23. Poetry Out Loud org.: NEA. As in the National Endowment for the Arts.
24. Top poker cards: ACES.
27. Fatherly nickname: PAPA.
29. __-friendly: USER.
30. Quilters' gathering: BEE.
32. Positive quality: ASSET.
35. "It's a cinch!": EASY.
43. [OMG!]: GASP.
44. Sticky pine product: RESIN.
45. Long, slithery fish: EEL.
46. "Humpty Dumpty" rhyme scheme: AABB.
49. Thompson who won four NBA championships with the Warriors: KLAY. Klay Alexander Thompson (b. Feb. 8, 1990) currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks. He previously played for the Golden State Warriors for 13 seasons.
56. Money to repay: LOAN.
59. Reproductive cells: OVA.
60. __-Coeur Basilica: Paris tourist spot: SACRÉ. Today's French lesson. Sacré-Cœur Basilica is a minor basilica in Paris and is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
61. Pianist's practice piece: ÉTUDE. More of today's French lesson.
62. Cocktail garnishes: OLIVES.
66. Experts: MAVENS.
67. Rum quaff: GROG. There are several "origin" stories of how Grog came to be. Here is one version.
68. Not mainstream, informally: ALT. As in Alternative.
69. White of "The Golden Girls": BETTY. Betty Marion White (Jan. 17, 1922 ~ Dec. 31, 2021) was a wonderful comedian and actress. She also starred in the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
1. Gentle yoga style: HATHA. Everything you wanted to know about Hatha yoga but didn't know to ask.
2. Like some committees: AD HOC. Today's Latin lesson.
3. Indoor cats, e.g.: HOUSE PETS. // And 63-Down. 3-Down doc: VET.
4. Flows out, as the tide: EBBS.
5. Close to the ground: LOW.
6. Camel kin in Peru: LLAMA.
7. Classic Fender, familiarly: STRAT. Everything you wanted to know about Fender guitars.
8. Fortunetelling decks: TAROTS.
9. Utah or Maine, in Washington, D.C.: AVENUE.
10. Make a path in a field, say: MOW.
11. Former Knicks center Patrick: EWING. Although Patrick Ewing (né Patrick Aloysius Ewing; b. Aug. 5, 1962) was born in Jamaica, he lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts during his childhood before being recruited by Georgetown, where he played college basketball.
12. "Is it worth the risk?": DARE I?
16. Like turkey chili: LEAN.
18. Flat-topped landform: MESA.
22. Skydivers' needs: CHUTES.
25. Wild party: BASH.
26. La __ Tar Pits: BREA.
28. Ms. __-Man: arcade classic: PAC.
30. Tote or duffel: BAG.
31. Pitching stat: ERA. As in Earned Run Average.
33. Food preservative acid: SORBIC.
34. Scrape (by): EKE.
36. "Did I do something wrong?": ARE YOU MAD?
37. Fr. holy woman: STE. A continuation of today's French lesson.
38. Fr. fashion brand: YSL. More of today's French theme. The company is a luxury fashion house founded 1961 by Yves Saint Laurent (né Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent; Aug. 1, 1936 ~ June 1, 2008) and Pierre Bergé (né Pierre Vital Georges Bergé; Nov. 14, 1930 ~ Sept. 8, 2017)
40. Apple Pencil device: iPAD.
41. Mountain trail activity: HIKE.
42. Made a JPEG bigger, briefly: ENL. As in Enlarge.
47. Not at school: ABSENT.
48. Loud and shrill, as a trumpet: BRASSY.
50. Ski town in Utah's Wasatch Mountains: ALTA.
51. Weaver's device: LOOM.
52. Space for tech-savvy HS kids: AV LAB.
53. Clueless: NAÏVE.
54. Wine residue: DREGS.
55. Artistic category: GENRE.
57. "Skyfall" vocalist: ADELE. Adele (née Adele Laurie Blue Adkins; b. May 5, 1988) English singer-songwriter known for her soulful ballads and mezzo-soprano vocals. Yesterday she was drinking wine.
Hmm ... where to begin today ... do we talk about the theme (based on the reveal in 25-down)? Do we talk about having another "easy Friday" solve? Do we talk about some rather hackneyed entries/clues?
I address them all, so don't worry about any big "build-up" in today's puzzle re-cap
First - the theme: 25-down. Create high expectations for, or an apt description of the first part of the answer to each starred clue: BUILD-UP (note that the first word of each entry answer below is highlighted in red)
Second - the ease of solving: I solve the puzzles using "Across Lite" software. This software contains a timer, separate from the grid. I don't type nearly as quickly as I solve, and I often have to backspace and/or erase rogue letters I've entered. I also like to take a sip of coffee (or another beverage) whilst solving, so I will never win a prize for being the fastest. But today, I managed to get this in about 7 minutes:30 seconds. That, to me, is not what a "Friday puzzle" should "feel like"
Third - the hackneyed entries (and clues): I will address these within the text of my recap below
Can we all agree that whenever we solve a crossword puzzle - regardless of the venue - we have a certain "build-up" of expectation? Are we wondering on what clever corridor the constructor took us? I know I do. I am always looking for the "aha" moment when the final letter is placed in the grid, and/or the reveal is, well, revealed. So, if anyone had trouble sussing this today, please allow me to "emarf" my answer. Here are the "theme entries":
5-down. *Snappy dresser: NOIHSAF PLATE. The word "FASHION" is inverted and/or built "UP" in the puzzle grid
11-down. *Many a rejection notice: MROF LETTER. The word "FORM" is inverted and/or built "UP" in the puzzle grid
23-down. *Pillar of society: LEDOM CITIZEN. The word "MODEL" is inverted and/or built "UP" in the puzzle grid
29-down. *Mutate: EPAHS SHIFT. The word "SHAPE" is inverted and/or built "UP" in the puzzle grid
FASHION, FORM, MODEL, and SHAPE are all synonyms of the word "build" (when used as a verb)
This is Noelle's third puzzle @ LA Times. Her two previous ones were in 2024 and appeared on a Monday and Tuesday. I think that this one, too, should have been featured on an early-in-the-week day
Level of difficulty (Mohs hardness scale rating): 2.5 out of 10
Let's examine the grid and then the rest of the entries:
The Grid
Across:
1. Country made up of 14,125 islands: JAPAN. This was a learning moment (for me) but also my first choice. I sneaked a peek at 1-down and knew that it had to start with a "J" 🗾
6. Vegetable with a lacinato variety: KALE. Odd clue / odd vegetable; solved with a perp or two
10. License issuers, for short: DMVS. Plurals of abbrs are not my favorite entries
14. Budget, in brand names: ECONO. Budget is also a brand name of a rental car company
15. Storm centers: EYES. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
16. Part of the HOMES mnemonic: ERIE. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
18. "Cool!": NEAT. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
19. Ingredient in some barbecue sauce: COLA. Learning moment for me. Here is a recipe
20. Anew: FRESHLY. This is a good and proper Friday word entry. According to Crossword Tracker, this is just the fourth usage of the word freshly - well chosen, Noelle!
22. Fried chickpea bite: FALAFEL. 🐤🫛
24. Bygone Swedish auto: SAAB. Moe-ku #1:
Founder of Swedish
Car was brought to tears when he
Told his SAAB story
26. Relate: TELL.
27. Microbrewery fixture: ALE TAP. This answer might soon become hackneyed
31. Secondhand: USED. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
33. Pitching stat: ERA. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
36. On __ the world: TOP OF. Can you be "on top of the world" and "over-the-moon" at the same time?
37. Tech boss: CIO. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
38. Rice cooker brand: OSTER. Well, I suppose if the clue read "Blender brand" I could pan it as being too easy for a Friday! 😜
41. "__ see myself out": I'LL. This would've been a fun clue and entry @ 64-down!
42. Dull, in a way: MATTE. As in a matte finished photo, e.g.
43. "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" singer Waters: ETHEL. Acceptable; a non-acceptable clue would've referred to erstwhile singer/actress Merman
44. Bother: ADO.
45. Family friendly: CLEAN. I wanted to use "RATED G" but there weren't enough spaces
46. Small batteries: AAS. Plurals of abbrs are not my favorite entries
47. Six-time MLB All-Star Moises: ALOU. Speaking of hackneyed clues/entries
49. Letter before Tango: SIERRA. My last recap contained a reference to the NATO alphabet
50. Make full: SATE. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
52. Novel idea?: PLOT. Clever clue and answer 📖
54. Reach, as a goal: ACHIEVE. I tried SUSTAIN first
57. Pink Floyd album with the songs "Dogs" and "Sheep": ANIMALS. This 1977 studio-album release from Pink Floyd was loosely based on George Orwell's Animal Farm - the entire album is downloaded below (41 minutes in length). More about it from Wikipedia
62. __-back: LAID. Not usually a descriptor used for yours, truly
63. Fair, in a way: EVEN. Not according to the Thesaurus-saurus
Not "EVEN" mentioned
65. "Not another sound!": ZIP IT. 🤐
66. Small transverse flute: FIFE. A fife is played in a position transverse to the flute. I wonder if anyone needed a perpendicular to solve this? That would be fitting, wouldn't it?? 😜
67. "The thing is ... ": LOOK. 👀
68. College athletics airer: ESPN U.
69. Picnic pests: ANTS. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer 🐜 🐜 🐜
71. Snooped: NOSED. I tried SPIED first and then changed it
Down:
1. TV host Probst: JEFF. He, of the CBS virtual reality show, "Survivor"
2. Big name in laptops: ACER. DELL also fits
3. Southern cake: PONE. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
4. "No ifs, __, or buts": ANDS. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
[5. 1st Entry]
6. "Out of Africa" setting: KENYA. If you had to take a wild guess, there are eight African countries that have a 5-letter name: BENIN, EGYPT, GABON, GHANA, KENYA, LIBYA, NIGER, and SUDAN
7. Yeoman's yes: AYE. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
8. Part of the Apple logo: LEAF.
9. Manor: ESTATE. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
10. Parking permit, perhaps: DECAL.
[2nd Entry
12. Wicked: VILE. Its anagram - EVIL - also fits 😁
13. Make airtight: SEAL. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer 🦭
21. Napkin holder: LAP. Moe-ku #2:
(folded) Napkins at strip club
Were quite the hit. They performed
Origami LAP dance
[23. 3rd Entry]
[25. - Reveal]
27. Sailing: AT SEA. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
28. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA. One of my favorites; this iconic Led Zeppelin hit song:
Another of my favorite Led Zeppelin hits:
[29. 4th Entry]
30. Hefty volume: TOME. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
32. Aria, for one: SOLO. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
34. Do some roof repairs: RE-TAR. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
35. Hockey venue: ARENA. How "un-Friday like" a clue/answer
37. Parting word: CIAO. [my use of "how un-Friday like" is starting to get hackneyed]😄 So, I will not use this again ...
39. "Going out of business" event: SALE. What else could it be?
48. Takes to the ground: LEVELS. I remember when a few of the older casinos in Vegas were imploded ...
49. Bart, to Homer: SON. Monday clue/entry
51. Hill workers: AIDES. As in "Capitol Hill" (assistants to senators and representatives in Washington, D.C.)
53. Long and lean: LANKY.
54. Letter before Bravo: ALFA. My last recap contained a reference to the NATO alphabet; today's recap contains two
55. "Mildred Pierce" novelist: CAIN. Acceptable; a non-acceptable clue would've referred to a family member in the Book of Genesis
56. Vinaigrette acronym: EVOO. This answer might soon become hackneyed
58. Japanese soup base: MISO. This answer might soon become hackneyed
59. Home screen array: APPS. This answer might soon become hackneyed
60. Part of a script: LINE. My last recap used this as the clue: Actor's "What am I supposed to say?": LINE.
Is it me or have my recaps been made redundant? Or are they, too, becoming hackneyed?
61. Wall support: STUD.
64. Countless lifetimes: EON. No comment ...
OK, final thoughts as I wrap this up:
a) Note to the editor(s) - Friday puzzles should be more difficult than this. Please invite Barry Silk and/or Jeffrey Wechsler to re-submit a puzzle for a Friday inclusion
b) Noelle Griskey- if you happen to see/read this recap please accept this constructive tip: maintain symmetry in your clues. Too many were too easy for a Friday puzzle. If this puzzle was meant to be an early week submission, your clues were just fine ... BTW, are you the Noelle Griskey who has an ETSY site, and is from Pittsburgh?
(Note from C.C.: I'm excited to tell you that NaomiZ has joined our blog.
Welcome on board, Naomi!)
Theme: Swell! Groovy! Boss! Chill!
Today's dandy offering from Noelle Griskey is so far out, it's lit!
As revealed at 60 Across, the STARTs of 17-, 26-, and 44-Across are synonyms
for fabulous and trendy.
17A. Low-slung jeans: HIP HUGGERS. THEME CLUE #1.
HIP as in groovy. I thought these pants were so cool in high
school.
26A. 1993 film about the Olympic bobsled team from Jamaica: COOL RUNNINGS. THEME CLUE #2. COOL as in groovy, but also as in
icy.
44A. Magazine with tips and techniques for anglers: FLY FISHERMAN. THEME CLUE #3. FLY as in groovy. My father was a FLY
FISHERMAN; he made lures from feathers and cast them with a hollow line to
fool trout into thinking they were flies on the water. In old age, he
removed the barbs from his hooks to release the fish more easily. In
older age, he preferred to watch the fish rather than to hook them.
60A. New beginning, and a feature of 17-, 26-, and 44-Across: FRESH START. THEME CLUE #4. FRESH as in groovy, START as in the the first word of
each answer to a theme clue.
Across:
1. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.
The Taj Mahal
5. Hors d'oeuvres spread: PATE.
9. Type of ski
lift: TBAR.
13. Greet the day: ARISE.
15.
Clever thought: IDEA.
16. Cogito __
sum: ERGO. "I think, therefore I am." A clever
thought from René Descartes.
19. Semimonthly tide: NEAP.
20. Hit the gas: SPEED UP.
21. Term of endearment: PET NAME.
23.
Mega Stuf cookie: OREO. I talk myself out of these
every trip to the supermarket.
25. Helped out: AIDED.
32. "Just Mercy" actor __ Jackson Jr.: OSHEA. Wikipedia
says, "He is the oldest son of Ice Cube and, in his feature film debut,
portrayed his father in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton." DNK!
33. __ leches cake: TRES. I believe blog etiquette
requires me to say, "Yummers!"
34. Quiet "Quiet!": SHH.
37. Landed on a
perch: ALIT. Often said of my avian friends.
38. "The Road Not Taken" poet Robert: FROST. "Two roads
diverged in a yellow wood." DH and I went leaf peeping on the Robert
Frost Interpretive Trail in Vermont.
40. Clever tactic: PLOY.
41. Brit's
washroom: LOO.
42. Get ready, for
short: PREP. This is what I do when DH cooks. I also
wash the boards and bowls as he goes along.
43. Within the __ of possibility: REALM.
47. "I feel the same": ME TOO.
50. Some 30-Down
employees: Abbr.: CPAS.
51. Like some sandals: OPEN TOE.
54. Up for discussion: AT ISSUE.
59. N, on a French
map: NORD. On our honeymoon, DH and I took the
"Chunnel" train from London to Paris, arriving at the Gare du Nord. I
was surprised when a French woman offered to help us with directions at the
station. Everyone was so kind to us! It was shortly after
9/11.
62. Beige hue: ECRU.
63. Mattress
specification: FIRM.
64. Dramatic ballroom
dance: TANGO.
65. Quaker's "you": THEE.
66. Sail the seven
__: SEAS.
67. Adolescent: TEEN.
Down:
1. Spa sounds: AAHS.
2. Subject of a basic golf
lesson: GRIP.
3. Like a fragrant
melon: RIPE.
4. Wimbledon winner
Arthur: ASHE.
5. "Peanuts" character in a cloud of
dirt: PIG PEN.
6. Suffix with lemon and Gator: ADE.
7. Maryland
athlete, for short: TERP. Wikipedia says, "The Maryland
Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in
National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition."
Strangely, I was familiar with this team.
8. Reduce, as anxiety: EASE.
9. Sport for
4-Down: TENNIS.
10. Sourdough or
rye: BREAD.
11. Best competitive effort,
informally: A GAME.
12. Cordoned
(off): ROPED.
14. Pulitzer-winning novelist
Welty: EUDORA.
18. Hindu spiritual
mentor: GURU.
22. Identifies on social media: TAGS.
24. Pertinent to
the discussion: ON TOPIC.
26. Mined
fuel: COAL.
27. Norway home of the Munch
Museum: OSLO. Easy guess.
28. Cleveland's state: OHIO.
29.
Allow: LET.
30. Tax-collecting
org.: IRS.
31. After
expenses: NET. After the IRS!
34. Bang shut: SLAM.
35. "Hi,
amiga!": HOLA.
36. Church choir song: HYMN.
38. Cook in a
wok: FRY.
39. NFL official: REF.
40.
Part of mph: PER.
42. Parcel of
land: PLOT.
43. Fight against: RESIST.
44.
Dish with melted cheese or chocolate: FONDUE.
45.
Muscle cramps, e.g.: SPASMS.
46. Owns,
biblically: HATH.
47. Impressionist painter
Claude: MONET. Here are DH and I in Claude MONET's
garden.
48. Noteworthy time period: EPOCH.
49. Pied-à-__:
secondary residence: TERRE. One residence is trouble
enough for me, but I wouldn't really mind a pied-à-terre in Paris.
52. Trade-__: concessions: OFFS.
53. Cleveland's
lake: ERIE.
55. Sports page datum, for
short: STAT.
56. Of sound mind: SANE.
57.
Encourage: URGE.
58. School near Windsor
Castle: ETON.
61. Noteworthy time
period: ERA.
Here's the grid:
I am thrilled to contribute my first blog entry anywhere to the best little
Corner on the internet.
