Sunday November 23, 2025 Adam Simpson & Katie Hale

Theme: "THE MATH AIN'T MATHING" - Each math term is rephrased as a non-math concept.

22. Allocation of royal flags before the King's speech?: STANDARD DISTRIBUTION.

33. Consideration when switching religions?: CONVERSION FACTOR. Mardia was baptized at 16 in a river back in Liberia. She's now preparing to convert to Catholicism. My classmate Mary grew up Catholic but explored other faiths as an adult. Both of them have to do their confessions before they’re confirmed next Easter. I don't. Yay!

58. San Andreas Fault?: LONG DIVISION.

67. Lab surface for a geneticist?: MULTIPLICATION TABLE.

78. Birth announcement?: ADDITION SIGN.

99. Show tune that makes no sense?: IRRATIONAL NUMBER.

118. FOMO, for "Fear of Missing Out," e.g.?: SIMPLIFIED EXPRESSION.

I like this playful turn of phrase throughout the set. A broad range of math vocabulary. The clues are key to this type of rephrasing theme, and they all land humorously. 

Heavy themage. Total 115 squares. 

Can you read this page?  It says Adam is Canadian living in San Francisco. Video game designer.  And you'll know Katie, assistant to Patti and generous mentor to many newbies.  

Across:

1. Sermon giver: PASTOR. Sigh, my Pastor Mark sounds like Pasta Mark. 

7. Cold water entry, maybe: PLUNGE.

13. Part of a Sheets or Slides username: GMAIL.

18. "Gimme, gimme!": I NEED IT.

20. No-handed cartwheel: AERIAL. Aerial cartwheel. 

21. PD rank: SARGE.

25. "Curses": DAMN.

26. Stripes partners: STARS.

27. Ending for sub-: URB.

28. Units of pop: LITERS.

29. __ first-name basis: ON A.

30. Auto repair chain: MAACO.

31. MacGraw of "The Winds of War": ALI.

32. Like puppies: CUTE.

37. Laotian pork salad: LARB. Our local Asia store has freshly-made larb. 

41. Beer merchant selection: ALE.

42. Light touch: PAT.

43. Overnight __: OATS.

45. Big cat in the sky: LEO.

46. "If You __ Been There": Dolly Parton track: HADN'T.

49. Comedian Lydic: DESI. New DESI angle! 

51. Popcorn seasoning: SALT.

53. Boat bodies: HULLS.

55. Sushi-grade tuna: AHI.

56. Part of a bedding bundle: SHAM.

61. Brand name derived from the Danish for "play well": LEGO.

63. Gulf State leader: EMIR.

65. Small waterway: RIA.

66. St. __: English surf town: IVES.

73. Beseeched: PLED.

74. Nice negation: NON. Nice the city.

75. Rose Bowl org.: NCAA.

76. Days of __: YORE.

83. "Go no farther": HALT.

85. Chivalrous title: SIR.

86. Old news source: CRIER.

87. Facial treatment: PEEL.

88. Pokémon that evolves into Lairon: ARON. Another new cluing angle.

90. Total: UTTER.

92. Damage: MAR.

93. On a transatlantic crossing: ASEA.

95. African grazer: GNU.

96. "U almost here?": ETA.

97. CPR experts: EMTS.

107. Forearm bone: ULNA.

109. Beseech: BEG.

110. Treacherous schemes: SCAMS.

111. "__ got to hand it to you": I'VE.

112. Fictional island paradise: UTOPIA.

115. Early AOL rival: MSN.

116. "Ya fell for it!": SUCKA. Sucker.

117. "Bring on the weekend!" letters: TGIF.

122. Stink: SMELL.

123. Dark horse and sitting duck: IDIOMS.

124. Element with atomic number 33: ARSENIC.

125. Actress Rapp: RENEE.

126. Up to this point: TIL NOW.

127. Come to terms, in a way: SETTLE.

Down:

1. Italian sculptor Nicola: PISANO. Learning moment for me. Wikipedia says "Pisano is sometimes considered to be the founder of modern sculpture."

2. Diminutive Marvel hero: ANTMAN.

3. "Temperature" rapper __ Paul: SEAN.

4. Q tile score in Scrabble: TEN.

5. "If I had to guess ... ": ODDS ARE.

6. Rawhide ropes: RIATAS.

7. Rollerblading gear: PADS.

8. Luau adornment: LEI.

9. Disney villain with a garden of trapped merpeople: URSULA. Scary.

10. __ acid: NITRIC.

11. Apparel: GARB.

12. "Hostel" director Roth: ELI.

13. Aviator's outfit: G SUIT.

14. Toymaking giant: MATTEL.

15. Singer India.__: ARIE.

16. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR.

17. Binoculars part: LENS.

19. "Last Call" singer Braxton: TRACI. Toni's sister.

23. Turns down?: DROOPS.

24. Say impulsively, with "out": BLURT.

25. __ Hopper: "The Muppet Movie" villain: DOC.  Another learning moment.

30. Gooey sammies: MELTS.

31. Toward the stern: AFT.

32. South American kin of a raccoon: COATI.

34. The Mystery Machine, e.g.: VAN. "Scooby Doo!".

35. __ polish: NAIL.

36. "__ you so!": TOLD.

38. "We can't come back from this!": ALL IS LOST.

39. Change ZIP codes: RELO.

40. Chief on deck: BOSN.

44. Deity of destruction: SHIVA. "The Destroyer".

46. A.I. of 1960s cinema: HAL.

47. "Beg pardon": AHEM.

48. Look for a scandal: DIG UP DIRT.

49. Like a wrung-out cloth: DAMP.

50. Expressionist painter Nolde: EMIL.

51. Tantrum: SNIT.

52. Over: AGAIN.

54. Groceries date: USE BY.

57. Supermodel Klum: HEIDI.

59. Red-haired ape: ORANG.

60. Like major organs: VITAL.

62. Jump on board?: OLLIE. Skateboard. I also like the clue for 95. Stand-up job?: GIG.

64. Step on a shampoo bottle: RINSE.

68. Neon-striped fish: TETRA.

69. Loopy shape: COIL.

70. Uno m s siete: OCHO.

71. Tikka masala side: NAAN.

72. Cedar Point expanse: ERIE.

77. Fail to hit save before closing, e.g.: ERR.

78. Fictional company with wacky products: ACME.

79. Wee drink: DRAM.

80. Verdi's realm: OPERA.

81. On one's doorstep: NEAR.

82. Second intro?: NANO.

84. "Black Swan" costumes: TUTUS.

89. Accumulates: RUNS UP.

91. Aberdeen topper: TAM.

94. Biblical mount: SINAI.

96. As a group: EN MASSE.

98. Pliant: SUPPLE.

100. Rappel, in British parlance: ABSEIL. Descend by rope. One more learning moment.

101. Achilles __: TENDON.

102. West African capital: ACCRA.

103. Los Angeles cagers: LAKERS.

104. Shell industry: BIG OIL.

105. Reveal clearly: EVINCE.

106. Call maker: REF.

108. French city that sounds small: LILLE.

112. Cold War rival, initially: USSR.

113. Proctor's call: TIME.

114. Harbinger: OMEN.

115. Skirt that falls around the shin: MIDI.

116. Austin, TX, festival: SXSW. South by Southwest.

117. Add a bit of color: TINT.

119. Go together well: FIT.

120. Angsty genre: EMO.

121. Ready to go: SET.

C.C.

Wednesday, Oct 29th, 2025 ~ Sheri Steinmetz & Katie Hale

 THYME OUT

This one needed to go back to the drawing board.  Not to discredit the co-authors, but the puzzle, at best, is clunky, with a mediocre theme, too many names, and egregious fill - and that's on the editor.  YMMV, but fills like 5 and 53D., with names not only at 1D. - Chairman Moe mentioned certain editors will not allow abbrs to start, and I agree - but also as theme answers ( even if I know two-thirds of them ) makes this grid lose lustre . . . Congratulations to Sheri, as this looks to be her debut, and Katie has constructed and co-authored several crosswords for the LA Times, "et al."; I do hope to see more collaborations.  Standard grid, only 13 3LWs - all the "worst" ones - and an oversampling of  'generic' crossword fill - but hey, no circles~!  The themers and the reveal;

20. Winner of the first Olympic gold medal in men's snowboard slopestyle: SAGE KOTSENBURG - name #1 - really vague - more here

34. "White Christmas" co-star: ROSEMARY CLOONEY - name #2

43. "Peanuts" character with a tendency to sleep through class: PEPPERMINT PATTY - name #3

58. Shampoo brand that claims to be "plant obsessed," and what 20-, 34-, and 43-Across all have: HERBAL ESSENCES

* -  I see that there's a new analytic on the XWord Info page that tracks "Grid Flow", created at a site called Crosserville.  There is a mathematical algorithm involved, and so far, the highest flow recorded has been 219.2, and the median 31.8 - turns out that Friday and Saturday crosswords show higher flow #s; I'm gonna keep an eye on this moving forward.  Today's grid~?  20.0

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Dreary: DRAB - this definitely describes my feelings about this puzzle

5. Shock: JOLT - when I filled in 53D., I certainly got a shock - I mean, really~?

9. Improvises vocally: SCATS

14. Currency in 20 countries: EURO

15. Desire: URGE

16. Like days long ago: OLDEN

17. Has-__: BEEN - hmmm . . . filled via perps

18. Cornhusker st.: NEBRaska - HuskerG nailed this one; abbr, geo name #1 - and meh.

19. McDonald of "The Gilded Age": AUDRA - name #4 in the Hahtoolah Convention -her IMDb

23. Not even: ODD

24. Pilot's approx.: ETD - Estimated Time of Departure, crossword "alt" staple to ETA

25. Dads: PAs - yes, but semi-meh.

26. __-la-la: TRA - crossword staple . . . . sheesh

29. Problem in one's pants or pantry: ANTS - "ants in your pants" = nervous, twitchy, "antsy"

32. Burro: ASS

40. Where to see the big picture?: IMAX

41. "Rudy" coach Parseghian: ARA - I screwed up and went with ARI - name #5

42. Erté's style: DECO - I like Art Deco; since the skyscraper was born in that ERA, we still see it's influnce 100 years later - I would get me this book

48. Soccer fan's "Bravo!": OLÉ - oh yay, more generic answers~!

49. Tennis great Arthur: ASHE - name #6, even if it's a crossword staple

50. Michigan's __ Locks: SOO - Joins the Great Lakes Superior and Huron - geo name #2

And there's another crossword staple in there - Sault STE Marie

51. Wee: SMA - meh. 

54. Rocket ending: EER - RocketEER - semi-meh, in terms of fill

56. Speed Wagon automaker: REO - this one is getting as boring as ERA and ATM

64. Like sun bears and pandas: ASIAN - Naomi showed us a sun bear in this BUNS puzzle

65. __-Seltzer: ALKA

66. California roll ingredient: CRAB - I am east coast; this was a WAG from perps

And I don't care for sushi, either, but crab is good

68. Italian soccer great Maldini: PAOLO - name #7 - if you want to know more

69. __-back: LAID

70. Like a fairy tale duckling: UGLY

71. Fragrant compound: ESTER

72. Postseason honorees, briefly: MVPs - at the time of this write-up, the World Series was 1 - 1; I'm rooting for Toronto, because their NHL Maple Leafs are playoff confounders

73. Memorization technique: ROTE

DOWN:

1. Food blogger Perelman: DEB - name #8

2. Feels bad about: RUES - I feel bad about my review, but I'm being honest

3. Geometric calculation: AREA

4. Salsa hand drum: BONGO - or CONGA~?

More Here

5. Outdated term for noncoding genetic material: JUNK DNA - Maybe it's a great fill, but as a theme crossing, as part of a name, on a Wednesday, it's meh.  Everything you ever wanted to know

6. Cookie with many specialty flavors: OREO - yet another crossword trope

7. Pride Month letters: LGBT

8. Not wordy: TERSE - I thought this read "worLdly" - so I was thinking CLERGY - Bzzzt~!

9. Scoundrel: SO AND SO - I do not see these as the same; "so-and-so" to me is someone anonymous, or that person whose name you cannot remember - at least that's how my mother used it

10. Country __: CLUB

11. Tally: ADD UP

12. __ firma: TERRA

13. Glitches: SNAGS - Tragedy~!  A travesty~!  For shame~!

Chairman paid a fine for breech of contract last Friday

21. Red-coated cheese: EDAM

22. List ender: ET AL. - abbr, Latin for "and others"

26. Klutz's move, perhaps: TRIP

27. "Ben-Hur" setting: ROME - even if I know this, it's geo name #3

28. "Hurry!" letters: A.S.A.P. - As Soon As Possible - and it's not the same as "hurry~!"

30. Peak transport: TRAM - I had T-bar, as in a ski lift to the peak

31. Lebanon neighbor: SYRIA - geo name #4

33. Bubbly beverage: SODA - good WAG; could have been COLA

35. Convention center event: EXPO - I have attended the Toy Fair in NYC twice

The Javits Center in Lego, from 2017

36. Tuna holders: CANS - NETS is next; my ARI at 41A. left the "I" in, so I did not get my ta-DA~!

37. Brooklyn B-ballers: NETS - B-ballers are basketball players, even tho Baseball could work as well; and they're name(ish)

38. Start for -derm or -plasm: ECTO - These guys knew all about Ectoplasm

"That's great Ray - save some for me~!" Ghostbusters

39. Toy on a string: YO-YO

44. "__ Rigby": ELEANOR - name #9 - and I spelled it wrong, too

45. Rod's partner: REEL - CONE worked, if we were talking eyes, as in Sunday's puzzle

46. Duds: THREADS - CLOTHES fit too, but Bzzzt

47. Hammer head: PEEN

51. Rhombus, e.g.: SHAPE - ah.  Here's the actual 'classification' of four-sided polygons:

We had "kite" on Monday

52. Southwestern flattops: MESAS

53. Eliciting many laughs: A RIOT - Cringe.  Even if you claimed to parse this as "the place was ariot with laughter" it still doesn't work, and sounds "meh" at best

55. Domain: REALM

57. Happen: OCCUR

59. Packed hay: BALE

60. Many an Eastern European: SLAV

61. YouTube ad option: SKIP - And I do this ASAP - now that's how to clue it~!

62. Therefore: ERGO

63. Shaker filling: SALT - Who's looking for their lost shaker of salt~?

 I thought the third verse line was "and soon a Veranda" - hey, it makes sense . . . 

67. "Toodles!": BYE

adieu to you, and you, "meh."

Splynter

Monday September 1, 2025 Lynn K. Watson and Katie Hale

  

Happy Labor Day, everyone! sumdaze here. Today's puzzle is a Lynn K. Watson and Katie Hale collaboration. This is Lynn's fourth LAT puzzle and her first collaboration with Katie, whom we know as the assistant crossword editor for the LAT. 

Theme:        CSO to C.C.  

An early peek at the grid explains it all:  

17 Across. *Grinning creature in Wonderland: CHESHIRE CAT.  

I bought this Coffee Cup the last time I visited Disneyland.
It is oversized so I use it for soup.

29 Across. *Only "Friends" star never nominated for an Emmy during the show's run: COURTENEY COX.  I did not realize she spelled her name that way.

She might not have won and Emmy but she did get a star. 

Courteney with co-stars Jennifer (l.) and Lisa (r.) in Feb. 2023
at Cox's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

48 Across. *Gingerbread shaper: COOKIE CUTTER.  This answer is a noun so no hyphen is needed. On the other hand, when used as an adjective as in "COOKIE-CUTTER houses", Merriam-Webster calls for a hyphen.  

65 Across. *"A Chorus Line" event: CASTING CALL.  A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater. It follows 17 dancers auditioning for spots.

The reveal is the last Across clue:

73 Across. "Oui! Oui!" in Oaxaca, and a phonetic description of the answers to the starred clues: SÍ! SÍ!.  

A French "Yes! Yes!" becomes a Spanish "SÍ! SÍ!" in Oaxaca, Mexico.  

The reveal tells us that each of the four starred clues is a two-word answer where both words begin with the letter C. Note that it specifies, "a phonetic description". Works for me! 

This is the cover of the 10th studio album by the British band, Madness (2012).
Ska fans can click here for a 4 min. video
about how the album was named plus more background.

Next we will look at the other Crossword Clues:

Across:

1. Life line location: PALM.  Coincidentally, last Wednesday's 1-A was PALMS.

Scientists call the lines on our PALM palmar flexion creases. They begin to form around the 12th week of gestation. They help the skin in our hands squeeze and stretch. 

5. Touches on an edge: ABUTS.  The two U.S. states with the most shared borders are Tennessee and Missouri. They each ABUT eight other states, including each other, sometimes leading to a Cultural Clash.  

10. Outfit for a lazy day at home, for short: PJS.

13. Chemistry test subject?: ACID.  I liked this play on ACID test.

14. Tropical verandas: LANAIS.     and     28-Across. Tropical garland: LEI.

16. Weeding tool: HOE.  Using one might turn up a Creepy Crawler.

19. Monogram on a Libre perfume bottle: YSL.  I was not familiar with this perfume but this monogram shows up frequently in crossword puzzles so I gave it a try.

20. Japanese pond fish: KOI.  6 Interesting Facts about KOI fish on PetMD

21. James of jazz: ETTA.

22. Tiny bit: MORSEL.  Did you ever notice the bag says MORSELs, not "chips"?  

Chocolate Chips

24. Whale locator: SONAR.  Captains use SONAR to locate whales for whale watching trips.  

26. "Uh ... ": ERM ....  a Communication Crisis???

34. Eases off: ABATES.

37. Half a laugh: HEE.

38. "Big Blue" tech co.: IBM.  This clue is a bit too close to 67-Down.

39. Classic Battleship game piece: CRUISER.  

41. "You look just like me!": TWINSIE.  

44. Dah's partner: DIT.  This clue refers to Morse Code. When expressed as sounds or light, they are DITs and dahs but are written as a series of dots and dashes. The duration of a dah is three times the duration of a DIT.  

45. Queen guitarist Brian: MAY.  Sir Brian Harold May was born July 19, 1947.  

Queen   ~   Keep Yourself Alive  ~   1973

(May is playing on stage left.)

<BTW, this video is brought to you through a Creative Commons license.>

47. Strong blackjack hand: ACE-TEN.  

10 + 11 = 21

52. Golfer's goal: PAR.  an admirable alliterative allusion

53. __-friendly: ECO.  

54. Monopoly surface: BOARD.

58. Zigzag on skis: SLALOM.

61. "Lonely Boy" singer Paul: ANKA.  He also composed Johnny's Theme, the theme song for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.  

63. Member of a slapstick trio: MOE.  a CSO to C-Moe!  

inspirations for many a Class Clown

64. Part of mpg: PER.  Miles PER Gallon

68. Have breakfast: EAT.  

69. Hand-to-hand combat style: KARATE.

70. Texter's "Or ... ": OTOH.  On The Other Hand ...  

Or, as they say in the KARATE dojo, OTOH2H.

71. Items in jewel cases: CDS.  Here we have a case of intentional misdirection. The plastic cases that CDs come in are called jewel cases or sometimes jewel boxes.  

If you put it in the fridge, you will have a Cold Case. (ba dum tss!)

72. Muscle-bone connector: SINEW.

Down:

1. Prepares for a trip: PACKS.  

2. Sneeze sound: ACHOO.

3. Hit snooze, perhaps: LIE IN.  

4. Health care pros: MDS.  An abbreviated clue hints at an abbreviated answer.

5. Fluttered down to a perch, say: ALIT.

6. Negotiate a trade: BARTER.

7. Dig up: UNEARTH.  

8. Tic __: mint brand: TAC.  Do you remember these commercials telling us that one Tic Tac had only two calories? It was a Madison Ave. miss. I always wondered:  (1.) They are so tiny, what do you expect? (2.) Who eats just one? and (3.) Are people concerned about gaining weight from breath mints?

9. "The King and I" kingdom: SIAM.  This story takes place in Siam during the early 1860s. Siam first changed its name to Thailand on June 5, 1939, changed it back in 1945, then became Thailand permanently on May 11, 1949.

10. Stephen Hawking, for one: PHYSICIST.  Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018) wrote A Brief History of Time. It was on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.

11. "Feliz Navidad" singer Feliciano: JOSÉ.  José will turn 80 years old in nine days. Feliz cumpleaños, José!

12. Put on the market: SELL.  

15. Winter wrap: STOLE.  

I bought one of these with my Credit Card but someone STOLE it.

18. Epic protagonists: HEROES.

23. "Video Games" singer Lana Del __: REY.

25. Start of a play: ACT I.

27. "Nice to __ you": MEET.  

30. "I can help": USE ME.

31. Starting to learn: NEW AT.  It could not be "NEW to" because "to" is in the clue.

32. Theater award: OBIE.  Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper for certain productions in New York City.

33. Marvel Comics mutants: X-MEN.  

The Caped Crusader (Batman) is in a different universe.

34. Band with a thunderbolt in its logo: AC⚡DC.

35. Pizzazz: BRIO.  Def.:  (noun) enthusiastic vigor; vivacity, verve.

36. Spark plugs, wiper blades, etc.: AUTO PARTS.  👍👍

40. The Indy 500, e.g.: RACE.

42. Swelling reducer: ICE BAG.  In movies, they use a bag of frozen peas.  

43. Wolfe of detective fiction: NERO.

46. Mexican peninsula: YUCATAN.  

49. "House" actor Penn: KAL.  his IMDb page

50. Self-congratulatory cheer: I ROCK.

51. This evening, in ads: TONITE.  

55. Valued violin: AMATI.

56. Candies that resemble lampshades: ROLOS.  Lampshades and ROLOS have the shape of a conical frustum (also called a truncated cone).

(Click to enlarge.)

57. Indian metropolis: DELHI.  The weather forecast for Delhi today is 84°F/76°F (28.8°C/24.4°C) with periods of rain.

58. On __: without a contract: SPEC.

59. Main role: LEAD.  think "theater"

60. Barnyard bleats: MAAS.  

These goats are helping to clear potentially flammable brush.
I was fortunate to see similar working goats on my bike ride last Thursday,
 along with two Great Pyrenees dogs!
Their mouths were too full to say MAA.

62. More than guessed: KNEW.

66. __ Lanka: SRI.  Colombo, Sri Lanka is 1,490 mi. (2,398 km.), as the plane flies, from Delhi, India.

67. Businesses: Abbr.: COS.  Companies (Some, like IBM, are Cash Cows.)

We had a bit of a theater mini-theme with CASTING CALL, ACT I, OBIE, and LEAD so I will add some Closing Credits.  

I hope this puzzle is now Crystal Clear! Thank you for visiting the Crossword Corner!