Thursday, April 3, 2025, Kareem Ayas

 Theme:  Join HandS!

Kareem Ayas authored a blockbuster themeless puzzle in the LA Times on Saturday, January 11, 2025.  He's back to challenge us again!  In this case, he has provided helpful circles in the grid so that we can see the theme in action.  Let's start with the reveal:

37-Across. Instruction before a group prayer, or, when parsed differently, an apt description of what 18-, 24-, 51-, and 59-Across do: JOIN HANDS.  Before a group prayer, your prayer leader may tell you to "join hands."  Parsed differently, you might JOIN H AND S.  In the other theme answers, the circled H and S get gradually closer together, until they JOIN in the last theme answer.  Once you see that each pair of circles contains H and S, it's helpful in filling some of the blank circles, and makes solving the puzzle easier.

The other theme clues and answers are:

18-Across. Upstanding citizen?: HOMO ERECTUS.  Homo erectus, literally "upright man," was a Pleistocene era human, the first to walk upright, to leave Africa and colonize Asia and Europe, and to use fire.  The first and last letters of the answer are circled, so that H and S are spaced well apart.

evolution from ape to homo computerus

24-Across. Window to a simulated world: VR HEADSET.  A virtual reality (VR) headset is a head-mounted device that uses stereoscopic displays, lenses, and sensors to create an immersive experience, allowing users to interact with computer-generated environments as if they were real. The H and S in HEADSET are circled, with only three letters between them.  They are getting closer together!

evolution from ape to homo imaginarius

51-Across. Pickle: TIGHT SPOT.  "In a pickle" is an idiomatic expression meaning "in a TIGHT SPOT" or a difficult situation.  The H of TIGHT and the S of SPOT have only one letter between them.  Closer!

We've all been there.

59-Across. Increase that might be documented on a door frame: GROWTH SPURT.  Did your parents mark your increasing height on a door frame or wall?  The H of GROWTH and the S of SPURT are circled, and they are right next to each other.  Joined, if you will.

Some people cut the door frame and take this memento when they move!

Let's put our HandS together and applaud the very useful circles!

That's right -- oh BOY, circles!

And now, we move on to the other clues and answers.

Across:

1. Drill sound: HUP.  Oh, *that* kind of drill!  One meaning of drill is military exercise.  "Hup, two, three, four" is a rhythmic cadence used to lead groups, especially soldiers, in marching. 

4. Basics: ABCs.

8. Look up to: ADMIRE.

14. Polish name?: OPI.  We see often see this brand of nail polish in the grid.

15. Shut with attitude: SLAM.

16. West African country: GUINEA.

17. "Mulan" voice actress Ming-Na __: WEN.  Ming-Na Wen is an American actress. She was honored as a Disney Legend in 2019 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.

Ming-Na Wen

18. [Theme clue]

20. A pop: EACH.  Latex balloons cost about ten cents a pop.

22. Unremarkable, in a way: NORMAL.

23. Doc with an otoscope: ENT.  An otoscope is a medical device used to examine the ear canal.  The "doc" who uses one is an "Ear, Nose, and Throat" doctor.  "Doc" is short for doctor, as ENT is short for "Ear, Nose, and Throat."

24. [Theme clue]

26. Muppet with a beloved rubber duckie: ERNIE.

Ernie and his rubber duckie

28. Hunter who goes after Bugs: ELMER.

Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd.

29. Motion picture pioneer: EDISON.  Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.

30. White alternative: RYE.  Bread choices!  White, whole wheat, rye, or sourdough?

31. Small cave: GROTTO.

36. Make concessions: BEND.

37. [Theme clue]

39. Trilling solo: ARIA.  To trill is to produce a quavering or warbling sound.  An aria is an elaborate melody sung (as in an opera) by a single voice.

Gosh, that aria was trilling!

42. Appear to be: SEEM SO.

43. "Get a room!" elicitor, for short: PDA.  Public Display of Affection.  If you're climbing all over each other in public, and sucking face, someone may tell you to get a room!

46. "For your viewing pleasure" brand: VISINE.  I was not aware that this brand of eyedrops had this slogan, but it wasn't hard to guess.

48. How fries are fried: IN OIL.

50. French school: ECOLE.  École being French for school.

51. [Theme answer]

55. Power __: NAP.  I can't take a nap.  If I actually succeed in sleeping, I won't sleep at night.  You?

56. Play a flute: TOOTLE.  Casually make a series of sounds on a horn, trumpet, or similar instrument.

58. Nestlé bar with a bubbly texture: AERO.  Aero is an aerated chocolate bar originally produced by Rowntree's, and introduced in 1935 in England as the "new chocolate."  By 1936, sales of the chocolate had reached the US, and later spread to many other countries. Aero has been manufactured by Nestlé since 1988.  Totally unknown to this chocoholic.

Seems to be largely a British thing.

59. [Theme clue]

62. __-been: HAS.  A has-been is a person or thing considered to be outmoded or no longer of any significance.

63. Water whirls: EDDIES.

64. Country star McEntire: REBA.

65. Reddit Q&A: AMA.  A Reddit AMA (“Ask Me Anything”) is a Q&A designed to bring an authority on a subject to a community of interested people. 

66. Square dance call: DO-SI-DO.  The term is a corruption of the original French term dos-à-dos for the dance move, which means "back to back," as opposed to "vis-à-vis" which means "face to face."

67. __ buco: OSSO. Osso buco or ossobuco is a northern Italian dish of braised veal shanks.  Veal is the meat of calves, which are baby cattle.  Shanks are legs.  Male calves are butchered for their meat, as they cannot grow up to give milk.

veal calf

68. Receipt line: TAX.

Aye, there's the rub.

Down:

1. Transition word: HOWEVER.

2. Ready to greet the sun, perhaps: UP EARLY.

3. "Am I dreaming?": PINCH ME.

4. Light hair color: ASH.

5. Light hair color: BLOND.

6. Prints such as U.S. Woodland, familiarly: CAMOS.  "U.S. Woodland" seemed to me like the title of a Currier & Ives lithograph.  It took me a while to realize it must be a CAMOuflage pattern.

US Woodland camo

7. Campfire treat: S'MORE.

Everyone wants s'more of this treat.

8. Uttar Pradesh tourist site: AGRA.  With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the fourth-most populous city in Uttar Pradesh and twenty-third most populous city in India.

But folks go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

9. Faced off with swords: DUELED.

10. Hot __: MIC.  An informal term for a microphone that's on, especially when it captures a conversation unintentionally.

11. Hot: INTENSE.

12. Nostalgic get-together: REUNION.

13. London setting of "Call the Midwife": EAST END.  This PBS series has broadcast 14 seasons!

19. CPR giver, often: EMT.

21. Giggle syllable: HEE.

25. Ship of Greek myth: ARGO.  I was fond of Greek myths as a child, but the story of Jason and the Argonauts was special because of the 1963 film.  I must have been 8 years old when my 10 year old brother was allowed to be my chaperone at the movie theater.

A scene from "Jason and the Argonauts"

27. Kids: RIBS.  Jokes, teases, japes, jests, joshes, razzes.

29. Ages and ages: EONS.

32. Swell: RISE.

33. See 34-Down: ONE.  Let's see, that's the very next clue ...

34. With 33-Down, soulmate: THE.  THE ONE.  DH is THE ONE.

35. Highland cap: TAM.  A tam o' shanter is a traditional Scottish hat. The name derives from Tam o' Shanter, the eponymous hero of a 1790 Robert Burns poem.

Man in a tam.

37. "Just Visiting" Monopoly square: JAIL.

38. "Proceed": DO IT.

39. Settled, as a score: AVENGED.

40. "I Love Lucy" surname: RICARDO.  Desi Arnaz played Ricky Ricardo in "I Love Lucy."

41. Tiny crustaceans: ISOPODS.  Isopoda is an order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both aquatic species and terrestrial species such as woodlice.  And roly polys!

Did you know the little roly poly is in the same order as crabs and lobsters?
I did not!

43. Mitre, informally: POPE HAT.

Not everyone can pull off this look.

44. Historical miniature: DIORAMA.

45. Jazz combo instrument: ALTO SAX.

47. Made: NETTED.

49. Government org. that employs many mathematicians: NSA.  The National Security Agency is one of the largest employers of mathematicians in the United States. Lots of data analysis!

51. Lean-__: TOs.  Simple structures, usually with a sloping roof, and open on one side.

52. Genius at the Apple Store, e.g.: IT PRO.  Information Technology Professional.  Shout out to  Waseeley, whose long career as an IT PRO was capped by his role as a blogger here!

53. Sticks: GLUES.

54. Thyme and basil: HERBS.

57. Very, very: OH SO.

60. Mario Kart platform: WII.  The Wii is a home video game console introduced by Nintendo in 2006. It was Nintendo's first home console to directly support Internet connectivity, and the remote control can recognize motions and gestures.

A family enjoying Nintendo's Wii.

61. Benjamin Hoff's "The __ of Pooh": TAO.  The Tao of Pooh is a 1982 book written by Benjamin Hoff. The book is intended as an introduction to the Eastern belief system of Taoism for Westerners.

Here's the grid:

This is the first Thursday in a long time that we are without the expert and kindly guidance of Bill "Waseeley."  I owe Bill a special debt of gratitude, because when I jumped in as an occasional substitute for the regular writers of this wonderful blog, Bill provided me with the technical tools I needed.  Now I find myself taking Bill's place while he shines his light on his DW Teri, his children, and grandchildren.  Our loss is their gain.  I will try to be worthy of Bill's legacy!

NaomiZ

Saturday, January 11, 2025, Kareem Ayas

 Themeless Saturday by Kareem Ayas

 

As you can see by the red highlights, this puzzle had a lot of first time entries. Those entries, once deciphered, were the key to a well-earned "got 'er done!"

Kareem's proper names had decent escape hatches.

Across:

1. Coin star: SACAGAWEA - 😀 Yup, I thought of the machine, ignoring the space between Coin and star.

10. Puccini heroine: TOSCA.

15. Reaction that may cause redness: OXIDATION - NASA's Perseverance Rover captured the redness of Mars that is due to OXIDATION

16. Count de la Fère in Dumas novels: ATHOS.

17. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius: FIRE SIGNS.

18. One concerned with baby weight?: STORK 😀

19. Tic-__-toe: TAC - The climactic scene from War Games was to get the computer to play Tic Tac Toe against itself . The WOPR computer discovered that like war, no one could win and so it stopped missile launches. 

20. What sitcoms always begin and end with?: ESSES and 1. Start to celebrate?: SOFT C.😀 Meta clues always take a few heartbeats to detect 

22. Rent alternative: OWN.

23. Bra part: CLASP - I'm told unclasping with one hand is an art.

26. Ran: LED.

28. Run-__: DMC.

30. NYU's __ School of the Arts: TISCH.

34. Browser action: RELOAD - Command + R can be used to update a page 

36. Goes out briefly: CATCHES A FEW Z'S 😀

38. Flexible flyer: PAPER AIRPLANE - How to construct this world champion airplane

39. Chophouse array: SIRLOIN STEAKS.

40. Browser action: PAGE UP.

41. "Try some": TASTE.

42. "That's __ from me": A NO - He's made millions with this phrase

43. Stock option?: STY - You could also keep your livestock in a pen and 55. Stock option?: DOW - Other stock altogether! 😀

45. Dutch cheeses: EDAMS.

49. Oogenesis products: OVA.

51. Sensitive spots: SORES.

56. Wolf voiced by Giancarlo Esposito in "The Jungle Book": AKELA - I know Giancarlo from his role of drug kingpin Gus Fring in the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul series.

58. Sharp infusion in some fish marinades: WASABIOLI - This one was unknown to me but just made sense, uh, eventually. 

61. Money minted in Quezon City: PESOS - A current Philippine PESO is worth about $.017. However, this 1903 PESO sold for $4,800.

62. Storage unit: ZIPLOC BAG - Keeping your phone dry in a ZIPLOC BAG is a 50/50 proposition.

63. Storage units: BYTES - Not bushels here 😀

64. "Does someone want in ... ?": ANY TAKERS.

Down:

2. Like some symmetry: AXIAL.

3. Around: CIRCA.

4. Juice suffix: ADE.

5. Part of LNG: GAS - Liquid Natural Gas

6. End in __: A TIE - Crossword's favorite coach ARA Parseghian of Notre Dame elected to not to try to win in 1966. He had his boys run into the line for four straight plays and settle for A TIE in 1966. That decision would follow him forever.

7. Freaks (out): WIGS.

8. Forever and ever: EONS.

9. First name in landscape photography: ANSEL.

In the 40's, he often shot from the top of
his Pontiac woodie

10. Prof helpers: TAS.

11. Miranda of "Homeland": OTTO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A Saturday obscure OTTO for me

12. Final battles: SHOW DOWNS.

13. Where the walls have ears?: CORN MAZE 😀 Just 15 minutes west of Omaha

14. "That's a big __": ASK.

21. Colorful wraps: SERAPES - Clint said he wore the same one in every spaghetti western he made and it is now in a closet somewhere in his house

24. Bread, e.g.: STAPLE.

25. Wretched: PITEOUS - I'll bet I wasn't the only one who first put HIDEOUS

27. Air out?: DEFLATE - Did the Patriots really order the footballs deflated for an AFC Championship game?

29. Media for PC games, once: CDS.

31. Plot lines?: SCRIPTS - Autographed by Julius Epstein one of the screenwriters 

32. Gemma of "Crazy Rich Asians": CHAN - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Speaking of Saturday cluing, there is no Charlie here.

33. Safe job: HEIST.

35. Released inconspicuously: LEAKED - Sometimes called trial balloons. 

36. Multipocketed garment: CARGO VEST.

37. Sp. miss: SRTA.

38. Upright part: PIANO KEY 😀 This 1877 fully restored Steinway upright can be had for $49,000.

39. Location with masks: SPA.

44. "Impressive!": YOWZA.

46. InDesign company: ADOBE.

47. Meat grinder?: MOLAR 😀

48. Gulps: SWIGS.

50. Boba tea option: ALOE.

52. Pluviometer measure: RAIN - from the Latin word pluvia, which means "rain", and the Greek word metron, which means "measure". We just call this a rain gauge and have had this one for years. In 2019 it filled to overflowing one night.

53. Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, for one: ESPY - NCAA WBB Champion coach Dawn Staley is the most recent winner of this award named for Jimmy Valvano, a coach who lost a valiant fight against cancer.

54. Abundance in Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni: SALT - Salar means "salt flat" in Spanish and Uyuni is the nearest town.

56. "Be on the lookout" msg.: APB.

57. Crèche figure: ASS.

59. Tree hugger?: BOA.

60. __ factor: ICK - Supply your own entry. 😫