TEAMWORK!
29 Across. Rib cut with a long bone: TOMAHAWK STEAK. The Atlanta Hawks (Basketball) A Team?
50 Across. News that may interrupt regular programming: BREAKING STORY. The Sacramento Kings (Basketball) A team?
66 Across. Bodies beyond the Solar System: EXOPLANETS. The Brooklyn Nets (Basketball) A Team?
75 Across. Elite squad, or what's found in each set of circled letters: A TEAM.
CrossEyedDave here, to try and dribble you through this puzzle without drooling... Note that each Basketball Team's name is preceded by the letter A. I am not very savvy when it comes to sports, and I thought there might be a deeper rabbit hole here, as here in the East, The Brooklyn Nets could be considered the "A" team, while the Long Island Nets might be the "B" team. So I asked CC for her expertise, and she replied, "it's just an A in front of the team name, and it is a very tight theme!"
1. Always complaining: WHINY. Hmm, reminds me of certain Anons. (Go Blue! Yay Team!)
6. Dog tail motions: WAGS.
10. Storyline: PLOT.
14. Navaratri celebrant: HINDU. Navaratri is a major Hindu festival spanning 9 nights and 10 days, dedicated to the worship of the Divine Feminine (Shakti/Devi). It celebrates the triumph of good over evil and culminates in Vijaya Dashami (or Dussehra), commemorating Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura.
15. Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions: AIDAN.
17. Luggage dangler: ID TAG.
18. [Theme]
20. So-so: MEH. The origins and evolution of the word involve three key milestones:21. Magazine copy: ISSUE.
23. Like an apple pie's apples, typically: PEELED. I wanted Green, or Granny...(as in Granny Smith.)
24. Business maj.: ECON. Economics.
26. Knocks: RAPS.
28. Burro: ASS.
29. [Theme]
34. Lab assistant of cinema: IGOR.
35. Old Navy parent company: GAP. Everything you ever wanted to know about Gap... well, Actually there is even more...
36. Steamed cantina dishes: TAMALES.
40. Wear away: ERODE.
42. Golden Globe winner Seehorn: RHEA. Name #2
44. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia: ERIVO. Name #3
45. Tries calling again: REDIALS. (It's shorter than re-buttonization...)
47. Lucy of "Elementary": LIU.
49. Prayer ender: AMEN.
50. [Theme]
53. Cyberchats, briefly: IMS. (Instant Messaging.)
56. Doe's kid: FAWN.
57. In __ of: LIEU. Definition can be found here...
58. Synagogue text: TALMUD. Info can be found here...
60. Nail polish brand: ESSIE.
63. Plopped down: SAT.
66. [Theme]
68. Church steeple: SPIRE.
70. Silent performer: MIME.
71. Ratio punctuation: COLON. :)
72. Part of a skin care regimen: TONER.
73. Unhealthy haze: SMOG.
74. Recipe meas.: TBSP. (Tablespoon)
75. [Theme Reveal]
Down:
1. Sudden urge: WHIM.
2. Conceal: HIDE.
3. Game, in a way: IN THE MOOD.
4. Secret letters?: NDA. Non Disclosure Agreement.
5. Trading card game based on a manga series: YUGIOH.
6. Game console that preceded the Nintendo Switch: WIIU. Wii, U, Me, Whatever...
7. Some venomous snakes: ADDERS. More here, (if you are into snakes...)
8. Moo goo __ pan: GAI.
9. Green stir-fry ingredient: SNAP PEA. (See above.)
10. Jab with a finger: POKE.
11. Wrestler who won the WWE Women's Championship in 2010: LAYLA. Name #5
12. Missouri River Natives: OTOES. I went to get you a list, but it turns out there are 574 Federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
13. Lands heavily: THUDS. Like my search for a Native American tribe list...
15. Commercials: ADS. Advertisements, seen so many times, they shortened it to Ads, and then lengthened them...
19. Word in an opening line?: SESAME.😀
22. Grab: SNAG.
25. "Am I the Drama?" rapper: CARDI B. Name #6
27. Reach, as a goal: ATTAIN.
29. Stratum: TIER. Tier makes me think of cakes, stratum makes me think of dirt. Hardly compatible.
30. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.
31. Capital of Poland: WARSAW.
32. Metric speed meas.: KPH. Kilometers Per Hour
33. Sport with belts: KARATE.
37. Long car ride?: LIMOUSINE. 😀
38. "Will I __ learn?": EVER. ( Not if it's sports...)
39. Walkman maker: SONY.
41. Talking-to: EARFUL.
43. Yale alum: ELI.
46. Headliner: LEAD ACT.
48. Wrinkled tangelo: UGLI. I posted images of this too many times...
51. Genuflects: KNEELS.
52. Remedy for post-lunch drowsiness: SIESTA.
53. Inventory list: ITEMS.
54. Saying: MAXIM. A.I. Overview
55. Replay speed, familiarly: SLOMO. One word colloquial abbreviation of Slow Motion.
59. Video file format: MPEG. Did not know it stood for this...
61. "Knock it off!": STOP.
62. Hyphenated ID: SSN. Social Security Number.
64. Length x width: AREA.
65. Part of an academic year: TERM.
67. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB.
69. Cauldron: POT. (Or an NYC nabe compared to Swanky Nob Hill...)
I started reading this Blog years ago because I don't understand Crosswords...
Aidan Deshong is a prolific, widely published crossword constructor who gained national recognition while still a college student. Originally from Los Angeles, he is a student at Harvey Mudd College who regularly constructs clever grids for publications like The New York Times, Defector, and Spyscape.
Known for his creativity, his thematic crossword puzzles frequently feature pop-culture references, trivia, and engaging wordplay.
Notable highlights from his crossword career include:
- The New York Times: He has authored multiple NYT puzzles, including several co-creations with other young constructors like Jacob Reed and his former high school classmate Oren Hartstein. His works feature distinct grid designs ranging from clever themes to Saturday-level challenges.
- Defector: He constructed the Monday crossword for Defector (published in partnership with AVCX), featuring unique middle-of-the-grid designs.
- Spyscape: Deshong has been a regular contributor to the Spyscape Consider the Following series, offering unique themed puzzles.
Aidan Deshong debuted on the LAT with Nate Cardin January 5th, 2024. This 15x16 grid is another example of his style and fresh approach. While A Team has probably been used as a theme before, no one has thought to put "A" ahead of a team name before... Circles are definitely needed to point out the quirkiness of the themers.
Across:1. Always complaining: WHINY. Hmm, reminds me of certain Anons. (Go Blue! Yay Team!)
6. Dog tail motions: WAGS.
10. Storyline: PLOT.
14. Navaratri celebrant: HINDU. Navaratri is a major Hindu festival spanning 9 nights and 10 days, dedicated to the worship of the Divine Feminine (Shakti/Devi). It celebrates the triumph of good over evil and culminates in Vijaya Dashami (or Dussehra), commemorating Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura.
15. Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions: AIDAN.
Name #1
16. Courtroom pledge: OATH.17. Luggage dangler: ID TAG.
18. [Theme]
20. So-so: MEH. The origins and evolution of the word involve three key milestones:
- Yiddish Roots (1928): Etymologists, including those at the Oxford English Dictionary, trace "meh" to the Yiddish word me (meaning "so-so" or "be as it may"). It was documented in this context in Alexander Harkavy’s Yiddish-English-Hebrew dictionary published in 1928.
- Early Internet Use (1992): Before it became a pop-culture phenomenon, the earliest known written evidence of "meh" in modern English appeared in a 1992 online discussion board about the show Melrose Place. The Simpsons (1994–2001): The term was popularized by The Simpsons. It was first uttered by a store clerk in a 1994 episode and later famously spelled out by Lisa Simpson to express complete disinterest in 2001.
23. Like an apple pie's apples, typically: PEELED. I wanted Green, or Granny...(as in Granny Smith.)
24. Business maj.: ECON. Economics.
26. Knocks: RAPS.
28. Burro: ASS.
29. [Theme]
34. Lab assistant of cinema: IGOR.
Obligatory insert...
35. Old Navy parent company: GAP. Everything you ever wanted to know about Gap... well, Actually there is even more...
36. Steamed cantina dishes: TAMALES.
40. Wear away: ERODE.
42. Golden Globe winner Seehorn: RHEA. Name #2
44. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia: ERIVO. Name #3
45. Tries calling again: REDIALS. (It's shorter than re-buttonization...)
47. Lucy of "Elementary": LIU.
Name #4
49. Prayer ender: AMEN.
50. [Theme]
53. Cyberchats, briefly: IMS. (Instant Messaging.)
56. Doe's kid: FAWN.
57. In __ of: LIEU. Definition can be found here...
58. Synagogue text: TALMUD. Info can be found here...
60. Nail polish brand: ESSIE.
63. Plopped down: SAT.
66. [Theme]
68. Church steeple: SPIRE.
70. Silent performer: MIME.
71. Ratio punctuation: COLON. :)
72. Part of a skin care regimen: TONER.
73. Unhealthy haze: SMOG.
74. Recipe meas.: TBSP. (Tablespoon)
75. [Theme Reveal]
Down:
1. Sudden urge: WHIM.
2. Conceal: HIDE.
3. Game, in a way: IN THE MOOD.
4. Secret letters?: NDA. Non Disclosure Agreement.
5. Trading card game based on a manga series: YUGIOH.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
6. Game console that preceded the Nintendo Switch: WIIU. Wii, U, Me, Whatever...
7. Some venomous snakes: ADDERS. More here, (if you are into snakes...)
8. Moo goo __ pan: GAI.
Looks better than it sounds...
9. Green stir-fry ingredient: SNAP PEA. (See above.)
10. Jab with a finger: POKE.
11. Wrestler who won the WWE Women's Championship in 2010: LAYLA. Name #5
12. Missouri River Natives: OTOES. I went to get you a list, but it turns out there are 574 Federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...
13. Lands heavily: THUDS. Like my search for a Native American tribe list...
15. Commercials: ADS. Advertisements, seen so many times, they shortened it to Ads, and then lengthened them...
19. Word in an opening line?: SESAME.😀
22. Grab: SNAG.
25. "Am I the Drama?" rapper: CARDI B. Name #6
27. Reach, as a goal: ATTAIN.
29. Stratum: TIER. Tier makes me think of cakes, stratum makes me think of dirt. Hardly compatible.
30. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.
31. Capital of Poland: WARSAW.
32. Metric speed meas.: KPH. Kilometers Per Hour
33. Sport with belts: KARATE.
37. Long car ride?: LIMOUSINE. 😀
38. "Will I __ learn?": EVER. ( Not if it's sports...)
39. Walkman maker: SONY.
41. Talking-to: EARFUL.
43. Yale alum: ELI.
46. Headliner: LEAD ACT.
48. Wrinkled tangelo: UGLI. I posted images of this too many times...
51. Genuflects: KNEELS.
I only know this word from The Wizard of Oz.
"The chipmunks genuflect to me..."
52. Remedy for post-lunch drowsiness: SIESTA.
53. Inventory list: ITEMS.
54. Saying: MAXIM. A.I. Overview
55. Replay speed, familiarly: SLOMO. One word colloquial abbreviation of Slow Motion.
59. Video file format: MPEG. Did not know it stood for this...
61. "Knock it off!": STOP.
62. Hyphenated ID: SSN. Social Security Number.
64. Length x width: AREA.
65. Part of an academic year: TERM.
67. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB.
If a picture is worth a thousand words,
What a short video worth?
69. Cauldron: POT. (Or an NYC nabe compared to Swanky Nob Hill...)
And, The Grid...
So, what do you think of this A Team puzzle? Were you a first rate solver, or did you get stuck on the bench... spill your beans in the comments.
CE:D out...
≽^- ˕ -^≼
P.S.
Here's a freebie!
I was trying to "splain" the puzzle to Daughter #3
And she said, "there's a music tie in too!"
Weak theme concept,
ReplyDeletein my opinion. “A” followed by some kind of team. Is that all the constructor could think of?
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Agreed! I'm dismayed that CC, while recognizing it was just A before team nicknames, thought it was "tight."
DeleteCouldn't sleep, so did the CW. FIR in 9, to my surprise. 16 names, DNK 8 but they perped into place. Struggled with the AIDAN/GAI crossing, WAGGED the "A".
ReplyDeleteI agree with SG: weak theme. I didn't see a theme at all. Putting the letter "A" in front of a team name and calling that a theme? Come on.
50A "BREAKINGSTORY" reminds me of how every single news show now starts with three minutes of telling me what they're gonna tell me in the news show. It irritates me no end. Just get on with the news. I'm an old man and have a declining number of minutes left, don't waste them telling me what you're gonna tell me! Also, they call it "Breaking news!" not "Breaking story". I've finally come to record all the news shows, watch 'em a bit later, and fast forward thru the 3 minute pre-cap and ads.
Thanx anyway, AD, there were some good bits in your CW. Overall, meh.
Thanx too to CE:D for the terrific write-up, including the history of "meh" and the video clips.
Unclefred, I do the same thing. I watch the local weather at 5:15, followed by the recording of the morning's Jeopardy! sans commercials. At 5:40 I watch an in-progress recording of the 5:30 national news. That way I can fast-forward through the coming ups and the ads, finishing at 6:00, just as the newscast ends.
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThe circled letters meant nothing to me. No problem. Just treat this one as a themeless. "Navaratri" made me think of cheese for some reason. Noticed Aidan's self-shout-out at 15a. Thanx, Aidan and CE:D.
I rarely watch the local news but when I do, it seems the weather reporter comes on at least 5 times. Five local stations, each with early morning (4am) news, 6am news, noon news, 4pm and 5pm news, 6pm news, 9 and 10pm news. Three stations have streaming news. And it's all OLD NEWS because you can get their notifications if you want it ( I don't) or read it on websites. Information overload.
DeleteGood puzzle; great recap, thx.
ReplyDeleteIs it unusual to have the constructor's name in the puzzle? I wasn't sure I had it right b/c of that. Don't know why but I like seeing repetitive letters as in the NE corner - they mean nothing; just look cool. YMMV.
Is that an example of Aidan and abetting?
DeleteI smiled at IMS crossing ITEMS in the SW corner. Some of us note different things LOL,
DeleteFIR, getting my WAGs @ AIDAN x WIIU and GAI. Erased KPs for the more pedestrian KPH.
ReplyDeleteESSIE sounds like a nickname for pop music superstar Sheena Easton. My nails have never worn ESSIE nail polish, but my ears have enjoyed plenty of S.E.'s music.
You might send an MPEG via email using MIME.
I liked LIU and LIEU in close proximity.
It might be good for my skin, but every time I change my TONER cartridge, I get black stuff on my fingers that is the devil to remove.
I always wait for perps to dictate dMS/IMS.
I prefer the upbeat Theme from The A TEAM to the melancholic pop/folk tune CED's daughter identified.
Thanks to AIDAN for the fun challenge, and to CED for another fine narrative.
Queen Elizabeth famously wore Essie's "Ballet Slippers". Legend has it that in 1989, her hairdresser wrote a letter to the founder of Essie requesting a bottle, and the pale pink became her absolute go-to for the rest of her life. Catherine, Princess of Wales, has also worn the brand and has frequently been spotted wearing "Ballet Slippers“.
DeleteI agree with C.C. that this puzzle had a tight rather than weak theme as each team is a professional basketball team. Some unknowns but I enjoyed it. I do like the self-referential shout out Aidan. CED, why green apples in an apple pie?
ReplyDeleteThanks guys
Green apples (AKA Granny Smith) have always been the go to apple for baking pies. They provide the best taste due to their tartness, and the best texture as they hold up to the high heat of baking. If you ever ate a mushy apple pie, it was probably not Granny Smith apples...
DeleteCan a puzzle theme be trite and "tight" at the same time?
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe theme may be tight (all basketball teams) but it’s not very challenging nor exciting. And one of the entries is right out of la la land, i.e., Yugioh. Anyway, I FIR so there’s that.
Thanks, Aidan, and thanks, CED, for the review and commentary. You made it all make sense.
Have a great day.
FIR. Our weekly dose of (yuk) circles, sprinkled with a whole lot of proper names. For a Wednesday I expect better.
ReplyDeleteI ignored the circles as usual and that had no impact on the solve.
I stared at the finished product and could not suss out a theme. I had to come here to have it explained. Knowing the theme now, it is majorly lame.
Overall not an enjoyable puzzle.
Thank you, Aidan and Cross Eyed Dave.
ReplyDeleteNo probs. DNK YUGIOH, but it perped in easily.
15A Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions? AIDAN was a gimme.
I like TAMALES. A lot.
As a word, it breaks down into many regularly appearing crossword answers:
- TAM
- AMA
- AMAL (Clooney)
- TAMAL (Mexican dish steamed in a corn husk) The Spanish word for tamale.
- MAL
- MALE, MALES
- ALE, ALES
- LES
Easiest puzzle of the week by far, taking 7:09 to FIR. No stumbling blocks, and I paid no heed to the circles.
ReplyDeleteFelt like a Monday puzzle.
Aidan managed to place another AIDAN Hutchinson (unknown to me) in his puzzle today. I saw the circles but didn't notice the teams, and Aidan also placed the theme fill as the last fill-A-TEAM.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was easy due to the perps because I had no knowledge of RHEA, YUBIOH, WIIU, LAYLA, or CARDI B. The perps were so easy, I'd filled EXO-PLANETS by perps and noticed it afterwards. I learned ESSIE and LIU from Xword puzzles.
TOMAHAWK STEAK- you can go to a steak house and pay $250 or more; go to Sams or Costco and get one for 1/4 the price and cook it and tip yourself.
WHINY- back when SNL was actually funny, there were characters named the Whiners. DW and I called our first granddaughter Mrs. Whiner because she was always whining when she didn't get her way.
"29. Stratum: TIER. Tier makes me think of cakes, stratum makes me think of dirt. " Not to me. Tier=stadium. Stratum=clouds or geology.
Yesterday, I finally updated my IPad to IOS 26.whatever...
ReplyDeleteI thought it would resolve a lot of issues as I was using IOS 18.
Turns out I still have all the same issues, but now every time I navigate away from The Blog, I find I am signed out when I return. Regardless of whether I keep the app open or not...
Sign in now requires my name, my passcode, and then I have to go to my phone and open Google pictures and answer a "yes" it's me" question before it signs me back in.
Every freakin' time!
Remind to to never update anything again,...
It's probably due to default settings in the new load. IIRC, Apple products have a setting that has to do with clearing cookies when exiting a site. Something like that. Probably in your browser settings. For security reasons, you should always stay current.
DeleteWhen I saw the circles, I thought the letters were scrambled, but no, not that, so finally, at the reveal, I figured they were the name of a team with A in front. I did recognize NETS, the rest, I just accepted.
ReplyDeleteIt’s cute that AIDAN got his name in the puzzle. I didn’t find this puzzle as easy as others, lots of unknowns for me like YUGIOH, WIIU, ERIVO, CARDI B, and LAYLA was a WAG. TOMAHAWK STEAK is totally unknown to me, but then I don’t eat meat. Is THUD a verb?
Thank you CED for your fun and informative review, especially for our constructor’s bio.
Yep, THUD is a verb.
DeleteNo WAGS, not WHINY Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, AIDAN (nice CSO to yourself at 15A) and CED.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in usual Wednesday time and saw the A TEAM theme at the very end with the reveal.
I did not recognize all the American NBA teams as the Toronto Raptors do not play some of them very often (KINGS only twice in a season, and one is an away game). SKY is an outlier as that is a WNBA team and plays our Toronto Tempo.
Two inkblots to change Guy to GAI, and vaT to POT. That cauldron clue made me think of the witches in MacBeth.
Did all we seniors think of the Glenn Miller orchestra song with IN THE MOOD?
There were plenty of names today but perps were friendly.
I wish someone would correct that CW clue handbook! “Metric speed measure” is NOT kph, it is km/h. That is what is on our Canadian roads’ speed signs. When you cross the border, there are Think Metric signs that Maximum 60 mph is Maximum 100 km/h. Don’t get a speeding ticket!
“Since 1970, the kilometre per hour, symbol km/h, has become the global standard unit for the measurement of road speeds and the setting of speed limits.” (metrification.uk)
Favourite today was “Word in an opening line?”= SESAME.
Wishing you all a great day.