Friday, Nov 6th, 2026 ~ Yijing Chen

GO BIG. . .

Grand Opening~!!

Apple is planning a new building in downtown LA - 

it's called the iSore 🙄

Yijing Chen - is back again; her last LA Times puzzle was the "no notes" musical theme back on Oct 16th that we either loved or hated.  I loved that one, and today's construction, too - it might well be the epitome of a crossword, at least within the context of a themed, Friday-level one.  A solid concept, four answers in a pinwheel, plus a grid-spanner, with each of the matching "?" clues beginning with "Go", but interpreted as "G and O" - the letters that start the matching two-word fills.  A theme that even if solvers sussed out, only gives them two cells for "free".  Plenty of deceptive and/or obscure clues, with almost no dreck for fill, a high Grid Flow, and four 9-letter Downs on top of the themers.  My only 'nits' ( 58D. ) were the five additional "?" clues that were non-themers, used as a hint at punny answers, and of the mere four names ( one a themer ), one could have been clued differently; perhaps a change by the editor.  The five themers, no reveal;

18. Go with the flow?: GIANT OTTER - This animal "weaseled" its way into the crossword . . . 🙄

38. Go wild?: GREAT OUTDOORS - An 80's movie I did not see - Dan Aykroyd, John Candy

I went as Dan Aykroyd's Ghostbusters character Ray Stantz at the gym on Halloween

59. Go vegan?: GREEN ONION - A.K.A. 'scallions', I liked the fact that "Go Green" was not used for any of the clues. I chop up and add the whole bunch when I make my Kung Pao Chinese chicken dish. Here's the musical version

Booker T & the M.G.s

3. Go blond?: GOLDEN OREO - I liked the cute clue for this version of our beloved crossword cookie

31. Go figure?: GARY OLDMAN - One of my favorite actors, I am fascinated how his appearance and demeanor changes drastically from role to role, with hardly any makeup; here he is in the Fifth Element as Zorg, then Sirius Black from the Harry Potter movies, and again as commissioner Gordon from one of the Batman triologies - name #1

But Wait - Go On - There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. Wilts: SAGS

5. Lacking the knack: INEPT 

10. Each, informally: A POP - OK, twurd(ish)

14. Monkey's fist, for one: KNOT - solid Friday obsure, if you're not into sailing - or crafts . . .

Here's how to tie one, and some history / uses

15. James of "North by Northwest": MASON - second of only four names today; didn't have to be one - he was the actor originally cast as "Drax" for the 007 movie "Moonraker"; here's more from YouTube . . .

Fact #9 @ 8:12

16. At its prime, in a way: RIPE - this is true, of fruit - B.O., not so much - see 56 Down

17. Online chat status: IDLE

20. Reduce the importance of: DEVALUE

22. Osso buco cut: SHANK

23. Early tourney rounds: PRELIMS - tournament & preliminaries both abbrs

25. Storage tower: SILO

27. German article: EIN - "a"

28. Clothes line: SEAM - We've seen this misdirection before

30. Herding breed that originated in Wales: CORGI - proper noun, not quite a 'name'

33. Sponsor, as a stretch of highway: ADOPT - Here's a link to the history, and how it works

I believe this is on a stretch of I-84

35. Exceed 21 at a casino, say: LOSE - Dah~!  Not BUST

37. Legged it: RAN - my thanks to the constructor fo teeing this one up for me . . .

A leg, a run, a tragedy

41. Shrill cry: "EEK~!"

42. Part of AM: ANTE - Latin, ante meridian, before ( meri dies ) mid-day

43. Make quickly, as eggs: FRY UP - Also learned this is what Brits call a full breakfast

The YouTube video

45. Not just dreaming about: DOING

47. One, for two: HALF - another vague, yet great clue for Friday

49. It's mined, all mined!: ORE - Great new way to clue this old fill

"Mining" Nemo

50. Noun suffix: NESS -  I read this as the suffix one puts on a noun - e.g. SOFT is an adjective - softness, however, is the noun . . . one can't put "ness" on a noun; I have never enjoyed the "deskness" of my office . . . 😜

52. Handout to a passerby: LEAFLET

54. Tempo slower than adagio: LARGO

57. Gulped down: INHALED - had this clue/answer two weeks ago

61. "Could not agree more": "AMEN~!" - two weeks in a row for Friday

64. Sting operators?: BEES - har-har; non-themer "?" #1

65. "Alice in Wonderland" instruction: "EAT ME"

66. Prefix with quit or bait: RAGE

67. Point of view: TAKE - as in, "what's your - - - on things~?"

68. Optional stair part: RISER - the vertical part between treads if they're NOT optional by code

Vertiginous

69. With 23-Down, stir-fry vegetable: SNOW - AND - 23. See 69-Across: PEA

. . . OR . . .

DOWN:

1. Compete in the super-G, e.g.: SKI - I start with the Down clues to give me some crossings at the themers, which was only 3/5ths effective today; I did not know what 'sport' this clue referred to

2. "Is there more to this story?": "AND . . .?"

4. __ wool: STEEL - Dah~!  I shoulda known this one . . . 😖

5. "Sign me up!": "I'M GAME~!"

6. Paperless filing center?: NAIL SALON - "?" clue #2, very clever, and the first of four 9-letter Down fills; the place one can go to get your fingernails filed, trimmed, painted, etc.

7. Genesis sibling: ESAU - Dah~!  I went with ABEL; CAIN, SETH, and even LEVI fit; name #3

8. Southern cornmeal cakes: PONES - A bit Meh in the plural

9. Letters on red Minecraft blocks: TNT

10. Hybrid subgenre for Ari Aster and Jordan Peele: ART HORROR - Down 9 #2, I have not heard of this type of film-making, and I only recognized ONE movie from this IMDb list; name(ish)

11. Kebab bread: PITA - Dah~!  I filled in NAAN to start

12. Kick off: OPEN

13. Added benefit: PERK - I tried PLUS; 25% correct

19. Scandinavian city served by Gardermoen Airport: OSLO - Four letter yada yada Scandinavia~?  

21. Far-reaching outlook: VISTA

24. Like Ruffles: RIDGED

26. Sugar-coated, in a way: ICED - another great clue, talking birthday cake, e.g.

29. Cave entrance: MOUTH - I pondered our more obscure crosswordese "ADIT"

32. Create a policy for: INSURE - spot on, but took me a while

34. Toy breed that originated in China: PEKINGESE - Down 9 #3

36. Touch base in an unusual way?: STEAL HOME - "?" #3, and Down 9 #4 - baseball, but it's a bit 'meh' as home is a 'plate', not a base . . .

39. License plates: TAGS - I see this in books and hear it in movies, but most of the people I am acquainted with on the East coast do not call them "tags" - it's just "the plates".  Perhaps due to my time in New York where the registration is a sticker in the lower corner of the windshield, not on a corner of the plate

40. Ingredient used by nose-to-tail chefs: OFFAL - Another learning moment; I never realized that "offal" is the word/term/definition of the edible organs of an animal.  More about the cuisine - also British - here in an LA Times article

44. Caress: PET - I put in PAT

46. Inert gas: NEON - second in the Noble gases class

48. More economical: LEANER - CHEAPER didn't fit, but I left in the  "E R" and waited on perps

51. Red Sea peninsula: SINAI - More Bible, Geo name #4

53. Psychoanalysis topics: FEARS - nailed it - not the fingernail kind of hammering fear, either . . . 🙄

54. Pride Month letters: LGBT

55. Side by side?: AREA - a very clever, but fourth "?" non-theme clue

56. Raise a big stink?: REEK - our last, "?" clue #5

58. Minor complaints: NITS - see above

60. Poetic contraction: O'ER - in just a couple of weeks, we will be o'er the fields jingling bells . . . 

62. I, to Claudius: EGO - Dah~!  I went with "ONE", for the Roman numeral

63. Still in the box: NEW - "in mint condition" - I have these two original Star Wars toys, but they're pretty banged up, as I played with them when I was a kid . . .

. . .GO HOME~?

Game Over

Splynter

Grid Flow 62.6