Thursday, August 21, 2025 Sean Ziebarth

 Theme:  Let's make some NOISE!

Prolific constructor Sean Ziebarth is a high school English teacher, surfer, and DJ.  In today's puzzle, he gives us a push in the right direction with some good advice, and suggests we make some noise in the process, hearing a little snap, crackle, and pop in common English phrases.  The theme clues and answers are:

17-Across. "Turn that frown upside down": CRACK A SMILE.  

30-Across. "Get your head on straight": SNAP OUT OF IT.

45-Across. "Get on that stage and wow the crowd": KNOCK 'EM DEAD.

61-Across. Words of wisdom, and what 17-, 30-, and 45-Across could be called?: SOUND ADVICE.

In addition to giving these phrases a fresh hearing, Sean has placed the theme entries in symmetrical rows Across.  Neato!  I'll bet it's fun to be in his class.

What else can we learn from Sean today?  Let's look at the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Best effort: A GAME.  One's highest level of play or performance.

6. Fools: CLODS.  I wasn't fond of this one, thinking that a clod is an oaf.  When I looked up synonyms of FOOL and of CLOD for today's blog, neither word listed the other.  But idiot is listed as a synonym for both clod and fool, so I suppose that if A=C and B=C, then A=B.

11. Make a mend: SEW.

14. Like much of central Illinois: RURAL.

15. "The Raven" writer, briefly: E A POE.  Edgar Allan Poe.

16. "Better. Guaranteed." gadget brand: OXO.  Favorite crossword utensils.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Whopper: LIE.

20. Luau performance: HULA.

21. Medium ability: ESP.  Extrasensory perception is an ability claimed by persons who say they are mediums, able to facilitate communication between the living and the dead.

22. Notes equivalent to C sharps: D FLATS.  These notes are the same black key on the piano (between the white keys C and D), and produce the same pitch.  The note will be written one way or the other depending on the key of a musical composition.

24. Immediately following: UPON.  "Upon hearing the news, she burst into tears."

26. Earlier: PRIOR.

27. Word with shell or shore: SEA.

30. [Theme clue]

34. Late: TARDY.

36. Sleep acronym: REM.  Rapid eye movement sleep is the stage of sleep where most dreams happen.

37. Peel: PARE.

38. Naan flour: ATTA.  If we ever have a Crossword Corner party, we are going to make naan with ATTA.  And eat many varieties of Oreos.  What else should be on the menu?

39. Addresses timeline errors, perhaps: EDITS.

41. Timeline units: ERAS.

42. Like much 1980s fashion: NEON.

43. "C'est la __!": VIE.  French for "That's life!"

44. Fess up (to): ADMIT.

45. [Theme clue]

49. __ as a fox: SLY.

50. Brand of riding mowers: DEERE.

51. YouTube journal: VLOG.  Video blog.

53. Too: OVERLY.

55. Needlework on a sleeve, for short: TAT.  A tattoo sleeve.

56. Turkey neighbor: IRAN.

60. Burrito option: WET.  A "wet burrito" is served covered in sauce, and must be eaten with a fork and knife.

61. [Theme clue]

64. Melissa of "The Fighter": LEO.  Melissa Leo is an American actress, and the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice Awards.  In 2010, she won several awards for her performance in the film The Fighter, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.  DNK.

Melissa Leo

65. Come next: ENSUE.

66. Moves closer: NEARS.

67. Cheap tix option: SRO.  Standing Room Only.  No seat for you!

68. "The Wild Swans at Coole" writer: YEATS.  "The Wild Swans at Coole" is a poem by Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), first published in 1917.

The first stanza of the poem:

The trees are in their autumn beauty,

The woodland paths are dry,

Under the October twilight the water

Mirrors a still sky;

Upon the brimming water among the stones

Are nine-and-fifty swans.

69. Selling point: ASSET.

Down:

1. Foot part: ARCH.

2. Hindu teacher: GURU.

3. North __ Sea: Central Asian lake: ARAL.  The Aral Sea was once the world’s third largest lake.  It started shrinking in the 1960s when the Soviet government diverted two of its main inlet rivers, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya, to irrigate the surrounding desert region. The North Aral Sea was separated from the South Aral Sea in 1987-88 as water levels dropped.  Independent Kazakhstan has addressed environmental degradation by again allowing the Syr Darya River to flow into the lake.

4. Hong Kong neighbor: MACAU.  Macau is an autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. A Portuguese territory until 1999, it is said to be the most densely populated region in the world. Its giant casinos and malls have earned it the nickname, "Las Vegas of Asia."

5. Utah's state animal: ELK.

6. General aviation company owned by Textron: CESSNA.  Textron Aviation sells Beechcraft and Cessna-branded aircraft, and supports older Hawker aircraft with parts and service.

7. Lava __: LAMP.  Lava lamps have been manufactured since 1963.

Cool array next to your water bed.

8. Maker of Talk to the Hand press-on nails: OPI.  OPI is a popular brand of nail polish, so this was an easy guess.

Hard to see, but the package says TALK TO THE HAND in the upper left corner.

9. Blues: DOLDRUMS.

10. Find appropriate: SEE FIT.

11. Green energy sources in some desert regions: SOLAR FARMS.

12. Way out: EXIT.

13. Heartaches: WOES.

18. Very long time: AEON.  Aeon is the more popular spelling in Britain.  On our side of the pond, a very long time is usually an eon.

23. Like a lasso: LOOPED.

25. Therapist's maj.: PSY.  A therapist's major course of study is psychology.

26. 68-Across, for one: POET.  Ah, yes, YEATS again.

27. Performed terribly: STANK.  Past tense of stink.  "The place stank like a sewer."  Or in slang, to be very bad at something.  "He stank at golf."

28. All gone: EATEN.

29. Luke Skywalker's loyal droid: ARTOO-DETOO.  Also written as R2-D2.

This vehicle with R2-D2 on the back was seen regularly in our neighborhood of Westchester, Los Angeles, when the kids were growing up.

31. Snooped around: PRIED.

32. Letter-shaped beam: I-RAIL.  An I-shaped rail.  Apparently used for things from curtains to trains.

33. On edge: TESTY.

35. Wearer of tap shoes: DANCER.

39. With no exceptions: EVERYONE.

40. Small coin: DIME.

44. Scene: ADO.

46. Plum who was the WNBA All-Star Game MVP in 2022: KELSEY.  Kelsey Plum is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. She is a four-time WNBA All-Star and was named the WNBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 2022.

Kelsey Plum

47. Sidesteps: EVADES.

48. Baja's opposite: ALTA.  Spanish low and high.

52. Caves in: GIVES.

53. Parliament birds: OWLS.  A group of owls is called a parliament, reflecting their perceived wisdom.

54. Suddenly shift direction: VEER.

55. Letter-shaped fastener: T-NUT.  T-nuts are threaded fasteners with prongs that dig into the material when tightened.  First I-rail, now this!  What am I, a gearhead?

57. Coastal inlets: RIAS.

58. Part of a plot: ACRE.

59. Small tree house: NEST.

62. Jenny Thompson's team: USA.  Jenny Thompson is a former competitive swimmer.  She is one of the most decorated Olympians in history, with twelve medals, including eight gold medals, earned in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics.

Jenny Thompson

63. Genetic blueprint: DNA.

Here's the grid:

How did EVERYONE do today?

Did you SNAP OUT OF your DOLDRUMS and KNOCK 'EM DEAD?

Or was the puzzle OVERLY difficult, so that success EVADEd you?

Let us know in the comments.

-- NaomiZ

Monday November 25, 2024 Sean Ziebarth

  

Happy Monday, everyone!

Theme:                                                            Letter B  

The antennas are a nice touch. After all, they are beetles.

It is not often we see 1-Across acting as a themer in a grid. Let's check it out now:  

Notice that there are no extraneous B's.

1 Across. The Dynamic Duo's underwater craft: BAT-SUB.  

Batman & Robin are the Dynamic Duo.

21 Across. Navigational aid for Hansel and Gretel: BREAD CRUMB.

The plan was to follow the BREAD CRUMBs back home but birds ate their navigational aids.

37 Across. Many a union position: BLUE COLLAR JOB.

Investopedia article about BLUE COLLAR

53 Across. Firefox or Safari subwindow: BROWSER TAB.  

Firefox and Safari are BROWSERS, as are Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

The unifier can be found expertly tucked into the bottom, right corner:

68 Across. Some surprise hit songs, and what 1-, 21-, 37-, and 53-Across all have?: B-SIDES.

When we were kids, my brothers and I would ride our Schwinn bikes down to the local music store and buy 45s (45-rpm records). These records were vinyl, 7-inches in diameter, packaged in a plain white paper sleeve, required a special adapter in the center, and had two songs: an A-Side, which was the song playing on the radio, and a B-SIDE, which was another song by the same artist but mostly unknown. Occasionally the B-SIDE became more popular than the A-Side, but that was rare. Today music is released differently but some artists still release what they call B-SIDE music. The term has morphed, much like icebox and hang up the phone. This article talks about the new and old meaning of B-SIDES.

Getting back to the puzzle, the reveal points out that each of the themers begins and ends with the letter B. They have Bs on each SIDE.  

Across:

7. The Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, et al.: ALPS.  

11. Org. issuing broadcasting licenses: FCC.     and     19 Across. Spy org.: CIA.

Organization is abbreviated, so is Federal Communications Commission and Central Intelligence Agency.

14. West Texas city: ODESSA.  Yesterday this was the answer to 72-Down Permian Basin city.

Odessa is said to have been named after 
Odesa, a coastal city in Southern Ukraine.

15. Command to a dog: HEEL.  

16. NHL great Bobby: ORR.  Bobby skates through many XWD puzzles.

17. Blab on and on: NATTER.  Def. (verb) (informal) talk casually, especially about unimportant matters; chatter.

18. Like a "fun size" candy bar: MINI.  

Mars was the first to call its candy fun size
and at one time had a Trademark on the word "fun".
Time magazine article on Halloween and "Fun Size" candy

20. Word before trip or surf: EGO.  EGOsurfing is when one does an internet search for one's own name.

24. Like a small orchard, perhaps: TEN ACRE.  A 10-acre plot is room for about 840 apple trees which would yield 80 - 100 tons of apples.

Winnie-The-Pooh lived in The Hundred Acre Wood.

27. Art studio stand: EASEL.

28. Lobster kin common in Cajun cuisine: CRAWDAD.  According to Grammarly, "Crawfish, crayfish, and crawdads are the same animal. Which term you use may depend much on where you live. Louisianans most often say crawfish, whereas Northerners are more likely to say crayfish. People from the West Coast or Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas often use the term crawdad." Perhaps some locals will chime in.

crawfish étouffée

32. The Aswan High Dam's river: NILE.  

33. Ginger __: ALE.  

34. Museum artifact: RELIC.  

36. Pester incessantly: NAG.

40. "__ Hot to Handle": Netflix dating show: TOO.  I am unfamiliar with this show but it was an easy guess.

41. Woodworking tool: LATHE.  

You can use one to make things like furniture legs (as shown) and baseball bats.

42. Somerhalder of "Lost": IAN.  IMDb page

43. Story that may be debunked on Snopes: MYTH.  Snopes.com is where to go if you want to fact-check something on the internet. It has a trustworthy reputation for outing the untrustworthy.

45. Set on the scales: WEIGHED.

47. Western film: OATER.  

The use of the term OATER peaked around 1991. I wonder why.

49. Antique diamond shape: ROSE CUT.  As its name implies, this cut was inspired by the shape of a ROSE bud. This article was a lot more interesting than I was expecting -- especially the part about candlelight.

57. Donkey Kong, e.g.: APE.  as it turns out, not a donkey

58. Ore-__ Tater Tots: IDA.  crosses another highly processed food (37-Down)

59. Swerve: VEER.

60. Wrinkle-resistant, as a shirt: NO IRON.

63. French article: LES.  

64. Bend at the barre: PLIE.  

65. "Murder on the __ Express": ORIENT.  This Agatha Christie book was originally published in 1934. It was made into a movie in 1974 and again in 2017.

66. Shrill shriek: EEK.  I am not sure if this 35 sec. video qualifies as EEK or "sweet". Watch the cat bring his mouse friend to share from his food bowl.  

67. Govt. IDs: SSNS.  Social Security Numbers

Down:

1. Lisa of "High Fidelity": BONET.  You might remember Lisa from The Cosby Show (1984-1992). She turned 57-years old earlier this month.  

2. Pithy bit of wisdom: ADAGE.  

3. Wyoming's Grand __ National Park: TETON.  Here is a lovely 1:41 min. video of the park's bison herd in the fall from the CBS Sunday Morning show. If you can, use headphones so you can hear all the nature sounds.  

4. Retired fast jet, briefly: SST.

5. Press into service: USE.

6. Streisand who directed and starred in "The Prince of Tides": BARBRA.  We had BARBRA last Monday for Yentl. Perhaps we will have The Way We Were next week.

7. Sighed words: AH, ME.

8. Luke's twin sister in the "Star Wars" saga: LEIA.  Luke and LEIA discover they are twins in Return of the Jedi (1983).

9. Be up in the air: PEND.  Will it fall back down? That depends....

10. Pie serving: SLICE.  Here is a SLICE of pumpkin pie for this coming Thursday...

... and a special Happy B-day message to Picard!

11. Pay close attention to: FOCUS IN ON.  

12. Forensic scientist's workplace: CRIME LAB.  This grid had several nice vertical fills.

13. Seafood item that needs to be cracked: CRAB LEG.  

a.k.a. a sea otter snack

22. Started over with neater penmanship, say: REWROTE.

23. Scooted: RAN.  Both are past tense for "move swiftly".

25. Rights advocacy gp.: ACLU.

26. Fishing basket: CREEL.  

29. New __, India: DELHI.

30. Over-the-counter hay fever brand: ALLEGRA.  

Also, a character in the movie Hitch (2005). I like the scene where Kevin James gets ALLEGRA's phone number. Will Smith is his dating coach. (2:35 min.) 

31. Spanish day: DIA.  

33. Really big favor: A LOT TO ASK.

35. Sheds tears: CRIES.  

Roy Orbison  ~  Crying 

The song was released as a 45-rpm single by Monument Records in July 1961.

The B-SIDE was Candyman.

37. Beefaroni maker Chef __: BOYARDEE.  He was a real person.

38. Crow call: CAW.

39. Green gemstone: JADE.  

This hard pillow in the form of a crawling baby
was designed to support the neck so one's hair would not be crushed.
Imperial Summer Palace (1662-1722) Heber Bishop Collection

40. Internet service with TV ads featuring Zach Braff and Donald Faison: T-MOBILE.  

You might remember these guys as BFF MDs on the TV series Scrubs (2001-2010).

44. Take an axe to: HEW.

46. Schmooze (with): HOBNOB.  Shakespeare gave us this word in his play Twelfth Night. For a while it meant "to drink alternately to each other". Since "drinking HOBNOB" was generally a social interaction, it took on the meaning in today's clue.

48. Gets back to a host: RSVPS.

50. Gave a hoot: CARED.  

51. Ahead by a hair: UP ONE.  I like the word play here:  a-head by a hair.

52. Camping shelters: TENTS.

54. Slippery swimmers: EELS.  The collective noun for EELS is a swarm.

55. Bridle strap: REIN.  

We say this horse is "in the two-REIN" because the rider is still using
the hackamore while the horse is getting used to the bit.

56. "__ bien!": TRÈS.  very good / very well / alright / excellent / super

61. Surgery ctrs.: ORS.  "Centers" is abbreviated, so is operating rooms.

62. Junior's junior: III.  Joe's son is Joe Jr. (or Joe II). Then Joe Jr.'s son would be Joe Jr.'s junior (or Joe III).

That was the last one and I have other things to attend to ... but that is BESIDE the point. 😀

Notes from C.C.:

As sumdaze pointed out in 10D, today is Picard's birthday. Happy Birthday, Robert!

Left to Right: Valerie, MM, Merlie & Picard 9/14/2021

 

Wednesday, Feb 21st, 2024, Natalie Tran & Sean Ziebarth

GREATEST AMERICAN

Suddenly I'm up on top the world....

A fine puzzle that was a good challenge for me with some fresh clues, and nary a name in the mix~!  (OK, there was one*).  I know that the appearance of circles puts a fair number of people off; I'm OK with them - I didn't really notice the circles, but as I got close to finishing, I only had a partial fill for the reveal at 55A. Despite knowing that the word was spelled wrong, I was trying to figure out what "hero(e)s AND _ich" meant.  And then the V-8 can - it needed to be parsed the other way....I believe this may be a debut construction for Natalie Tran.

20. Make a fool of: PUT ONE OVER ON - Neo, hero of "The Matrix" movies

34. Hide-and-seek exclamation: THERE YOU ARE~! - Rey, hero(ine) of the three "Star Wars" second series of sequels, from Disney, not Lucasfilm

42. Determines the age of, as archaeological finds: CARBON DATES - Bond, James Bond - 'nuf said - and a gratuitous image for C.C. of the last actor to portray him....

IMO, he was the best - but I was born 10yrs after the franchise began

55. Sub, and an apt description of 20-, 34-, or 42-Across: HERO SANDWICH - hero, hoagie, grinder, Italian, and a couple I was not familiar with - wedge and spuckie - are alternate names for the submarine "dish", depending on your region

I guess that makes these people the "meat", huh~?

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Glow of virtue: HALO

5. Fort Knox supply: GOLD - speaking of Bond, Auric the villain was going to contaminate the GOLD stored at Fort Knox with nuclear fallout in the third installment film "Goldfinger"

9. Wet: RAINY - I like rainy days; we get a LOT of them here in NE CT

14. __ of March: IDES - Iron Maiden would warm up before a concert with this instrumental

The Ides of March

15. 57-Down for a diva: ARIA

16. Run onstage?: EMCEE

17. Some inbox attachments: PDFs - we had this yesterday - Portable Document Format; I thought it was "PRINTable"

18. Change course suddenly: VEER

19. Puts together: MAKES

23. Decline, with "out": OPT

24. Sounds of pain: OWs -and- 46. Sounds of relief: AHs -and- 11D. Grossed-out reaction: ICK -and- 30D. Verbal stumbles: ERs - there's a lot of "noise" in this grid today~!

25. Pencil topper: ERASER

29. Air filter acronym: HEPA - High Efficiency Particulate Air (filter)

31. Christmas poem contraction: 'TWAS

33. Smooching on the kiss cam, say: PDA - Public Display (of) Affection

37. Bae: LUV - cringe - I have gotten "bae" twice now as a guest blogger; I'd rather have "ALOE"

38. Charged particles: IONS

39. Joan of __: ARC - Jane Wiedlin, guitarist from the "Go-Go's", played Joan in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"

40. Harmful habit: VICE

41. Big name in anonymity: DOE - Family members John and Jane; they work in the morgue

47. In case that's the case: IF SO

48. Masseur's supply: OILS - How about body paint~?  Look closely; it's two women - let's hope it's acrylic paint~!

Artist Johannes Stötter

49. Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, for one: LATINA

51. Sock part: TOE

52. Seasoned pro: VETeran

59. Wedding figure: GROOM

62. Invalidate: VOID

63. Pasta __ checca: trattoria dish: ALLA

64. Animated British piglet of kid's TV: PEPPA - I knew this - I've watched many an episode with my buddy's two-year old daughter

65. Feminine Spanish pronoun: ELLA

66. Shutter section: SLAT - meh.  Part would have been better

67. Fleming subjects: SPIES - IMHO, "Fleming" makes this a dupe with the theme - anything other than the author of James BOND would have been more appropriate

68. In someone's business: NOSY

69. Loved ones blessed at the Feast of St. Francis: PETS - filled via perps; it was not until I wrote up the blog did I see this clue/answer


DOWN:

1. River-dwelling mammal related to whales and dolphins: HIPPO - I tried OTTER first; Bzzzt~!

2. Tally: ADD UP

3. Flew off on one's own: LEFT THE NEST - Eleven-letter non-theme fill

4. Bone, in Italian: OSSO

5. Collapsed: GAVE WAY

Gallopin' Gertie - The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 1940 - poor Tubby

6. Double Stuf treats: OREOS - I like these cookies, but my spellcheck doesn't like this plural

*7. Actor Schreiber: LIEV - this guy

8. Be bold enough: DARE

9. Guilty feeling: REMORSE

10. Kitchen appliance brand: AMANA

12. Wedding page word: NÉE

13. "Let's": YES - the "Y" was my last fill - "let us, tomato"

21. "Forget it": "NOPE."

22. Foster: REAR

26. Potential "destination" for a troubled relationship: SPLITSVILLE - now this clue/answer I like; I can't check if this is the first time it's made it into a crossword puzzle - and it's the other 11-letter non-theme fill

27. Elicit: EDUCE - I do the DOWN clues first; tried EVOKE first; 40% correct

28. Gushes: RAVES - not FLOWS; a mere 20%

31. __Tax: Intuit software package: TURBO - 'Tis the season~!

32. City on the Brazos: WACO - Here's a bridge that did NOT collapse

Check out this website

34. Word with pool or basin: TIDAL

35. Ruckus: HOO-HA - ado/to-do/hullabaloo - free-for-all/a rhyme for you~!

36. Dinghy duo: OARS

It's TWO oars, they're just, uh, joined....

40. Actor Kilmer: VAL

42. Projection places: CINEMAS

43. Hardly a hop, skip, and a jump away: AFAR

44. Time when shadows are shortest: NOONDAY - spellcheck thinks this is just fine, but where I'm from, no one says "noonday" - it's just "noon"

45. Petered out: DIED

50. Optimist's words: "I HOPE"

51. Follows surreptitiously: TAILS - Still making my way through the "Nero Wolfe" detective series; about once every other book, Archie, or Saul Panzer, who is the best at it, "tails" some character

53. Brilliance: ÉCLAT - I knew there was a "tk" over a vowel in the word somewhere....

54. Dean Martin's "__ Amore": THAT'S

56. Baker: OVEN - slight misdirection; another clever clue/answer

57. Song for one: SOLO

58. Insect that first appeared in the Jurassic era: WASP - I did not know this

59. Family docs: GPs - General Practitioners; does it bother anyone else that a musician can "perform", while a doctor can only "practice"~?

60. Sales agt.: REP

61. Brand at a nail salon: OPI - becoming a crossword staple that's catching up with "ERA"

Splynter