed to express; overthinkING it, so my NW was messy
6. Tech giant headquartered in Armonk, N.Y.: IBM - I did not know the home office was residING in my old state; name(ish)
9. Mixes in: ADDS - no mixing, just tackING on ING
13. Future family member: FIANCÉ - Ah. The groom side of the equation; fiancée is the lass
14. Cal. neighbor: ARIzona
15. Sniffed item in some tastings: CORK - I pondered "NOSE" - more here - the aroma ( not odor ) of a wine at a tasting; cork sniffer has a negative connotation these days
16. Intelligence, sense of humor, etc.: ASSETS
17. Aunt's sis: MOM - my step-grandfather married my grandmother and his brother married her daughter, my mother's sister - figure that one out 😜
18. Like half of an MLB team's games: AWAY - not just baseball, most team sports have half their season played at another team's arena, not on/at their home field
22. Med. nation: SYR - I had the "Y" in place from doing the Downs first; Mediterranean / Syria
23. WNBA player: PRO - clever deception; NBA players are PROfessionals, too - I was overthinkING again, that the "W" factored into the answer
24. Forensic drama franchise: CSI - totally misread this clue, put in NSA 😝
25. "Christopher Robin" hopper: ROO - from Winnie The Pooh, name #1
30. "Frozen" character with antlers: SVEN - The reindeer in the Disney animated film; name #2
33. "Told you!": "SEE~!"
34. One metal in bimetallism: SILVER - LearnING moment for me; I thought bimetallism referred to the two metals, typically brass and steel, that make an old thermostat work - more on the financial "standard" here
35. Peninsula between the Gulf of Thailand and the Strait of Malacca: MALAY - geo name #3
37. Fuel additive brand: STP - crossword staple
39. Prolonged battle: SIEGE
40. Polar mass: ICE CAP
42. Facial twitch: TIC
44. Indoor rowers: ERGS - I knew this because my brother has one in his basement
48. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT - Ears, Nose, Throat - crossword staple
49. Not well: ILL
50. "Or so __ heard": "I'VE"
51. Soccer great Hamm: MIA - name #4, but a frequent visitor to crosswords
58. Drive: FIRE - Friday cluING; drive has several definitions; cars, golf, passion, etc
59. Ironman competition, for short: TRIathlon; SwimmING, CyclING, RunnING
60. Brainstorm: IDEATE - $2 word
61. Light up: BEAM - think facially, like 'happy' tics
62. Crew blade: OAR - Crüe Axe
Mick Mars - Mötley Crüe - I have a similar BC Rich "axe"
63. Tickled pink: ELATED - This one cost me two minutes trying to find my error; I went with "S" at the end, not "D", never noticed the "tense" of either crossing
64. Spot in the sea: ISLE - this corrected my other messy corner; I had "ATF" for 63D.
65. Bill addressing climate change?: NYE - filled via perps, but "Bill Nye, the Science Guy" is also a regular visitor to crosswords; name #5
66. Flower part: SEPAL
1. Suspicious: FISHY - Ah. I was thinkING human perspective, went with LEERY - this is somethING generally soundING questionable - but not my "Y"
2. Hair-removal option: LASER - HOT WAX did not fit. Ouch.
3. Thou: ONE G - the slang for a thousand, one Grand, not the Biblical thou / thee / thine
4. Army creatures?: OCTOPI - Clever, but perhaps this is better clued as Arm-y~? I did get it
5. Vacation spots: RESORTS
6. Foot that's part of a meter: IAMB - poetry, e.g.
7. Jewelry box item: BROOCH - Earring, Necklace, Bracelet were too expensive in terms of letters
8. Brunch cocktails: MIMOSAS
9. Nutrient-rich berry: ACAI
10. With the current: DOWNRIVER - Dictionary says it's one word
11. Unhatched prize in Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" series: DRAGON EGG - name(ish), complete unknown, but I had enough crossings to figure it out; here's the Wiki
I'm going to try out this read
12. Much of a sunset photo: SKY - Dah~! I went with "RED"
Surreal - and a contest winner - more here
13. Jazz legend Waller: FATS - name #6, no clue. We are in Feb, Black History Month; more here
20. Lavishes affection (on): DOTES
21. Auckland residents, informally: KIWIS - Aussies are too fat to fit
26. Big brutes: OGRES - unless you're Shrek
27. Special skill: KNACK - I have a knack for complicatING simple things
29. Big name in bright lights: KLIEG - this one I knew, from working on movies - more here
30. Dispatch, biblically: SMITE - lots of Bible today
31. Openings: VACANCIES
32. __ college: ELECTORAL
36. New Haven undergrad: YALIE - Ah. Eli didn't make the grade . . .
38. Short cut: PIXIE - Haircut - I call my Pruis C 2 "Pixie"
Short cut - Short car - both cute
41. Pack of cyclists in a race: PELOTON - Tour de Frawnche taught me this word
Now that there's a piece of equipment called Peloton, it's
all that comes up on a Google search 😜
43. Out-of-uniform garb: CIVVIES - Ha~! Nailed it, the rare double "v" spelling and all; civilian attire
46. DVD alternative: BLU-RAY - I have a Blu-Ray player and a few movies
47. Pine leaf: NEEDLE - Yup, that's what the needles are - leafs; they're Leafs in Canada, Eh~?
51. Mazda roadster: MIATA - One of the employees of the pipe organ company has a 2005 model - he let me drive it to get coffee; no power steerING, and manual shiftING - a true drivING experience~!
I'll have the 2026 - in blue, with the fold-away hard top - Vroom-Vroom~!
52. Recon acquisition: INTEL - GatherING whilst spyING
53. Like wine and cheese: AGED - PAIRED didn't work - DUET~?
55. Eager volunteer's cry: "ME~! ME~!" - not the internet meme
56. Lose steam: TIRE - It's Friday, I pondered "FLAG"
57. Semimonthly tide: NEAP
58. DOJ arm: FBI - Department of Justice, and "Fart, Barf & Itch" ( from the Dave Robicheaux series books ). Also possible were ATF and DEA; not fitting in were the Bueau of Prisons and the US Marshals
** Thanks to all at the Corner for the B-day comments, and I truly appreciate "Eh!" who had me down for five years younger 😁 I am surprised at the number of folks who said that "double nickel" was in the rearview mirror for them - keep on solving crosswords~! I do miss the pipe organ job - such a cool place to work, and I am still planning on getting my very own Cooper - loved the links and pics; my brother's card said "I can't drive 55~!" **
** Thanks to all at the Corner for the B-day comments, and I truly appreciate "Eh!" who had me down for five years younger 😁 I am surprised at the number of folks who said that "double nickel" was in the rearview mirror for them - keep on solving crosswords~! I do miss the pipe organ job - such a cool place to work, and I am still planning on getting my very own Cooper - loved the links and pics; my brother's card said "I can't drive 55~!" **
Grid Flow a low 23.7
47 comments:
Personally, I didn’t
find this to be the easiest puzzle in the world. It took me a long time to get everything.
But get it I did, eventually.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning! Triskadekaphobia, anyone?
Hand up for LEERY at 1d. That red herring seemed to fit so well, until it didn't. There was nothing particularly arcane in this one, but it still took longer than any others so far this week -- fitting for a Friday. Thanx, Barbara and Splynter.
MIATA: Splynter's driving experience reminds me of my old F-150. It had a manual transmission with clutch and floor shift, U-crank windows, and no second seat. The only nod to modern technology was an air conditioner -- not a luxury in SE Texas. It was the last year Ford offered a manual.
FIR. I had to really work at this one. There were a ton of unknowns, like peloton and octopi. Even spellcheck doesn't like those words. And as clued total mysteries.
I failed completely to see the theme as I struggled to fill in answers.
Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
FIR, but broach->BROOCH and kleeg->KLIEG. (Bad spelars of the world UNTIE!)
One season of the sitcom MOM featured the daughter (Anna Faris) dating the brother of MOM’s (Allison Janney’s) FIANCE. Christie and Bonny mused that if they married the brothers, Christie would be her own niece.
TRI is impressive to watch, but I’m more impressed by Olympic biathlon competitors. Cross-country skiing requires total exertion, then competitors have to calm themselves so they can aim their rifles accurately, fire at fixed targets, then get back into cross-country skiing mode.
IDEATion was the first block in a flow chart we created to explain how new products and services got to market.
I knew PELOTON only from TV commercials for the overpriced stationary bike and its overpriced subscriptions.
Thanks to Barbara Lin for the fun, fairly easy-for-Friday puzzle. And thanks to Splynter for another fun review.
Forgot to mention that I once had a brief romantic relationship with a woman who was younger than her niece.
Thank you, Barbara and Splynter.
A few unknowns in the clues (such as Naomi Novik's "Temeraire")" but every answer for those perped in just fine. The same for a few answers, such as KLIEG and YET TO (as part of the BTS song name.)
Thanks for the KLIEG link, Splynter. Unknown to me. In fact, thanks for all of the links.
I think that sumdaze will like seeing TRI, PELOTON and CIVVIES.
PVX mentioned that he has an early MIATA, and that he likes it. That new 2026 is a pretty good looking car.
The year 2026 will have three Friday the 13ths. According to the Farmers Almanac that happens twice in every 14 year period. So not rare.
This YouTube Short on WGN Morning News interrupted my solve this morning: Nature is amazing! The Black Heron - Fishing With a Canopy. Genius!.
Actually, I found this one easy for a Friday (for once!). But when finished, I couldn't suss ONEG and OCTOPI. Oh, Arm-y. Thank you! And O-Neg like blood? One-G like Earth's gravity? Maybe The Good Booking and SMITE had me thinking THOU as in the Bible, not Thousand. Thanks again!
Most dictionaries list OCTOPI as an incorrect pluralization, should be -puses or possibly -podes because octopus is derived from Greek, not Latin
Didn’t quite understand army creature being octopi until I got here. Got the theme early on which helped a little. Took a while but FIR!
Good Morning:
Despite the unknown Dragon Egg and a few tricky entries, e.g., Octopi, Needle, Yet To, etc., the theme and much of the fill led to a smooth and satisfying solve. I echo Splynter’s enthusiastic approval.
Thanks, Barbara, and thanks, Splynter, for your always candid and spot on analysis. The Friday the 13th superstitions were nicely illustrated.
Have a great day.
Took 7:03 today to finishing.
Only the first word in "Unhatched prize in Naomi Novik's 'Temeraire' series" was a clue for me, eventually. "Klieg" looked wrong, but everything else seemed to work. I didn't know the BTS song, and I was unsure if "civvies" was spelled with one or two vees.
[This space is reserved for my weekly bemoaning about the Fridays of olden days.]
A clever puzzle.
Loved the “thou” and “Army” clues. I didn’t understand them until I read Splynters recap.
A nose wrinkle for the WNBA clue. It is becoming gratuitous and annoying to always play to Patti’s woke editorial agenda.
Thanks Barbara Lin for an entertaining Friday morning puzzle. Thanks Splynter for the thorough and educational recap.
Musings
-After I fixed two typing errors, I earned a “got ‘er done”
-I always wonder what gimmick tripped the constructor’s AHA button. I’m guessing Kitty Hawking
-The financial trajectory of the WNBA really changed when Caitlin Clark turned PRO
-You got it Splynter
-I BEAMED when I sussed that Bill was a proper noun
-The pronounciation of BROOCH is one of the words that make learning our language difficult
-Last night my grandson had his Master’s Degree Recital with a group full of incredible musicians playing Jazz music I did not really understand.
-I share that complicating KNACK
-I would have some relearning to do to play a DVD, CD or VHS tape today.
-People with Triskadekaphobia yelled out “I told you so” when Apollo 13 blew up on the way to the Moon.
- Perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time wore this number in high school, college and the NBA
After I FIR, I heard myself utter “Wow!”. I really liked this CW. My biggest problem were coming up with the DRAGON EGG and like Jinx, spelling mistake, BROaCH, but THE GOOD BOOK saved me.
NYE filled correctly but I needed Splynter’s fine review to explain it. Before FIANCÉ, I had foetus. Oops.
I’m particularly I’m particularly impressed with the theme which I figured out at KITTY HAWKING.
Thank you Splynter for the explanations and the Friday 13th reminder. 👹
Problem should have an S and I don’t stutter. Just one impression is all I meant. Sorry.
:7))
Husker, your link didn't work, but I would guess LeBron with #23 on his jersey.
I fully agree with Splynter on this one. Lots of clever clues, fair perps for the unknowns, and some really enjoyable mis-direction, leading to some great AHA! and D'OH! moments. What a crossword puzzle should be, IMHO! Hmmm...in my wine-drinking days, I was more likely to check the threads on the cap for rust than to sniff corks. (Boones Farm, Ripple, Mad Dog, etc.) Nothing but the finest!
I actually read "His Majesties Dragon" a few years ago, and found it very enjoyable.
FLN, YooperPhil, thanks for the US 41 comments.
Coincidentally, just yesterday Chicago announced that it had passed a resolution to officially make the eastern end of US Route 66 end at Navy Pier. The "Mother Road" previously ended at US 41 in Chicago (Lake Shore Drive.) They are changing the official starting point in honor of the 100th anniversary of the route.
Santa Monica, CA moved the western terminus of Route 66 in 2009 from a downtown intersection to the Santa Monica Pier.
Thus, Route 66 will start and end at famous piers.
FIR in 7:53. Easiest Friday puzzle in recent memory, lots of direct definition-to-answer clues, and those that were tricky were solved after a brief head-scratch.
A handful of unknowns filled in easily via perps, making for a speedy cruise to the finish line.
OCTOPI is not the standard pluralization of octopus, but it's been accepted in our lexicon for a long time, so I can't really quibble sbout its inclusion here. I thought the clue was very clever.
A nice theme and nice puzzle, though perhaps not Friday-worthy.
I also enjoyed some of the fill, like CIVVIES, KLIEG, MALAY, and PELOTON. The latter reminded me that it has been 40 years since Greg Lamond won the Tour de France and I covered a cycling race in San Francisco about a month later and had to learn a lot of terms.
There weren’t many nits to pick. I didn’t care for TRI and ERGS. . . I’m lucky to come up with BTO, much less one of its hits. . . . I didn’t know the DRAGON EGG series, but perps solved that problem. . . . ARI may show up on scoreboards when the D-Backs play, but the more accepted abbrevs for that state are AZ and Ariz. . . . I was glad the WNBA entry simply referred to any PRO, rather than one of the league’s unknowable mascot names.
TTP's guess can't be correct. LeBron didn't go to college.
“Woke editorial agenda?” What a reach. 😂
Thought I was headed for a DNF with a total white-out in the NW. Even considered zygote for “future family member”. But synapses finally fired and everything fell into place. Otherwise it was an unusually easy DOWNRIVER fast flowing Friday.
The theme was a bit wonky but was fun.
Invokers: sea/SKY, mojitos/MIMOSAS, Yalee/YALIE
BROOCH the subject … Perfesser google says: Brooch and broach are pronounced the same, sounding like "broach" and rhyming with "coach" (/broʊtʃ/). While brooch refers to an ornamental pin, and broach (verb) means to bring up a topic,
I only understood ONEG as “Thou” from a recent puzzle. Otherwise Idabin completely puzzled. 🤨
“Temeraire series”?? I think of PELETON as high cost excercise equipment probably collecting dust but never heard of an ERG rower .
SEIGE was finally used correctly in a recent puzzle as a “type of blockade” but now back to the usual incorrect CW def. I took “drive”/FIRE to mean enthusiasm KLIEG? …
“Army creatures” was clever
Good Luck to all today … Knock on wood
I never thought about biathlons being the merging of two distinctly opposite tasks. X-country skiing is one of the most strenuous sports known, then as you said, they totally need to relax to shoot before staring over again.
You are correct and I've mentioned this in past puzzles.
They caved to "pier" pressure!
TTP has a good memory….still have the Miata, it’s now for sale. I bought a new BMW Z4 M40i HS.
Puzzle had its moments, nice Friday workout.
Good one! Why didn't I think of that?
Trickier than average cluing placed this solidly into Friday territory. Thanks, Barbara.
O NEG sounded like a blood type until I parsed it as ONE G.
My cousin had an original MIATA. It had the highest "fun vs. price" ratio of any car I've ever driven.
As Splynter alluded, CORK sniffing is seen as pretentious. Wine experts (definitely not me) know to only check the CORK for dryness or damage. Movies have perpetuated the myth of smelling the cork.
Loved your "Crüe Axe" joke, couldn't have said it better myself! The guitar pictured is a BC Rich Warlock. I have their Mockingbird with a neck-thru body. Both look cool which translates into "uncomfortable to play."
True. Mental slip. Forgot that he didn't go to college.
C.C. constructed today's USA Today crossword,"Mess Up".
I was watching the women's event yesterday. A couple of the racers looked like Don Knotts in The Shakiest Gun in the West at first, then they lowered the rifle, took a few more breaths, and took aim again. At the finish line all the contestants fell to the ground from total exhaustion.
I think you meant BTS instead of BTO. I would have probably known a clued BTO hit song, but couldn't name a BTS song if I had to. YET TO just reminds me of Ol' Blue Eyes singing The Best Is YET TO Come.
My BC Rich Warlock here
Hola! You all have said it all! I can only ADD that this puzzle required a lot of hard thinking, which is a good thing! Thank you, Barbara Lin and splynter.
I agree about abbreviating my state; USPS uses AZ.
So, I guess that's where PELOTON, the product, gets its name. Aha, I learned something new. I hope your day is fabulous, everyone!
I agree, quite a reach!
Forgot that you're a lefty and never saw one with the Union Jack. Nice job!
Speaking of GOOD BOOKs, the best one for me in the last year is “James.”
Thanks to Barbara! I enjoyed having to work for my FIR. The first themer I filled was TACKLEBOXING. After that I was able to suss out the others. We were off to a good start with your 1A clue.
I cannot believe "Thou" got me again. Oof!
Thanks to Splynter! You really have a KNACK for blogging puzzles. FAV was the Scott Metzger cat comic. Love that guy's work.
TTP@8:5:50. Yes to TRI, PELOTON, & CIVVIES but I'm with Jinx@8:23 on being in awe of those women biathletes yesterday. I so wish I could do that!
Also, speaking of weird calendar things, did you know that whatever day of the week is June 1 will not be the 1st for any other month that year?
It was Wilt Chamberlain, Doh!
Can’t believe I FIR. Thou looked like o negative blood type to me, so I hoped for the best. No idea about klieg, but left it in. Overall I really enjoyed the puzzle. Clever! Enjoyed the review too. Kitty hawking real estate! So thanks Barbara and Splynter.
Great perps and I even got the theme today, so I am rejoic- ing.
I totally agree with Splynter's assessment of this puzzle. Good stuff. It was extra satisfying solving it.
And Wilt would still dominate today.
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