I asked C.C. about our constructor, and she told me that she needs to see the Chinese characters to know more about the author; as far as we can tell, this is a debut - congratulations, and if you are reading this, then please feel free to chime in here at our Crossword Corner. I loved this puzzle - a fresh, clever, and humorous theme of common 'food' phrases reworked to be the fermented and/or cured, and therefore, "processed", versions of the produce. Five fills, one a spanner - the one that unlocked the theme for me - two 14- and two 9-letter fills, my only nit for the puzzle being the number of names. Standard grid, no circles, a low count of 19 3LWs, two tastes, two bad fill-in clues ( for me ) and two cowbells~! The themers;
17. Marine animal with a cylindrical body, once processed?: SEA PICKLE - this one is the outlier, with the "processed" part coming last - cucumbers, when processed ( in salt water, dill, etc. ) ferment and become "pickles - ergo, a Sea Cucumber would now be a Sea "Pickle" 😆😜
23. Dearly beloved, once processed?: CIDER OF ONE'S EYE = Apples, processed
36. Dolls that come with adoption papers, once processed?: KIMCHI PATCH KIDS = Cabbage, processed; more here, and a recipe - The dolls were the source of an insane toy stampede in the 80's
20. Mastercard alternative: VISA - credit card companies
22. Put together: BUILT
27. Airport security containers: BINS
28. Check a final time?: MATE - Ah. I missed the chess reference; filled via perps, but very clever
29. Words of defeat: "ILOST." - That's exactly what the king🠅said . . .
31. Commotion: STIR
33. "I Think You Should Leave" star Robinson: TIM - No clue. The movie sounds humorous; name #1
40. Wane: EBB - Does Batman "ebb" to Bruce Wayne~?
41. Spits bars: RAPS - Friday cluing, and sorta clever - rap, the music genre
Intergalactic - Beastie Boys
42. "__ Burr, Sir": AARON - it's still a name, dame, #2
43. Trampled (on): TROD
45. Lock screen display: TIME - as on one's smart phone
52. Readied a putt: AIMED - LIV golf was on the TVs at the gym last weekend; some controversy
53. __ tube: BOOB - slang for the "telly" - does anyone remember the movie "Groove Tube"~? I have mentioned it here at the Corner before
54. Fix unlawfully: RIG - elections, e.g.
59. The Eras Tour venue: ARENA - Taylor Swift, was, sadly (not~!), missing from this year's 2026 Super Bowl, as her fiancé did not make the playoffs 😁 - sorry KC fans . . .
66. Was a prelude (to): LED UP - Led Zep - excluding the "solos", which song is John Bonham's best performance~? My choice is this song - track one, Led Zeppelin I - see also 47D.
"Good Times, Bad Times"
2:45 of non-stop drumming density - More cowbell #1~!
DOWN:
1. Little bit: A TAD - Atwurd
2. Hocus-pocus: MAGIC - one of my "co-trainees" at the gym suggested Sarah J Maas as an author, so I am currently reading "Throne of Glass"
3. Condiment that adds strong, rich flavor, informally: UMAMI BOMB - new to me, but it has appeared in one other crossword . . . taste #2
5. Like Matt Smith's Doctor, on "Doctor Who": ELEVENTH - Despite having British parents, and being a hard-core Sci-Fi guy, I have never seen, or liked, [GASP] "Dr. Who" - name(ish) - the LIST
6. Sudeikis role: LASSO - Ted, that is, but another show I have never seen - name #4
7. Barley bundle: SHEAF - good WAG on my part
8. MiLB level: AAA - I did not know that Minor League Baseball was abbr this way
11. With little inflection: DULLY - "dull-ly" - not a word I would use in everyday convo - and then, whilst reading "Throne of Glass", I find the word not once, but twice - here's the first instance . . .
12. Largest Greek island: CRETE - geo name #6
15. "__ me!": "Comin' through!": " 'SCUSE~!" - Eliding over the "EK" part of excuse; not unique; in fact, it's not even a "rare" crossword fill . . .
18. "Suuuuure": "IBET."
21. April 15 org.: IRS - My "CPA" has my paperwork
24. __ jockey: DISC
25. Forgets, maybe: OMITS
26. Snitch (on): NARC - I do the Downs first, threw in "TELL"
29. Actor Barinholtz: IKE - name #7
30. Ad-__: LIB - Dah~! Got the wrong one #1 - not HOC
31. Fashion designer Kate: SPADE - the one name I did know, #8
32. Spigot: TAP - My favorite "TAP"
Nigel Tufnel, lead guitar, Spinal Tap
33. Michelin surface: TIRE TREAD - I like this clue/answer. It's not unique, either
34. Words of avowal: "IDO." - I 'DID' have this last week, too - I hope it's a sign of things to come
35. Bing portal: MSN - Bing being the search engine of MicroSoft Network - the Wiki
37. Wrinkle remover: IRON
38. Unpopular pet product?: HAIRBALL - Ha~! Clever clue; I tried NECK CONE - this thingy
He's faking it - theres' no way he would be that happy . . .
39. __ Sutra: KAMA - You can find the 'crossword position', chapter 18, section 5, verse 2 - here
43. Bird's sound: TWEET
44. Disposes (of): RIDS
45. Number of prongs on a bident: TWO
She's a "two-tining" woman
46. Short nails: TACKS - oops, not BRADS
47. Drum kit cymbals: HI-HAT - I play the drums, and the clue being "plural", I went with "RIDES" - the larger cymbal that sits "opposite" the Hi-Hat - which is a paired set of cymbals - in a kit
I added my drum set below, "backwards" for a lefty, like Phil Collins in Genesis; he switches from the Hi-Hat to the Ride @ 1:00 - my RIDE cymbal is low & inside the crash cymbal. More cowbell #2~!
48. Nail file material: EMERY
49. Only U.S. president born after 1960: OBAMA - OK, I knew this one as well - name #9
50. Place for a hat rack: FOYER
51. Holi celebrant: HINDU - Learned by doing crosswords; it occurred 4 March this year
It's the first day of Spring, which officially arrives at my house @10:46am EDT. Here's my strike-through clue review of the first puzzle of spring, from John Liber, whose name I could not find with regard to any crossword construction; if I'm correct, then congratulations on your debut~! The theme, however, is not vernal equinox related, but instead consists of "extra" words in the clues, specifically 'pain' and 'gain' - take those out, and the clues are straight defintions of the answers. Quaint, but for me, a long way to go for otherwise unrelated theme fills. An over-sized 15x16 grid, 26 3LWs, and a few too many names - one of which created a Natick - see 44A./42D. The themers, and reveal;
19. *One who's overly concerned with pain control: MICROMANAGER - take "pain" out of the clue = the def. of 'micromanager'; I once had a boss who left a Post-It note on everything we needed to work on, with exactly what steps needed to be taken; paint this🠆, fix this🠆, cut here🠆 . . . 🙄
The World's Most Interesting Micromanager
24. *Gain ground, to a general: BATTLEFIELD- take "gain" out of the clue = . . .
39. *Capital gain recordkeeper: NATIONAL ARCHIVES- take "gain" out of the clue = . . .
51. *Highly effective pain relievers: BULLPEN ACES- take "pain" out of the clue = the baseball pitchers that come in to "relieve" the starter
59. Fitness mantra, and a hint to making the starred clues match their answers: NO PAIN, NO GAIN
How I feel after leaving the gym sometimes
But Gain Weight, There's More Pain
ACROSS:
1. Sack: BAG - I do the Downs first to have some perpendicular fills crossing the themers; it also gave me the "G" here, so this is the 'container', not the 'AXE', kind of sack
33. Sounds of hesitation: UHs - I filled in UMs, and crossing the name at 34D., which I did not recognize, made it hard to find that I was, er, um, uh, . . . "wrong"
36. Unwelcoming: ICY -11-letters synonym for 3-letters
37. Help in making things go smoothly for furniture movers: CASTERS - I once "wished" that all the freight I handled at Roadway Express came with its own set of wheels; the next night, I got a 28ft trailer filled with 300 shopping carts - be careful what you wish for . . . .
43. Grungy clothing?: FLANNEL - back in the 90's, when "Grunge" was all the rage, members in bands of the genre were typically seen wearing some sort of flannel shirt
Not exactly flannel, but since it came up last Friday,
"The Man Who Sold The World", Nirvana from Mtv Unplugged
44. Country music's __ Brown Band: ZAC - the "Z" was a semiWAG; name, #2, but crossing a foreign language word = Natick for me. Not a fan of this genre, but I found this . . .
"Toes", typical country lyrics, but the video is worth it
45. Altar affirmation: "I DO." - I.D.~? - O, Nevermind ( that guy from 43A. again )
46. Skip over: ELIDE - typically syllables of words, as in "Y'all"
47. Unfair accusation: BUM RAP - skirts are a kind of "bum wrap"
In spring pastels~!
50. Disavow: DENY
56. Sphinx location: CAIRO
58. Australian currency: DOLLAR - it's a G'day to make a G'dollar
64. 24/7 hosp. areas: ERs - Emergency Rooms
65. "May I speak with you privately?": "A WORD..." - A Twurd
66. __-pants: SMARTY - half my family lives in England, and when I was kid, before there was internet, we would be treated to a delivery of British candy at the holidays - including Smarties ( like M&Ms ), Flake, and Crunchie, my favorite - I ordered a package from Amazon last week to give to my trainer Brett for his B-day on Friday, the 13th; he, of course, looked at the calories first . . . 😝
67. Coca-Cola HQ: ATLanta - UPS and several others are headquartered there, too
68. Long-necked birds: GEESE
69. Charley horse, e.g.: SPASM - AND - 37. Charley horse, e.g.: CRAMP - I've had both versions
70. Biblical possessive: THY
DOWN:
1. Message on a jacket: BLURB - jacket, that is, of a book, not an LP/album like I was thinking; I had pondered LYRIC
2. Clueless: AT SEA
3. 50s president?: GRANT - not HARRY ( and Ike is short a few $s), the 50s of US currency - name #3
4. Big citrus: POMELO - orange did fit . . . but that was SO yesterday . . . 🙄
5. Riesling, for one: WHITEWINE - I knew this
6. Foreign policy gp.: NSC - US National Security Council
7. Port. locale: EUR - Port(ugal) and Eur(ope) - in print, the period (.) might be hard to spot
🠅
8. Spoke in a monotone: DRONED - this got used in the write-up title here
9. Alley division: LANE - Bowling
10. Italian macaroons made with almonds: AMARETTI - They don't seem to be the same thing . . .
Let the controversy begin~!
11. SCOTUS justice who said, "Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time": RBG - that's a lot of clue for a 3LW, yada yada yada Supreme Court = Ruth Bader Ginsburg - name #4
12. Grand opening?: GEE - the "G" that starts the word gRAND
13. Make a typo, say: ERR
16. Russian pianist Gilels: EMIL - name #5
Heavy Metal Rachmaninov - I dig the hair, man - he gets into it
34. "The Little Mermaid" star Bailey: HALLE - I knew of the original animated Disney movie only - here's more on the 2023 live-action version from IMDb - name #6
40. Brickyard racers, casually: INDY CARS - Brickyard being the nickname of the Indianapolis 500 race track, the consequence of a repaving in 1909 with 3.2 million bricks
41. United: ONE - think "as"
42. Blue, in Peru: AZUL - Español lesson; I tried AGUA
47. Flourishes: BLOOMS
48. Banksy, for one: ANONYM - the basis for "anonymous", a kind of pseudonym - I have seen his art, but did not know his name, #7
There was a series of "Girl with Balloon" - the Wiki
49. Bud: PAL
51. Container: BIN
52. Self-serve servers: URNS - I tried EGOS - Bzzzzt
53. Spiked shoe: CLEAT
54. "Pale Blue Dot" subject: EARTH - Carl Sagan's 1994 book, and reference, to "home"
The photo taken by Voyager I, a mere 4 Billion miles away from home in 1990. Mark you calendars,
November this year, the spacecraft will be ONE LIGHT DAY from us - fascinating
55. "4 real?": SRSLY - 21st century textspeak = seriously~?
57. Hill staffer: AIDE
59. Hound: NAG - ah - the verb, not the noun; I tried DOG - 'hound' is a homonym
60. Have debts: OWE
61. "The Cask of Amontillado" writer: POE - name #8
62. Lacuna: GAP - Learning moment; more here; I tried "EAU", Frawnche water - Bzzzzt~!
63. Legendary coach Parseghian: ARA - crossword staple, but still, name #9
Six years ago, to the day - Friday the 13th, March - most were told to stay home for two weeks . . . . 😜
She's a meteorologist, so, um, essential - don't "skirt" the issue 🙄
Tracy Gray had two puzzles last year, one landing 51 weeks ago, also on a Friday, that had the themers 'turn' on the word DIME. Today's construction is another "visual" theme from her, offering us a series of ten fills that are "jobs", found on the perimeter, or "side" of the grid - very clever. We have seen this type of theme before, and I liked the puzzle, but it felt like the author had to "RAM IN" some of the fill - I'm looking at you, 18A~! Perhaps having the solution to begin will be the best way to explain the reveal;
38. Secondary gig, or a literal description of 10 answers in this puzzle: SIDE JOB - the edge, or "side" fills are careers, or "jobs", but clued synonymously;
Top Across:
1. Undergarment brand:JOCKEY
their logo 'hints' at professional racehorse riders
7. Single-story home:RANCHER - just called a "ranch" where I grew up
DownRight:
13. Enc. or dict.:REFerence, encyclopedia & dictionary; one of two abbrs - REFEREE
29. Representation built to scale: MODEL - not the meteorologist🠅, this🠇
Scale model of a Mercury Cougar, with the actual name plate from the car I once owned
52. Perry of classic TV:MASON - Stonemasonry - name #1
Ozzy~!
Across Bottom:
65. One who is a real sport: TROOPER - I linked the Iron Maiden" Eddie" trooper two weeks ago
66. "Heaven Can Wait" Oscar nominee Jack: WARDEN - name #2 - the main character was 'supposed' to die almost a year ago today - 'proclaimed' in the 1978 movie ( also the name of an Iron Maiden song )
Left Up:
57. Confirm the credentials of, say: VET - the straight verb, and the other abbr, VETERINARIAN 33. Test episode: PILOT - "Pilot~? What's a pilot~?"
Pulp Fiction
1. 2017 AL Rookie of the Year: JUDGE - NY Yankees baseball slugger, Aaron, name #3 B u t W M a o i r t e , T h e r e' s
ACROSS:14. Starts a revolt: UPRISES - my incorrect Down fills seriously hindered my progress in the NW
16. Good-natured: AMIABLE - the Corner discussed AMICABLE not too long ago
17. Fresca, for one: DIET POP - a Coca~Cola product - an interesting history
18. Hightail it: BOLT OFF - a bit meh. I have frequently "bolted", but not "off"
19. Extra product: GUM - clever misdirection; this product
20. Some surfers: WAHINES - Downs gave me - - HINES, and I recalled this 'Hawaii Five-O' term
22. Collaborate on Microsoft Teams, say: eMEET
25. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" director Nicolas: ROEG - name #4, and I am shocked that I had never heard of this 1976 Sci-Fi movie staring David Bowie - more here
30. Big to-do: RUCKUS - in another Sci-Fi movie, Agent J asks why all the "ruckus"
32. 1990s fitness fad: TAE BO
33. High-performance German cars: PORSCHES - I'll have the plug-in hybrid 918 - name(ish)
Yes, it shoots blue flames - only 918 were made; I can have this one for $2.9mil
36. Frank: CANDID
37. Brewpub fave: IPA
40. Beth Ann Fennelly's "__ to Butter": ODE - name(ish) - Quite raunchy - I love it~!
41. "Grumpy Old Men" actor: LEMMON - I remembered these movie outtakes; name #5
Jack Lemmon and Burgess Meredith
43. Spot for horsing around?: CAROUSEL - Great clue/answer~!
45. Film production company named for a constellation: ORION - they put out a lot of winners
46. Actress Suzanne: SOMERS - my first guess, but I thought there were two "M"s; she of "Three's Company", and "Thighmaster" fame - name #6
47. Shades at the beach: TANS
48. Daycation locations: SPAS
49. Earthquake: SEISM - the "def" from Greek seismos
53. Tops of most org charts: C-SUITES - CEO, CFO, COO, etc.
56. __ salt: SEA
57. No longer occupied: VACATED
60. Option not available for most low-tier streaming subscriptions: SKIP ADS - worth every penny to have uninterrupted music on Pandora
63. Paragon: EPITOME - uh PIT oh mee - like hyperbole 😜
64. Starting line?: "HERE I GO - again", Whitesnake~!
DOWN:
2. Yves Saint Laurent perfume: OPIUM - name(ish)
3. __ anglaise: CRÈME - I thought HABLA, but no - it's this Frawnche sauce
4. Word with mess or press: KIT - ah... Not HOT 😏
5. Unusual ability: ESP - Friday, so no indication that this is an abbr~?
6. Pained cry: YEOW~! - I had OUCH to start; I've told co-workers in the past that if I exclaimed "Ouch~!", it was no big deal; if I sucked my teeth, however, maybe they need to call me a doctor . . .
7. Concern after an animal bite: RABIES
8. Interspersed with: AMONG
9. African flower?: NILE - crossword misdirection - flow-er, like mower
10. Former name of a med. imaging tool: CAT SCAN - originally EMI, now CT - here's why
11. "Task" network: HBO - filled via perps
12. Rivendell resident: ELF - I know my Lord of the Rings
15. Ignited: SPARKED
21. Comfy cover-up: HOUSE COAT
23. Hesitant sounds: Ers - I had Ums to start
24. City near Saguaro National Park: TUCSON - filled via perps; geo name #7
27. Overhauls: REDOs - the noun, not the verb REDOES
28. Remain faithful to, with "by": ABIDE - meh. I filled in STAND
31. Viola holder: CHIN - Dah~! Not CASE
Pearl de la Motte - she just happened to come up on my Google viola image search
32. Fife-and-drum drums: TABORS - Dah~! I filled SNARES - the Wiki
61. Golden yrs. fund: IRA - Individual Retirement Account; I can finally start funding mine again - let's just say I'm about to be the next "Hubby" - more to to be revealed in the coming weeks~!
Two weeks running now, we've had a construction from the LA Times crossword puzzle editor Patti - and a better submission, IMHO, than the one from last Thursday, which had the names Natick in the NE corner. Today's theme is a clever play on "~IGHT -becomes- ~ITE" words; my only nit would be the use of two "R" words - yet they are different. I was quite impressed, however, with the two 10-letter Down fills that each crossed different sets of three themers without being "meh". A solid Friday offering - most of the terse clues were in my wheelhouse. Standard grid, no circles, 3 times the number of 4LWs to both 3- & 5-LWs, two yogurts, and a dozen names. The themers, and no reveal;
20. Ceremony that adorns dollar bills?: RITE ON THE MONEY
Han Solo's shot was "right on the money"
26. Try to find pen pals in monasteries?: WRITE BROTHERS - these guys . . .
44. Lo-cal beers from Canada?: NORTHERN LITES - these guys . . .
not theseguys
52. Terse review of a wonky web page?: NOT A PRETTY SITE - not this guy . . .
But Wait - There's More in SITE~!
ACROSS:
1. Goes through a lot of tissues: BAWLS - I do the Downs first, had B - W L - , which did not look promising, but "Lo~!" and "Behold~!"
6. Chi-town paper: TRIBune - abbr for Chicago, abbr for the newspaper
10. Tibetan priest: LAMA
14. "If you say so": "UH-HUH."
15. New York university named for a Scottish isle: IONA - geo name #1, knew it 'cos I grew up in NY
16. Tudyk of "Resident Alien": ALAN - name #2 - I recall the show, though I didn't watch
17. Condiment served with biryani: RAITA - yogurt #1 - filled via perps
18. Survivor's struggle, briefly: PTSD - breifly indicating we're looking for an abbreviation; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
19. Tie: BOND
23. Foundry delivery: ORE - a good change-up clue for this fill
24. Lav: LOO - British bathroom
25. Dove home: COTE - learned by doing crosswords
32. "I mentioned the bisque" "Seinfeld" character: ELAINE - Seinfeld aired before I was old enough to understand the show; I do like watching them now, but this scene I do not recall . . .name #3
Yada, yada, yada
34. Take from the top: RE-DO
35. Intl. broadcaster since 1942: VOA - filled via perps; Voice of America - more from Wiki
36. Quash: VETO
37. Butter square: PAT
38. Leaning: BIAS
39. Info requested by brewery websites: AGE - you'll need to enter your info at 32D.
40. Store securely: STOW
42. Old Testament collection: PSALMS - had most of this via perps
47. Ticket info: SEAT
48. Santa __, California: ANA - geo name #4
49. Little dog: PUP
56. [I like these scritches!]: PURR - the brackets are a "meta-clue" hint; again, most was perps
57. Sworn statement: OATH
58. Deserve: MERIT
59. Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA - I tried e l L a; thus began my search for the "wrong" name, #5
60. Sticking point: TINE - a "right-on-the-money" definition
63. Michelin award: STAR - the guide IS related to the tire brand; I did not know this
Through the years, and the revolution - pun intended - of the tire
64. Hoped-for Match.com outings: DATES - I had tried Match for many years, and got all of ONE connection; I am now trying my luck with Facebook - and so far, all I've gotten are A I fakes 😜
DOWN:
1. Small donkey: BURRO - I did not make an "ASS" of myself to start . . . 🙄
2. Slimmest of margins: A HAIR - Sigh, a twurd
3. Kayaking challenge: WHITEWATER - one of the two solid 10-letter down fills
4. Instrument in a Vermeer painting: LUTE - good WAG on my part
Technically, this is a paiting of a woman with a guitar, but the story might interest you . . .
5. Temple where Chan Buddhism began: SHAOLIN - no clue, perps and WAGs; but some might have recalled this fill from the story of a TV monk, and the real place where he trained. Name (ish)
6. Tread carefully: TIP-TOE - almost alliteration
7. "Divergent" trilogy novelist Veronica: ROTH - name #7, but I knew her because I see the name on Kindle; could have been clued as a non-name, tho
It's Greek yogurt, strained; I'ma tryin' it - more here
11. Cream ingredient: ALOE - Ah; not "milk". That cream
12. More than a few: MANY - at least it wasn't "A LOT", "A TON", A twurd
13. Furthermore: AND...
21. Post-it scribble: NOTE
22. Miranda of "Homeland": OTTO - name #8 - I read the books, saw the movies, don't recall her
27. Carnival city: RIO - D'Oh~! I read this as "cry", not c-i-t-y - geo name #9
28. Muscle: BRAWN - Ha~! Nailed it.
29. Possessive type?: EVIL SPIRIT - the other great 10-letter fill
30. Travel aimlessly: ROAM - or ROVE~? I chose . . . wisely
31. Cheek: SASS - I've learned over the years that whenever a clue implying "tart" language, and situated on the right edge of the grid, the answer is typically crossword-friendly "SASS"
32. __ Williams bourbon: EVAN - never heard of this liquor - name #10
33. Toy company that acquired the online marketplace BrickLink: LEGO - Yada yada yada toys + bricks~? = Lego - but - I was surprised Lego didn't start this company - the history here
37. Printing choice: PORTRAIT - the alternative is LANDSCAPE - which is too wide 🙄
38. Main squeeze: BAE - Cringe. I just don't like this word; are we really too lazy to finish the faint "b" sound at the end of babe~?
40. Former home of the Mets: SHEA - I grew up on Long Island, and my first 'live' baseball game was the Mets at Shea in the Keith Hernandez days - speaking of Keith and Seinfeld . . .
"That - is one magic loogie."
41. Cozy spots: TEAPOTS - Ah. A tea "cozy" could be found on a tea POT
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