Theme: Warm words.
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| What do I care how much it may storm? I've got crosswords to keep me warm. |
Constructor Jodi Davenport makes sure we're keeping cozy by finding warm garments hidden at the FRONTS of familiar phrases in the long answers.
The big reveal occurs here:
59-Across. Zones of air that bring less chilly weather, or what 17-, 23-, 38-, and 49-Across all have: WARM FRONTS. A warm front is the leading edge of an advancing warmer air mass that overrides a retreating colder air mass. But in the style of crossword themes, the clue suggests we look for something WARM at the FRONTS (or beginnings) of the listed entries.
17-Across. Manhattan thoroughfare known for ritzy residences: PARK AVENUE. PARKA.
23-Across. Endure a book just to write a scathing review, perhaps: HATE READ. HAT.
38-Across. Personal stakes: VESTED INTERESTS. VEST.
49-Across. Brian De Palma crime classic starring Al Pacino: SCAR FACE. SCARF.
That was a nice warm-up exercise! Now for the heavy lifting.
Across:1. Canvas camping structures: TENTS.
6. Open just a crack: AJAR.
10. Twinge of hunger: PANG.
14. Ferret kin: STOAT. In winter, a stoat's brown coat turns white, and the white version of the animal is called an ermine. Weird, huh? Stoats and ferrets are closely related members of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weasels, otters, and badgers.
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| Stoat Ermine |
15. Misplaced: LOST.
16. Febreze target: ODOR. Testing your knowledge of home air and fabric fresheners.
16. Febreze target: ODOR. Testing your knowledge of home air and fabric fresheners.
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| I would try washing up first, and then opening a window. |
17. [Theme clue]
19. Roused: WOKE.
20. Nobel-winning Mother: TERESA. Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was a Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in India. As of 2012, the group was operating in 133 countries, with more than 4,500 nuns serving victims of AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis, as well as running soup kitchens, clinics, orphanages, and schools. Their mission is free service to the poorest of the poor.
19. Roused: WOKE.
20. Nobel-winning Mother: TERESA. Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was a Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in India. As of 2012, the group was operating in 133 countries, with more than 4,500 nuns serving victims of AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis, as well as running soup kitchens, clinics, orphanages, and schools. Their mission is free service to the poorest of the poor.
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| Mother Teresa |
21. Giving ghostly vibes: EERIE.
22. Scold: CHIDE.
23. [Theme clue]
26. Coffee, in slang: JOE. Gotta love the way this clue intersects with 26-Down -- same clue, different answer. Some of our regular readers call that a "clecho" for "clue echo."
27. Paris's __ de Triomphe: ARC.
29. Big name in video streaming: ROKU. Roku is a popular streaming platform that brings TV shows, movies, and live TV to your television via the internet. It functions through dedicated streaming players, sticks, or as an operating system built into smart TVs.
30. Nautical "Halt!": AVAST. "Avast me hearties" is a classic pirate phrase meaning "stop/pay attention, my friends."
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| Speaking pirate is efficient. |
32. Legal claim placed on a house: LIEN.
34. Former Cubs slugger Sammy: SOSA. Sammy Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. He hit his 400th home run in his 1,354th game and his 5,273rd at-bat, reaching this milestone quicker than any player in National League history. Sosa is one of nine players in MLB history to hit 600 career home runs.
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| Sammy Sosa |
38. [Theme clue]
41. Not in support of: ANTI.
42. Egyptian cross: ANKH. The ankh or key of life is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol used to represent the word for "life." It was a widespread decorative motif in ancient Egypt. Copts (Egyptian Christians) adapted it as a variant of the Christian cross. Western culture has adopted the ankh as a symbol of African cultural identity, neopagan belief systems, and goth subculture.
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| Ankh |
43. Black-and-white whales: ORCAS.
44. Round flatbread: ROTI.
46. Ctrl-__-Del: ALT. PC users press these three keys in combination to access the Task Manager.
48. Class with smocks: ART.
49. [Theme clue]
53. Chicago airport: O'HARE.
55. Cupid's partner on Santa's sleigh: COMET.
56. Shows again: RE-AIRS.
58. Passionate: AVID.
59. [Theme clue]
63. List of dishes: MENU.
64. Molecule part: ATOM.
65. Cause to chuckle: AMUSE. Here, "cause" is used as a verb.
66. Stage accessory: PROP.
67. Count (on): RELY.
68. Curved cavalry sword: SABER. My parents were antique hunters. They thought it was a good idea to give my brother a civil war era saber and scabbard, which hung above his bed. Luckily, he was a sane individual.
58. Passionate: AVID.
59. [Theme clue]
63. List of dishes: MENU.
64. Molecule part: ATOM.
65. Cause to chuckle: AMUSE. Here, "cause" is used as a verb.
66. Stage accessory: PROP.
67. Count (on): RELY.
68. Curved cavalry sword: SABER. My parents were antique hunters. They thought it was a good idea to give my brother a civil war era saber and scabbard, which hung above his bed. Luckily, he was a sane individual.
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| saber and scabbard |
Down:
1. Common amt. of salt in a cookie recipe: TSP. An abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.
2. GPS approximation: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
3. New England locale: NORTHEAST. Tricky clue. I thought the answer would be someplace in New England, but the answer has to do with where New England is within the United States.
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| New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. |
4. George who played Sulu: TAKEI. In the original Star Trek TV series, George Takei played Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu. Star Trek was noted for its portrayal of an integrated humanity of the future, with Sulu representing Asia.
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| George Takei as Sulu on Star Trek, 1966. |
5. Sci-fi time standard: STARDATE. A stardate is a fictional system of time measurement used in the TV series Star Trek. It is impossible to convert stardates into equivalent calendar dates, especially since stardates were originally intended to avoid specifying exactly when Star Trek takes place.
6. Some pub pints: ALES.
7. Biblical man on the inside?: JONAH. Jonah, as you recall, was inside a whale for a while.
8. Sun Devils sch.: ASU. Arizona State University sports teams.
9. GPS display: RTE. 2-Down was a GPS approximation. Now here we are with another GPS feature: the display of a proposed RouTE.
10. One with advanced technical capabilities: POWER USER.
11. Cherish: ADORE.
12. Finnish telecom giant: NOKIA. My first mobile phone was a Nokia.
13. Avarice: GREED.
18. Change course suddenly: VEER.
21. Shriek of fear: EEK.
22. Group of witches: COVEN.
24. "Respect" singer Franklin: ARETHA. Aretha Franklin (1942-2018) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Regarded as the "Queen of Soul," she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time.
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| Aretha Franklin, 1968 |
25. "Don't use that __ of voice with me!": TONE.
26. Coffee, in slang: JAVA.
28. Medical center: CLINIC.
31. Worked into a state: STIRRED UP.
33. Pen filler: INK.
35. Slight during awards season: OSCAR SNUB. An Oscar snub occurs when a critically acclaimed film, actor, or director is overlooked and fails to receive an Academy Award nomination, despite widespread expectation, critical buzz, or recognition from previous industry awards.
36. Unblinking look: STARE.
37. Exec's helper: ASST. An executive may get help from an assistant.
39. Component of cellphone plans: DATA. Mobile (or cellular) data is internet connectivity delivered to your cellphone via a carrier's network, rather than via Wi-Fi.
40. Investment options with tax advantages: ROTH IRAS. A Roth IRA offers tax advantages by allowing after-tax contributions to grow tax-free, with qualified withdrawals in retirement being completely tax-free.
45. O'er and o'er again: OFT. Poesy!
47. Bread purchase: LOAF.
49. Rascal: SCAMP.
50. Put a blanket on, e.g.: COVER.
51. __ acids: protein components: AMINO. Meat contains all nine essential amino acids that your body cannot produce on its own -- but there are also vegetarian sources for those amino acids. Soy, quinoa, and buckwheat are all complete proteins, as are eggs and dairy products. You can also combine incomplete proteins like rice and beans to get the full complement of amino acids. Just sayin.
52. "The Thin Blue Line" documentarian Morris: ERROL. Errol Morris is an American film director known for documentaries that investigate the belief systems of their subjects. The Thin Blue Line exonerated an innocent man serving a life term for murder, who was universally believed to be guilty.
54. Fragrance: AROMA.
57. Television award: EMMY.
59. Tug-of-__: WAR.
60. Snacked on: ATE.
61. "The Waste Land" poet's monogram: TSE. T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright. He was a leading figure of modernist poetry. Who doesn't love The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?
62. Knight's title in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms": SER. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a fantasy television series created by Ira Parker and George R. R. Martin. A prequel to Game of Thrones, it is an adaptation of the Tales of Dunk and Egg series of novellas. The first season premiered on HBO in January 2026. As in other Game of Thrones stories, knights are addressed as "Ser."
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| Egg and Ser Duncan the Tall in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This viewer looks forward to Season 2. |
Here's the grid:
Solvers, did this puzzle AMUSE you? Did you ADORE it?
Or did you STARE at it, completely LOST?
Let us know in the comments!
-- NaomiZ
