Friday, Oct 9th, 2026 ~ Jeremy Venook

AN AIM TO EFFACE

You Know My Name - Eyes Without a Face

This is my second review of a Jeremy Venook construction; the first one is here, and like that first puzzle, I have a similar "meh" feeling about today's crossword.  One could say it was a bit "LAME", and I don't mean the dress.  The 'names' theme was disappointing - perhaps due to the fact that I did not recognize two of them, and that they're, well, names, associated with a characteristic of a face; YMMV.  In addition, I found the crossings were of little help - I'm looking at you, 9D~!  Standard grid, no outliers, no circles, half as many 3LWs as Five-letter ones, two Twurds, and plenty of proper nouns, since that was the "name" of the "game" - the themers and centered reveal;

17. *Two-time Oscar winner with a stoic bearing?: EMMA STONE - Stone Face, usually the more common phrase being stone faced, or having a Poker Face - take it, Lady Gaga~!

😑

Emma Stone, stone face

23. *Nursery rhyme lad with one eye closed?: WILLIE WINKIE - My parents were born & raised in England, yet I've never heard of "Wee Willie Winkie" or the Scottish folk song; in fact, 'winkie' meant the "one-eyed willie" - if you know what I mean.  I guess this is the 'winkie face', which Google says should be "winky"

😉

Perhaps you prefer "We Willie Rock You"~?

46. *Fictional spy sporting a big yellow button?: GEORGE SMILEY - A learning moment for me, this character appeaed when I was just 3yrs old - but I have heard of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", the 1974 novel from author John Le Carré, which became a TV series ( 1979 ) with Alec Guinness as the lead intelligence officer ( after he played Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi in 1977, which I did see ); more here

😄

57. *NFL analyst with a sad demeanor?: HOWIE LONG - I know this guy - he's on the FOX network.

A horse walks in to a saloon, the bartender asks, "why the long face~?"

36. Finally meet in person, or how to make the starred clues match their answers:
PUT A FACE TO A NAME
My dad insisted when I filled out a job application to "put a face to the name",
and speak to a manager instead of just walking out

But Wait -  don't drop names - 

There's More to make a face over  😖
 

ACROSS:

1. C in shop class?: CLAMP - this thing; as a woodworker, one can never have enough clamps

Bar Top glue-up

6. Blu-ray precursor: DVD

9. South Asian crepes: DOSAs - Ugh. Crossing another name, double UGH

14. Hispaniola nation: HAITI - this Geo name has appeared in all four of Jeremy's LA Times puzzles

15. Outdoor co-op with an "Uncommon Path" blog: REI - learned by doing crosswords

16. Loosen, as laces: UNTIE - Odd that this counts as Friday-level, considering the rest of the clues

19. Recline atop: LIE ON - Twurdish #1

20. Charge: FEE

21. Horn sound: TOOT

22. Briquettes: COALS

26. Talk into a bigger purchase: UPSELL

29. Warped Tour sponsor: VANS - No clue; the Warped Tour Wiki; I knew a handful of the bands from the one in 1998; in 2012, despite having triple the performers, I knew not one of them . . . since it could have been a vehicle 'vans' answer, name #1 ( +4 if you count the themers . . . )

30. Protective trench: MOAT - I do love castles

Now that's a moat - Bodiam Castle

31. Golfing goof: SLICE - FORE~!

33. Lid: CAP - AND - 57D. Lid: HAT

40. Grads-to-be: SRs

41. Sarge's superior: LOOIE - oof.  Friday.  Lieutenant.  If it weren't for my voracious reading, I would not have gotten this one - also seen in novels as "LOO", "LOOT", "L-T", etc.

42. Hieroglyphic snakes: ASPs

43. Insider's argot: CANT - argot being the 'jargon', lingo and language of a small group, e.g. scientists

44. Check: ARREST

51. Partygoer who might stock up on glow sticks: RAVER - I grew up in the "mosh pit" era

52. Many a Yemeni: ARAB

53. Sweets: BAE - not candy, vague, and cringe, I can't stand this word - two of three Fridays now 😖

56. Carne __ burrito: ASADA

59. Romantic poet who died fighting for Greek independence: BYRON - interesting life, name #2

60. "Eddington" director Aster: ARI - I know none of  his work - IMDb, name #3

61. Caused: LED TO - Twurdish #2

62. Utter, as thou might: SAYST - canceled my SAYTH, which needed to be SayEth anyway - until I checked with our new friend A I, and found this . . . 

Archaic spelling of "archaic" . . . uhhh

63. Pewter component: TIN - about 85-99%, according to Wiki

64. Eye sores: STYES


DOWN:

1. Many a cooking show host: CHEF

2. Fabric with metallic threads: LAMÉ - Some of this puzzle may be "lame", but not this dress . . . 🙄

Hey, 56% off~! Buy it now~!

3. Love, in French: AIME - does not rhyme with LAME, more like ay-MUH in the Frawnche

4. NYC transit org.: MTA - I grew up on Long Island, so I'm familiar with this organization; name(ish) and abbr, but here's a video from the B1M on a NYC project ahead of schedule, AND below budget

Park Ave rebuild

5. Flower part: PISTIL

6. Salivate: DROOL - Makes me think of Odie from Garfield

I'm down here with Cooper, who is not a drooler - but he does like to lick

7. Starbucks order: VENTI

8. Drop to 0%: DIE - Ah. Like phone batteries

9. Woman of La Mancha?: DULCINEA - Crossing two themers, and name #4 - Don Quixote's imaginary girlfriend; Why stop at one~?  I have a dozen imaginary girlfriends . . .  😁 the Wiki

10. Mirepoix vegetables: ONIONS - Frawnche. no clue, filled via perps

11. Swordfish cut: STEAK - solid WAG on my part, but then again, I know salmon is sold as 'steaks'

12. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI - learned by doing crosswords

13. Intuit: SENSE

18. Per-axle charge: TOLL - I just got a class-action settlement statement from a legal firm in Suffolk County, NY - the state owes me $144 for "illegal" fees on red-light camera tickets - Take THAT~!!

23. Large New Zealand cricket in the name of an Oscar-winning digital effects company: WĒTĀ - zero clue, didn't want one -  I have zero interest in "bugs" - I prefer ETymology over ENTOmology - 😝

24. Paperless Post alternative: eVITE - Ugh.  I tried eSite, thinking capitalized Post = newspaper, not the Postal, federal mail system , and a Tuesday dupe

25. Baylor University city: WACO - Geo name #5

26. Pros who work at home: UMPs - I think this clue needed an "?" - for home PLATE, that is . . .

27. Really come down: POUR - I tried HAIL, TEEM, PELT - Bzzzzt on all of them . . .

28. College Board exams: SATs

31. Many Highland Games participants: SCOTS - I had CELTS, so I was only 40% correct

32. Fragrant garland: LEI

33. Instance: CASE

34. Boxes in an arena?: AMPS - Boxes being the 3D noun, not the 'sparring' verb kind; I play guitar, and this is still too vague, even for a Friday . . .

35. Annoyance: PEST

37. Like a foul that might earn an automatic ejection: FLAGRANT - PERSONAL fit as well

Half the distance to the goal, automatic first down

38. Super-duper: A-ONE

39. Less than hardly, quaintly: NARY - I tried RARE, got me enough

43. Assertions of faith: CREDOS

44. Jai __: ALAI

45. Fights back: REBELS - the verb, not the noun

46. Snatches: GRABS - reminds me of this scene from Ocean's Eleven

Linus calls it a "smash & grab", but it's

slightly more complicated than that . . .

47. GPA booster: EASY A

48. Egg-producing organ: OVARY

49. Language of a haka chant: MAORI - same language as the bug above 🠉 - name(ish)

50. Conservationist Bindi: IRWIN - No clue, WAG on the "I" crossing the theme name - turns out to be Steve Irwin's daughter - still, it's #6

53. Hair quality: BODY - sadly, my hair quality is "thin", my body, "thick" - I'd prefer the reverse . . .

54. Upfront stake: ANTE - poker [face], not poking

55. Obstacles to teamwork: EGOs

58. Permit: LET - the verb, not the noun

Splynter

Gri(n)d Flow 21.4