Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Aidan Deshong

 TEAMWORK! 

18 Across. Sharp reply to unsolicited advice: DID I ASK YOU. The Chicago Sky ( Basketball) A Team?

29 Across. Rib cut with a long bone: TOMAHAWK STEAK. The Atlanta Hawks (Basketball) A Team?

50 Across. News that may interrupt regular programming: BREAKING STORY. The Sacramento Kings (Basketball) A team?

66 Across. Bodies beyond the Solar System: EXOPLANETS. The Brooklyn Nets (Basketball) A Team?

75 Across. Elite squad, or what's found in each set of circled letters: A TEAM. 

CrossEyedDave here, to try and dribble you through this puzzle without drooling...  Note that each Basketball Team's name is preceded by the letter A.  I am not very savvy when it comes to sports, and I thought there might be a deeper rabbit hole here, as here in the East, The Brooklyn Nets could be considered the "A" team, while the Long Island Nets might be the "B" team. So I asked CC for her expertise, and she replied, "it's just an A in front of the team name, and it is a very tight theme!"

I started reading this Blog years ago because I don't understand Crosswords...

Aidan Deshong is a prolific, widely published crossword constructor who gained national recognition while still a college student. Originally from Los Angeles, he is a student at Harvey Mudd College who regularly constructs clever grids for publications like The New York Times, Defector, and Spyscape. 

Known for his creativity, his thematic crossword puzzles frequently feature pop-culture references, trivia, and engaging wordplay. 

Notable highlights from his crossword career include:

• The New York Times: He has authored multiple NYT puzzles, including several co-creations with other young constructors like Jacob Reed and his former high school classmate Oren Hartstein. His works feature distinct grid designs ranging from clever themes to Saturday-level challenges. 
• Defector: He constructed the Monday crossword for Defector (published in partnership with AVCX), featuring unique middle-of-the-grid designs. 
• Spyscape: Deshong has been a regular contributor to the Spyscape Consider the Following series, offering unique themed puzzles. 

Aidan Deshong debuted on the LAT with Nate Cardin January 5th, 2024. This 15x16 grid is another example of his style and fresh approach. While A Team has probably been used as a theme before, no one has thought to put "A" ahead of a team name before...  Circles are definitely needed to point out the quirkiness of the themers.

Across:
1. Always complaining: WHINY. Hmm, reminds me of certain Anons. (Go Blue! Yay Team!)

6. Dog tail motions: WAGS.

10. Storyline: PLOT.

14. Navaratri celebrant: HINDU. Navaratri is a major Hindu festival spanning 9 nights and 10 days, dedicated to the worship of the Divine Feminine (Shakti/Devi). It celebrates the triumph of good over evil and culminates in Vijaya Dashami (or Dussehra), commemorating Goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura.

15. Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions: AIDAN.

Name #1

16. Courtroom pledge: OATH.

17. Luggage dangler: ID TAG.

18. [Theme]

20. So-so: MEH. The origins and evolution of the word involve three key milestones:

• Yiddish Roots (1928): Etymologists, including those at the Oxford English Dictionary, trace "meh" to the Yiddish word me (meaning "so-so" or "be as it may"). It was documented in this context in Alexander Harkavy’s Yiddish-English-Hebrew dictionary published in 1928. 
• Early Internet Use (1992): Before it became a pop-culture phenomenon, the earliest known written evidence of "meh" in modern English appeared in a 1992 online discussion board about the show Melrose Place. 
The Simpsons (1994–2001): The term was popularized by The Simpsons. It was first uttered by a store clerk in a 1994 episode and later famously spelled out by Lisa Simpson to express complete disinterest in 2001. 

21. Magazine copy: ISSUE.

23. Like an apple pie's apples, typically: PEELED. I wanted Green, or Granny...(as in Granny Smith.)

24. Business maj.: ECON. Economics.

26. Knocks: RAPS.

28. Burro: ASS.

29. [Theme]

34. Lab assistant of cinema: IGOR.

Obligatory insert...

35. Old Navy parent company: GAP. Everything you ever wanted to know about Gap... well, Actually there is even more...

36. Steamed cantina dishes: TAMALES.

40. Wear away: ERODE.

42. Golden Globe winner Seehorn: RHEA. Name #2

44. "Wicked" co-star Cynthia: ERIVO. Name #3

45. Tries calling again: REDIALS. (It's shorter than re-buttonization...)

47. Lucy of "Elementary": LIU.

Name #4

49. Prayer ender: AMEN.

50. [Theme]

53. Cyberchats, briefly: IMS. (Instant Messaging.)

56. Doe's kid: FAWN.

57. In __ of: LIEU. Definition can be found here...

58. Synagogue text: TALMUD. Info can be found here...

60. Nail polish brand: ESSIE.

63. Plopped down: SAT.

66. [Theme]

68. Church steeple: SPIRE.

70. Silent performer: MIME.

71. Ratio punctuation: COLON. :)

72. Part of a skin care regimen: TONER.

73. Unhealthy haze: SMOG.

74. Recipe meas.: TBSP. (Tablespoon)

75. [Theme Reveal]

Down:
1. Sudden urge: WHIM.

2. Conceal: HIDE.

3. Game, in a way: IN THE MOOD.

4. Secret letters?: NDA. Non Disclosure Agreement.

5. Trading card game based on a manga series: YUGIOH.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6. Game console that preceded the Nintendo Switch: WIIU. Wii, U, Me, Whatever...

7. Some venomous snakes: ADDERS. More here, (if you are into snakes...)

8. Moo goo __ pan: GAI.

Looks better than it sounds...

9. Green stir-fry ingredient: SNAP PEA. (See above.)

10. Jab with a finger: POKE.

11. Wrestler who won the WWE Women's Championship in 2010: LAYLA. Name #5

12. Missouri River Natives: OTOES. I went to get you a list, but it turns out there are 574 Federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States...

13. Lands heavily: THUDS. Like my search for a Native American tribe list...

15. Commercials: ADS. Advertisements, seen so many times, they shortened it to Ads, and then lengthened them...

19. Word in an opening line?: SESAME.😀

22. Grab: SNAG.

25. "Am I the Drama?" rapper: CARDI B. Name #6

27. Reach, as a goal: ATTAIN.

29. Stratum: TIER. Tier makes me think of cakes, stratum makes me think of dirt. Hardly compatible.

30. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.

31. Capital of Poland: WARSAW.

32. Metric speed meas.: KPH. Kilometers Per Hour

33. Sport with belts: KARATE. 

37. Long car ride?: LIMOUSINE. 😀

38. "Will I __ learn?": EVER. ( Not if it's sports...)

39. Walkman maker: SONY.

41. Talking-to: EARFUL.

43. Yale alum: ELI.

46. Headliner: LEAD ACT.

48. Wrinkled tangelo: UGLI. I posted images of this too many times...

51. Genuflects: KNEELS. 

I only know this word from The Wizard of Oz.

"The chipmunks genuflect to me..."

52. Remedy for post-lunch drowsiness: SIESTA.

53. Inventory list: ITEMS.

54. Saying: MAXIM. A.I. Overview

55. Replay speed, familiarly: SLOMO. One word colloquial abbreviation of Slow Motion.

59. Video file format: MPEG. Did not know it stood for this...

61. "Knock it off!": STOP.

62. Hyphenated ID: SSN. Social Security Number.

64. Length x width: AREA.

65. Part of an academic year: TERM.

67. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB.

If a picture is worth a thousand words,

What a short video worth?

69. Cauldron: POT. (Or an NYC nabe compared to Swanky Nob Hill...)

And, The Grid...

So, what do you think of this A Team puzzle? Were you a first rate solver, or did you get stuck on the bench...  spill your beans in the comments.

CE:D out...

≽^- ˕ -^≼

P.S.

Here's a freebie!

I was trying to "splain" the puzzle to Daughter #3

And she said, "there's a music tie in too!"

Friday, June 14, 2024 - Aiden Deshong

 Theme: Thaw? si? shit?  (Are you confused?)

Puzzling thoughts:

First off, please accept an apology for the expletive in the theme title.  But if you solved the theme of this puzzle - its reveal - you should easily see that it makes sense; and isn't a cuss word, after all

I relied on several of my colleagues (fellow bloggers) to assist me in tying the reveal, clues, and entries together.  The reveal's clue didn't register with me at first; even after finally figuring out how the clues fit the three entries.  Were you as confused as I?

17-across. TEN?: TANGLED WEB.  This perhaps?

My "Spidey-sense" had not yet kicked in

27-across. DIS?: SHUFFLED CARDS.  Maybe these?

This is what I envisioned

48-across. ORE?: SCRAMBLED EGGS.  Did you see what I saw?

I prefer eggs either poached, "over", or as an omelet

OK, Moe; so far all you've shown us is a mildly vulgur title, a picture of a book of anagrams, and three stock pictures of the entries.  So, what gives?  Here is what gives:

1)  Each of the clues - when anagrammed - reveals the entry answer:

        a) TEN = NET - a net can also be a tangled web (think of a fishing net)

        b) DIS = ID'S - ID'S can be an abbr. for identification cards

        c) ORE = ROE - roe is both the singular and plural of fish eggs

2)  The reveal is: 63-across. BAN, and an apt title for this puzzle?: GET MIXED UP.  In this case, BAN = NAB - nab is a synonym of the word "get", and if you extrapolate the reveal to all of the clues, it forms "the title".  Each of the clues are mixed up (literally), and each of the entry answers are synonyms of the word MIXED: 

TANGLED 

SHUFFLED 

SCRAMBLED

As you know, my ultimate source to confirm all of this is the Thesaurussaurus.  If he agrees then I agree:

When I checked the verb form of the word "mixed", it still disagreed with all three

As I reflect back to when I originally solved the puzzle, I was totally mixed up (confused).  The puzzle solved easily enough, no issues there.  Perps were fair, so the entries/reveal all emerged despite the odd clues.  It was a few minutes after - as I was emailing my fellow bloggers - that I saw that each of the clues was just an anagram.  I thought there was more to the reveal (that the word "nab" had some broader function) but my colleagues said I "got it" 

Their comments also confirmed my thoughts:  

        1) Yes, people who post here/solve the LAT puzzle will be mixed up (confused) about this one  

        2) I think it's way too much of a reach to get from the theme and reveal clues to the answers

My biggest "nit" is that the second entry clue used an abbreviation (IDs) instead of an actual word

Here is the filled-in grid.  I don't recall why I had a different letter in the crossing of OMAN and EMAIL but that was my lone mistake

Oh, and for those who are still seeing the "Theme" title containing a curse word, the unscrambled version:  What? Is? This?

Across:
1. __ code: MORSE.

6. Birthstone between sapphire and topaz: OPAL.

10. With 49-Down, creator, writer, and star of HBO's "Insecure": ISSA (49. See 10-Across:) RAE. Ms. RAE is becoming the "Mel Ott" of the 21st century crossword puzzles

14. @ home?: EMAIL.  Another stretch of a clue - guessing this means where the @ symbol makes its home (in an EMAIL address)

15. "I Love Me" singer Lovato: DEMI.  Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; so, what else is new?

16. Brick baker: KILN.

19. Juul, e.g.: ECIG.  I don't smoke e-cigarettes, so I am unfamiliar with this brand

20. Country music?: ANTHEM.  What's with all of the misdirection clues today?  Must be a Friday puzzle.  In this case, the word "country" refers to - for example - the US.  And our ANTHEM is aka "The Star-Spangled Banner" ... speaking of which, please don't forget that today is Flag Day (sorry Jinx, didn't mean to steal your thunder) ... which coincided with (8-down. The "thee" of "of thee I sing"): AMERICA.  This is a fitting video to play today:

21. Updated versions of classic video games, e.g.: REMAKES.

23. Former Indian prime minister Gandhi: INDIRA.

26. "All __ is but imitation of nature": Seneca: ART.  Thankfully, this answer did not have a clue that made it a proper name ... I guess Carney, Garfunkel, and Linkletter were too old 

33. French mathematician Poincaré: HENRI.  HENRI is his middle name

34. "Works for me!": DEAL.  It took them 24 hours to finally come down in price on the car I bought, so I could finally say, "Deal!"

35. "Othello" villain: IAGO.  Anytime you see a four-letter proper name connected to Shakespeare, pencil in Iago

38. Trip to the dry cleaners, say: ERRAND.  After retirement, it's been forever since I last went to the dry cleaners; I still run plenty of errands 

40. Groundhog Day omen: SHADOW.  Punxsutawney Phil and his partner Phyllis just had a male kit named SHADOW and a female kit named Sunny

42. Yemen coastal city: ADEN.

43. Analogy phrase: IS TO.

47. Combined: IN ONE.

51. NorCal hub: SFO.  OAK also fit, but SFO is the more familiar one; OAK is also not a hub

53. Waikiki welcomes: ALOHAS.  They're also Lahaina good-byes

54. "Time heals all wounds": I'LL BE OK.  

56. Informants, in spy lingo: ASSETS.  This is a 2-minute read about ASSETS

62. PBS science show: NOVA.  Also, an erstwhile Chevy compact car

66. "¿De dónde __?": ERES.  Soy de Pensilvania a través de Ohio.  Actualmente soy de Arizona

67. Latin for "bear": URSA.  I checked; we have only seen the word "URSA" in xword puzzles for about 16 years, so clearly, this Ursa is a minor ...

68. Dimple maker: SMILE.  Hmm ... which actor with a dimple(s) should I choose?  Irish Miss, is this guy ok?? 

Dimples galore

69. Slog (through): WADE.  I don't associate the word wade with "slog through"

70. Network that airs the Slippery Stairs World Championships: ESPN.  I am speechless ...

71. Brandish: WIELD.  I had a co-worker once whose last name was spelled WEILD (pronounced the same) and at the time was dating a gal named Brandice ... 

Down:
1. WhatsApp's parent company: META.  Neé, Facebook

2. Country on the Strait of Hormuz: OMAN.  Now I recall my mistake.  I realize I was thinking of Oran a city in Algeria.  E-rail had no meaning, but at the time, the clue "@ home?" was not making any sense

3. All-caps post, probably: RANT.  

4. Long exhale: SIGH.
 
5. "The Great" actress Fanning: ELLE.  ELLE Fanning is currently the #1 most famous actor named ELLE

6. Uneven?: ODD.  Speaking of odd ... are you noticing lately that the word eerie is not being used as often as it used to be in crossword puzzles? 

7. Laser tag sound: PEW.  I'm pretty sure I can find an appropriate video clip with this sound 

9. Left-leaning voters: LIBERALS.  Another eight-letter word fits but political discussion here is verboten (also an eight-letter word)
 
10. Maker of Sektion cabinets: IKEA.  Somehow, the "k" in the word "Sektion" gave it away (maybe they should have used Ektorp, instead?).  

It's been a while since Margaret and I took a trip to Ikea.  I know that one item we bought - oddly - was a better performer than we expected:  their "ziplock" freezer/storage bags!

11. Really under the weather: SICK AS A DOG.  To Steven Tyler's credit he put this song out there to admit to and identify his struggles with drug addiction.  Any Aerosmith fans?

12. More foxy: SLIER.  Aidan Deshong was perhaps a bit slier today with his anagrammed clues

13. Deep anxiety: ANGST.  

18. Jannings who won the first Best Actor Oscar: EMIL.  "Read all about it!"

22. Render imperfect: MAR.  Or, by anagramming the answer, you could have this clue and answer: Rear-ender imperfect: RAM

24. Actor Beatty: NED.  Discussing his first movie ... 

Note:  the preview for this indicates that it might not open.  If that's the case, try this link

25. Pres. between HST and JFK: DDE.  Former PsOTUS

27. __ butter: SHEA.  

28. Round up: HERD.  

29. To be determined: UNRESOLVED.  I almost came into today's blog with an unresolved description of the puzzle

30. Swiss cheese?: FRANC.  In this case, the word "cheese" is slang for money.  The Swiss currency is the franc, currently trading @ 1 CHF fr = $1.10 USD

31. Word at the end of some films: FIN.  More Frawnche ... I wonder if the French translated version of the movie "Jaws" ends with the word "Fin"?

32. Youngest daughter on "Black-ish": DIANE.  Played by actor Marsai Martin

36. Hanging instrument: GONG.  Any Chuck Barris fans here??

37. Is in the red: OWES.  I am briefly back in the red as car payments returned to my "budget"

39. Back-and-forth: DIALOGUE.

41. Got behind something, maybe: HID.

44. Backyard chef's array: SMOKERS.  I can see having one SMOKER maybe: not an array of them.  BTW, were all of the chef's guests smokers, too?  Were they vaping an e-cig named Juul??

And playing off of the Jumble from Saturday June 8 (and the clue for 10 down):  Where is it OK to use an ecig @ Ikea? In the Smoker's Sektion

45. "Frankly," in texts: TBH.  

46. Rio greeting: OLA.

50. Actor Morales: ESAI.  Issa / Rae / Esai => all "crossword-ese"

51. Tendon: SINEW.

52. Fauna counterpart: FLORA.

55. High scorer on a pH test: BASE.  Interesting clue; acids and alkalis (bases) make up the numbers on the pH scale (1-14).  Numbers above 7 are considered the bases

57. Annual Austin festival, familiarly: SXSW.  Short for "south by southwest"

58. Big rig: SEMI.  We had both DEMI and SEMI in the same puzzle, and neither was referred to as a number (in the clueing)

59. Actress Falco: EDIE.

60. Prog rock band Jethro __: TULL.  One last video

61. Raced: SPED.

64. Recipe amt.: TSP.

65. __ cave: MAN.  It could've been clued "Cave follower" with the same answer

See you in July.  I probably won't be answering too many questions on the blog today as I am visiting family, but please feel free to add comments below

My overall "rating" for this puzzle is: ⭐+ 1/2 ⭐