Tuesday, September 23, 2025 Ben Zimmer

Ode to Joy.  Ode to Joy is the fourth and final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

20-Across. *  Lines on a family tree: RELATION SHIPS.  Elation

36-Across. *  Treated unseriously: MADE LIGHT OF.  Delight

42-Across. *  App with layered satellite images: GOOGLE EARTH.  Glee

And the unifier:

57-Across. Feeling euphoric, and what the answers to the starred clues literally are: FILLED WITH JOY.   Each theme answer is filled with a synonym for Joy.

Too soon?  The stores don't seem to think so.

Across:

1. Material for a "No. 1" finger: FOAM.

5. Squarish: BOXY.

9. Maddow's channel: MSNBC.  The company will soon be changing its name to MS NOW.  Rachel Maddow (née Rachel Anne Maddow; b. Apr. 1, 1973) is a television news program host and liberal political commentator.

14. Give the __-over: ONCE.

15. Mountaineer's goal: ACME.

16. "Word has it ... ": I HEAR ...

17. What "vintage" often means: USED.

18. Perlman of "Barbie": RHEA.  Rhea Perlman (née Rhea Jo Perlman; b. Mar. 31, 1948) is probably best known for her role as Carla on Cheers.  She portrayed Ruth Handler (née Ruth Marianna Mosko; Nov. 4, 1916 ~ Apr. 27, 2002), the creator of the Barbie doll, in the 2023 movie, Barbie.

Ruth Handler on the left; Rhea Perlman on the right.

19. "Impossible!": NO WAY!

23. Grimm offerings: TALES.  Fairy Tales.  The Brothers Grimm [Jacob (1785 ~ 1863) and William (1786 ~ 1859)] collected German folk tales and compiled them into the stories we sort of know.  Disney sanitized the gory parts out of most of the tales.

24. Life hack, e.g.: TIP.

25. Far from festive: SAD.

28. Fills fully: SATES.

31. Having limits: FINITE.

33. Gift topper: BOW.

38. Cornell University's namesake: EZRA.  Ezra Cornell (Jan. 11, 1807 ~ Dec. 9, 1874) and Andrew Dickson White (Nov. 7, 1832 ~ Nov. 4, 1918) were the co-founders of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.  Ezra Cornell was also the founder of Western Union.

He looks charming.

40. NAACP co-founder __ B. Wells: IDA.  Ida B. Wells (née Ida Bell Wells; July 16, 1862 ~ Mar. 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist and civil rights activist.

41. Fallon predecessor: LENO.  Jimmy Fallon (né James Thomas Fallon; b. Sept. 1974) took over The Tonight Show after Jay Leno (né James Douglas Muir Leno; b. Apr. 28, 1950) retired.

47. Take a gander: SEE.

48. West Coast burger chain: IN-N-OUT.

49. Water nymph in Greek mythology: NAIAD.

51. Not pos.: NEG.  Not Positive, but Negative.

52. Setting for a mad scientist: LAB.

54. Writer's first effort: DRAFT.

62. British pop singer Lewis: LEONA.  I am not familiar with Leona Lewis (née Leona Louise Lewis; b. Apr. 3, 1985).

64. Get as a reward: EARN.

65. Unpartnered: LONE.

66. 2020 film about Shaggy's canine sidekick: SCOOB.

67. "The Star-Spangled Banner" topic: FLAG.

68. Really rankles: IRKS.  A crossword staple.

69. A little eccentric: DOTTY.

70. Doesn't gulp down: SIPS.

71. Driver on a movie set: ADAM.  Adam Driver (né Adam Douglas Driver; b. Nov. 19, 1983) is an American actor.  He portrayed Enzo Ferrari (né Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari; Feb. 18, 1898 ~ Aug. 14, 1988) in the 2023 movie Ferrari.

Down:

1. Final __: March Madness round: FOUR.  College Basketball.

2. First stage: ONSET.

3. Speedy Northeast Corridor train: ACELA.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

4. Olympian's haul: MEDALS.  A brief history of Olympic medals.

5. Worker with a daily grind?: BARISTA.

6. Nueve preceder: OCHO.  Today's Spanish math class.

7. Superheroes trained at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters: X-MEN.

8. Sourdough starter component: YEAST.

9. Little pet that may be pot-bellied: MINI PIG.  More than you ever wanted to know about Mini Pig varieties.

10. Boutique: SHOP.

11. Vox, Axios, Reuters, et al.: NEWS SITES.  I initially tried News Media.

12. Barnyard bleat: BAA.

13. React to a tearjerker: CRY.

21. Squad: TEAM.

22. Audiophile's apparatus: HI-FI.

26. Show remorse: ATONE.  The Day of Atonement is next Wednesday.

27. Crusoe creator: DeFOE.  Daniel Defoe (1660 ~ Apr. 24, 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy.  He is best known for his novel Robinson Crusoe, which was published in 1719.  This novel has been translated into over 100 languages!

29. Actress Falco: EDIE.  Edie Falco (née Edith Falco; b. July 5, 1963) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She portrayed Carmela Soprano in the HBO series The Sopranos.

30. Midsize car: SEDAN.

32. Org. with Kraken on ice: NHL.  The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in the National Hockey League.

33. Get the ball rolling: BEGIN.

34. Stratospheric shield: OZONE.

35. Metaphor for a bad start: WRONG FOOT.

37. Fictional archaeologist Croft: LARA.  Angelina Jolie (b. June 4, 1975) portrayed Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider movies.

39. In the past: AGO.

43. Newborn soother: LULLABY.

44. Citation abbr.: ET AL.  Today's Latin lesson.

45. Old news?: TIDINGS.  I bring Tidings of Joy.

46. Comedian Kevin: HART.  Kevin Darnell Hart (b. July 6, 1979) is also an actor.

50. Mexican flower: DAHLIA.  They are beautiful flowers.

53. Issues to gripe about: BEEFS.

55. Nordic cruise sight: FJORD.

56. Toy truck brand: TONKA.  We had a Tonka jeep when we were kids.

58. Playing to break a tie, briefly: IN OT.  As in In Over Time.

59. "Melting clocks" painter Salvador: DALI.  There is a Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, because a wealthy couple who were friends and patrons of Salvador Dalí (né Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí Doménech; b. May 11, 1904 ~ Jan. 23, 1989) donated their collection of his works to the city.

The Persistence of Memory

60. Lunch order in a wheat tortilla: WRAP.

61. Old-timey assent: YES'M.

62. Trippy drug: LSD.

63. Sustainability prefix: ECO-.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

And there you have it, Jeremiah:

L'Shanah Tovah to all who observe.  May you have a sweet year.

Tuesday September 16, 2025 ~ Tennessee Grimes

Creature Comforts

Hi All!
Our normal relief pitcher, RustyBrain, is getting some well earned R&R so I'm stepping in [read: you're stuck with me] for Hahtoolah today.

Today's gimmick: Phrases that critters may call housing.

17. Fraternal organization venue: ELKS LODGE.

The Possum LODGE

24. Desk accessory that might coordinate with a wrist rest: MOUSE PAD.

Jerry Mouse's Pad

34. Place to adopt a new pet, or what is found in 17-, 24-, 49-, and 59-Across?: ANIMAL SHELTER.

49. Emphasizes passionately: RAMS HOME.

Ramming it Home?

59. "Land ho!" caller's spot: CROWS NEST.

Keepin' the crows out of the Crow's Nest
(so there's not a murder up there).

Across:
1. ABC show for early risers, briefly: GMA. American Broadcasting Company airs Good Morning America at 7am.

4. Cut, as logs: SAWED. Cut is past-tense here.

9. Button on a job listing website: APPLY. Oy! These are the bane of hirning managers (that actually read all submitted resumes) 'cuz folks / bots submit resumes w/o even reading the requirements.

14. Grammy winners __ Tigres del Norte: LOS. No clue. Their WikiP. I would link a video but I don't know enough Spanish to figure out if #Politics.

15. Muscat resident: OMANI.

16. Celtic priest of old: DRUID.

Stonehenge had Druids

[Spinal Tap (ft. Sir Elton) -- The End Continues]

17. [See: Theme]

19. Musical instrument similar to the xylophone, familiarly: VIBES. I'm assuming vibraphone.

20. On the line: AT STAKE.

21. Gloomy: GRIM.

23. Device at a parking spot: METER.

Sir Paul going on about Lovely Rita

24. [See: Theme]

28. Oscar hopeful: NOMINEE.

31. Turn into: BECOME.

32. Functions: USES.

33. Knowledgeable about: UP ON.

34. [See: Theme]

40. Latch (onto): GLOM.

41. Mystical glow: AURA.

42. Kenya's continent: AFRICA.

Toto's Africa

45. Knotty: GNARLED. I love this word - it's onomatopoetically visual.

49. [See: Theme]

51. Salami choice: GENOA. A very yummy Italian salami.

53. Shoe bottom: SOLE.

54. Ugly garment at many a holiday party: SWEATER. There's a whole store dedicated to this.

56. Pinkberry dessert, familiarly: FRO-YO.

[site cite]

59. [See: Theme]

61. Starts of some renovation projects, informally: DEMOS. Demolition: out w/ the old. Renovation: in w/ the new.

62. __ Major: constellation with Sirius, the Dog Star: CANIS.

63. Many ICU pros: RNS. Intensive Care Units are staffed by Registered Nurses.

64. Rascal: ROGUE.

65. Actress Harmon: ANGIE.

Angie's WikiP

66. Pigpen: STY. Not Charlie Brown's friend.

Down:
1. Twinkle: GLEAM. Think eyes.

2. Liquefied by heat, as lava or metal: MOLTEN.

3. Invites out for: ASKS TO.

4. Room with a lot of natural light: SOLARIUM. I kept trying to stretch out atRIUM.

5. Frenzied: AMOK.

6. Get ready to start fly-fishing, say: WADE.

7. U.K. part: ENG.

8. Soccer great Maradona: DIEGO. I didn't know of Maradona until last week when I heard The Engineer [25m] on This American Life.

WikiP

9. Counsel: ADVISE.

10. Quality piece of meat: PRIME CUT. I had PRIME rib.

11. Irish tavern: PUB.

12. Falsehood: LIE.

13. NFL gains: YDS. Yards gained in football.

18. Originate (from): STEM.

22. Create friction: RUB.

24. Email, e.g.: MESSAGE.

25. Title for Robert Prevost since May 8, 2025: POPE. Leo is Frank's successor.

26. Common topic for a bachata crooner: AMOR. Bachata is music from the Dominican Republic. I sussed AMOR from "crooner" :-)

27. Lair: DEN.

29. Govt. intel org.: NSA. National Security Agency - "The only part of government that actually listens." :-)

30. Skinny swimmer: EEL.

34. Automaker __ Romeo: ALFA.

My '86 Spider Veloce

35. Par for the course: NORM.

36. Words of longing: I MISS YOU.

37. Roman Empire raider: HUN.

38. Stretch of history: ERA.

39. Philanthropist's quality: LARGESSE.

40. Skinny swimmer: GAR. Another 3-letter thin aquatic animal.

43. Cast a ballot, say: CHOOSE.

44. Pioneering ISP: AOL. America On Line was an early Internet Service Provider.

46. Like a small, efficient team: LEAN.

John Candy in Stripes

47. Goes through an open door: ENTERS.

48. "That __ seem right": DOESN'T.

50. Site where the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad: MECCA.

52. Overly intellectual, maybe: ARTSY.

54. Spotify selection: SONG.

55. 1940s conflict, for short: WWII. World War II

56. U.S. pres. for most of 55-Down: FDR. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

57. __ Speedwagon: REO. The band [Keep on Rollin'] named themselves after the car that Neal Doughty (keyboardist) saw written on the blackboard in his History of Transportation class at U of IL.

A soup'd up REO Speed Wagon

58. Texter's "No way!": OMG. Oh, My Gracious!

60. Published: RAN. The reporter RAN with the story: "The senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity." [WKRP Intro @0:24]

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: heWED -> SAWED, PRIME rib => inON => UP ON, GNARLEy [sic]
ESPs: LOS (as clued), DIEGO, ANGIE
Fav: GNARLED is just too fun to ignore.

Cheers, -T