Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - Rebecca Goldstein

CrossEyedDave here... When CC asked me to fill in, it was a Saturday morning, and i thought, "Great! I can do this instead of the Saturday Stumper!"  Well, right from the get go, 1Across just screamed out "Cube!" And with that, my Saturday turned into a Wednesday Stumper... I did finally work my way out of a DNF/FIW/TiTT, and was looking forward to reading the write up for someone to explain it all. (Wait! What! I have to splain this!! Aw nuts and dang it all...)

Well, at least Rebecca provided a title:

16. Intentionally delaying, or a punny title for this puzzle?: PLAYING FOR TIME.

"Playing For Time."

Now unless you can play Tetris blindfolded, i don't want to hear any complaints in the comments about circles. I would still be trying to solve this puzzle, if it were not for these life saving theme circles, that helped me discover all of the "off my wavelength" clue/answers that tripped me up.

The Reveal:

54. Constant reshuffling of one's schedule, or what's depicted in this puzzle's circles: CALENDAR TETRIS

The Calendar items circled included: Gala, Game, Work, Yoga, Call, Date, and Trip. You could possibly turn this into another puzzle by trying to find "another" calendar item that wasn't circled. Please let me know if you find any, I'm already too exhausted by Rebecca's offering to even try...

Here is a short Bio:

Link

Across:
1. Sugar serving: LUMP. My horse sense told me this should be "Cube." I mean, you don't give a horse a lump of sugar, you give him/her a sugar cube! Which led to disastrous stabs at the early downs.

5. Crockery flaw: CHIP.

Hmm, i wonder what was wrong with the kid "before" the spell?

9. Paper or plastic items: BAGS.

13. Microbiology lab gel: AGAR.

14. "__ that the truth!": AINT.

15. "At your earliest convenience," less politely: ASAP. (Not STAT!)

19. Error message?: SIC. Latin, literally ‘so, thus’. used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original.

20. NYC nabe near the Bowery: NOHO. (Not SOHO, or South of Houston, but North of...)

21. Added to the team: HIRED.

22. Kicking sport: SOCCER.

24. Actress Palmer: KEKE. The second K was a personal Natick with 9 Downs Batik, and caused and alpha run ending to this almost DNF/FIW/TiTT...

25. The Queen of Pop: MADONNA.

27. Network featured in "Good Night, and Good Luck": CBS. (3 letters awaiting a perp)

30. Low voices in a women's choir: ALTOS. (Really?)

33. Lav: LOO. (What?  Not Water Closet? Hmm, which reminds me...)

34. Sailor's assent: AYE.

35. Shabby: WORN.

36. Rare opening in 54-Across: SLOT. (A Clecho! Or Clue Echo...)

37. Screen writing?: BLOG.

38. Squeak (out): EKE.

39. Tom, Dick, and Harry, for example: MEN. (Not "anybody"...)

40. Name after peach or before toast: MELBA.

41. Mom, to Auntie: SIS. (I don't know why I wanted "Tia" here...)

42. "Be glad to": SURE CAN. Or put another Glad Bag in the Trash Can...

44. Image file format: JPEG.

46. Like the pick of the litter?: CUTEST.

49. Beefy, casually: SWOLE. Learning moment, i can't complain if it's legit...

51. Move like a hummingbird: DART.  (Not flit)

52. D-backs, in box scores: ARI. (A crossword fill staple...)

54. [Theme Reveal]

57. Shawkat of "Search Party": ALIA. (Either you know her, or you dont. Perps to the rescue...)

58. Team with a red-tailed hawk mascot named Swoop: UTES. (If you say so...)

59. California county with a wine train: NAPA. More info here:

60. Ran in the wash: BLED.

61. "__ there, tiger": EASY.

62. Gender-fluid pronoun: THEY. (Could have been Them, I could blame Them. But I can't blame They...)

Down:
1. Slurps (up): LAPS.

2. Uniq fruits: UGLIS.

3. Body shop franchise: MAACO. I must have misread this clue, because Maaco with lump and laps turned this corner into a nightmare...

4. Ask too much, say: PRY.

5. Paddled about: CANOED.

6. One regularly experiencing bettor days: HIGHROLLER. Not familiar with this, I wonder why...

7. IT part: INFO. (New to me)

8. Vacay from work: PTO. Paid Time Off (another tricky clue/answer)

9. Patterned fabric that originated in Indonesia: BATIK. I'll let A.I. explain this Learning Moment

10. "If memory serves": AS I RECALL. (Without the spaces, reminds me of nothing...)

11. Up for a challenge: GAME.

12. Went a mile a minute, maybe: SPED.

17. Quechua speakers who didn't have a written alphabet: INCAS. Not entirely true They used ropes!

18. Seehorn of "Pluribus": RHEA. (If you say so, but I say its just a smaller Emu from a different country)

23. "Please be serious": CMON. (I am serious about the Rhea/Emu's)

24. Twist into a pretzel: KNOT.

26. "Sounds like a you problem": NO ONE CARES.  (Ouch!)

28. Notation on an invite: BYOB. Bring Your own Bottle/Beer.

29. Sonic the Hedgehog developer: SEGA.

30. Leaves speechless: AWES.

31. Norse god of mischief: LOKI. Around long before The Marvel Universe took over his image on the internet. And is now invading politics?

32. "Ooh la la!": TRES JOLIE. It's French...

36. Self-satisfied: SMUG.

37. Good start?: BENE. Italian. Curiously, when I went to research, 

IT WASN'T Bene Nota?

(I get this confused with Bella Notte.)

40. Low-gloss: MATTE.

42. Checked out: SEEN. This nose wrinkle really gave me angst crossing 49A. Swole

43. Bow alternative: CURTSY. (Not bow,,, bow...  AhNuts!)

45. Be appealing?: PLEAD. (Cute)

47. One of the Torah's four matriarchs: SARAH. (Perped in, because i always leave off the H.)

48. Type of offal: TRIPE. (Anyone want a picture?) Offal is the internal organs and parts trimmed off an animal for food, although tripe has other meanings as well...

49. Sign of healing: SCAB.

50. Muralist's canvas: WALL.

51. Target of some mining: DATA.

53. "My word": I SAY. (Sounds kinda British to me, an I do say so myself...)

55. Expected any minute: DUE.

56. Explosive used in some mining: TNT.

Well, that about does it for this year. On to the next!

Happy New Year!

CE:D Out...

Tuesday December 23, 2025 Alan P. Olschwang

 CrossEyedDave here, filling in again. My interpretation of a theme for this puzzle would be:

It's For The Birds... 

Alan Olschwang is a prolific constructor, and has provided many puzzles for us to enjoy. You can find CC's 2009 interview with him on the right side of the Blog, 3rd from the bottom. 

As near as i can comprehend, these birds are cooped up in the circles as follows:

18 Across. Rather often: QUITE A LOT

Teal

23 Across. In large quantities: HAND OVER FIST

Dove

37 Across. Taunting remark: EAT YOUR HEART OUT.

Rhea

50 Across. NHL legend known as "The Great One": WAYNE GRETZKY

Egret

And, the reveal:

60 Across. Handmade backyard nest box, and an apt description of 18-, 23-, 37-, and 50-Across: BIRDHOUSE.

Across:
1. Root beer brand owned by Coca-Cola: BARQ'S. This combined with 3 down, Regan, was almost a Natick for me. But the R in Barqs was dredged up from previous Crosswords.

6. Tightly closed: SHUT. 

10. Smile joyously: BEAM. 😀

14. Indigenous Alaskan: ALEUT. Indigenous Alaskans are diverse peoples, including Inupiaq, Yup'ik, Aleut (Unangan/Alutiiq), Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. (And you thought they were just Eskimos...)

15. Work hard for: EARN. (I earned this puzzle review!)

16. Feminine Spanish pronoun: ELLA. (e.g., Ella es mi madre - She is my mother; Los regalos son para ella - The gifts are for her). I have no explanation for "Cinderella..."

17. Roman robes: TOGAS.

Or, a rallying cry...

18. [Theme]

20. Jackie on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: CHAN.

21. Mardi Gras, for one: Abbr.: TUE. I cannot imagine only one person celebrating Marci Gras...

22. Selling point: ASSET.

23. [Theme]

27. Name on a former lake in Central Asia: ARAL. This word is as common as Oreo...

28. "Guys and Dolls" composer Frank: LOESSER.

This Guy

32. "Been __, done that": THERE.

35. Chapel bench: PEW.

36. Med. plan option: HMO. (Health Maintenance Organization)

37. [Theme]

42. Chicken __ king: ALA.

43. Hundred Acre Wood joey: ROO.

This Guy

44. Cropped up: AROSE. 

What cropped up, was a rose upon his nose...

45. Antarctic body of water with penguin rookeries: ROSS SEA.

48. "Othello" frenemy: IAGO.

NOT this guy

50. [Theme]

55. Poker buy-ins: ANTES.

58. Final tally: SUM.

59. Prefix with -gram: SONO. (One of too many to mention...)

60. [Theme]

63. Hollowed out: CORED.

64. Crossword hint: CLUE.

65. Finds a purpose for: USES.

66. Blender setting for pumpkin pie filling: PUREE. And baby food.

67. "As __ on TV": SEEN.

68. "Devil Inside" band: INXS. This was another almost Natick, saved by U.S. Navy...

 

69. Ring-shaped island: ATOLL.

Down:

1. Baker's sheetful: BATCH.

2. "Welcome to Maui!": ALOHA.

3. Middle daughter of King Lear: REGAN. (Half an almost Natick.)

4. Difficult situation: QUANDARY. (What ever should i post here.)

5. MA, ME, MI, and MO, but not MU: STS.  (And not Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum...)

6. Follow-up film: SEQUEL.

7. Rutger of "Blade Runner": HAUER.

This guy

8. Ocean State sch.: URI. University of Rhodesia Island.

9. Blasting letters: TNT.

10. __ of burden: plow-pulling animals: BEASTS.

11. Letter-shaped pipe joints: ELLS.

12. __ vera gel: ALOE.

13. "The Simpsons" creator Groening: MATT.

The guy on the left

19. "At __, soldier!": EASE.

21. FDR energy project: TVA. Tennessee  Valley Authority

24. Dirt pie cookie: OREO.

25. Escape in a hurry: FLEE.

26. Ames locale: IOWA.

29. "Go on, git!": SHOO. (Scram! Or Skidaddle...)

30. Big birds of Australia: EMUS. Not Rheas, 

31. Learning by repetition: ROTE. (The answer is Oreo!)

32. Salty drop: TEAR.

33. Saintly glow: HALO.

34. Airport pickup figs.: ETAS.

35. Vietnamese soup: PHO. (Do i need to post a pic?)

38. Manhattan Project scientist Harold: UREY.

OMG!

Another name!

(This is getting to be a pain...)

39. Multicolored horse: ROAN. I would post a pic, but I really thought they were more colorful...

40. All the __: very popular: RAGE.

41. Brings forward for display: TROTS OUT.  (Hmm, see 47 down...)

46. Country between Finland and Norway: SWEDEN.

47. Merit badge holder: SASH.

48. "Well, maybe": I GUESS.

49. Sleeve: ARM. (If you are armed, would you be sleeved?)

51. English county south of Suffolk: ESSEX.

52. Masked vigilante whose name is Spanish for "fox": ZORRO. Learning moment

53. Genuflect: KNEEL. Only know this from The Wizard of Oz... (The Lions Solo song)

54. Alpine song: YODEL.

55. School basics: ABCS.

56. Aswan's river: NILE.

57. Factual: TRUE.

61. French yes: OUI.

62. Top Gun org.: USN.

63. Audit firm pro: CPA.

This would have been a Pangram, but was missing the "J."

Well, you didn't need to be an Ornithologist to solve this one. Hope it was right up your roost, aviary, dovecote, aerie or henhouse, and didn't ruffle any feathers.

CE:D out.

 

 

Note from C.C: 

 

Today we celebrate the 81st birthday of our sweet Misty, who has been with our blog since 2011 and means so much to all of us. Wishing you a beautiful day, Margot!

Misty and her husband Rowland

Tuesday, November 11, 2025, Jeff Stillman

Hello Cruciverbalists! CrossEyedDave here to fill in for the irreplaceable Hahtoolah, who could  not be here today. This is my first time trying this, (on an Ipad no less...) so bear with me. I hope I don't drive you further askew with my slant on things.

Ready to see if we can learn something new? Here we go!

First Themer:

20A. Output of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions: PARTY NOMINEES.

(Um, no politics... So I can't describe how i feel about the above are running.)

Second Themer:

29A. Hose that may have a seam up the back: NYLON STOCKINGS.

(Hmm, maybe Splynter should have Blogged this puzzle...)

Third Themer:

46A. Common conveyances between suburbs and cities: COMMUTER TRAINS.

(Now we are getting somewhere...)

And, The Reveal:

56A. "Three Blind Mice" line, or what can be said of 20-, 29-, and 46-Across: SEE HOW THEY RUN.

Across:

1. Sound from an angry cat: HISS.

5. Veil material: LACE. (What are you trying to hide?)

9. Venom-dispensing tooth: FANG. (Or, Phyllis Dillers Husband...)

13. Like draft beer: ONTAP.

Did you know you can get one for your home?

It's called a Kegerator!

(Get one & I'll come visit you...)

15. Division d'une nation: ETAT. French, it is in my "do not discuss file." Like Religion & Politics.

16. Simpson kid who plays the sax: LISA. My fav episode:

17. Small egg: OVULE. Hmm, seems to be getting bigger. Didn't it used to be Ova?

18. Claptrap: BOSH. One of the rarer synonyms, along with blather, blether, tripe, but its all hogwash to me...

19. Face-to-face exam: ORAL.  Reminds me i have a dentist appt.

20. [Themer]

23. Punk musician Vicious: SID.

I'm only familiar with this Sid...

24. Pull from behind: TOW. Pull from behind means something completely different to me:

25. Soccer score: NIL.

26. Apple mobile platform: IOS. I'm working on one. It would be nice if they didn't change everything with every update...

29. [Themer]

33. Ramen mushroom: ENOKI. My Sushi place has them wrapped in bacon!

Yummers!

34. Sassy: SMART. (I am not... :(

35. Blast from the __: PAST.

38. Sounds of regret: SIGHS.

41. Baked desserts: PIES.

42. Group of ships: FLEET.

44. Instruction on a Wonderland cake: EATME.

Or an Animal House Parade Float

46. [Themer]

51. Twice tre: SEI. Now, here you guys are going to have to help "me" out...  I thought it might be French, but Google is not helping. And why don't they have "twice" in its foreign language anyway? Sheesh,         I have enough trouble with English...

52. Pt. of USNA: NAV. Not Uni, Stat, or Aca, but "navy." Although, while it's commonly United States Naval Academy, some definitions have this as United States National Army. (Just be glad its not in French.)

53. Prince, to a king: SON. (Or a smaller idol to Elvis?)

54. Flamenco shout: OLE.

56. [Theme Reveal]

60. Hardware store purchase: TOOL. (I wanted nail...)

62. World's largest furniture retailer: IKEA. Four letters, what else could it be...

63. Skittish: TIMID. Reminds me of this PSA

64. Radio switch letters: AMFM. Clock switch letters AMPM Did you change your clocks Sunday?

65. Cousin of a gull: TERN. (Why does this sound like an insult?)

66. Wiggle room: SPACE. (I need all i can get.)

67. Analogy part: IS TO. (Apropos of...)

68. Named, informally: IDED. Now, I am supposed to space out words when they are crammed together. Like IsTo above. But when i space this one, it comes out "Id Ed'?

69. Winter transport: SLED. (Perfect Segway to slide into the Downs...)

Down:
1. Some round earrings: HOOPS.

2. Fruitlessly: IN VAIN.

3. Built to last: STURDY.

4. Sidewalk ice melter: SALT. Magnesium chloride is considered the least toxic, but a Google search reveals vinegar will work! Or if you want to track it through the house, cat litter, coffee grounds, sand, and, wait? What's this? Beet Juice???  (Imagine tracking that thru the house...)

5. "Big" name in the Coen brothers' filmography: LEBOWSKI. 

The Dude Abides

6. Small building block: ATOM.  Aren't you glad they don't hurt when you step on them, like Legos...

7. House of cards?: CASINO. Now this was a clever clue

8. Sharing a common culture: ETHNIC.

9. Sheet of ice: FLOE. Kinda sounds like when you slip on it. Yes/no?

10. Cairo-based carrier from 1982 to 2021: AIR SINAI. I guess El Al wouldn't fit...

11. Govt. intel org.: NSA. (Shhhh...)

12. Actress Gadot: GAL. If you say so?

14. Reed who directed three "Ant-Man" films: PEYTON. (Also if you say so...)

21. Forbidden acts: NONOS. Not putting a spaces between words are No Nos on the Blog

22. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS. ( i really wanted Oilers, its the only Canadian team i know.)

27. Shrek, for one: OGRE. (With three, count em, three movies!)

28. Phased-out fast planes, for short: SSTS.  (Because they weren't shhhh...)

30. Casual "They can do what they want": LETEM. Ok, now this one I'm not sure. Do I put in a space or what?

31. Princeton athlete: TIGER. I dunno, the way they change team names these days, tomorrow it might be  something else.

32. Hong Kong's Bank of China Tower architect: I.M. PEI.

35. Sarge's charges: PFCS. Private First Class

36. Soothing additive in some cosmetics: ALOE. No. I am "NOT" posting "that" pic...

37. Like Muenster and Monterey Jack: SEMISOFT.

39. Spot for a bowler to hang: HAT STAND. Hmm, see "the dude abides" above...

40. Detroit beer baron Bernhard: STROH. New too me, I tried to research what their beer was called, but all i got was the trivia that they were known as The Lion Brewing Company from 1875 to 1885.  After all that Googling, i could really use a brewsky...

P.S. auto correct changed brewsky to brew sky. I think the universe is telling me to cut out the space in the words jokes...

43. Prepare to play, as a piano: TUNE. This could have been a lot of things, but did you know that in order to tune a piano, you need a hammer? How to videos available upon request...

45. Some French Impressionist works: MANETS. (Not Monets.) and not what spellcheck wanted either. Monteys? Really?

47. Island in French Polynesia: TAHITI. Ahhh yes, perfectly cozy for a winter puzzler...

48. Conjured up: EVOKED. Tahiti evoked me in a hammock, sipping cocktails on the beach.

49. Unexceptional: NORMAL. What me? Never!

50. Artificial water channel: SLUICE. There are a lot of images to choose from, but this little one saves a lot of work when panning for gold

55. Shut down: ENDED.  Nope, not yet...

57. Patron saint of sailors: ELMO. This was before the cuddly toy, see St.Elmos fire:

58. "Where __ we?": WERE.

59. Sounds in pounds: YIPS. (Not Arfs...)

60. __ chi: martial art: TAI.

61. Meditation sounds: OMS.

And here's the Grid:

Hope to see you in the comments section.

CE:D out...

 

Notes from C.C.:

 

1) Welcome aboard, dear Dave! Thank you for sticking with it and learning the ropes on the iPad. Your persistence really shows.

 

2) Inanehiker and her husband Mark visited me on Sunday. Such a joy to finally meet Nina in person and share stories beyond the blog. We were also joined by my crossword collaborator and friend Tom Pepper. 

 

Left to Right: Tom, Mark, Nina and C.C.