Thursday, October 9, 2025, Dan Caprera

Theme:  Tousled topknots. 

Some messy buns are truly casual, and others are carefully calculated, like the lovely coiffure pictured above.  Today's puzzle constructor has at least a couple dozen crossword puzzles under his belt, including six in the L.A. Times.  And he's a funny guy!  Dan Caprera:  Writer. Comic. Barrel-Aged to Perfection.  More at DanCaprera.com.

Today Dan has deliberately messed up some BUNS, scrambling them in the theme answers.

17-Across. *Vessel secretly ridden by Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark": GERMAN SUB.  The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in 1981.  I don't remember many details from 44 years ago!  Perpendicular entries saved the day for me.

Indiana Jones and the U-Boat in the Marvel Comics adaptation

24-Across. *Hank Aaron's record 2,297: RUNS BATTED IN.  Wow!  That's a lot!  Famous baseball batter, not too hard to guess the statistic category.

1976 Topps trading card

39-Across. *Ursine critter with a distinctive orange patch on its chest: SUN BEAR.  This arboreal bear is found in tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

Sun Bear

50-Across. *Don't pull any shenanigans: MEAN BUSINESS.  Be determined and firm.

"I look like I mean business, and, by golly, I do!"

61. Casual updos, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: MESSY BUNS.  An updo is a hairstyle in which the hair is swept up and fastened away from the face and neck.

Before the rage for messy buns, there were more formal buns:

Not being much of a hair hopper, I'll jump right into the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Distracted boyfriend and Surprised Pikachu: MEMES.  Folks put their own text to these popular images.

"Distracted boyfriend"

"Surprised Pikachu"

6. Giants slugger Mel: OTT.  Another famous batter.

9. Grows faint: DIMS.

13. Glorify: EXALT.

14. __ Beta Kappa: PHI.  The oldest academic honor society in the United States, founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

15. Waiting, as champagne: ON ICE.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Saw: MAXIM.

20. Brief fight: SET TO.

21. "X" and "Pearl" actress Goth: MIA.  Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth (born 1993) is an English actress.  DNK.

Mia Goth

23. Loan option, for short: REFI.  Short for refinance.

24. [Theme clue]

27. Divine: FORESEE.  Divine as an intransitive verb.  Per Merriam-Webster:  to seek to predict future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers : to practice divination : prophesy

30. Clothing line: SEAM.

31. Instrument commonly made from African blackwood: OBOE.

32. Prefix with net or com: INTER.

35. Abate: EBB.  Abate is to decrease in force or intensity.  Ebb (as a verb) is to fall from a higher to a lower level.

38. Gym unit: REP.  Short for repetition, as gym is short for gymnasium.

39. [Theme clue]

41. Couple: DUO.

42. Go green, perhaps: DYE.

43. Shredded __: WHEAT.

44. Euro forerunner: LIRA.  Lira was the basic monetary unit of Italy, until replaced by the euro in 2002.

45. Actress Remini: LEAH.  Actress Leah Remini, know for roles on sitcoms The King of Queens and Kevin Can Wait, wrote a book about her upbringing in the Church of Scientology and produced an Emmy Award winnning documentary series on the same subject.

Leah Remini

47. LeBron James and Steph Curry, by birth: OHIOANS.  LeBron plays basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Steph for the (San Francisco) Golden State Warriors.  Steph's father also played on an NBA team.  LeBron's father was a criminal and not involved in his life, but LeBron moved into the home of a youth football coach who introduced him to basketball at age nine.  Sometimes the road is crooked.  

50. [Theme clue]

54. "Let There Be Rock" band: AC/DC.

55. Laid low: HID.

56. Rizzo of "Midnight Cowboy": RATSO.  Dustin Hoffman played "Ratso" Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy, the 1969 film that is the only X-rated film ever to win an Academy Award.  It won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy

59. Musical endings: CODAS.

61. [Theme clue]

64. Woeful words: ELEGY.

65. Flock sound: BAA.

66. Emma Roberts, to Julia Roberts: NIECE.  Emma Roberts has played a number of roles in horror films and has a reputation as a scream queen.

Emma Roberts' hair color is in a constant state of flux.

67. Really ticks off: IRES.

68. PC key near Z: ALT.

69. City east of the Great Salt Lake: OGDEN.


Down:

1. "Family Guy" daughter: MEG.

Meg Griffin      

2. Awkward people to run into, perhaps: EXES.

3. Frutti di __: Italian seafood dish: MARE.  Seafood in Italian is "fruits of the sea."

Fettuccine ai Frutti di Mare

4. One of many in Boston Common: ELM TREE.  The Boston Common is the oldest city park in the United States, established in 1634.  Its Great Elm Tree was destroyed by a storm in 1876, but many others grow there today.

Boston Common

5. Position: STATUS.

6. Black __: OPS.  Black ops, or black operations, refers to secret missions that are hidden from public knowledge, and sometimes even from personnel of the organizing agency.  The CIA is said to conduct black ops to protect national security.

7. Flip (through): THUMB.

8. Leg bone: TIBIA.  The tibia, also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee; it connects the knee with the ankle.

Or, as you may have learned:

The foot bone's connected to the leg bone

The leg bone's connected to the knee bone

The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone

Doin' the skeleton dance

Tibia -- frontal view.

9. Abbey title: DOM.  Monks are called "'Dom,'" an abbreviation of "Dominus" which means "Lord."  Let us all recall fondly Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk whose labors in the vineyard were focused on Champagne.

NaomiZ and DH on pilgrimmage in 2018

10. Covered by one's insurance: IN AREA.  Insurance is often limited to a particular geographic coverage area.

11. Found object art, often: MIXED MEDIA.

12. N.K. Jemisin genre: SCI-FI.  N. K. Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.  She is the first African American author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the first author to win that award in three consecutive years, and the first to win it for all three novels in a trilogy.  Guess we'd better read her Broken Earth series.  She went on to win a fourth Hugo for Best Novelette, and a fifth for Best Graphic Story.  Wowza.

N. K. Jemisin

16. Key with one sharp: Abbr.: E MIN.  E minor.

18. Zero: NONE.

22. Totally stumped: AT SEA.  Idiomatically, to have lost one's bearings, to be bewildered.

25. River to the English Channel: SEINE.  The Seine originates northwest of Dijon, flows through Paris, and northward into the English Channel at Le Havre.

26. Region: Abbr.: TERR.  Territory.

27. Expedition maker: FORD.  A full-size SUV.

28. Comply: OBEY.

29. Obstacle course component, often: ROPE LADDER.

33. Org. for LeBron James and Steph Curry: NBA.  See 47-Across.

34. Grand __ National Park: TETON.

36. Aloe target: BURN.

37. Fluffy accessories: BOAS.  A boa is a fluffy fashion accessory, worn around the neck like a scarf, and often made of feathers.  Let's go faux for the sake of the birds.  These are pretty costumey anyway.

39. Deckhand: SWAB.  A ship's crew member may be a deckhand, whose duty is to mop or "swab" the deck of the ship, and is therefore called a swab or swabbie.

40. "Totally!": UH HUH.  Yep, I agree with you.

44. Got clobbered: LOST BIG.

46. Coop up: ENCAGE.  Not a word we use every day.  

48. Feminine possessive: HERS.

49. "My vote is to skip it": I SAY NO.  Want to go see the new Superman movie again?  I SAY NO.  DH says yes.  He happily accepted younger son's invitation without mentioning he'd seen it already.

50. Scotch cookie spice: MACE.  Scotch spice cookies are made with molasses, cinnamon, and mace, which is the outer coating of the nutmeg seed.  In 2019, a Reddit user was investigating a murder that occured in their Maine home in the 1930s, and happened upon a contemporary cookie recipe in the course of the investigation.  The cookies have become an internet sensation of sorts, called "murder cookies" because of the source.  Another Reddit user explains, "They're KILLER!"  All news to me.

another item for our crossword picnic

51. Biotech bacteria: E. COLI.  Most Escherichia coli strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut.  These bacteria are harmless or even beneficial to humans.  Some types cause food poisoning, mostly through fecal-oral transmission.  (Don't eat poop.)  E. coli is easy to grow in a laboratory and is used in biotechnology and microbiology as the host organism for recombinant DNA.

52. Disney lion: SIMBA.  The title character of The Lion King (1994).

Simba as a cub and as an adult lion

53. Perfect: IDEAL.

57. Courted?: SUED.  Took to court.

58. As soon as: ONCE.  I'll be ready once I finish the crossword puzzle, darling!

60. Pt. of GPS: SYS.  Global Positioning System.

62. Convened: SAT.  

63. Capitol fig.: SEN.  A figure you encounter in the capitol might be a senator.

Here's the grid:

I cannot FORESEE what the comments will be.

Will our cruciverbalist crowd EXALT today's puzzle and constructor?

Or will they THUMB their noses if they LOST BIG?

Please weigh in!

-- NaomiZ

Thursday, October 2, 2025, Tara Holland

Theme:  Punny professions.

Today's constructor, Tara Holland, had a puzzle published in these pages on March 19, 2025.  I find no others under her name, so she appears to be new to the craft.  Good for her!  We need all the crossword puzzles we can get.  In today's puzzle, Tara interprets common phrases as punny professions, arranged in symmetrically placed rows across.  Elegant silliness.

The theme clues and answers are:

17-Across. Peculiar anesthesiologist?: ODD NUMBER.  We all know that odd numbers are numbers that cannot be divided evenly by 2.  But an odd number might be a person who makes one feel numb.  This pun works in print, but would be hard to pull off in spoken form, because number sounds like nummer, not number.  It's the only one of the theme answers that has this limitation.

24-Across. Sad maker of simple dresses?: DOWN SHIFTER.  A shift is a simple dress, and a person who feels "down" is sad, so a down shifter might be a sad person who makes dresses, as opposed to a person who puts a vehicle in a lower gear, or someone who leaves a demanding job for a less stressful lifestyle.

37-Across. Slightly loopy purveyor of Scottish attire?: OFF KILTER.  Off kilter usually means out of balance, but it might also be an ecccentric person who makes or sells kilts.

55-Across. Highly critical grain producer?: SHARP CORNER.  A sharp corner is where two edges of an object meet in an angular juncture.  But sharp also means intelligent or even harsh, as in "sharp criticism."  Apply that to someone who makes corn, and you have a sharp corner.

63-Across. Deadpan mathematician?: DRY SUMMER.  We've had a dry summer here in So Cal (as usual), but if a person works with sums, and their wit is dry, you might call them a dry summer.

If you want to imitate Tara's puns, you have to go looking for nouns that end in -er, and what you find are a lot of nouns that already describe certain people or professions, like achiever or adjuster.  The words that Tara turned into jobs did not start out that way.  Well, maybe "shifter" is a person, but "number," "kilter," "corner," and "summer" are not.  And then you have to think of a common phrase which includes that -er noun.  It's not easy to come up with these phrases, let alone have them match in length to fit the grid.  My best attempt is "car bumper," but I am unable to redefine that as a profession.  Having failed to match Tara at this game, I'll move on to the rest of Tara's clues and answers.

Across:

1. Soup noodles: SOBA.  Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour.

5. Touch: ABUT.

9. "Heavens, no!": PSHAW.  An interjection used to express irritation, disapproval, contempt, or disbelief.

14. Baked custard: FLAN.  Yummy dessert common in Spanish speaking countries.

15. Fibrous, as roots: ROPY.  Resembling a rope, especially in being long, strong, and fibrous.

16. Stradivarius alternative: AMATI.  Amati is the surname of a family of Italian violin makers who lived in Cremona from about 1538 to 1740. Their importance is considered equal to those of the Bergonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari families.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Dish with a vinegared rice base: SUSHI.

20. "You know you wanna!": C'MON.  C'mon is used in writing to represent the sound of "come on" spoken quickly, especially when urging someone to do something, or expresssing surprise or skepticism.

21. Like taupe: NEUTRAL.

23. Noodle soup: PHO.  A Vietnamese broth with noodles.

24. [Theme clue]

28. Components of a square meal?: RAVIOLI.  Ravioli are stuffed pasta that are usually square.

30. Exit key: ESC.

31. Social follower?: ITE.

32. Receptive (to): OPEN.

33. Aardvark snack: ANT.

35. Loathed: HATED.

37. [Theme clue]

41. Pelvic bones: SACRA.  Oh, I get to use this GIF again!

44. Shy: COY.

45. Paper clip for an attachment, e.g.: ICON.  Most email programs have a paper clip icon a user clicks to attach a file to a message.

Your paper clip icon may vary.

49. Somewhat: ISH.

50. Football VIPs: QBS.  Quarterbacks are Very Important Persons in football.

53. Luxurious: OPULENT.

55. [Theme clue]

58. Root word?: RAH.  A cheer.  Rah rah sis boom bah.

59. Molasses relative: TREACLE.  Treacle is a thinner, sweeter version of molasses.  Both are byproducts of refining sugar from cane or beets.

60. Trade: DEAL.

62. Bond actor: CRAIG.  English actor Daniel Craig got his start on stage, and then had several supporting roles in films before playing James Bond in Casino Royale (2006) made him an international star.

Daniel Craig as James Bond

63. [Theme clue]

67. Grasslike plant: SEDGE.  Sedges have solid, triangular stems, and their leaves and flowers are arranged in threes.  Grasses have hollow, round stems with swollen nodes, and their leaves are arranged in two ranks.  When in doubt, "sedges have edges," that is, triangular stems.

68. Narwhal feature: TUSK.  The narwhal is a species of whale native to the Arctic.  Males of this species have a 5-10 foot long tusk, which is a protruding left canine tooth, thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, or for just being a sexy narwhal.

69. Stick in the mud: MIRE.  Mire as a verb means to cause something to become stuck in mud.  

70. Chilly temps: TEENS.

DH used to live there.  He's not leaving So Cal now.

71. Sole: ONLY.

72. When Romeo says, "Thus with a kiss I die": ACT V.  Well, you knew he didn't die in Act I, and Act X would have made for a very long play.


Down:

1. Calif. hub: SFO.  San Francisco International Airport.  

2. English gent: OLD CHAP.

3. Poor decision: BAD MOVE.

4. Part of A.D.: ANNO.  "Anno Domini" is Latin for "in the year of the Lord."  It refers to the years following the presumed birth year of Jesus Christ, with "AD 1" marking the first year of this era.  We are now, of course, in AD 2025.  The Hebrew calendar year 5786 began at sundown on September 22, 2025, counting years since the creation of the world according to Genesis and subsequent Bible stories.  I was raised by a paleontologist who thought in terms of geologic time, which puts us at about 4.6 billion years since formation of the earth.

5. Branch: ARM.

6. "Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama" memoirist Odenkirk: BOB.  Bob Odenkirk is an actor, screenwriter, comedian, and producer.  He started his career writing for Saturday Night Live, wrote and acted in The Ben Stiller Show, and also wrote for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.  As a dramatic actor, Odenkirk gained recognition for playing Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill on Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul. DH and I recently saw him star in the action film Nobody, which he also produced.  He's a pretty great actor.

Bob Odenkirk

7. Sch. with a Quaker mascot: U PENN.  AKA University of Pennsylvania.

8. Gibson of the "Fast & Furious" films: TYRESE.  Tyrese Gibson is a singer and actor from Los Angeles, California.  His 1998 debut single hit the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.  His debut album the same year went platinum.  His fifth album, Open Invitation (2011) received a nomination for Best R&B Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.  He's appeared in several films, and plays Roman Pearce in the Fast & Furious franchise.

Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce

9. Artistic style that imitates another: PASTICHE.  A pastiche can be an artwork that imitates the style of another work, artist, or period.  Another meaning of pastiche is an incongruous combination of materials or styles.

The Lego Lisa -- pastiche?

10. Part of a blue crew: SMURF.

11. Gives an enthusiastic try: HAS AT IT.

12. Olympian, for one: ATHLETE.

13. Switch predecessor: WII.  WII and Switch are Nintendo video game consoles.

18. Take back command?: UNDO.

22. Hesitation sounds: UHS.  Who else tried UMS first?

23. All for: PRO.  

25. Character who says, "Some people are worth melting for": OLAF.  Olaf is an enchanted snowman in Disney's Frozen movies.

Olaf

26. ;): WINK.

27. Crimson or carmine: RED.

29. "Are you __ out?": IN OR.

34. Muscle spasm: TIC.

36. Edible part of a pomegranate: ARIL.  A fleshy seed covering.

38. Web sections for the curious or confused: FAQ PAGES.  Frequently Asked Questions pages.

39. Great Lakes diving bird: LOON.  Loons in western Canada and Alaska migrate to the Pacific Coast to avoid the northern winter.  Loons from the Great Lakes region migrate to the Gulf of Mexico or to the Florida coast.  Loons from eastern Canada migrate to the Atlantic coast.  I love the way they sit low in the water, and the eerie calls they make.

Common Loon

40. Kind: TYPE.

41. Girl of the fam: SIS.

42. Growth threatened by an emerald borer: ASH TREE.  The emerald ash borer is a green beetle, native to northeastern Asia, that feeds on ash trees.  In its native range, it is found at low densities and does not cause significant damage. Outside its native range, it is an invasive species and is highly destructive to ash trees native to Europe and North America.

See the ash borer on the coin for actual size.

43. Pretense: CHARADE.

46. Like some tile: CERAMIC.

47. Vigilant: ON ALERT.

48. Last in a long series: NTH.

51. Secretly loop in: BCC. Blind Carbon Copy.

52. "__ the highest bidder!": SOLD TO.

54. Pakistani language: URDU.

56. Dominion: REIGN.

57. Episode shown after the series finale: RERUN.

61. Austen protagonist: EMMA.  One of our favorite crossword actresses, Anya Taylor-Joy, played the title role in the 2020 film based on the 1815 novel by Jane Austen.  I love a good costume drama.

Anya Taylor-Joy (on the right) as Emma

62. Wisc. winter hrs.: CST.  Central Standard Time.

64. Fashion logo initials: YSL.  Yves Saint Laurent.

65. Sun spot: SKY.  Yes, a very good spot for the sun is in the sky.  Stay there, sun!

66. Step (up): REV.  Increase speed or activity.

  

Here's the grid:

What did you think?  Are you PRO punny puzzles?  Or perhaps you HATED it?

Let us know in the comments.

-- NaomiZ

 

Thursday, September 25, 2025, Rebecca Goldstein

 Theme:  Letters whose names sound like English words.  (G)olly GEE!

Who can help but think of William Steig's 1968 classic CDB!

Today's constructor, Rebecca Goldstein, is a w(o)nder!  OH MY!  I wanted see if I could create further examples of her gimmick today, but it's challenging.  Suffice it to say that the letters in parentheses in the clues appear spelled out in the answers as sound-alike words, and that the answers relate to the concepts of the clue words.  

20-Across. Mer(c)y: SEA OF HUMANITY.

59-Across. (T)yke: KID'S TEE.

25-Down. (B)enefit: BE OF SERVICE.

28-Down. Trajector(y): WHY OF COURSE.

44. Bra(i)n: MIND'S EYE.

Whew!  And it doesn't get much easier ...

Across:

1. Win or lose: VERB.  Right off the bat, we have a "meta" clue.  Win and lose are both verbs.

5. Signs of healing: SCABS.

10. Win or lose alternative: DRAW.  A "draw" is when a contest ends in a tie.

14. Single's bars?: ARIA.  A single person singing a few bars of music might be an opera soloist singing an aria.  Not an obvious answer!

15. "Se __ inglés": HABLA.  "Se habla inglés" is Spanish for "English spoken."  We often see signs in places of business that say "Se habla español" or "Spanish spoken."  "Se habla inglés" might be a welcome sign for English speakers in Spanish speaking countries, but then, it would probably be written in English. 

16. Character: ROLE.

17. Online chortles: LOLZ.  LOL is a texting or online abbreviation for Laughing Out Loud.  LOLZ is a plural, deliberately spelled in a cute way.  You could translate it as "Laughs Out Loud" or just "Laughs."

South Park quote:  "Why do you troll the internet?"
"I do it for the LOLZ."

18. Positive: ASSET.

19. Season celebrated by gifted kids?: YULE.  Kids are "gifted" with gifts at Yuletide.

20. [Theme clue]

23. Supplier of oil pans?: ART CRITIC.  A pan can be an unfavorable review.  An art critic might supply negative reviews of oils, also known as oil paintings.

Everyone's a critic -- even Fido.

24. Incantation syllables: ABRA.  Add the syllables "cadabra" and you've got yourself a magical incantation.

26. Selling points?: ADS.

27. Garter snake prey: NEWT.

30. Great beast: APE.  For a three letter word, this had me stumped for a while.  The great apes or hominids are a taxonomic family of primates whose living members include orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and Homo sapiens.

31. Soft toss: LOB.

33. Ins. option: HMO.  One health insurance option is a Health Maintenance Organization.  I've been with Kaiser Permanente for 50 (gasp!) years.  All the medical attention you need under one roof.

35. "Open the pod bay doors, __": HAL.

A chilling exchange between an astronaut and a computer
in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

37. Mop alternative: ROOMBA.  Roomba is a brand of robot vacuum cleaner.  These days, most robot vacuums include a wet mop feature.

39. Argument-ending words, perhaps: I SAY SO.

41. Romeo's opening word?: ALFA.  Did this sports car slow you down as it did me?  I was thinking of Juliet's paramour, of course.

Alfa Romeo

42. Mausoleums: TOMBS.

46. Go to the polls: VOTE.

47. Pear variety: BOSC.

48. Dressing on a caterer's table?: SKIRT.  Put a skirt on a folding table to make it more presentable.

49. Hardly any: A FEW.

50. Actress Jewell: GERI.  Geri Jewell is an actress, comedian, writer, and speaker, noted for roles on the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life and the western Deadwood.  Her success is in spite of having been born with cerebral palsy and ignored or worse by other children.  DNK - Did Not Know.

52. Gasteyer of "Mean Girls": ANA.  Ana Gasteyer is an actress, comedian and singer.  She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002, and has since starred in such sitcoms as Suburgatory, People of Earth, American Auto, and the film Mean Girls.  DNK.

Ana Gasteyer

53. Some mechanical pencils: BICS.  BIC does make mechanical pencils.

54. Ada Lovelace's father: BYRON.  Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. She is sometimes considered to be the first computer programmer.  Ada was the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron and reformer Anne Isabella Milbanke.  Lord Byron's other children were born out of wedlock to other women.  Lord Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born, left England, and died in Greece, fighting in the Greek War of Independence when Ada was eight.  Her education in mathematics was entirely thanks to her mother.  She became a countess through marriage.  DNK.

Daguerreotype of Ada Lovelace circa 1843

55. NFL stats: YDS.  Even I recognize that National Football League statistics include yards.

56. Heavy dancing shoes: CLOGS.

58. Backroads ride, for short: ATV.  All-Terrain Vehicle.

59. [Theme clue]

62. Need for a site visit?: URL.  Uniform Resource Locator.  A web address.

63. Two-time Newbery Medalist Lowry: LOIS.  Lois Lowry is the author of many books for children and young adults, including The Giver Quartet, Number the Stars, the Anastasia series, and Rabble Starkey. She is known for writing about difficult subjects and complex themes in works for young audiences.  DNK.

Lois Lowry

65. Caterpillar rival: DEERE.  Caterpillar and John Deere compete in the manufacture of heavy equipment, although Caterpillar specializes in heavy construction and mining, while John Deere makes mostly agricultural equipment.  There is clearly some overlap, as there are lots of YouTube videos titled "John Deere vs Caterpillar."

66. Grove grower: TREE.  Not the arborist, but the thing growing in the grove.

67. Drink through a straw: SUCK.

68. Travel website with the same name as a boat: KAYAK.  Kayak.com is a travel search engine, comparing prices from other sites for flights, hotels, and cars.  Unlike Expedia or Travelocity, you can't book directly through Kayak, but you may find better price comparisons.  For me, "kayak" conjures up our fearless Monday blogger, sumdaze, paddling on the Pacific.

69. Quickly, quickly: ASAP.  Quickly, stated quickly:  ASAP, or As Soon As Possible.

70. Surroundings: AREA.

71. Someone working around the House: REP.  You will find Representatives working in the House of Representatives.

72. Rocker Joan: JETT.  Joan Jett recorded four albums with the Runaways from 1975 to 1979, and then formed her own record label and performed as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.  Her 1981 album, I Love Rock 'n Roll, peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. The lead single was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.  Jett has released eleven more albums with the Blackhearts, two of them receiving gold and platinum certifications.  Her single I Hate Myself for Loving You earned Jett her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Performance.  How many of our Corner guitarists have played her songs?

Joan Jett

Down:

1. Actor Kilmer: VAL.  Val Kilmer was an American actor who found fame through films including Top Secret!, Real Genius, and Top Gun. He played Jim Morrison in The Doors and Batman in Batman Forever.  His voice was altered by throat cancer, and had to be digitally modified for the 2022 film, Top Gun: Maverick.  Roger Ebert said of Kilmer in 1992, "If there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it."  Kilmer passed away on April 1, 2025.

Val Kilmer at Cannes in 2005

2. God with a quiver: EROS.  Eros carries a quiver of arrows.

I searched for Cupid with arrows and found a bunch of babies with wings.
I searched for Eros with arrows, and well, that's more like it!

3. Really get to: RILE.

4. Middle Eastern market: BAZAAR.

5. Hot rod rod: SHAFT.  Some of our car enthusiasts can tell us all about hot rod drive shafts in the comments.  

6. Game show whose contestants are really driven?: CASH CAB.  This show appeared in the puzzle I blogged on September 11th!  Cash Cab is a game show that premiered in 2005.  A taxi picks up a customer, the host announces that they are on Cash Cab, and they are given the option to play or get out.  If they choose to play, they have to stay in the cab until they reach their destination or get three strikes when answering questions.  They earn cash for correct answers.  Our solvers would do well.

7. Wackadoo: ABSURD.

8. Mark: BLEMISH.

9. Occupied, as a hot desk: SAT AT.  In some offices, workers do not have their own, private work spaces.  There are desks available, and you grab one.  "Hot desking" accommodates various shifts and schedules.  It must assume that all your files and resources are electronic.  I still use filing drawers in my desk.

10. Solid carbon dioxide: DRY ICE.  Useful as a cooling agent, dry ice also makes cool fog effects.

Youngest daughter was married in August
and danced with hubby in a cloud of DRY ICE fog.

11. Drubbing: ROUT.  A resounding defeat.

12. Supporter: ALLY.

13. Microscopic: WEE.

21. Floss brand: ORAL B.

22. Spanish sons: NIÑOS.  No, no, no.  Sons are HIJOS.  Niños are children -- boys, or boys and girls -- but not necessarily sons.  Mis hijos son Isaac y Aaron.  Mis niños son Isaac, Leila, Aaron, y Rachel.  Lucina can correct me if I'm wrong.

24. Accounting record?: APOLOGY TOUR.  A well-known person might make a series of speeches, interviews, or public appearances to express regret for a mistake.  That's an apology tour.  You could say that they're giving an accounting of their misdeeds.

25. [Theme clue]

28. [Theme clue]

29. "My compliments to the chef": TASTES GREAT.

30. Part of UAE: ARAB.  United Arab Emirates.

32. Grains that may be steel-cut: OATS.

34. Produce aisle spray: MIST.

36. German entomologist Hermann: LOEW.  Friedrich Hermann Loew (1807-1879) was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. He was the first specialist to work on the Diptera of the United States.  His collections are in museums around the world, and more than a dozen insects are named for him.  See, for example, the lovely Albulina loewii that lives in the Middle East and Asia.  DNK, but great entomologists should be as famous as rock stars.

Albulina loewii

38. Large-scale: MACRO.

40. Make use (of): AVAIL.

43. "Yes, honey": OKAY DEAR.

44. [Theme clue]

45. Fashion tape target: BRA STRAP.  If you don't want your bra strap to show, tape your top to the strap.  

Tape those bra straps to your top!

Or, take a cue from the younger ladies, and flaunt them!

51. What a pocket protector protects from: INK.

When I was in college, a pocket protector was
universally acknowledged as the badge of a science nerd.

53. Dating initials: BCE.  Before Common Era, a secular alternative to BC, Before Christ.

54. Wood whose name comes from the Spanish for "raft": BALSA.  This tropical wood is surprisingly buoyant.

57. Rested: SLEPT.

60. "u tell me": IDK.  I Don't Know.  Here in the corner, we more often confess:  DNK.

61. "Yikes!": EEK.

64. Horn-heavy genre: SKA.  Ska originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, combining Caribbean sounds like calypso with American jazz, rhythm and blues.  Ska today is fast paced and features lots of brass instruments.

66. __ Mahal: TAJ.

Here's the grid:

(O)bligation -- I OWE you an explanation of the puzzle theme.

(U)nderstand -- Did YOU get it?

(R)eactions?  ARE you ready to comment?