Sunday, December 28, 2025 Zhouqin Burnikel

"What's The Matter"

Welcome to another C.C. Sunday puzzle.

Hi All! It's Anonymous -T sitting in for C.C. 'cuz it'd be silly for her to review her own puzzle.

Anyway, today we are given an in-the-language "<word> matter" clue and we need to ink a thing that fits. You'll see:

22. Weighty matter?: HEAVY CREAM. Heavy is a synonym for weighty and Heavy Cream is a thing.

24. Pressing matter?: FRUIT JUICE. In 2008, DW & I were leaf peeping in VT at a 27a -- they served us fresh pressed apple cider at breakfast.

47. Dark matter?: BLACK LICORICE. One of my favorite candies.

I get a dozen at a time

67. Small matter?: FINE PRINT. Fine is a synonym for small. But, in contracts, it's no small matter.  Youngest will tell you all about it in few more semesters :-)

87. Private matter?: BASIC TRAINING. Ha! A military Private.

111. Sensitive matter?: TOUCH PANEL. Some Touch Panels are sensitive while others, like the printer at my office, havta be whacked with a knuckle to get it's attention.

115. Grave matter?: BURIAL SITE. Yep.

35. Gray matter?: HUMAN ANATOMY. This was my favorite of the themers. I kept thinking of Poirot's "little gray cells" but "brain" didn't fit. Gray's Anatomy is the reference book of human anatomy. Oh, it's also a TV show with Dr.s hooking up -- I've never seen an episode but it was in the zeitgeist.

40. Laughing matter?: NITROUS OXIDE. N₂O -- aka "laughing gas."

I'm not sure why the title doesn't have a question mark but otherwise, it's a matter of fun. Onward [Apologies to Splynter] to the fill's review!

Across:

1. Caravan's refueling spot: OASIS.

6. Inner ears?: COBS. That's corny :-)

10. Coil in a garden: HOSE.

14. Hinge and Her: APPS. Both are dating apps.

18. Cackling carnivore: HYENA.

19. Reebok rival: AVIA. Sneakers, tennies, running shoes.

20. Peak performances: BESTS. SpeedySolver can tell us his bests.

21. Heartfelt sign-off: LOVE. Love, <your name here> - AI generated love note, maybe :-)

22. [See: Theme]

24. [See: Theme]

26. Capri, for one: ISLE.

West of Naples.

27. Cozy Vermont stopovers: INNS.

Here is where DW & I stayed during leaf peeping.

28. "Well, lah-di-__!": DAH.

Chris Farley's Motivational Speaker

29. Space to maneuver: ROOM.

30. Part of a flight: STAIR.

32. Author with morals: AESOP.

Aesop & Son

34. Beach protection: SUN HAT.

38. Big name in orange soda: FANTA. Not Crush?

R.E.M. - Orange Crush live

41. Coin toss choice: TAILS.

43. Letters before xis: NUS.

45. Encourage a comedian: LAUGH. This fill is why HYENA wasn't clued as a laughing carnivore @18a. When setting a grid, it's easy to miss a dupe like this - that's how you know C.C.'s a pro.

46. "Is that true about me?": AM I.

47. [See: Theme]

51. Nintendo Switch avatar: MII. I guess a MII for your WII :-)

52. Dull learning method: ROTE.

54. Popped the question: ASKED. But the answer is always 42*

55. Dry run: DRILL. Think fire DRILL.

56. Autograph hounds: FANS.

57. Wall paintings: MURALS.

Click here for more Houston murals

59. Dances to an upbeat song: BOPS.

61. Playful mockery: TEASING.

63. Saws logs: SNORES.

64. Copenhagen native: DANE.

65. First woman, in Greek myth: PANDORA. She had a box with all the evils, but, when she opened it, all save hope escaped. Just like Eve, she's blamed for all the evils in the world.

66. Skipjack, for one: TUNA.

Click for a Sportsman's Guide to Tuna

67. [See: Theme]

69. Lens care brand: RENU.

71. Chain known for its Beauty Insider perks: SEPHORA. A makeup store I got dragged to once.

73. Sits in the sun: TANS.

74. Ones who never butter up?: VEGANS.

76. Craft few people practice now: LOST ART.

77. Wave radio maker: BOSE. I kept thinking CC Wave Radio but that's the Skywave.

78. Thrillingly hot: EROTIC.

79. Call alternative: TEXT.

80. Only country with a nonrectangular flag: NEPAL.

Click for the Mathematical Properties of the Flag

82. Control jointly: CO-OWN.

85. Crepe served with sambar: DOSA. Wanna hear a funny? I didn't know this fill but, after completing the puzzle, we went to an Indian restaurant and Eldest ordered it w/o hesitation. DOSAs are delicious.

Dosa

86. "Vive le __!": ROI. Long live the [French] King!

87. [See: Theme]

90. Utility closet tool: MOP.

91. Not on a major label: INDIE. Think music.

93. Vietnamese New Year: TET.

94. "Interstellar" actress Burstyn: ELLEN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Her Wikipedia page.

95. Liam of One Direction: PAYNE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ibid.

97. __ together: PIECED.

99. Symptoms: SIGNS. Is my failing eyesight a sign of aging? That's what I'm chalking it up to.

101. Moth-repellent wood: CEDAR. I put cedar chips in my sweater storage bags. Living in Houston, I need sweaters about 3 weeks a year so,... [I have sweaters from brick-n-mortars that closed in the '90's].

103. Recycle bin, e.g.: ICON. Cute. An ICON on your "desktop."

105. Pet doc: VET.

106. Result of a good pitch: SALE. Nice clue. I was thinking C.C. would go with baseball's strike or foul and only perps saved me from filling foul.

107. Stack-selling chain: IHOP. International House of Pancakes.

111. [See: Theme]

115. [See: Theme]

117. Lift with a bent elbow: CURL.

118. Unholy things: EVILS. The crossing of apse @104d stalled this fill far too long.

119. Word said with a sigh: ALAS. I could have prefaced above's response w/ this fill :-)

120. Karate rank indicators: BELTS.

121. Distance between markers: MILE. Highways. In some states, especially on long bridges [looking at you I-10 over LA swamps], I've seen 1/10 mile markers.

122. Refuse to admit: DENY.

123. Mixed-breed dog: MUTT.

124. Spot to boop a doggo: SNOOT.

Down:

1. "Well, hello there": OH, HI.

2. House calls?: AYES. Think Congress.

3. Mammal that barks and claps: SEAL.

4. Play the market: INVEST.

5. Blurt out: SAY.

6. Pork in a burrito: CARNITAS.

Yummers!

7. Roasting pan holder: OVEN RACK. Not an insulated pot holder.

8. Partiality: BIAS.

9. "Unholy" singer Smith: SAM.¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's ok to dupe a clue [see: 118a]

10. Respectful reference in court: HER HONOR. It's remarkable that, coming from a language w/o (I think) gendered pronouns, C.C. "gets it." In college, I worked at a wastewater testing lab w/ a guy from China (a PhD candidate in ChemE) who kept using "its" for him/her. I was befuddled until he explained Chinese doesn't use gendered pronouns (and it's silly that English does, he said).

11. Sch. whose mascot is a buckeye nut: OSU.

Brutus Buckeye

12. Cake mix instruction: STIR. Youngest has been building from scratch since she was 9 yrs old. And her cakes get quite elaborate.

Youngest's Mardi Gras Cupcakes

13. These, in Tijuana: ESTOS. English to Spanish.

14. Smith College graduate: ALUMNA. Smith is an all girls college; ALUMNA is gendered alumni.

15. Introductory food for keiki: POI. Keiki is Hawaiian for offspring. Poi is a taro dish. You do the math :-)

16. Pipe plastic, for short: PVC. Polyvinyl chloride - hard plastic.

17. "What did I say!?": SEE. Oh, I usually ask that question not 'cuz I was right but when someone gets peeved at me :-)

20. Degs. for graphic designers: BFAS. We got a Fine Arts major that didn't go to grad school :-)

23. Org. in many spy thrillers: CIA. Central Intelligence Agency.

25. Unit of energy: JOULE. I know the EEs got this. To everyone else, it's 0.0009478 BTUs.

28. "Being the Ricardos" role: DESI. I 🩷 Lucy.

31. Key above Caps Lock: TAB.

32. "Chores finished!": ALL DONE.

33. Early Boston settlers: PURITANS.

35. [See: Theme]

36. Gerontologist's focus: AGING.

37. "Totally agree!," on social media: THIS. In the Discord channels I frequent, it's an pointy-up finger emoji [☝].

38. Rural businesses: FARMS.

39. Word on receipts: AMOUNT.

40. [See: Theme]

42. Practice depicted in the Japanese film "Flower and Sword": IKEBANA. It's the art of arranging flowers.

44. Mum: SILENT.

48. Young lady: LASS.

49. DJ's stack in the 1990s: CDS. 90's Disk Jockeys with Compact Disks instead of vinyl  -- unless they were a Rap DJ that needed to scratch a sample :-)

50. Decked out: CLAD.

53. Sincere: EARNEST.

56. Hot-headed deity?: FIRE GOD.

58. Jumped: LEAPT.

60. __-Bismol: PEPTO. Susan Stamberg's Mother-in-law's cranberry relish recipe results in the hue of Pepto.

62. More tender: SORER. Not a fillet but your own muscles after exercise.

64. Desserts with crushed Oreos: DIRT PIES.

Recipe

65. Natural disinfectant: PINE OIL.

67. __ green: FOREST.

68. Troublemakers: RASCALS.

70. People might sing in it: UNISON. All together now.

72. Flower, in Japanese: HANA. HANAs in 42d Ikebana :-)

74. Kind of circle diagram: VENN.

Don McMillan

75. Garlic __: pungent stalk: SCAPE.

76. "Madam Secretary" star: LEONI.

77. Diner fave: BLT.

79. Voyage: TRIP.

81. With true effort: ACTIVELY.

83. Diamond size: ONE CARAT.

84. Menu with reds and whites: WINE LIST. I'll let Chairman Moe bring one out.

87. Tree with a "copper" variety: BEECH.

Everything you want to know

88. Payment for a flat: RENT.

89. Stat on a transcript: GPA. Grade Point Average.

92. Frozen spike: ICICLE.

96. Up and about: ARISEN.

98. Sussed (out): DOPED.

100. Some toothpastes: GELS.

102. "Narcos" org.: DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration.

104. Cathedral part: NAVE. Apse was right out.

106. Enterprise navigator: SULU. Star Trek.

Sulu

108. County seat of Hawaii County: HILO.

109. "Beetle Bailey" dog: OTTO.

110. Irksome insect: PEST.

111. Old film channel: TCM. Turner Classic Movies.

112. "Okay by moi": OUI.

113. Address with slashes: URL. An internet address.

Composition of a URL as per RFC 1738

114. "Delta of Venus" author: NIN. NIN means metal's Nine Inch Nails to Splynter & me :-)

115. "Pow!": BAM.

116. Abbr. on barbells: LBS.

You can get fake barbells on Amazon :-)

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: Pilgrims was started but too many boxes @33d; LPs -> CDs; APSE -> NAVE; BurCH->BEECH; Trek->TRIP.
ESPs: DOSA, SAM as clued, LEONI, ELLEN, DOPED, IKEBANA, NIN and probably others.
Fav: I'm going w/ FANTA 'cuz of this Gabriel Iglesias bit. //Don't watch too long unless you start from the beginning.

Cheers, -T
*HHGTTG [Scientific American]

Sunday, November 9, 2025 ~ Zhouqin Burnikel

Theme: "Academic Circles"

Or, as 77a indicates:
77. End-of-term cry, and an alternate title for this puzzle: SCHOOLS OUT.

Hi All!
Today, C.C. graces us with another Sunday puzzle. This time, she splits SCHOOLS on the OUTside of each theme answer and then circles them to provide what they call in Academic Circles, um, well, just that -- academies in circles. Let's study them:

XKCD

Oh, sorry, C.C.'s Academic Circles:

24. Seeking a seat: RUNNING FOR OFFICE. Houston's own Rice University.

38. Explains something in simple terms: BREAKS IT DOWN. Brown University.

55. "Roman Holiday" star: AUDREY HEPBURN. Auburn University.

Hepburn & Peck in the 1953 Classic.
 It was her debut.

81. Auto-erased item on a hard drive: TEMPORARY FILE. Temple University.

98. Connecticut state song: YANKEE DOODLE. Yale.

114. Fluffy brunch item baked in a skillet: DUTCH BABY PANCAKE. Duke University.
 

I had to Google the Dutch Baby variety.

3. "Oh boy, that's uncomfortable": HOW AWKWARD. Howard University.

Well, what do you non circle-haters think? Pretty neat, eh?
There's only one thing to do before moving onto the fill and that's introduce Detroit's Vincent Furnier:

Alice Cooper's Schools Out

Across:

1. Org. on workplace posters: OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

5. Sweet-toothed crawlers: ANTS.

9. Financial resources: MEANS.

14. Clubs for chips: IRONS. Golf. Woods to drive; IRONS for chip shots. And that's all I know. HG?

19. More than expected: ALOT.

20. Adversaries: FOES.

21. Group of eight: OCTET.

22. Unaccustomed to: NEW AT.

23. Mike of "Dirty Jobs": ROWE. Did you also know Rowe sang with the Baltimore Opera? I read it on the internet.

24. [See: Theme]

27. Pacific coast barkers: SEA LIONS.

Going Pro?

29. __ Estados Unidos: LOS. Translation: The United States.

30. Feeling of gloom: PALL.

31. Hard-to-split wood: ELM.

32. Comes out on top: WINS.

33. Not trans or enby: CIS.

34. Unsubstantiated: TENUOUS.

36. Staged: FAKED.

38. [See: Theme]

41. Playful growl: RAWR.

42. Yukon gold rush region: KLONDIKE.

What would you do?

43. Uses a sieve: SIFTS.

47. 401(k) alternatives: IRAs. Individual Retirement Accounts.

48. De-iced?: NEAT. Cute.

49. State flower of New Mexico: YUCCA.

Eatable?

53. Pucker-inducing: TART.

54. The Blue Jays, on sports crawls: TOR. Toronto, Canada.

If you know, you know.

55. [See: Theme]

59. GameCube successor: WII. One year, Santa brought a Wii for the girls. We played games all of Christmas break and then almost never again :-(.

Nintendo's Wii

60. Burned, in a way: ON DISC. Remember burning your data to CD?

62. "The Pioneer Woman" host Drummond: REE.

My copy of Dinnertime.

63. Bearing: DEMEANOR.

65. Scolding sounds: TSKS.

67. Tossed dish: SALAD.

A caprese I "tossed" together

70. Herring kin: SHAD.

71. Harmless fib: WHITE LIE.

75. Angry growl: GRR.

76. Time-honored maxim: OLD SAW. From One Word A Day: "The "saw" in old saw comes from the Old English word sagu, meaning "saying, speech, story, or report." This is related to Old Norse saga and Old High German saga - all stemming from the Proto-Germanic sagō ("saying, report")." Read more.

80. House Stark patriarch: NED. Game of Thrones reference [thanks Google!]

81. [See: Theme]

86. Exec overseeing accounts: CFO. Chief Financial Officer.

87. Healing ointment: BALM. Myrrh is a balm...

Monty Python's "Life of Brian" Manger Scene

89. Spacious hotel offering: SUITE.

90. Core constituency: BASE.

91. "Get outta here!": SHOO.

92. Starting lineup: A TEAM.

94. Crude structures: OIL WELLS. Cute.

97. Spot for solar panels: ROOF.

98. [See: Theme]

102. Hilarious sorts: RIOTS.

103. Leaves high and dry: MAROONS.

104. Calendar divs.: WKS. Weeks.

105. Noble above a viscount: EARL.

106. High euchre card: ACE.

108. Classical closing: CODA.

109. Copa Mundial cheer: OLE.

110. Products that help prevent chapping: LIP MASKS. For the uninitiated: "Lip masks and lip 87a [balms] are both formulated to hydrate your lips, however lip masks are generally thicker and more intensive than a lip 87a." [Google again]

114. [See: Theme]

118. Wind like a snake: COIL.

119. Solo: ALONE.

120. Anne of fashion: KLEIN. Nee Hanna Golofsky (3 AUG 1923 - 19 MAR 1974)

121. __-Ball: SKEE.

History here.

122. "Shogun" streaming service: HULU.

123. Lightheaded?: BLOND. Cute.

124. Put in stitches: SEWED. Also cute.

125. Leaves in hot water: TEAS. Hat Trick!

126. Really small matter: ATOM.

Down:

1. Steering implements on dragon boats: OARS. Every Fall, the community just north of me has a dragon boat race.

The Woodlands' Dragon Boat Race

2. Blackthorn berry: SLOE. Flavors the SLOE gin in the fizz.

3. [See: Theme]

4. Drawing rooms?: ATELIERS. WikiP says "An atelier (French: [atəlje]) is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect."

5. Picked hairstyles: AFROS.

6. Plus or minus: NOUN.

7. Change for a 20, maybe: TENS.

8. ID with hyphens: SSN.

9. Snowboard cousin: MONOSKI. So it's a snowboard but with your feet side-by-side(?)

A Monoski.

10. Heart charts, briefly: ECGS.

11. Org. concerned with traffic: ATF. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms

12. Virtual animal such as Xweetok: NEO-PET. I'll just let the internet explain what a Xweetok is. Here's an image for the TL;DR:

Xweetoks

13. Leave high and dry: STRAND.

14. Tributary streams: INFLOWS.

15. Penalty caller: REF.

16. Injuries, to a tot: OWIES.

17. Salt, in a chem lab: NACL. Na (Sodium) + Cl (Chloride) = salt.

Salt's Crystalline Structure 

18. Thorn's spot: STEM.

25. "Odyssey" prequel: ILIAD.

26. "Be a Revolution" author Ijeoma: OLUO.

Her WikiP

28. Neither Rep. nor Dem.: IND. An Independent is neither a Republican nor a Democrat.

33. Part of CDC: CENTERS. Centers for Disease Control (and Prevention).

34. Traffic jam: TIE UP.

35. Newton or tesla: UNIT.

36. Corn chip: FRITO.

37. "The West Wing" creator Sorkin: AARON.

His WikiP

38. Ran in the wash: BLED.

39. Crowd noise: ROAR.

40. "The __ Boat Song": classic Scottish ballad that opens "Outlander": SKYE.

42. Oft-cracked joints: KNUCKLES.

44. Babe in the woods: FAWN.

45. Destiny's Child, for one: TRIO.

46. Mix: STIR.

50. Chem. in some dispensary products: CBD. Cannabidiol derived from hemp.

51. Sticks in a pool hall: CUES.

52. Tank top openings: ARM HOLES.

55. Good thing to have: ASSET.

56. Vote in favor: YEA.

57. "Hey Arnold!" bully: HELGA.

Helga G Pataki

58. Writer Zora __ Hurston: NEALE.

Neale's WikiP

61. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT.

64. Contribute: ADD.

66. Shang-Chi player Liu: SIMU.

Simu's WikiP

68. Flight board abbr.: ARR. Arrival.

69. Signs of drought: DRY BEDS.

71. Org. for the Fever: WNBA. Indiana's Women's National Basketball Association team.

72. Preliminary race: HEAT.

73. Doing nothing: IDLE.

74. Prefix with dermis: EPI. Skin.

77. [See: Theme]

78. Underway: AFOOT. "Come, Watson, come!' [Holmes] cried. 'The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!'"

79. Dog sounds: WOOFS. What the dog says when asked, "Where do the solar panels go?"

82. Great Plains Natives: OTOES.

83. Tara of "Sharknado": REID.

Tara's WikiP

84. Leaf-peeping season: FALL.

85. Archipelago part: ISLE.

88. Guatemala native: MAYA.

91. Hot sauce served with pho: SRIRACHA. A buddy loves this stuff and puts it on everything. Yes, even ice cream.
 

93. Moved in step: MARCHED.

95. Area prone to flooding: LOW LAND.

96. No longer asleep: WOKEN.

99. Gaming greenhorn: NOOB. Typed n00b; the opposite of 1337.

100. Some classic cameras: KODAKS.

101. Make possible: ENABLE.

102. Sheep with horns: RAM.

103. "Same here!": ME TOO.

105. Swords with bell guards: EPEES.

106. Tiny amount: A DAB.

107. Cherry-pick: CULL.

109. Mayberry boy: OPIE. Ron Howard but y'all knew that.

110. Michigan, for one: LAKE.

111. Store with a Swedish food market: IKEA.

112. Metric weight: KILO.

113. Urban renewal target: SLUM.

115. "Inside Politics" channel: CNN.

116. Wood used in cabinetry: YEW.

117. Duluth winter hrs.: CST. Central Standard Time

The Grid:

The Grid

My $0.02:

WO: HaLGA @57d
ESPs: ATELIERS, OLUO, DUTCH BABY (but I inked DUKE from just the K in IKEA :-))
Fav: ROOF crossing WOOF 'cuz of the implicit dog joke.

There you have it folks. Have a great Sunday and, for those of you in the path of the Polar Vortex, stay warm tonight!*

Cheers, -T
*Forecast where I am: Today is in the 70's; tomorrow I'll wake to 38F.