The Private Eye is on Your Trail.
17-Across. Pregame activity in a parking lot: TAILGATING.
25-Across. Cursor control on some older laptops: TRACKBALL.
36-Across. Like a place with free treats and a full water dish, presumably: DOG FRIENDLY.
50-Across. Wells Fargo rival: CHASE BANK.
And the unifier:
59-Across. Point to future plot developments, or a feature of 17-, 25-, 36-, and 50-Across: FORESHADOW. The first word in each theme answer is another term for "shadowing" someone. This theme caught me off guard at first. The words Tail, Dog, and Chase, made we think we were looking at some type of animal, but how did Track fit into that? Then it dawned on me, I was being Shadowed
Here's the Grid.
What else is in today's puzzle?
Across:
1. Snack (on): NOSH. Today's Yiddish lesson. To Nosh means to take a bite of food.
5. Muscle twitch: SPASM.
10. Endure: LAST.
14. Really feel yesterday's workout: ACHE.
15. Country singer Tucker: TANYA. Tanya Denise Tucker (b. Oct. 10, 1958) was big in the country scene in the 1970s and 1980s. She had her first big hit in 1972 at age 13 with her rendition of Delta Dawn.
16. Suspecting: ON TO.
19. Place in the overhead bin, say: STOW.
20. Disconnect from work, colloquially: UNPLUG.
21. "__ the season ... ": TIS.
23. "The Simpsons" bartender: MOE.
24. Silky semisynthetic fabric: RAYON. A brief history of Rayon.
28. Oral health org.: ADA. As in the American Dental Association.
29. Indigenous language with Dakota and Lakota dialects: SIOUX.
31. Charged particles: IONS.
32. Ulrich of Metallica: LARS. Lars Ulrich (b. Dec. 26, 1963) is a Danish musician. He is the drummer and a founding member of the heavy metal band Metallica.
34. Well-worn pencil: NUB.
35. London's __ Gardens: KEW. Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London founded in 1759. It claims to house the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world.
40. Language similar to Thai: LAO. Thailand and Laos are neighboring countries.
41. Couple: TWO.
42. __-care: SELF.
45. Senior-year dance: PROM.
47. Hilarious folks: RIOTS.
49. "U slay me!": LOL. Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud, or as some people think, Lots Of Love.
52. "Deck the Halls" plant: HOLLY. 'Tis the Season ...
54. Use oars: ROW.
55. Daily grind: RUT.
56. "The Situation Room" co-host Brown: PAMELA. Pamela Ashley Brown (b. Nov. 29, 1983) is currently CNN's chief investigative correspondent and anchor. Since March 2025, she has served, together with Wolf Blitzer, as the co-host of The Situation Room.
57. "Waterloo" pop group: ABBA. The Swedish band was formed in 1972. It took its name by using the first initial of each member: Agnetha Fältskog (b. Apr. 5, 1950), Björn Ulvaeus (B. Apr. 25, 1945), Benny Andersson (b. Dec. 16, 1946) and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (b. Nov. 15, 1945). Agnetha was married to Björn. and Benny was married to Anni-Frid.
62. Small glass container: VIAL.
 |
| A Vile Vial. |
63. Energy sources: FUELS.
64. California wine region: NAPA.
65. __ Grey tea: EARL. I am not keen on Earl Grey tea. The addition of Bergamot oil gives this tea its distinctive flavor. The tea is named after Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey (Mar. 13, 1764 ~ July 17, 1845), He served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from November 1830 to July 1834.
66. Clown's perch: STILT.
67. Tiny: ITSY.
Down:
1. One with innate talent: NATURAL.
2. Anthem played at Blue Jays home games: O CANADA. A shout out to our very own CanadianEh!
3. Boat-building spot: SHIPYARD.
4. Word of welcome: HELLO.
5. Male deer: STAG.
6. Butter square: PAT.
7. Singer DiFranco: ANI. Ani DiFranco (née Angela Maria DiFranco; b. Sept. 23, 1970) has released more than 20 albums.
8. Grammar subject: SYNTAX. Syntax is the set of rules that govern how words, phrases, and symbols are arranged to form well-structured sentences.
9. Facetious response to "How did you do that?": MAGIC.
10. Part of LAX: LOS. The Los Angeles airport code
11. Marvel superhero who shrinks to the size of a bug: ANTMAN.
12. Bar seats: STOOLS.
13. Spa handout: TOWEL.
18. Revs, as an engine: GUNS.
22. Hit the slopes: SKIED.
25. Guided visit: TOUR.
26. Add insult to injury: RUB IT IN.
27. Soup dishes: BOWLS.
30. Deets: INFO. I need the Details!
33. Jam band highlights: SOLOS.
35. Pretzel shape: KNOT.
37. Fortnite enthusiast, e.g.: GAMER.
38. "Return of the Jedi" creature: EWOK. Ewoks are the fictional species of small, furry, critters that are native to the forest moon of Endor in the Star Wars movies.
39. Gave quite an earful: YELLED AT.
43. Bounces clumsily: LOLLOPS. Not to be confused with Lollipops. According to Webster's Dictionary, "Lollop is an intransitive verb meaning to move or run in an awkward, unhurried, bounding, or rolling way."
44. Take off: FLYAWAY.
 |
| Flyaway hair |
45. Extreme fear: PHOBIA.
46. Venue that sells shellfish: RAW BAR.
47. Squeal on: RAT OUT.
48. Iranian ruler until 1979: SHAH. I just read Marjan Kamali's novel The Stationery Shop, which is about the 1953 uprising in Tehran. The Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was overthrown in a coup d'état that strengthened the rule of the Shah.
50. Really yen for: CRAVE.
51. Enthusiasts: BUFFS.
53. Muscat resident: OMANI.
56. Hissed "Hey!": PSST.
58. __-purpose flour: ALL. Who knew there were so many types of flour.
60. Big name in camping gear: REI. This company makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles. REI stands for Recreational Equipment, Inc.
61. Pipe bend: ELL.
חתולה
A generally
ReplyDeleteuser-friendly puzzle, with one outlier:
“Lollops.” Otherwise, no problem.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI take umbrage at that remark about TRACKBALL and "older" computers. I've been using a trackball for years. I like it much better than a conventional mouse that needs lotsa real estate to move around. ADA is a sad reminder that over the years I've paid lots more to ADA members than to AMA members. I've got a couple more big ADA expenses to look forward to in the next 30 days. If it's not my teeth, it's my eyes. And if it's not my eyes, it's my ears. DW says it's all in my head.
Interesting puzzle today, Joe, and you were in fine form on your expo (as usual), Hahtoolah.
FIR, but duo->TWO.
ReplyDeleteCSO to our French friends @ RIOTS.
Hand up for not knowing LOLLOPS.
I tend to filter restaurant selection to those that are DOG FRIENDLY. Zoё used to be very enthusiastic about it, but at 13 1/2 she'd really rather stay home. We compromise.
Thanks to Joe for the fun, easy puzzle. And thanks to Ha2la for another fine review. My favoriote was Nestflix, or as I dubbed it, "cat porn."
LOLLOPS???
ReplyDeleteyeesh
FIR. I take exception to "lollops" (?). What the heck is that? All it did is cause me to second guess everything around it, especially the proper name Pamela.
ReplyDeleteI got the theme as I went along, but the reveal actually seemed a bit off.
Overall a so-so puzzle.