Friday, June 6, 2025 - Baylor Gallagher and Katie Hale

 

 Theme:  "No, No, Nanette"

 

 

ZaSu Pitts played Pauline Hastings in the film "No No Nanette"

Puzzling thoughts:

In all honesty, I found coming up for a "theme" for today's puzzle quite difficult.  I certainly "get" the concept of adding and/or subtracting a letter from a more or less familiar phrase, and then cluing it to provide a pun and/or humorous outcome.  But did you find this puzzle fun and/or enjoyable to solve?  Did the entries tickle your "facy"?  The Chairman is a bit "oplussed"

In checking "Google" for any references to the co-constructor (Baylor Gallagher) I found none.  So I am guessing that this is her/their debut puzzle.  Choosing the assistant editor of the LA Times Crossword Puzzle (Katie) to collaborate with was certainly not a bad idea.  Katie has been published quite often in other venues, and here, too.  And if I had to guess, the puzzle idea was Baylor's and Katie helped create the grid and many of the connecting words and/or clues

 

Reveal:

 

I will start with the "reveal" in case some of you were scratching your head trying to figure out what happened in the entries.  64-across. Out of the ordinary, or, parsed differently, what has been applied to the phrases in 18-, 24-, 41-, and 53-Across?: NON STANDARD (NO "N" STANDARD when parsed differently).  If you remove the letter "N" from a word in the four entry phrases it supports the clue.  But no "n" standard seems forced and a bit weak, IMO

 

Entries:

 

18-across. False claim about a DIY project?: ASSEMBLY LIE.  The first entry was probably the best of the four.  As most know, a Do It Yourself project requires a lot of "assembly".  The term "assembly liNe" dates back to the automotive industry and was a feature of the FORD Model T cars to make the building of them more efficient.  Without the "N" in the word "line", it fits the clue

 

24-across. Overall condition of steel girders and beams?: METAL HEALTH.  MeNtal health is a known phrase but had I been editing/choosing this I might have looked for something less serious to spoof

 

41-across. "Do you know who my father is?"?: I'M KID OF A BIG DEAL.  "I'm kiNd of a big deal" is a bit of a stretch (again, IMO) and why clue it as "male-related"?  Couldn't this question (the clue) be asked of King Charles in referring to his mother, Queen Elizabeth?  She was kind of a big deal ... 

53-across. "Just put the succulent down and go!"?: "LEAVE ME ALOE!".  "Leave me alone!" is the phrase that this is spoofing.  Meh.  We use aloe often here in the desert SW when we've been exposed to too much sun.  Not sure I would be so brazen if I requested some from a friend

 

The grid:

The rest of the answers to the clues:

Across:
1. Dashboard tech: GPS.  MPH and RPM were tried, unsuccessfully.  The first of 20 three-letter words and 12 abbreviations in today's puzzle

4. Queen with icy powers: ELSA. The fictional character from Disney's "Frozen"

8. Hands over: GIVES.  CEDES was tried, unsuccessfully

13. Daiquiri ingredient: RUM.  This clue was directed, I think, at we older solvers as I doubt that many Millennials and/or Gen Z's drink Daiquiris.  And another cocktail related clue/word was found at (30-down. Cognac cocktail with orange liqueur): SIDECAR.  This is another drink that probably escapes the younger generations

 

The sidecar became popular in Paris and London in the early 1920s

14. Purple hue: MAUVE.  LILAC was tried, unsuccessfully

16. Put on a pedestal: ADORE.

17. Rollover subj.: IRA.  Not so fun fact:  the Chairman did this once and the institution I had the IRA with forgot to report it as a "rollover" to another retirement fund.  The IRS spotted this and sent me a tax statement for a huge amount of $.  Moe had to make a lot of phone calls and collect a lot of paperwork to prove the rollover was legit

[a theme entry]

20. Word of thanks: MERCI.  Hmm.  I suppose that the word "merci" (although French) is commonly substituted for the word "thanks".  The clue didn't lead us to knowing this

22. "Thus with a kiss __": Romeo's final line: I DIE. Seemed kind of logical as I recall that Romeo dies in the final scene of Shakespeare's play, "Romeo and Juliet"

23. Fortune: LUCK.  I'm reminded of the negative phrase: "if it weren't for bad luck I would have none at all"

[entry]

27. "Industry Baby" rapper Lil __ X: NAS.

28. Intel org.: NSA.  An anagram of 27-across, too

29. Vane point: EAST.  Had to end in st; waited for the perps to determine whether it was 90° or 270°

31. Dry mop target: DUST.

34. __ large: LOOM.

38. Reunion attendee: NIECE.  And its clecho: (54-down. Reunion attendee): AUNT. In both cases the constructors were looking at family reunions rather than school reunions

[entry]

44. Invertebrate's lack: SPINE.

45. Greek house: FRAT.  Moe-ku #1:

        When transgender pledge

        Thought they joined sorority,

        They said, "I smell a FRAT"

46. Sea eagles: ERNS.  Crossword-ese; kind of surprised to see one in this puzzle, honestly

47. Tropical tree: PALM.

49. Business letter abbr.: ENC.  I somehow prefer the letters encl to refer to an enclosure in a letter

51. Commanders org.: NFL.  Erstwhile Washington Redskins

[entry]

60. "Oh, woe!": ALAS.

62. Hearts, e.g.: SUIT.  Could've used spades, clubs, or diamonds

63. Eat away at: ERODE.

[reveal]

67. Countdown start: TEN. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, ...

68. Large venue: ARENA.

69. Hit lightly: TAP ON.

70. Letters of urgency: SOS. 

71. Full of back talk: SASSY.

72. Gave temporarily: LENT.  Does this word have any particular significance when something is given temporarily during the time period from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday?

73. Indefinite amount: ANY.  Fun observation:  now that I have lived in the desert SW for almost 6 years and take many hikes, I have discovered that the number of rocks, pebbles, and boulders on this planet are not just indefinite, but they may be infinite

Down:
1. Fairy tale brother: GRIMM.  As in the brothers GRIMM

2. Step in making some soups: PUREE. 

3. Sharp: SMART.

4. Online letters: EMAILS.

5. Part of UNLV: LAS.  The "Running Rebels" is the sports team nickname for the University of Nevada @ Las Vegas

6. Girl in "Calvin and Hobbes": SUSIE.  Susie Derkins is a little girl who makes her home in Calvin's neighborhood. She is his well-known neighbor and the only major character to have both a given name and a family name

Susie is an intelligent and polite 6-year-old girl, who in many ways is a foil to Calvin. She takes her studies seriously and doesn't slack off on her homework as Calvin does. She also takes piano lessons 

[this from the calvin and hobbes fandom page]

The three characters

7. Eco-friendly spa brand: AVEDA.

8. Lass: GAL.

9. Pastoral poem: IDYL.

10. Tennessee athlete: VOLUNTEER.  Or when written as the plural, VOLUNTEERS, a Jefferson Airplane song back in the Vietnam War era.  I could've chosen "Rocky Top" but I didn't

 

11. "I Luh God" gospel singer Campbell: ERICA. Sounds more like rap, to me

 

12. Is after: SEEKS.

15. Wakim of "SNL": EMIL.  This video violates politics and religion, but it was the only SNL video I could find on YouTube.  FTR, I haven't watched SNL since it first aired 50 years ago

 

19. __ noire: BETE.  From [Merriam-Webster]: "Bête noire is a French phrase meaning "black beast" or "bugbear". It refers to a person or thing strongly detested or avoided"

21. Saloon: CANTINA.  From [Merriam-Webster]: "Cantina is a noun that can mean a pouch or bag at the pommel of a saddle, or a small barroom or saloon"

25. Angelic glow: HALO.  AURA fit unsuccessfully

26. Suspend: HANG. 

[listed in across]

31. Insult: DIS.  Is it DIS or DISS??

32. Cricket official: UMP.  Similar to baseball I've heard

33. Some transports in the Arctic tundra: SKI PLANES.  They are real!

 

35. On vacation: OFF.  I suppose if they allowed 2-letter words in xword puzzles, the opposite clue would fit: OFF vacation = ON

36. Regatta tool: OAR.  When I think of a regatta I picture this:

But when you sort through enough images, you will find the picture of what today's clue describes: 

37. Exec's degree: MBA.

39. "__ it wait?": CAN.

40. High trains: ELS.  Also a transport for golfer Ernie?

42. Wooded valley: DELL.  GLEN fits too

43. Thing: ITEM.

48. Colorado's __ Verde National Park: MESA.  This is one of several dozen National Park sites that Ms Margaret and I have visited.  Well worth seeing

50. "You __ worry": NEEDN'T. I may have incorrectly counted this as one of the abbreviations ... technically it's a contraction

51. Mamas' mamas: NANAS.  Meemaws didn't fit but GRANS did

52. Vegetation: FLORA.  Place where many fauna hang out

[added in the across section]

55. "1876" novelist Gore: VIDAL.  Some info about the novel

56. Tour de France stage: ETAPE.  Definition

57. Many, casually: LOTSA.  Speaking of "casually", remember when Casual Fridays first appeared?

 

58. Classic Greek theater: ODEON.  Does anybody who is a senior citizen remember the name(s) of their town's movie theater as a child?  The two in our south-central Pennsylvania town were called the Strand and the Capitol

59. Minuscule: EENSY.

61. Hyphenated IDs: SSNS.  Have I ever mentioned before that certain pluralized abbreviations are not my cup of tea?

65. Swift nickname, when doubled: TAY.  As in TAYlor Swift.  I wonder if today's constructor follows her?  Moe-ku #2:

        Heard Ms. Gallagher

        Is a huge fan of Ms. Swift

        BAY BAY loves TAY TAY  

66. Emmy winner __ Cephas Jones: RON. Ron appeared on one of my favorite made for TV dramas This is Us

 

Summary:

 

Coming up with new and fresh puzzle ideas is getting more and more difficult.  I get it.  And while my sense of humor was not stimulated by today's puzzle I'm sure that others may like it.  But as the blogger/critic of each puzzle I solve and describe here, I don't want to sugar-coat something if I don't find it overly creative and/or enjoyable.  We can agree to disagree