Tuesday, August 19, 2025 Kyle Dolan

The Energizer Bunny.  The first word of each theme answer is another word for energy.

3-Down. Potential basketball assist that hits the floor: BOUNCE PASS.

7-Down. Fast-food pickup location: DRIVE THRU WINDOW.

9-Down. "Quiet!": ZIP YOUR LIP.

28-Down. Kitchen gadget often used on oranges: JUICE PRESS.

Here's the unifier:

31-Down. Like some protein-rich snacks, or what can be found in 3-, 7-, 9-, and 28-Down?: HIGH ENERGY.  Note that each theme answer is in the down position.  This gives each synonym of ENERGY to be in the HIGH position.

Across:

1. Dining room fixture: TABLE.

6. QB's successes: TDs.  We have a mini Football Theme.  QuarterBack's successes are Touch Downs.  //  15-Across. Cards, on scoreboards: ARI.  The ARIzona CARDinals are a professional football team.  //  52-Across. QB's errors: INTS.  As in INTerceptions.

9. Sassy letter-shaped gesture: Z-SNAP.

14. Scrub hard, as a pot: SCOUR.

16. "Leave it to me": I WILL.

17. Connected to an outlet: PLUGGED IN.

19. Spotted bean or horse: PINTO.

20. Gas in bright signs: NEON.

21. "Nice work!": VERY GOOD.

23. Kindergarten recitation: ABCs.

25. Bygone automaker from South Korea: DAEWOO.

27. Loaf with seeds: RYE.

28. Leave at the altar: JILT.

29. The "L" of MLK: LUTHER.

34. Swiss peak: ALP.

35. Great Salt Lake state: UTAH.

36. Beethoven's Third: EROICA.  Eroica is Italian for Heroic.

37. South Beach neighbor: MIAMI.

39. Sign at a packed B'way theater: SRO.  As in Standing Room Only.

41. McDonald's arches et al.: LOGOs.

42. Fly or flea: INSECT.

44. Citrus with an unappealing name: UGLI.  The Ugli fruit is a natural hybrid of grapefruit, orange, and tangerine.  It tastes better than it looks.

46. Birthday party topper: HAT.

47. End section of an Italian sonnet, e.g.: SESTET.

48. Burrito kin: WRAP.

49. Historical period: ERA.

50. Pocketful in a nursery rhyme: POSIES.  Ring Around the Rosie ....  Is this rhyme really about the Black Plague?

53. Neverland boy who befriends the Darling children: PETER PAN.

57. Hue: TONE.

59. Ooze, as charm: EXUDE.

60. "We're not on the same page": I DISAGREE.

64. Buffalo __: WINGS.  What's the real origin of Buffalo Wings?

65. __ de plume: NOM.  Today's French lesson.  Translated to mean a pen name.

66. "Copy that": ROGER.

67. Doesn't leave: STAYS.

68. Early afternoon: TWO.

69. Tim Gunn's area of expertise: STYLE.  Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (b. July 29, 1953) was the chief creative director at Kate Spade, Co.  He was also on Project Runway.

Down:

1. Kitchen qty.: TSP.  As in Teaspoon.

2. Knee surgery target, for short: ACL.  As in an Anterior Cruciate Ligament.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

4. Some Winter Olympics sleds: LUGES.

5. Cogito, __ sum: ERGO.  Today's Latin lesson.  I think, therefore I am.

6. Smidge: TAD.

8. Muscle fiber: SINEW.

10. Big gulp: SWIG.

11. El __: climate pattern: NIÑO.  El Niño is a climate pattern characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.  Its cooler counterpart is La Niña.  During El Niño years, there tends to be less hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean.   La Niña years, on the other hand, favor more intense hurricanes in the Atlantic.

12. Voice below soprano: ALTO.

13. Trudge: PLOD.

18. Break up: END IT.

22. Auditioner's goal: ROLE.

23. One of the Three Musketeers: ARAMIS.  Also the name of a men's cologne.

24. Author credit: BYLINE.

26. Word of woe: ALAS.

30. As well: TOO.

32. Nature photography, perhaps: ECO-ART.

33. Jah worshippers: RASTAS.  Everything you ever wanted to know about Rastafari, but didn't know you needed to know.

38. Ran into: MET.

40. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.

43. Camaro roof option: T-TOP.  Another crossword staple.

45. Endures: LASTS.

51. Miracle worker, perhaps: SAINT.

52. Gold bar: INGOT.

53. Congregants' benches: PEWS.

54. Red sign above a door: EXIT.

55. Sushi fish: TUNA.  //  And 62-Down. Sushi fish: EEL.  My first thought was Ahi, but we already had the Tuna Fish.

56. Provocative: EDGY.

58. Boathouse collection: OARS.

61. "Seems to me," online: IMO.  Textspeak for In My Opinion.

63. Poetic "before": ERE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Saturday, July 12, 2025 Kyle Dolan

  Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan

This is the 19th Saturday puzzle by Dr. Dolan I have blogged. My first one was on May 26, 2018 and every one of his constructions has been a delight. This one was no exception as even Thimmamma  Marrimanu in Anantapur was only a minor annoyance. 😀

As you can tell by the colorful graphic, Kyle had a great many unique or nearly unique fills!

Across:

1. "Hold on to that one": IT'S A KEEPER - This occurred to me right off the bat and I was so 16. Confident: SURE I immediately put it in.

11. Periods: ERAS.

15. Have a heart-to-heart exchange?: FALL IN LOVE - Awww...❤️

17. Healthy dessert option: FRUIT SALAD.

18. "Whatcha waitin' for?": CMON.

19. Purple __: YAM.

20. Magnate: TITAN.

21. Rodeo circuit?: LASSO 😀

22. Second-largest landlocked country in Africa: NIGER - Yup, Chad is the largest

23. Jay-Z or Cardi B: RAPPER.

24. Glossy fabric: SATEEN.

27. German car, informally: BEEMER.

29. Hybrid since 1997: PRIUS.

30. Sense of achievement: SELF PRIDE.

33. Slangy contraction: AIN'T - Top 11 songs with AIN'T in the title. Bill Wither's song is my fav.

34. Dockers fabric: KHAKI.

35. "Can do!": ON IT.

36. Weak six-packs?: NEAR BEERS - LITE BEERS fit first.

38. Forum garb: TOGAS.

39. Line dance movement: TOE TAP - We all did it, didn't we?

40. Numerous: SO MANY.

41. Verbal shrug: I DUNNO.

43. Secret spots: LAIRS.

45. Ancient seafaring people: NORSE - Seeing them on the horizon did not usually engender joy!

46. Zest: GUSTO.

47. Closest one, briefly: BFF.

50. Family member: AUNT - I had four AUNTS I never got to meet.

51. Thimmamma Marrimanu in Anantapur, notably: BANYAN TREE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Thimmamma Marrimanu is a BANYAN TREE in Anantapur, India. I filled it in and then looked it up.

53. Subject of a deal, say: PLEA.

54. Ad hoc groups of specialists: TIGER TEAMS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A tiger team is a specialized, cross-functional team brought together to solve or investigate a specific problem or critical issue.

55. Catherine who outlived Henry VIII: PARR.

56. Some ranch dressing: STETSON HAT 😀 Yes, I suppose someone dressing in ranch attire might wear a STETSON HAT.

Down:

1. Touch and go: IFFY.

2. Hill of __: historical site associated with the High Kings of Ireland: TARA More

3. Neglected area: SLUM.

4. Arabic name that means "elevated": ALI.

5. Pools: KITTIES - Every teacher's lounge I've ever been in has a game like this where you pay for a square and the money goes into the pool or KITTY. Winners below are determined by where the last number in the Colts score crosses the last number in the Bear's score.

6. Naval rank: ENSIGN.

7. Fill with joy: ELATE.

8. One way to break the ice?: POLAR BEAR PLUNGE - When a blizzard knocked out our power for three days in March, I couldn't even take a cold shower! 🥶

9. __ Rachel Wood of "Mildred Pierce": EVAN ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Color of diamonds: RED - I overthought this for a while

11. Activities that require exit strategies?: ESCAPE ROOMS.

12. Amish rite of passage: RUMSPRINGA - Rumspringa is a rite of passage in some Amish communities where teenagers, typically around 16, experience a period of relative freedom from traditional Amish restrictions before committing to that life as an adult. 

13. Got up: AROSE.

14. Caballero title: SENOR.

21. Prize in "A Christmas Story": LAMP.

22. Supernova remnant: NEUTRON STAR.

23. APR adjustment: REFI - REFInancing a loan.

24. Go over: SPAN - After you...

25. Racer Luyendyk known as "The Flying Dutchman": ARIE.

26. Aunty Entity player in "Mad Max 3": TINA TURNER - TINA was 45 when she did this film in 1985.

28. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS.

30. __ butter: SHEA.

31. Primatologist Fossey: DIAN.

32. Creative outlet?: ETSY.

34. Atkins variant: KETO.

37. Nota __: BENE - or N.B. which means "note well"

38. City founded as York in 1793: TORONTO - Look closely and you can see York which has been incorporated into the greater TORONTO municipality

40. Instruments that date to the Mughal Empire: SITARS - The empire ran from 1525 - 1857.

41. Like some purchases made on a phone: IN APP.

42. Help for a new mother: DOULA - New to me

44. Still: AS YET.

46. Run, e.g.: GAIT.

47. "My guy!": BRAH.

48. Storm recovery org.: FEMA.

49. Big do: FEST.

51. J-Hope's K-pop band: BTS.

52. Carl Lewis's Olympic medal count: TEN.