Friday, Jul 24th, 2026 ~ Kelsey Dixon & Sarah Sinclair
"MAKEUP" YOUR MIND
Generations, and as a consequnce, the Gaps
and I did NOT wear ( Grunge ) plaid
Today's puzzle comes to us from two "younger" generation constructors; their last LA Times was here, in 2024, with TTP at the helm. I did not recall solving that one, but I got a laugh from TTP's link to the "dap". As for this one, it wraps up a week of dreadful crossnames constructions, and made me feel I am either too old, or too cynical; it feels more like an Tik-Tok post than a crossword, but YMMV. Four theme answers where one needs to turn a "blind" eye to the 'blush' synonym in the common 'phrase' answers in order to make sense of the * clue; the reveal is definitely not in my wheelhouse, but I think I got the gist of it . . . an under-sized grid, 15 x 14, with a more than a blush of abbrs and names, Twenty-six 3LWs, and a 21st century-speak Twurd, but I can relate to it. The themers, and the short-spanning reveal;
16. *Lesser: SECONDARYCOLOR- a 14-letter spanner, this is the 'tone / tint' definition of blush
20. *Fit for a queen: ROYALFLUSH - this is the 'verb' definition of blush
33. *Home of the Magic and the Magic Kingdom: ORLANDOBLOOM - also verb, name #1(ish)
46. *Relay rod: BATONROUGE - and last, the actual noun 'makeup' definition of blush
53. Tendency to overuse a certain cosmetic, or what has caused a mismatch between the starred clues and their answers?: BLUSHBLINDNESS
Sabrina Carpenter may be suffering from blush blindness - and perhaps
even over-doing the lipstick, too - but I still find her attractive 😁
But WaitThere'sMore~!
ACROSS:
1. 7-Eleven convenience: ATM - same fill, different clue; abbr #1
4. Bubble tea "bubbles": BOBA - becoming a popular clue/answer
8. Influencer devices, for short: MICs - I am aware that "influencer" is now a "thing", dare I say a "career" in the Social Media Digital 21st Century~? A millennials clue
12. Olympic sprinter Richardson: SHA'CARRI - name #2, no clue; filled via perps - when I Googled, her Instagram link came up before her Wiki; born in 2000, so . . . millennial (ish)
14. ID on a map: IDAHO - Dammit. Got me. I just could not get past "I Dentity" - geo name
18. Transcript fig.: GPA - abbr #2
19. Beyoncé song about the joy of human existence: BE ALIVE - millennial
24. Corp. title for Jane Fraser of Citigroup: CEO - I had C_O, so it was either F, E, I, O, or T; name AND abbr #3
25. BBC competitor that airs "Love Island": ITV - Learned about this TV channel when I watched the history of Top Gear - the Gen X series started in 2002; the orignal show dates back to 1977; abbr #4
My, how it changed; I think the 2002-Grand Tour version may have been
the best TV show ever - funny, informative, dramatic, and entertaining
26. 1980s cool: RAD - I was an 80's kid, but by no means was I "Rad"(ical) - or maybe I was - a long-haired 'headbanger nerd' . . . how's that for outcast~? The cigarette-smoking heavy metal fans hated me for being "smart" and doing well in school, and I simply terrified the geeks . . . Gen X, & abbr #5
27. Unspoken agreements?: NODS
28. "You wish!": "DREAMON~!" - Gen X would have gone with Aerosmith on this one
31. Fed. south of Iran: UAE - United Arab Emirates, abbr #6
37. With 30-Down, Paul Rudd role: ANT - AND - 30D. See 37-Across: MAN - I thought it was THE Ant, which wasn't going to work - I have seen parts of the movies
38. Pride symbol: RAINBOW
40. 1975 thriller with a two-note leitmotif: JAWS - A John Williams composition for Steven Spielberg's movie, which does sound "borrowed" from Igor Stravinsky; we saw 'leitmotif' yesterday - Gen X
EEEEE f . . . . eeeee F . . . . E F E F E F . . . .
I composed this blog days before I read RustyBrain's post -
44. Ring spot: TOE - A whole three-letter word~! EAR would work, too
45. Accessibility law, for short: ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act - 1990
50. Online friends, colloquially: MUTUALS - must be 21st century-speak, so millennial
52. Apple platform: iOS - AND - 60. Apple assistant: SIRI - clecho #2; I tend to think the younger you are, the more likely you'll be an Apple person - see the first image above. I'm Android, as all of the Apple products I ever came into contact with crapped out on me at critical moments . . .
58. Far from shore: AT SEA
59. Like farmers market produce: IN SEASON
61. Title derived from "caesar": TSAR
62. Smallest prime number: TWO - Jeez, math again on Friday~!
DOWN:
1. Donkey: ASS - How's that for a whole three-letter word . . .
2. English article: THE - THE English scored SIX goals in the World Cup, four to France - total 10, yet NOT the record
3. Jury-rig with what's on hand, informally: MACGYVER - today's Friday highlight clue/answer for me
4. Not just unoriginal: BANAL - I tried BLASÉ; 60% of the correct letters
5. Chicago airport code: ORD - I was close - I put in ORL, but that's the smaller field in the "other" Orlando - Florida - not Bloom. ORD comes from the original name of O'Hare, Orchard Place; abbr #7
6. Bandeau, e.g.: BRA
7. "Ain't no rule say the dog can't play basketball" film: AIRBUD - Didn't see this movie - IMDb
8. Parsons who was NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021: MICAH - I knew this name, #4, because he was a Dallas Cowboy hold-out last season - his Wiki
9. Megastar: IDOL
10. Multicolored cat: CALICO
11. Pushed: SHOVED
13. Club in a Manilow hit: COPA - sheesh, pick a Generation already - "makeup" your mind~!
Copacabana, 1978, Barry Manilow
15. Cookies with a "design your own" option: OREOs
21. Bad Bunny's "__ Atardecer": OTRO - aaand back to millennials - Español, "Another Sunset"
22. Phony persona: FRONT - much of Social Media, IMHO
23. Touch down: LAND - Dah~! Not ALIT
27. Gas in an inner tube?: NEON - trying too hard to be witty, this one fell flat
29. "Welp!": "ALAS~!" - I learned today that "welp" is "sadly", in texts; millennial
31. German equivalent of the Tube: UBAHN - short for untergrundbahn, the subway
32. Romance novelist Hazelwood: ALI - Friday vague name #5
35. Most dense: OBTUSEST - just saying this is obtuse
36. Synthesizer pioneer: MOOG - name #6, more here
39. Atomic: WEE - ah; size-related
40. Brand that dropped "Juice" from its name in 2019: JAMBA - name(ish), and Friday vague-ish, but maybe that's on me because there's only two locations in CT - I've never heard of this "refreshment" store
Tough, as befits a Friday. ESP was needed for that name that started with “Sh…”. And a WAG or two later on was also necessary. But somehow, I got through it. FIR, so I’m happy.
Gah. The crossword world is determined to show me that I'm too old to do crosswords...and succeeding. Today was another DNF. Never saw Airbud (is it two words?). Didn't know Parson's first name. Thought it was SHACARia, which turned that BRA into a BIB. D-o had no chance on this "Flush the Blush" escapade. Before I head to the abasement, I must note OBTUSEST as candidate for the worst word of the week. Thanx, Kelsey, Sarah, and Splynter.
At my son's job, there are some 20 year olds, himself (31) and a 40-year old. He finds he has to translate between the Gens. Weirder, none of the 20's carry any cash ever, so if they go out for pizza, he pays and they Venmo the money to him. One new social habit I've picked up from the younger Gens, when going to a friend's house, I text I'm Here. You don't just go up and ring the doorbell!
FIR, getting SIX SWAGs correct: SHACARRI x MACGYVERE; OELANDO BLOOM x UBAHN and ALI; and MUTUALS x JAMBA, BAHAI, and ITS LIT.
I'm guessing that BLOOM is a WNBA team. Don't care enough to LIU.
I guess that "leitmotif" is the new OREO.
I suspect that the Department of No Fun that demoted Pluto will someday decide that TWO isn't a prime number. Maybe they'll make it a subprime number.
WATUSI brings to Wilson Picket to mind, and his big hit Land Of 1000 Dances.. Until today I never thought of his lyric "Do the WATUSI like my little Lucy" in conjunction with Luci Banes Johnson. Na, na-na na-na.
Thanks to Splynter for the fun tour and apropos leg shot.
I'm hoping that CC's and NaomiZ's Ends on a Positive Note is a lot more fun than this one.
Not my kind of puzzle, way too many names and slang/colloquial/informal expressions for my taste. I did get BATON ROUGE quickly since it’s the city where both Hahtoolah and I live. BLUSH BLINDNESS filled but didn’t sound familiar.
I missed ORLANDO because I held on to alit instead of LAND. “Welp!” ? JAMBA, never heard of. We have another original way to clue OREOS.
Thank you Splynter for a very informative review. I needed it.I beg to differ with your comment on Apple users. I’m 85 and since 1989 I have had nothing but Apple products. Our department was made up of my contemporaries and we all requested Apple computers when it came time to furnish us with one.
DNF. The NW was unsolvable for me. Way too many proper names and titles I just had no chance of knowing or guessing. In the annals of puzzles this one rates at the bottom. The theme was lame as well. Overall most definitely an unenjoyable puzzle.
So many nits to pick, so I will start with 1A...so many ways to clue ATM, and they chose "7-Eleven convenience?" Gas in a inner tube/NEON? 🤮 But the greatest sin is the inclusion of OBTUSEST. A word that has never bern uttered. The gimmick was bottom five Worst of All Time. FIR in 10:15 but the experience brought me back to when my Grandma wouldn't let me leave the table until I ate my peas...only this time there was no way to slip this crossword under the table to the dog.
Printed the CW, counted the names (24) and the DNKs (14), read some of the clues, and set the CW down. Ridiculous. I agree w/ Monkey @ 8:38.
Thanx for the terrific write-up, Splynter, and the great legs picture. Best part of today.
As I mentioned yesterday, I may just give up doing CWs. It's just not fun when one after another is a "crossnames" instead of a "crossword". Yeah, I know I count more things as names than most people. To me a brand name is a name, as is a city name, and a title, as 61A.
I had no idea what the theme was about, and didn't care.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Oona), but not the writer (Ali), how to spell the athlete's name (Sha'carri), the British channel (itv), the Spanish song title (otro), or the German thing (ubahn).
Crossing the British channel (pun intended) with the Spanish word was an ugly intersection. Although, I did like the "MacGyver" clue.
Given all the generational comments, I am surprised that this 80 year old had relatively little trouble. Maybe it is because of keeping up with my grandkids, but I actually enjoyed it and found it a bit easy for a Friday.
Welcome back, Kelsey and Sarah. And thank you, Splynter.
Kelsey constructs the Chicago Sun-Times "Chicago Mini Crossword" crossword puzzles and also edits The Atlantic and The Atlantic Mini crossword puzzles. After reviewing and solving Kelsey and Sarah's 4-25-2024 (that Splynter linked above), I started solving the Chicago Mini on a regular basis. She actually uses emojis as helpers or hints in some of her clues. Fun! Plus, I like the Chicagoland references in the clues and answers.
Fixing a chink in your armor, in this case, crossword solving armor, means finding a personal weakness and making it strong. The motivation was to learn the voice of younger constructors. They definitely push the boundaries, with definitions and terms that older solvers may not know or appreciate. And the initialisms. OMGNO! But srsly, give the Chicago Mini a try. Perhaps solve more crossword puzzles from other young constructors and these puzzles will be less obtuserer. erer. The least obtusest.
Splynter wrote at 22. Phony persona: FRONT "- much of Social Media, IMHO"
Yeah. A facade. A fake front. Not what's truly behind it.
Dash T captured that sentiment perfectly here years ago when he wrote something like, "On the internet, no one knows you are a dog." I don't know if that was original, a meme, or a quote, or he was riffing on a quote or a meme.
Tough, as befits a
ReplyDeleteFriday. ESP was needed for that name that started with “Sh…”. And a WAG or two later on was also necessary.
But somehow, I got through it.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteGah. The crossword world is determined to show me that I'm too old to do crosswords...and succeeding. Today was another DNF. Never saw Airbud (is it two words?). Didn't know Parson's first name. Thought it was SHACARia, which turned that BRA into a BIB. D-o had no chance on this "Flush the Blush" escapade. Before I head to the abasement, I must note OBTUSEST as candidate for the worst word of the week. Thanx, Kelsey, Sarah, and Splynter.
At my son's job, there are some 20 year olds, himself (31) and a 40-year old. He finds he has to translate between the Gens. Weirder, none of the 20's carry any cash ever, so if they go out for pizza, he pays and they Venmo the money to him. One new social habit I've picked up from the younger Gens, when going to a friend's house, I text I'm Here. You don't just go up and ring the doorbell!
DeleteHorrible puzzle. Patti has been such a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It was pure slop.
DeleteToo many names I don’t know and could care less about. Too much Gen-whatever speak. No fun.
ReplyDeleteFIR, getting SIX SWAGs correct: SHACARRI x MACGYVERE; OELANDO BLOOM x UBAHN and ALI; and MUTUALS x JAMBA, BAHAI, and ITS LIT.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that BLOOM is a WNBA team. Don't care enough to LIU.
I guess that "leitmotif" is the new OREO.
I suspect that the Department of No Fun that demoted Pluto will someday decide that TWO isn't a prime number. Maybe they'll make it a subprime number.
WATUSI brings to Wilson Picket to mind, and his big hit Land Of 1000 Dances.. Until today I never thought of his lyric "Do the WATUSI like my little Lucy" in conjunction with Luci Banes Johnson. Na, na-na na-na.
Thanks to Splynter for the fun tour and apropos leg shot.
I'm hoping that CC's and NaomiZ's Ends on a Positive Note is a lot more fun than this one.
ORLANDO, not OELANDO.
DeleteJinx, Orlando Bloom is an English actor. He arrived on the scene as Legolas in LOTR.
DeleteI hadn't heard of BLUSH BLINDNESS - but not hard to perp. I had just been reminded of SHACARRI Richardson on a recent sports broadcast
ReplyDeleteI also did CC and Naomi's fun puzzle that was linked
Thanks to Kelsey and Sarah for an amusing puzzle
Not my kind of puzzle, way too many names and slang/colloquial/informal expressions for my taste. I did get BATON ROUGE quickly since it’s the city where both Hahtoolah and I live. BLUSH BLINDNESS filled but didn’t sound familiar.
ReplyDeleteI missed ORLANDO because I held on to alit instead of LAND. “Welp!” ? JAMBA, never heard of. We have another original way to clue OREOS.
Thank you Splynter for a very informative review. I needed it.I beg to differ with your comment on Apple users. I’m 85 and since 1989 I have had nothing but Apple products. Our department was made up of my contemporaries and we all requested Apple computers when it came time to furnish us with one.
Oops, I forgot to ID myself. The above is Monkey.
DeleteDNF. The NW was unsolvable for me. Way too many proper names and titles I just had no chance of knowing or guessing.
ReplyDeleteIn the annals of puzzles this one rates at the bottom.
The theme was lame as well.
Overall most definitely an unenjoyable puzzle.
When the preps have no mojo it’s time to TITT. BUT I love the clue about the dog being allowed to play basketball,, but I couldn’t get Hoosier to fit
ReplyDeleteSo many nits to pick, so I will start with 1A...so many ways to clue ATM, and they chose "7-Eleven convenience?"
ReplyDeleteGas in a inner tube/NEON? 🤮
But the greatest sin is the inclusion of OBTUSEST. A word that has never bern uttered.
The gimmick was bottom five Worst of All Time.
FIR in 10:15 but the experience brought me back to when my Grandma wouldn't let me leave the table until I ate my peas...only this time there was no way to slip this crossword under the table to the dog.
I just finished CC and Naomi’s fun puzzle. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDeletePrinted the CW, counted the names (24) and the DNKs (14), read some of the clues, and set the CW down. Ridiculous. I agree w/ Monkey @ 8:38.
ReplyDeleteThanx for the terrific write-up, Splynter, and the great legs picture. Best part of today.
As I mentioned yesterday, I may just give up doing CWs. It's just not fun when one after another is a "crossnames" instead of a "crossword". Yeah, I know I count more things as names than most people. To me a brand name is a name, as is a city name, and a title, as 61A.
I'll see what Monday looks like.
Took 7:43 today to burn up the raceway.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea what the theme was about, and didn't care.
I knew the Actress of the Day (Oona), but not the writer (Ali), how to spell the athlete's name (Sha'carri), the British channel (itv), the Spanish song title (otro), or the German thing (ubahn).
Crossing the British channel (pun intended) with the Spanish word was an ugly intersection. Although, I did like the "MacGyver" clue.
Given all the generational comments, I am surprised that this 80 year old had relatively little trouble. Maybe it is because of keeping up with my grandkids, but I actually enjoyed it and found it a bit easy for a Friday.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Kelsey and Sarah. And thank you, Splynter.
ReplyDeleteKelsey constructs the Chicago Sun-Times "Chicago Mini Crossword" crossword puzzles and also edits The Atlantic and The Atlantic Mini crossword puzzles. After reviewing and solving Kelsey and Sarah's 4-25-2024 (that Splynter linked above), I started solving the Chicago Mini on a regular basis. She actually uses emojis as helpers or hints in some of her clues. Fun! Plus, I like the Chicagoland references in the clues and answers.
Fixing a chink in your armor, in this case, crossword solving armor, means finding a personal weakness and making it strong. The motivation was to learn the voice of younger constructors. They definitely push the boundaries, with definitions and terms that older solvers may not know or appreciate. And the initialisms. OMGNO! But srsly, give the Chicago Mini a try. Perhaps solve more crossword puzzles from other young constructors and these puzzles will be less obtuserer. erer. The least obtusest.
Splynter wrote at 22. Phony persona: FRONT "- much of Social Media, IMHO"
Yeah. A facade. A fake front. Not what's truly behind it.
Dash T captured that sentiment perfectly here years ago when he wrote something like, "On the internet, no one knows you are a dog." I don't know if that was original, a meme, or a quote, or he was riffing on a quote or a meme.
Also, thank you for the fun solve at the USA Today, C.C. and NaomiZ.
ReplyDeletePlus congrats on your debut crossword, NaomiZ! Very good!