Wednesday, June 24, 2026, Sala Wanetick & Dena R. Verkuil

 

Good Morning, Cruciverblists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of a puzzle co-authored by Sala Wanetick and Dena R. Verkuil.  I recently (May 27th of this year) blogged one of Sala's puzzles.  Dena made her L. A. Times crossword debut in September, 2025 and has also had puzzles published in the N.Y. Times.

Today, they team up in the hope that we will all have a blast working out the answers.  Let's start with the unifier:

64 Across:  Finish dramatically, or what the answers to the starred clues do: END WITH A BANG.

Each of the answers to the four starred clues are comprised of two words.  In each case, the second word is, more or less a description of, well, as the clue put it, something dramatic.  Some are more dramatic than others but we surely get the gist of it.

Here are the four starred clues and answers:

18 Across:  *Time of financial growth: ECONOMIC BOOM.  

26 Across:  *What may follow kids in a candy store?: SUGAR CRASH.  . . . after the sugar high.  This one might have been linked to 18 Across.

40 Across:  *Handshake alternative: FIST BUMP.

Nares Bump

54 Across: . *Stressful contest?: POETRY SLAM.  In this case, stress refers to how poets create meaningful experiences for readers.  A SLAM is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges.

This is how everything appears in the completed grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and their answers:

Across:

1. Getting off the fence: OPTING.  Someone who is undecided as to how to proceed is said to be sitting on the fence.

7. Indian state known for silk and tea: ASSAM.  A place frequently visited in our puzzles.  Five letters and four of those are A and S.

12. Nothing special: MEH.  We can take it or leave it.

15. Subdued: LOW KEY.

16. High wispy clouds: CIRRI.  Plural of CIRRUS

17. 'Twas the night before Christmas?: EVE.  Not sure about that question mark.  The preceding night really is the EVE.

20. Antidiscrimination HR initiative: DEI.  Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

21. Replace with a grawlix, say: CENSOR.  This solver had never come across the word grawlix although I was certainly familiar with the c0ncept.

22. Helping: AIDING.

24. Gush: SPEW.

29. Elixirs: TONICS.  What is a Genie's favorite drink?  A Djinn and TONIC.

32. "To __ is human ... ": ERR.

Paul Ehrlich

33. Past regulation, briefly: IN OT.  Regulation, in this case, refers to the normal length of a sporting contest (e.g. four quarters, three periods, sixty minutes).  It the score is tied at the end of regulation it goes INto OverTime.

34. Blooper reel bit: OUTTAKE.

36. Sounding shocked: AGASP.

39. TD's six: PTS.  A  football reference.  A TouchDown scores six PoinTS

42. Knight's title: SIR.

45. Italian scooter: VESPA.

46. Try to be like: EMULATE.

48. Eye ailment: STYE.

51. Puppy's bark: YIP.  Have you heard about the zoo where the only animal is a single dog?  It's a Shih Tzu.

53. Speechified: ORATED.

58. Antacid brand: TUMS.

 

59. "Let me check": I'LL SEE.

60. Someone who has a trying job?: TESTER.  One who tries things out.

63. Manicure choice: GEL.  More often clued with a reference to hair.

69. Andrea Gibson's "__ to the Public Panic Attack": ODE.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.  If you wish to listen to this ODE, here it is:

70. Oktoberfest mug: STEIN.  What's the smallest amount of beer you can order at an Oktoberfest gathering?  Ein STEIN.

71. Soul legend Franklin: ARETHA.

72. Craggy hill: TOR.

73. Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA.  Supreme Court Justices often visit our puzzles.   We know many of them by their first names.  Samuel and Ruth and ELENA come to mind.

74. "Let's hear it!": DO TELL.  Gossip.

Down:

1. Fútbol chant: OLE.  Often heard at the FIFA World Cup games.

2. Abbr. that includes many racial identities: POC.  Person Of Color

3. Opinion: TWO CENTS.  There are several theories as to the origin of this expression.

4. "Didn't fool me!": I KNEW IT.   Yes, we did.

5. Gas in bright signs: NEON.

6. Fitness centers: GYMS.

7. Accumulate, as sick time: ACCRUE.

8. Sis or bro: SIB.  Abbreviations.  Sister.  Brother.  SIBlings.

9. "No seats" sign: SRO.  Standing Room Only

10. Like fans after great plays: AROAR.

11. Mirror: MIMIC.  Used as a verb.

12. Freeway divider: MEDIAN.

13. "And yet ... ": EVEN SO.

14. Progress that may be measured on a doorframe: HEIGHT.

19. Siri platform: IOS.  An Apple reference.

23. Coffee option: DRIP.   

24. "Quit it!": STOP.

25. Sulky look: POUT.  Y0u better watch out, you better not cry . . .

27. Snatch quickly: GRAB.  Trying to GRAB some toilet paper at Costco during the pandemic was quite traumatic.  I came away with TPSD.

28. Exchange words: ARGUE.

30. Bistro: CAFE.

31. Hits the slopes: SKIS.

35. Awards such as Best Play and Best Team: ESPYS.  The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony.

37. Paintballs, e.g.: AMMO.

38. Egg (on): SPUR.  The clue makes use of the idiom.

41. Long part of a comet: TAIL.

42. Drench: SATURATE.

43. Article: ITEM.

44. Cincinnati MLBers: REDS.

45. Doberman docs: VETS.  VETerinarianS

Not this Doberman

This Doberman

47. Dishonorable wager: LATE BET.  Considered to be dishonorable because the outcome may have been discernible before the wager was placed.

48. Faucet: SPIGOT.

49. Ohio city on Lake Erie: TOLEDO.

50. Loud person: YELLER.  Also the Labrador of movie renown.

52. Green film on copper: PATINA.

55. Actress Witherspoon: REESE.

56. Film starring Barbra Streisand as a woman who pretends to be a yeshiva boy: YENTL.

57. "Have we __?": MET.

61. Herring kin: SHAD.

62. Dim sum root vegetable: TARO.  If your book is made of root vegetables...You’re doing a taro reading!

65. Department head?: DEE.  The first letter of the word Department.

66. Finish first: WIN.

67. Org. emulated in "Heated Rivalry": NHL.  National Hockey League

68. Lass: GAL.  This one reminded yours truly of one of his favorite limericks:

There once was a GAL from Kilglass
Who had a magnificent ass
Not round and pink as you probably think
It was brown, had long ears and ate grass

On that note, it's probably time to haul outta here.  Everyone have a great rest of the week . . . and beyond.

___________________________________________________________

M M OUT
With A Bang