Thursday, June 26, 2025, Roland Huget

 Theme:  There's something different about you!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Frequent constructor Roland Huget serves up a Thursday challenge.  The theme clues and answers are:

17-Across. *Technical team supervisor: PROJECT ENGINEER.

27-Across. *Special occasion mailing: GREETING CARD.

49-Across. *Place of monumental achievement?: ANCIENT EGYPT.

63-Across. Change studied by evolutionary biologists, or what can be found in the answer to each starred clue?: GENETIC MUTATION.

In the answers to each of the starred clues, the word GENETIC has been scrambled, or mutated, and spans both of the words in the answer.  I have a hard time unscrambling words, so I'm impressed with Mr. Huget for finding these scrambles!  I like seeing the theme answers placed symmetrically in the grid, and two of them span the grid.  It's also worth noting that mutations involve scrambling of the genetic code.  All very impressive.  

Across:

1. Erie Canal city: UTICA.

The original Erie Canal ran right through downtown Utica.

6. True, in Italian: VERO.  Shared Latin roots give us the English words very, veracity, verify, and verdict.

10. Hippie event: BE-IN.  The Human Be-In was an event held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on January 14, 1967.  Inspired by sit-ins and teach-ins, it gave rise to another Human Be-In in Denver later the same year.  Along with some very cool musical performances, the events focused on ideals of personal empowerment, communal living, ecological awareness, higher consciousness, and radical New Left political thinking.  Apparently all that universal love and grooviness didn't replace the existing culture.  

14. Pinned distinction: MEDAL.

15. Female gamete: OVUM.

16. The 411: INFO.  Dialing 411 used to get you to directory assistance, where a live person could help you find phone numbers and other information.  Now, whether or not you can reach 411 depends on your phone carrier, and sometimes, on whether you pay for 411 service.  But based on the way we oldsters used our corded phones back in the day, "the 411" is current slang for information or the latest news.  "What's the 411 on the party tonight?"

17. [Theme clue]

20. Storage tower: SILO.

21. Group taken for a drive?: HERD.  Herd of cattle, taken for a cattle drive.

22. Google Books __ Viewer: tool that tracks word usage frequency: NGRAM.  The Google Books Ngram Viewer is a search engine that charts the frequencies of any set of search strings using a yearly count of n-grams (sequences of adjacent symbols) found in printed sources published between 1500 and 2022 that are in Google's text database.  The program can search for a word or a phrase, and if found in 40 or more books, the results are displayed as a graph.

I used the Google Books Ngram Viewer to search Human Be-In.
It begins to register in 1978.

23. Go ahead: LEAD.  One meaning of the verb "lead" is to guide by going in advance.  I might lead a hike by going ahead of my friends on the trail.

25. Sky streakers: METEORS.

27. [Theme clue]

31. Poppin': LIT.  If you've been around the Crossword Corner a few times, you know that it's lit!  But did you know that it's poppin'?  Same deal.  It's awesome.  (But poppin' can also mean happenin' -- as in, what's poppin'?)

32. Blended juice prefix: CRAN.  The Ocean Spray agricultural cooperative used to make all its money at Thanksgiving through sales of cranberry juice and cranberry sauce.  The introduction of Cran-Apple juice in 1963 gave Ocean Spray a year-round product.  Now there's Cran-Grape, Cran-Pineapple, Cran-Raspberry, Cran-Strawberry, Cran-Mango, and more.

33. "Tough": TOO BAD.  An unsympathetic response to an unfortunate situation.

37. Way off: AFAR.

39. "That smarts!": YOW.

41. Staff member?: NOTE.  A staff is a set of five lines and four spaces on which notes are written to indicate their pitch.  The notes are represented by ovals on the staff.

The letter names of the notes are not normally indicated as above.

42. Indirect route: DETOUR.

45. Perfume application: MIST.

48. Slip into: DON.  "Don we now our gay apparel, fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la!"

49. [Theme clue]

52. Sleep aid of folklore: SANDMAN.  The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and inspires dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.  I wonder whether people still tell little children that the crust in the corners of their eyes upon waking is from the Sandman?  What on earth did we picture when our parents said that?

55. No longer here: GONE.

56. Top-tier: ELITE.

57. Hawaiian coffee region: KONA.  If you're ever on the Big Island of Hawaii, you can tour a coffee plantation in the Kona area and learn all about coffee production.

coffee berries on the Big Island

59. Birds associated with wisdom: OWLS.  Because they know WHO!  Also, those big, forward-facing eyes, rotating heads, and serious looks just make them seem smart.

63. [Theme clue]

66. Lines that cross at (0,0): AXES.  In a two-dimensional coordinate system, the x-axis is the horizontal line, and the y-axis is the vertical line. They are perpendicular to each other and intersect at the origin (0,0), forming a coordinate plane.  The plural of axis is axes.

67. Lope or canter: GAIT.

68. Capital on the Red River: HANOI.  The capital of Vietnam.

One of several bridges over the Red River in Hanoi.

69. Shoemaker's form: LAST.  At LAST, my daughter's career as a shoe designer helps in the crossword puzzle!

Men's shoe lasts.

70. Bldg. units: APTS.  Building units can be apartments.

71. Contract negotiator: AGENT.

Down:

1. Some park workers: UMPS.  Ball park workers include umpires, officials responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport.

2. Garr of "Young Frankenstein": TERI.  She was fabulous.

Teri Garr

3. "Survivor" find: IDOL.  In spite of its 25 year history, I don't think I've ever watched an episode of Survivor.  Apparently, the "Hidden Immunity Idol" is a pocket-sized talisman that prevents the user from being voted out from Tribal Council.  This is not to be confused with the tribal Immunity Idol or the individual Immunity Necklace.

The not-so-hidden immunity idol.

4. Wheedle: CAJOLE.  Synonyms of cajole include coax, sweet-talk, and wheedle.  These are all about getting someone to do something by means of gentle urging, special attention, or flattery.

5. Schooner filler: ALE.  A schooner can be a sailing vessel or a rounded glass with a short stem.  Usually the one filled with ale is the glass.

A schooner of ale.

6. Gave a thumbs-down: VOTED NAY.  In a voice vote, the presiding officer asks those in favor to say "yea," and those opposed to say "nay."

A challenging aspect of horse politics.

7. At all: EVER.  Have you been to Utica at all?  Ever?

8. First hip-hop group to have music videos on MTV: RUN-DMC.  With the release of Run-D.M.C. (1984), Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to achieve a Gold record. With subsequent albums, Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to go platinum and then multi-platinum.  Run-DMC was the first hip-hop act to have their music videos broadcast on MTV, appear on American Bandstand, be on the cover of Rolling Stone, perform at Live Aid, and be nominated for a Grammy Award.

Run-DMC

9. Texter's gasp: OMG.  Oh my gosh!

10. Watched an entire season of, say: BINGED ON.  The joy of streaming -- watching a whole season of a television show in a single sitting, or within a short period of time.  

11. Año start: ENERO.  The Spanish year (año) begins with the month of January (Enero).

12. "Sorry to say ... ": I FEAR.

13. Expected results: NORMS.

18. Board head: CHAIR.

19. Emcee's piece: INTRO.  The emcee (or Master of Ceremonies) for an event usually gives an introduction to the proceedings.

24. Ellipsis alternative: Abbr.: ETC.  You can add "etc." to an incomplete list, or use the ellipsis to indicate things you're omitting, which is to say, you don't have to go on and on and on ...

26. Have something: EAT.

Eat!

27. Showy flower, briefly: GLAD.  Gladiolus is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the iris family, native to Eurasia and Africa.

Gladiolus are pretty, but my ethic is to plant things
that have co-evolved with local birds and insects.

28. Widespread: RIFE.

29. "L'__, c'est moi": Louis XIV: ÉTAT.  King Louis XIV of France supposedly said "L'État, c'est moi" (The state, it is me) in parliament, suggesting that his power was absolute.  However, the statement does not appear in the registers of parliament, and on his deathbed, Louis is known to have said "Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours" (I am leaving, but the State will always remain).

Just a nice guy, misunderstood and misquoted.

30. Garden sentinel: GNOME.

34. __ positivity: BODY.  Body positivity is a social movement that promotes acceptance and appreciation of all body types and sizes.

35. Straddling: ATOP.

36. Slight progress: DENT.  As in, making a dent in my workload.

38. Consumer Reports task: ROAD TEST.  Consumer Reports rates automobiles, among other things, so one of their tasks is to take a car out for a road test.

40. Hand-tightened fasteners: WING NUTS.

43. Like some expectations: UNMET.  We've all had a few!  This is when anticipated outcomes or desired results do not materialize, leading to disappointment or frustration.  TOO BAD!

44. Classic TV brand: RCA.

46. Summer ermine: STOAT.

The white animal we call an ermine in winter is a brown animal called a stoat in summer.

47. Decimal value of hexadecimal A: TEN.  Hexadecimal (or hex) is a base-16 number system, meaning it uses 16 unique symbols to represent numbers. These symbols are the digits 0-9, and the letters A-F, where A represents 10, B is 11, and so on, up to F representing 15. This system is often used by software developers and system designers.

50. Mushroom that drips black liquid: INK CAP.  Coprinopsis atramentaria, also known as the common ink cap, tippler's bane, or inky cap, is a species of fungus.  It is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.  It is edible, but poisonous when consumed with alcohol.

51. Location label: GEOTAG.  A geotag is a piece of data, usually in the form of coordinates (latitude and longitude), that is embedded within a digital file, like a photo or video, to indicate its geographical location.

52. "Love Story" novelist: SEGAL.  Erich Segal wrote a screenplay for Love Story, and Paramount required him to turn it into a novel before the movie came out, as part of the marketing campaign.  The novel and the film were both released in 1970.  A huge success in print and film, the tear jerking story is very unfair to the female protagonist who gives up everything and forgives all, in return for not much.

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."  What?!

53. Echo assistant: ALEXA.  Echo devices are smart speakers developed by Amazon, and Alexa is the voice assistant (or software) that powers these devices and compatible products.  I don't have smart speakers around the house.  It's bad enough that the robot vacuum sometimes thinks I've said his name and responds, "I'm here."  Then we keep quiet for five minutes hoping he'll go back to sleep.

54. Dressed to the __: NINES.  "To the nines" is an idiom meaning "to perfection" or "to the highest degree."  In modern English, the phrase most commonly appears as "dressed to the nines."  It seems to be Scottish in origin, and may refer to the nine muses.  The earliest written example of the phrase is from the 1719 Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet William Hamilton:

The bonny Lines therein thou sent me,

How to the nines they did content me.

58. Drop: OMIT.

60. Product that gets pressed into service?: WINE.  Our inlaws in Italy use a little wine press like this one to squeeze the grapes that make the family wine:

61. Diving bird: LOON.  Bird clues always help me out.

62. Agitated state: SNIT.

64. "Hometown Proud" food market chain: IGA.  The Independent Grocers Alliance was founded in 1926 to bring family owned, local grocery stores together under the IGA brand.  I count 36 of them in California, but none in the Los Angeles area.

65. Epiphany cry: AHA.  An epiphany is a moment of sudden revelation or insight ... an AHA moment.

Here's the grid:       WARNING! TYPO at 57-Across!  Should be KONA.  Thanx, Jinx!!

So ... any AHA moments for you today?  

Was your grid RIFE with errors?  Did you OMIT anything?  Or do you deserve a MEDAL?

-- NaomiZ

Thursday, June 5, 2025, Roland Huget

 Theme:  There and back.

NaomiZ here with many thanks to the great Anonymous T for blogging the last three Thursdays.  I made a ROUND TRIP and have come back to work the crossword puzzle with you all.  Today, constructor Roland Huget clues us in on the theme with a big reveal:

61-Across. There and back, or a progression found in 17-, 25-, 35-, 51-, and 61-Across: ROUND TRIP.

The word TRIP appears in each theme entry.  The first time, TRIP is spelled normally.  In each subsequent appearance, the last letter from the previous appearance moves to the front of the word.  In the final appearance, TRIP has come back to the beginning.

17. Hair removal option: WAX STRIPS.  Ouch.

25. Underhanded move: CHEAP TRICK.  And for the rockers among us ...

35. Growth also known as yellow poplar: TULIP TREE.  Liriodendron tulipifera -- known as the tulip tree or yellow poplar -- is native to eastern North America.

51. Noncommissioned screenplay: SPEC SCRIPT.  A spec script is a screenplay written on speculation, meaning without a guaranteed payment. It may be written with the goal of selling it to a production company or studio.

61. There and back, or a progression found in 17-, 25-, 35-, 51-, and 61-Across: ROUND TRIP.

Across:

1. Former "Doctor Who" star Capaldi: PETER.  Peter Capaldi is a Scottish actor, director, singer and guitarist, who portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who from 2013 to 2017.

6. "Quit crying, ya big baby!": WAH.  

9. Latches (on to): GLOMS.

14. Breakout publisher: ATARI.  Breakout is an arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and released in 1976. Eight rows of bricks line the top portion of the screen, and the player's goal is to destroy the bricks by repeatedly bouncing a ball off a paddle into them. 

Breakout starting screen

15. Punk offshoot: EMO.  Thank goodness for frequent fill EMO to get me started on this puzzle.

16. Make merry: REVEL.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Get around: EVADE.

20. Shot: PIC.  We took many shots on our three week adventure, and need to sort through them.

21. Apex predator with feathers: EAGLE.  

22. 21-Across nest: AERIE.

23. Homecoming attendee: ALUM.

25. [Theme clue]

27. Blotter target: WET INK.  An ink blotter is either a handheld rocking device or simple blotting paper, both used to absorb excess ink when writing with a fountain pen. 

29. Emblem on a dol.: US SEAL.  Abbreviated "dollar" in the clue lets US know there will be an abbreviation in the answer.

30. "4 real?": SRSLY.  Text speak:  seriously?

31. So-so poker hand: PAIR.

One pair ranks just above I got nuthin'.

34. Conniving: SLY.

35. [Theme clue]

39. Stand __: PAT.  "If you stand pat in draw poker you're betting on the cards in your hand being better than any you're likely to draw. It didn't take long for stand pat to move from the poker table, where it first appeared in the late 1800s, to the realm of politics; by the early 20th century, to stand pat was to oppose any change in U.S. tariff policy. The term continues to be used mainly in U.S. English, where it's applied to everything from a coach's decision not to change out players during a game to a homeowner's decision not to refinance." -- www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standpat

42. Really liking: INTO.

43. Brings up: REARS.  As in brings up, or rears, children.

47. Fireplace receptacle: ASH PAN.

fireplace grate and ash pan

50. __ Sea: saline lake in California's Sonoran Desert: SALTON.  Although there were salt lakes in the area millions of years ago, the current lake was formed by accident in 1905 when an irrigation canal broke, and water flowed into the Salton Basin for two years.  Over the course of the 20th century, the lake became an important resting stop for migrating birds, but as the lake shrank and agricultural runoff poisoned the fish, it became an ecological disaster.

51. [Theme clue]

55. Dreamcast maker: SEGA.  Sega introduced its Dreamcast video game console in 1998/99, replacing the Saturn, and the earlier Genesis.  The Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, ending Sega's 18 years as a console maker.

56. "Bosch" star Welliver: TITUS.  Titus Welliver is an American actor, best known for his portrayals of the Man in Black in Lost, Silas Adams in Deadwood, Jimmy O'Phelan in Sons of Anarchy, and the title role in the television series Bosch and Bosch: Legacy. He is also known for his collaborations with Ben Affleck, starring in his films Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo, and Live by Night.  I clearly need to watch more television.  I did watch Sons of Anarchy, though!

57. Place for HS filmmakers: AV LAB.  High School is abbreviated; so is Audio Visual Laboratory.

59. Gown partner: CAP.

60. Wipe out: ERASE.

61. [Theme clue]

63. Compare: LIKEN.  Shall I "liken" thee to a summer's day?  Shakespeare used the word "compare," and the lady being compared came out ahead:  But thy eternal summer shall not fade!  To liken is to assert a similarity, but to compare is to examine similarities and differences.

64. Hesitant response: ERM.  Here's that British "um" again.

65. With a single voice: AS ONE.

66. Hägar's dog: SNERT.  Hägar the Horrible is the title and main character of a comic strip created by Dik Browne, which first appeared in 1973.  Following Browne's retirement in 1988, his son, Chris Browne, continued the strip until his own death in 2023.  The strip is a caricature commenting on life in the United States through a loose interpretation of Viking Age Scandinavian life.

67. Deli choice: RYE.

68. Deviated from a straight course: YAWED.  (A moving ship or aircraft) twisted or oscillated around a vertical axis.

Down:

1. Green-skinned fruits in the custard-apple family: PAWPAWS.  I only know this fruit from the old song, "Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch."  Asimina triloba is a small deciduous tree native to the eastern United States and southern Ontario, Canada, and it yields the largest native fruit of North America.

2. Always-open merchant: E-TAILER.  An internet retailer.

3. Campaign promises directed at wage earners: TAX CUTS.

4. Triage ctrs.: ERs.  Triage centers are Emergency Rooms.

5. Liturgical act: RITE.

6. Consider the pros and cons of: WEIGH.

7. Copious: AMPLE.

8. Hebrew prophet: HOSEA.

9. Hall of Famers: GREATS.

10. Simple machines: LEVERS.   A lever is a simple machine that amplifies an input force to provide a greater output force, which is said to provide leverage, which is mechanical advantage gained in the system.  Components of the machine are fulcrum (or pivot), load, and effort.

11. Egg cell producers: OVARIES.

12. Insurance category: MEDICAL.

13. In an aerodynamic way: SLEEKLY.

18. Pool triangle: RACK.  Pool as in billiards.

This carbon fiber rack will set you back $895.00 plus tax and shipping.

24. Jackson of the Modern Jazz Quartet: MILT.  Milton "Bags" Jackson (1923-1999) was an American jazz vibraphonist.  He is especially remembered for his solos as a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Milt Jackson at the vibraphone.

26. Ragdoll sound: PURR.  The Ragdoll is a breed of cat whose silky coat is dark on top and light below, with blue eyes. American breeder Ann Baker developed Ragdolls in the 1960s. The name Ragdoll comes from the tendency of these cats to go limp when picked up. Ragdolls are considered  dog-like because they follow people around, are receptive to handling, and are not aggressive toward other pets.

Ragdoll cat

28. Alma mater of Spike Lee and Ang Lee: Abbr.: NYU.  Filmmakers Spike Lee and Ang Lee (no relation) earned their MFAs from New York University.  

31. Map marker: PIN.

32. Well-suited: APT.

33. Skater Midori: ITO.  Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. She was the 1989 World champion and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist.  She was the first woman to land a triple Axel in competition.  Midori Ito continues to compete:  in 2024, she won the International Skating Union Adult Figure Skating Competition's Masters Elite Women III + IV Artistic Free Skating category.

Midori Ito at the 1992 Olympics

36. "The Mod Squad" role: LINC.  Clarence Williams III (1939-2021) played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series The Mod Squad from 1968 to 1973.

The Mod Squad:  Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III

37. Bullpen stat: ERA.  In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also called the bullpen.  A statistic relevant to pitchers is their Earned Run Average -- the number of earned runs they have allowed, divided by the number of innings pitched, and multiplied by nine (the usual number of innings in a game).  Lower is better.  

38. Anago and unagi: EELS.

39. Some Degas works: PASTELS.  French artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917) did much of his work in pastels, which are powdery sticks of pigment with very little binder, resulting in beautiful works of art that are very fragile.

Edgar Degas, "Waiting" (c. 1882), pastel on paper

40. Medicine cabinet staple: ASPIRIN.

41. Bad thing for an official to be on: THE TAKE.  To be "on the take" is to accept bribes or other illegal income.

44. Was humiliated: ATE CROW.

45. Hair growth option: ROGAINE.  According to the manufacturer, "ROGAINE® minoxidil products are the first FDA-approved topical treatment that is clinically proven to help regrow hair."  Rip it out with WAX STRIPS, grow it with chemical treatments ... or maybe just get comfortable with your hair.

46. Replied sharply: SNAPPED.

48. One who may download Microsoft software: PC USER.

49. Green light: ASSENT.  Since a green traffic light gives permission to proceed, by extension, to "green light" a project is to give permission to go ahead with it.  To assent is to express approval.

50. Diehard fan, in slang: STAN.  A "stan" is an obsessed fan.  The term comes from the song Stan by Eminem, which describes a fan who is excessively fixated on the rapper.

52. Harder to come by: RARER.

53. Creamy white: IVORY.

54. Decorative feather: PLUME.

58. Annual celebration, briefly: BDAY.  Easier to write in the tiny spaces of my pocket calendar.

62. Passenger-screening org.: TSA.  Transportation Security Administration.  

Here's the grid:

While I was away, I was able to briefly scan most of the blog posts here and many of the comments as well.  What struck me was how very difficult the puzzles seemed to be, and how very clever all of you were to solve them.  I hoped I would be able to keep up with you upon my return!  I managed to complete today's puzzle on paper, no cheating, but it took a moment to get started, and there were quite a few entries solved by perps.  Anyone who made it through the grid deserves AMPLE praise.  I hope you all got to REVEL in your success, and that no one ATE CROW.