Theme: Texas "Fold'em"
Puzzling thoughts:
Across:
1. Copious quantity: SEAS. Not an often used clue for this word; I have seen the clue used to describe the word "OCEANS", though
5. Kiss or slap: SMACK. Sometimes one follows the other ...
10. Fashion designer Cassini: OLEG. [Wikipedia] "Oleg Cassini was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic
Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United
States as a young man after launching his career as a designer in Rome,
and quickly secured a position with Paramount Pictures. Cassini
established his reputation by designing for films"
14. Crawl (along): INCH. "Slowly I turned ... step by step ... INCH by INCH ..." Anyone care to guess who said this, and to what response?
15. Host: EMCEE.
16. Bird symbolizing peace: DOVE. An old Moe-ku, but appropriate:
17. Canvas bag: TOTE.
[entry]
20. Uncomfortably unfamiliar: ALIEN. Adjective form; not a noun in this context
22. Handy tool for the error-prone: ERASER. Back when I solved my crossword puzzles on paper, I used an ink pen; never used an ERASER
[entry]
27. Pianist in "Casablanca": SAM. "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'" [Ilsa Lund]
29. Egrets, e.g.: HERONS. Eries: HURONS
30. Flout openly: DEFY. At first glance I thought this clue read: "Flour openly" - for which I almost entered COAT
31. Family doctor, for short: PCP. Moe-l'ick:
34. Juicy gossip: DIRT.
35. Conjure up: CREATE. See my comments to 16 and 31 Across ... (ps: there'll be a few more ... )
[entry]
40. Leavening agents: YEASTS. Also, agents that trigger the start of fermentation in wine, as these little buggers convert sugar to alcohol
42. Grads-to-be: SRS. I'm one of many SRS I know who ain't graduating from anything - been there, done that
43. Floor oppositions: NAYS. CEILINGS was too big of a word to fit
[entry]
52. "The Daily Show" genre: SATIRE. Can't comment; no use of politics or religion allowed on this blog site
54. Throwback diet: PALEO. I had to hunt (via Google) why the term PALEO would be a "throwback" diet. And after gathering the information, I immediately knew ...
[reveal]
59. Journalist Lisa: LING. It took a while before there was a
last/proper name in this puzzle. Kudos! (I don't count "SAM" as the
clue was rather easy to suss)
60. Power source: FUEL. Speaking of which, I feel myself "running out of energy", so I am going to finish the Across words and take a break. Might fuel myself with an adult beverage and see if that helps
61. Big bullies: OGRES. Crossword-ese
62. Against: ANTI. Crossword-ese
63. __-Alt-Del: CTRL. The old "three-finger salute"!
64. Heavy landing sound: THUNK. Really? I thought this word was the conjugation of "think and thank" - you know, like "drink, drank, drunk"
65. First lady between Eleanor and Mamie: BESS. This first lady was known for her privacy and had a few classic quotes (at least that's what AI said)
Down:
1. Instrument that may have 21 strings: SITAR. So, after a quick Google check, sitars can have between 18 and 21 strings - found this YouTube video that will explain
2. "__ Holmes": Millie Bobby Brown film: ENOLA. Enola Gay, I've heard of; Enola Holmes? Nope
 |
| Ha! |
5. "Gimme a __!": SEC.
6. UFC sport: MMA. Ultimate Fighting Contest = Mixed Martial Arts
7. Oft-torn knee pt.: ACL. Anterior Cruciate Ligament
8. A-listers: CELEBS. Lots of abbreviated words in the "Down" section
| Best known for "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies |
10. Lyrical tributes: ODES. This is how you clue a mid-week level use of the word "ode". When I solved today's puzzle (May 1st - Friday) the clue was a title ("An ODE We Own")
11. Small sofas: LOVE SEATS. I wonder if the term love seat came
from the shape of one's butt? Keeping this "clean" here, the person in
the middle definitely has a heart-shaped tush; could you say that it's a
"love seat"??
12. Until the end of time: EVER AFTER. Sounds like a fairy tale, to me
13. __ X: GEN. "SPACE" had too many letters to fit
19. Road goo: TAR. I'm guessing now that winter has finally passed, the road crews will be filling in some potholes with road goo
21. "You __ worry": NEEDN'T. Ok, I won't
24. Charlie's Angels and the Powerpuff Girls: TRIOS. I'm guessing that this clue was trying to appeal to both Boomer's and GEN Y's
25. Traffic jam sound: HORN. I suppose you could use HONK or TOOT, too
26. Joined: ENTERED. As in a Zoom meeting or Chat room?
30. Study: DEN. Study (noun), as in a room; not study (verb), as for an exam
31. Writer/director Alexander with two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay: PAYNE. This clue really got my knickers in a twist; "Golfer Stewart:" would've been a far easier clue for this solver
32. Empties completely: CLEARS OUT. ERASES was too short
33. Team leader on offense: PLAY-MAKER. Usually a wide receiver or running back
35. Mexican condiment: CREMA. CSO to Lucina - perhaps she could elucidate this for us?!
36. Agitate: RILE UP. Never the intention of my blogs
38. Facility that may see 16 sunrises a day, familiarly: ISS. International Space Station
39. Fruit covering: PEEL. RIND also fit
45. Paternity testing site: DNA LAB. When I did the math, there are 12 abbreviations in today's puzzle. That seems to be a bit on the high side
47. Aromatic tree: FIR. Aromatic hair: FUR
48. "... never mind, then": OR NOT. Hmm
49. NFL tackling gp.: D-LINE. They are ones trying to restrict 33 Down from making a big play (Defensive LINE)
50. Monopoly income: RENTS. Really? Rent can be pluralized?
IMHO, this would have been a perfect spot to use a clue that yielded an
abbreviated word ... 'rents - as in the slang for one's mom and dad
55. Rank below cpl.: PFC. Private First Class
57. Coop resident: HEN. I prefer my hens to be "free range"
58. Judgy sound: TSK. [sigh]
Epilogue:
First off, you might have noticed that I used zero hyperlinks today. I figure you all need a while to get over last month's recap
Second, my score for today's puzzle is ⭐⭐and 1/2⭐'s. I would like to give it a higher mark but the nicks are for assuming that POKER NIGHT consists only of Texas Hold Em, and the over-use of abbreviations. Positives for the entries; my favorite was ALL-IN-ONE PRINTER
41 comments:
This is one time when
I didn’t figure out the reveal in advance of solving it, and it was quite satisfying when it all came together.
FIR, so I’m happy.
1A was unfamiliar to me, which was a big reason why I was much slower than usual.
Good morning!
Didn't notice the poker terms until the reveal -- well hidden. Those stacked 9s in the NE and SW were nice. Longest solve so far this week, which is what it should be. Thanx, Sita, David, and C-Moe.
FIR. This was definitely crunchy. With answers like erm and play maker, there wasn't much to like. Add some obscure proper names, and it hits the skids.
I didn't see the theme and needed the reveal to get it. Frankly it was the only thing I liked about the whole puzzle.
Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Agreed. Lots is a better fit. Also, erm? Is that a combination of um and er?
FIW, missing with CLEAnS OUT x EnM, which was as known to me as ERM. (I'm not fluent in British, but I know enough to order lunch in an English pub without pointing to the menu.)
Today is Bob Seger's 81st birthday. Accordingly, I'm thinking about a parody of his megahit Night Moves:
Can't drive at night blues
Sometimes I get so dazed and confused
Everything I get I seem to lose
Can't drive at night blues
When I was a kid, we had a tongue twister that went "A skunk sat on a stump. The stump THUNK the skunk stunk, and the skunk THUNK the stump stunk."
"Blah, blah, blah Knightley" is gonna be KEIRA. She first came to my attention in the thriller The Hole some 25 years ago.
Thanks to Sita and Palepu for the mostly-fun puzzle. And thanks to our Chairman for the fun review. My favorite was the "high coo." But are you sure about "all-in" being just in Texas Hold Em? I remember the term from long before I'd heard of Texas Hold Em. One of my fellow engineering supervisors kept trying to get me to go with her to play poker in a card room in one of the inland LA County cities, maybe Bell. She told me that if I wanted to stay in a hand (of five-card draw IIRC) but didn't have enough money to call, I could declare "all in" and if I won, the other players got back their wagers that exceeded mine. (She was married a musician who was a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis. Her husband didn't like poker, but loved to wager on horse racing.)
Enjoyed the puzzle and the recap, especially the question on 14 across which sent me to the internet to a fun Three Stooges routine I had never seen (AI says Lucy and Sid Caesar also performed it).
And Abbott and Costello. All comedy royals. How had I not seen this before?!
I got the theme easily enough based on the action words.* I don't play poker so I did not know that ALL IN only applies to Texas Hold 'em.
The constructors set a speed solver's trap at 64A. Either THUNK or THUMP fit the clue, AND, the two downs at 57 and 58 down resulted in common crossword fill with either answer. I read that competition solvers don't always read the clues. (I believe it was either Dan Feyer or Tyler Hinman that said that.)
With THUmp, 57D would be HEM and 58D would be TSP. Both valid answers. I don't consider myself a speed solver, but I entered THUMP, saw the two legitimate down answers, and didn't read the down clues. (Make the TSK TSK judgy sounds if you must).
I got off to a bad start with Opted In, Rind and Salsa in the places where ENTERED, PEEL and CREMA belonged. Kinda like that cartoon I read 6 or so weeks ago. The first panel captioned Week 1 was "We Won!" The second panel captioned Week 2 was "We're Winning!" The third panel captioned Week 3 was "Send Help!"
In contrast, I quickly recovered from my errors. Well most them. Except from thump THUNK.
Timing is everything. Yesterday morning I watched an interview with Dr Bernard A. Harris Jr. and he spoke of the the G-Force to get to outer space, then weightlessness, followed by donning a 350lb spacesuit (that weighs next to nothing in outer space). His description of his spacewalk, with an unobstructed view of Earth while traveling over 17,000 MPH and seeing a sunrise and sunset every 45 minutes was enthralling. Can you imagine? 45 minutes of day followed by 45 minutes of night? He was on the Space Shuttle rather than the ISS, but since the answer was only 3 letters...
Thank you, Sita and David.
Chairman Moe, I also liked ALL IN ONE PRINTER, but my first thought there was multifunction printer. Perhaps in a Sunday sized grid...
Not sure of your nit about ERM. The British expats in my golf league (Nigel and Marc) both use ERM. One from Liverpool and the other from Manchester. I enjoy talking with them, but I really have to listen closely when they get going.
I did not know that quote, but looked it up.
Thanks for the Moe-kus and Moe-l'icks.
* I hope that UncleFred doesn't start counting and asking constructors to quit using verbs. We all know how he feels about nouns. :>)
Took 6:29 today to get to the river.
Nearly flopped with "cleansout".
I knew this turn of the Actress of the Day (Kiera).
Wednesdays are usually easy but it was a FIW for this cross-abbreviaton puzzle today. MMA, ACL, GEN, ERM, SRS, PCP, SEC, D-LINE, ISS, PFC, CTRL, TSK.
The cross of two unknowns got me today. PCP is the abbr. for phencyclidine, aka angel dust on the streets. I've heard the new term 'health care provider', but not what PCP stands for. A physician of some type. PAYNE was unknown. I filled HCP and HAYNE
ERM- agree with Moe on that sucky fill.
Who'd 'thunk' that THUNK was a sound? Not me but the fill was easy.
I never noticed the poker theme and POKER NIGHT was almost filled by perps before the clue was read. LING, GRU, KEIRA, ENOLA Holmes, and the previously mentioned PCP and PAYNE made for the unknowns today.
Good Morning:
Thanks for the concern about my recent absence. I can only blame a few unusually busy days and getting sidetracked. Other than a few unknowns and the heretofore usage of Seas as a quantity, the solve was a typical Wednesday level of difficulty. I liked the theme and its execution, even though I needed the reveal to discern it.
Thanks, Sita and David, and thanks, Moe, for the informative review and the numerous Moe-kus and other poetic offerings.
Have a great day.
Not a fan of this one, too much of the cluing was clumsy, and the fill itself was uninspired.
Also, "erm" should join "oho" on the trash heap of rare utterances that constructors seem to love.
I enjoyed today’s puzzle! Was slow at first to pick up the themers but got the cleverly clued reveal quickly and then it was easy to go back and fill in the rest. I thought that the theme was fun and tightly presented.
The northwest was last to fall. But persistence paid off and it finally came together.
I had only heard of ENOLA Holmes from previous crossword puzzles. I believe that editors choose that representation instead of the perhaps more familiar ENOLA Gay to keep things positive. That’s understandable.
Thanks to Sita and David for a delightful outing, and to Moe for the entertaining recap. Loved the “Texas Fold ‘Em” cartoon!!
I didn’t notice the theme until the reveal. ENOLA as clued, KEIRA, LING, and GRU were unknown entities. TRIOS was a WAG.
DNF. ERM, PLAY MAKER, NAYS and PAYNE got me.
Thank you C-Moe for the fun review. I enjoyed the Coo Haiku and I can relate to the fitted sheet cartoon. You and Miss M have a good idea.
Musings
-My solve was a little more difficult than the Chairman’s but was enjoyable
-CALL is a word that could cause a player who was bluffing some angst
-Back when I solved in the newspaper, I chose Paper Mate SharpWriters because of their good ERASER
-Our search for herons
Was fun but futile
So alas, no EGRETS
-IDEATE was replaced by much more palatable CREATE
-In this movie Ms. Knightly’s character had to solve a crossword puzzle (00:45)
-Yeah, I’m the only one who first put SALSA for a Mexican condiment at _ _ _ _ A
-Great poker players can CLEAN OUT a rookie with a TELL rather quickly
-Alexander PAYNE is an Omaha native and some of the scenes in his films were shot there.
ERM said no one, ever.
I remember the "inch by inch" routine, but not who did it. Surprised it was the Three Stooges.
I faltered a bit in the SE because of a personal Natick (where 54A and 59A cross 51D). But overall I found Sita and David's puzzle enjoyable and instructive--as well as satisfying in the solve.
And thanks, C-Moe, for another robust and instructive recap. Son Jim (the poker professional) is visiting, and perhaps he can weiigh in on the "All-in"/"Texas Hold-em" issue.
I found this a bit crunchy for a Wed. Probably just sour grapes because I FIW with an "L" at 31A&D. I came up with an LCP (Life Care Planner?) and Layne instead of PCP (Primary Care Physician) and Payne. Good workout from Sita & David.
A HORN is not a sound, but a device that produces one like a honk or beep.
Millie Bobby Brown was popular as Eleven in Stanger Things, so they quickly put her in movies to cash in. But based on what I've seen, she's a lightweight.
I'm not a poker player, so Moe's nuances were lost on me. But I found everything to be spot on.
Thanks for chiming in Irish Miss, we can rest easy now...
I had a similar busy week last week, and didn't post either, but no one seemed to notice. ( I do believe I did hear a sigh of relief around midweek...)
That trailer makes me want to see the movie.
No hyperlinks? This must be corrected!! (Or I would not be CrossEyedDave....)
It was Niagara Falls!
I liked todays puzzle.
Enola Holmes has appeared before so it was an easy fill.
Alexander Payne was an unknown pain.
Not sure what PCP stands for other than the street drug.
The theme was clever and I sussed it out before reaching the reveal.
Thanks for an enjoyable Wednesday puzzle Sita and Palepu.
Wait A Sec!
how many people have done this sketch?
slowly i turned...
inch by inch...
Dave, thanks for all of the bits! Knew I could count on someone here to spice up the recap with some hyperlinks 😂😂
Jinx @ 7:04 - it's been a couple of decades since I had a group of guys I played poker with, but we played all four of the poker games I mentioned. Never heard anyone say "All-in" other than in Texas Hold Em
Ken, I'm now curious too. Please let us know what your son's thoughts are on the "all-in" bet.
HELP!
I'VE FALLEN DOWN A RABBIT HOLE, AND CAN'T GET OUT!...
(Maybe one day without hyperlinks isn't such a bad idea...)
Interesting, if a bit challenging, puzzle, but still enjoyable--many thanks, Sita and David. And thanks, as always, for your helpful commentary, Moe.
Well, we had to look at the SEAS from a place on land, but one which let us cozy up on our LOVE SEATS, and listen to music played by TRIOS on a SITAR, surrounded by CELEBS, while hanging out on POKER NIGHT. This helped us to get around the less pleasant words like SMACK, and DIRT, and TAR, and OGRES. Instead we could DEFY all this and RAISE THE BAR by picturing ourselves seated on LOVE SEATS in the DEN, enjoying some CREMA, while watching some SATIRES on television. Actually, I'd rather see SANTA riding a SLEIGH, hoping that he'll bring me a DOVE or a HEN to play with. Okay, so I'll have to FOLD LAUNDRY later on, but SHEESH, that's home life, and we're lucky to be able to enjoy it, chores and all. Sorry, if I sound RILED UP, but I enjoyed this puzzle, and just want to wish you all a happy and delightful and pleasant day.
Hola! Even though I know nothing about POKER I managed to finish the puzzle. I do know a lot about how to FOLD LAUNDRY, however, and have used YEASTS.
The constructors gave us just enough information to help the solve. PAYNE was a complete unknown and I had to ask ALEXA. ERM also mystified me and I left it blank. It didn't help that I had CLEANS instead of CLEARS.
As for CREMA, it's a bit like yogurt but sweeter and can be used as a topping for enchiladas, tacos and other food.
KIERA Knightly was first introduced to me in "BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM".
THUNK is just ugly. I hope your day is going well, everyone!
Rusty, you made that exact same comment in your review:
https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/2025/11/sunday-november-30-2025-rafael-musa.html
From a quick search, the LAT has had ERM 7 times since the beginning of last year.
The last time we had it was Apr 26th this year.
Darren in LA has used it in his comments multiple times. I think he's American.
12 names, DNK 4, FIR in 12. Most of this CW I found to be fun, and I did see the poker connection before I got to 55A, which only helped a bit.
While for the most part I enjoyed this CW, a few nits:
I'm not thrilled with SEAS at 1A. I wanted TONS or LOTS or....but I knew 1D is SITAR, 2D is ENOLA, 3D is ACTII, so 1A had to be SEAS.
WEES re ERM. WEES re THUNK. And what RB@10:16 said re HORN.
I wanted MEYERS at 28D, but it didn't fit. Perps to the rescue. Never heard of GRU, all perps.
I enjoyed this CW, thanx SCP&DYL, for the most part a fun solve.
TTP@7:34, yeah, I count a noun as a name if it IS a name, like a brand name, or the name of a particular species. Today I count DOVE as a name: it is the name of a species of bird. But I do not call HORN a name. But, your criticism is well taken, I count as names many things others would not, if they only count proper names. Today by my count names are: 10, 16, 27, 59 and 65 Across, and 2, 3, 9, 28, 31, 38, and 56 Down. Peace.
ERM, I'm a creature of habit!
Glad to see you back Irish Miss and CED.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Sita and David, and CMoe (I loved the Moe-kus).
I FIRed in Friday time, but saw the POKER theme after CALL and RAISE.
TELL was a great Easter Egg (good catch CMoe).
Sita almost gave herself a CSO with SITAR.
I had scads of inkblots starting with rEAm before SEAS. I knew KEIRA but wanted to reverse the E and I (names don’t follow the I before E rule?).
Hand up for HOnk before HORN (I agree with RB@10:16).
Another hand up for CLEAnS OUT before CLEARS OUT.
Third hand up for idEATE before CREATE.
I debated between plunk or THUNK. I already had the NK from perps.
Our family doctors are called GPs (General Practitioners).
This Canadian had to wait for the BE to remember BESS. I don’t have all your presidents memorized in order.
I do not hear the British ERM around here. We are too busy saying Eh!
Toronto-born Mike MYERS is beloved by Canadians for his “Elbows Up” on SNL.
Wishing you all a great day.
I am not familiar with that “Inch by Inch” skit by any performers. But then, I was not familiar with the “Who’s on Base” skit either. AnonT brought me up to speed several years ago.
FLN- thanks TTP for the prickly pear photo. That plant has had a tremendous growth!
Glad to know that you were just busy! You are forgiven! I just always look forward to your post as I’ve said before! Take care!
This took a while, but managed to FIR. I liked Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice. Thanks Sita, David and Chairman Moe.
Primary Care Physician
ERM, I guess not many Cornerites subscribe to Brit Box.
Post a Comment