Saturday, September 13, 2025, Jess Rucks

 Saturday Themeless by Jess Rucks

Jess is our former U.S. Air Force Urdu translator who has another fun offering today. Her husband is in the U.S. Space Force and they live in Colorado Springs. This is a lovely picture of Jess and her son, with husband lurking in the background on a recent vacation in Minnesota.       

   

  

Across:

1. Some fancy foot work: PEDIS 😀

6. Stylish confidence: SWAG 

10. Ocean spray: MIST.

14. Villainous superpower: EVIL EMPIRE.

16. Laptop brand: ACER.

17. Foam toy that can be repurposed for childproofing corners and doors: POOL NOODLE.

18. Lion-tailed macaque feature: MANE.

19. Meh: SO SO.

20. "I love the white stuff, baby / In the middle of an __": "Weird Al" lyric: OREO - A parody of You've Got The Right Stuff by New Kids on the Block

21. Cause of insomnia or euphoria: MANIA.

22. Some fountain drinks: MALTS.

24. Mocking bird: PARROT.

25. Ant-Man's partner: THE WASP ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

27. More loyal: TRUER.

28. Ring: PHONE - In the U.K. you might ring up someone

29. Leadership: BRASS.

31. On: LIT.

33. 1975 thriller based on a Peter Benchley novel: JAWS - Benchley was paid a mere $250,00o for the movie rights but got a per cent of the enormous profits which made him a multimillionaire.

34. Poet Jones who wrote the memoir "How We Fight for Our Lives": SAEED.

35. Mousse kin: PATE.

   

 

Mousse

Pate

36. Some Main lines on maps?: Abbr.: STS - There are over 10,000 Main Streets in America.

37. "The Subtle Power of the Red Carpet __": Vogue headline: DURAG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. __ patootie: CUTIE 😀

39. Trouble spot: STAIN.

41. Cracks, in a way: DECODES - The most famous of these was done in Hut 8 in Bletchley Park in WWII led by Alan Turing

43. Pressures: FORCES.

44. Lost color: PALED.

45. Sign into law: ENACT.

46. Window shopper's purchase: PANE 😀

47. [Bor-r-ring!]: YAWN.

51. Actress Daly: TYNE.

52. Piece of art that's cut short: BONSAI TREE 😀

54. Nonchewing teeth: COGS 😀

55. Groups of world travelers?: ALIEN RACES.

56. Paint sample strip blocks: HUES.

57. Mineral in some homemade soap: MICA.

58. Cease and desist?: STOPS - Two synonyms not a single phrase

Down:

1. __ up: PEPS.

2. Dressing acronym: EVOO.

3. "Vaya con __": DIOS - Go with God in Spanish. Also a big hit for Les and Mary.

4. Warning signs: ILL OMENS.

5. Ottawa NHL pro: SEN.

6. Place for a draft pick: SPORTS BAR 😀

7. Jam band that holds the record for sold-out shows at Red Rocks Amphitheatre: WIDE SPREAD PANIC - This is one of Jess's favorite groups and she offered Patti this clue and "Mass hysteria" as options and she was pleased which one was picked.

8. First name in folk: ARLO.

9. "Golly!": GEE.

10. "Drag Race" matriarch, affectionately: MAMA RU - Jess is also a Ru Paul fan

11. "Tell me about it!": I CAN RELATE.

12. Affliction similar to spring fever: SENIORITIS.

13. Reward: TREAT.

15. Scratch: MOOLA - So many euphemisms for money

21. Planet entirely inhabited by robots: MARS - I loved this one!

23. Start for some?: AWE 😀

24. EMDR target: PTSD - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 

25. Fault line?: THAT'S ON YOU.

26. "Hmm, odd": HOW STRANGE.

28. Jammies: PJS.

30. Body of water said to be named for a king of Athens: AEGEAN SEA.

32. Lift for a drive: TEE 😀 Fore!

34. Home team at PHX Arena: SUNS.

35. Looney Tunes toon: PUDDY TAT.

37. Bamboo, for a panda: DIET.

38. Cedar Rapids college: COE.

40. Get into: ACCESS - Remembering passwords to ACCESS sites is sometimes difficult

42. Kid-friendly: CLEAN.

43. Sell for: FETCH -  Louis Vuitton expects this purse to FETCH $4,200

46. __-sci: POLI.

48. West Coast gas brand: ARCO.

49. React to a sad ending: WEEP.

50. Sad ending?: NESS.

52. "That's what I'm talkin' about!": BAM - Emeril's catchphrase

53. Tax org.: IRS.

 

Friday, August 8, 2025, Jess Rucks

Good Morning, Cruciverbalisits!  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Jess Rucks.  From Jess' website:

Jess Rucks (she/her) is a crossword constructor living Colorado; she is a Minnesotan at heart. Her puzzles have been published in The New York Times, Apple News+, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Universal, AVCX, AVCX+, Boswords, Puzzmo, and The Inkubator.  She runs the monthly Constructor Spotlight feature at Daily Crossword Links.  Jess is also a licensed school counselor and a licensed professional counselor candidate who provides clinical play-based therapy to elementary students in schools.

Today, Jess takes us on a visit to the third dimension.  Well, to 3-D anyway.  Each of the four themed-answers consists of words containing the letter D three times.  For those seeking an introduction to said letter:

Yep, that's it.  Simple and yet quite elegant.  Here are the places where the gimmick is employed:

16 Down:  3D film?: DROP DEAD GORGEOUS.  A 1999 satirical mockumentary movie.

25 Down:  3D puzzle?: WORD LADDER.   A type of puzzle progression with which most crossword solvers are familiar.

47 Down:  3D animation?: DONALD DUCK.  No introduction needed.

59 Dow: . 3D printing?: DAVID COPPERFIELD.  Printing?  That threw this solver for a while.  Aha!  A book is printed.

This is how is all looks in the grid:

... and now for the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Blush wine: ROSE.  ROSE wines incorporate some color from the skins of the grapes but not enough to qualify as a RED wine.

5. Howling canine: WOLF.  Not a tooth ache.

9. [She said what!?]: GASP.  

13. Loot: BOOTY.  Not being used, in this instance, as in "to shake one's BOOTY".

14. Geometry calculation: AREA.  Width times length.

15. Harmonizer, often: ALTO.  See also 21 Across.  Very clever of Jess to work this pair, and 6/23 Down, and also 58/60 Down into the puzzles.  Brava!

19. Buffoons: OAFS.  What is the difference between a cat on a couch and a dim witted cow?  One is a cat loaf and the other is a cattle OAF.

20. Some ER pros: RNS.  Registered NurseS

21. Soprano's part, usually: MELODY.  See Also 15 Across.  Hmm, it's capitalized but it is not, this time, a reference to this guy:

Tony Soprano

22. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT.

23. Forever and a day: EON.  A time span often referenced in our puzzles . . . but, fortunately, not spent solving them.

24. Sweet start?: SEMI.

29. Fragrant latte: CHAI.  Frequently served up in our puzzles.

33. Drag icon with 14 Emmys: RU PAUL.

34. Throw on the floor: RUG.  Throw is not used in the clue as a verb.  A throw RUG.

35. D.C. summer hrs.: EDT.  Eastern Daylight Time

36. Globes: ORBS.  If the theme had been 2D instead of 3D I could have gone with the John Hartford song here.        Oh, 'common, I'm not the only one who thought of that!

37. Hieroglyph beetle: SCARAB.

40. __ Pueblo, New Mexico: TAOS.  A World Heritage Site.

41. "Seize the Awkward" spot, e.g.: PSA.  Public Service Announcement

42. Fix, in a bad way: RIG.  As in to rig an election.  There was also a line from Stan Freberg - "You mean to tell me that, on top of everything else, this ship is RIGged!?"

43. Hang out after checking for rain?: AIR DRY.  Hang something on the clothesline to dry.

45. Basic French verb: ETRE.  Être meaning "to be" and avoir meaning "to have" form the bedrock of French conjugation.

49. Step on someone's toes, perhaps: TRIP.  A clue to be taken literally and not idiomatically.  Still, a bit of a stretch.

51. Alias indicator: AKA.  Also Known As.

52. Cuban ingredient: HAM.  As in a Cuban sandwich.

54. Native Nebraskans: OMAHAS.  . . . and, without the S, an eponymous city.  Speaking of which:

57. Reggae kin: SKA.  Everything You Need To Know - Ska vs Reggae  See also 32 Down.

58. "Queen of Country" McEntire: REBA.

Fancy

63. Corp. bigwig: EXEC.  Abbreviated clue, abbreviated answer.  EXECutive

64. Boo-boo: OWIE.  Kidspeak.

65. Animal whose name means "eater of bark" in Algonquian: MOOSE.

Thanks, perps.

66. Entitled men?: SIRS.  Men with titles.

67. Snow day toy: SLED.  Hi, Calvin!  Hi, Hobbes!

68. Field for Kahlo y Burga: ARTE.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Art, in English.

Down:

1. High point of hospitality?: ROOF TOP BAR.  Another clue meant to be taken literally.

2. "My b!": OOPS.  "My bad!"  What’s the most terrifying word in nuclear physics?  Oops!

3. Norm: Abbr.: STD.  STandarD.

4. "What-ev-er!" expressions: EYE ROLLS.

5. Gum balls?: WADS.  My aunt always put a WAD of Copenhagen between her cheek and gun before swimming . . .  She liked taking a dip.

 

6. Nonprofit domain: ORG.  See also 23 Down.  A .ORG domain extension is short for organization, and it was initially intended for non-profit organizations. Over time, however, it has expanded to include other groups, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), charities, educational institutions, and community-driven projects. 

7. Nocturnal cat?: LEO.  You can see the LEO constellation at night.

8. Seed money investor?: FARMER.  Cute play on words.  FARMERS invest money in seeds.

9. Celtic language: GAELIC.  The only GAELIC that this solver knows is Sláinte !

10. Potatoes, in Urdu: ALOO.   And now for something completely different...

11. __ finder: STUD.  A handy device to have if one is hanging something heavy on the wall of their home.

12. Small bouquet: POSY.

13. Sausage that may be boiled in bier: BRATWURST.  Bier, with the German spelling, was the tip off.

16. "__ dare?": DO I.

17. Karenina of literature: ANNA.

18. Ruby, e.g.: GEM.  I need a good GEM related pun here but I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

23. Academic domain: EDU.  See also 6 Down.  The ending for an online domain associated with a school or university.

24. Creator of Sonic and Knuckles: SEGA.  A video game reference.

26. Dorm figs.: RAS.  Resident AdvisorS  or Assistants   Dormitory 

27. Sink hole: DRAIN.  Another clue to be taken literally.  A hole in the sink.

28. Hindu goddess whose name means "impassable": DURGA.  Unknown to this solver. Thanks, perps.  From Wikipedia:  

Durga is a principal Hindu goddess, worshipped as a central aspect of the supreme goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon and often defeating demons.

30. Dish that resembles a jellied meatloaf: HEAD CHEESE.  Despite its name it is neither cheese nor any type of dairy product.

31. Endearingly nerdy: ADORKABLE.  A portmanteau.  Adorable / Dork

32. Teeny: ITSY.

A ReggaeSka Cover

33. Lasso: ROPE.

38. __ rotation: CROP.

39. Many unhappy returns?: BAD KARMA

40. "Ur so right": TRU.  IMHO not the best moment in the puzzle.  TRU?

44. Investigative journalist __ B. Wells: IDA.  A frequent visitor.

46. Moral philosophy: ETHICS.  What do you call a guy who believes in ETHICal treatment of spiders?  PETA Parker.

47. Spots for hustlers: DISCOS.  Do the Hustle.

48. Tahoe, for one: LAKE.  Lots of ways to clue LAKE if one heads down this path.  That, though, is often an amusing part of these puzzles.  One has to figure out if the answer needs to be  something specific or general.

50. "Gnarly!": RAD.  Power Thesaurus lists 584 synonyms for gnarly.

53. Fit to be tied: MAD.

54. Some Keats works: ODES.  ODE to a cold:

When your nose is runny 

Some people think it's funny

But it'snot

55. Dress choice: MAXI.

56. Assert: AVER.  To AVER is to affirm and to AVOW is to openly declare.  

57. Ignored the signs, perhaps: SPED.

58. Real hoot: RIOT.  Idiomatic  See also 60 Down

60. Real hooter: OWL.  Literal  See also 58 Down

61. March 14 dessert: PIE.  March 14th, or 3/14 or 314 or 3.14 or 

62. Not against: FOR.  Straightforward.

. . . and, on that positive note . . . well, maybe not just quite yet.  If you've got six minutes to spare let Weird Al bracket today's journey through the third dimension:

______________________________________________

Postscript:  This marine mammal will be doing some traveling and will miss its next couple of turns in the rotation.  Be well, everyone!

M M OUT