Friday, October 24, 2025 - Katherine Baicker and Laura Dershewitz

 Theme: Where's _aldo?

Puzzling thoughts:

Well, this one didn't cause the Chairman to do shots at a bar, but it did take a while to figure out where (and why) the dubyas went.  When you examine the grid, you see that two of them exited as a homophone (WRAP and WHOLE) and the other two exited to fulfill the play-on-words, (WHIP and WHEELS) as these two use the "W" sound

The "reveal" can be parsed two different ways but I think the constructors were referring to this one: 

60-across. Accept victory, however dubious, and a hint to 17-, 24-, 37-, and 52-Across: TAKE THE W IN.  Taking the W in (or from) the highlighted letters (see grid below) support the odd clues. However, if you add a W to the highlighted letters (see grid below) the four entries take on a much different meaning - and are actually the names of a brand of salad dressing (Miracle Whip), a type of packaging material (Shrink Wrap), the start of a refrain from a kid's song (Wheels on the Bus), and a very expensive grocery store (Whole Foods)

It is a clever concept and puzzle, but the reveal seems a bit of a stretch.  I almost feel as if I wanted a fifth entry with both a whacky clue and answer that followed the vanishing double-u

Oh well.  Maybe next time!  Here are the four entries:

17-across. Replacement joint that's even better than new?: MIRACLE HIP.

24-across. Linguistic battle between psychologists?: SHRINK RAP.

37-across. Jerks riding public transit?: HEELS ON THE BUS.

52-across. Donuts, bagels, et al.?: HOLE FOODS.

So, Moe, if you were adding a fifth entry to this puzzle, what might it have been?

"What Hawaiian greeters do with a lei to an unruly visitor?": RING HIS NECK

For the record, I thought all of the entry clues were hilarious 

Here is the grid:

Across:
1. Many Chi-town homes: APTS.  There are some crossword puzzle editors who insist the word in 1-across be a complete word, not an abbreviation - this puzzle has nearly a dozen abbr's, if you are also counting contractions

5. Sore with: MAD AT.  Having an abbreviated first word in the puzzle??? 😂😉

10. Sleep under the stars: CAMP.  "What groupies do" was too long to fit into this space (re-read the clue!)

14. Grab and go?: LOOT.  Clever clue

15. 14th century Russian ruler: IVAN I. Aka, Ivan Moneybags

16. Not even close: AFAR.  "Cold" could fit, yes?

[theme entry]

19. __ Reader: UTNE.  "Read all about it!"

20. Common lease period for 1-Across: ONE YEAR.  Two-year also fits (without the hyphen, of course)

21. Support column: PILE.  This is what my co-pilot says:

23. Journalist Lesley: STAHL.  She, along with Walter Cronkite, provided the news in a very unbiased manner for CBS - I hear that they (CBS) are trying to revert back to that position with their newly appointed news editor in chief

[theme entry]

29. Location of une bouche: TETE.  Tête

30. Actor Bridges: BEAU.  

31. Safe havens: ASYLA.

32. Color TV pioneer: RCA.  Three-letter and an abbreviation

34. Informed Delivery org.: USPS.  United States Postal Service

36. Ref. that added "horror show" in 2024: OED.  Oxford English Dictionary

[theme entry]

41. Novelty lips stuff: WAX.  These? 42. "__ it obvious?": ISN'T.

43. Clinch: ICE.  Friday worthy clue

44. Marshmallow spread: FLUFF.

46. Bluish green: TEAL. <== this was as close as I could come

48. Howard, for one: Abbr.: HBCU.  Historically Black College or University

[theme entry]

54. "Oppenheimer" director: NOLAN.  Looks a bit like Alec Baldwin here

55. Word with stress, or a common source of stress: TEST.

56. One who might take a stand: WITNESS.  Can I get a Witness?  (2:15 through 2:35, but listen to it all)

58. Like some contracts: ORAL.  Unlike some toothbrushes that are ORAL B

[reveals the theme]

63. "La Brea" actress Skye: IONE.  

64. Dark doings: EVILS.

65. Tech company that owns the Chinese microblogging app Weibo: SINA.  Are there any Weibo followers here?  Not I

66. Fantasy franchise letters: LOTR.  Lord Of The Rings

67. Answer: REPLY.

68. Firebird roof option: T-TOP.

Down:
1. Nearly: ALMOST.  Here is a trailer to a movie with the word "Almost" in it

2. Ballet class: POINTE.

  

I hope Splynter doesn't sue me for showing some "leg" 😀

3. Attempted to rip open: TORE AT.  When I looked at crosswordtracker.com to see the frequency of the use of this phrase, the last 5 venues to accept it were LA Times Crossword - must be a favorite expression for Patti

4. "Don't leave!": STAY HERE.  From what I am told, the length of a Minnesota "goodbye" is measured in hours (or even days), not minutes ... 

5. Actress Kunis: MILA.  Her IMDB page

6. Unwilling (to): AVERSE. Moe-ku:

        You think the Chairman

        Dislikes other's poetry?

        I am not AVERSE 

7. Mark longer than a dit: DAH.  As in Morse Code characters ... the "dit" represents the dot, and the dah represents the dash

8. Padm 's beloved: ANI.  First off, the clue refers to a character in Star Wars - Padmé Amidala.  Don't follow Star Wars?  You're SOL, because you're likely then to not know that she was married to Anakin Skywalker (Ani is his nickname) and is the mother of both Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia

9. Hedren of "The Birds": TIPPI.  Quite the cast of actors

10. Doesn't let anything fall through the cracks?: CAULKS.  Hah Hah.  Moe-ku:

        "Home Alone" actor's

        Nickname inspires plumbers:

        Macaulay CAULKS-in

        

11. "Please, go first": AFTER YOU.  Just being polite

12. Guy: MAN. 

13. Start to check?: PRE-. If pre means before (as in pre-check), and post means after (as in post-script), what would it mean if both of these were used together? Why, it would be pre-post-erous 

18. Goofy frame: CEL.

22. "Be right there!": IN A SEC.

25. Plagued: HAUNTED.  Halloween is coming soon

26. Sign of aging: RUST.  As in rust bucket 

27. Drafts that are lighter than stouts: ALES.

28. Sketchy area?: PAD.

30. Striped __: BASS.  In the Cheasapeake Bay, these swimmers are known as Rockfish

33. Precipitous drops: CLIFFS.  Moe-ku:

        Book report grade took

        Precipitous drop. Teacher

        Found I used CLIFFS Notes

35. Alpine skier Mahre who won 27 World Cup races: PHIL.

37. Virtuous circle: HALO.

38. Thrilled: EXULTANT.

I suppose I can accept "thrilled" as a synonym (adj.)

39. Glom __: ONTO.  Seems to be a British phrase

40. "I can handle the truth!": BE HONEST.  

41. Skip the daily commute, for short: WFH.  [sigh] It seems that there is a text shortcut for everything these days ... Work From Home

45. Tentative inquiry: FEELER.  Moe-ku:

        Crustaceans would make 

        Great detectives. They're equipped

        With many FEELERs

47. Too: AS WELL.

49. Choked: BLEW IT.  Back when Europe actually lost the Ryder Cup (on American soil) this was known as one of the all-time choke jobs ... Langer would go on to become the most winning golfer on the Senior/Champions PGA Tour, and still regularly shoots a score lower than his age (68) for 18 holes.  The Chairman regularly shoots 68 or lower when golfing, but then has to play the remaining 5 or 6 holes

50. Sin City attraction: CASINO.  Sin City = Lost Wages, NV

51. Open up: UNSNAP.  I wonder how many takes that scene took?? 😀

53. Marine scamp: OTTER.

54. Some degree: NTH.  BFA fits, yes?

57. Teeny: ITSY. 

 

58. Frying need: OIL.  Make mine extra virgin olive

59. Kanga's kid: ROO.  Milne character

61. St. crosser: AVE.  BLVD was too wide to fit

62. Currency of Laos: KIP.  Do you remember how I felt about the clue/answer for 1-across?  No different for 62-down.  All perps

See you next month 

Thursday, July 24, 2025, Katherine Baicker, Laura Dershewitz

Theme:  It's just your imagination.

Constructors Katherine Baicker and Laura Dershewitz have entertained us here before, together, separately, and with other co-constructors.  Today they make us stop and wonder whether it's all been real, or just our imagination.

The theme clues and answers, placed symmetrically in the grid, are:

20-Across. Spot where parallel lines appear to converge: VANISHING POINT.

33-Across. Sensation experienced after a long day of sewing: PHANTOM THREAD.  Seamstresses sometimes go home and still feel the sensation of a thread between their fingers.

42-Across. Erroneous result on a medical test: FALSE POSITIVE.

57-Across. Snide dismissal, and what can be said about 20-, 33-, and 42-Across?: THAT'S NOT A THING.  Current slang for “that's not real/true” or “that doesn't happen.”

In every case, we see or feel evidence of something that is not real.  But you know what is real?  We have 132 other mysteries to solve!  Here they come.

Across:

1. Move with a hop and a step: SKIP.

5. Circle dances: HORAS.  Not just a Jewish dance enjoyed at weddings and b'nai mitzvah celebrations, variants of the hora (called hora or oro) have folks holding hands and moving in circles in Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, and elsewhere.

10. Tendril: WISP.  While a tendril is part of a climbing plant, and a wisp is any little thin mass, both words can be used to describe strands of hair that fall away from the main mass of hair on the head.  It's a thing.

Hayden Panettiere with straight wisps, and Chloe Sevigny with tendrils.

14. Office assistant: AIDE.

15. Maker of a Breakout hit: ATARI.

16. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

17. One past 12?: TEEN.

18. Name, in Latin: NOMEN.  From which we have the English nomenclature, the devising or choosing of names for things, especially in a science or other discipline.

19. Money mgrs.: CFOs.  Chief Financial Officers.

20. [Theme clue]

23. Green prefix: ECO.

24. Protected: SAFE.

25. Electric creature: EEL.

26. Knucklehead: OAF.

29. Yale student: ELI.  A nickname derived from Elihu Yale, the primary benefactor of  Yale University.

31. Vague threat: OR ELSE.

33. [Theme clue]

37. Root in tropical cuisine: TARO.

38. __ juice: MOO.  A cutesy way of saying "milk."

39. Backyard spot that's shovel-ready?: SHED.  It's ready to store your shovel.

42. [Theme clue]

47. Work together: TEAM UP.

49. "I don't trust stairs because they're always up to something," e.g.: PUN.  MalMan!  Have you used this one?

50. Number of fielders in slow-pitch softball: TEN.  Did Not Know.

51. Old tape dispenser?: VCR.  Video Cassette Recorder.

52. Animated pics: GIFs.  The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a bitmap image format developed by a team at CompuServe and released in 1987.  Usage of the format has declined, often being replaced with newer formats such as PNG for static images and MP4 for videos.

This GIF is a real Thriller.

55. "Eww!": ICK.

57. [Theme clue]

62. Home of the "American Gothic" house: IOWA.

American Gothic is a 1930 oil painting by Grant Wood.

63. Avis rival: ALAMO.  Car rental companies.

64. __ contendere: NOLO.  "Nolo contendere" is a Latin term meaning "I do not wish to contend" or "no contest."  In a legal context, it's a plea in a criminal case where the defendant doesn't admit guilt but accepts the consequences of a conviction.  It's often used when a defendant wants to avoid the implications of a guilty plea in potential future civil lawsuits.  Remember in 1973 when Vice President Spiro Agnew pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge of tax evasion?  As part of the plea bargain, he resigned from office, was fined $10,000, and sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation. 

66. Average in math class?: MEAN.

67. Pipe alternative: CIGAR.

A little play on The Treachery of Images by René Magritte.

68. Picked, as a Scrabble tile: DREW.

69. Sherbet brand: EDY'S.  Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream makes Dreyer's brand frozen desserts for the Western US market, and Edy's brand for the Eastern and Midwestern US, so named to avoid confusion with Breyer's ice cream in those regions.  Nestlé acquired Dreyer's in 2007, and in 2020, Nestlé sold all its US ice cream businesses to Froneri, the global ice cream manufacturer that Nestlé co-owns with PAI Partners.  Big business!

70. Party throwers: HOSTS.

71. "You said it!": AMEN.

Down:

1. Didn't play: SAT.

2. Chicken __: KIEV.  Chicken Kiev is chicken fillet, pounded and rolled around garlic butter and parsley, coated with egg and bread crumbs, and then fried or baked.

3. "Eureka!" elicitor: IDEA.  "Eureka" (Ancient Greek for "I have found it") is an exclamation used to celebrate a discovery or invention. It is attributed to Archimedes, who stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose, whereupon he understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged.  He was so excited that he forgot to dress and ran naked in the streets yelling "Eureka!"

Archimedes has a revelation.

4. Pasta with angled ends: PENNE.

5. Longtime Harrison Ford role: HAN SOLO.

6. Texter's equivocation: OTOH.  On The Other Hand.

7. "Ghostbusters" actor Harold: RAMIS.

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis

8. The Eras Tour venue: ARENA.  Taylor Swift's fans filled large arenas on her recent "Eras" tour.

9. Entertain, in a way: SING FOR.

10. Baylor University home: WACO.  Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas.  It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas.

11. Dribbler that gets a batter on base, e.g.: INFIELD HIT.  An infield hit in baseball is when a batter hits the ball within the infield and safely reaches first base without the defense making an error that allows him to advance. It's typically a slow-rolling ground ball or a ball that is hit with enough speed to reach the infield but not the outfield, and the batter is able to beat the throw to first base. 

12. Cairn elements: STONES.  A cairn is a human-made pile of stones, typically used as a marker, a memorial, or a burial mound. 

13. Mortar's companion: PESTLE.

The pestle is gripped and used to grind items in the mortar.

21. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T.  You may know him from his acting role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Tracy Marrow AKA Ice-T

22. Napoleon's father: PÈRE.  Père is French for "father."  It's not Napoleon's father's name.

26. Stop waffling: OPT.  Choose!  Decide!  Pick one!  

27. "Eureka!": AHA.  See explanation at 3-Down for Archimedes's "aha!" moment.

28. Like the galaxy from which 5-Down hails: FAR, FAR AWAY.  Harrison Ford played the character Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, which take place in a galaxy far, far away.

30. "Gotta do my thing!": I'M ME.

You do you.

32. All-Star side: EAST.  In the MLB All-Star Game, the National League represents the "East" side, facing the American League (AL).  In the traditional NBA All-Star Game format, the Eastern Conference All-Stars play against the Western Conference All-Stars.  

34. Linguist Chomsky: NOAM.

35. Blouse: TOP.

36. Stud alternative: HOOP.  Earring styles.

Hoop with dangle, regular hoop, stud.

40. Night before: EVE.

41. Cozy spot for 47-Down: DEN.

43. Hauls with effort: LUGS.

44. Ingredient in a Florentine dish: SPINACH.  Chicken Florentine, Pasta Florentine, Eggs Florentine ... apparently people in Florence, Italy, love spinach.

45. Beaus: SUITORS.

46. Yardstick division: INCH.

47. Period between homework and dinner, for some kids: TV TIME.

48. Made a comeback: ECHOED.

53. Shakespearean volume: FOLIO.

54. Antlered deer: STAGS.

56. Ish: KINDA.

58. Catches some rays: TANS.

59. Amo, amas, __: AMAT.  We had Greek earlier, so it's time for Latin:  "I love, you love, he/she/it loves."

60. Par for the course: NORM.

61. Delight: GLEE.

65. BYOB part: OWN.  Bring Your Own Beverage/Bottle/Booze/Beer.

Here's the grid:

Did you SKIP all the way to Finish It Right?

Was that a SOLO effort, or did you TEAM UP to solve the puzzle?

Or did you finally come close, but no CIGAR?

Let us know in the comments!

-- NaomiZ

Friday, July 26, 2024, Katherine Baicker, Laura Dershewitz

Good morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with today's recap.  It is morning here but, fortunately, it's 5 o'clock somewhere because today's puzzle by Katherine Baicker and Laura Dershewitz requires a bit of experience with the language and customs of drinking whisky (or whiskey if you prefer potables other than Scotch).  It may have been appropriate to publish this puzzle tomorrow as July 27th is National Scotch Day!

Let's start with the reveal:

61 Across:  "Straight up, please," to match 17-, 25-, 37-, and 51-Across?:  MAKE IT NEAT.  In drinker's jargon, "NEAT" (or straight up) means with no ice.   At four places within the grid our co-constructors have removed the ICE in order to form creative and amusing answers to the clues.

Let's see how this "gimmick" is applied:

17 Across:  Orientation for new senators?: POL ACADEMY.  A learning place for politicians (POLs).  Before the removal:  POLICE ACADEMY

25 Across:  "Margaret won't be in the comedy showcase!"?: YOU HAVE NO CHO.  Comedienne Margaret Cho has scratched from the showcase.  Before the removal: YOU HAVE NO CHOICE

37 Across:  Exclamation when a product lives up to the hype?: THE PR IS RIGHT.  The public relations blitz was not just a lot of hot air.  Before the removal:  THE PRICE IS RIGHT

51 Across:  Tables and chairs that wobble?: OFF FURNITURE.  There is something wrong with the  furniture.  It's a bit OFF.  Before the removal: OFFICE  FURNITURE

Here is what the completed grid looks like:

Here are the rest of the clues/answers:

Across:

1. Light melody: LILT.

5. Singer Del Rey: LANA.  A frequent visitor these days and, yet, someone about whom this solver remain totally ignorant.  However, while walking around Venice,CA with Valerie I did see these posters:

9. Photographer Adams: ANSEL.  Nice shot.

14. Nice companion: AMIE.  Nice as in not mean?  No.  As in the French city.

15. Sister of Castor and Pollux: HELEN.

16. Raises or rises: REARS.  Here, Trigger REARS (rises).  I wonder if Trigger raised his children to do the same.

19. Possessed: OWNED.  Not a demonic reference.

20. "Way cool!": SO DOPE.  Slang.  Why does BITCHEN or GROOVY, or even PHAT, seem okay but not this?  Wait, don't answer that, please.    In an homage to the Seven Dwarfs, DOPEy is now followed by "What's Up, Doc".

21. "Wabbit" hunter: FUDD.  Elmer was too long.

22. AQI monitor: EPA.  Air Quality Index in the clue.

29. New England state: VERMONT.

31. Conclude: END.

32. __ Lingus: AER.  The Irish airline.

33. Theme park serviced by the Disney World monorail: EPCOT.  EPCOT opened on October 01, 1982.

34. Took to court: SUED.  I SUED the airlines for losing my luggage.  I lost my case.

36. IRS IDs: SSNS.  We are often asked to supply this even though we're told to never share it.

41. Pupil's place: IRIS.  Not a schoolhouse reference.  An eyeball reference.

43. Wee bit: IOTA.  A constructor's friend.

44. Needed a sick day: AILED.

47. Boxing Day mo.: DEC.

48. Part of a pod cast?: PEA.  Not a tech reference.  PEAs in a pod.

49. Q-Tip and Ice-T: RAPPERS.  Not the swab and the beverage.  Does Elmer listen to wappers?

55. Circular __: SAW.

56. Scull pair: OARS.  Before a surgery the anesthesiologist asked the patient if she'd like to be knocked out with gas or be hit over the head with a canoe paddle.  It was an ether/oar situation.

57. Reptiles in the logos of some dojos: COBRAS.

59. Muddle: MIXUP.

65. Shampoo brand since 1947: PRELL.

Pam Dawber - 1973

66. Correct spelling, say: EMEND.

67. Beltmaking tools: AWLS.  Not as in the old saying "ALLS well that ends well, I suppose."

68. Source of waste: HASTE.  As in the old saying "HASTE makes waste."

69. Movie night rooms: DENS.  Often clued with an ursine reference.

70. Nerd (out): GEEK.  Used as a verb in the clue although I am not sure why as the noun forms of each would have worked out the same.

Down:

1. Cozy cat seat: LAP.

LAPtop Cats

2. "Sez me": IMO.  In My Opinion

3. Smaller than sm.: LIL.  This one was a bit of a stretch.  Thanks, perps.

4. Bitter brews: TEAS.  Hand up for trying to make ALES work out. . . and it did at 63 Down.

5. Showed the door: LED  OUT.  Don't let it hit you.

6. First Hebrew letter: ALEPH.

7. Mythical lion's home: NEMEA.  The NEMEA lion was a legendary creature in Greek mythology that ravaged the area of Nemea. Its fur was impenetrable by the weapons of humans and hence, was unstoppable. It was considered to be the child of Typhon and Echidna, father and mother of all monsters.

8. "__ minute now ... ": ANY.

9. Word with poke or push: AROUND.

10. Fresh cut: NEW DO.  A hair style reference.

11. Beach homes?: SAND CASTLES.  With a tip of the hat to Jimi Hendrix.

12. Afore: ERE.

13. Acid initials: LSD.  Did you hear about the guy who got LSD and LDS mixed up?  Instead of going on a trip he went on a mission,.

15. Wore: HAD ON.  

18. University of South Dakota athlete: COYOTE.  Something of a universal mascot in SoCAl these days.

 

21. Italian luxury brand: FENDI.  PRADA and GUCCI would also have fit the allotted space.

22. Morn's opposite: EVE.  Morning / EVEning

23. Pizzazz: PEP.

24. Permafrost predators: ARCTIC FOXES.

26. Turn sharply: VEER.

27. __ of the woods mushroom: HEN.  Thanks, perps.

28. Alternatives: ORS.

30. Hardness scale name: MOHS.

34. Prepare for takeoff, maybe: SIT.  Huh?  Okay, no one stands for takeoff but this one is a huge stretch.

35. Katie Ledecky's team: Abbr.: USA.  An American Olympic swim team member.

36. Pickup alternative: SHIP.  A choice familiar to those who use, for example, Target or Walmart's websites.

38. Docking stations?: PIERS.  Not a tech reference.  A ship reference.  Nice placement.

39. Reddish horse: ROAN.

40. Watch in wonder: GAPE AT.

41. "Who wants cake?" response: I DO.  More often clued with a matrimonial reference.

42. Slo-mo reviewer: REF.  REFeree

45. Time worth studying: ERA.  What era is a musician in when she has not money.  The Baroque ERA.

46. Bargain footwear chain: DSW.

48. Red and blue: PURPLE.  Not the colors alone.  The colors together.

49. Flemish painter Peter Paul __: RUBENS.

50. Extra Extra Dry brand: ARRID.  A deodorant reference.

52. Server error?: FAULT.  A tennis reference.

53. Beginning of a famous boast: I CAME.  If Caesar spoke English.

54. Part of NFT: TOKEN.  Non Fungible TOKENs Explained

58. Unexpected hitch: SNAG.

59. Speed letters: MPH.  Miles Per Hour

60. Rollover subj.: IRA.  Individual Retirement Account

61. Larger than sm.: MED.  Small . MEDium / Large  The last of ten abbrevaitions (your criteria may vary) to be found in today's puzzle.

62. Fleece source: EWE.

63. Bitter brew: ALE.  The local bar ran out of ALE.  It was a bitter disappointment.

64. Judgy sound: TSK.  Often, we initially do not know if it'll be TSK or TUT.

Well, it's time now for yours truly to go grab a glass of ju and maybe eat a sl of cold pizza.  Have an n day, everyone.  Slainté !

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