Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Lee Taylor

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here (from Crested Butte, Colorado this fine fall day) with the recap of a puzzle by Lee Taylor.

Today, Lee does not give us a reveal / unifier.   Instead he offers us clues in which portions of the answers are hidden in plain sight.  Those clues provide us with the letters comprising both beginning and the end of the sought-after answer.  In the clues, those pieces are combined into a single word.  In the answers, those pieces are split apart and each part is a portion of one of the two words that form the answer.   One way to approach answering the clues is to ignore the second part of each clue.  Another approach is to use the second part of each clue as a source of the beginning and end of each answer.  It's simpler than I have made it sound.  Take a look at the four themers to see:

18 Across:  Slasher flick actress on a split screen?: SCREAM QUEEN.  SCREEN has been split.

25 Across:  Merchant Ivory works featuring split peas?: PERIOD DRAMAS.  Merchant Ivory is a film production company.  PEAS has been split.

44 Across:  Auras around people with split ends?: ENERGY FIELDS.  ENDS has been split.

59 Across:  Lack of recognition for working a split shift?: SHORT SHRIFT.  SHIFT has been split.

This is how everything appears in the grid:

Other than the themed responses above, here are the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Place to retire: BED.  Retire as in go to sleep not as in to stop working.

4. Let gravity do most of the work, perhaps: COAST.  Sled prices are too damn high but you can find a good deal if you're willing toboggan.

9. Estrangements: RIFTS.

14. "Rules __ rules": ARE.  The motto of my gym's Silver Sneakers instructors.

15. Infuriate: ANGER.  ANGER as a verb.

16. Salon abrasive: EMERY.

17. Word often said while holding a treat: SIT.

20. Summer quaff: ICED TEA.

22. Links: COUPLES.  Not links as in golf course.  And not couples as in groups of two people.  Used as a verb.  To link, or COUPLE, things together.  Think, for example, railroad cars.

23. Emmy and Grammy winner Burnett: CAROL.  See also 65 Across.

24. Sandwich shop: DELI.  I went to a deli and said, "I'd like to buy a bagel with cream cheese."  The kid behind the counter replied, "Sorry we only take cash or credit cards."

32. Protective cover: TARP.  A group of bedazzled TARPs and a bunch of poles walk into a restaurant and order some stakes....Things became pretty tents.

35. W.H. Auden's "__ to the Medieval Poets": ODE.  Someone wrote a poem about the sounds made by dogs. It can only be read if you scan it first.  It's a bark ODE.

36. Slowly wear down: ERODE.  Slowly deconstruct.

37. Develops over time: EVOLVES.  Slowly create.  Nice juxtaposition.

39. Dish garnished with peanuts and lime: PAD THAI.

41. Marisa with a cameo in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day": TOMEI.  Perhaps best known for her work in the movie "My Cousin Vinny".

42. Have a cold, say: AIL.

43. Schools of thought: ISMS.  The suffix (pluralized).

48. Close by: NEAR.  "Work until" wouldn't fit the allotted space.

49. Chemistry class models: ATOMS.

53. Willing to wait a long time: PATIENT.

57. Sure thing: SAFE BET.

61. Nest egg letters: IRA.  Individual Retirement Account

62. Camp David Accords figure: SADAT.

Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat

63. Eight-related: OCTAL.

64. Start of a pencil game: TIC.

65. Oscar and Grammy winner Burnett: T BONE. T BONE Burnett is a legendary music producer and musician.   See also 23 Across.  Nice touch.  Among many other works, T BONE produced the sound track for the film "O Brother Where Art Thou".

66. Tabloid TV host Povich: MAURY.

67. Squalid space: STY.

Down:

1. No-frills: BASIC.

2. "I Luh God" singer Campbell: ERICA.  New to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

3. Prevent: DETER.

4. Neuschwanstein __: CASTLE.  The model for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

5. As soon as: ONCE.

6. City in India's Golden Triangle: AGRA.  Often visited in our puzzles and often clued with reference to the Taj Mahal.

7. "What'd I tell you?": SEE.  Get it?

8. Copied, in a way: TRACED.  Copied exactly.  Handy for forgery.

9. Not elective: REQUIRED.  Ah, college days !

10. "My turn!": I'M UP.

11. Have a hunch: FEEL.

12. Sequoia, e.g.: TREE.  Also the name of a Toyota SUV.

13. Thesaurus entries: Abbr.: SYNS.  SYNOMYMS

19. Blue part of blue cheese: MOLD.

21. __ radar: DOPPLER.  All You Might Want To Know

24. A deer, a female deer: DOE.

26. School of tomorrow?: ROE.  As in a school of fish - with ROE being fish eggs.

27. Puts a name to: IDS.  IDentifieS

28. Skilled performer: ARTISTE.  An "Artist" creates art, encompassing painters, sculptors, and more. An "ARTISTE" typically refers to a skilled performer, like a singer or dancer.

29. Mineralogist with a hardness scale: MOHS.  Not to be confused with Moe's Hardness Scale.

30. Scott of "Severance": ADAM.  ADAM also played Ben Wyatt in "Parks and Recreation".

31. Cuatro y dos: SEIS.  Lección de español y matemáticas de hoy.

32. Spot for un chapeau: TETE.  Leçon de français du jour.

33. Mary Kay rival: AVON.

34. City on the Tiber: ROME.

38. Brief scene: VIGNETTE.

39. Dessert for Little Jack Horner: PIE.

40. ATV component: ALL.  Not a component of an actual All Terrain Vehicle.  A component of the name ALL Terrain Vehicle.

42. Atmosphere: AIR.

45. Hankerings: YENS.  URGES was too long.

46. Fully grasp: FATHOM.  FATHOM has several meanings.  In this case, to understand.

47. In a senseless way: DAFTLY.  Not to be confused with DEFTLY.

50. Memorial bios: OBITS.  OBITUARIES

51. Warrant: MERIT.  Not a search or arrest warrant.  Earned.

52. London of "What Not To Wear": STACY.  NIMW.  Thanks, perps.

53. Discreet summons: PSST.  A sound often heard in our puzzles.

54. Ishmael's captain: AHAB.  A monomaniacal sea captain who often visits our puzzles.

55. Brouhaha: TO DO.

56. Setting of the graphic novel "Persepolis": IRAN.

57. In __: as found: SITU.  In situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in the place' or 'on site'.  The term refers to studying or working with something in its natural or original location rather than moving it elsewhere. 

58. Over yonder: AFAR.  Not in the Dickensian sense.

60. Color TV pioneer: RCA.

Well, I guess that it is time to split.  Have a great Wednesday.

__________________________________

M.M. Out

Tuesday, June 17, 2025 Lee Taylor

The Dog Days of Summer.  The first word of each two-word theme answer is a breed of dog.

9-Down. Classmate who helps with a science project: LAB PARTNER.  Everything you wanted to know about the Labrador Retriever. 

11-Down. Post-retirement period: GOLDEN YEARS.  Things you might not know about the Golden Retriever.

25-Down. Briefs alternative: BOXER SHORTS.  Everything you ever wanted to know about a Boxer.

30. Hoarse speaker's feature: HUSKY VOICE.  Things you might not know about a Husky.

And the unifier:

71-Across. Head honcho, and a feature of 9-, 11-, 25-, and 30-Down: TOP DOG.  Note that each theme answer is in the Down position with the breed Dog at the Top of the answer.

Here's the Grid, so you can find all the Top Dogs.

Across:

1. Container on a bar top: TIP JAR.

7. Hay bundle: BALE.

11. Wrigley product: GUM.

14. Fire up: AROUSE.

15. Site whose original name was AuctionWeb: EBAY.

16. __ and only: ONE.

17. Literary realm created by C.S. Lewis: NARNIA.  Usually its the characters from Narnia are we are asked to identify.

18. Piercing spot: LOBE.

19. "The Book of Mormon" org.: LDS.  As in the Latter Day Saints.

20. Winter hat feature: EARFLAP.

22. Big commotions: ADOs.  Much Ado About Nothing.

23. "Dancing Queen" pop quartet: ABBA.  ABBA was a Swedish pop group that was named using the initials of its 4 members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.  In 1974, ABBA was Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Waterloo.

26. Harp constellation: LYRA.  Can't you just see the harp shape??

27. Actress Russo or artist Magritte: RENÉ.  One female, one male.

René with a René.

28. "You Bet Your Life" host Marx: GROUCHO.  His given name was Julius Henry Marx (Oct. 2, 1890 ~ Aug. 19, 1977).  He had two older brothers (Chico and Harpo) and two younger brothers (Gummo and Zeppo).

31. Depleted: DRAINED.

33. Tyrannosaurus __: REX.

34. Throw, as a shot put: HURL.

36. Cafeteria item: TRAY.

37. Fill with wonder: AWE.

38. "Stop asking me!": I SAID NO!

40. Subj. for some citizenship applicants: ESL.  As in English as a Second Language.  This has become a crossword staple.

43. Skating venue: RINK.

45. Regard as: DEEM.

46. __ moment: AHA!

47. Causes consternation: DISMAYS.

50. Off-campus housing area: FRAT ROW.

52. Amazon gadget activated by saying "Alexa": ECHO.

53. Lemming kin: VOLE.  More than you ever wanted to know about Lemmings and Voles.

55. "Full Court Press" network: ESPN.

56. Like some vivid colors: NEON.

57. Wind instrument with an oval body: OCARINA.

60. Sealing goo: TAR.

61. Insta uploads: PICS.

62. Quarterback Joe who was MVP of the 1969 Super Bowl: NAMATH.

66. Writer's rep: AGT.  As in Agent.

67. Gets an A+ on: ACES.

68. Small apartment: STUDIO.

69. "__ Misérables": LES.  This musical was in the news recently.

70. Love, in tennis: ZERO.  Why is Zero called Love in tennis?  Who knows?

Down:

1. Browned by the sun: TAN.

2. Nest egg inits.: IRA.  As in Individual Retirement Account.

3. __ favor: please, in Spanish: POR.  Today's Spanish lesson.

4. Alaska's capital: JUNEAU.  The capital of Alaska is named after Joseph Juneau (May 28, 1836 ~ Mar 1, 1899), a French-Canadian gold miner and prospector.

5. Himalayas continent: ASIA.

6. Caboose: REAR.  //  And 8-Down. On a train: ABOARD.

7. __ laugh: BELLY.

10. Hurricane center: EYE.  We have now entered hurricane season.  Fortunately, there is no activity yet.

12. Incomplete: UNDONE.

13. Botched, with "up": MESSED.

21. Regional plant life: FLORA.

22. Met solo: ARIA.  You knew I was going to include this Aria from Carmen.

23. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

24. Prepare, as coffee or tea: BREW.

29. Dishes for a special meal: CHINA.

32. Bakery allure: AROMA.

35. To-go cup top: LID.

39. Put off: DEFER.

41. Hunt for bargains: SHOP.

42. Putting green, e.g.: LAWN.

44. "It's showtime!": I'M ON!

47. Insurance type that may complement medical: DENTAL.

48. Global cold spell: ICE AGE.

49. Mia Hamm's sport: SOCCER.  Mia Hamm (née Marial Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

51. Join forces: TEAM UP.

54. Coach Ted played by Jason Sudeikis: LASSO.

58. Research org.: INST.  As an Institution.

59. Alliance headed by Mark Rutte: Abbr.: NATO.  Mark Rutte (b. Feb. 17, 1967) is s a Dutch politician who has served as the 14th secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since October 2024.

61. La __, Bolivia: PAZ.

63. Contribute (to): ADD.

64. Spanish uncle: TIO.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

65. Greedy one: HOG.

חתולה