L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday

Showing posts with label Tuesday. Show all posts

Dec 23, 2025

Tuesday December 23, 2025 Alan P. Olschwang

CrossEyedDave here, filling in again. My interpretation of a theme for this puzzle would be:

It's For The Birds...

Alan Olschwang is a prolific constructor, and has provided many puzzles for us to enjoy. You can find CC's 2009 interview with him on the right side of the Blog, 3rd from the bottom.

As near as i can comprehend, these birds are cooped up in the circles as follows:

18 Across. Rather often: QUITE A LOT

Teal

23 Across. In large quantities: HAND OVER FIST

Dove

37 Across. Taunting remark: EAT YOUR HEART OUT.

Rhea

50 Across. NHL legend known as "The Great One": WAYNE GRETZKY

Egret

And, the reveal:

60 Across. Handmade backyard nest box, and an apt description of 18-, 23-, 37-, and 50-Across: BIRDHOUSE.

Across:
1. Root beer brand owned by Coca-Cola: BARQ'S. This combined with 3 down, Regan, was almost a Natick for me. But the R in Barqs was dredged up from previous Crosswords.

6. Tightly closed: SHUT.

10. Smile joyously: BEAM. 😀

14. Indigenous Alaskan: ALEUT. Indigenous Alaskans are diverse peoples, including Inupiaq, Yup'ik, Aleut (Unangan/Alutiiq), Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. (And you thought they were just Eskimos...)

15. Work hard for: EARN. (I earned this puzzle review!)

16. Feminine Spanish pronoun: ELLA. (e.g., Ella es mi madre - She is my mother; Los regalos son para ella - The gifts are for her). I have no explanation for "Cinderella..."

17. Roman robes: TOGAS.

Or, a rallying cry...

18. [Theme]

20. Jackie on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: CHAN.

21. Mardi Gras, for one: Abbr.: TUE. I cannot imagine only one person celebrating Marci Gras...

22. Selling point: ASSET.

23. [Theme]

27. Name on a former lake in Central Asia: ARAL. This word is as common as Oreo...

28. "Guys and Dolls" composer Frank: LOESSER.

This Guy

32. "Been __, done that": THERE.

35. Chapel bench: PEW.

36. Med. plan option: HMO. (Health Maintenance Organization)

37. [Theme]

42. Chicken __ king: ALA.

43. Hundred Acre Wood joey: ROO.

This Guy

44. Cropped up: AROSE.

What cropped up, was a rose upon his nose...

45. Antarctic body of water with penguin rookeries: ROSS SEA.

48. "Othello" frenemy: IAGO.

NOT this guy

50. [Theme]

55. Poker buy-ins: ANTES.

58. Final tally: SUM.

59. Prefix with -gram: SONO. (One of too many to mention...)

60. [Theme]

63. Hollowed out: CORED.

64. Crossword hint: CLUE.

65. Finds a purpose for: USES.

66. Blender setting for pumpkin pie filling: PUREE. And baby food.

67. "As __ on TV": SEEN.

68. "Devil Inside" band: INXS. This was another almost Natick, saved by U.S. Navy...

69. Ring-shaped island: ATOLL.

Down:

1. Baker's sheetful: BATCH.

2. "Welcome to Maui!": ALOHA.

3. Middle daughter of King Lear: REGAN. (Half an almost Natick.)

4. Difficult situation: QUANDARY. (What ever should i post here.)

5. MA, ME, MI, and MO, but not MU: STS. (And not Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum...)

6. Follow-up film: SEQUEL.

7. Rutger of "Blade Runner": HAUER.

This guy

8. Ocean State sch.: URI. University of Rhodesia Island.

9. Blasting letters: TNT.

10. __ of burden: plow-pulling animals: BEASTS.

11. Letter-shaped pipe joints: ELLS.

12. __ vera gel: ALOE.

13. "The Simpsons" creator Groening: MATT.

The guy on the left

19. "At __, soldier!": EASE.

21. FDR energy project: TVA. Tennessee Valley Authority

24. Dirt pie cookie: OREO.

25. Escape in a hurry: FLEE.

26. Ames locale: IOWA.

29. "Go on, git!": SHOO. (Scram! Or Skidaddle...)

30. Big birds of Australia: EMUS. Not Rheas,

31. Learning by repetition: ROTE. (The answer is Oreo!)

32. Salty drop: TEAR.

33. Saintly glow: HALO.

34. Airport pickup figs.: ETAS.

35. Vietnamese soup: PHO. (Do i need to post a pic?)

38. Manhattan Project scientist Harold: UREY.

OMG!

Another name!

(This is getting to be a pain...)

39. Multicolored horse: ROAN. I would post a pic, but I really thought they were more colorful...

40. All the __: very popular: RAGE.

41. Brings forward for display: TROTS OUT. (Hmm, see 47 down...)

46. Country between Finland and Norway: SWEDEN.

47. Merit badge holder: SASH.

48. "Well, maybe": I GUESS.

49. Sleeve: ARM. (If you are armed, would you be sleeved?)

51. English county south of Suffolk: ESSEX.

52. Masked vigilante whose name is Spanish for "fox": ZORRO. Learning moment

53. Genuflect: KNEEL. Only know this from The Wizard of Oz... (The Lions Solo song)

54. Alpine song: YODEL.

55. School basics: ABCS.

56. Aswan's river: NILE.

57. Factual: TRUE.

61. French yes: OUI.

62. Top Gun org.: USN.

63. Audit firm pro: CPA.

This would have been a Pangram, but was missing the "J."

Well, you didn't need to be an Ornithologist to solve this one. Hope it was right up your roost, aviary, dovecote, aerie or henhouse, and didn't ruffle any feathers.

CE:D out.

Note from C.C:

Today we celebrate the 81st birthday of our sweet Misty, who has been with our blog since 2011 and means so much to all of us. Wishing you a beautiful day, Margot!

Misty and her husband Rowland

Dec 16, 2025

Tuesday December 16, 2025 Emily Biegas and Sala Wanetick

Hear, Hear! All ears are not used for hearing.

17-Across. Dog ears?: BOOKMARKS.

26-Across. Bunny ears?: SHOELACE KNOT.

42-Across. Elephant ears?: CARNIVAL FOOD.

56-Across. Mouse ears?: MICKEY HAT.

Across:

1. Sound of an eye-opening moment: AHA!

4. Unlikely to break the ice: TIMID.

9. Objects of worship: IDOLS.

14. Most populous city in Can.: TOR. Toronto. Hi, Canadian, Eh!

15. Pointlessly silly: INANE.

16. Inter Miami captain Lionel: MESSI. Lionel Andrés Messi (b. June 24, 1987) is an Argentine professional soccer player. He has been with Miami since 2023.

19. Windshield sticker: DECAL.

20. Smoothie bowl berry: AÇAI. This berry is a small, dark purple fruit that grows in the Amazon. And you can purchase them from the other Amazon.

21. Start for giving and taking: MIS. As in Misgiving and Mistaking.

22. Beefsteak, for one: TOMATO. A beefsteak tomato is a large, meaty and juicy variety of tomato. It is most common on burgers, sandwiches and salads. Yummers!

23. Quickly don: THROW ON.

25. Regal home: MANOR.

30. Like walruses and wild boars: TUSKED.

33. Mo. with a spooky finale: OCT. October has a spooky Halloween finale.

34. Gold, in Spanish: ORO. Today's Spanish lesson.

35. Got up: AROSE.

36. Sailor's yes: AYE.

37. New York mascot with a baseball for a head: MR. MET. Apparently there is a Ms. Met, too.

39. "Geaux Tigers!" sch.: LSU. As in Louisiana State University. If you watch college football, you know that LSU has been in the news a lot recently, and not for having a winning team.

Mike the Tiger, the mascot of LSU.

40. Four-time WNBA MVP Wilson: A'JA. A'ja Riyadh Wilson (b. August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player. She plays for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association. Aja is also the name of a Steely Dan album.

41. Creamy chocolate dessert: MOUSSE. Yummers!

46. Software-creating professional: CODER.

47. Riled up: ANGERED.

51. "Not all __ wear capes": HEROES.

53. French sailor's yes: OUI. Today's French lesson.

54. Actress Headey: LENA. I never watched Game of Thrones, was not familiar with this actress. Apparently, Lena Kathren Headey (b. Oct. 3, 1973) portrayed Cersei Lannister on that show.

55. Greek alphabet ender: OMEGA. It's all Greek to me.

58. Inbox message: E-MAIL.

59. Hightails it: FLEES.

60. Royal flush card: ACE.

61. Knighted women: DAMES. That's Dame Helen Mirren (née Ilyena Lydia Mironoff; b. July 26, 1945) to you. She was made a Dame in 2003.

62. "The Jetsons" dog: ASTRO. A reference to the cartoon from the 1960s.

63. "Dynamite" K-pop group: BTS.

Down:

1. Chance for a hit: AT BAT.

2. Moonshine: HOOCH.

3. Thundering, as a crowd: AROAR. Mike the Tiger and the Crowd Roar.

4. Minnesota governor Walz: TIM. Timothy James Walz (b. April. 6, 1964) is the 41th governor on Minnesota. He has been in office since since January 2019.

5. Irritable: IN A MOOD.

6. "Semper fi" shouter: MARINE.

7. Signs, as a contract: INKS.

8. Jardin __ Tuileries: public space near the Louvre: DES. More of today's French lesson. The Tuileries Garden is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Queen Catherine de' Medici had the garden made as part of the Tuileries Palace in 1564. After the French Revolution, it became a public park.

9. "That's all for me": I'M DONE.

10. View as appropriate: DEEM OK.

11. Formal nods from the Academy, informally: OSCAR NOMS. As in a nomination.

12. Future esq.'s exam: LSAT. As in Law School Admission Test. This appeared in Friday's puzzle, so I'll steal MM's accompanying image.

13. Rural storage tower: SILO.

18. Mall stalls: KIOSKS.

22. Diplomacy: TACT.

24. "This ride is fun!": WHEE!

25. Spice in pumpkin spice, often: MACE. Mace is a spice from the nutmeg tree. It is also a weapon.

27. Like a ride-or-die friend: LOYAL.

28. Metal-yielding rocks: ORES. A crossword staple.

29. Checkout lane bag: TOTE.

30. Anticaking agent in table salt: TALC. I was not aware that Talc was used in food products. Apparently, the FDA has approved it in foods at a concentration of less than 2%.

31. Latin for "bear" in constellation names: URSA. Also known as the Big and Little Dipper.

32. Common substitute for Greek yogurt: SOUR CREAM.

36. Slightly open: AJAR. Not to be confused with 40-Across.

37. Electronic music pioneer Robert: MOOG. The use of the Moog synthesizer was first used in the mid-1960s. Robert Arthur Moog (May 23, 1934 ~ Aug. 21, 2005) was an American engineer and pioneer in electronic music.