Amanda is making her LA Times puzzle debut. She is from Los Angeles and started crosswords the same way as I did, with her mother. Here is a very nice interview With Amanda
Across:
1. Rhyming description of one who's very extra: DRAMA LLAMA.
11. Alternative bands?: AM/FM.
15. Tried: HAD A GO AT IT - I took three attempts at a unicycle and it did not work out!
16. Wedding dress option: SARI.
17. Weary response to a rant: ARE YOU DONE?
18. Not winning or losing: TIED and50. Nadal's nickname: RAFA - isTIED with Gilles in the match below
19. French military cap: KEPI.
20. Dispatch: SEND.
21. Oft-used tissue: SINEW - Here's a big one
22. Works in a museum: ART.
23. Egg layer: HEN - Here's a HEN with a lot of eggs
24. Catchy song: BOP.
26. Needle pt.: ESE. 😀 Compass needle, of course.
27. Took the reins: LED - but...
28. Muppet who had a cameo on "The West Wing": ELMO.
Allison Janney, ELMO, Stockard Channing
29. Sara's "And Just Like That ... " role: CHE - Some might remember Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy
30. D.C. figure: POL.
31. "We might want to hire a chef": I DON'T COOK. 😀
33. Leaves in tears?: WEEPING WILLOW. 😀 Chad and Jeremy's 60's version of a 1932 song
35. Indiana's conference: THE BIG TEN.
36. Quite a stretch: EON.
37. Olive __: OYL - Popeye joined this cast in 1929 as a minor player
38. Negatives: NOES.
39. Hrs. not observed by most of Arizona: DST.
40. Chemical ending: ENE - Since we already had ESE as a direction, this went as a suffix
41. "So frustrating!": GRR.
42. "__ Sure the Boy I Love": HE'S - We can't get enough 50's and 60's rock and roll! These are The Crystals and Phil Spector's "wall of sound".
43. "Captain Marvel" actor: LAW - He played a character called Yon-Rogg.
46. Connection points: NODES.
48. "The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On" poet Franny: CHOI.
51. Perched on: ATOP.
52. Sarcastic reply to a bogus offer: SEEMS LEGIT - Also "Yeah, right!"
54. Turn signal?: I'M UP 😀 My turn every Saturday.
55. "The underdog is rallying!": UPSET ALERT - NFL fans know Super Bowl III was a huge upset. The Jets were owned by 49. Oil tycoon who once owned the New York Jets: HESS. Leon HESS.
56. Court decisions: LETS. 😀
57. Creative outlets?: ETSY STORES.
Down:
1. Home of the Bengal Classical Music Festival: DHAKA
2. Pinker: RARER.
3. Crack: ADEPT - We have some crack solvers here that are very ADEPT
4. Brief petition: MAY I?
5. Back: AGO.
6. Messed (up): LOUSED.
7. Encumbered: LADEN.
8. Boatloads: A TON.
9. "My whole worldview just shifted": MIND BLOWN
10. Put away: ATE - Some people can really put away the groceries! They usually have 23. Seconds or thirds: HELPINGS.
11. City that a bubbly person might enjoy: ASTI - A city between Turin and Genoa that is famous for its sparkling wine
12. Breed of the Guinness World Records' longest cat: MAINE COON.
13. Charity concert, perhaps: FREE SHOW.
14. Hump day time: MIDWEEK - Geico has had some very clever commercials
21. Scoured: SPOTLESS.
25. W alternative: OMNI.
27. Singer with the children's album "Camp Lisa": LOEB.
28. Noses (out): EDGES.
30. Left a drag show?: PEELED OUT. 😀
31. Cut off: INTERCEPT - Do so at your own peril.
32. Solidify: CLOT.
33. Suggestion made with confidence: WHY NOT ME?
34. Grammy-winning album with the hit "Earfquake": IGOR - I can't post any part of this "song"
35. Surface for digital art: TOE NAIL 😀
39. Rational believers: DEISTS.
42. Like a hygge dwelling: HOMEY. Hygge- It derives from a sixteenth-century Norwegian term, hugga, meaning “to comfort” or “to console,” which is related to the English word “hug.”
43. Oktoberfest choice: LAGER.
44. Lit: AFIRE.
45. L.A.'s __ Towers: WATTS.
47. Actor Omar: EPPS - Hugh Laurie had some very non-pc exchanges with Omar EPPS on the show House
Good Morning, Cruceverbalists! Malodorous Manatee here with another Friday recap. Does anybody remember the stage show version of Peter Pan? For some reason, after sussing out today's theme, the "I Won't Grow Up" song from that show became an ear worm for me. "I Won't Glow Up" would be such an easy spoof.
I had never heard of GLOW UP before encountering it in today's puzzle. There seem to be some worthy concepts wrapped up in a GLOW UP:
In any event, our puzzle setter, Natasha Erickson, has, in this puzzle, riffed on the Glow Up "label". At four places (all Down clues/answers instead of the far more commonly seen Across) Natasha has employed a word that is roughly analogous to GLOW. The UP gimmick is that we have to spell out the word from the bottom up instead of from the top down. Quite disconcerting, at first. We sense pretty quickly that something fishy is going on but it takes a while to sort it out. The reveal helps but comes at what would likely have been one of the last places a solver would reach:
51 Down: Positive personal transformation, in slang, and what the answer to each starred clue literally has?: GLOW UP. A synonym for GLOW is to be placed in the squares from the bottom UP.
Here are the four themed clues/answers, all starred for our convenience (or, for at least one of us, annoyance):
5 Down: *Possible symptom before a bad headache: MIGRAINE ARUA. Read ARUA from the bottom up and we get MIGRAINE AURA.
10 Down: *Quick-to-wake sorts: THGIL SLEEPERS. Similarly, THGIL becomes LIGHT SLEEPERS, and so on.
18 Down: *Small sign that things will improve: REMMILG OF HOPE. GLIMMER OF HOPE
22 Down: *Morning exhortation: RISE AND ENIHS. RISE AND SHINE.
Here is how this all looks in the grid:
. . . and here is the rest of the story:
Across:
1. CIO partner: AFL. In 1955, the two unions merged.
4. Mosey: AMBLE.
9. Literary musketeer: ATHOS. The Three Musketeers were ATHOS, Porthos and D'artagnan
14. Natori Feathers undergarment: BRA. A learning moment. That's okay. We all enjoy learning.
Natori Feathers BRA
15. "Ta-da!": DID IT.
16. __ Island: RHODE. The State.
17. Life, for one: BOARD GAME. Lots of possible answers for the clue. E.G., prison term. We have seen the answer that was used several times previously.
19. Concur: AGREE.
20. Fashion magazine that's also a French pronoun: ELLE. A frequently-referenced mag on this blog.
21. Reuben bread: RYE. Just add corned beef, Swiss cheese, thousand island dressing and sauerkraut.
22. Softball stat: RBIS. Run Batted In S
23. Thailand, once: SIAM.
24. "Same here": AS AM I. Was it going to be SO DO I?
26. Toy company based in Billund, Denmark: LEGO. It was enough to know that LEGO is a Danish company.
29. Garlicky dish: SCAMPI.
31. Ocho menos seis: DOS. Today's Spanish cum math lesson.
32. Jazz style: SCAT. Often clued with a reference to Ella.
33. Solar wind particle: ION. The solar wind continuously flows outward from the sun and consists primarily of protons and electrons in a plasma state.
34. Christmas __: EVE.
35. Hideout: LAIR. How did the canine scientist get into her secret lair? Through the labra door.
36. Serranos, e.g.: CHILIES.
40. More than willing: EAGER TO.
42. __ Kong: HONG. Was it going to be KING?
43. Courses for coll. credit: APS. Advanced Placement courseS
45. Formerly, in bios: NEE. A mom takes her young son to the doctor one day. She tells the doctor that her child's knee hurts and the doctor refers her to a nephrologist becuase it 's a kid knee problem.
46. Petrol brand: ESSO. "Petrol" in lieu of "Gasoline" alerts us to think Canadian.
47. Issa of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse": RAE. Didn't John Lennon compose a song of roughly the same name?
48. Olympian's violation: DOPING.
The All Drug Olympics
52. Utah's Capitol __ National Park: REEF.
53. Water bill basis: USAGE. The California legislature is toying with mandating an income based system for utility bills. I am not sure how that will encourage conservation.
55. Sci. that studies biodiversity: ECOL. ECOLogy
56. __ egg: vegan baking ingredient: CHIA. I had never heard of a CHIA egg. CHIA Pet, yes. Another learning moment. Thanks, perps.
58. Radar __: GUN.
Radar O'Reilly Would Not Fit
59. Silver State city: RENO. There are lots of cities in Nevada. ELKO is another with four letters.
60. Blacksmith's wear: APRON.
62. Bit of Valentine's decor: CUPID'S BOW. Also the name of a certain part of one's lips and a form of lip enhancement surgery.
64. Snuck: CREPT. Two somewhat odd past tense words.
65. Whereas, briefly: ALTHO. "Briefly"hints that the word might be truncated.
66. Canberra sch.: ANU. It's mascot should be the EMU.
67. Place to have reservations: HOTEL. Cute. Not reservations as in doubts or second thoughts about something.
68. Camera option: FLASH. On / Off / Automatic
69. Rep. group: GOP. The moniker Grand Old Party for the Republican Party first appeared in print around 1884.
Down:
1. Convent leader: ABBESS.
2. Cavort: FROLIC.
3. Playmate of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, and Po: LAA LAA.
4. Verb on a dipstick: ADD. Is your car down a quart of oil. Perhaps you should check.
6. Annual milestones, briefly: B'DAYS. BirthDAYS
7. Tart citrus drink: LIMEADE. LEMONADE was too long.
8. Summer in Monaco: ETE. A French lesson often presented in crossword puzzles.
9. Many a Yemeni: ARAB.
11. Early rail transportation: HORSE CAR. I have watched thousands of TV westerns but cannot recall any references to this.
12. Amanda Gorman's "__ to Our Ocean": ODE. Didn't know the work but it's almost always ODE.
13. "Catch my drift?": SEE. See?
25. "Get out of the way!": MOVE.
27. Pace: GAIT.
28. Other, in Mazatlán: OTRO. What was that last letter going to be? An A or an O? What will constructors do if the Latinx concept catches on.
30. Taro dish: POI. I couple of years ago I went to Hawaii where I got really sick. Upon my return my boy asked me what had caused the illness. I replied, "POI, son."
36. "If I Could Turn Back Time" singer: CHER.
37. Spigot attachment: HOSE.
38. Away from prying eyes: IN SECRET.
39. Beauty spots?: SPAS.
41. Logical start?: GEO. ECO? NEO? THEO was too long.
44. Bird that cries "Mine! Mine! Mine!" in "Finding Nemo": SEAGULL.
49. Sprain treatment: ICE BAG.
50. "You're doing it all wrong!": NO NO NO. Anything said here would be redundant.
54. Sanjay of CNN: GUPTA.
57. Like some LAX flights: INTL. LAX is the code for Los Angeles INTernationaL Airport
60. German "Drat!": ACH.
61. Whiz: PRO. Coulda' been ACE.
62. Half-__: coffee spec: CAF.
63. [Head slap]: DOH.
Well, that will Sew Up things for today. Glad that you were able to Show Up. Have a great weekend, everyone. I hope that no one gets nauseous and feels like they have to . . . oh, never mind. Maybe you can stream this flick:
Constructor Tim D'Alfonso is back for his 4th appearance in the LA
Times, his first being about 2 years ago and like today's puzzle it was
just in time for Summer.
Like our frequent contributor from Norfolk, I don't think
speling is one of Tim's strong suits, as he leads off with 3 punny themers
with mismatched homophones for the IPA pronunciation of
raɪt
(the International Phonetic Alphabet that is, not the
ALE):
17A. Formal induction ceremony for a league of pickpockets?:
SWIPING RITE. As a leftie who can't tell my right from my left, I stay away from
social media because I never know who I might accidentally pick up.
27. Bicycles and aviation, notably?:
THE WRIGHT STUFF. The
Wright Brothers
were the first to fly a heavier than air craft on 12/17/1903 at Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina.
Historian
David McCullough
has pointed out that every time they flew they were risking their lives.
The Wrights had not only great courage, but the superb mental and physical characteristics that author Tom Wolfe termed
The Right Stuff (a pun on the Dayton brothers?) in his book about the
Mercury Seven Astronauts, later made into this film:
43A. Tax advice for slugger Aaron Judge?:
WRITE OFF THE BAT. The deduction for just one of his bats could probably put him in a
lower tax bracket.
58A. "That tracks," and an apt description of 17-, 27-, and 43-Across?:
SOUNDS RIGHT. Finally, Tim spelled it correctly! 😀
Here's the grid
...
... and here's the rest ...
Across:
1. "Maybe less": IF THAT.
7. "I could use a hand!": HELP. One of the hardest things to ask
for ...
14. Capital of Pakistan's Punjab province: LAHORE.
LAHORE
(/ləˈhɔːr/ lə-HOR; Punjabi: لہور [ˈlɔ̀ːɾə̆]; Urdu: لاہور [laːˈɦɔːɾ] (listen)) is
the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th largest in the world,
with a population of over 13 million. It is situated in the north-east of the
country with River Ravi flowing north-west of the city.
Royal Mosque Lahore, Pakistan
15. U.S. citizen: AMER.
16. Say no to: NIX.
17. [Theme clue]
19. Unreturned
serve: ACE.
20. Hathaway of "The Intern": ANNE.
ANNE Jacqueline Hathaway
(born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. Her accolades include an
Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a
Primetime Emmy Award. Her films have grossed over $6.8 billion worldwide, and
she appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2009. She was among the world's
highest-paid actresses in 2015. In this pic, Anne is NOT the
Intern ...
21. Forest female: DOE.
22. "Amsterdam" novelist Ian: MCEWAN.
Ian Russell McEwan, CBE, FRSA, FRSL (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter.
In 2008, The Times featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers
since 1945" and The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 in its list of the "100
most powerful people in British culture".
Here's his website.
Ian McEwan
24. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB.
Lisa LOEB
(/loʊb/; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author
and actress. She started her career with the number one hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film Reality Bites, the first number one single for an
artist without a recording contract. Here's her career starter (with
corrected lyrics) ...
26. Dos y dos y dos: SEIS. Today's Spanish lesson.
27.
[Theme clue]
33. Shot in the dark: GUESS.
34. Hardly well: RARE. As long as it doesn't MOO, it's okay with
me.
35. Compete (for): VIE.
36. MLB Triple Crown category: RBIS. Leading a league in
batting average, home runs, and runs battedin.
37. Hard to clean: GRIMY.
39. __ of thumb: RULE. In English, the phrase
RULE of thumb
refers to an approximate method for doing something, based on practical
experience rather than theory. This usage of the phrase can be traced back to
the 17th century and has been associated with various trades where quantities
were measured by comparison to the width or length of a thumb. See the
link for other, more controversial, etymologies.
40. British ref. work: OED. The
Oxford English Dictionary is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by
Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the
English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic
researchers, as well as describing usage in its many variations throughout the
world.
41. Soft French cheese: BRIE.
42. Boot bottoms: SOLES.
43. [Theme clue]
47. From Denver to Topeka: EAST.
48. Puerto __: RICO.
49. Houston WNBA team until 2008: COMETS.
The Houston COMETS
were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston.
Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the
first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two teams in
the WNBA that are undefeated in the WNBA Finals; the Seattle Storm are the
other. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and are tied with the
Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm for the most championships of any WNBA
franchise. The team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 during the
height of the
Great Recession
because new ownership could not be found.
52. iPhone platform: IOS.
53. Westminster spot for art lovers: TATE. The TATE has a
large collection of paintings and engravings by the poet
William Blake
(1757–1827). Here is a coloured print of Isaac Newton:
62. Cologne ingredient: MUSK. An
acquired odor
apparently.
63. Acid artist: ETCHER. Dutch Master
Rembrandt van Rijn, known simply as Rembrandt, was a master not only of painting and drawing,
but ETCHING as well. He was arguably
the greatest etcher to have ever lived, creating a body of work that spanned subjects and genres. Both successful and
prolific, his oeuvre boasts close to 300 authenticated prints:
Christ Seated Disputing with the Doctors 1654
64. Over the hill: OLD. I resemble that remark! 😉
65. Flight sked figs.: ETAS.
66. Kind of oil used in hummus: SESAME.
Down:
1. Woman who says "Play it, Sam" in "Casablanca": ILSA.
2. Babe in the woods?: FAWN. My all time favorite video, with
a soundtrack by Gioachino Rossini (uncredited) ...
3. Slender: THIN.
4. Sure to fail: HOPELESS.
5. D'backs, in box scores: ARI. The state of ARIzona not the
MSNBC broadcaster, another frequent visitor to the Corner.
6. Warmhearted: TENDER.
7. Fabled napper: HARE.
8. Former Abbey Road Studios owner: EMI. Where the eponymous
Beatles album
was recorded. Looks like we hit the jackpot! Here's the Medley from Side 2 (16:10 min:) ...
9. "Maybe I'll have better luck": LET ME TRY.
10. Exact: PRECISE.
11. Chew like a beaver: GNAW.
12. Flaky mineral: MICA. A
family of minerals
actually, the most common being
Muscovite. The first time I found a piece of this (circa age 11) it seemed so
exotic that it started my love affair with geology ...
Muscovite
13. Rice paddy plow team: OXEN.
18. Mongolian desert: GOBI. The setting for
Alexander Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia ...
23. Inexact fig.: EST.
25. Yelps of pain: OWS.
26. Fancy pillowcase: SHAM.
27. One floating down a river or speeding down a snowy slope:
TUBER.
28. Gardner of "Saturday Night Live": HEIDI.
HEIDI Lynn Gardner
(born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Gardner has
been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since
2017.
Heidi Gardner
29. Heartache: GRIEF.
30. Soft palate projection: UVULA. The UVULA, also known as the
palatine uvula, is a conic projection from the back edge of the middle of the
soft palate, composed of connective tissue containing a number of racemose
glands, and some muscular fibers. It also contains many serous glands, which
produce thin saliva. It is only found in human beings.
31. Boneless cut: FILET.
32. Charges: FEES.
33. Get taller: GROW.
37. Completely disgust: GROSS OUT. I hope that the pic above
of the UVULA didn't GROSS YOU OUT!
38. Divide: RIFT.
39. Branch of engineering whose name was coined by Asimov:
ROBOTICS. One of the earliest instances of
mechanical devices carrying out physical tasks dated to 3000 BC: Egyptian water clocks using human figurines to strike the hour
bells. These early "automata" as they were called even appeared in works
of art, e.g. the mechanical doll Olympia in the 1880 opera
The Tales of Hoffmann is so convincing that she even passes the
Turing Test
(at least to the besotted poet Hoffmann!). Here coloratura soprano
Kathleen Kim performs the (exceedingly difficult) aria
Les oiseaux dans la charmille
(translation):
The first use of the word ROBOT occurred in 1921 in another drama, this
one about mechanical men that are built to work on factory assembly lines
and that rebel against their human masters. These machines in
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal ROBOTS), written by Czech playwright Karl Capek, got their name from the Czech
word for slave. Isaac Asimov coined the term ROBOTICS in his
science fiction collection I, Robot to describe
Three Laws of Robotics
governing the behavior of robots toward humans. However it was not until 1957
that Joseph Engelberger and George Devol founded Unimation, the first
ROBOTICSengineering
company.
41. "No clue": BEATS ME.
42. Min. fraction: SEC.
44. Concert purchase: TEE.
45. Stepped: TROD.
46. Shows disapproval, in a way: HISSES. Could have been clued
"Partner to Boos".
49. Mexican resort, familiarly: CABO. DNK
CABO, thinking it was Mexican slang for "resort". CABO
San Lucas
is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the
Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Here's one of the most iconic sights
...
50. Milky birthstone: OPAL. AKA
White OPALS. Experts report that
Australian mines produce between 90% and 95% of the world's gem-quality
OPAL. Opal mining takes place all over Australia, with primary sites like Coober
Pedy and Lightning Ridge producing the majority. White OPAL is the astrological
gemstone for the Zodiac sign Libra. Until 1912, it also served as the official
birthstone for those born in October. It has long been associated with purity,
love, goodness, and nurturing.
White Opal
51. Stitch up: MEND. RAT ON was too long.
52. Color printer refills: INKS.
54. Turkish title of honor: AGHA.
55. The other side: THEM. The fact that we don't usually know
THEM very well can lead to a lot of misunderstanding.
56. French 101 verb: ETRE. TO BE. Today's French
lesson #2 (see 39D for lesson #1)
59. Olympics chant: USA.
60. Short way to go?: RTE.
Cheers, Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading, for
her constructive criticism.
Happy hump day folks. Today we have three words that are synonyms for "Oh, BALONEY" spread at both ends of each theme entry (in circles that were too lightly printed for me to notice).
Why is this nonsense, you ask? Well, 1) baloney is spelt wrong and 2) the bologna words are outside the bread! 😀
Let's first visit the gobbledygook:
17. Über-genius: ROCKET SCIENTIST. Not a brain surgeon nor a "rocket surgeon." A bunch of ROT.
33. National Historical Park in Boston that commemorates a 1775 battle: BUNKER HILL. "Don't fire until you see this whites of their eyes." Ah, BULL - that wasn't really said. //Note the bonus: There's a lot of BUNK in there.
40. Prominent feature of many a Jimi Hendrix song: GUITAR RIFF. A bunch of GUFF (not Jimi!).
Purple Haze
56. Classic grade-school lunch, and what's literally found in 17-, 33-, and 40-Across?: BALONEY SANDWICH. Classmates thought I was full of Bologna and my nickname was... well, you can put it together.
How I learned to spell BOLOGNA
Now, let's see what other hogwash we have today:
Across:
1. "Ray" Oscar winner Foxx: JAMIE. JAMIE played RAY Charles in the MOVIE (38a).
Ray Charles in a Different MOVIE
6. Beef or pork: MEAT.
10. Hon: BABE.
14. Sicily's country: ITALY. Also Bologna's county.
15. Make one's mark?: ETCH. Cute.
16. Skills barometer: EXAM.
17. [See: theme]
20. Pound pts.: OZS. 16 ounces are parts of a pound (which doesn't contain puppies).
21. __ Vegas Raiders: LAS. The Raiders (NFL team) left Oakland for Las Vegas 22 JAN 2020.
38. Mime played by Bill Irwin on "Elmo's World": MR NOODLE.
Elmo's World
40. Media giant that owns USA Today: GANNETT. I used to feel ashamed, sitting in my hotel room solving their doormat-DAILy crosswords, but Erik Agard has really up'd the game over there.
41. Ohio birthplace of LeBron James: AKRON. He got game.
LeBron James - 6' 9"
43. Apt rhyme for "sprain": PAIN. Cute.
46. Race car sound: VROOM. Zoom, zoom, zoom.
48. Muscat citizen: OMANI. Muscat is Oman's port capitol.
Shaq - 7'1" 325 pounds. //conversion to OZs is an exercise left to the reader.
57. Fenway team, briefly: SOX. The Bo[Red]-Sox. Not to be confused with the Chi[White]-Sox who play at Guaranteed Rate Field (nee: Comiskey Park).
58. Clever one: WIT. No one has accused me of that.
Theme was "rubbish" and the fill solid. Thanks Jared (and Patti's team).
The Grid
WOs: acid -> BASE, papers(oops) -> DAILIES, area -> ACRE
ESPs: JIRO (couldn't recall his name), MESSI, BETSY, PERE, EVAN, KYRA, ET SEQ Fav: HAUL was old-timey fun but TAXI made me think of one of the funniest sitcoms ever.
And, now, for Weird Al's
My Bologna
Cheers, -T
Coda: From what (little) research I did: Jared attended Tulane and has been constructing puzzles since then. He's currenly at St. Louis Aquarium entertaining. He also did a stint at the Magic House, St. Louis Children's Museum. His LinkedIn and a 2021 interview.
