Monday September 1, 2025 Lynn K. Watson and Katie Hale

  

Happy Labor Day, everyone! sumdaze here. Today's puzzle is a Lynn K. Watson and Katie Hale collaboration. This is Lynn's fourth LAT puzzle and her first collaboration with Katie, whom we know as the assistant crossword editor for the LAT. 

Theme:        CSO to C.C.  

An early peek at the grid explains it all:  

17 Across. *Grinning creature in Wonderland: CHESHIRE CAT.  

I bought this Coffee Cup the last time I visited Disneyland.
It is oversized so I use it for soup.

29 Across. *Only "Friends" star never nominated for an Emmy during the show's run: COURTENEY COX.  I did not realize she spelled her name that way.

She might not have won and Emmy but she did get a star. 

Courteney with co-stars Jennifer (l.) and Lisa (r.) in Feb. 2023
at Cox's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

48 Across. *Gingerbread shaper: COOKIE CUTTER.  This answer is a noun so no hyphen is needed. On the other hand, when used as an adjective as in "COOKIE-CUTTER houses", Merriam-Webster calls for a hyphen.  

65 Across. *"A Chorus Line" event: CASTING CALL.  A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater. It follows 17 dancers auditioning for spots.

The reveal is the last Across clue:

73 Across. "Oui! Oui!" in Oaxaca, and a phonetic description of the answers to the starred clues: SÍ! SÍ!.  

A French "Yes! Yes!" becomes a Spanish "SÍ! SÍ!" in Oaxaca, Mexico.  

The reveal tells us that each of the four starred clues is a two-word answer where both words begin with the letter C. Note that it specifies, "a phonetic description". Works for me! 

This is the cover of the 10th studio album by the British band, Madness (2012).
Ska fans can click here for a 4 min. video
about how the album was named plus more background.

Next we will look at the other Crossword Clues:

Across:

1. Life line location: PALM.  Coincidentally, last Wednesday's 1-A was PALMS.

Scientists call the lines on our PALM palmar flexion creases. They begin to form around the 12th week of gestation. They help the skin in our hands squeeze and stretch. 

5. Touches on an edge: ABUTS.  The two U.S. states with the most shared borders are Tennessee and Missouri. They each ABUT eight other states, including each other, sometimes leading to a Cultural Clash.  

10. Outfit for a lazy day at home, for short: PJS.

13. Chemistry test subject?: ACID.  I liked this play on ACID test.

14. Tropical verandas: LANAIS.     and     28-Across. Tropical garland: LEI.

16. Weeding tool: HOE.  Using one might turn up a Creepy Crawler.

19. Monogram on a Libre perfume bottle: YSL.  I was not familiar with this perfume but this monogram shows up frequently in crossword puzzles so I gave it a try.

20. Japanese pond fish: KOI.  6 Interesting Facts about KOI fish on PetMD

21. James of jazz: ETTA.

22. Tiny bit: MORSEL.  Did you ever notice the bag says MORSELs, not "chips"?  

Chocolate Chips

24. Whale locator: SONAR.  Captains use SONAR to locate whales for whale watching trips.  

26. "Uh ... ": ERM ....  a Communication Crisis???

34. Eases off: ABATES.

37. Half a laugh: HEE.

38. "Big Blue" tech co.: IBM.  This clue is a bit too close to 67-Down.

39. Classic Battleship game piece: CRUISER.  

41. "You look just like me!": TWINSIE.  

44. Dah's partner: DIT.  This clue refers to Morse Code. When expressed as sounds or light, they are DITs and dahs but are written as a series of dots and dashes. The duration of a dah is three times the duration of a DIT.  

45. Queen guitarist Brian: MAY.  Sir Brian Harold May was born July 19, 1947.  

Queen   ~   Keep Yourself Alive  ~   1973

(May is playing on stage left.)

<BTW, this video is brought to you through a Creative Commons license.>

47. Strong blackjack hand: ACE-TEN.  

10 + 11 = 21

52. Golfer's goal: PAR.  an admirable alliterative allusion

53. __-friendly: ECO.  

54. Monopoly surface: BOARD.

58. Zigzag on skis: SLALOM.

61. "Lonely Boy" singer Paul: ANKA.  He also composed Johnny's Theme, the theme song for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.  

63. Member of a slapstick trio: MOE.  a CSO to C-Moe!  

inspirations for many a Class Clown

64. Part of mpg: PER.  Miles PER Gallon

68. Have breakfast: EAT.  

69. Hand-to-hand combat style: KARATE.

70. Texter's "Or ... ": OTOH.  On The Other Hand ...  

Or, as they say in the KARATE dojo, OTOH2H.

71. Items in jewel cases: CDS.  Here we have a case of intentional misdirection. The plastic cases that CDs come in are called jewel cases or sometimes jewel boxes.  

If you put it in the fridge, you will have a Cold Case. (ba dum tss!)

72. Muscle-bone connector: SINEW.

Down:

1. Prepares for a trip: PACKS.  

2. Sneeze sound: ACHOO.

3. Hit snooze, perhaps: LIE IN.  

4. Health care pros: MDS.  An abbreviated clue hints at an abbreviated answer.

5. Fluttered down to a perch, say: ALIT.

6. Negotiate a trade: BARTER.

7. Dig up: UNEARTH.  

8. Tic __: mint brand: TAC.  Do you remember these commercials telling us that one Tic Tac had only two calories? It was a Madison Ave. miss. I always wondered:  (1.) They are so tiny, what do you expect? (2.) Who eats just one? and (3.) Are people concerned about gaining weight from breath mints?

9. "The King and I" kingdom: SIAM.  This story takes place in Siam during the early 1860s. Siam first changed its name to Thailand on June 5, 1939, changed it back in 1945, then became Thailand permanently on May 11, 1949.

10. Stephen Hawking, for one: PHYSICIST.  Stephen William Hawking (1942 - 2018) wrote A Brief History of Time. It was on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.

11. "Feliz Navidad" singer Feliciano: JOSÉ.  José will turn 80 years old in nine days. Feliz cumpleaños, José!

12. Put on the market: SELL.  

15. Winter wrap: STOLE.  

I bought one of these with my Credit Card but someone STOLE it.

18. Epic protagonists: HEROES.

23. "Video Games" singer Lana Del __: REY.

25. Start of a play: ACT I.

27. "Nice to __ you": MEET.  

30. "I can help": USE ME.

31. Starting to learn: NEW AT.  It could not be "NEW to" because "to" is in the clue.

32. Theater award: OBIE.  Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper for certain productions in New York City.

33. Marvel Comics mutants: X-MEN.  

The Caped Crusader (Batman) is in a different universe.

34. Band with a thunderbolt in its logo: AC⚡DC.

35. Pizzazz: BRIO.  Def.:  (noun) enthusiastic vigor; vivacity, verve.

36. Spark plugs, wiper blades, etc.: AUTO PARTS.  👍👍

40. The Indy 500, e.g.: RACE.

42. Swelling reducer: ICE BAG.  In movies, they use a bag of frozen peas.  

43. Wolfe of detective fiction: NERO.

46. Mexican peninsula: YUCATAN.  

49. "House" actor Penn: KAL.  his IMDb page

50. Self-congratulatory cheer: I ROCK.

51. This evening, in ads: TONITE.  

55. Valued violin: AMATI.

56. Candies that resemble lampshades: ROLOS.  Lampshades and ROLOS have the shape of a conical frustum (also called a truncated cone).

(Click to enlarge.)

57. Indian metropolis: DELHI.  The weather forecast for Delhi today is 84°F/76°F (28.8°C/24.4°C) with periods of rain.

58. On __: without a contract: SPEC.

59. Main role: LEAD.  think "theater"

60. Barnyard bleats: MAAS.  

These goats are helping to clear potentially flammable brush.
I was fortunate to see similar working goats on my bike ride last Thursday,
 along with two Great Pyrenees dogs!
Their mouths were too full to say MAA.

62. More than guessed: KNEW.

66. __ Lanka: SRI.  Colombo, Sri Lanka is 1,490 mi. (2,398 km.), as the plane flies, from Delhi, India.

67. Businesses: Abbr.: COS.  Companies (Some, like IBM, are Cash Cows.)

We had a bit of a theater mini-theme with CASTING CALL, ACT I, OBIE, and LEAD so I will add some Closing Credits.  

I hope this puzzle is now Crystal Clear! Thank you for visiting the Crossword Corner!

Monday August 25, 2025 Brent Sverdloff

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. This is Brent Sverdloff's third LAT puzzle. There was no reveal today. None was needed. For me, the theme was confirmed after the second long fill.  

Theme:  

I hope you performed well on this theater-themed puzzle!

All of the themed answers are 14-letter imperative sentences that end with a theater-related word:  LINE, SCENE, ACT, and PLAY.

20 Across. Get down to brass tacks: LAY IT ON THE LINE.

32 Across. Exhortation to someone building up to a tantrum: DON'T MAKE A SCENE.

39 Across. "Get it together!": CLEAN UP YOUR ACT.

52 Across. "Join us for some fun!": COME OUT AND PLAY.  

The tiny caption says, "Stella!"

Dim the lights. It's on with the show:

Across:

1. Pet rescue org.: ASPCA.  About a year ago I wrote this for the same answer:

I was surprised to learn that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is not an umbrella organization for the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). They are not affiliated with each other. Your local SPCA relies on local donations.

6. Titled lady: DAME.  

10. "Dark Angel" actress Jessica: ALBA.  Dark Angel was a TV show that aired for two seasons from 2000 to 2002.  ALBA is a crossword-friendly word.

14. Diamond weight: CARAT.  If you cannot remember if you should use a C or a K, try to remember that diamonds have "4 Cs":  Cut, Color, Clarity and CARAT. "Karat" is used for metals, like gold.

15. Longtime "Jeopardy!" host Trebek: ALEX.

16. "La vie en rose" singer Édith: PIAF.  We had this French singer last June. Irish Miss ☘ mentioned that this is PIAF's signature song.

17. Justice Kagan of the Supreme Court: ELENA.  Justice Kagan was born in 1960 in New York and went to Harvard Law School. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010 by President Obama.

18. Trace of smoke: WISP.  

(Click to enlarge.)
Get it? It's like when PEOPLE TYPE IN ALL CAPS.

19. Landlord's income: RENT.  For a long time the common advice was to budget 10% of your rental income for unplanned expenses. I keep detailed spreadsheets on these things. As costs have risen, I now plan on 14% for that budget category. Take more off the top for planned expenses such as property managers, property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, 47-A. Oof!

23. Sponsored spots: ADS.

24. Motor homes, for short: RVS.  Recreational Vehicles

25. Marina __ Rey, California: DEL.  George Strait recorded a song about this town in 1982. 

26. Debtor's letters: IOU.

27. Norse god of war: ODIN.

29. Film studio with a roaring lion: MGM.

36. Podcast host Maron: MARC.  WTF with Marc Maron is a weekly podcast. The show was launched in September 2009. This line caught my attention when I was researching his show for today's blog:  Maron ends most of his podcasts with the phrase "Boomer lives" in honor of his cat that escaped after a cross-country move.

37. Cooking spray brand: PAM.     and     46 Across. Frying vessel: PAN.

38. Actor Alda: ALAN.  Alan Alda and Idris Elba are two actors whose first and last names make good crossword fill.

44. Ray Bradbury's "__ for Space": S IS.  This is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Bradbury and published in 1966.  

45. Colony insects: ANTS.  

They are very organized.

47. "And so on" abbr.: ETC.

48. Knock the socks off: WOW.  

49. German "Drat!": ACH.

57. Tool most people are willing to part with?: COMB.  This was my favorite clue today!  

58. TiVo forerunners: VCRS.  Both were used to record television shows before streaming became a thing.

59. Devour: EAT UP.

60. Wine and __: DINE.  

61. Panache: ÉLAN.  

62. Cropped up: AROSE.  By any other name it would be "ascended".

63. Reached base feet-first: SLID.  Notice the past tense in the clue called for the past tense of slide.  

It was not immediately obvious to me that the base in this clue referred to baseball. 

64. Deeply absorbed: RAPT.  

65. Surgical beam: LASER.

Down:

1. Amtrak express train between Washington, D.C., and Boston: ACELA.  The Acela (pronounced "uh-SEL-uh") is Amtrak's fastest passenger train. Its top speed is 150 mph and its average speed is 70 mph. It uses a special "tilting" technology that helps the train to lean into curves so it can go faster without making passengers feel uncomfortable. There are 12 stops on the Acela route, as shown on this map.

2. Waldorf __: SALAD.  If you order a Waldorf salad you can expect it to contain apples, celery, nuts, and grapes with a mayonnaise-based dressing. "The recipe was created by the maitre d’hotel Oscar Tschirky at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City in 1893. It was served at a dinner for 1,500 society folks from Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and of course New York, to celebrate the opening of the famed hotel which at the time was just called the Waldorf Hotel." Cole Porter's 1934 song You're The Top added to this salad's popularity. Here is that song with the lyrics. Give it a listen. It's a fun song!

🎵 You're the top. You're a Waldorf SALAD.

You're the top. You're a Berlin ballad. 🎵

This site explains every reference in this song.

3. Hunts, with "on": PREYS.

4. "Pleeease?": CAN I.  Great clue. Oops, I meant "grating" clue.

5. With some speed, to equestrians: AT A TROT.  

6. Daybreaks: DAWNS.

7. Settled on a perch: ALIT.

8. Breathable fabric: MESH.  

9. Travel-booking website: EXPEDIA.  Their logo is a plane crossing a globe.  

10. First full month of spring: APRIL.  This is a screen grab of what Google AI said:  

11. Property claim: LIEN.  This is from Investopedia:

A LIEN represents a creditor's legal claim to the debtor's property as collateral, ensuring financial obligations are met. Whether through voluntary agreements or court judgments, liens allow creditors to seize assets if debts aren't repaid.  Read more here.

12. __ of one's existence: BANE.

13. Toward the stern: AFT.  

21. Egg cell: OVUM.  An OVUM is a female gamete. The plural form is ova.  

22. Telescope glass: LENS.  

26. Quechua speaker: INCA.

27. Signs off on: OKAYS.

28. Expo presentation: DEMO.  Exposition is shortened, so is DEMOnstration.

29. Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls: MEL C.  

Mel C is in the middle, sporting the animal print dress.

30. Pesky insect: GNAT.  

31. Fellows: MEN.  

32. Surrealist Salvador: DALI.  (1904-1989)

Dali painted Galatea of the Spheres in 1952.

33. Miner's quarry: ORES.

34. Date with a doc: APPT.  Doctor is abbreviated, so is appointment.  

35. "Misery" co-star James: CAAN.  You can find a clip of James Caan in the movie Misery in

  last Monday's blog, but you might not want to.

36. Show hosts, informally: MCS.  Could this clue also be written, "Hosts shows, informally"?

40. Kid-lit boy detective __ the Great: NATE.  There is also the Ted Lasso character, NATE, whom Ted nicknamed Nate the Great. Here is a scene from Season 1:  

41. Remove a lid from: UNCOVER.

42. Second word of many a fairy tale: UPON.  Once UPON a time....

43. Short end of the stick: RAW DEAL.  Both describe instances of unfair treatment. I like how the informal clue matched the informal answer.

47. Add to an email, as a GIF: EMBED.  The moving slinky in 52-Down is an example of an EMBEDed .GIF file.

48. "I __ born yesterday!": WASN'T.  

49. Voices above tenors: ALTOS.

50. __ and effect: CAUSE.

51. All keyed up: HYPER.  This is a good example of how language changes. HYPER used to be short for hyperactive, as in "overly active"; but now Merriam-Webster lists it as a legitimate word.

52. Slinky's shape: COIL.  

slinky on a treadmill

53. Bygone Dodge subcompact: OMNI.  This 5-door hatchback came out in 1978. It reminds me of the Volkswagen Rabbit, which was introduced to the American market in 1975.

1985 Dodge OMNI

54. Home of the NCAA's Bruins: UCLA.  National Collegiate Athletic Association is abbreviated, so is University of California, Los Angeles.

55. Lint collector: TRAP.  Think "clothes dryer".

Dryer Doctors recommends a thorough cleaning of your dryer's vent system every 1-3 years.

56. Prefix with legal or normal: PARA-.  I found a book that combines a PARAlegal with the PARAnormal. I cannot recommend it because I have not read it but goodreads gave it 4.38 stars.

57. Fixed-term bank accts.: CDS.  Certificates of Deposit

Today's grid:  

All four of the themed answers are 14 letters long.

Time for me to exit stage left. Have a good week, everyone!