Friday, February 21, 2025, Jeff Stillman

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap of a Friday Puzzle by Jeff Stillman who has previously had puzzles published by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

Today's theme is quite straightforward.  At four places within the grid, Jeff has added the letter A to morph common expressions into witty answers to the out-of-necessity-somewhat-convoluted clues.  In each case, the A follows an E and is the third letter of the "new" word and the first three letters form a word or acronym that could stand alone.  Here are the places where this occurs:

20 Across:  Say, "Everyone put your key in the ignition and turn," e.g.?: TEACH STARTUPS.  From Tech Startups.  (A cuppa, anyone?)

28 Across:  Brief reminder before a Disney musical featuring Belle?: BEAST IN SHOW.  From Best In Show. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

Disney's Beauty and the Beast

44 Across:  Sidewalk stand earnings arranged in tidy stacks of cash?: NEAT PROFITS.  From Net Profits. (National Educational Association)

55 Across:  One overseeing a reform program for kleptomaniacs?: DEAN OF THIEVES.  From Den Of Thieves. (Drug Enforcement Agency)

This is how it all looks in the grid:

... and the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Big production: EPIC.  The Waco Kid knows EPIC.

5. Half an island in French Polynesia: BORA.

9. Mediocre grade: C-PLUS.  Actually, just a little bit better than average.

14. Fish tacos fish, on menus: MAHI.

15. Bus alternative: UBER.  RAIL and LYFT would both fit but neither would work out.

16. Window treatment: DRAPE.  I don't know if I can afford new DRAPEs for my windows.  These are un-curtain times.

17. D.C. VIP: PRES.  PRESident

18. Kunis of "Family Guy": MILA.  She voices Meg.

With A Cameo

19. __ knife: BOWIE.

23. Ump's cry: YER OUT.  If your grid requires YER this is the way to pull it off.

24. Early late-night host: PAAR.  Jack PAAR followed Steve Allen and preceded Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show.

 

25. Rite Aid rival: CVS.  A drug store reference.

31. Cut with a beam: LASE.

35. Bull's-__: EYE.  Did anyone check with the cattle on this one?

36. Lyric poem: EPODE.  EPODE - Wikipedia

37. Tablet option: IPAD PRO.  Not a medicinal reference.

39. Bar sing-along: KARAOKE.   This guy comes up to me at the karaoke bar and asks, "Are you the guy who spends all night singing Neil Diamond songs?"  "I am", I said.

41. Actress Kemper: ELLIE.  Best known for her role in The Office.

42. Elevator part: CAR.  Ever pause to reflect on what is really going on when you are riding in an elevator CAR two hundred feet above the ground floor?

43. Bed support: SLAT.

48. Dejected: SAD.

49. VMI program: ROTC.  Reserve Officer Training Corps

50. Opening word?: SESAME.

58. The least bit: AT ALL.

60. After-lunch sandwich: OREO.  How do I clue thee . . . .

61. Some watch displays: LEDS.

62. Faithful: LOYAL.  What is a 3 letter word for playful, LOYAL, and unconditional love?  Dog.

63. Bound: LEAP.  Where do most people dine out on LEAP day?  IHOP

64. Empire State canal: ERIE.

65. "R u kidding me?": SRSLY.  Seriously?

66. Seals' meals: EELS.  How does it feel when they reel in the EEL with zeal?

67. Chips-in-a-can brand: STAX.  I might have clued this differently.

Down:

1. Without value: EMPTY.

2. French city, in song: PAREE.  Paris

3. "A little birdie tells me ... ": I HEAR.

4. Networking giant: CISCO.  Cisco - Wiki  Thirty years ago few people had ever heard of the company.  Fortunately, I knew someone who had.

5. Lousy piece of advice: BUM STEER.  It turns out that one need not bother checking with the cattle on this one.  From Wikipedia: Its origin is possibly from 19th-century American maritime humor and the difficulty of trying to steer a vessel in reverse.  A ship's stern is flat and lacks the pointed structure of a bow, and a ship is therefore difficult to maneuver in reverse when using the rudder, also found on the stern.

6. Account of life after death?: OBIT.  OBITuary

7. Turn for the worse: RELAPSE.  A bit odd in the cluing.  One could get worse without having previously been in that condition.

8. Turkey's highest peak: ARARAT.  Where many people believe Noah's ark landed.

9. Data recording device: CD BURNER.  Hey, at the time, it was a significant step forward!

10. Play thing: PROP.  Not a toy for a child to play with.  An item used in a stage play.

11. "The Paper Chase" setting: LAW SCHOOL.  A book and a movie.

12. Letters in the news: UPI.  Long before social media.

13. "Get it?": SEE.  Ya dig?

21. Busy airport: HUB.  A general response.  The answer could have been a specific airport but with only three letters the clue would require an abbreviation.

22. __ chi: TAI.

26. Salty dog option: VODKA.

FLATT would have fit.

27. Saccharine: SWEET.  From whence the artificial SWEETener got its name.

29. "Big Mouth" writer/voice actress Edebiri: AYO.  Unknown to this solver.  She plays a chef on The Bear.

30. Luxury home features: SPAS.  Novel cluing and almost on target.

31. Credit report entries: LIENS.  A legal claim on an asset.

32. Cop __: bargain in court: A PLEA.

33. Times of youthful innocence: SALAD DAYS.

Where does the noun salad days come from?

Earliest known use

early 1600s

The earliest known use of the noun salad days is in the early 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for salad days is from before 1616, in the writing of William Shakespeare, playwright and poet.

34. Perfect copy: EDIT.  Not perfect as in without flaws.  Perfect is used, here, as a verb as in "to make perfect" and copy is a body of writing.

38. Pregame event: PEP RALLY.

39. Ryssdal who hosts NPR's "Marketplace": KAI.  

40. Places to pick up paint: ART SHOPS.  Home Depot would not fit.

42. Like most aerosol cans, now: CFC FREE.  Without chlorofluorocarbons.

45. Former Mets pitcher Darling: RON.

46. "Smallville" actress Annette: O'TOOLE.  Not related to Peter.

47. Cinque e uno: SEI.  5 + 1 = 6  La lección de español y matemáticas de hoy.

51. Monica who won three consecutive French Opens: SELES.  Five letters with two E's and two S's - a construtor's friend.

52. Head off: AVERT.  A man was about to be hit by a Voyager minivan.  Fortunately, the driver stopped in time.  Chrysler AVERTed!

53. Radio and such: MEDIA.

54. County in the Greater Boston area: ESSEX.  Unknown to this solver but, in our puzzles, county names are often ESSEX.

56. Airline to Israel: EL AL.

57. Blue-green: TEAL.

58. Weather anchor Roker and actor Pacino: ALS.

59. Only Canadian MLB city, for short: TOR.  At one time there was also MON.

BBFN, for short.

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Friday, February 7, 2025, Kelly Richardson

  

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Kelly Richardson.  Kelly has had several puzzles previously published by the LA Times and made her NY Times debut in July, 2024.  Today's puzzle contains many answers that we have seen before as well as quite a few proper nouns - many music-related.  

While there is no reveal" in today's grid there is a theme.  At four places Kelly has created punny word play employing the names of U.S. states.  At three of those places she uses abbreviations for the states' names (although not the official USPS abbreviations) and for the fourth she truncates the name by dropping the word NEW.

Here are the four places where the gimmick appears:

16 Across:  Play staged by Boston's Commonwealth Shakespeare Company?: MASS PRODUCTION.  From Massachusetts.

23 Across: . Demand policy changes from lawmakers in Olympia?: PRESSURE WASH.  From Washington.  Tell those politicians what you want.

53 Across:  Digits starting with 908?: JERSEY NUMBER.  908 is the (telephone calling) Area Code for New JERSEY.

62 Across:. Fortunes made in Chicago?: ILL GOTTEN GAINS.  From Illinois.

This is how everything appears in the grid:

.... and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. One of Islam's five pillars: HAJJ.

5. Avocado dip, for short: GUAC.  GUACamole.

9. Truckful: LOAD.

13. Margarine: OLEO.  A spread frequently slathered in (on?) our puzzles.

14. Not fooled by: ON TO.

15. General vibe: AURA.  Anybody need a crystal?

19. Value: ESTEEM.  Used as a verb.

20. Johnny of "Point Break": UTAH.  A fictional character.

21. Audio jack abbr.: MIC.  MICrophone

26. Trails: PATHS.

29. Vegetable in bamia: OKRA.

30. DOL division: OSHA.

31. "Don't Bring Me Down" gp.: ELO.  Electric Light Orchestra

32. Second sight, for short: ESP.  A "talent" frequently displayed in our puzzles.

34. Robed ruler: EMIR.  A position frequently occupied in our puzzles.

36. Steinem who co-founded Ms. magazine: GLORIA.

I know.  I know

38. More repulsive: ICKIER.

42. Betting figures: ODDS.

44. Issa of "American Fiction": RAE.  A frequent visitor.

45. Sunshine bit: RAY.  Cute.  RAY following RAE.

I know.  I know.

46. Blots: DABS.  DAB ton.  Not the best joke but it's not bad when you read it backwards.

49. 2018 Best New Artist Grammy winner Dua __: LIPA.

51. Sew loosely: BASTE.

56. __ Lanka: SRI.  Ceylon changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972 when it became a republic, reflecting a desire to shed colonial ties and embrace a name rooted in the local languages. The name "Sri Lanka" means "resplendent land" in Sinhalese, emphasizing the country's cultural identity.

57. Little pest: GNAT.

58. Prince Harry's son: ARCHIE.  

I know.  I know.

65. Jelly that may be added to boba tea: ALOE.  How do I clue thee?  Let me count the ways.

66. Tear: REND.

67. Let go of: DROP.

68. Window-rattling: LOUD.  If Dan could scream very loudly how LOUD would Daniel?

69. Contributes: ADDS.

70. So small: EENY.  EENY.  Meeny.  Miny.

Down:

1. Last word of "The Wizard of Oz": HOME.

2. Woeful cry: ALAS.  My experiment of cross breeding a hen with a Slinky has failed.  ALAS, I've no spring chicken!

3. Quip: JEST.

4. Soul and gospel singer Margie: JOSEPH.  Great name.

With An Assist From Sir Paul McCartney

5. Grammy winner Eydie: GORME.  Eydie won the Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance in 1966.  A year later the times certainly were a changin'.

6. Card game cry: UNO.  Frequently played in our puzzles.

7. Just before nightfall: AT DUSK.

8. High fashion: COUTURE.  From the French.

9. Woodworking tool: LATHE.

10. "Mais __!": OUI.  Une autre des leçons de français d'aujourd'hui.

11. Bakery by-products: AROMAS.

12. Coffee pastry: DANISH.  Culinary Misnomers

17. __ meteor: many an August streaker: PERSEID.

18. Italian term of affection: CARA MIA.

22. Chinese tea: CHA.  This solver first learned this when reading Noble House by James Clavell.

24. Mop (up): SOP.

25. Stop __ order: bad news on a construction site: WORK.

26. Cribbage marker: PEG.  Fifteen two, fifteen four and a pair is six.

27. More than most: ALL.  ALL would, indeed be more.

28. Additionally: TOO.

33. Rueful reply: SADLY NO.  Alas.

35. Glacial calving result: ICE BERG.  Sometimes clued with reference to a salad.

37. "I'm Coming Out" singer: ROSS.

39. USDT division: IRS.

40. Take off the table?: EAT.  Not a negotiation reference.

41. Reuben bread: RYE.

43. "Strangers in the Night" crooner: SINATRA.

44. Dodge pickup: RAM.

46. Supplies tunes, briefly: DJS.  Used here as verb . . . and what this blogger seems to be doing today.

47. Like drone footage: AERIAL.

48. Kitchen pad: BRILLO.

50. Got the ball rolling?: PUTTED.  A golf reference.

52. Game point?: ARCADE.  Not a tennis reference.  The point (place) where one plays pinball and other games.

54. Spurred (on): EGGED.

55. Stripes: BANDS.  As in BANDS of color.

59. Employ: HIRE.

60. Hip to: IN ON.

61. Athletic honor: ESPY.  Frequently awarded in our puzzles.

63. "The Incredible Hulk" star Ferrigno: LOU.

64. Aim: END.  As in "the ENDs justify the means" and, in another sense, a fitting final answer.

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Friday, January 24, 2025, Matthew Luter

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Matthew Luter.  Matthew has his own website:  Matthew Luter Crosswords .   

Let's start right off with the reveal:

60 Across:  Suffer disgrace, or what the starred clues must do as a set to match their answers?: LOSE FACE.

This solver had to ponder things for a while until the "gimmick" reared its not-so-ugly head.  It turned out to be quite straight forward.  We are asked to drop (LOSE) parts of the FACE from the following clues and to then use what remains as the hint.  All of the answers to the starred clues are comprised of two words:

17 Across:  *Evil eyes: SUPER BAD.

24 Across:  *Stuffy nose: STRAIT LACED.

36 Across:  *Smart mouth: WELL DRESSED.

50 Across:  *Double chin: MIRROR IMAGE.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

Here are the other clues and answers:

Across:

1. Billiard table accessory: RACK.

Nice

5. Natl. Pizza Mo.: OCT.  Isn't every month?

8. Stay behind: SHADOW.  FOLLOW would have fit the space and the OW would have worked but sent the solver off on a tangent.

14. Sultanate on the Arabian peninsula: OMAN.   A frequent destination in our puzzles.

15. Massage: RUB.

16. Ford model named for a city: TORINO.

19. Less prosperous: POORER.

20. "Whenever you're done talking ... ": I'LL WAIT.

21. Word with cat or power: NAP.

22. Course for intl. students: ESL.  Abbreviated clue . . .  English as a Second Language

23. Driving aid: TEE.  A golfing reference.

27. Story that might be dark and creepy: ATTIC.  Not a ghost story.   The uppermost level of your house.

29. Unrefined resource: ORE.  What did the Wicked Witch of the West say when she extracted metal from ORE?  I’m smelting!  I’m smelting!

30. Pays to play: ANTES.  Amounts often paid up front in puzzles.

31. Closest pals: FAM.  Not sure if FAM-ily equates to pals.  Perhaps, slang-ily.

33. Channel that often airs films in letterbox format: TCM.

35. HS proficiency test: GED.

39. Cleveland pro: CAV.  An National Basketball Association reference.  Abbreviated clue . . .

40. Sketch on a dust jacket: BIO.  Not a work of art.   A brief description (sketch) of the author's life.

41. Semisolid hair product: GEL.

42. Render unreadable, in a way: SHRED.

44. Grasped: GOT.

46. Yogurt-based dip: RAITA.  Yogurt, cucumber, onion, herbs, spices.

53. Flash __: MOB.  A relatively recent phenomenon.

54. __ whim: ON A.

55. After expenses: NET.

56. Party bites: CANAPES.

58. Ride for a few days: RENTAL.  Hand up for first trying LOANER.

61. __ planning: ESTATE.

62. Electric guitarist's need: AMP.

63. Mathematician Turing: ALAN.  A frequent visitor.  ALAN Turing

64. Insect's legs, e.g.: SESTET.  By definition.

65. "As I __ saying ... ": WAS.

66. Riveted: RAPT.  Not as in Rosie The Riveter.

Down:

1. Guitar-playing "Sesame Street" Muppet: ROSITA.

2. Protective talisman: AMULET.

3. Coated pill: CAPLET.

4. "Who __?": KNEW.  We did.

5. Go around: ORBIT.  Scientists recently spent 24 hours observing the moon ORBIT around earth.  Then they got bored and called it a day.

6. Dos y dos: CUATRO.   Today's arithmetic lesson en español.

7. Short "We'll announce this later": TBD.  To Be Determined.  

8. Parade VIP: ST. PAT.  Abbreviated . . .

9. Brouhaha: HOOPLA.

10. Person who prefers platonic relationships, for short: ARO.  From AROmantic.  An ARO person may never develop a crush on a person, or envision themselves entering a romantic relationship with someone.

11. Led: DIRECTED.

12. Bracket favorite: ONE SEED.  A sports reference.

13. Best of both __: WORLDS.

18. Mischievous type: RASCAL.  A dog comes limping into the old west saloon.  The bartender asks if he can help the dog with anything.  The dog says, "I'm lookin' for the low down RASCAL  who shot my paw."

21. Female kin: NIECE.

25. School space that's full of drawers: ART ROOM.  Not drawers as in your kitchen or bathroom - or drawers as underwear.  Used here literally.   People who draw pictures,.

26. Actress Bassett: ANGELA.  One T is the hound.

28. "In the event that ... ": IF EVER.

32. Org. with a summer All-Star break: MLB.

34. Umami source, briefly: MSG.  Umami is the fifth basic taste (bitter, sweet, salt, sour, umami). It is a complex and savory flavor that comes from glutamate-rich foods like cheese, seaweed, and mushrooms (or added MonSodium Glutamate).

36. Calls for: WARRANTS.  As in this WARRANTS a closer look.

37. Numeral: DIGIT.  Choose any number between 2 and 8. Multiply by 4, and then add 3.  Now reverse the DIGITS and close your eyes.  Dark, wasn’t it?

38. Pleasantly calm: SERENE.

39. One official language of the U.N.: CHINESE.

42. Gooey sandwiches: S'MORES.

43. Act charitably: DONATE.

45. Seattle's airport-sharing neighbor: TACOMA.

47. Chevy model named for an animal: IMPALA.

48. Steel part of a work boot: TOE CAP.

49. __-minded: ABSENT.

51. Sublease: RE-LET.

52. Shocked sounds: GASPS.  A Tibetan monk was preparing his morning toast when he saw, in the margarine, the face of Jesus. He GASPED and said, "I can't believe it's not Buddha."

57. Nowhere near: AFAR.  Whence the three kings traveled.

59. Ink spot?: TAT.  ... and a good excuse for a song.

60. Grisham's field: LAW.

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