RECIDIVIST
Offender Criminal "Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog" - and, yes, he's NSFW insulting
No Comment. Alas, I must comment - it's the "krow" I do here at the Corner - and I am going to "crow". This was just too much of a stretch to be enjoyable, and the solve itself was fraught with ALOT of meh/vague/cringe. It looks to be the author's debut LA Times crossword; I found one other, I believe, a NYT here, and a blog review of said puzzle. Methinks he is a very cerebral constructor. Names slowed me down, and unlike last week, getting any "?" themer did not necessarily help me elsewhere in the grid. A scarce nine 3LWs, and no circles, at least. The themers, and reveal;
20. *Aircraft marshaling?: PROJECT RUNWAY - "Runway Project" - but this clue~? Meh. "Tarmac resurfacing" - now that's more like it. The actual fill is about this show
The Wiki of the show
34. *Lifeguarding?: LABOR POOL - this is the only themer that makes sense, too me - "Pool Labor". The actual fill is "the source of trained people from which workers can be hired"
40. *Bounty hunting?: JOB SEARCH - "Search Job" - i.e., "skip trace"; Cletus Purcell, a character in the Dave Robicheaux books, does this sort of work as a P.I. The actual fill is, well, a job search
54. Advice to a problem solver, or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: WORK BACKWARDS - and the title of a self-help, motivational, life-affirming book as well
The website is here
But Wait, unfortunately, There's More
ACROSS:
1. "Catastrophe" writer/star Delaney: ROB - speaking of catastrophe, name #1 - not a good start, but I begin by doing the DOWN clues, so that I might have some perps for the themers - didn't help today. His IMDb
4. Power unit: WATT - a measure established by James Watt who adopted "horsepower" to compare to his steam engine, which improved on the existing design; more here
8. School assignment: ESSAY - I want you to write . . . a "theme" Awww
A Chrstmas Story
13. Filter target: SPAM - my NW was a mess; I had SMOG
15. 2025 Pixar film about a boy who meets aliens: ELIO - name #2, never heard anything about this movie
16. Hollers: YELLS
17. Nix: VETO - my vote.
18. Big pig: BOAR
19. Windows shopping: eTAIL - Ah. a subtle play on "window" shopping - OK, a good one
23. Grammy winner Baker: ANITA - name #3, but we see her frequently in crosswords
24. Thus far: AS YET
25. Lara Croft target: TOMB - the "Raider" from the video games, and movies; name(ish)
27. Taoism founder: LAO TZU- name #4 - more here
31. Couch surfer's spot: FUTON - Ugh. Even IF you accept this definition of couch surfing, still makes me cringe as a clue/answer
37. Ore. neighbor: IDAho - it seems that the Cornerites are not fond of three-letter state abbrs
38. Pressed sandwich that's part of a friendly rivalry between Miami and Tampa: CUBAN - too local to be a fair clue/answer, IMHO, but here's a newsletter/blog for your perusal
39. Quaint quarters: INN - it's Friday; the slight mismatch of singular/plural is a bit meh.
43. Accordion-heavy music: POLKA
45. Latin for "as originally positioned": IN SITU
"Hey, what is that~?"
46. One on the Mohs scale: TALC - The mineral talc rates a low "1" on the hardness scale - I don't have to tell you what this crossword rates on the Moe's scale
48. Spills the beans: TELLS
51. "Let's maybe take it down a __ or two": NOTCH - can we maybe bring it UP a notch~?
57. Country singer Rimes: LEANN - name #5
59. Lemon-shaped: OVAL - when the LA Times gives you lemons . . .
60. Choose yea or nay: VOTE - Nay.
61. Bright and airy courtyards: ATRIA
62. Relocate: MOVE
63. Icicle locale: EAVE - I see just one icicle hanging from my gutters - blessed with no ice dams
64. Streisand film with the song "The Way He Makes Me Feel": YENTL - name #6
65. Imp: BRAT
66. Scolding sound: TSK
DOWN:
1. Choose yes or no: RSVP - Ugh. Vague
2. Place for binoculars: OPERA - I tried VISTA - like this
James Bond using them in "The Living Daylights"
3. Track and field handout: BATON - handout~? Ugh . . . better = hand OFF
4. Zoom lens?: WEBCAM - Zoom, the internet meeting app; we used it for AA meetings during COVID
5. Bundles: A LOT - Atwurd
6. Quinceañera crown: TIARA - good WAG on my part; the Español part, which refers to a 15year-old girl's passing into womanhood, was 'irrelevant'; I ran with a crown synonym
7. Doughnut shape: TORUS
8. Monocle, for one: EYEWEAR - that it is, I guess; so spectacles & glasses are EYES wear~?
9. Put on: SET ATOP - No comment; technically, it's a unique fill
10. "You __ me!": "SLAY" - Friday vague
11. Actor Mahershala: ALI - I'll have to add this name, #7, to the Muhammad / Laila list - and a dupe with Tuesday
12. Fashion monogram: YSL - Yves Saint Laurent, a double whammy abbr/name, #8
14. Cocktail garnished with mint: MOJITO - I tried GIMLET first; but that's a lime garnish - gimlet appared on Tuesday, too
A different kind of "spirit" from Minnesota~!
21. __ collar: ETON - Dah~! Not BLUE
22. Synthetic fabric: NYLON - goes without saying . . .
26. Fuzzy memory: BLUR - I tried HAZE
28. Slog away: TOIL - like during this solve
29. Pass (out): ZONK - Ah. Another clever clue; I was in DOLE/METE mode
30. Fibula counterpart: ULNA - leg-to-arm bone comparison; semi-deceptive, but four letter bone~?
I like the other leg pic . . .
31. Pacific nation that exports water: FIJI - I did not know that this was the actual case; some interesting environmental info here; I'll stick with the 5gal jugs from BJs - and geo-name(ish)
32. Nagoya noodles: UDON - crossword staple
33. Pop-top tops: TABS - I found several pieces of art made from these, including "chain mail"...
...and a cool dragon
35. Pre-K sequence: ABC - yeah but meh.
36. Thai coin: BAHT - name(ish), but I knew this from doing crosswords
38. Sealing substance: CAULK - Catchy Clue - alliteration
41. "Happy Days" retort: "SIT ON IT~!" - two 70's sit-coms this week ( Welcome Back, Kotter )
42. Everlasting: ETERNAL - Excellent Entry - alliteration
43. Bulldoze: PLOW - I tried RAZE
44. Interval of eight notes: OCTAVE
47. Jewelry often worn with sandals: ANKLET - I put in TOE RING but ran out of spaces; I've seen anklets with heels, so a bit of a 'meh' clue.
49. Relationship-deepening word, informally: L BOMB - did this get dropped last Saturday💕~?😜
50. Really relish: SAVOR
52. Slovenian neighbor: CROAT - name(ish), but I nailed it; the 'inhabitants'
53. Man cave fixtures: HDTVs
54. Alert: WARN
55. Vena __: major blood line: CAVA
56. Switch roles after hiding: SEEK - the kid's game of HIDE & SEEK
57. __ of the land: LAY
58. Beach season in Marseille: ETE - ah, there's my Frawnche~! Summer on Cote d'Azur
Splynter
Forgot to start the timer; it took about 10 minutes that
Forgot to start the timer; it took about 10 minutes that
I can't get back
Grid Flow 27.9
Grid Flow 27.9
