Monday June 23, 2025 Janice Luttrell

Rise and shine! It’s RustyBrain again, this time trying to fill sumdaze’s shoes, although my canal boats might not fit into her ballet slippers.

Today's constructor, Janice Luttrell, has been delivering quality crosswords for a decade now. True to form, this one was a smooth solve, but I think I turned up a hidden theme that may or may not have been intentional. Only your square-dresser knows for sure! Let’s see how it all turns out, starting with the revealer:

56. The Byrds No. 1 hit whose lyrics come from Ecclesiastes, and what can be found at the starts of 20-, 27-, and 48-Across: TURN TURN TURN. We are invited to find synonyms for TURN at the beginning of each theme answer. Not only that, but it's three TURNs, one for every season each themer! Told ya she was good. 

20. Soaker with jets: WHIRLPOOL TUB. WHIRL = TURN. WHIRLPOOL TUBS are often known by the popular brand name Jacuzzi. Ahh...

27. Unexpected change in circumstances: TWIST OF FATE. TWIST = TURN. If not for a strange TWIST OF FATE, these four could have been the Fab Four.

46. Public relations pros, informally: SPIN DOCTORS. SPIN = TURN. Also a popular rock group.

I think I'll dust off my old turntable and play some more records from my collection:

Across:

1. Olympic diver Louganis: GREG.

5. Like lit barbecue coals: HOT. And first half of a popular classic rock group, HOT Tuna.

8. Juice box insert: STRAW. And the beginning of another classic rock group, the STRAWberry Alarm Clock.

13. Christmas carol: NOEL.

14. "Who does __!?": THAT.

16. Vulgar: CRUDE.

17. Word puzzles involving quotations: ACROSTICS. Quote ACROSTICS are really tough! I hardly ever finish one.

19. __ and repeat: RINSE. It's a great marketing ploy to sell more shampoo, but this company is refreshingly honest.

20. [theme]

22. "Toodles!": SEE YA.

23. Clodhopper: OAF.

24. Tofu base: SOY.

27. [theme]

32. Father of Jesus, familiarly: ST JOSEPH. "Oh, please. Just call me Joe." Pope Pius IX declared him to be a patron of the sick, hence the product tie-in.

36. Capital on the Willamette River: SALEM. The Willamette is a major tributary of the Columbia River in Oregon.

37. Asia's North __ Sea: ARAL.

38. "Let's Make a Deal" choices: DOORS.  "Would you like to trade that rubber chicken for one of these three DOORS?" Also, another popular rock group.

41. Give a hoot: CARE.

42. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor: SONIA.

44. Tried to control, as a horse: REINED IN. Santa had trouble reining in horses, so he chose reindeer instead.

46. [theme]

49. Agreeable answer: YES. YES is one of my favorite bands. Their album "Close to the Edge" is considered a progressive rock masterpiece.

50. __ alai: JAI. JAI ALAI used to be very popular in Florida, but nowadays there are only a few frontons (courts) left. 

51. New Haven Ivy Leaguer: YALIE. A YALIE is a five letter Eli.

56. [theme]

60. Ballet leaps: JETES. The only JETES that Miami Dolphins like.

63. Tricolor feline: CALICO CAT.

64. Major shindig: EVENT. Like a rock concert!

65. Raw minerals: ORES.

66. "Whose __ Is It Anyway?": LINE. Drew Carey was the original host of this improvisational comedy TV series.

67. Smartphone messages: TEXTS. "Your aunt passed away. LOL" Just a friendly reminder that LOL doesn't mean Lots Of Love.

68. Informal top: TEE. 

69. Animal's retreat: LAIR.

Down:
1. Chews like a chipmunk: GNAWS.

2. La __-Posay: L'Oréal brand: ROCHE. News to me. I don't carry them in my tool box.

3. Spooky: EERIE.

4. Acclaim: GLORY.

5. Link letters: HTTP. HyperText Transfer Protocol is the language used for loading webpages and other resources across the internet.

6. Cleveland's state: OHIO. Before "Who's Line," Drew Carey had a sitcom set in Cleveland, home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In keeping with rock'n'roll tradition, here's the OHIO Players.

7. Handheld snack topped with salsa: TACO. TACO's remake of "Puttin' on the Ritz" always reminds me of Young Frankenstein. And another album cover.

8. Places to pick up kittens: SCRUFFS. SCRUFF being a colloquial term for the nape of the neck.

9. Chicago paper, for short: TRIB. The venerable Chicago TRIBune.

10. Campaign for office: RUN. This time we have half of a popular rap group, RUN-DMC. Their cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" was a huge crossover hit.

11. Free game pop-ups: ADS.

12. Supersmall: WEE. A smaller version of WEE is wee.

15. Letter-shaped groove: T-SLOT.

18. Window shutter boards: SLATS.

21. Chinese philosophy: TAO.

24. Starter course, often: SALAD.

25. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI. Some names just lend themselves to crosswords.

26. Arabian Sea country: YEMEN. YEMEN is as far south as you can go and still be in the Middle East.

28. Join at the altar: WED.

29. Stock exchange launch, briefly: IPO. Initial Public Offering

30. Not quite able to pay: SHORT.

31. Clock front: FACE. Almost Rod Stewart and the FACEs

32. Smart-alecky: SASSY.

33. Overused plot device: TROPE.

34. Rock legend Joplin: JANIS. Are you catching on that "rock legends" is a sub-theme?

35. "Riviera" actress Lena: OLIN.

39. __ Speedwagon: REO. And the hit's just keep on coming!

40. Knight's title: SIR.

43. Fine-tunes: ADJUSTS.

45. "No Strings Attached" boy band: NSYNC. NSYNC (pronounced "in sync") sprang Justin Timberlake on us. 

47. Crew blade: OAR.

48. __ de Mayo: CINCO.

52. Ring-shaped reef: ATOLL.

53. Holy namesake of a Lesser Antilles island: LUCIA. Saint LUCIA. Many islands in the Caribbean Sea are named after saints - St. Kitts, St. Vincent, and all of the U.S. Virgin Islands, to name a few.

54. Tehran native: IRANI. 

55. Keyboard key: ENTER.

56. Big top: TENT. 

57. Small fruit pie: TART.

58. Peter Fonda title role: ULEE.

59. Greet the day: RISE.

60. New York NFLer: JET. Bane of Dol-fans everywhere.

61. Holiday lead-in: EVE.

62. __-Mex cuisine: TEX. In South Florida, Mexican restaurants leave out the Texas part and instead combine it with Cuban and South American fare. It's all good.

Wow, that's a lot of albums...

I think it's a record!

Friday June 20, 2025 Jeremy Venook

 

Good morning, campers, it’s RustyBrain. Summer is upon us and Chairman Moe is taking some well-deserved time off.

I couldn’t find much about today’s constructor, Jeremy Venook, except he seems to be a brilliant fellow. He’s published a number of scholarly articles, but this may be his debut puzzle. If so, congrats! Let’s see if this one hits the spot. 

17. Person who's always available to help: JOHNNY ON THE. The first themer is obviously missing SPOT, but instead is followed by a black square, i.e. a blank SPOT. Cool. JOHNNY ON THE SPOT is a man who is there when really needed. “Johnny” (like Jack) being so common a name it stood for “man.” Heeeere's the man:

27. Theater employee who follows the stars closely: LIGHT OPERATOR. This themer started with a black square, so I tagged SPOT onto the beginning of LIGHT OPERATOR. A SPOTLIGHT OPERATOR uses a followspot to keep the “stars” on stage well lit. So far, so good.

44. Portable Wi-Fi source: HOT CONNECTION. The blank SPOT on the last themer is at the end again, so HOT CONNECTION SPOT? No, it’s a HOTSPOT CONNECTION. Turns out the black squares were just red herrings, to me, at least. Commonly known as a HOTSPOT, it’s a physical location or an antenna that people use to access the Internet, typically via Wi-Fi.

59. Comment to a less-than-thorough cleaner, or an apt title for this puzzle?: MISSED A SPOT. 
The revealer is spot on! This is a common idiom, often used jokingly, and fully explains what is happening here. 

I tried to read the tea leaves hidden in the black squares, but to no avail. The SPOT could be anywhere, which is fine. But let’s see what that leaves us. A “LIGHT OPERATOR” is a real job. A “HOT CONNECTION” is a real thing. A “JOHNNY ON THE” is…? I’d like the written part of the answer to be a complete phrase on its own, then be modified by the revealer into something fun. In the end, I guess I was looking for a little more out of a Friday. 

And now, see Spot run:

Across:

1. Recklessly hasty: RASH.

5. Site that calls itself "the heart of the internet": REDDIT. I thought they were "the front page of the internet." In any case, REDDIT is a clever name suggesting "I read it" past tense.

11. Filmmaker Lee: ANG. Crossword's favorite director (don't tell Spike).

14. Fundamentals: ABCS. ABCs are the basic building blocks of many learned skills.

15. Declaration from a sure-handed player?: I RAISE. Also from a bluffer. Poker is the rare game where the best hand doesn't necessarily win.

16. __ shu pork: MOO. I like to roll my own, kinda like a Chinese fajita.

17. [Theme]

19. Total: ADD. If you "total" your car, it will ADD to your insurance premium.

20. Queerplatonic orientation, casually: ARO. ARO is the shortened version of "aromantic," which refers to individuals who experience little to no romantic attraction.

21. Lets up: EASES. 

22. Narratives: TALES. Tall TALES are "yarns".

24. Stone-faced: STOLID.

26. __ and haw: HEM. 

27. [Theme]

34. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" painter Hieronymus: BOSCH. The Dutch painter's macabre imagery is often interpreted as a visual translation of metaphors found in the Bible. I'd love to see the original 7ft x 13ft triptych (3 panels depicting Paradise, The Garden, and Hell) to see all the intricate details. Hard to believe it's over 500 years old!

36. Range between Europe and Asia: URALS.

37. Messenger molecule: RNA. RiboNucleic Acid, in case you want to impress someone at your next party.

38. Missouri River Native: OTOE.

39. Coke or Pepsi: BRAND. And the cola war battles on...

40. Stay out all night: CAMP. My first thought was a rave, an all-night dance event.

41. Hilton-owned hotel chain: TRU. The name came about because they leave Capote novels in the drawers instead of Gideon Bibles. TRU story.

42. Tortuga's country: HAITI. "Tortuga" is Spanish for "turtle." This island, part of HAITI, was named La Tortuga by Christopher Columbus due to its turtle-like shape.

43. Backs (away): SHIES.

44. [Theme]

47. Large deer: ELK. Similar to Moose, they often meet at a watering hole.

48. Defiant confirmation: I DID SO.

51. Lure: DECOY. I was visiting Orlando and saw this duck being attacked by a bird. On a return visit, I noticed the duck was still there. I guess the bird wasn't the only one fooled.

54. Gala, for one: APPLE. It wouldn't be a gala without APPLE bobbing!

57. Sprite: ELF.

58. Mined material: ORE.

59. [Theme]

62. The Brewers, in box scores: MIL. The Milwaukee baseball team, named after "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," sorta. CC knows much more about this than I do (about baseball, not drinking). Anyway, they have a clever logo using their initials to look like a glove.

63. Real __: ESTATE.

64. Browser button: HOME.

65. Long fish with no pelvic fins: EEL. One of many ways to clue this popular x-word fish.

66. Invisible pollution: NOISES. Good clue. Have I mentioned that RightBrain and I hate going to noisy restaurants?

67. Alma mater of many British prime ministers: ETON.

Down:

1. Indian royals: RAJAS.

2. Call off, as a mission: ABORT.

3. Cry at the beginning of summer break: SCHOOL'S OUT. When the kids were young, I cued up the Alice Cooper song and played it when they walked in the door on the last day. We'd dance a silly jig and it became an annual tradition, because that's what cool dads do (or so I'm told).

4. Sales channel: HSN. Home Shopping Network, which I now call "Amazon."

5. Capital of Saudi Arabia: RIYADH. Awesome skyline.

6. Greek matchmaker: EROS.

7. Great __: DANE.

8. Morse taps: DITS. DITS and dahs are dots and dashes. Ta da!

9. "Or so": ISH. ~ (see TILDES below).

10. Wavers: TEETERS.

11. International lawyer Clooney: AMAL. Seen here with her little-known husband.

12. Lymph __: NODE.

13. Deities: GODS.

18. Speak horse-ly: NEIGH. I used to live next to a horse farm. They were noisy NEIGHbors.

23. Tell-all sesh on 5-Across: AMA. Sesh is short for session, so on REDDIT, AMA is short for Ask Me Anything.

25. Targets of insecticidal shampoo: LICE. I have a nit to pick with this one.

26. Contained: HELD.

28. Shrouded locale?: TURIN. This relic, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus, is shrouded in mystery.

29. Speechify: ORATE.

30. Lose one's cool: PANIC.

31. End of the line: TRAIN DEPOT. Actually, a DEPOT can be anywhere along the line, the one at the end is the "terminal." Here's one at local Tradewinds Park that we frequented when the kids were little. The models are one-eighth life-size and the track is over a mile long! Note: this isn't Gulliver's family traveling, it's the trains that are small.

32. "I'm buying": ON ME. My two favorite words (when someone else says them).

33. Performs like Ice Spice: RAPS.

34. Ideal option for the indecisive: BOTH. The eternal question - like Coke vs. Pepsi.

35. Other, in Oaxaca: OTRO. Today's lección de español (Spanish lesson).

39. Rely (on): BANK.

40. "Parasite" star Woo-shik: CHOI. I also saw him in the zombie thriller "Train to Busan." South Korea is producing a lot of popular movies, TV and music these days. 

42. Some saints: HOLY MEN.

43. Record half: SIDE A. Had to wait to see which side we were on.

45. Corp. VIP: CEO. A Chief Executive Officer is a Very Important Person, that's why he/she is worth 1000 times more than everyone else? 

46. Symbols indicating similarity, in geometry: TILDES. In mathematics, TILDES (~) often indicate "approximately" or "about." For example, "~20" would mean "approximately 20".

49. Sportscast tech: SLO-MO. Sloooow Mooootion...

50. Over and over: OFTEN. Not this one again!

51. Common mosque feature: DOME. A DOME, called qubba in Arabic, can improve the acoustics within the mosque, helping the Imam's voice resonate effectively. The onion-shaped ones are especially beautiful. 

52. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. Hint: it's the four-letter one.

53. Nucleus holder: CELL. Wanted "atom" at first.

54. Italian bubbly: ASTI.

55. Unpaid TV ads: PSAS. Public Service Announcements.

56. Mets slugger Alonso: PETE. The 6'-3" first baseman is nicknamed "Polar Bear." I'm not sure why.

60. Equi- kin: ISO. An equilateral triangle has three equal length sides, while an ISOsceles triangle has just two.

61. Pronoun option: SHE. 

Out, damned spot! Over and out!