Monday July 14, 2025 Joseph McIntyre

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with what seems to be an LAT debut for Joseph McIntyre. Congrats!  

Theme:            Coasting Through the EASTs

In today's grid we find four themed answers and a reveal. All of the themed answers end in EAST. Let's take a look:

17 Across. *Sourdough starter: WILD YEAST.

I enjoyed seeing sourdough in this clue. I learned how to work sourdough in 1986 from the (then) cowboss on the MC Ranch, Bill Black. I have been baking all things sourdough ever since -- though I did have to grow a new starter with WILD YEAST a few times over the years due to moves. My current starter is 11-years old. Here is a pic of my starter, all bubbly and ready for use:  

I simply pour off 2 cups to make my bread
then put the rest back into the refrigerator.
This method does not require "discard recipes".

24 Across. *News website created by Tina Brown: THE DAILY BEAST.  This is a news and opinion website that focuses on politics and pop culture. It launched in 2008.

38 Across. *Words before a grand finale: LAST BUT NOT LEAST.  

This was a fun grid-spanner!

50 Across. *Christian observance that's on a different day every year: MOVEABLE FEAST.

At first I was looking for a specific holiday that is not tied to a date. Think "Easter" as opposed to "Christmas". There is also the Hemingway memoir.

62. Londoner who may have a Cockney accent, and what can be found in the answer to each starred clue: EAST ENDER. This is "a native or inhabitant of the part of London that is EAST of the city as far as the River Lea, including the Docklands". 

EastEnders is also a popular British television 56-Down that first aired forty years ago. Here is a 2:30 min. video explaining the Cockney accent on the show.  

Here on The Corner, today's unifier has an extra connection because posters often describe the right-hand side of the grid as the EAST, as if we are talking about a map. Today's themers all END in the EAST with EAST. It is unlikely that this is what our constructor had in mind -- but it works. I'll add the grid now so you can see if you agree.  

We have more clues to review:

Across:

1. Sign-in sheet attachment: PEN.  

4. Brand of canned meat: SPAM.

SPAM musubis are popular in Hawaii.
They sell rice molds that match the SPAM shape.

8. "What's it all about, __": Dionne Warwick lyric: ALFIE.  Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote Alfie for the 1966 film of the same name starring Michael Cane who, by the way, used his native Cockney accent for the film. Cilla Black of the UK was the first to record Alfie. Cher also released a cover. 

13. Commotion: ADO.

14. Congressional staffers: AIDES.

16. Downstairs, on a ship: BELOW.  as in "BELOW deck"   and   28 Across. "All __": conductor's call: ABOARD.     and     44 Across. Assents, at sea: AYES.

19. Maine-to-Florida rte.: U.S. ONE.  This is the longest north-south road in the U.S.  

I found these two photos on the internet. Both were taken in Fort Kent, ME.
There seems to be some disagreement as to which end is the start.

20. Swear (to): ATTEST.

21. In a funk: SAD.  

Wild Cherry     ~     Play That Funky Music     ~     1976

They do not seem SAD, even though they are playing a funk-y song.

23. Smart talk: SASS.

27. "Yeah, I doubt that": UH, NO.

31. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.  (1914 - 2000)  He won the 1958 Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai. Here he is as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars trilogy.

  

34. Library search field: TITLE. When searching for a book on a library's website, one can search by TITLE, author, ISBN, keyword, etc. 

CSO to our library expert, NaomiZ!

37. Seek the affection of: WOO.  Who else enjoys seeing the various bird performances when they try to WOO a mate? Here is a 1:42 min. video of an impressive affection seeker.

42. 911 responder: Abbr.: EMT.

43. Make into law: ENACT.  The M-W Word of the Day for "today" was the opposite of ENACT. It was rescind. 

45. "This Is __ Tap": SPINAL.  This is Spinal Tap is the title of a brilliant 1984 mocumentary movie directed by Rob Reiner. As it turns out, its sequel is set to be released in theaters on Sept. 12, 2025. Fans of the original will enjoy this very short teaser trailer. I like how they made the Roman numeral II an homage to their Stonehenge stage prank in the original.

47. Triumphant cries: AHAS.  

56. Native Czech, e.g.: SLAV.  Slovenians are a South SLAVic ethnic group so I will take this opportunity to insert here a photo of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, wearing the yellow jersey in Stage 6 of this year's Tour de France.  

58. Give it a go: TRY.  

59. Whitney Houston's record label: ARISTA.  Click here to see which artists Arista currently represents. How many do you recognize? 

60. Inner's opposite: OUTER.

64. Fast train to Boston: ACELA.  I know this from doing XWD puzzles. My memory trick is ACE-Los Angeles...even though it is a northEAST train.

65. Worshippers at a gurdwara: SIKHS. A gurdwara is a Sikh shrine or place of worship.

66. Granola grain: OAT.  

67. Out of fashion: PASSÉ.  The way the fashion industry keeps recycling past looks, it is difficult to know what is out.    

Heidi Klum knows.

68. Impulsive: RASH.  

69. Online convos: IMS.  conversations and Instant Messages

Down:

1. Play with, as a kitten might: PAW AT.  

2. Novelist Wharton: EDITH.  (1862-1937)  In 1921 she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 46-Down, The Age of Innocence.

3. Nick of "The Prince of Tides": NOLTE.  his IMDb page

4. Opens up to a doctor?: SAYS AH.  Husker Gary gave us a fun Norman Rockwell image the Saturday before last. He wrote, "Nobody did it better than Norman Rockwell." I agree.  

5. Metal baking container: PIE TIN.  Metal steered me toward TIN.

6. Letters on a toothpaste tube: ADA.  American Dental Association

7. Stylike: MESSY.  like a pig sty

8. __ Dhabi: ABU.  Abu Dhabi is both a city and a an emirate within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Also, Abu Dhabi the city is both the capital of the Abu Dhabi emirate and the capital of the UAE. (I'll wait while you reread those last two sentences a few times so they make sense.)

9. To a smaller degree: LESS SO.  I liked the three S's in a row.

10. Drift from the pier: FLOAT AWAY.  

11. Charged particles: IONS.

12. Female sheep: EWES.  Sheep can be singular or plural.

15. Shot in the dark: STAB.  as in "I'm not sure but I'll take a STAB at the answer"

18. Subtract: DEDUCT.

22. Coped (with): DEALT.

25. "Whole __ Red": Playboi Carti album: LOTTA.  

learning moment

26. Cain's brother: ABEL.

29. Pink wine: ROSÉ.  Summer is a good time to experiment with a ROSÉ.  

30. Connect the __: DOTS.  American Phil Hansen set the world record for the most dots in a dot-to-dot puzzle in 2017 with 52,901 dots.

31. Pub quaffs: ALES.  A quaff is an enjoyable beverage...not to be confused with coif, an elaborate hairdo.

32. "Aladdin" treasure: LAMP.  

33. Best guesses: ESTIMATES.  You will need to get these if your vehicle is 36-Down-ed.

35. "Monsters, __": INC.  This is a 2001 Disney Pixar film. It's cute. You should see it.

36. Wreck beyond repair: TOTAL.  

39. Wally Cleaver's little brother, for short: BEAV.  The TV series Leave It to Beaver ran from 1957-1963. 

Golly gee, BEAV, what do you think Dad's gonna say
when he gets home from work and finds out you are keeping a frog in the bathtub?

40. Not yet rented: UNLET.  One definition of let is "to rent".

41. Enter slowly: EASE IN.  Are you one to EASE IN to a cold swimming pool or do you go for it and jump right in?

46. Fiction section selections: NOVELS.  Last month I read The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. I sometimes see Alka at the pool where I swim but we are not on a first-name basis or anything like that. Do her other two NOVELS center around the same characters? 

48. Shrubby tracts: HEATHS.  I was temporarily stymied on this one because I typed in HEdgeS.

Perhaps you've heard of HEATHS and heathers. A HEATH is an area of open, uncultivated land, especially in Britain, with characteristic vegetation of heather, gorse, and coarse grasses.

49. From the start: AFRESH.  Def.:  from the beginning; anew; again.

51. Greek war god: ARES. He was also a lover as well as a fighter. ARES and Aphrodite had a thing but she was married to Hephaestus so that did not go well. Eros, another crossword regular, is an offspring of ARES and Aphrodite.

52. Via plane: BY AIR.

53. Prim "Same for me": AS DO I.

54. Cook blue crabs, perhaps: STEAM.

55. Fruity desserts: TARTS.

56. __ opera: SOAP. EastEnders, for example

57. Pixar film set in the fictional Italian town of Portorosso: LUCA.  This is a coming-of-age story about a young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer with his friends. The catch is his human friends do not know that he is a sea monster.

61. Norma __: Sally Field role: RAE.  Sally Field (b. Nov. 6, 1946) won an Oscar for Norma Rae in 1979. She won again in 1984 for Places in the Heart.

Sally Field as Norma Rae

63. Reggae-adjacent genre: SKA.  For about a year now I have been asking my smart speaker to play SKA music when I am doing housework. The tempo keeps me moving and I love the horns! We'll go out today on one of my favorite SKA covers:  

Come on Eileen     ~     Save Ferris     ~     1997

Have a great week, everyone!

Monday July 7, 2025 Janice Luttrell

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. 

Theme:  

Call Me   ~   Blondie   ~   1980

Today's puzzle has five fun themers. Each begins with a word that can be used to mean "make a telephone call".

18 Across. Trendy bits of jargon: BUZZ WORDS.

24 Across. Choice spots at a prizefight: RING SIDE SEATS.

38 Across. Carol lyric before "Oh! What fun it is to ride / In a one-horse open sleigh": JINGLE ALL THE WAY.  

48 Across. First line of "Moby-Dick": CALL ME ISHMAEL.

58 Across. Do a job half-heartedly: PHONE IT IN.  

Let's let our fingers do the walking through the other clues...

(Note:  To catch that reference, you have to be old enough to remember phone books and yellow pages.)

Across: 

1. Soft support for an injured arm: SLING.  

6. Halogen bulb unit: WATT.  

10. Sneaker, e.g.: SHOE.  

14. Social no-no: TABOO.

15. Jane Austen matchmaker: EMMA.  The protagonist's full name is Emma Woodhouse. This novel was originally published December 23, 1815. Did they schedule releases for Christmas must-haves back then?

16. Shed, as feathers: MOLT.  Penguins do a "catastrophic MOLT". That sounds serious, doesn't it? Whereas most birds lose and replace feathers here and there, penguins lose their feathers all at once. This is so they can remain waterproof most of the time. Their MOLT takes 2-3 weeks.  

17. Photographer Adams: ANSEL.  He is usually associated with his images of Yosemite but I have a pretty cool book of photos he took of University of California features called Fiat Lux. This photo is of Lick Observatory. (Jayce knows this place.)  

20. Writer/actress Issa: RAE.

21. Beaver creations: DAMS.  Here is a 3:51 min. BBC video about beaver DAMS. Baby beavers (kits) appear at 2:08.  

"A beaver can lift its own body weight in timber."

23. Natural sweetener: HONEY.  A typical beehive makes more than 400 lbs. (181.4 kg.) of HONEY per year. 

28. Etymologist's ref.: OED.  An etymologist specializes in word histories. One might study a reference book such as the Oxford English Dictionary.

29. School subject with fractions: MATH.  

30. First course of action: PLAN A.

33. Understands: SEES.    

SEE'S understands me.

35. King Kong, e.g.: APE.

42. Place for a facial: SPA.  "Face" was one letter too long.

43. Landed on a perch: ALIT.

44. One-named "I Drink Wine" singer: ADELE.  I know we have some Adele fans here on The Corner. Here is this 2021 song with lyrics:  

45. Use a peeler: PARE.  If you think of the phrase PARE down, you might think of a knife slowly peeling away layers.  This article lists six uses for a PARing knife:  peeling, coring/pitting/deseeding, segmenting, deveining, scoring bread, and making detailed cuts. (Apparently coring, pitting, and deseeding are all one use.)

47. Simile phrase: AS A.  

54. Hawk's nest: AERIE.  This word is also used for an eagle's nest. Perhaps you are familiar with the clothing store American Eagle. They have a sub-brand called Aerie.  

56. Nine-__ battery: VOLT.  Last night I replaced one of these in my smoke detector. Why do they always start the low-battery chirp in the middle of the night? It really freaks out my dog.

57. Army ration, briefly: MRE.  Meal, Ready-To-Eat. I think I've mentioned I take these backpacking. You only need  an ounce of water to activate the heating pouch. Each one is about 1,250 calories. I figure on one per day plus oatmeal for breakfast, a few Luna bars, and some herbal tea bags.  

61. "Rashomon" director Kurosawa: AKIRA.  Rashomon is a 1950 film set in Kyoto, Japan.

63. Chimney sweep's target: SOOT.  

Dick Van Dyke   ~  Chim Chim Cher-ee   ~   Mary Poppins  (1964)

64. __ Field: Queens stadium: CITI.  I know this one from doing XWDs.

65. "We Got the Beat" band: GO-GO'S.  They are an all-female rock band. This video is from American Bandstand in 1982.  

Hand up for being a fan back in the day!

66. Possesses: OWNS.  not in the creepy The Exorcist sort of way

67. Corporate VIP: EXEC.  Very Important Person and EXECutive

68. Just-in-case tire: SPARE.  

Down:

1. Ringo of the Beatles: STARR.  On January 10, 2025, Ringo released Look Up, a solo country album.  

2. Roofed patio: LANAI.

3. "A Doll's House" playwright Henrik: IBSEN.  This is another answer I know from doing XWDs.

4. __ Valley, San Francisco: NOE.  This neighborhood guide extols the area's virtues. Redfin says the median sale price of a home in Noe Valley last month was $2.2 million.

5. Shiny embossment on a certificate: GOLD SEAL.

6. Online health info source: WebMD.

7. Make chuckle: AMUSE.  It turns out that the ancient Greek word muse is not related to AMUSE. The latter comes from Latin.  

AMUSEd muses ???

8. Tabloid news org.: TMZ.  From wiki:  TMZ on TV is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007.

and

The name "TMZ" is derived from the initialism for "thirty-mile zone" that was historically used in the film and television industry to refer to the so-called "studio zone"—an area with a 30-mile (48 km) radius centered on the intersection of Beverly Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.

9. Looney Tunes character who spins wildly, informally: TAZ.  

Tasmanian Devil

10. Like satin: SMOOTH.

11. Traffic jam noisemakers: HORNS.

12. Ye __ Tavern: OLDE.

13. Online seller of many bespoke gifts: ETSY.

19. "Come again?": WHAT.

22. Provide support: AID.  The 2025 Tour de France began last Saturday. I watch the daily recaps on YouTube. Cycling is very much a team sport, with team members providing support for their lead rider.

Tadej Pogacar's team car was equipped to provide
whatever AID was needed at this year's Paris-Roubaix.
(I do not know how much that Audi costs,
but there is easily over $100K in bikes on its roof.)

25. "The __ Show": talent competition: GONG.  Its first run was from 1976-1980. One might describe it as the '70s version of America's Got Talent. 

26. Refine using heat, as metal ore: SMELT.

27. Sunrise direction: EAST.  

30. Jammies: PJS.

31. Chapstick target: LIP.

32. Marilyn Monroe portrayer de Armas: ANA.  

Ana played Marilyn in the 2022 film, Blonde.

33. Oregon's capital: SALEM.  

34. Former quarterback Manning: ELI.

35. Really impress: AWE.

36. Chum: PAL.

37. Needle hole: EYE.

39. __ Grey tea: EARL.

40. Symbols on social media: HASHTAGS.  This octothorpe has several names. For this clue, the HASH symbol (#) is used to metaTAG something in a post.  #LMGTFY

41. Dutch cheese: EDAM.  

45. Art classroom supply: PAINTS.

46. Sheltered, at sea: ALEE.  This diagram helps you SEE that while the leeward side of an island is more protected, it is also more arid than the windward side.  

47. Handspeak.com subj.: ASL.  

48. Serenade, perhaps: CROON.

49. Party request opened with a tap or a click: EVITE.

50. Greek column style: IONIC.  

neither dull nor too much

51. Latina chum: AMIGA.  Latina is feminine so we knew the last letter was an A.

52. Software flaw: ERROR.  

53. Rental contract: LEASE.

54. Lhasa __: Tibetan dog breed: APSO.  

I was surprised to read that they do not shed.

55. DIY tutorial site: EHOW.

59. Zamboni surface: ICE.  Who doesn't love the word Zamboni?

60. B'way buys: TIX.  Broadway and TIckets ???

62. Keystone bumbler: KOP.  Both cop and KOP are acceptable spellings.

That was the last one. You are now dialed in!

Here is the grid:  

There was no "reveal" today; so, no, you did not miss it.  😀