Thursday, December 18, 2025, Rebecca Goldstein

Theme:  On a wing and a prayer ...

Wright Brothers first flight, December 17, 1903

Was our constructor, Rebecca Goldstein, inspired by yesterday's 122nd anniversary of the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina?  Maybe!  The theme answers in today's puzzle all involve wings.  They are:

17-Across. Many an American employee: FLIGHT ATTENDANT.  The American Airlines flight attendant uniform includes a metal pin in the shape of wings with the company logo at the center. 

25-Across. List of pub grub: BAR MENU.  A bar menu frequently includes chicken wings.

28-Across. Contest that starts with a center-ice faceoff: NHL GAME.  The National Hockey League includes a team called the Detroit Red Wings that is celebrating its 100th anniversary in the 2025/26 season.

42-Across. Residential upgrades: HOME IMPROVEMENT.  Upgrading your home?  You might add a new wing.

55-Across. Red Bull slogan, and what can also be said of 17-, 25-, 28-, and 42-Across: GIVES YOU WIIINGS.  Red Bull is an "energy drink" containing caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, and inositol.  It is advertised as a performance enhancer.  In 2013, a class-action lawsuit argued that the slogan "Red Bull gives you wings" and related marketing claims misled consumers into believing the drink provided benefits not found in a cup of coffee.  The suit was settled for $13 million, and the slogan was changed to "Red Bull gives you WIIINGS" as if this is somehow more clearly metaphorical, and less a literal claim.  Both the before and after slogans are news to this blogger.

So, 17-, 25-, 28-, and 42-Across GIVE YOU WINGS.  Sort of, right?  The flight attendant might give you a wings pin.  The bar menu might give you chicken wings.  An NHL game might serve up the Detroit Red Wings.  And home improvements might give you (and your house) new wings.

At this point, we are flying high.  On to the rest of the clues and answers!

Across:

1. "In the headlights" animal: DEER.  Deer have more light sensitive rod cells and greater dilation than we have in our eyes, giving them good night vision. When you shine bright light into their faces at night, they are blinded. Their fear response is to freeze to avoid detection by predators. This response is not well adapted to fast moving cars.

5. Golf tops: POLOS.  Golf courses often have dress codes requiring shirts with collars, so a polo shirt is a comfortable way to meet that standard.

10. Fury: RAGE.

14. Soul, in Spanish: ALMA.

15. "Alas and __!": ALACK.  Alas and alack have the same meaning, and are doubled for effect.

16. Some Sharon Olds poems: ODES.  Sharon Olds is an American poet who won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  Raised by abusive parents in a strict religious environment, her poetry uses raw language to expose domestic and political violence.  Odes is a 2016 collection of poetry in the form of odes addressing taboo subjects.

17. [Theme clue]

20. __ sauce: TARTAR.

21. Called: TERMED.

22. Brand of 5-Across: IZOD.  Remember when this brand of polo shirts was all the 10-Across?  

24. Breakfast bowl berry: ACAI.

25. [Theme clue]

28. [Theme clue]

32. Skin soother: ALOE.

33. HS diploma equivalent: GED.  General Educational Development is a set of exams that provide a certificate equivalent to a high school diploma.

35. "All over that": ON IT.

36. Wellness space: SPA.

37. Fruit also known as guanabana: SOURSOP.  Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata, a broadleaf evergreen tree.  It is native to the tropical Americas and is widely propagated.  With an aroma similar to pineapple, the flavor has been described as a combination of strawberries and apple with sour citrus notes, and a creamy texture reminiscent of banana.

Soursop fruit on the tree

41. Herbal refreshment: TEA.

42. [Theme clue]

45. Director Lee: ANG.

46. Quick __ wink: AS A.

47. Escapade: LARK.

49. Chess greats, for short: GMS.  Grandmasters.  Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain.

52. Indigenous Canadians: CREE.

55. [Theme clue]

59. Butter Restaurant chef/owner Guarnaschelli: ALEX.  She's a Food Network star and Manhattan restaurateur.

Alex Guarnaschelli

60. March follower: APRIL.

61. Sushi seaweed: NORI.

62. Pops: DADA.

63. Foul call, maybe: PRANK.  A couple of my friends made "foul calls" when we were in middle school.  A call to the corner drug store or liquor store:  "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?  You do?  Well, let him out!"  And a call to any random number:  "Is your refrigerator running?  It is?  Well, you'd better go catch it!"

64. Scratched (out): EKED.

65. Con: SCAM.

66. Shoe bottoms: SOLES.

67. Simchat bat, for one: RITE.  "Simchat bat" is Hebrew for "rejoicing over a daughter."  This ritual welcomes a baby girl into the Jewish people, much as the "brit milah" (or "covenant of circumcision") welcomes a baby boy ... but with no surgery involved.

Down:

1. Absurd: DAFT.  Just plain silly.

2. "First Lady of Song" Fitzgerald: ELLA.

3. Qatari commander: EMIR.

4. "The Entertainer" genre: RAGTIME.  "The Entertainer" is a 1902 ragtime piece for piano written by Scott Joplin.  It was popular as a piano roll for player pianos in the 1910s, and was first recorded by "the Blue Boys" in 1928, on mandolin and guitar.  In 1973, it was the theme music for The Sting, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.  Ragtime was big from the 1890s to 1910s; its signature trait is a syncopated or "ragged" rhythm.

5. Source of financial aid: PATRON.

6. Rio greeting: OLA.  "Hello" in Portuguese, the language of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

7. Muscle worked in dumbbell rows: LAT.  Cruciverbalists call those large back muscles "latissimi dorsi," but gym rats call them lats.

8. Halloween mo.: OCT.  An abbreviation in the clue suggests an abbreviation in the answer.

9. Comedy scene: SKETCH.

10. "Good 4 U" singer Olivia: RODRIGO.  Olivia Rodrigo acted in the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and then shifted into singing, which has earned her three Grammy awards.  She was recognized as Time's Entertainer of the Year in 2021, Billboard's Woman of the Year in 2022, and ASCAP's Pop Music Songwriter of the Year in 2022 and 2024.  Good 4 U was her second number-one song in 2021.  This blogger is behind the times.  

11. Driver of "Ferrari": ADAM.  Adam Driver played Enzo Ferrari in the 2023 film.

Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, and as himself.

12. Part of an inheritance: GENE.  Part of a genetic inheritance.

13. Founded, as a co.: ESTD.  "Established" can be abbreviated as EST, ESTD, or EST'D.

18. Skyline obscurer: HAZE.

19. Diane of "Law & Order: SVU": NEAL.  Diane Neal played a New York assistant district attorney on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2003 to 2012.  She had an unsuccessful run for Congress in 2018.

Diane Neal on SVU

23. Excavated: DUG UP.

24. "In conclusion ... ": AND SO ...

25. Fun function: BASH.

26. Chewy brand: ALPO.  Chewy is a pet supplies website.  As far as I can tell, they don't offer the Alpo brand of pet food on their U.S. site, but they do offer it in Canada.  Alpo does make a dog treat called Chew-eez, but again, it appears to be for the Canadian market.  Is our constructor suggesting that Alpo is a particularly chewy brand of pet food?  How would she know?  

27. Wander: ROAM.

29. Price for hand delivery?: ANTE.  The price you pay to be dealt a hand in a card game.

30. Bearing: MIEN.

31. Coup d'__: ÉTAT.  French for "blow to the state," more or less.  An illegal takeover of the government by sudden action.

34. Stumble or fumble: ERR.

37. Vanity pieces: SINKS.  A bathroom vanity combines a sink, countertop, and storage cabinet.

38. "Srsly!?": OMG.  Textspeak:  Seriously?  Oh my god!

39. Roe, e.g.: OVA.

40. "Raging Bull" Oscar nominee: PESCI.  Raging Bull is a 1980 Martin Scorsese film about boxing champion Jake LaMotta.  Joe Pesci plays Jake's brother, Joey LaMotta.

From Raging Bull: Joe Pesci is on the right

43. Sound check?: EAR EXAM.  Your blogger has an audiology appointment tomorrow.

44. Water boy?: MARINER.  A mariner works aboard a boat or ship ... on the water.

47. Olive family shrub: LILAC.  Lilacs and olives are members of the family Oleaceae.  Other family members (of which there are 700!) include jasmine and forsythia.

48. Vegan brand owned by Estée Lauder: AVEDA.

49. Device on a snowboarder's helmet, maybe: GOPRO.  A GoPro is a camera used to capture videos and photos in challenging situations.  It is waterproof and shockproof, can stabilize images, and has versatile mounting options.

50. Wall flowers, perhaps: MURAL.

51. Pigs: SWINE.

53. Miso soup mushroom: ENOKI.

Enoki mushrooms

54. Ibis kin: EGRET.

55. Wanders (about): GADS.

56. Blathers on: YAPS.

57. Varieties: ILKS.

58. "Oh sure, take their __!": SIDE.

Here's the grid:

Solvers:  Did you think Rebecca's puzzle was DAFT?  Did you ERR at some point and react in RAGE?

Or did you think the experience of solving was a LARK and look forward to more puzzles of this ILK?

Let us know in the comments!

-- NaomiZ

Sunday November 30, 2025 Rafael Musa & Rebecca Goldstein

When our mistress of ceremonies sent out the call for RustyBrain, I was sleeping and missed the spotlight in the sky. But she has mysterious ways, and when I awoke, I remembered part of a dream, "Must call C.C. Must call C.C..."

Rafael Musa and Rebecca Goldstein have collaborated before with great success, but this time they may have thought a little too hard to find gemstones whose letters are the only ones used in quasi-anagrams of the answers. These precious gems proved oddly worthless as this solved as a theme-less. Here's the revealer to help explain:

117. Cold-hearted, or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: MADE OF STONE. Nobody says someone's heart is MADE OF STONE. They simply say someone has a "heart of stone." But it does describe what is happening here. The letters of each gemstone (and only these letters) are required to spell out the answers to the clues. 

22. *Kitchen gadget fashioned from pearl?: APPLE PEELER. The letters P, E, A, R, L, are needed to spell the answer. Note some letters are reused.

24. *Orange jam produced with emerald?: MARMALADE. Similarly, the letters E, M, E, R, A, L, D, are mixed to spell MARMALADE. What threw me is that there are 2 "E"s in emerald and only one in the answer.

36. *Latin cornerstone phrase etched by diamond?: ANNO DOMINI. Same thing happened here, where "diamond" has 2 "D"s. So, some letters of the gems must be repeated and others dropped.

45. *Approach bearing garnet?: GET NEAR. This one is the closest match of stone to answer.

68. *Knockout competition formed with tourmaline?: ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT. I'm sure it was hard to find a gemstone for a grid-spanner. Tourmaline was new to me but is apparently popular for its electrical and spiritual properties. It comes in many colors to suit any mood.

90. *Gym amenity filled with opal?: LAP POOL. Not to be confused with the German car, although it can have a fancy paint job.

100. *Newspaper figure who works with peridot?: OP-ED EDITOR. A gem that's fairly common, in crosswords anyway.

115. *Hockey puck drop spot composed of citrine?: CENTER ICE. A gemstone with the color of citrus.

I'm not sure what the title "Think Hard" refers to. The gems are "hard," as all stones are, but they are not in any order of hardness (as "diamond" is in the third position, yet is obviously the hardest). And they didn't make the answers harder. Clever over all, but something that was probably more exciting for the constructors than the solvers. Please let me know if I need to Think Harder about this.

Some more gems:

Across:

1. Corrupt payoff: BRIBE. 

6. Courts: WOOS. 

10. Contract detail, for short: SPEC. SPECification.

14. Laura of "Marriage Story": DERN. 

18. Alternative to finger pointing: LASER. The modern way to accuse someone.

19. Polo or tee: SHIRT. Or tea after polo!

20. Dynamic opening?: AERO. 

21. Peppa Pig's baby sister: EVIE. Peppa Pig is a British preschool animated children's television series. I had to binge-watch an entire season so I'd be able to comment on it. You're welcome.

22. [theme]

24. [theme]

26. Texter's "Speak soon": TTYL. Talk To You Later.

27. Paramore's "__ It Fun": AIN'T. No it AIN'T.

28. Primatology focus: APES. Primatology is the scientific study of non-human primates, such as my brother (I hope he isn't reading this). Can you spot him in this old family photo?

30. __ oneself on: PRIDED.

31. Big pigs: HOGS. Nothing like Peppa Pig.

33. __ Ababa: ADDIS.

35. Mulligans: DO OVERS. 

36. [theme]

40. Enjoys a fine meal: DINES. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

42. Start to stop?: ESS. A letteral clue.

43. Played on repeat: LOOPED. Played on repeat: LOOPED. Played on repeat: LOOPED...

44. Bout-ending letters: TKO. Technical KnockOut.

45. [theme]

47. Sphere: ORB. 

48. Heads south?: SAGS. I wanted a Spanish word bathroom or one's skull, but it simply equates to  "droops." 

50. Text scam portmanteau: SMISH. Unfamiliar term for SMS phishing, a type of cyberattack seeking personal information or downloading malware. The middle "I" crossed PIDGIN in an unfortunate spot.

52. Conductor Zubin: MEHTA. He may be internationally renowned, but I still can't spell his name.

56. Scale button: TARE.

58. Wise biblical king: SOLOMON.

60. Soaked up the sun, say: LAID OUT. 

62. Captain's band location: ARM. A sergeant's band location is among the flowers.

64. Outdoor dining spot: PATIO. Some outdoor dining spots are hard to clean.

65. Asian ethnic group in "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down": HMONG. This 1997 book chronicles the struggles of a HMONG refugee family from Laos and their interactions with the health care system in California.

67. Noninvasive 3D scan: MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

68. [theme]

73. Shouted advice in a horror film: RUN. 

74. Snoops (around): NOSES.

75. En __: MASSE.

76. Auto that may have large blind spots: SUV. Sport Utility Vehicles generally have larger blind spots than cars, particularly in the front and rear, due to their size, higher hoods, and wider pillars.

77. Was humiliated: ATE DIRT. I had ATE CROW at first.

79. Body art sacred in Maori culture, briefly: FACE TAT. A New Zealand facial tattoo, known as a Tā moko, is seen as a sacred marker of their heritage and lineage. Men often cover their whole face.

81. Fashion house in "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris": DIOR.

84. Blood component: SERUM.

85. With 96-Down, "My Way" singer: FRANK. With 96D, SINATRA.

87. Jeans cut: SLIM.

89. Cold open?: SNO. 

90. [theme]

93. GPS heading: SSE. I actually like this versa traveling between two cities I've never heard of. Just pick a direction.

95. Blue-green Muppet who plays the guitar: ROSITA.

97. Stage name of Park Jae-sang: PSY. The South Korean singer does it "Gangnam Style." Op, op,op, op!

99. Cookies with a Golden variety: OREOS. A travesty!

100. [theme]

102. Quietly: FAINTLY.

104. Pooh's creator: MILNE. A. A. MILNE was primarily a poet and a playwright until a fateful visit to the London Zoo with his son, Christopher Robin. Christopher became enamored with a tame and amiable bear named Winnipeg that provided inspiration to his father.

106. Genesis location: EDEN. Genesis location: HYUNDAI dealership.

107. Soft wool: ANGORA.

108. Seller of Poäng chairs: IKEA. Because when you sit on one, it goes, "Poäng!"

109. Red Muppet who plays the piano: ELMO. He can play along with ROSITA!

111. Border on: ABUT.

115. [theme]

117. [theme]

120. Plant with a trunk: TREE. Animal with a trunk: ELEPHANT.

121. Jet-black: INKY.

122. Many Wix sites: BLOGS. Wix is a cloud-based website builder platform that makes it easy (?) to build you own website.

123. Wear down: ERODE.

124. HS safety gp.: SADD. Students Against Destructive Decisions is a High School safety group that began as Students Against Driving Drunk, but now encompasses everything from drug abuse to suicide.

125. Utters: SAYS.

126. Lip: SASS.

127. Official and authentic content: CANON. CANON is the official and authentic camera of the Olympics.

Down:

1. Harsh trumpet note: BLAT. Even the word BLAT sounds harsh.

2. Transfixed: RAPT.

3. Car trip game: I SPY. I SPY with my little eye...

4. Someone dealing with a lot of baggage?: BELLHOP. Here's a young actor's first on-screen role in 1966 as “uncredited bellhop” in Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round. It's 23-year-old Harrison Ford, seven years before American Graffiti.

5. Poetic preposition: ERE.

6. A question of time: WHEN.

7. Fuel storage option: OIL TANK.

8. Subject of a miner dispute, maybe: ORE. Fun clue.

9. Prized violin, familiarly: STRAD. A violin by Antonio Stradivarius fetches over $10 million nowadays. The bow is extra.

10. "OMG, twins!": SAMESIES.

11. Pod veggies: PEAS.

12. __ on the side of caution: ERR.

13. Write music: COMPOSE. Erase music: DECOMPOSE.

14. iMessage status: DELIVERED.

15. Gets around: EVADES. Gets around: TREATS.

16. Bus customers: RIDERS. Bus customers: SCHOOLS.

17. Deems essential: NEEDS.

19. Big shake: SEISM. A less common name for an earthquake, the term comes from the Greek word seismos, meaning "to shake".

23. Tiered temples: PAGODAS.

25. Unlikely to catch feelings, informally: ARO. As we cruciverbalists are learning, ARO is short for aromantic, meaning a person who experiences little to no romantic attraction.

29. Simplified speech: PIDGIN. It's often seen as PIDGIN English and has it's own unique grammar. I initially wanted an "O" at the cross of this with 50A SMISH.

32. Praising poetry: ODES.

34. Spanish "My god!": DIOS MIO. Luckily, the Almighty also speaks Spanish.

35. Cozy spot: DEN.

36. Often: A LOT.

37. Filmmaker Ephron: NORA. NORA Ephron was an American journalist, screenwriter, director, producer, novelist, and blogger. She was a key figure in the New Journalism movement of the 1960s, and became known for her sharp wit and social observations.

38. Choice that requires little thought: NO BRAINER. Also something my dear RightBrain calls me. 

39. "I should get going": IT'S LATE.

41. For the __ time: NTH. I'd prefer "umpteenth" here. 

46. Compañeras: AMIGAS. Compañeras are girlfriends en español, thus AMIGAS has the feminine "A" ending.

49. Exceed: GO PAST.

51. VMA figure: MOONMAN. MTV's Video Music Award features an astronaut known as MOONMAN.

53. House call: HOME VISIT. 

54. Time to roll the dice, maybe: TURN. 

55. Working hard: AT IT.

57. Vocal stumble: ERM. "ERM," said no one, ever.

59. Elevator innovator: OTIS. His career had its ups and downs.

60. "Because you're worth it" brand: L'OREAL.

61. Basketball Hall of Famer Meyers: ANN. She was a standout player in high school, at UCLA, and the Olympic Games.

63. Low points: MINIMA. The opposite of maxima.

65. Water way?: HOSE. Another fun clue.

66. Like can't-miss attractions: MUST SEE.

68. Taylor Swift's "The __ Tour": ERAS. All I know about Taylor Swift is the name of this tour.

69. Guitarlike instrument: LUTE.

70. Conjunction used in logic: NOR. NOR is a logical operator that outputs a 1 (true) only when all of its inputs are 0 (false).

71. Adds to: TACKS ON.

72. Contents of some inedible cakes: MUD. I've only had MUD pies.

78. "Roger that": DULY NOTED.

79. Synthetic lash strip: FALSIE. I was surprised when I discovered that a girl I was dating in high school was wearing FALSIEs, but she didn't bat an eye.

80. Done with: TIRED OF.

82. "__ the next!": ONTO.

83. Lion's share?: ROAR. I guess he's sharing his vocalization with you.

85. Enemy: FOE.

86. Check-in items: ROOM KEYS. These have mostly been replaced by key cards.

88. Eco or sport, in some cars: MODE.

91. Ursa Minor star: POLARIS. Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) features Polaris (the North Star) which appears stationary above the North Pole. Used for millennia as a navigation aide in the northern hemisphere, there is no equivalent star in the south.

92. Ask for details about a breakup, say: PRY.

94. Swimwear in Fire Island Pines, often: SPEEDOS. Fire Island Pines is a small, gay-friendly community on a barrier beach island located near Long Island, New York, and is accessible by ferry. 

96. See 85-Across: SINATRA. Old blue eyes.

97. Franchise with a Crème Brûlée Latte: PANERA. 

98. Name dropped?: SIGNED. Sorta, but not very clear. 

101. Expo presentations, perhaps: DEMOS.

102. Trivia fodder: FACTS.

103. Uno, due, __: TRE. 

105. "The Silence of the __": LAMBS. I like to sit down and watch this with some fava beans and a nice chianti,

108. Nasty: ICKY.

110. Chair supports: LEGS.

112. Lucky break: BOON.

113. __ send: handy feature on some email platforms: UNDO. 

114. Ump's following?: TEEN. Maybe this is why they didn't use it for 41D.

116. "Barefoot Contessa" host Garten: INA.

118. __ plancha: A LA. In Spanish cooking, "A LA plancha" means "grilled on a metal plate," and is often served sizzling hot.

119. Quick moment: SEC. It's just half a second.