Monday March 24, 2025 Janice Luttrell

  

Happy Monday, everyone! This is Janice Luttrell's fourth Monday puzzle in 2025. This time the theme is:  

These are the themed clues & answers:

18 Across. Completely recover from a hardship: BOUNCE BACK.  

23 Across. Seasonal cause of some flooding: SPRING THAW.  

52 Across. Play hooky: SKIP SCHOOL.  If your kids hear you bragging about ditching class 'back in the day', do not be surprised when they try it, too.  

58 Across. Buddy cop action franchise starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, familiarly: JUMP STREET.  21 Jump Street was a TV show starring (among others) Johnny Depp. It was about four LAPD young-looking cops who went undercover as high school students to combat crime. It aired from 1987-1991.

In 2012 a movie version came out starring Hill and Tatum. Its sequel, 22 Jump Street, came out in 2014. There may or may not be a 23 Jump Street 'in development'.  

21 Jump Street trailer with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum

(Coincidentally, I embedded a Jonah Hill movie clip last week.)

The reveal spans the equator:

37 Across. Successfully start a new project, and a hint to the starts of 18-, 23-, 52-, and 58-Across: GET OFF THE GROUND.  This idiom means, "To begin to operate or to proceed in a successful way."

Also, BOUNCE, SPRING, SKIP, and JUMP are all verbs used to describe feet GETting OFF THE GROUND.  

This was one of those puzzles where perps filled the squares quickly so I missed seeing several of the clues. (It was bound to happen.) Let's go through them now:

Across

1. "__ with my little eye ... ": I SPY.  This is the name of a children's guessing game where one player chooses an object within sight then gives a clue so the other players can guess what it is.

5. Sonogram target: WOMB.  A sonogram is an image produced by an ultrasound -- so target might be a bit off.

9. __ from the past: BLAST.  

"Owen! Now there's a BLAST from the past." (1:28 min.)

A line well-delivered by Olympia Dukakis in Steel Magnolias (1989).

Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, & Dolly Parton are also in the scene.

14. Sports org. with conferences: NCAA.  organization and National Collegiate Athletic Association

15. Cooking staple, initially: EVOO.  Rachel Ray uses this initialism when she adds some Extra Virgin Olive Oil to her recipes.  

I prefer the dark glass dispensers so I can see how much is left
but still protect the oil from light. However, I do like the shape of this one!.

16. Roof overhangs: EAVES.

17. Tortilla option: CORN.  I make all my flour tortillas using 15-A. I have never tried making CORN tortillas.

20. Stadium: ARENA.

22. Autocrats of old: TSARS.

26. Govt. agent: FED.  A FEDeral employee is a government agent.

29. Handy Scrabble tile: ESS.  A letter S is handy because you can add it to the end of another word. For example, on this board, you can add it to the end of antique. Even better, below your S add C, A, R to get Scar (another Disney character). That way you get the total for antique (without already-used bonuses) plus the points for Scar.

It turns out this example image has a Disney theme.

30. Stocking's end: TOE.  

31. Creator, writer, and star of HBO's "Insecure": ISSA RAE.  It was fun to see both her first and last names together this time.

34. George Eliot's "__ Marner": SILAS.  I thought this was the most boring book in the world when I was forced to read it as a high school freshman. Perhaps I should give it another chance.  🤔

36. "The Nutcracker" girl: CLARA.  The story of The Nutcracker revolves around Clara Stauhlbaum, a young girl who falls asleep after a Christmas party and dreams of a battle royale, a life-size Nutcracker, and a magical candy palace filled with new friends.  

CLARA dances with The Nutcracker

42. San Antonio landmark: ALAMO.  I just now looked to see if there was an ALAMO car rental company in ALAMO, TX. Their website directed me to Pharr, TX.  

43. Really annoy: EAT AT.

44. Small corner shops: BODEGAS.  Def:  (noun) a usually small grocery store in an urban area; specifically one specializing in Hispanic groceries.  

47. Turn bad: ROT.

48. Lingerie top: BRA.

51. USN rank: ENS.  United States Navy and ENSign

55. Travis Kelce's older brother: JASON.  (b. Nov. 5, 1987) Both brothers were/are in the NFL. Jason played Center for the Philadelphia Eagles for all 13 years of his professional career. Travis and Jason host a podcast together called New Heights.  

Jason & Travis

57. "__ luego": HASTA.  A direct translation from Spanish is "until then"; however, a better translation would be "Until later," or "See you then." It is close to Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous line:  

63. Leave speechless: STUN.  

64. Useful quality: ASSET.  

65. "__ chic!": TRÈS.  It is borrowed from French and means "very stylish".

66. "Beloved" novelist Morrison: TONI.  (1931-2019)  This 1987 novel is widely regarded as her masterpiece.

67. Japanese comics: MANGA.  

A common feature of MANGA is Japanese onomatopoeia .
Here, gun gun (pronounced goon goon) means  "making progress". 
They are typically a repeated pair of syllables.

Here is another one. Kyu kyu is used to describe a squeaking or rubbing sound.
(The upper corner is just exhaling moist air on the cloth. haa~ ) 

68. "Halt!": STOP.  imperative verb     and     69 Across. Halts: ENDS.  verb

I am partial to a grid that ENDS with ENDS.

Down:

1. "__ of fire, break glass": IN CASE.  

2. Orgs. with a special tax designation: S CORPS.  I used to do taxes for a lot of S CORPorationS at my last job. An S Corp is a business structure that passes its taxable income, credits, deductions, and losses directly to its shareholders to be reported on their individual returns.  more from Investopedia

3. Apple-peeling tools: PARERS.

4. "Sensuous Chill" New Age pianist: YANNI.  Yanni released the album Sensuous Chill in 2016. This song, What You Get, is from that album.  

5. The last "w" in www: WEB.  World Wide WEB  

The Web was invented by English computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee while at CERN in 1989 and opened to the public in 1993.

I am currently reading Bill Gates' book, Source Code. I am at the part where he is a freshman at Harvard and the WWW has not yet been invented. 

6. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO.  This is someone who eats a vegetarian diet plus dairy and eggs.

7. Be sassy, with "off": MOUTH.  

Click to enlarge.

8. Tree-shaping art: BONSAI.  Years ago I had a lovely time visiting the BONSAI exhibit at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC.

(internet photo)

9. Budweiser, for one: BEER.  

When I was in school, I did a report on their Clydesdales.

10. Black or chocolate dogs, for short: LABS.  Oh, goodie, an excuse for a cute picture! (I know IM☘ will be expecting one.😊) 

11. Director DuVernay: AVA.  her impressive IMDb page

12. Jiffy: SEC.  Think:  "I'll be with you in a jiffy" and "I'll be with you in a SECond".

13. Cluck of reproof: TSK.  

19. Crow calls: CAWS.  Watch how this clever crow figures out how to get his snack. (1:45 min.)  

21. Like some eyeglass spray: ANTIFOG.  These sprays were in high demand when everyone was wearing covid masks.

24. Game with putting: GOLF.  ... and driving.

25. Udder part: TEAT.

26. German woman: FRAU.

27. Bring in, as pay: EARN.

28. Out of juice: DEAD.  Some classic Monty Python....  (50 sec.)

"I'm not DEAD!"

32. Minor abrasion: SCRATCH.  More Monty Python....  (2 min.)

"'Tis but a SCRATCH."

33. Bunches: A LOT.     and     34 Down. A few: SOME.     and     39 Down. Tiny amounts: TADS.

35. "That's all __ wrote": SHE.  meaning & origin

37. Kaplan of 1970s TV: GABE.  (b. Mar. 31, 1945) He played the teacher in  Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-1979).

38. North Carolina college: ELON.

40. Old West icon Wyatt: EARP.

41. Classic Pontiac muscle cars: GTOS.

45. Helper: Abbr.: ASST.  assistant

46. Culottes kin: SKORTS.  Both culottes and SKORTS have individual leg holes but, from a distance, look like skirts.

culottes fashion history

48. New England city on the Charles River: BOSTON.  The Charles River—which English explorer John Smith named in 1614 to honor Prince Charles (later King Charles I)— is one of the three major rivers of metropolitan Boston. At eighty miles in length it is the longest river entirely within the borders of Massachusetts. Note:  The current king is Charles III.

49. Plump: ROTUND.  

Click here to read about the artist Fernando Botero (1932-1923).

50. "Ironic" singer Morissette: ALANIS.  This song:

 Is it ironic?

53. Motionless: INERT.  Def.:  (adj.)  lacking the power to move.

54. __ makes waste: HASTE.  This proverb tells us that rushing can lead to costly mistakes.

55. Digital image format: JPEG.  Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is a computer file format for the compression and storage of digital images. You will see it as ".jpg" in File Explorer. (See highlights below.) 

56. "The Thin Man" dog: ASTA.  ESP for me.

Skippy was a Wire Fox Terrier dog actor who appeared in dozens of movies during the 1930s
and is best known for the role of the pet dog "Asta" in the 1934 detective comedy.

58. Traffic problem: JAM.  Pro tip:  When planning an upcoming trip in Google Maps, after setting your destination and starting point, click on "Leave now" then choose either "Depart at" or "Arrive by" to set your desired time. This will help you see the usual traffic problem areas for the time of your travel.  

59. Can. neighbor: USA.  Both are abbreviated.

60. Yahoo! rival: MSN.  Both were early internet domains.

61. Fair-hiring inits.: EEO.  Equal Employment Opportunity

62. Recipe amt.: TSP.  teaspoon

Today's grid:  

78 words -- the LAT  limit for M-F

Leaping lizards! We're finally finished! Enjoy your day!

Monday March 17, 2025 Kit Sheffield

  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

Theme:                Wisdom Teeth

Let's begin with the reveal:

64 Across. Molar, or a feature of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 50-Across: BACK TOOTH.  A molar is a TOOTH towards the BACK of a human's mouth. Our clever constructor Kit has also found words such that TOOTH can be added behind (in BACK of) them to create new, in-the-language terms. Here they are:

17 Across. Hustler with a cue stick: POOL SHARK.  Billards Forum definition  

Also, in case you missed it, CED shared this funny meme with us last Tuesday. Here's one more: 

SHARK TOOTH. Several of my male friends sported these necklaces in the 1980s.  

24 Across. Hunting dogs with a keen sense of smell: BLOODHOUNDS.  

Trumpet was the first BLOODHOUND
to win Best in Show at Westminster (2022).

HOUNDSTOOTH.  You do not have to twist my arm to try on anything with this pattern.  

39 Across. Completely unexpected revelation: BOLT FROM THE BLUE.  This expression is new to me. Its meaning is as defined in the clue. It was first used in the mid-1800s. We have readers from across North America. Perhaps one of you is familiar with this expression and can tell us more.

BLUETOOTH. It is wireless technology that allows you to connect your devices over a short distance.  

The Bluetooth logo is a bind rune merging the Younger Futhark runes
(Hagall) (ᚼ) and (Bjarkan) (ᛒ), King Harald Bluetooth’s initials.
He was the one who united Scandinavia. Get it? He connected them.

50 Across. Like chocolate with a high cacao percentage: BITTERSWEET.  Most recipes for chocolate chip cookies call for semi-sweet chocolate. Bittersweet chocolate contains 70% cacao, has less sugar, and has a deeper flavor than semisweet chocolate, which has 60% cacao. One can substitute these chocolates for each other in most recipes.

BITTERSWEET is also this very cool 1990 song by Big Head Todd and the Monsters:  

SWEET TOOTH. This idiom is a way of saying someone has fondness for sweet foods.  ✋

There's more:

Across:

1. "A Star Is Born" star __ Gaga: LADY.  Here she sings Shallow with Bradley Cooper in this video composed of movie scenes. She co-wrote this song for the movie. 

5. Gas additive brand that's a longtime NASCAR sponsor: STP.  

Constructors love this product as much as NASCAR does.

8. Blokes: CHAPS.  

a CHAP wearing CHAPs to protect him from CHAPparral

13. Largest bone of the pelvis: ILIUM.  

I remember this one because in Yoga we stretch the iliopsoas muscles.

15. Kanga's kid: ROO.  characters from Winnie the Pooh 

16. One of two on a 747: AISLE.  A 747 is an airplane with two AISLEs running lengthwise down the plane.  

19. Spot for a brooch: LAPEL.  

20. Tennis great Williams: SERENA.  She is also a fashion designer. Here she is modeling one of her fashion designs. 

21. "Quiet on the __!": SET.

23. Color named for a duck: TEAL.  There are several different types of TEAL ducks. This photo is of a male and female blue-winged TEAL.  

27. Less likely to back down: FIERCER.  

31. Puts a name to: IDS.  Think of someone ID-ing a criminal.

32. Hoped-for result of a brainstorming session: IDEA.

33. Super Mario brother: LUIGI.  According to the internet, Mario is known for his red hat and blue overalls while Luigi often wears green. They are both plumbers and are known for their adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, where they often rescue Princess Peach from the antagonist Bowser.  

36. Stately tree: ELM.  I listen to Alan Titchmarsh's podcasts on BBC Gardener's World. He often recommends people plant English ELMs for their hedgerow. Here is a pic.  

43. Sneaky: SLY.

44. Allows to use temporarily: LENDS.  A library comes to mind.

45. Gymnast Korbut: OLGA.  (b. May 16, 1955 in Belarus)  She won six medals in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and was the inaugural inductee to the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988. 

46. No longer fashionable: OUT.     and     41 Down. Fashionable again: RETRO.

This was Heidi Klum's tagline on Project Runway.

47. 1960s TV role for Diana Rigg: MRS. PEEL.  I had to look this one up to get the "P". Diana Rigg (1938-2020) was an English actress who played Emma Peel in the TV series The Avengers (1965-1968).

55. Textbook section: UNIT.

56. "__ la la!": OOH.

57. Philadelphia NFLers: EAGLES.     and   71 Across. 57-Across, for one: TEAM.  

aka this year's Super Bowl champions

Also, is anyone else spying on the bald EAGLES, Shadow & Jackie? Their three eggs hatched the first week of March. Watch as they bring fish from the nearby lake to feed the eaglets. If you hear one of the parents call out, the other will arrive soon. Their devotion is inspiring!  

I grabbed this screenshot last Wednesday.
That silver thing between Shadow's feet is a fish.
You can watch the live cam here.

62. Fixed prices: RATES.  Fixed is an adjective here, not a verb.

66. Drum kit component: SNARE.

67. "Mr. Blue Sky" gp.: ELO.  This song peaked at #35 in the US Billboard Charts. Here you go, a ticket back to 1977:  

68. __ Monica, California: SANTA.  

69. On edge: TENSE.

70. Raspberry shade: RED.  

This shade goes well on 1-D.

Down:

1. Kissing pair: LIPS.

2. Sunburn soother: ALOE.  

3. Fashion's Christian: DIOR.  There is a bit of a fashion sub-theme going on today.

4. Christmas season: YULE.

5. Spanish Mrs.: SRA.  Hmmmm.....  "Mrs." is in the answer to 47-Across so we should not see it in a clue.

6. Upper body: TORSO.

7. Jabbed: POKED.

8. Orioles great Ripken: CAL.  If you do not know who Cal Ripken is, you should. You can learn about him here.

9. Temporary break: HIATUS.  HIATUS is a fun word. Its etymological origin is from Latin's hiare, meaning "to yawn". When you think about it, we do take a temporary break when we yawn.

10. Colorado ski town: ASPEN.

11. Beseech: PLEAD.

12. Exchanges for cash: SELLS.

14. Rachel Maddow's network: MSNBC.

18. In fine fettle: HALE.  Fettle, like HALE, is a word seldom heard these days. The definition of fettle is (noun) state or condition of health, fitness, wholeness, spirit, or form. It also has a verb meaning.

22. Quadriceps locale: THIGH.

25. Synthetic fabric pioneered by DuPont: ORLON.  Its texture is wool-like. more detes here

26. "Garfield" dog: ODIE.  

27. Trivial lies: FIBS.

28. Object of adoration: IDOL.

29. Too wriggly to get hold of: EELY.

30. Rodent in a subway tunnel: RAT.  Freakonomics recently did a three-part podcast series on RATs. I learned that one rat female can have up to 72 pups per year. (Yes, they're called "pups".) A rat pair having offspring and those offspring having offspring can add up to 1,200 rats born in one year just from the original pair. Oof!

34. College Park sch.: UMD.  The University of Maryland is located in College Park, Maryland.

35. "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME.  This made me think of this 1981 Men at Work song:  

36. French pronoun: ELLE.

37. Olympics sled: LUGE.  

38. Lunch or brunch: MEAL.

40. Chimney part: FLUE.

42. Jazz style: BOP.  As I said at 47-A, I had to look up the "P". For some reason my concepts of Jazz and Bop were not on the same page. Perhaps I was confusing BOP with Doo-Wop. Learning moment. BOP can be short for bebop, a style of jazz.

46. Playful river mammals: OTTERS.  The subjects of this 57-sec. video are sea OTTERS, not river OTTERS, but I think you will like it anyway. To really appreciate the OTTER'S actions at the end, you need to know that OTTERS have a pocket-like flap of skin in their armpits that they use to carry a favorite rock to use for opening shellfish.  

48. Really stink: REEK.  

49. Data for a sports analyst: STATS.  

Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt in the 2011 movie Moneyball (2:46 min)

I loved this movie but I loved, loved, loved the book.

50. Sudden outbreak: BURST.

51. Vapid: INANE.  Our inanehiker is the opposite of vapid. She is quite sensible.

52. Pre-Olympian god of Greek mythology: TITAN.

53. Temperate: SOBER.  

54. Mammal that feeds on krill: WHALE.  

58. One looking after the kids?: GOAT.  

two minutes of hoppy kid GOATs

59. One and only: LONE.

60. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.

61. Phony: SHAM.

63. "What'd I tell ya?": SEE.

65. Massachusetts cape named for a fish: COD.  Cape Cod was named by English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 with a nod to the abundance of codfish in the area.  

Atlantic COD

Here is today's grid:

This might be an LA Times debut for Kit Sheffield.
If so, congratulations!