Friday, August 8, 2025, Jess Rucks

Good Morning, Cruciverbalisits!  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Jess Rucks.  From Jess' website:

Jess Rucks (she/her) is a crossword constructor living Colorado; she is a Minnesotan at heart. Her puzzles have been published in The New York Times, Apple News+, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Universal, AVCX, AVCX+, Boswords, Puzzmo, and The Inkubator.  She runs the monthly Constructor Spotlight feature at Daily Crossword Links.  Jess is also a licensed school counselor and a licensed professional counselor candidate who provides clinical play-based therapy to elementary students in schools.

Today, Jess takes us on a visit to the third dimension.  Well, to 3-D anyway.  Each of the four themed-answers consists of words containing the letter D three times.  For those seeking an introduction to said letter:

Yep, that's it.  Simple and yet quite elegant.  Here are the places where the gimmick is employed:

16 Down:  3D film?: DROP DEAD GORGEOUS.  A 1999 satirical mockumentary movie.

25 Down:  3D puzzle?: WORD LADDER.   A type of puzzle progression with which most crossword solvers are familiar.

47 Down:  3D animation?: DONALD DUCK.  No introduction needed.

59 Dow: . 3D printing?: DAVID COPPERFIELD.  Printing?  That threw this solver for a while.  Aha!  A book is printed.

This is how is all looks in the grid:

... and now for the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Blush wine: ROSE.  ROSE wines incorporate some color from the skins of the grapes but not enough to qualify as a RED wine.

5. Howling canine: WOLF.  Not a tooth ache.

9. [She said what!?]: GASP.  

13. Loot: BOOTY.  Not being used, in this instance, as in "to shake one's BOOTY".

14. Geometry calculation: AREA.  Width times length.

15. Harmonizer, often: ALTO.  See also 21 Across.  Very clever of Jess to work this pair, and 6/23 Down, and also 58/60 Down into the puzzles.  Brava!

19. Buffoons: OAFS.  What is the difference between a cat on a couch and a dim witted cow?  One is a cat loaf and the other is a cattle OAF.

20. Some ER pros: RNS.  Registered NurseS

21. Soprano's part, usually: MELODY.  See Also 15 Across.  Hmm, it's capitalized but it is not, this time, a reference to this guy:

Tony Soprano

22. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT.

23. Forever and a day: EON.  A time span often referenced in our puzzles . . . but, fortunately, not spent solving them.

24. Sweet start?: SEMI.

29. Fragrant latte: CHAI.  Frequently served up in our puzzles.

33. Drag icon with 14 Emmys: RU PAUL.

34. Throw on the floor: RUG.  Throw is not used in the clue as a verb.  A throw RUG.

35. D.C. summer hrs.: EDT.  Eastern Daylight Time

36. Globes: ORBS.  If the theme had been 2D instead of 3D I could have gone with the John Hartford song here.        Oh, 'common, I'm not the only one who thought of that!

37. Hieroglyph beetle: SCARAB.

40. __ Pueblo, New Mexico: TAOS.  A World Heritage Site.

41. "Seize the Awkward" spot, e.g.: PSA.  Public Service Announcement

42. Fix, in a bad way: RIG.  As in to rig an election.  There was also a line from Stan Freberg - "You mean to tell me that, on top of everything else, this ship is RIGged!?"

43. Hang out after checking for rain?: AIR DRY.  Hang something on the clothesline to dry.

45. Basic French verb: ETRE.  Être meaning "to be" and avoir meaning "to have" form the bedrock of French conjugation.

49. Step on someone's toes, perhaps: TRIP.  A clue to be taken literally and not idiomatically.  Still, a bit of a stretch.

51. Alias indicator: AKA.  Also Known As.

52. Cuban ingredient: HAM.  As in a Cuban sandwich.

54. Native Nebraskans: OMAHAS.  . . . and, without the S, an eponymous city.  Speaking of which:

57. Reggae kin: SKA.  Everything You Need To Know - Ska vs Reggae  See also 32 Down.

58. "Queen of Country" McEntire: REBA.

Fancy

63. Corp. bigwig: EXEC.  Abbreviated clue, abbreviated answer.  EXECutive

64. Boo-boo: OWIE.  Kidspeak.

65. Animal whose name means "eater of bark" in Algonquian: MOOSE.

Thanks, perps.

66. Entitled men?: SIRS.  Men with titles.

67. Snow day toy: SLED.  Hi, Calvin!  Hi, Hobbes!

68. Field for Kahlo y Burga: ARTE.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Art, in English.

Down:

1. High point of hospitality?: ROOF TOP BAR.  Another clue meant to be taken literally.

2. "My b!": OOPS.  "My bad!"  What’s the most terrifying word in nuclear physics?  Oops!

3. Norm: Abbr.: STD.  STandarD.

4. "What-ev-er!" expressions: EYE ROLLS.

5. Gum balls?: WADS.  My aunt always put a WAD of Copenhagen between her cheek and gun before swimming . . .  She liked taking a dip.

 

6. Nonprofit domain: ORG.  See also 23 Down.  A .ORG domain extension is short for organization, and it was initially intended for non-profit organizations. Over time, however, it has expanded to include other groups, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs), charities, educational institutions, and community-driven projects. 

7. Nocturnal cat?: LEO.  You can see the LEO constellation at night.

8. Seed money investor?: FARMER.  Cute play on words.  FARMERS invest money in seeds.

9. Celtic language: GAELIC.  The only GAELIC that this solver knows is Sláinte !

10. Potatoes, in Urdu: ALOO.   And now for something completely different...

11. __ finder: STUD.  A handy device to have if one is hanging something heavy on the wall of their home.

12. Small bouquet: POSY.

13. Sausage that may be boiled in bier: BRATWURST.  Bier, with the German spelling, was the tip off.

16. "__ dare?": DO I.

17. Karenina of literature: ANNA.

18. Ruby, e.g.: GEM.  I need a good GEM related pun here but I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

23. Academic domain: EDU.  See also 6 Down.  The ending for an online domain associated with a school or university.

24. Creator of Sonic and Knuckles: SEGA.  A video game reference.

26. Dorm figs.: RAS.  Resident AdvisorS  or Assistants   Dormitory 

27. Sink hole: DRAIN.  Another clue to be taken literally.  A hole in the sink.

28. Hindu goddess whose name means "impassable": DURGA.  Unknown to this solver. Thanks, perps.  From Wikipedia:  

Durga is a principal Hindu goddess, worshipped as a central aspect of the supreme goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon and often defeating demons.

30. Dish that resembles a jellied meatloaf: HEAD CHEESE.  Despite its name it is neither cheese nor any type of dairy product.

31. Endearingly nerdy: ADORKABLE.  A portmanteau.  Adorable / Dork

32. Teeny: ITSY.

A ReggaeSka Cover

33. Lasso: ROPE.

38. __ rotation: CROP.

39. Many unhappy returns?: BAD KARMA

40. "Ur so right": TRU.  IMHO not the best moment in the puzzle.  TRU?

44. Investigative journalist __ B. Wells: IDA.  A frequent visitor.

46. Moral philosophy: ETHICS.  What do you call a guy who believes in ETHICal treatment of spiders?  PETA Parker.

47. Spots for hustlers: DISCOS.  Do the Hustle.

48. Tahoe, for one: LAKE.  Lots of ways to clue LAKE if one heads down this path.  That, though, is often an amusing part of these puzzles.  One has to figure out if the answer needs to be  something specific or general.

50. "Gnarly!": RAD.  Power Thesaurus lists 584 synonyms for gnarly.

53. Fit to be tied: MAD.

54. Some Keats works: ODES.  ODE to a cold:

When your nose is runny 

Some people think it's funny

But it'snot

55. Dress choice: MAXI.

56. Assert: AVER.  To AVER is to affirm and to AVOW is to openly declare.  

57. Ignored the signs, perhaps: SPED.

58. Real hoot: RIOT.  Idiomatic  See also 60 Down

60. Real hooter: OWL.  Literal  See also 58 Down

61. March 14 dessert: PIE.  March 14th, or 3/14 or 314 or 3.14 or 

62. Not against: FOR.  Straightforward.

. . . and, on that positive note . . . well, maybe not just quite yet.  If you've got six minutes to spare let Weird Al bracket today's journey through the third dimension:

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Postscript:  This marine mammal will be doing some traveling and will miss its next couple of turns in the rotation.  Be well, everyone!

M M OUT

Friday, July 25, 2025, Dan Schoenholz

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Friday puzzle by Dan Schoenholz who's puzzles have previously appeared in the LAT and NYT.  Today, at five places in the puzzle (I hope that the count is correct this time 😁) Dan conjures up homophones of common words by splitting the word into two parts.  The result each time is a punny, two-word answer to the themed clue.  All of these answers end with the sound of "ease".  Cleverly, the sound is created four different ways - EASE, IES, EES, IES (again) and EAS.  If, e.g., EZE could had been employed in lieu of the second IES then the feat would have been, perhaps, even more remarkable.

The gimmick is applied at:

17 Across:  Baseball player who flirts with joining the Kansas City squad?: ROYAL TEASE.  From ROYALTIES.

The Baseball Team

31 Across:  Release vital agricultural workers?: FREE BEES.  From FREEBIES.  Everybody loves free stuff.

37 Across:  Sound of a job seeker who ran hard to get to an appointment on time?: INTERVIEW WHEEZE.  From INTERVIEWEES.

46 Across:  Precaution for absent-minded drivers?: TWIN KEYS.  From TWINKIES.  Have you ever asked yourself "Where did I put my keys"?  While holding them in your hand?

64 Across:  Coast Guard's desire after a hurricane warning?: VACANT SEAS.  From VACANCIES.  Stay in port.

The completed grid looks like this:

. . . the the rest of the clues/answers:

Across:

1. Quarrel: SPAT.  Alternative clue:  Hocked a loogie.

5. Hosting, briefly: M C ING.  Rarely have I heard emcee employed as a gerund.

10. "Love & Basketball" actor Omar: EPPS.  A frequent visitor.

14. Electrolyte components: IONS.

15. Cartoon hunter Fudd: ELMER.

16. Dab: BLOT.   A Little BLOT' ll do Ya?  Meh.

19. __ carotene: BETA.  BETA carotene is a plant pigment that can be converted into vitamin A and has antioxidant properties.

20. Form: SHAPE.  What tree has fruits of all shapes and sizes?  The geometree.

21. Fill in for: ACT AS.

23. Three-in-one vaccine, familiarly: DPT.

24. Laughfest: RIOT.  A real hoot!

26. Cheap smoke: STOGIE.  A not-very-good cigar.  Presumably from stoga + ie, the former of which is derived from Conestoga, Pennsylvania.  The Conestoga Cigar Company (1880s) was one of the first Pennsylvanian cigar factories.

28. Legal action: APPEAL.  My buddy was trying to explain the APPEAL of invisible ink...but I just didn't see it.

33. Meadow: LEA.  Frequently visited.

34. French greeting: ALLO.  Sort of rhymes with Bardot.

Brigitte

36. [Bam!]: POW.

43. Hundred Acre Wood resident: ROO.   An A. A. Milne / Winnie The Pooh reference.  See also 2 Down.

44. Mascara site: LASH.

45. Unagi roll fish: EEL.  A frequent bite to eat.

49. Comes to: AWAKES.

52. Sneak: WEASEL. A WEASEL walks into a bar.  The bartender says “Wow, I’ve never served a weasel before. What can I get you?”  “Pop,” goes the weasel.

53. Attempt: STAB.  Idiomatic.

54. "To __ is human ... ": ERR.  . . . and our puzzles often prove us to be human.

55. Majestic: REGAL.

58. Iranian language: FARSI.

62. Suggestions, for short: RECS. RECommendationS

66. German chancellor who presided over reunification: KOHL.  Helmut KOHL served as chancellor from 1982 to 1998.

67. Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA.  A frequent visitor.

68. Bring in: EARN.

69. Vodka brand in blue bottles: SKYY.

70. Mean-spirited: NASTY.

71. Narrow opening: SLIT.

Down:

1. Old-fashioned letter opener: SIRS.  Dear SIRS:  . . .

2. Hundred Acre Wood resident: POOH.  See also 43 Across.

3. Actress Taylor-Joy: ANYA.  Not a name familiar to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

4. Airport express lane, briefly: TSA PRE.

5. With 56-Down, annual NYC fashion event: MET. and 56. See 5-Down: GALA.  The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan. The Met Gala is popularly regarded as the world's most prestigious and glamorous fashion event.

6. Sports stud?: CLEAT  One definition of CLEAT is "a projecting piece of metal or hard rubber attached to the underside of a shoe to provide traction".   Stud seems to be just a bit of a stretch.

7. Apple on a desk: IMAC.  These days, a clue that is a bit ambiguous.

8. Tree house?: NEST.  A "house" found in a tree.

Jackie, Shadow, Gizmo and Sunny's House.

9. Laundry challenge: GREASE.

10. Recede: EBB.

11. Promising time in public broadcasting?: PLEDGE WEEK.  Time to make a financial promise.  It seems as if it's perpetually PLEDGE WEEK.

12. Marie Callender's purchase: POTPIE.

13. Mexico's 31: STATES.  Would have expected estados.

18. Kylo Ren's mother: LEIA.  A Star Wars reference.

22. NBA superstar Curry: STEPH.  Of the Golden State Warriors basketball team.

25. Patron saint of Norway: OLAV.  This solver often forgets which is OLAV and which is OLAF.

OLAV

OLAF

27. Bassoon kin: OBOE.  A musical instrument frequently heard in our puzzles.

28. Comedian Wong: ALI.  How do I clue thee?  Let me count the ways.  Muhammad, Laila, Mahershala, Wong, MacGraw, Baba  . . .

29. Author: PEN.  Used as a verb.  To write.

30. Male-dominated society: PATRIARCHY.   The longest word in this puzzle.

31. Cat-nippers?: FLEAS.  Cute play on words.  Fleas bite (nip) cats.

Sometimes The Cats Fight Back

32. Uses oars: ROWS.  A couple of Fridays ago ROWS was clued as fights.

35. Easter bloom: LILY.  Puns are blooming all over this write up....Like a cat fight between a dandelion and tiger LILY . . . Oops, a daisy.

 

38. So very long: EONS.  

39. Al of "Today": ROKER.  The weather reporter.

40. "Huh?": WHAT.  You can say that again!

41. Capital of Zimbabwe?: ZEE.  One of those clues.  Did it fool you?

42. Overhead trains: ELS. ELevated TrainS.

46. Shakes one's booty: TWERKS.

47. "Don't worry about us": WERE OK.  Or Not.

48. Nearing noon: ELEVEN.  This solver might have clued it differently.

The Grateful Dead

50. Float, as a scent: WAFT.

51. Belittles: ABASES.

53. Writer's angle: SLANT.  As in bias.  Anyone try to squeeze in ITALIC?

57. Nails: ACES.  As in the idiom "to nail it".

59. Authentic: REAL.

60. South Asian wrap: SARI.  SARI puns would be repetitious.

61. "__ that something?": ISN'T.

63. Sneaky: SLY.

65. Vote against: NAY.  We often have to choose between YEA and AYE for the pro votes but with the anti bloc it's EEZE - ier.

Well, it's now time to ease on down the road.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

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