Tuesday April 22, 2025 Catherine Cetta

If You Keep Making that Face, it Will Get Stuck in That Shape.  The circles spell out features of the face.

17-Across. "Everyone knows that!": IT'S NO SECRET.  Nose

22-Across. Mountain hiker's protection: BEAR SPRAY.  Ears.

  

38-Across. "I haven't decided": MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO.  Eyes.

49-Across. TV episodes that are mostly flashback scenes: CLIP SHOWS.

And the unifier:

58-Across. Smirking, scowling, or smiling, and what the sets of circled letters in this puzzle are doing?: MAKING A FACE.

Across:

1. Swimmer's unit: LAP.

4. "Safe!" or "Strike!": CALL.

8. Pesto herb: BASIL.  Yummers!

13. Part of some sports drink names: -ADE.  Hi, Lemonade!

14. California/Nevada resort lake: TAHOE.

15. Bacteria that may cause gastroenteritis: E. COLI.  Short for Escherichia coli, a bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.

16. Type: ILK.

19. Spanish wine region: RIOJA.  Everything you wanted to know about the Rioja Wine region, but didn't know to ask.

21. Main dish: ENTREE.

25. Snow pusher: PLOW.

28. "Elder" or "Younger" figure of ancient Rome: CATO.

29. Put in the attic, perhaps: STORE.

30. Ben Affleck Best Picture winner set in Iran: ARGO.  The movie Argo was based on a true story of a CIA rescue mission during the Iranian hostage crisis. The film depicts the CIA's efforts to evacuate six American diplomats who had escaped the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by disguising themselves as a Canadian film crew.  The CIA tapped Tony Mendez, portrayed by Ben Affleck, to pose as a Hollywood producer to scout locations in Iran for a film.

33. Cow's milk cheese from an Alpine region of Italy: ASIAGO.  Yummers!  The cheese is named after the village of Asiago in the Veneto region of Italy.

37. Plant, as seeds: SOW.

41. PC pioneer: IBM.  International Business Machines.

42. Military programs intended to influence attitudes: PSY OPs.  Psychological Operations.

43. Remove wrinkles from: IRON.

44. Taco topping: SALSA.  Yummers!

46. Scannable bars on mdse.: UPCs.  As in Universal Product Code.

48. Word on a red sign: STOP.

54. Caterpillar's cover: COCOON.

56. Put into law: ENACT.

62. La Brea __ Pits: TAR.

63. "Rolling in the Deep" singer: ADELE.  I know we have several Adele (née Adele Laurie Blue Adkins; b. May 5, 1988) fans here.  This is one of my favorites.

64. Public outcry: FUROR.

65. Notable stretch of time: ERA.

66. As bad as can be: WORST.

67. Sulking state: SNIT.

68. Single crunch, say: REP.

Down:

1. Hibernation location: LAIR.

2. Go off script: AD LIB.  Today's Latin lesson.  Short for ad libitum, which means with out prior preparation.

3. Tea variety: PEKOE.  Technically, Pekoe tea is not a variety, but rather a classification of tea.  

4. Lion or tiger: CAT.

5. Sounds of satisfaction: AHs.

6. One who doesn't like company: LONER.

7. British pop singer Lewis: LEONA.  I am not familiar with Leona Louise Lewis (b. Apr. 3, 1985), but she has an alliterative name.

8. Keg contents: BEER.

9. Receive, as a gift: ACCEPT.

10. Player who is not graceful in defeat: SORE LOSER.

11. Suffix with infant: -ILE.  As in Infantile.

12. Like birthday candles before a wish: LIT.

14. Prom queen crown: TIARA.

18. Messy digs: STY.

20. 2018 and 2019 Cy Young winner deGrom: JACOB.  Jacob Anthony deGromm (b. June 19, 1988) is a professional baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Texas Rangers.

23. Doesn't go: STAYS.

24. "The White Lotus" actress Parker: POSEY.  Parker Posey (née Parker Christian Posey; b. Nov. 8, 1968) was known as the Queen of the Indies because she starred in so many independent films when she started her acting career.  She portrayed a neurotic dog owner in Best of Show.

26. Maine university town: ORONO.

27. Cry of victory: WE WON!

29. __ sauce: SOY.

30. Just a little off: AMISS.

31. Morocco's capital: RABAT.

32. Athlete's closet: GYM LOCKER.

34. "Looking for," in classified ads: ISO.  Textspeak for In Search Of.

35. Energize: AMP UP.

36. Sounds of surprise: GASPS.

39. Clean Air Act org.: EPA.

40. Yellowstone beast: BISON.

45. Ruins: SPOILS.

47. "Rah!" or "Olé!": CHEER.

49. Gear tooth: COG.

50. Idles: LOAFS.

51. Jesting: IN FUN.

52. Substance that can be holy or hard: WATER.

53. Freak out: SCARE.

55. Tech news site: CNET.

57. Lobster catcher: TRAP.

58. Gaping mouth: MAW.

59. Big fuss: ADO.

60. NPR host Shapiro: ARI.  Ari Michael Shapiro (b. Sept. 30, 1978) is an American radio journalist.

61. Camp bed: COT.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 ~ Catherine Cetta

 CURSES, CIRCLES~!

It's the way the cat looks back at the camera

I had the pleasure of blogging Catherine's puzzle back on January 8th, on my 20yr AA anniversary; we had one other from her last month, with the ascending do-re-mi theme.  Today we have four theme answers ( two that are unique to crosswords ) containing scrambled synonyms for MAD in the dreaded circles; just a couple of names, twenty-one 3LWs, but then again 18 five-letter words.  A standard 15x15 grid, and nothing too obscure for a Wednesday; just the one word highlighted in the grid below for me. The themers;

18. Nerf squirt gun in the National Toy Hall of Fame: SUPER SOAKER - SORE

24. Emergency evacuation rehearsal: FIRE DRILL - RILED

38. Inequality in access to technology: DIGITAL DIVIDE - LIVID - one source of inequality info

51. Piano larger than a spinet: BABY GRAND - ANGRY - large piano~?  Pffft

Proposed Organ for a church in Rhode Island

57. Frantic, last-minute rush, and what can be found in each set of circled letters in this puzzle?: 

MAD SCRAMBLE

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Like a texter who sends a crying emoji: SAD - 😢 Blogger does not have a simple "sad"  : - (

4. Frittata ingredients: EGGS - filled via perps; I have heard of this dish, but . . . . 

...now methinks I want to make one - but eggs are pricey right now

8. Words to live by: MOTTOS - "Don't be a troll" is what us Cornerites like to say 😜

14. Green prefix: ECO

15. Simple fastener: SNAP

16. Wayward: ERRANT

17. Took off: RAN

20. Pop star: IDOL - Billy Idol, still rocking at 70; a quiet remake of his 1984 hit

Eyes Without A Face - the chorus is in Frawche ( les yeux sans visage * )

22. Grassy meadow: LEA

23. Himalayan Bigfoot: YETI - Sasquatch~!

28. Compare prices: SHOP

29. Texas team in the American League since 2013: ASTROS - I know we are into the 2025 baseball season now, and our hostess C.C. is a huge fan, but I just don't care for the sport - boooring . . . . and I did not know Huston moved to the "other" league

30. Approves: OKs

33. Dawn goddess: EOS - not the makeup this time

34. Kia crossover SUVs: SOULS

36. Instant noodles option: RAMEN

41. Wear away: ERODE

42. Place of refuge: OASIS

43. Bioengineered food initials: GMO - Genetically Modified Organisms - the "dot gov" site

44. Sp. woman: SRA

46. On deck: UP NEXT - a little baseball lingo, as well

49. Christian period after Carnival: LENT - I 'gave up' giving a S#** for Lent - best 40 days ever; try it

54. Length x width: AREA

55. Pre-K sequence: A B C

56. Winter blanket: SNOW - CT got a "wintry mix" yesterday, but I'm putting the snow blower away

62. Responded to a rumbling tummy: ATE

63. For the time being, in some titles: PRO TEM - Literal Latin, pro tempore

64. Looks at: EYES  - yeux again~!?!

65. Barely passing grade: DEE - A, B, C, and now D

66. With reason: SANELY

67. Leak out slowly: SEEP

68. Thumb drive port: USB

DOWN:

1. Stroke that some fonts are "sans": SERIF

2. National park near Bar Harbor: ACADIA

3. GoFundMe contributors: DONORS - I am contemplating starting a page like this for my board game production; I can make a prototype easy, and sell through Amazon ( or Etsy, etc. ) - BUT - if I need to "mass produce", I don't know where to turn for manufacturing, and it will cost money - I'll offer a free game to those who donate, say, $20~?

4. The last of us?: ESS - very clever; only two letters - - first you, then ess

5. Bearded beast: GNU

Gn-no Gn-news, is Good Gn-news, with Gary Gnus

6. Banana Republic parent company: GAP

7. Hex: SPELL

8. Home of two Cactus League stadiums: MESA

pre-season MLB baseball in the Phoenix, Arizona area

9. __ y plata: phrase on Montana's state flag: ORO - Gold and Silver 

10. Cafeteria carriers: TRAYS

11. Pay attention: TAKE HEED - alright, there are some circles I pay attention to . . . .

How about a montage of hoop gymnastics~?

12. Low tie score: ONE TO ONE - I put in ZERO ZERO

13. Formats for funnies: STRIPS - comic STRIP

19. Move, in brokerese: RELOcate

21. "C'mon! It's time!": "LET'S GO~!"

25. iPhone alternatives: DROIDS - ANDROID didn't fit; the "abbr" didn't occur to me

26. Networking device: ROUTER

27. Land in the agua: ISLA

31. __ Kreme donuts: KRISPY

32. Building a nest egg: SAVING - I like to think I am "diversified"

35. __-mo replay: SLO

37. Tightwads: MISERS - it IS one way of "SAVING"

38. Natural brown sugar: DEMERARA - never heard of this; a unique crossword fill, too.  More here

39. Like some patches: IRONED ON - I typed in IRON, but ON didn't finish the fill. . . .Ah.

40. Apply haphazardly: DAUB

43. Stays in a luxury yurt, say: GLAMPS - popular in crosswords; Glamorous Camping

Hey, they at least built a fire . . . 

45. "Mamma Mia!" band: ABBA - saw them on Monday, along with "LENT"

47. Eden in Coleridge's "Kubla Khan": XANADU - no clue; filled via perps

48. Govt. securities: T-NOTES - The "dot gov"; my cash gets 4% INT at Robin Hood and Discover

50. Flavor: TASTE

52. Pinnacles: ACMES - Third time this puzzle intersected with Monday and sumdaze's very punny write-up; I like to think ACME is a singular word, implying the ONE place to reach - better yet, an online store for great anvils, bird seed, etc.

Wait~!  It gets better - check out this ACME detonator~!

53. Nerdy type: DWEEB - It's not on the chart

Don McMillan, Technically Funny

55. Navy's college football rival: ARMY

58. Animation buff's collectible: CEL

59. "See ya!": "BYE~!"

60. Gymnast Suni with six Olympic medals: LEE - Learned from doing crosswords

61. Mind reader's gift: ESP - what do you call a mind reader who knows what your favorite sports teams are ~? . . . . ESPN

* I discovered while writing up this blog that it's also the title of a Frawnche horror movie - NSFW

Splynter