Thursday, July 31, 2025, Daniel Hrynick

Theme:  Sticking to the recipe.

Earlier this year -- on Valentine's Day -- I wrote the blog post for another Daniel Hrynick crossword puzzle, which also had a food theme.  How nice to be able to come back for seconds!

In today's puzzle, circles help us locate four food items that may be grilled when pierced with sticks or metal rods.  Let's look at the reveal, and then at the answers where the food items appear.

14-Down. Stick on a grill, or what passes through this puzzle's circled words?: BARBECUE SKEWER.  A barbecue skewer can be pushed through the food items in the theme answers.

16-Across. Rating scale on a film review site: THE TOMATO METER.  The circled word is TOMATO, but the reference here is to https://www.rottentomatoes.com/ where movies are rated based on the percentage of positive reviews received from critics.

27-Across. Drink with zero calories and a blend of 23 flavors: DIET DR PEPPER.  The circled word is PEPPER, but the clue refers to a soft drink.  Diet Dr Pepper and regular Dr Pepper have the same 23 flavors, none of which are discernable to me.

50-Across. Wedding reception activity with flapping and clapping: CHICKEN DANCE.  The circled word is CHICKEN, but the clue refers to a dance that became popular at American Oktoberfest events in the 1980s, and at weddings where polka music is played.  

I was blissfully unaware of this activity until just now.

63-Across. Devices that test internet security: WIFI PINEAPPLES. A WiFi Pineapple is a small, black device with several spikes, developed by Hak5.  Positioned between your computer and router, it can inspect all the data moving from one to the other.  On the downside, a hacker might use one to see the data moving from a server to a private device.

WiFi Pineapple -- who knew?

Well, that was a tasty start to the puzzle, and I hope Misty thinks so, too!

Let's see what else is on the menu ...

Across:

1. Pub delivery: ALE KEG.

7. Festoons: ADORNS.

13. Hailed lift: TAXI CAB.

15. Deeply religious: DEVOUT.

16. [Theme clue]

18. Biceps locale: ARM.

19. __ on the side of caution: ERR.  Better safe than sorry!

20. Roam: ROVE.

21. Battleship piece: PEG.  The game was originally played on paper grids, but Milton Bradley introduced a version with plastic boards and pegs in 1967.  A player cannot see his opponent's fleet, but takes turns calling shots by grid location, with the objective of destroying the opposing player's ships.

24. Setting: BACKDROP.

27. [Theme clue]

31. Rest stop in a high-fantasy game: INN.  I was thinking of Dungeons & Dragons, with various inns where characters meet, rest, and recover, but it turns out there are also fantasy games focused on running an inn, where a player can manage staff, upgrade the facility, and improve the menu.  

Now I have to work in my fantasies, too.

32. Seven-layer dip layer, for short: GUAC.  Guacamole.  This sort of thing used to be popular at potlucks.

33. Darth Vader's first name: ANAKIN.

37. Like a bubble bath: SUDSY.

39. Tease (out): SUSS.  To inspect or investigate so as to gain more knowledge; figure out.

41. Burkina __: West African country: FASO.

42. Harvested plants: CROP.

43. "The Last of Us" protagonist: JOEL.

Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller

44. Certain Fender, casually: STRAT.  The Fender Stratocaster is a model of electric guitar manufactured by The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation since 1954.  The shape and the modular components of the guitar were revolutionary at the time.

45. Iroquois nation: SENECA.

47. Decidedly meh: SO-SO.  Neither very good nor very bad.

49. Pink Mr. Potato Head piece: EAR.

50. [Theme clue]

53. Steel on library racks: DANIELLE.  Any Danielle Steel readers here?  I haven't read her novels, but I found someone who did, and who summarized each one in 140 characters or less:

56. Young fellow: LAD.

57. Former NHL goalie Kölzig: OLAF.  Currently coaching for the Washington Capitals.

Olaf Kölzig

58. Shoemaker's tool: AWL.

60. Genetic testing material: DNA.

63. [Theme clue]

68. Goes in: ENTERS.

69. Skynet in "The Terminator," e.g.: ROGUE AI.  When Artificial Intelligence goes awry.

70. Rental agreements: LEASES.

71. George's "Gravity" co-star: SANDRA.  George Clooney and Sandra Bullock.

Down:

1. Chapati flour: ATTA.  Atta girl (or boy) if you remember this word from previous puzzles.

2. Bert of "The Wizard of Oz": LAHR.

Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.

3. Spared (from): EXEMPT.

4. First-aid __: KIT.

5. Good for the planet, for short: ECO.

6. Risk or Trouble: GAME.  When you're tired of playing Battleship, take a Risk on Trouble.

7. Big fuss: ADO.

8. JFK's party: DEM.  John F. Kennedy was a Democrat.

9. Account action that may result in a fee: OVERDRAFT.

10. Drone part: ROTOR.

Drone with six rotors.

11. New, in Mexico: NUEVO.

12. __ throat: STREP.

14. [Theme clue]

17. Atlanta hip-hop genre: TRAP.  Trap is a subgenre of hip-hop music that gets its name from the Atlanta slang term "trap house," a house used exclusively to sell drugs.  Nice.

22. Boundary-pushing: EDGY.

23. "Despicable Me" role for Steve Carell: GRU.  Another cultural touchstone I've missed.  But I like Steve Carell, best known for his role as Michael Scott on the NBC sitcom The Office from 2005–2011.

25. IRS form experts: CPAs.

26. Jeong of "Community": KEN.  Ken Jeong is an American stand-up comedian and actor who rose to prominence for his roles in The Hangover film series (2009-2013) and in the NBC sitcom Community (2009-2015).  He's been in a bunch of other films, too.  Did you see Crazy Rich Asians (2018)?

Ken Jeong

27. Burned items: DISCS.  "Burning a disc" refers to the process of writing data onto a recordable or rewritable disc, such as a CD or DVD, using a laser. The process is called "burning" because it uses a laser to physically alter the surface of the disc, creating a pattern of marks that represent the data. 

28. Accustom: INURE.

29. Finish with: END ON.

30. El __, Texas: PASO.

34. Actress Gillan: KAREN.  Karen Gillan is a Scottish actress and filmmaker, who gained recognition for roles in the Doctor Who series, and eventually Hollywood films including some Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Jumanji, and others.  

Karen Gillan

35. Novelist Asimov: ISAAC.

36. "The Hunchback of __-Dame": NOTRE.

38. Indicates precisely: SPECIFIES.

40. Gin infusion fruit: SLOE.

43. Monopoly corner: JAIL.  More fun and games!

44. Pop: SODA.  Dr Pepper, anyone?  23 flavors!  Where else are you going to get that many?

46. "Weekend Update" co-host: CHE.  Michael Che is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He's best known for his work on Saturday Night Live as co-anchor of "Weekend Update" with Colin Jost since 2014. From 2017–2022, the two were also co-head writers for the show.

Colin Jost and Michael Che

48. "Weekend Update" program: SNL.  See the previous entry -- Saturday Night Live.

51. Group with a tartan: CLAN.

52. Confused: ADDLED.

53. Wooden pin: DOWEL.

54. Flared skirt style: A-LINE.  A skirt with a silhouette that is narrower at the top and gradually widens towards the hem, resembling the shape of a capital letter "A."

55. International pact until 2020: NAFTA.

59. China neighbor: LAOS.

61. Just around the corner: NEAR.

62. 59-Down's continent: ASIA.  Laos's continent.  China's, too.

64. Start to fix?: PRE.  A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to produce a related word.  

65. Research facility in orbit: Abbr.: ISS.  The International Space Station (ISS) orbits Earth at an altitude of approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers). It travels at a speed of about 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour), completing one orbit every 90 minutes. This means the ISS circles the Earth about 16 times a day. 

66. Links gp.: PGA.  A links golf course is built on sandy coastal land that offers a firmer playing surface than inland courses.  PGA is the Professional Golfers' Association of America.

67. Many a one-liner: PUN.  When this blog post is published, I'll be getting ready for our youngest daughter's wedding weekend.  Everyone will be so emotional, even the cake will be in tiers.

Here's the grid:

Did you enjoy today's GAMEs and snacks?

Or did the experience END ON a sour note for you?

Let us know in the comments.

-- NaomiZ

Thursday, July 24, 2025, Katherine Baicker, Laura Dershewitz

Theme:  It's just your imagination.

Constructors Katherine Baicker and Laura Dershewitz have entertained us here before, together, separately, and with other co-constructors.  Today they make us stop and wonder whether it's all been real, or just our imagination.

The theme clues and answers, placed symmetrically in the grid, are:

20-Across. Spot where parallel lines appear to converge: VANISHING POINT.

33-Across. Sensation experienced after a long day of sewing: PHANTOM THREAD.  Seamstresses sometimes go home and still feel the sensation of a thread between their fingers.

42-Across. Erroneous result on a medical test: FALSE POSITIVE.

57-Across. Snide dismissal, and what can be said about 20-, 33-, and 42-Across?: THAT'S NOT A THING.  Current slang for “that's not real/true” or “that doesn't happen.”

In every case, we see or feel evidence of something that is not real.  But you know what is real?  We have 132 other mysteries to solve!  Here they come.

Across:

1. Move with a hop and a step: SKIP.

5. Circle dances: HORAS.  Not just a Jewish dance enjoyed at weddings and b'nai mitzvah celebrations, variants of the hora (called hora or oro) have folks holding hands and moving in circles in Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey, and elsewhere.

10. Tendril: WISP.  While a tendril is part of a climbing plant, and a wisp is any little thin mass, both words can be used to describe strands of hair that fall away from the main mass of hair on the head.  It's a thing.

Hayden Panettiere with straight wisps, and Chloe Sevigny with tendrils.

14. Office assistant: AIDE.

15. Maker of a Breakout hit: ATARI.

16. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

17. One past 12?: TEEN.

18. Name, in Latin: NOMEN.  From which we have the English nomenclature, the devising or choosing of names for things, especially in a science or other discipline.

19. Money mgrs.: CFOs.  Chief Financial Officers.

20. [Theme clue]

23. Green prefix: ECO.

24. Protected: SAFE.

25. Electric creature: EEL.

26. Knucklehead: OAF.

29. Yale student: ELI.  A nickname derived from Elihu Yale, the primary benefactor of  Yale University.

31. Vague threat: OR ELSE.

33. [Theme clue]

37. Root in tropical cuisine: TARO.

38. __ juice: MOO.  A cutesy way of saying "milk."

39. Backyard spot that's shovel-ready?: SHED.  It's ready to store your shovel.

42. [Theme clue]

47. Work together: TEAM UP.

49. "I don't trust stairs because they're always up to something," e.g.: PUN.  MalMan!  Have you used this one?

50. Number of fielders in slow-pitch softball: TEN.  Did Not Know.

51. Old tape dispenser?: VCR.  Video Cassette Recorder.

52. Animated pics: GIFs.  The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a bitmap image format developed by a team at CompuServe and released in 1987.  Usage of the format has declined, often being replaced with newer formats such as PNG for static images and MP4 for videos.

This GIF is a real Thriller.

55. "Eww!": ICK.

57. [Theme clue]

62. Home of the "American Gothic" house: IOWA.

American Gothic is a 1930 oil painting by Grant Wood.

63. Avis rival: ALAMO.  Car rental companies.

64. __ contendere: NOLO.  "Nolo contendere" is a Latin term meaning "I do not wish to contend" or "no contest."  In a legal context, it's a plea in a criminal case where the defendant doesn't admit guilt but accepts the consequences of a conviction.  It's often used when a defendant wants to avoid the implications of a guilty plea in potential future civil lawsuits.  Remember in 1973 when Vice President Spiro Agnew pleaded nolo contendere to a felony charge of tax evasion?  As part of the plea bargain, he resigned from office, was fined $10,000, and sentenced to three years of unsupervised probation. 

66. Average in math class?: MEAN.

67. Pipe alternative: CIGAR.

A little play on The Treachery of Images by René Magritte.

68. Picked, as a Scrabble tile: DREW.

69. Sherbet brand: EDY'S.  Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream makes Dreyer's brand frozen desserts for the Western US market, and Edy's brand for the Eastern and Midwestern US, so named to avoid confusion with Breyer's ice cream in those regions.  Nestlé acquired Dreyer's in 2007, and in 2020, Nestlé sold all its US ice cream businesses to Froneri, the global ice cream manufacturer that Nestlé co-owns with PAI Partners.  Big business!

70. Party throwers: HOSTS.

71. "You said it!": AMEN.

Down:

1. Didn't play: SAT.

2. Chicken __: KIEV.  Chicken Kiev is chicken fillet, pounded and rolled around garlic butter and parsley, coated with egg and bread crumbs, and then fried or baked.

3. "Eureka!" elicitor: IDEA.  "Eureka" (Ancient Greek for "I have found it") is an exclamation used to celebrate a discovery or invention. It is attributed to Archimedes, who stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose, whereupon he understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged.  He was so excited that he forgot to dress and ran naked in the streets yelling "Eureka!"

Archimedes has a revelation.

4. Pasta with angled ends: PENNE.

5. Longtime Harrison Ford role: HAN SOLO.

6. Texter's equivocation: OTOH.  On The Other Hand.

7. "Ghostbusters" actor Harold: RAMIS.

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis

8. The Eras Tour venue: ARENA.  Taylor Swift's fans filled large arenas on her recent "Eras" tour.

9. Entertain, in a way: SING FOR.

10. Baylor University home: WACO.  Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas.  It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas.

11. Dribbler that gets a batter on base, e.g.: INFIELD HIT.  An infield hit in baseball is when a batter hits the ball within the infield and safely reaches first base without the defense making an error that allows him to advance. It's typically a slow-rolling ground ball or a ball that is hit with enough speed to reach the infield but not the outfield, and the batter is able to beat the throw to first base. 

12. Cairn elements: STONES.  A cairn is a human-made pile of stones, typically used as a marker, a memorial, or a burial mound. 

13. Mortar's companion: PESTLE.

The pestle is gripped and used to grind items in the mortar.

21. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T.  You may know him from his acting role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Tracy Marrow AKA Ice-T

22. Napoleon's father: PÈRE.  Père is French for "father."  It's not Napoleon's father's name.

26. Stop waffling: OPT.  Choose!  Decide!  Pick one!  

27. "Eureka!": AHA.  See explanation at 3-Down for Archimedes's "aha!" moment.

28. Like the galaxy from which 5-Down hails: FAR, FAR AWAY.  Harrison Ford played the character Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, which take place in a galaxy far, far away.

30. "Gotta do my thing!": I'M ME.

You do you.

32. All-Star side: EAST.  In the MLB All-Star Game, the National League represents the "East" side, facing the American League (AL).  In the traditional NBA All-Star Game format, the Eastern Conference All-Stars play against the Western Conference All-Stars.  

34. Linguist Chomsky: NOAM.

35. Blouse: TOP.

36. Stud alternative: HOOP.  Earring styles.

Hoop with dangle, regular hoop, stud.

40. Night before: EVE.

41. Cozy spot for 47-Down: DEN.

43. Hauls with effort: LUGS.

44. Ingredient in a Florentine dish: SPINACH.  Chicken Florentine, Pasta Florentine, Eggs Florentine ... apparently people in Florence, Italy, love spinach.

45. Beaus: SUITORS.

46. Yardstick division: INCH.

47. Period between homework and dinner, for some kids: TV TIME.

48. Made a comeback: ECHOED.

53. Shakespearean volume: FOLIO.

54. Antlered deer: STAGS.

56. Ish: KINDA.

58. Catches some rays: TANS.

59. Amo, amas, __: AMAT.  We had Greek earlier, so it's time for Latin:  "I love, you love, he/she/it loves."

60. Par for the course: NORM.

61. Delight: GLEE.

65. BYOB part: OWN.  Bring Your Own Beverage/Bottle/Booze/Beer.

Here's the grid:

Did you SKIP all the way to Finish It Right?

Was that a SOLO effort, or did you TEAM UP to solve the puzzle?

Or did you finally come close, but no CIGAR?

Let us know in the comments!

-- NaomiZ