Monday June 23, 2025 Janice Luttrell

Rise and shine! It’s RustyBrain again, this time trying to fill sumdaze’s shoes, although my canal boats might not fit into her ballet slippers.

Today's constructor, Janice Luttrell, has been delivering quality crosswords for a decade now. True to form, this one was a smooth solve, but I think I turned up a hidden theme that may or may not have been intentional. Only your square-dresser knows for sure! Let’s see how it all turns out, starting with the revealer:

56. The Byrds No. 1 hit whose lyrics come from Ecclesiastes, and what can be found at the starts of 20-, 27-, and 48-Across: TURN TURN TURN. We are invited to find synonyms for TURN at the beginning of each theme answer. Not only that, but it's three TURNs, one for every season each themer! Told ya she was good. 

20. Soaker with jets: WHIRLPOOL TUB. WHIRL = TURN. WHIRLPOOL TUBS are often known by the popular brand name Jacuzzi. Ahh...

27. Unexpected change in circumstances: TWIST OF FATE. TWIST = TURN. If not for a strange TWIST OF FATE, these four could have been the Fab Four.

46. Public relations pros, informally: SPIN DOCTORS. SPIN = TURN. Also a popular rock group.

I think I'll dust off my old turntable and play some more records from my collection:

Across:

1. Olympic diver Louganis: GREG.

5. Like lit barbecue coals: HOT. And first half of a popular classic rock group, HOT Tuna.

8. Juice box insert: STRAW. And the beginning of another classic rock group, the STRAWberry Alarm Clock.

13. Christmas carol: NOEL.

14. "Who does __!?": THAT.

16. Vulgar: CRUDE.

17. Word puzzles involving quotations: ACROSTICS. Quote ACROSTICS are really tough! I hardly ever finish one.

19. __ and repeat: RINSE. It's a great marketing ploy to sell more shampoo, but this company is refreshingly honest.

20. [theme]

22. "Toodles!": SEE YA.

23. Clodhopper: OAF.

24. Tofu base: SOY.

27. [theme]

32. Father of Jesus, familiarly: ST JOSEPH. "Oh, please. Just call me Joe." Pope Pius IX declared him to be a patron of the sick, hence the product tie-in.

36. Capital on the Willamette River: SALEM. The Willamette is a major tributary of the Columbia River in Oregon.

37. Asia's North __ Sea: ARAL.

38. "Let's Make a Deal" choices: DOORS.  "Would you like to trade that rubber chicken for one of these three DOORS?" Also, another popular rock group.

41. Give a hoot: CARE.

42. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor: SONIA.

44. Tried to control, as a horse: REINED IN. Santa had trouble reining in horses, so he chose reindeer instead.

46. [theme]

49. Agreeable answer: YES. YES is one of my favorite bands. Their album "Close to the Edge" is considered a progressive rock masterpiece.

50. __ alai: JAI. JAI ALAI used to be very popular in Florida, but nowadays there are only a few frontons (courts) left. 

51. New Haven Ivy Leaguer: YALIE. A YALIE is a five letter Eli.

56. [theme]

60. Ballet leaps: JETES. The only JETES that Miami Dolphins like.

63. Tricolor feline: CALICO CAT.

64. Major shindig: EVENT. Like a rock concert!

65. Raw minerals: ORES.

66. "Whose __ Is It Anyway?": LINE. Drew Carey was the original host of this improvisational comedy TV series.

67. Smartphone messages: TEXTS. "Your aunt passed away. LOL" Just a friendly reminder that LOL doesn't mean Lots Of Love.

68. Informal top: TEE. 

69. Animal's retreat: LAIR.

Down:
1. Chews like a chipmunk: GNAWS.

2. La __-Posay: L'Oréal brand: ROCHE. News to me. I don't carry them in my tool box.

3. Spooky: EERIE.

4. Acclaim: GLORY.

5. Link letters: HTTP. HyperText Transfer Protocol is the language used for loading webpages and other resources across the internet.

6. Cleveland's state: OHIO. Before "Who's Line," Drew Carey had a sitcom set in Cleveland, home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In keeping with rock'n'roll tradition, here's the OHIO Players.

7. Handheld snack topped with salsa: TACO. TACO's remake of "Puttin' on the Ritz" always reminds me of Young Frankenstein. And another album cover.

8. Places to pick up kittens: SCRUFFS. SCRUFF being a colloquial term for the nape of the neck.

9. Chicago paper, for short: TRIB. The venerable Chicago TRIBune.

10. Campaign for office: RUN. This time we have half of a popular rap group, RUN-DMC. Their cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" was a huge crossover hit.

11. Free game pop-ups: ADS.

12. Supersmall: WEE. A smaller version of WEE is wee.

15. Letter-shaped groove: T-SLOT.

18. Window shutter boards: SLATS.

21. Chinese philosophy: TAO.

24. Starter course, often: SALAD.

25. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI. Some names just lend themselves to crosswords.

26. Arabian Sea country: YEMEN. YEMEN is as far south as you can go and still be in the Middle East.

28. Join at the altar: WED.

29. Stock exchange launch, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering

30. Not quite able to pay: SHORT.

31. Clock front: FACE. Almost Rod Stewart and the FACEs

32. Smart-alecky: SASSY.

33. Overused plot device: TROPE.

34. Rock legend Joplin: JANIS. Are you catching on that "rock legends" is a sub-theme?

35. "Riviera" actress Lena: OLIN.

39. __ Speedwagon: REO. And the hit's just keep on coming!

40. Knight's title: SIR.

43. Fine-tunes: ADJUSTS.

45. "No Strings Attached" boy band: NSYNC. NSYNC (pronounced "in sync") sprang Justin Timberlake on us. 

47. Crew blade: OAR.

48. __ de Mayo: CINCO.

52. Ring-shaped reef: ATOLL.

53. Holy namesake of a Lesser Antilles island: LUCIA. Saint LUCIA. Many islands in the Caribbean Sea are named after saints - St. Kitts, St. Vincent, and all of the U.S. Virgin Islands, to name a few.

54. Tehran native: IRANI. 

55. Keyboard key: ENTER.

56. Big top: TENT. 

57. Small fruit pie: TART.

58. Peter Fonda title role: ULEE.

59. Greet the day: RISE.

60. New York NFLer: JET. Bane of Dol-fans everywhere.

61. Holiday lead-in: EVE.

62. __-Mex cuisine: TEX. In South Florida, Mexican restaurants leave out the Texas part and instead combine it with Cuban and South American fare. It's all good.

Wow, that's a lot of albums...

I think it's a record!

Monday June 16, 2025 Kathy Lowden

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. If you woke up this morning thinking, "I'm in the mood for some silly rhymes," then today is your lucky day!

Theme:      

Ready, Freddy?

20 Across. "Why should I care if the peasants are starving?," snarled the __: MEAN QUEEN.

26 Across. "Teach your kids some manners! And get better snacks," snapped the __: BITTER SITTER.

43 Across. "Don't try and tell me the route -I've been doing this job for 20 years," growled the __: CRABBY CABBIE.

54 Across. "I need this work done yesterday!," shouted the __: CROSS BOSS.  

No reveal was needed today. Each themer is a two-word phrase where the first word is an adjective describing a cranky attitude and the second word is a human. All the clues are quotes. I liked this tight set! 

Moody Foodie???

Across:

1. Large group of bees: SWARM. SWARM is the collective noun for a large group of bees. My backyard neighbor has bees. They SWARM (verb) every year. It is fascinating to watch!

6. Female deer: DOE.  Some other four-legged mammal whose females are called DOEs are goats, antelopes, and rabbits. But today is Monday so ....

9. Expressed disapproval: TSKED.  

"handy"  haha!

14. Olympic swimmer Ledecky: KATIE.     and     48 Across. Rio automaker: KIA.

Last Monday we had 49. Across. Where Katie Ledecky won four Olympic golds:  RIO.

15. Wane: EBB.

16. Swiftly: APACE.  Def.:  (adverb) at a quick pace; swiftly.

If you read this one too swiftly, you might have thought it said "Swiftie".  

Taylor Swift fans call themselves Swifties.

17. Leaves the motor running: IDLES.  

18. Dove's sound: COO.

19. Come up with, as an idea: HIT ON.  

~  another meaning for HIT ON  ~
DH and I met running. He came up alongside me and said, "How you doin'?"

22. Clickable symbols: ICONS.  

23. Alums-to-be: SRS.  high school seniors  

Zits readers know that Pierce recently confused two types of seniors.

24. Sea urchin, on a sushi menu: UNI.  (rhymes with "Moonie")

Out of the 950 species of sea urchin, only 18 are edible.

I hear college students in The UK love UNI.

25. Consumed: ATE.  Yet when we describe people as consumers, the first thing to come to mind is not eaters.

32. Must: HAVE TO.

35. Rejections: NOs.

36. Went by skateboard: RODE.  

Rad Dog

37. Photographer's request: SMILE.  

Peg   ~   Steely Dan   ~  1977

"So won't you SMILE for the camera." 𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅯

38. Little one: TOT.

39. Goes out with: DATES.

40. Second to none: BEST.

41. Feel poorly: AIL.

42. Passionate: ARDENT.

46. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE.  federation and United Arab Emirites

47. Substance that may be crushed or cubed: ICE.

51. Heroic tales: EPICS.

57. Puts in order: RANKS.

58. Ray gun sound: ZAP.  Sometimes it is "pew".

59. Tests for doctoral candidates: ORALS.

60. Sock terminus, often: ANKLE.  

ANKLE socks

61. Lennox of R&B: ARI.  [b. Courtney Shanade Salter on March 26, 1991 in Washington, D.C.] I watched two videos and had to pass on both. Perhaps someone reading this is a fan and can suggest their favorite Ari Lennox song.

62. __ mignon: FILET.

63. Eye maladies: STYES.

64. TiVo button: REC.

65. Daring achievements: FEATS.  Ultramarathoners complete FEATS with their feets. 

Down:

1. Reads quickly: SKIMS.

2. Flamingo, for one: WADER.  

3. Book of maps: ATLAS.

4. "Non, je ne regrette __": Edith Piaf song: RIEN.  ESP for me but when I listened to the song, I recognized it. The title translates to, "No, I regret nothing." Edith's version came out in 1960.  

5. Wood used for grilling: MESQUITE.  

They are beautiful trees inhabiting arid and semiarid regions throughout
the southwest U.S., Mexico, South America, northern Africa, and eastern Asia.

6. Web of lies: DECEIT.  

7. Double-reed woodwind: OBOE.

8. Black, to poets: EBON.  EBONy.  "To poets" is a hint that the answer is somehow abbreviated.

9. Setting for many Gauguin paintings: TAHITI.  

Parau Api. What's new?, 1892. by Paul Gauguin

10. Silk Road enterprise: SPICE TRADE.  This link takes you to a 518-word article on the Silk Road. Some of the SPICEs that were TRADEd include cloves, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, frankincense, black pepper, cinnamon, and saffron.

11. The Green Hornet's aide: KATO. I thought he had a lamp so I first tried that. KATO was his crime-fighting sidekick.

12. Business maj.: ECON.  major and ECONomics

13. Fox holes: DENS.

21. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO.

25. Stubborn animal: ASS.

26. Prize at a rodeo: BELT BUCKLE.  

27. Sherlock's teen sister: ENOLA.

28. Go bad: ROT.

29. Fundraiser freebie: TOTE.  I have so many! I keep a TOTE full of TOTEs in my car.

30. Genesis garden: EDEN.

31. Take a breather: REST.

32. U.K.-based bank founded in Asia: HSBC.  Once known as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, HSBC began in Hong Kong in 1865 to finance trade between Europe and Asia. Today they are in 58 countries and territories, including the U.S. and Canada. 

33. U.S. citizen: AMER.  The abbreviation in the clue let us know that AMERican would be shortened.

34. Travel document: VISA.

38. Involuntary twitch: TIC.

39. Uses a towel: DRIES OFF.

41. Favorable vote: AYE.  All those in favor....

42. Basics: ABCS.

44. Voices lower than tenors: BASSES.  Last Monday we had 8-Down. Low opera voice: BASSO.  

There are detailed differences between the two; but, basically, basso is an Italian word and usually refers to opera or classical singing. Also note that this week we were looking for a plural answer because of voices.  

45. Film about a real person, informally: BIOPIC.  The word BIOPIC often makes the list of misles (pronounced with a long /i/). These are words that people often mispronounce in their heads while reading them because they do not match the pronunciation with the spelling. Their name comes from misled which people sometimes misread as MY-zel-ed. In the case of BIOPIC, people often read it as bi-OP-ic (rhyming with myopic). Some other misles are:  awry, colonel, corps, infrared, sword, and Yosemite.

48. Fluffy-eared marsupial: KOALA.  

today's "So cute!" moment

49. Small part of an archipelago: ISLET.  According to NOAA, an archipelago is an area that contains a chain or group of islands scattered in lakes, rivers, or the ocean. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago includes 36,563 islands.

50. Aides: Abbr.: ASSTS.  ASSisTS

51. Historical spans: ERAS.  

52. Huff and puff: PANT.  This common nighthawk is PANTing. Read more about how birds PANT at this U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service page.  

53. Deep black: INKY.

54. Policy honcho: CZAR.

55. Not medium or well: RARE.  Think "meat cooking options".

56. Camembert kin: BRIE.  fromage  

Click to enlarge.

The grid:  

I'll be away when today's blog posts. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly.

Read you later, alligator! 

Monday June 9, 2025 August Miller

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with a delivery from August Miller. August is more of a Wed.-Sat. kind of constructor. This is his first Monday LAT puzzle -- a 61-A. RARE TREAT for us solvers.

Theme:                    CSO to D-Otto!

Our very own desper-otto is a dedicated MEALS ON WHEELS volunteer. 

He even brings snacks for the dogs on his route. (T)His community is lucky to have him!

First, the themed clues and answers:

20 Across. Cozy spot for a morning repast: BREAKFAST NOOK.  This is a small space, often adjacent to the kitchen, used for casual dining. It generally fits a small table and comfortable seating.

Get it?  "NOOK & cranny" Haha!

34 Across. Not in the office, perhaps: OUT TO LUNCH.  

42 Across. Evening ringer: DINNER BELL.  

Snoopy improvises

55 Across. Nonprofit that delivers food to the elderly, or what can be found three times in this puzzle?: MEALS ON WHEELS.  Their mission is "to empower local community programs to improve the health and quality of life of the seniors they serve so that no one is left hungry or isolated."  How to Become a MEALS ON WHEELS Volunteer  

Also, three MEALS (BREAKFAST, LUNCH, and DINNER) appear to be placed ON WHEELS (actually letter O's). Notice that the WHEELS are consistently placed under the second and the second-to-last letters of each MEAL. I liked this purposeful use of circles!

Alternating the placement of the meal words (first, last, first)
helps the WHEELS to stand out.

Rolling along now....

Across:

1. Current locale of NASA's Perseverance rover: MARS.  NASA's Perseverance website

Perseverance has 6 WHEELS;
but, alas, delivered no MEALS to a hungry 38-A.

5. The Great Pyramid, for one: TOMB.  The Great Pyramid was a TOMB for Pharoah Khufu. It is the oldest and tallest of the three pyramids towering over Giza. It was constructed around 2551-2528 BCE and its height would compare to a 45-story building. There is surprisingly little 'open space' inside.

9. Feet and inches: UNITS.     and     9 Down. Forks and knives: UTENSILS.

I put these together because of the symmetry in the construction of the two clues, plus UNITS can be spelled with the letters in UTENSILS.

14. Cultivated: GREW.

15. "Search Party" star Shawkat: ALIA.  Although I have seen this actress in previous puzzles and I do remember her from Arrested Development, I spelled her name wrong today for a one-box FIW. I had ALeA crossing 7-D Nicki MeNAJ. Yes, Nicki MINAJ is an international star but I thought she spelled her name with an E. That is on me. However, I will say that this is the reason many solvers do not like to see crossing names in a grid. There is an abundance of flexibility in how people spell their names. Fortunately for me, this type of FIW does not really bother me. Perhaps if it did, I would try harder to remember the spellings for next time.

Funny note:  While proof reading this blog I saw that I had been misspelling "Nicki" as "Nikki". Good grief!

16. Domesticates: TAMES.  

A good pun can only take you so far.

17. Set a date, say: MADE PLANS.

19. __ Allen furniture: ETHAN.  One source said there are 169 Ethan Allen stores in the U.S.

22. Chooses: OPTS.

23. Delights: JOYS.  It turns out that both words can be either nouns or verbs.

24. Budget exec: CFO.  executive and Chief Financial Officer

26. Abbr. after a list: ETC.

28. Huffy state: PIQUE.  Def.:  (noun) a transient feeling of wounded vanity; resentment.  

PIQUE is also a fabric.

32. Part of a barn: LOFT.  

38. Sci-fi visitor: ALIEN.  

40. P-shaped Greek letter: RHO.  

41. "You and me both!": SO DO I.  I am still thinking about that ME, THREE answer from last Monday.

45. XPS laptop maker: DELL.  Translate:  It's a four-letter computer name.

46. Rising, as a ballerina: ON TOE.

47. Jar topper: LID.

49. Where Katie Ledecky won four Olympic golds: RIO.  

She also won a silver!

50. In-game hint providers, for short: NPCS.  Non-player Characters. These are characters in a game that are not controlled by a human video game player.

53. Drink holders: CUPS.  ...but CUP holders are not drinks.

60. "My Ántonia" novelist Cather: WILLA.  [1873-1947]  This 1918 novel is about immigrant life in Nebraska.  goodreads link

61. Unexpected pleasure: RARE TREAT.  See ¶ #1.

63. Band's release: ALBUM.  Streaming has changed how music is released. If you are feeling a bit lost when it comes to music nowadays, perhaps this guide will help:  Types of Music Releases

64. Similar (to): AKIN.

65. See 35-Down: MENU.     and     35-Down. With 65-Across, 2022 black comedy film set in a restaurant: THE. 

This is the trailer for this 2022 film. Creepy alert! Also, Anya Taylor-Joy stars in it. We frequently see her crossword-friendly name. 

66. Stay in a heated yurt, perhaps: GLAMP.  We have become portmanteau obsessed. Glamour + Camp = GLAMP

67. "I'm down!": LET'S.

68. Casual eyewear: SPEX.  Casual means a slangy term for eyewear -- not eyewear to go with a casual look. SPEX is short for spectacles.  

Down:

1. Studio with a roaring mascot: MGM.  

2. Like a Bedouin: ARAB.  

The Distribution of Bedouins over Arabic Countries

3. Motel 6 competitor: RED ROOF INN.  Both are considered cheap hotels.

4. Gather dust, maybe: SWEEP.  Fun clue! Gather dust usually means you let the dust settle on you.

5. Chats with: TALKS TO.

6. Frozen "Frozen" character: OLAF.  I liked this clue, too.

Olaf is the snowman.

7. Rapper Nicki: MINAJ.  See 15-Across.

8. Low opera voice: BASSO.

10. Gp. whose newest member is Sweden: NATO. Sweden formally joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 7, 2024. There are 32 countries in the group.  

11. Short and modest "I think ... ": IMHO.  In My Humble Opinion  

12. Tropical wood: TEAK.  TEAK is a durable hardwood often used to make patio furniture since it is water resistant.

13. Fig. on Form W-2: SSN.  

18. Meaty spread: PÂTÉ.  Def. :(noun) a spread of finely chopped or pureed seasoned meat.

21. Featrue of this clue: TYPO.  Feature has a typing mistake in it.

24. Clothed (in): CLAD.     

This woman is CLAD in a Glad garbage bag and ready for her date with Vlad.
I wonder, does it comes in plaid?

25. First __: Shakespeare collection: FOLIO.  The First Folio is the first published collection of Shakespeare's plays. It was produced seven years after his death. Its title is Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.

27. Where the sidewalk ends: CURB.  This was my favorite clue today. Did anyone else think of this book?  

29. The "Q" of QED: QUOD.  Quod erat demonstrandum is a Latin phrase which means "I showed you what I told you I was going to show you."

30. Not get enough rest: UNDERSLEEP.  I had the U so I quickly filled UP ALL NIGHT then patted myself on the back for sussing that one so easily.

31. Food safety concern: ECOLI.

33. Outdoor wedding rental: TENT.  Ahh, that's why we GLAMPed in a yurt instead of a TENT for 66-Across.

36. Per-axle fee: TOLL.  

37. City on the Big Island: HILO.  I used to go to Hilo a lot for work. It is so lush and green -- very different from the Kona side.

39. Many an orange-red indicator light: NEON LAMP.  According to M-W and Wiki this really is a thing so I must be wincing from the glare of a legitimate light.

43. House lawmakers, briefly: REPS.  Think "Civics class".

44. Organisms that are like tiny ecosystems: LICHENS.  I LICHENed this 1:22 min. video a lot.

48. Piano piece for four hands: DUET.  Splynter gave us this very funny piano DUET skit last Wednesday. I'm adding it here in case you missed it.  

51. With 52-Down, reptile with red, yellow, and black bands: CORAL.     and 🠟

52. See 51-Down: SNAKE.  

Red touches yellow, kill a fellow.
Red touches black, safe for Jack.

54. Curly hairdos: PERMS.  Remember this 43 sec. scene from That '70s Show?  

Kelso:  So that's permanent?

55. Pepper grinder: MILL.  Not a sandwich!  😉

56. Idris of "Luther": ELBA.  Lucina is another Cornerite who generously volunteers her time every Monday at her church. This one's for her:  

57. Reunion attendee: ALUM.  This SNL skit with Jack Black about old friends getting together to reunite but digress to one-upping is 64-A AKIN to a class reunion.  

58. Court order: WRIT.  A writ is a formal, legal document that orders a person or entity to perform or to cease performing a specific action or deed. Writs are drafted by courts or other entities with jurisdictional or legal power. Warrants and subpoenas are two common types of writs.

59. Sensible: SANE.

60. Tail motion: WAG.  

62. Prom rental: TUX.  

Too Cool for School

Time to roll....,

sumdaze