Tuesday, December 2, 2025 Norman M Aaronson

I'm so SMART and BRIGHT!

16-Across. Whatever the outcome: WIN OR LOSE.  Wise.

24-Across. "Please lower your voice": KEEP IT DOWN.  Keen.

45-Across. Fabric piece for a sewing circle: QUILT BLOCK.  Quick.

55-Across. Cameo role, e.g.: SMALL PART.  Smart.

And the Unifier:

35-Acr0ss. "It's not all bad news ...," and what the circled letters in this puzzle literally are?: ON THE BRIGHT SIDE.

Here's the Grid so you can see how the circles, which spell a synonym for intellectually "bright", are on the "sides" of each theme clue.

What other bright clues and answers can be found?

Across:

1. Stick (out): JUT.

4. Raw fish dish: SUSHI.  Yummers!

9. Enjoy recess in a schoolyard: PLAY.

13. Darth Vader's childhood nickname: ANI.  A reference to the Star Wars movies.

14. "Come on in!": ENTER.

15. Tylenol alternative: ALEVE.  They are not exactly the same.  Aleve is a NonSteroidal Anti-Inflamatory Drug (NSAID) pain reliever.  It's effectiveness last longer than Tylenol, however it may have a greater risk for stomach issues.  Tylenol is better for fever reduction and pain but does not have anti-inflammatory properties. 

18. Fan frenzy: MANIA.

19. Hibernation spots: LAIRS.

20. Covering that keeps a pant leg dry: GAITER.

21. Copied: APED.

26. Edit: REVISE.

28. Purple garden flower: IRIS.

29. Idaho's capital: BOISE.  Do any of you play the daily puzzle on The Economist?  The theme of last week's puzzle was American State Capitals.  Boise, however, was not one of the answers.

30. Penny: CENT.  We learned recently that the last penny has gone to press.

32. "The Raven" poet Edgar Allan __: POE.  Edgar Allen Poe (Jan. 19, 1809 ~ Oct. 7, 1949) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

39. Pastrami bread: RYE.

40. Young blokes: LADS.

41. Mani-pedi place: SALON.

42. Stash away: STOW.

44. Fully enjoys: SAVORS.

50. Site with handmade goods: ETSY.

51. Loosens, as shoelaces: UNTIES.

52. "Such a tease!": OH, YOU!

54. Amy of "Enchanted" and "Disenchanted": ADAMS.  Amy Lou Adams (b. Aug. 20, 1974) is known for her dramatic and comedic roles.  Her first major role was in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can.  Her first leading role was Giselle in the 2007 film Enchanted.

59. Rented again: RELET.

60. Snorer's affliction, maybe: APNEA.

61. Piña colada liquor: RUM.  Yummers!

62. Walked (on): TROD.

63. Fisherman's __: waterfront district in San Francisco: WHARF.

64. Brimless hat with a tassel: FEZ.

Down:

1. Mandible: JAW.

Anatomy of an ant head.

2. College, to Aussies: UNI.

3. Word before can or Man: TIN.  The aluminum paint used to make the tin man appear tin, was actually quite toxic.  Buddy Ebsen (Apr. 2, 1908 ~ July 6, 2003) was cast as the Tin Man, however, the paint made him very ill and he was replaced by Jack Haley (Aug. 10, 1898 ~ June 6, 1979)

4. "Buona __": Italian "Good evening": SERA.  Today's Italian lesson.

5. Different from: UNLIKE.  You can also Unlike someone on Facebook.

6. Retail outlet: STORE.

7. "Steppenwolf" novelist Hermann: HESSE.  The band Steppenwolf is named after this 1927 novel by Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877 ~ Aug. 9, 1962).

8. Fury: IRE.

9. Tartan patterns: PLAIDS.  When I was in high school, my mother made me a MacLeod plaid skirt. 

10. Slowly, in music: LENTO.

11. Arthur Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW.

12. Be homesick (for): YEARN.

15. Rare and expensive Italian violin: AMATI.  The Amati family were violin makers in the 16th and 17th  century.  

17. Getting on in years: OLDISH.  When does one actually become "oldish"?  Isn't old age 10 years more than your actual age?

20. Circumference: GIRTH.  In addition to his six wives, Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 ~ Jan. 28, 1547) was known for his girth.

21. Ann __, Michigan: ARBOR.  Ann Arbor is home of the University of Michigan.

22. Pink garden flower: PEONY.

23. Party notice sent with a click: EVITE.

25. Problematic engine sounds: PINGS.

27. "Get it?": SEE.

30. Move on all fours: CRAWL.

31. __ al-Fitr: end of Ramadan: EID.

32. Cockpit figure: PILOT.

33. Scents: ODORS.

34. Itty-bitty: EENSY.

36. Splotches: BLOBS.

37. Luggage-checking org.: TSA.

38. Put money away for the future: SAVE UP.

42. Covered in goo: SLIMED.

43. Statistical tool for checking a hypothesis: T-TEST.  A t-test is a statistical tool used to determine if the means of two groups are significantly different.

44. Anna's "Breaking Bad" role: SKYLER.  Anna Kathryn Gunn (b. Aug. 11, 1968) is best known for portraying Skyler White on Breaking Bad.

45. Two pints: QUART.

46. Lower than: UNDER.

47. Writer Calvino: ITALO.  Italo Calvino (Oct. 15, 1923 ~ Sept. 19, 1985) was an Italian novelist who was born Havana, Cuba.  He has been considered one of Italy's greatest writers.  

48. Extra zip: OOMPH.

49. __ masala: spiced chickpea dish: CHANA.  Yummers!  It looks delicious.

53. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF.

55. Wood-cutting tool: SAW.

56. Dog park sound: ARF.

57. Regret: RUE.

58. Celebrity gossip site: TMZ.  As in Thirty-Mile Zone.  Who knew?

חתולה

Tuesday November 25, 2025 Theresa Brady and Gene Leganza

You Can Ring My Bell.

18-Across. Debt security sold to raise funds for World War I: LIBERTY BOND.  //  Liberty Bell.

23-Across. Unexpected and undeserved fortune: DUMB LUCK.  //  Dumb Bell.

51-Across. Singer dubbed the "Mother of the Blues": MA RAINEY.  /  Ma Bell.  Ma Bell was the name for the Bell System, a telecommunications monopoly led by AT&T.  It provided telephone service in North America for about 100 years.  It was the "mother" [Ma] company that provided all telephone services Alexander Graham Bell (Mar. 3, 1847 ~ Aug. 2, 1922) is credited with inventing the telephone, hence, the Bell.  The monopoly was ultimately broken up by a federal court antitrust case in 1984.

A brief bio of Ma Rainey.  She was an African-American from Georgia and has been called the Mother of the Blues.  Sadly, she died at the young age of 53 of heart disease.

56-Across. Weekly promotion in some Tex-Mex restaurants: TACO TUESDAY.  //  Taco Bell.

And the Unifier:

36-Across. Start of the stock exchange trading day, or a feature of 18-, 23-, 51-, and 56-Across: OPENING BELL.  Each theme answer Opens with a Bell.

Across:

1. Twosome: DUO.

4. Long-tailed parrot: MACAW.  They are beautiful birds.

9. Pitch, as a tent: PUT UP.

14. Mork's planet: ORK.  Mork and Mindy was a sit-com from the late 1970s-early 1980s.  Mork, an alien from the planet Ork on a mission to Earth to study human behavior.  He met up with Mindyr, travels to 1970s Boulder, Colo., where he meets up with Mindy, a young journalism graduate.  Mork was portrayed by Robin Williams (July 21, 1951 ~ Aug. 11, 2014) and Mindy was played by Pam Dawber (b. Oct. 18, 1951).

15. "Yay for me!": I RULE!

16. "When the moon hits your eye" condition: AMORE.  Today's Latin lesson.

17. Soda can opener: TAB.  Also the name of a discontinued soda.  Tab was introduced in 1963 and was the Coca-Cola's first diet drink.  It was discontinued in 2020.

20. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA.  The given name of this Irish singer and composer is Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (b. May 17, 1961).  No wonder she goes by Enya.

22. Glacier-forming periods: ICE AGES.

If you go to hockey games, you will understand this cartoon.

26. Airport surface: TARMAC.  The history of the word Tarmac.

29. Essential login info: USER ID.

30. Ray gun sound: ZAP.

31. iPad program: APP.

32. Perfect place: UTOPIA.  Also the title of a 1516 book of fiction and political satire by Sir Thomas More (Feb. 17, 1478 ~ July 6, 1535).  The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs.  It was before my time.

35. Earnest entreaty: PLEA.

39. Abundant supply: GLUT.

41. Little house, in Spanish: CASITA.  Today's Spanish Lesson

42. "I'd rather __": NOT.

43. Tiny ammo: BBs.

45. Apply a cipher to: ENCODE.

49. Unit of coffee: CUPFUL.

53. Greek goddess of the hunt: ARTEMIS.  Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and the twin sister of Apollo.  Because she is the huntress, she is often depicted with a bow and arrow, accompanied by hunting dogs.  As a virgin goddess, she protects young unmarried women and is also associated with childbirth, forests, wild animals, and archery. 

55. Bunco trio: DICE.  I am not familiar with this game, but apparently it is played with 3 die.

60. Fla. NBA team: ORL.  As in the Orlando Magic.

61. Any ABBA member: SWEDE.

62. Made off with: STOLE.

63. Previously named: NÉE.  This French word is becoming a crossword staple.

64. Mexican bucks: PESOS.  As of this writing, 1 Mexican Peso is worth 0.054 Dollars.  Or another way, $1 is worth 18.47 Pesos.

65. From Nepal, e.g.: ASIAN.

66. The best is __ to come: YET.

Down:

1. End of a school email address: DOT EDU.

2. Planet between Saturn and Neptune: URANUS.  William Herschel (né Frederick William Herschel; Nov. 15, 1738 ~ Aug. 25, 1822) discovered the planet in 1781, which he wanted to call Georgium Sidus, which means George's Star in honor of George III, King of England (June 4, 1738 ~ Jan. 29, 1820).   Other astronomer, however, had other ideas and they won out.  So how did Uranus get its name, which becomes name official in 1850.

3. "I'm fine with that": OK BY ME.

4. The Brewers, in box scores: MIL.  As in the Milwaukee Brewers.

5. Former NPR host Shapiro: ARI.  Ari Michael Shapiro (b. Sept. 20, 1978) is a radio journalist.  He had been one of the hosts of All Things Considered.  He left NPR in September of this year.

6. Three-dimensional: CUBIC.

7. Smart __: ALECK.

8. "Now __ talking!": WE'RE.

9. Wage inequality: PAY GAP.  Yup, it's real.

10. Natural pigment darker than ocher: UMBER.

11. Like shoes that cause blisters, perhaps: TOO SMALL.

12. Ornate flowerpot: URN.

13. Thin sock worn to try on shoes: PED.

19. The "TT" of TTFN: TATA.  Textspeak for TaTa For Now.

21. Sudden: ABRUPT.

24. Low-calorie, in ads: LITE.

25. Japanese soup noodle: UDON.  These tasty noodles appear often in the puzzles.

27. Mimic: APE.

28. Tax prep pro: CPA.  As in a Certified Public Accountant.

30. Zigs and __: ZAGS.

33. "__ or it didn't happen!": PICS.  That used to be true, but now ...

34. Cookbook writer Garten: INA.  Ina Rosenberg Garten (b. Feb. 2, 1948) is known as the Barefoot Contessa.

35. Serene: PLACID.

36. Runs faster than: OUTPACES.

37. Order in a German pub: BIER.  Today's German lesson.

38. Active Sicilian volcano: ETNA.  This Sicilian volcano makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzle.

39. Chain known for health products: GNC.  Formerly known as General Nutrition Centers.

40. Bud's bud in comedy: LOU.  Abbott and Costello were an American comedy team composed of comedians Bud Abbott (né William Alexander Abbott; Oct. 2, 1895 ~ Apr. 24, 1974) and Lou Costello (né Louis Francis Cristillo; Mar. 6, 1906 ~ Mar. 3, 1959).

43. Narrow flat-topped hills: BUTTES.  //  And 54-Down. Wide flat-topped hill: MESA.

44. "Sacré __!": BLEU.  More of today's French lesson.

46. Like some pungent dips: ONIONY.

47. Official directive: DECREE.

48. Doily loop: EYELET.

50. Hobbit who travels to Mount Doom: FRODO.

51. Waters gently, as a houseplant: MISTS.

52. "Same here," formally: AS DO I.

56. Recipe amt.: TSP.  As in a Teaspoon.

57. Feeling of wonder: AWE.

58. __ mode: À LA.  More of today's French lesson.

59. Urge: YEN.  Also Japanese currency.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Picard (Robert), who visited Splynter last June. Picard and his wife have also met with MM and his girlfriend Valerie a few years ago.