Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Sala Wanetick

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a puzzle by Sala Wanetick.  Today, Sala offers us four themed-answers with a unifier that seems to this solver to be a little bit of a stretch (or, perhaps, I just did not understand the jargon):

62 Across:  Discussing business, or a punny description of the answer to each starred clue: TALKING SHOP.

The first word of each two-word answer conjures up the use of language, or if you will, TALKING.  The second words are evocative of places (but not really shops).  To this blogger, the theme would, perhaps have been "punnier" if TALKING SHOP had been part of the clue and an eleven-letter version of something along the lines of Business Discussion (or Discussing Business) had been the answer.  In any event the following are the four establishments where talking is what it is all about.

17 Across:  *Place to take an oral exam: LANGUAGE LAB.

24 Across:  *Program that hones public speaking skills: DEBATE CAMP.

38 Across: . *Spot for a "Good Hang" recording, say: PODCAST STUDIO.  A "good hang" refers to being a pleasant and enjoyable person to be around, especially in social or work situations.

53 Acros: . *Destination after speaking to a bot, perhaps: CALL CENTER.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. One of the Musketeers: ATHOS.  The names of the three musketeers are Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. They are joined by the main character, d'Artagnan, who aspires to become a musketeer himself.

6. Midrange choir voice: ALTO.  A friend of mine auditioned for The Sopranos... 

Unfortunately, she was an ALTO and didn't get the part.

10. Old Prizm maker: GEO.  An automobile reference.

1990 - 1992 Geo Prizm

13. Superfluous bits: FRILLS.

15. Bit of bait: WORM.

16. Under the weather: ILL.  

The phrase "under the weather" originates from nautical slang, referring to sailors who would go below deck to avoid rough weather and seasickness. It is a shortened form of the term "under the weather bow," which describes the side of a ship facing the storm.

19. Get 10/10 on, say: ACE.  Used as a verb.

20. Toronto's province: ONTARIO.  Canadian, eh?

21. Condiment drizzled on a taco: CREMA.  Not the first taco topping that came to mind.

23. Obama-era legislation, for short: ACA.

28. Béret spot: TETE.  Une des leçon des français d'aujourd'hui. A beret (hat) is worn on one's TETE (head).

30. Mined finds: ORES.  The dentist said that he could knock me out with gas, or he could use a big metallic rock.  I said ether/ORE.

31. Soul singer Redding: OTIS.  Perhaps best known for this song:

32. Kind: ILK.  Kind, in this case, is not meant as nice or caring.  Sort, type, ILK.

34. Basilica recess: APSE.

37. Letters that may end with a bang?: TNT.

42. Track that fills the dance floor: BOP.  Track as in a piece of recorded music.

43. Goes green?: DYES.  A bit of misdirection.  Not a reference to ecology.

44. Notable span: ERA.  What ERA is a musician in when he has no money?  Baroque.

45. Sad: BLUE.  The word "blue" was first used this way by Chaucer in about 1385, in his poem, Complaint of Mars. Washington Irving is credited with having first used the term "the blues" in 1807, as a synonym for sadness

47. Diaper bag item: WIPE.

49. Housekeeping staffer: MAID.  I suspect that my maid is stealing money from my drawer, but she won’t admit to it.  I just want her to come clean.

56. French article: UNE.  Encore une des leçons de français d'aujourd'hui

57. Club hit, perhaps: REMIX.  A REMIX, also sometimes called re-orchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph can be remixes. The only necessary characteristic of a remix is that it appropriates and changes other materials to create something new.

58. Breakfast spot: DINETTE.

61. Freight unit: TON.  

65. Editorial "Wasn't me!": SIC.  SIC is derived from the Latin adverb sīc, meaning "thus" or "so." It first appeared in English around 1856 and is used to indicate that a quoted text is reproduced exactly as it appears in the original, including any errors.

66. End of an ultimatum: ELSE.

67. Angler's exclamation: GOT ONE.  A fishing reference.

68. "__ to the Mets": The Strokes song: ODE.   We have seen ODE many, many, many times but I do not recall seeing it previously clued this way.

69. Gobsmack: STUN.  What do you call two false statements that are so bad they STUN you?  - Paralyze

70. Philosopher Kierkegaard: SOREN.  Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855) was a Danish philosopher, Christian theologian, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. 

Down:

1. Above water: AFLOAT.

2. EDM genre with hypnotic melodies: TRANCE.  A reference to Electronic Dance Music.  Not sure why that was abbreviated in the clue.

3. Drop clues about: HINT AT.

4. Aunt in Pixar's "Elio": OLGA.

Olga Solis

5. Fail to enunciate: SLUR.

6. Feeling when overlooking a grand vista: AWE.  Fair enough.

Photo By MM

7. "Hehe": LOL.  Laugh Out Loud

8. Plot of land: TRACT.

9. Color technique for hair and nails: OMBRE.  Ombré color is a gradual blend of one color hue into another, usually shifting from light to dark (or dark to light).

10. "The Holdovers" actor Paul: GIAMATTI.

11. Classic Chevy: EL CAMINO.  Another automobile reference.  The El Camino was car-like pickup truck adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and it integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. 

1969 El Camino

12. Spanish cheer: OLE.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.

14. Gave the green light: SAID OKAY.

Red Light . . . Green Light

18. Concert or movie ending: GOER.

22. Mode on some washing machines: ECO.  More often a feature of some automobiles.

25. Skedaddles: BEATS IT.  We could have gone with Michale Jakson's "Beat It" here but we'll go with the send-up instead.

26. North African cobras: ASPS.  Snakes frequently found in crossword puzzles.

27. Vegas winter hrs.: PST.  Pacific Standard Time.

29. Ramadan ender: EID.  Eid is a festival or feast in Islam that marks the end of a fast or pilgrimage.

33. Rock's __ Soundsystem: LCD.  LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York.  A sample:

35. Self-driving car's task: STEERING.  Among other tasks.

36. Italy's cont.: EUR.  Continent has been abbreviated in the clue so EURope has been abbreviated in the answer.

38. Photo that might be shaken: POLAROID. Actually, you should not.

39. Champagne lifestyle, e.g.: OPULENCE.

40. Stitched up: SEWN.

41. Beaver-built structure: DAM.   I just watched a program about beavers. It was the best DAM program I've ever seen.

42. "The Graham Norton Show" airer: BBC.  

Here With John Cleese

46. Stately tree: ELM.  How can you tell a dogwood tree from an ELM tree?  By the bark.

48. Short spa service?: PEDI.  Short for PEDIcure.

50. Name on a byline: AUTHOR.

51. Chant: INTONE.  Did anyone here solve the 22 October NYT puzzles where the construtor slipped OM into the middle of the themed answers?  As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, the reveal was No Chance which, in this case, was a homonym and had to be sounded as No Chants.

52. Intensify: DEEPEN.

54. Refers to: CITES.  What happens when two bibliographies go on a date?  Love at first CITE.

55. Put on a pedestal: EXALT.

59. CARE and WWF: NGOS.  Non Governmental OrganizationS

60. This, in Spanish: ESTO.  Otra de las lecciones de español de hoy.

61. General with a chicken dish: TSO.

63. Tiger Stadium sch.: LSU.  Louisiana State University

64. Filmmaker Burns: KEN.  Too many credits to list here.  But not here:  Ken Burns Films

That's all the shop talk for today.  I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

__________________________________

Talking Shop
MM Out

Tuesday October 27, 2026 Adam Shapiro

Up, Up, and Away ...

17-Across. Ecstatic, like a nursery rhyme cow?: OVER THE MOON.

24-Across. Ecstatic, like a tightrope performer?: WALKING ON AIR.

51-Across. Ecstatic, like a songbird?: HAPPY AS A LARK.

62-Across. Ecstatic, like a big pig?: IN HOG HEAVEN

And the unifier:

39-Across. Like exorbitant prices, and like 17-, 24-, 51-, and 62-Across?: SKY HIGH.

Here's the Grid:

Across:
1. Stories and Reels app, familiarly: INSTA.

6. 20s dispensers: ATMs.  A crossword staple.

10. That woman: HER.

13. Tot, to a Scot: WEE'UN.

14. Bath accessory: LOOFA.  A loofa is the fibrous skeleton of a tropical gourd plant.

16. Santa __, California: ANA.

19. North Atlantic fish: COD.  For the definitive word on Cod and the Cod industry, I recommend Mark Kurlansky's book, Cod.

20. Weaken, in gaming slang: NERF.  According to Webster's Dictionary, with respect to gaming, to nerf means to intentionally reduce the power, damage, range, or effectiveness of a character, weapon, ability, or item in a video game.

21. Low card in cribbage: ACE.  *

22. Chicken __ masala: TIKKA.  Yummers!  Chicken tikka masala is a curried dish made with charred, marinated chicken chunks (tikka) simmered in a rich, spiced tomato and cream sauce (masala).

28. Volcanic rock: BASALT.  Basalt is a dark, fine-grained, extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava.  It is rich in iron and magnesium.  Basalt makes up more than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth and forms the majority of the planet's ocean floors.

31. "... but I may be wrong": OR NOT.

32. Scare: ALARM.

33. Shark called the "cheetah of the ocean": MAKO.  The Mako shark is fastest known species of shark, reaching moving speeds of 31 mph with bursts up to 46 mph.  It looks pretty scary.

35. Larger __ life: THAN.

38. Animated response?: GIF.  As in Graphics Interchange Format.

42. World Cup shout: OLÉ.  A crossword staple.

43. Ladder rung: STEP.

45. Et __: and others: ALIA.  Today's Latin lesson.  Et alia is a Latin phrase that translates to and others.

46. "Li'l" resident of Dogpatch: ABNER.  Li'l Abner was an American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonists Al Capp.  It ran from August 1934, through November 1977.

48. Skin soother: SALVE.

50. Unfairly partisan: BIASED.

55. "Let me repeat ... ": I SAID.

56. Team transport: BUS.

57. Tardy: LATE.

61. Karaoke aid: MIC.

66. Sharon Olds' "__ to My Whiteness": ODE.  I am neither familiar with Sharon Olds (b. 1942) nor her poem.

67. Tolerate: ABIDE.

68. "Worth __ penny!": EVERY.

69. Month, in Mexico: MES.  Today's Spanish lesson.

70. Parroted: APED.

71. Cosmic fate: KARMA.

Down:

1. Victorious cry: I WON!

2. Campbell of "The Lincoln Lawyer": NEVE.  Neve Adrianne Campbell (b. Oct.3, 1973) is a Canadian actress.  She is probably best known for being a scream queen in many horror films.   She portrays Maggie McPherson on the Netflix drama series The Lincoln Lawyer.

3. Prophetic one: SEER.

4. Power struggle within a company, e.g.: TURF WAR.

5. Kitchen pest: ANT.

6. Smart __: ALECK.

7. Oscar winner Marisa: TOMEI.  Marisa Tomei (b. 1964) is a talented actress.  She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mona Lisa Vito in the 1992 comedy film My Cousin Vinny.  I can't believe the movie came out over 30 years ago!

8. "I'm a cow!": MOO.

9. NorCal airport: SFO.  As in the San Francisco/Oakland International Airport.

10. Collaborative coding events: HACKATHONS.  Okay, it's a real thing.

11. Japanese mushroom: ENOKI.

12. Plane-tracking tech: RADAR.

15. Writer Chekhov: ANTON.  Anton Chekhov (Jan. 29, 1860 ~ July 15, 1904) was a Russian playwright and physician.  He wrote a number of plays such as The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya, and The Seagull, that are still produced today.  To aspiring writers, he is known for saying the following:  "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off.  If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there."  This is known as Chekhov's Principle.

18. Sentry's shout: HALT.

23. Playing to break a tie, for short: IN OT.  As in In Over Time.

25. Offerings to Buddhist monks: ALMS.

26. Pioneer in mobile phone technology: NOKIA.  A brief history of Nokia.

27. Shipboard booze: GROG.

28. Reusable totes, e.g.: BAGS.

29. Came to rest: ALIT.

30. Judgment-free environments: SAFE SPACES.

33. NFLer Garrett who made a record 23 sacks in 2025: MYLES.  Myles Lorenz Garrett (b. Dec. 29, 1995), plays for the Los Angeles Rams.

34. Poke bowl tuna: AHI.  Yummers!  One of our favorite restaurants prepared the most wonderful Ahi towers.

36. Not aweather: ALEE.

37. Trivia champion, perhaps: NERD.  Not to be confused with 20-Across.

40. Intoxicating Polynesian drink: KAVA.  A kava drink is a non-alcoholic, psychoactive beverage made from the crushed or powdered root of Piper methysticum, a pepper plant native to the South Pacific.  I am familiar with neither this drink nor the pepper.

41. Brush target: HAIR.

44. Daddy, in Spanish: PAPI.

47. Layered pastry with honey and nuts: BAKLAVA.  It's too sweet for me.

49. Golfer Ko in the LPGA Hall of Fame: LYDIA.  That's Dame Lydia Bo-Gyung Ko (b. Apr. 24, 1997) to you.  Until 2017, she was the youngest ever to win an LPGA Tour event.  She won the event when she was just 15 years old.

50. Major shindig: BASH.

51. Classic handmade sign for TV cameras: HI, MOM!

52. Brief digression: ASIDE.

53. "Humble" quarters: ABODE.

54. Raced on a sled: LUGED.

58. Affirm as true: AVER.

59. Time in office: TERM.

60. Irish New Age singer: ENYA.  Her given name is Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (May 17, 1961).  No wonder she goes by Enya.

63. Org. with Hornets and Bulls: NBA.  As in the Charlotte Hornets and the Chicago Bulls in basketball.

64. Cool: HIP.

65. Shriek after a squeak: EEK.

~~~~~~

*  Einstein and Bohr debate about G'd playing dice.

חתולה