Wednesday, Oct 22nd, 2025 ~ Emma Oxford

  BLUFFY McLIARPANTS

It seems fitting that I should get a poker/card-playing theme - sadly, I was down on Long Island this past weekend to attend the wake of my dear friend Greg B., whom I'd known for nine years, as he died last Tuesday after a three-year battle with brain cancer.  I had not seen him since the diagnosis, as the disease had made it diffiuclt for him to retain your name or the thread of a conversation, so he opted to spend his time ( rightfully ) with his wife and daughter.  I was grateful to him for inviting me to his home for a poker game once a week, and you knew it was poker night because he would wear a shirt with "Bluffy McLiarpants" across the front; the image above was my response to that shirt; I wore this at the card table to "distract" the other players 😵.  We've seen several Emma Oxford puzzles for the LA Times, and today's grid was a pleasant solve for me; no circles, just a few names, and a Wednesday difficulty.  The themers which represent the "stages" of a card game;

18. 1977 Top 20 single by Boz Scaggs: LIDO SHUFFLE - Cool song

23. "Love your work!": I'M A HUGE FAN - we would fan first, to see who dealt first

38. Engagement ring option: PRINCESS CUT - done by the player to the dealer's right

54. Aspiring musician's goal: RECORD DEAL - always to the left

59. Dramatic presentation often staged during Lent: PASSION PLAY - we would PLAY high/low games, with a "stack" of chips, and the winners would "split" the pot; you could also go 'both ways', and if you won, you would "sweep" - thus, the words on my T-shirt

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Civil War POTUS: ABE - I wondered what his middle name was; POTUS is the abbr for President of the United States, so I wondered what A_L would be - more here

4. Anklebones: TARSI - crossword staple

Such beautiful Tarsi

9. Lawn ornament in a hat: GNOME

14. Bagel topping: LOX - I stopped in to see Cooper ( also my brother, who shares the same house with the dog ) and had me another bagel with chocolate chip cream cheese - it's better than it sounds~!

15. Not suitable: INAPT

16. Aspirational, as goals: LOFTY - my lofty goal is to be recognized for my fantasic board games - still trying to figure out how to get them produced

17. Hill worker?: ANT - not the quaint reference to the "US Capitol", on the "hill"

20. DEA agent: NARC

22. 44th first family: OBAMAS

27. Drive-__: THRU

30. Polite assent in Seville: SIS, ENOR - Si, C.C.~!

31. Court figs.: DAs - District Attorneys

33. Rower's implement: OAR

34. "The Mystery of __ Drood": EDWIN

36. Face With Tears of Joy, for one: EMOJI - 😂

41. Selected: CHOSE

43. Cars: AUTOS

44. Zeus, e.g.: GOD - "high -ODs" . . . 

45. Skip the grass seed: SOD - low "-ODs"

48. Cloaks: MANTLES - I watched two "classic" movies over the weekend - "The Curse of Frankenstein" ( that's Fron-ken-schteen - see 7D. ) and "The Horror of Dracula", both starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee - two actors who would later have roles in the Star Wars films

Tis the season~!

52. Highlander of ancient Peru: INCA

56. Zeus's daughter: ATHENA

58. Not fooled by: ONTO

64. Do some mending: SEW

65. The Ivies, e.g.: OCTET - those eight being these

66. Leader of the girl group Red Velvet: IRENE - we've seen her here before - KPOP

67. Before, before: ERE - "Able was I . . . "

68. Some Southwest landmarks: MESAS

69. Things to read on the road: SIGNS - 𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅯 if you're gonna rock down to . . . .

... and not recharge your smart phone 𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅯

70. Australian airport code: SYDney

DOWN:

1. "Ironic" singer Morissette: ALANIS - I linked her and the song in a previous puzzle

2. Brand of scouring powder: BON AMI

3. Bonuses: EXTRAS

4. Up to, for short: TIL - unTIL

5. Alex and __ jewelry: ANI - I had ANN to start, but she showed up later at 62D.  Here's a shocking story behind the woman who founded the jewelry company

6. "Tubular!": "RAD~!"

7. "Spaceballs," for one: SPOOF - Mel Brook's parody of the Star Wars films; it's a tough call as to which of his other spoofs is better  - Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein~?

Dark Helmet & Colonel Sandurz

8. Bleak assessment: IT'S BAD

9. Down in the dumps: GLUM

10. Skim, in the dairy aisle: NO FAT

11. Branch: OFFSHOOT

12. The NHL's Canadiens, on a scoreboard: MTL - abbr for Montreal; I had MON - MTL is nearly a unique fill; The "Habs" - too early in the season for me still, CandianEh!

13. Quiet part of a hurricane: EYE

19. "Pitch Perfect" actress __ Mae Lee: HANA - filled via perps

Her IMDb

21. "Here's to you!": "CHEERS~!"

24. Boxers or briefs: UNDIES - which are you~?  Or do you go "commando"~?

25. Formal dress: GOWN - were undies "formerly" worn beneath that gown . . . ?

26. Actor Stoltz: ERIC - I liked him in Pulp Fiction

Prank caller~!

28. "The Big Bang Theory" character: RAJ - I asked my brother, sitting across his dining room table, for this answer - he likes it, but I cannot stand to watch a single scene of this show

29. New England sch.: URI - University of Rhode Island - my "CT nextdoor neighbor"

32. __ fiddle: SECOND - HA~! FIT-AS-A- worked, too~!

35. Teacher's org.: NEA

37. High-priority activity, per some guidebooks: MUST-DO

38. Downloads before a long road trip, perhaps: PODCASTS - ROAD MAPS worked, too, but duped

39. Japanese sport: SUMO

40. Rating unit: STAR - I give this crossword four-and-a-1/2 out of five "Moe Stars" 

41. Much of the F/X in the MCU: CGI - Computer-Generated Imagery, the Marvel Comic Universe; I am not a fan of this genre, tho I did like Deadpool

42. Babe: HON - I prefer this quaint three-letter SO nickname to "bae"

46. Black-and-white treat: OREO

47. "Mystic River" novelist Lehane: DENNIS - I have read the book; one of a just a handful from authors whose work gave me an emotional response - another was The Secret Place by Tana French

49. Inserts in some frames: LENSES - those kinds of frames

50. Diner or bistro: EATERY

51. Lost steam: SLOWED

53. Lost: AT SEA

55. Island off Naples: CAPRI

57. Battleship successes: HITS - the Milton-Bradley ship-hunting game

59. Juice brand with distinctive bottles: POM

60. Nail, as a test: ACE - R.I.P. ACE Frehley of KISS

Shock Me - the extended "smoking guitar" solo from 1977

61. Relay segment: LEG

62. "The Baby-Sitters Club" writer __ M. Martin: ANN - more here

63. "Affirmative": "YES."

For Greg

Splynter

Thursday, April 17, 2025, Emma Oxford

 

Theme:  Hey, where'd you find the neat horns?

Constructor Emma Oxford has favored us with her creations a few times already, and was published on this exact date last year!  This time, she is looking for a few good horns.

The theme clues and answers, symmetrically arranged in rows Across, are:

17. Place to find a pointy horn: RHINOCEROS.

23. Place to find many horns: FULL ORCHESTRA.

53. Place to find a loud horn: STEERING WHEEL.

63. Place to find a geographical horn: EAST AFRICA.

I'm impressed that each of the four horns is a completely different type:  animal horn, musical horn, vehicle horn, and geographical horn.  The Horn of Africa is the fourth largest peninsula in the world.

Let's grab the rest of the puzzle by the horns ...

Across:

1. 1975 thriller filmed largely on Martha's Vineyard: JAWS.  No horns, but big teeth!

5. Comedian Black: LEWIS.  No horns, but steam coming out of his ears!

Lewis Black

10. Store: MART.

14. Smoothie berry: ACAI.

15. Balderdash: TRIPE.  Rubbish, nonsense, baloney, hogwash ...

16. __ vera: ALOE.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Sizable barrels: KEGS.

20. Ready: SET.

21. Zip: NONE.

22. "__ the thing ... ": HERE'S.  Uh oh!  Some of our solvers hate conversational prompts.

23. [Theme clue]

27. Budget prefix: ECONO.

... as an example.

29. "The __ and I": song from "Wicked": WIZARD.  I am going to have to watch Wicked.  It is becoming a cultural touchstone.

30. Carey known as the "Queen of Christmas": MARIAH.  Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" is a holiday staple.  In 2021, Carey filed a petition to trademark the title "Queen of Christmas," meaning that no one else would be able to use it.  Other Christmas minded music makers filed opposing motions, and in 2022, the Trial Trademark and Appeal Board ruled against Carey.  Old news, but news to me.

32. __ de mer: MAL.  Adopted into English, meaning "seasickness," the original French is "illness of the sea."

33. "Klutzy me!": OOPS.  D'oh is too short.

37. Diagnostic scan: Abbr.: MRI.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging uses a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues in your body.

38. Composer Rorem: NED.  Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer.

Ned Rorem

40. Symbol of Aries: RAM.  Astrology.

42. "The Jungle Book" python: KAA.  A character from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, adapted various times for the silver screen.

43. Italian wine region: ASTI.  Asti is in Piedmont, a region of Italy surrounded on three sides by the Alps. Asti is the source of sparkling Asti wine, also called Asti Spumante. The wine is sweet and low in alcohol, and is made solely from the moscato bianco (white muscat) grape.

45. Rapper Lil __ X: NAS.  Lil Nas X, born Montero Lamar Hill, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter who became famous for his 2018 song "Old Town Road."  The song became the longest-running number-one song in the history of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.  Lil Nas X has won multiple awards, including two Grammys, five Billboard Music Awards, and five MTV Video Music Awards. 

Lil Nas X
(My grandchildren *loved* Old Town Road.)

47. Lines at a karaoke bar: LYRICS. The lines you sing.

49. __ crab: HERMIT.

52. Ones always underfoot?: SOLES.

53. [Theme clue]

57. Some campus buildings: HALLS.

58. Carol: NOEL.

59. Gp. with badges: BSA.  Boy Scouts of America.  

62. Chain that sells Mexican Tres Leches Pancakes: IHOP.  The first International House of Pancakes opened in Burbank, California, in 1958.  The *third* one opened on Stocker Street in the Baldwin Hills of Los Angeles, near my neighborhood, and is still in operation.  IHOP Corporation purchased Applebee's restaurants in 2007.  Clearly their cuisine is selling like hotcakes.

63. [Theme clue]

66. Bishop of Rome: POPE.

67. Rose: STOOD.  To rise is to stand *up*.  He rose = he stood.  Of course, stood could also be the past tense of stand.  He just stood there.

68. Provo's state: UTAH.

69. Plant-to-be: SEED.

70. Rescuee in "The Rescuers": PENNY.  I loved the 1959 novel The Rescuers written by Margery Sharp and illustrated by Garth Williams.  Penny is a character in Disney's 1977 animated adaptation.

71. Beauts: GEMS.  Beaut is an informal word meaning something beautiful, remarkable, or amazing.  That horn is a beaut!  Oh yes, it's a gem.

Down:

1. Canning array: JARS.  Preservation of foods in airtight containers started with glass CANisters, and  was called canning.  Later, factories introduced tin cans.  Today, when folks preserve foods at home using glass jars, they still call it canning.

2. Feel yesterday's workout: ACHE.

3. "Keep watching ... ": WAIT FOR IT.

4. Do bad: SIN.

5. Rank for Sen. Tammy Duckworth: LT COL.  Tammy Duckworth is an American politician, retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, and combat veteran of the Iraq War.  She has served as a United States senator from Illinois since 2017. 

Senator Tammy Duckworth

6. Heretofore: ERE NOW.

7. Feature of some glasses: WIRE RIM.

8. Wall St. debut: IPO.  An Initial Public Offering is when a private company offers its shares for sale to the public for the first time.

9. French possessive: SES.  Plural his/her/its.  "Ses amis" means his/her/its friends.  It is plural to match the modified noun, amis (friends).  "Son ami" means his/her/its friend, singular.

10. Gets by: MAKES DO.

11. On edge: ALERT.  I've been gathering photos and videos from the neighbors following a burglary on the block, and sharing the evidence with the Sheriff.

12. "Man Fire Food" host Mooking: ROGER.  Roger Mooking is a Trinidadian-Canadian chef, musician, and television host. He has hosted the television series Man Fire Food since 2012, and is also the host of Everyday Exotic on the Cooking Channel and Food Network Canada.  

Check out his featured recipes at rogermooking.com

13. Thompson of "Thor: Ragnarok": TESSA.  Tessa Thompson began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College.  Since 2005, she's appeared in many TV series and movies, including Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Tessa Thompson in "Thor: Ragnarok"

18. Like some exhibition pieces: ON LOAN.  My brother's wife manages private art collections, and sometimes travels internationally with paintings to be displayed in exhibitions overseas.

Amazing S-I-L, NaomiZ, and DH

22. "That woman?": HER.

24. College abroad?: UNI.  In England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, "uni" is commonly used as a shorthand for "university."

25. Policy setter: CZAR.

26. Kosher : Judaism :: __ : Islam: HALAL.  Dietary rules.  Jews eat kosher food; Muslims eat halal food.  The rules have to do with what foods may be eaten, but also how they must be prepared.  

27. Stone with two Oscars: EMMA.  Emma Stone won two Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles as an aspiring actress in the romantic musical La La Land (2016) and as a resurrected suicide victim in the comic fantasy Poor Things (2023).

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in "La La Land."
DH watched this movie dozens of times.

28. Train units: CARS.

31. Painter Matisse: HENRI.

34. "Fine, tell me": OK, I'LL BITE.

35. Trot or gallop: PACE.

36. Fresh answers: SASS.

39. Curse: DAMN.  Verbs:  to condemn to a punishment or fate.

41. "If I do say so __": MYSELF.

44. "Give me some credit!": I HELPED.

46. Joins the team: SIGNS ON.

48. Fish-to-be: ROE.

50. Hosp. areas: ERs.  Emergency Rooms.

51. Weighing 4,000 pounds: TWO TON.

53. Roots for romantically, in slang: SHIPS.   In the context of transporting goods, "ship" means to send something from one place to another. In the context of fan culture, "ship" means to hope that two people will become romantically involved. When we watched The Office, we were all shipping for Jim and Pam.  Thank you, Emma Oxford, for teaching me this through today's puzzle!

Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski as Pam and Jim in "The Office"

54. Chevy SUV since 1994: TAHOE.

55. Skip the wedding planning: ELOPE.

56. Intoxicating: HEADY.

60. Offer that seems too good to be true, probably: SCAM.

61. Oohs and __: AAHS.  How the crowd reacts to fireworks.

63. Clairvoyance, e.g.: ESP.  Extrasensory perception.

64. Broke a fast: ATE.  Speaking of kosher and halal dietary restrictions, sometimes we cannot eat at all!

65. Throw __: RUG.

Here's the grid:

If you Finished It Right (FIR), you can toot your own HORN in the comments!

Otherwise, please horn in with your objections.

NaomiZ

Sunday, November 3, 2024, Emma Oxford

Theme:  "Cold Shoulders"

The circled "shoulders" (or edges) of each theme answer spell out something icy cold.

My search of the L.A.Times Crossword Corner archives suggests that Emma Oxford has published six crossword puzzles in the L.A. Times during the last two years, the last of which also had circles in the grid.  Today's puzzle is her first Sunday offering.

The theme clues and answers (all Across) are:

23. *Summertime activity that may precede piemaking: BERRY PICKING.  The circles spell out BERG.

36. *Fictional space force satirized in John Scalzi's "Redshirts": STARFLEET.  Redshirts is a 2012 novel by John Scalzi that satirizes Star Trek.  The circles spell out SLEET.

43. *Casper, for one: FRIENDLY GHOST.  The circles spell out FROST.

62. *Span needed for a system to return to equilibrium: RELAXATION TIME.  The circles spell out RIME.  Rime is a type of ice that forms when the moisture in fog freezes suddenly on an object.

69. *Nickname for a hotel in the middle of Lake Pichola: FLOATING PALACE.  Lake Palace (AKA Floating Palace) is a former royal residence, now turned into a hotel, on an island in Lake Pichola, Udaipur, India.  Popularly described as the Venice of the East, Lake Palace is made out of white marble.  The circles spell out FLOE, a sheet of floating ice.

90. *Charming rogue: HANDSOME DEVIL.  The circles spell out HAIL.

98. *"Take it slow": STEADY NOW.  The circles spell out SNOW.

111. Starts a conversation, or what the answer to each starred clue does to its circled letters: BREAKS THE ICE.

Having broken the ice, let's skate through the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Reveal: UNVEIL.

7. Antagonist of Rocky and Bullwinkle: BORIS.

Boris Badenov, from the cartoon TV series, "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show"

12. Check in point?: ATM.  You can deposit checks at an Automated Teller Machine.

15. 43,560 square feet: ACRE.

19. "Angel" singer Jon: SECADA.  Jon Secada is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter and record producer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, and recorded "Angel" in both English and Spanish.  Beautiful song!

20. See 56-Down: A-RONI.  Rice-A-Roni is a boxed mix that includes rice, pasta, and seasonings.  Those of us who watched television in the 1960s have "The San Franciso Treat" jingle burned into our brains.

21. Cons: SWINDLES.

23. [Theme clue]

25. Emerges: COMES OUT.

26. Expressionless: BLANK.

27. Reigning: IN POWER.

29. Federal loan agcy.: SBA.  The Small Business Administration is an agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

30. Coily hairstyle: AFRO.

33. Letters with a green check mark at the airport: TSA PRE.  The TSA PreCheck program expedites traveler screening through airport security checkpoints. 

36. [Theme clue]

38. Tilts: LEANS.

40. Missouri River Native: OTOE.

41. "Piece of cake!": EASY.

42. Eclectic online digest: UTNE.

43. [Theme clue]

46. "Spider-Man: __ the Spider-Verse": ACROSS.  A 2023 animated film.

48. __ Arbor, Michigan: ANN.

49. Vicinity: AREA.

50. Fermi paradox subjs.: ETs.  The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced ExtraTerrestrial life and the high likelihood of its existence.

51. "No probs!": ALL OK.

53. Corp. money managers: CFOs.  Chief Financial Officers.

54. Word said when pointing to a map: HERE.

55. Impetuous: RASH.

56. Grenadine: RED.  Grenadine syrup was originally prepared from pomegranate juice, sugar, and water, but today it's made from all kinds of drek.  It's also become a color name:  "Grenadine is a deep, muted, candy apple red with a ruby undertone."

59. Revolt: RISE UP.

62. [Theme clue]

65. Scent: ODOR.

66. Battery size: AAA.

67. Free (of): RID.

68. High point: ACME.  We always need perpendicular entries to know if it will be ACME or APEX.

69. [Theme clue]

75. Wail: SCREAM.

77. Permit: LET.

78. Kitchen extension?: ETTE.  As in kitchenette, a very small cooking area.

79. Woven silk projects: WEBS.  Spiders produce silk and use it to make webs to trap prey, and to build cocoons for their offspring, among other uses.

80. Ventimiglia of "Gilmore Girls": MILO.  While Milo Ventimiglia has had a successful acting career for almost 30 years, many of us here in the Corner sat up and took notice when, beginning in 2016, he starred opposite Mandy Moore in the NBC drama series "This Is Us," playing Jack Pearson, the patriarch of a middle-class family in late 1980s/early 1990s America.

Milo Ventimiglia

81. Like $2 bills, compared to most bills: RARER.

82. [I'm a cow!]: MOO.

83. One on a quest: HERO.  The hero's quest is a common template of stories involving a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.   A classic example is Odysseus in The Odyssey.  The same story structure is used in modern novels and films.

84. "Waterfalls" trio: TLC.  "Waterfalls" is a song by American hip-hop trio TLC, released in 1995.  The song was an international hit, and spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  I'm more into "rock en español," but even I recognize this song!

87. Wages: SALARY.

90. [Theme clue]

93. Pub offerings: ALES.

94. Country where Farsi is spoken: IRAN.

96. Prefix with -plasm: ECTO.  Ectoplasm is the thin, watery outer layer of a cell.  Unless you're into ghosts, in which case, ectoplasm is a substance that comes from the body of someone communicating with the spirit of a dead person, allowing the spirit to have a form.  In the Ghostbusters movies, it's called slime.

97. Brazilian dance: SAMBA.

98. [Theme clue]

101. If nothing changes: AS IT IS.

103. Sign of shock: GASP.

104. Bros: HEs.  Bros are hes as in male persons?  Sisters are shes?

105. One who asks too much: IMPOSER.

107. Helvetica alternative: ARIAL.  Fonts.

109. Biometric security measure: IRIS SCAN.  We had TSA PreCheck at 33 Across.  Another expedited screening program at airports is the CLEAR program, which uses iris-scanning, fingerprint-checking, and facial recognition.

111. [Theme clue]

117. Government health program: MEDICARE.

118. Carried: BORNE.

119. Acela operator: AMTRAK.  Crossword favorite Acela is Amtrak's passenger train service between Washington, DC and Boston, via 13 intermediate stops, including Baltimore, New York City and Philadelphia. 

120. Inkling: IDEA.

121. Sow's spot: STY.

122. Brings around: SWAYS.

123. Used bookstore transaction: RESALE.

Down:

1. Computer connection letters: USB.  Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard which allows data exchange and delivery of power between many types of electronics.

How do I connect thee?  Let me count the ways.

2. Formerly known as: NÉE.  The French word née is a feminine adjective that means "born" and is used to indicate a woman's maiden name.

3. Old tape player: VCR.

4. Hammer or anvil: EAR BONE.

5. Pastoral poem: IDYL.

6. Drink like a cat: LAP AT.

7. Slangy term of agreement: BACK AT YA.

8. Mork's home: ORK.  "Mork & Mindy" was a television sitcom that aired on ABC from 1978 to 1982. It starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrestrial from the planet Ork, and Pam Dawber as Mindy, his human friend.

9. King of France: ROI.

10. Belly button type: INNIE.

11. Catcher's gesture to a pitcher: SIGN.

12. Broad ties: ASCOTS.

13. Bidirectional: TWO WAY.

14. One acting out?: MIMER.

15. Vlogger's revenue source: ADS.  A vlog is a blog in video format.  Both formats can be supported by advertising.

16. Not far from: CLOSE TO.

17. Corned beef sandwiches: REUBENS.

18. Pemberley and Mansfield Park: ESTATES.  Pemberley is the fictional estate of Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."  Mansfield Park is an estate in Jane Austen's novel of the same name.

22. Brand for indoor sports: NERF.

24. Shoe pads: INSOLES.

28. Hurdle for college-bound sophs: PSAT. Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test -- a trial run for the SAT that high school seniors take.

30. The "A" of NATO?: ALFA.

31. "Charlotte's Web" girl: FERN.  Fern is a little girl in the novel "Charlotte's Web" by E. B. White.  She pleads for the life of the runt of a litter of piglets, whom she names Wilbur.  When Wilbur grows, he is destined for slaughter until a spider named Charlotte spells out praises of the pig in her web above his pen.

32. Beach bummer: RAIN.

34. 1990s fad item: POG.  My daughter played with pogs (flat cardboard milk bottle caps) in the '90s.  The game involved stacking the discs face-down, and dropping a heavier object onto the pile.  The player would keep face-up caps, and restack the face-down caps.  Taking turns, eventually one player had more caps and would win.

35. Do a cobbler's job: RE-HEEL.

37. Read but never post: LURK.  Welcome, lurkers!  We are here for you.

39. Major mess-up: SNAFU.  "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up," or stronger language to that effect.

41. Thames Estuary county: ESSEX.

44. Release, as new music: DROP.

45. Spanish "other": OTRA.  Otra modifies feminine nouns.  And another thing ... !  ¡Y otra cosa...!  The masculine form is Otro.

46. "Another thing ... ": ALSO.  Hey, I just said that.

47. ESPN anchor Linda: COHN.  Linda Cohn is an American sportscaster who has anchored ESPN's SportsCenter since 1992.  That's a long run!

Linda Cohn

51. Saul Rubinek's "Warehouse 13" role: ARTIE.  "Warehouse 13" was a science fiction TV series that ran from 2009 to 2014 on the Syfy network.  Saul Rubinek as Artie Nielsen was the Special Agent in Charge at Warehouse 13, a storehouse for artifacts that have become charged with energy that can give them dangerous powers if misused.  Seems quite obscure!  Any fans here?

52. Set, as a table: LAID.  Brits are more likely to say "lay the table."  Americans usually say "set the table."

53. Michael of "Sacramento": CERA.  "Sacramento" is a 2024 comedy film starring Michael Angarano, Michael Cera, Kristen Stewart and Maya Erskine.  It's about a couple of guys who take an impromtu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento.  Has it even hit the theaters yet?

54. Pile: HEAP.

56. With 20-Across, "The San Francisco Treat": RICE.  See 20 Across.

57. Actress Thompson: EMMA.

58. Believe: DEEM.

59. "Ur 2 funny!": ROFL.  Texting abbreviation for Rolling On Floor Laughing.

Emoticon for ROFL

60. Not doing much: IDLE.

61. Flue dust: SOOT.

62. Killer party: RAGER.

63. Rainbows, e.g.: ARCS.

64. Staple in the Pacific Islands: TARO.  Taro is a root vegetable, and is a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures.

66. Penny-__: ANTE.

70. Little rip: TEAR.

71. "All in a day's work": I TRY.

72. "That's disappointing!": AW MAN.

73. R&B singer Bridges: LEON.  Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.  His work has been nominated for four Grammy awards, and he won the most recent in 2019 for Best Traditional R&B Performance for the song "Bet Ain't Worth the Hand."

Leon Bridges

74. Domiciles: ABODES.

75. King's address: SIRE.

76. Lumps of earth: CLODS.

80. Personal accounts: MEMOIRS.

81. Tabula __: RASA.  Latin phrase that means "blank slate" or "smooth or erased tablet."

83. Thrown-together bits of commentary: HOT TAKES.

84. "Better Call Saul" rating: TV-MA.  Mature Audience; may be unsuitable for children under 17.

85. Ad __: improvises: LIBS.

86. Thunder sound: CLAP.

87. Sushi kin: SASHIMI.  Sashimi is raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces.  By contrast, sushi is made with seasoned rice, either shaped into mounds and topped with items such as raw or cooked seafood, or rolled in sheets of seaweed called nori around fillings of seafood, vegetables and other items. The essential difference is that sushi always includes rice, whereas sashimi is simply animal flesh.

Sashimi vs Sushi

88. Changed: ALTERED.

89. Sheltered place: LEE SIDE.

90. Hems and __: HAWS.

91. Physics dept.: SCI.

92. Aerie hatchlings: EAGLETS.  Aerie (a variant of eyrie) is the nest of an eagle, falcon, hawk, or other bird of prey.

I photographed this osprey on its huge nest atop a post in the middle of a Minnesota highway in 2023.

94. Sort of: IN PART.

95. "Normal People" author Sally: ROONEY.  Sally Rooney is an Irish author who has published four novels: Conversations with Friends (2017), Normal People (2018), Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021), and Intermezzo (2024). The first two were adapted into television miniseries.

99. 34-Down, for one: DISC.  Ah, yes, pogs.

100. Some workout spots: YMCAs.

101. Turn-only lane symbol: ARROW.

102. Indian lute: SITAR.

106. Falls back: EBBS.

108. Wistful sigh: AH ME.

110. "Breathe Me" singer: SIA.  "Breathe Me" is a 2004 song by Australian singer Sia featured on the album "Colour the Small One."  All I can say is, thank goodness for perpendicular entries.

112. Regency, for "Bridgerton": ERA.  Any Bridgerton fans here?  I prefer my historical dramas to be a little more historical.  

113. "__ luck?": ANY.

114. 401(k) kin: IRA.

115. Ripken of baseball: CAL.

116. __ out a victory: EKE.

Here's the grid:

Did you love it?  Or did you give it the Cold Shoulder?

NaomiZ

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 ~ Amie Walker

Polar Bear Club

Today we get another "downs theme." [See: last Monday].  This one from Amie Walker who, IIRC, we last saw set a puzzle for Star Wars Day (May the 4th). Today she lures us to the Polar Bear Plunge by calling it "therapy."

Let's see what I mean:

1. Temporary housing-cost regulation: RENT FREEZE.

4. "What's with the dad jokes all of a sudden?": YOU USED TO BE COOL. I've got Dad Jokes, but I'm still cool, right?

7. Streamlined date?: NETFLIX AND CHILL. Snuggle up and watch a movie at home.  Streamlined is a twist on streaming over the internet a program / film.

28. Post-workout water therapy option, or a description of the ends of 1-, 4-, and 7-Down: COLD PLUNGE. And there we have it... All the themers go down and end with a synonym for cold.

Across:
1. Not family-friendly, maybe: RACY. I was going with UN-PC first, but that depends on the family ;-)

5. Kylo of "Star Wars": REN.

8. __ pit: slam dancing spot: MOSH. The area in front of the stage where concert goers dance energetically and somewhat violently. You can also body-surf the crowd. Here's folks at a Nirvana concert running on stage and diving off into the audience.

Floyd The Barber (live)

12. Musical pace: TEMPO.

13. Gift at "no gifts" events: PRESENCE. "Just showing up is your gift to me." -Pop on Father's Day (we did get him a $$ grill too).

They agreed "No gifts" 

[WKRP @6:55 (I've been binging it (again) while DW's in Japan)]

15. Alaska's capital: JUNEAU.

16. Group that might divide and conquer?: MATH TEAM. I went to state twice (in IL & LA) with the Math Team. #Nerd!

17. Tunneling insects: ANTS.

18. __ and downs: UPS.

20. Indulgent meal: FEAST.

21. Pt. of HDTV: DEF. Hi DEFinition Television.

22. Tire inflation abbr.: PSI. Pounds / Square Inch.

23. Balkan native: SLAV.

24. __ on the side of caution: ERR.

25. Martial arts teacher: SENSEI.

27. MBA course: ECON. ECONomics is part of a Masters of Business Administration degree.

31. "My word!": EGAD.

33. Wicked spell: HEX.

34. Caramel-filled candy: ROLO.

Originally made by Mackintosh's in the UK in 1937.
Now produced by Nestle globally and Hershey's in the US.

35. Cookie with a Space Dunk variety: OREO. A new clue for an old x-word friend.

37. Princess Tiana costume topper: TIARA.

39. Whole bunch: SLEW.

40. Greek liqueur: OUZO. The Greek version of Sambuca. Both are anise [read: licorice] flavored booze. Goes great in evening coffee.

41. Not new: OLD.

42. Requirement: NEED.

44. Chicken __: trifling amount: FEED. Gramps had this tiny wooden box he made with "Three Piece Chicken Dinner" printed on the top. You open it and there are three kernels of corn inside! #GrampsJoke

45. Mixes thoroughly: BLENDS.

47. Kiss in a crowded room, for short: PDA. Public Display of Affection. eg me smooching DW full-on at a restaurant.

50. Totally wows: AWES.

52. Pretend: ACT.

53. "haha": LOL.

54. No-frills: BASIC.

56. "Ew, whyyy": UGH.

57. Taurus symbol: BULL.

58. Works too hard too fast, maybe: BURNS OUT. I attended a talk at a Cybersecurity conference on Burnout. The guy was the Musical Director for Hamilton. He'd suffered a heart attack and came up w/ a triangle of work/life balance-y stuff. No mention of "Have a beer. It'll all be just fine." :-)

60. "I wish!": IF ONLY.

62. Reason to branch out during yoga class?: TREE POSE. An Ektorp (X-word slang coin'd by Emma Oxford for "a clue whose answer you can get from context without actually knowing it." Splynter proved the rule by entering IKEA at the clue: "Maker of EKTORP sofas").

63. Pines (for): LONGS. Yearns was too long. Cue Python.

Pining for the Fjords [@1:38 of The Dead Parrot Sketch]

64. Crunchy picnic dish: SLAW.

65. Birth announcement abbr.: LBS. How many Pounds the baby weighed. I have no idea why this is important -- perhaps to spot the next heavy-weight champ?

66. Vein rich with ore deposits: LODE.

Down:
1. [See: theme]

2. Iowa college town: AMES.

3. Tax prep pro: CPA. Certified Public Accountant.

4. [See: theme]

5. Record speeds, for short: RPMS. Rotations Per Minute (per is used here in the abbr. but not in PSI... wonder why).

6. Stretch of history: ERA.

7. [See: theme]

8. Set of interactive virtual spaces: METAVERSE. Oy! Don't get me started.

9. Small bills: ONES.

10. "Shoo!": SCAT.

11. Dress edge: HEM.

12. Old TV knob: TUNER.

14. __ butter: skin care ingredient: SHEA.

15. Green gem: JADE.

19. Brooch: PIN.

22. Ad with an educational message: PSA. Public Service Announcement.

23. Clairvoyant: SEER.

26. Concealer specification: SHADE. A makeup c/a.

28. [See: theme]

29. Fotbol cheer: OLE.

30. This second: NOW.

32. "All better!": GOOD AS NEW.

35. "Yikes": OOF.

36. Be sorry about: RUE.

38. Hardships: ILLS.

43. Approximate fig.: EST. ESTimate.

46. Bother relentlessly: NAG.

48. Tea party attendees, often: DOLLS. Not Daddy?!?... the number of times I sat in that tiny chair wearing a TIARA wishing there was beer in my cup...

49. Friend: ALLY.

51. Trace of smoke: WISP.

54. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" singer Ives: BURL. I oft hum this song throughout the year - much to the chagrin of my family.

55. Field of study: AREA.

56. Great Basin people: UTES. Cue Vinny.

My Cousin Vinny clip

57. Open up to, with "with": BOND.

58. "Dynamite" K-pop group: BTS. BTS is an abbreviation for K- (Korean) Bangtan Sonyeondan which translates to Bulletproof Boy Scouts [WikiP]. DW has really gotten into K-Dramas; it's mostly light-fluff.

59. PC port letters: USB. Universal Serial Bus.

61. __ Fighters: "Learn to Fly" rock band: FOO. The front-man for Foo Fighters, known as the nicest guy in Rock & Roll -- Dave Grohl, was the drummer for Nirvana [see: 8d].
There are 3 songs that I know of titled Learning to Fly: Pink Floyd's ('87), Tom Petty's ('91), and the Foo Fighters' ('99). Google says Sheppard ('21) and Christina Aguilera ('23) also have a song titled Learning to Fly. Since the clue is about Foo Fighters (and the Video is funny (Jack Black ++the band members play the main roles)), I'll leave you with 'em b/f the grid.

And the Grid:

Da' Grid

WOs: REy -> REN, Serb -> SLAV
ESPs: N/A - Clean (of obscure names) Grid.
Fav: I'll go w/ MATH TEAM //yeah, I'm a #Geek.

Cheers!
-T

Dave Grohl's bar bill - 'cuz he just had to.