¡Hola todos! sumdaze here with a calendar-appropriate puzzle -- just not the holiday I was expecting. No worries. We can pivot. Put down your sombrero and margarita. Instead, don your fascinator and mix up a mint julep.
Theme: 
Kevin and Andrea have teamed up to bring us three themers plus a reveal. You can read about Andrea on her Wikipedia page.
I hear the bugler's call to post. It's time to check out the main contenders:
20 Across. Offerings at some cocktail parties: WINE AND CHEESE.
20 Across. Offerings at some cocktail parties: WINE AND CHEESE.
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| Awkward! |
27 Across. Improvement that may be based on psychology instead of medicine: PLACEBO EFFECT. NIH.gov article
44 Across. Accessory that may coordinate with bath mats: SHOWER CURTAIN.
Here is the unifier:
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| I call clear ones show-er curtains. |
50 Across. First leg of the Triple Crown, whose levels of success can be found in this puzzle's circled letters: KENTUCKY DERBY.
The 151st KENTUCKY DERBY took place this past Saturday. (I hope to have this blog in the can before the race begins so I have no news of the results.) It is a 1¼ mi. (2 km.) race in Louisville, KY. The other two races in the Triple Crown are:
- Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, MD ~ May 17, 2025 ~ 1+3/16 mi. (1.88 km.)
- Bellmont Stakes in Elmont, NY ~ June 7, 2025 ~ 1½ mi. (2.4 km.)
And we're off!
Across:
10. Small amounts of face cream: DABS.
14. Assign portions: ALLOT.
15. Visa competitor, informally: AMEX. credit card companies
16. Mallorca, por ejemplo: ISLA. The Spanish in the clue hints to a Spanish answer.
17. Savanna hunter known for its laugh: HYENA. Not to be confused with hunters from Savannah, GA:
18. Spinner on a roof: VANE.
19. Canned Hormel product: SPAM.
23. "How ya doin'?": S'UP. "What'S UP?" Both the clue and answer use non-standard English.
25. Prez after JFK: LBJ. Both the clue and answer use abbreviations.
26. Just that single time: ONCE.
32. Follow as a result: ENSUE.
33. Need to and from the dog park: LEASH. Dog owners need a LEASH to walk their dog to and from the dog park but the dog can be unLEASHed while in the dog park.
34. Lightbulb unit: WATT. Watch this 2 min. video before you buy your next lightbulb.
35. Apple beverage: CIDER. Did you think this was a hard clue?
37. All excited: AGOG. I rarely go to Starbucks but I was there in January with a friend. I pulled out an old Starbucks card from my wallet to pay. Apparently the cards are now made from paper but mine was plastic and still had a few dollars on it. The barista was AGOG that I still had an unused plastic card. She advised me to hang on to it.
41. Copy using very thin paper: TRACE.
43. Jumper cable connection: ANODE.
47. Mountaintop: PEAK. 16-A has me thinking about Mallorca.
48. BofA convenience: ATM. BofA = Bank of America
49. Explosive material: TNT.
55. Post-WWII transnational gp.: NATO.
56. Bygone Apple player: iPOD. I wish Apple still made these.
57. Wed in secret: ELOPE.
60. Beige kin: ECRU. Both are tan-ish colors.
61. Spelling of "BH90210": TORI. BH90210 refers to Beverly Hills, 90210, a teen drama series that ran from 1990 to 2000. The friends hung out at the 47-D Pit. Tori's father, Aaron Spelling was the producer. In XWD puzzles, I often mix up Tori Spelling with singer Tori Amos...and sometimes with 4-D.
62. Coffee shop freebie: SUGAR. Is the SUGAR free or are unsweetened beverages overpriced?
63. One of the five W's of journalism: WHAT.
64. Pentathlon blade: ĆPĆE. The modern Olympic pentathlon sports are fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, laser pistol shooting, and cross country running.
65. Fantasy league deal: TRADE. Fantasy sport leagues allow participants to assemble imaginary teams composed of real players of a professional sport. These teams compete based on the statistical performance of those players in real games. Owners can make a deal to TRADE players.
Down:
1. "Go team!": RAH.
2. Gymnastics gold medalist Raisman: ALY. [b. May 24, 1994]
3. Was over in no time: FLEW PAST.
4. "Breathe Again" singer Braxton: TONI.
5. Comics legend who co-created Spider-Man and the X-Men: STAN LEE. [Stanley Martin Lieber 1922-2018] Like Issa Rae, we usually see either STAN or LEE so it was fun to get both of his names today.
6. Language of WWII code talkers: NAVAJO.
7. Persian Gulf sultanate: OMAN.
8. Hang in the balance: PEND. Think: "The matter was still PENDing when he left."
9. CFO or VP: EXEC. Chief Financial Officer / Vice President / Executive
10. Turn off, in a way: DISENCHANT. Def.: (verb) to free from illusion.
11. Characteristic: ASPECT.
12. Supremely unconcerned: BLASĆ.
13. "I think so too!": SAME.
21. Go out, as the tide: EBB.
22. Weeding tools: HOES.
23. Gush forth: SPEW. This interesting table organizes information on the world's geysers. It says that 51.9% are located in Yellowstone.
35. Crow's cry: CAW.
36. Cooler cubes: ICE.
39. Creator of Norse mythology?: ODIN.
40. Polite fellow: GENT.
42. Streaming option: ROKU. We had this one last week.
43. Spot frequently shared by flyers: ARM REST. "Shared" might be an exaggeration as in this 40 sec. comedic video:
44. Nissan sedan: SENTRA.
45. Golfer's helper: CADDIE. This 1:45 scene from the 1980 movie Caddyshack gives another meaning to the 1-A clue. Yes, it is beyond sophomoric but I love Bill Murray at the end.
46. Sport-__: off-road auto: UTE. utility
47. Bellini fruit: PEACH.
50. Was in the loop: KNEW.
51. Quote from, as a legal case: CITE.
52. BTS music genre: K-POP. Did anyone else listen to WWDTM recently when they asked actor Brian Tyree Henry about the Korean Pop group, BTS? BTH guessed well and won the quiz but it was apparent he does not do XWD puzzles. If he did, he would be familiar with BTS -- like we are. š
53. Days of knights: YORE. This was my favorite clue today.
54. Hazy memory: BLUR. Here's a song about hazy thoughts:
1. Flat floaters in a pool: RAFTS. 
6. "Fuhgeddaboudit!": NOPE. I hear this in TV shows about New Yorkers. It is a slur of "Forget about it" as in "Let go of that idea. It's not going to happen."
10. Small amounts of face cream: DABS.
14. Assign portions: ALLOT.
15. Visa competitor, informally: AMEX. credit card companies
16. Mallorca, por ejemplo: ISLA. The Spanish in the clue hints to a Spanish answer.
I recently finished listening to Coffee Break Spanish Season 4. It is comprised of 40 podcasts telling a story set on the island of Mallorca, Spain. Now I want to go there! Here is Episode 1
17. Savanna hunter known for its laugh: HYENA. Not to be confused with hunters from Savannah, GA:
18. Spinner on a roof: VANE.
 |
| Look at the direction letters. |
23. "How ya doin'?": S'UP. "What'S UP?" Both the clue and answer use non-standard English.
25. Prez after JFK: LBJ. Both the clue and answer use abbreviations.
26. Just that single time: ONCE.
32. Follow as a result: ENSUE.
33. Need to and from the dog park: LEASH. Dog owners need a LEASH to walk their dog to and from the dog park but the dog can be unLEASHed while in the dog park.
 |
| Meadow at her favorite Colorado dog park. |
34. Lightbulb unit: WATT. Watch this 2 min. video before you buy your next lightbulb.
35. Apple beverage: CIDER. Did you think this was a hard clue?
37. All excited: AGOG. I rarely go to Starbucks but I was there in January with a friend. I pulled out an old Starbucks card from my wallet to pay. Apparently the cards are now made from paper but mine was plastic and still had a few dollars on it. The barista was AGOG that I still had an unused plastic card. She advised me to hang on to it.
41. Copy using very thin paper: TRACE.
 |
| Teenager me used to do this a lot. |
43. Jumper cable connection: ANODE.
47. Mountaintop: PEAK. 16-A has me thinking about Mallorca.
 |
| Puig Major is the highest peak on the Spanish island of Majorca elev. 4,711 ft. / 1,436 m. There is a radar station at the top. |
48. BofA convenience: ATM. BofA = Bank of America
49. Explosive material: TNT.
Muddy Waters ~ I'm Ready ~ 1954
šµ I'm drinkin' TNT, I'm smokin' dynomite
I hope some screwball starts a fight šµ
55. Post-WWII transnational gp.: NATO.
56. Bygone Apple player: iPOD. I wish Apple still made these.
57. Wed in secret: ELOPE.
 |
| It's a melon-choly story. |
60. Beige kin: ECRU. Both are tan-ish colors.
61. Spelling of "BH90210": TORI. BH90210 refers to Beverly Hills, 90210, a teen drama series that ran from 1990 to 2000. The friends hung out at the 47-D Pit. Tori's father, Aaron Spelling was the producer. In XWD puzzles, I often mix up Tori Spelling with singer Tori Amos...and sometimes with 4-D.
62. Coffee shop freebie: SUGAR. Is the SUGAR free or are unsweetened beverages overpriced?
63. One of the five W's of journalism: WHAT.
65. Fantasy league deal: TRADE. Fantasy sport leagues allow participants to assemble imaginary teams composed of real players of a professional sport. These teams compete based on the statistical performance of those players in real games. Owners can make a deal to TRADE players.
Down:
1. "Go team!": RAH.
2. Gymnastics gold medalist Raisman: ALY. [b. May 24, 1994]
 |
| 2016 Summer Olympics |
3. Was over in no time: FLEW PAST.
 |
| Pongo says it's time for his walk. |
5. Comics legend who co-created Spider-Man and the X-Men: STAN LEE. [Stanley Martin Lieber 1922-2018] Like Issa Rae, we usually see either STAN or LEE so it was fun to get both of his names today.
6. Language of WWII code talkers: NAVAJO.
 |
| This was an excellent book. |
7. Persian Gulf sultanate: OMAN.
8. Hang in the balance: PEND. Think: "The matter was still PENDing when he left."
9. CFO or VP: EXEC. Chief Financial Officer / Vice President / Executive
10. Turn off, in a way: DISENCHANT. Def.: (verb) to free from illusion.
11. Characteristic: ASPECT.
12. Supremely unconcerned: BLASĆ.
13. "I think so too!": SAME.
21. Go out, as the tide: EBB.
22. Weeding tools: HOES.
23. Gush forth: SPEW. This interesting table organizes information on the world's geysers. It says that 51.9% are located in Yellowstone.
24. Funny bone neighbor: ULNA. This 1:27 min. video explains what happens when we hit our funny bones. 28. "Stop it!": CUT THAT OUT. Pro tip: Stop the tomfoolery when you hear your mom's feet coming down the hallway. Don't wait for her to enter the room.
29. Respected tribal member: ELDER.
30. Overdue fine, e.g.: FEE.
31. A long way away: FAR.
29. Respected tribal member: ELDER.
30. Overdue fine, e.g.: FEE.
31. A long way away: FAR.
35. Crow's cry: CAW.
36. Cooler cubes: ICE.
38. Exercise with barnyard animals: GOAT YOGA. Has anyone tried this? I have not.
40. Polite fellow: GENT.
42. Streaming option: ROKU. We had this one last week.
43. Spot frequently shared by flyers: ARM REST. "Shared" might be an exaggeration as in this 40 sec. comedic video:
44. Nissan sedan: SENTRA.
45. Golfer's helper: CADDIE. This 1:45 scene from the 1980 movie Caddyshack gives another meaning to the 1-A clue. Yes, it is beyond sophomoric but I love Bill Murray at the end.
46. Sport-__: off-road auto: UTE. utility
47. Bellini fruit: PEACH.
 |
| recipe |
50. Was in the loop: KNEW.
51. Quote from, as a legal case: CITE.
52. BTS music genre: K-POP. Did anyone else listen to WWDTM recently when they asked actor Brian Tyree Henry about the Korean Pop group, BTS? BTH guessed well and won the quiz but it was apparent he does not do XWD puzzles. If he did, he would be familiar with BTS -- like we are. š
53. Days of knights: YORE. This was my favorite clue today.
54. Hazy memory: BLUR. Here's a song about hazy thoughts:
Jimi Hendrix ~ Purple Haze ~ 1967
58. Word after mattress or mouse: PAD.
 |
| mattress PAD, mouse PAD, and helicopter landing PAD |
59. Before, to Byron: ERE. Good clue! Lord Byron [1788-1824] was an English poet and ERE is an old-fashioned, poetic word meaning before.
The grid: 
Time to collect your winnings. Have a good week everyone!
