After many years of enjoying crosswords and other word puzzles, Barb began constructing crossword puzzles in 2019. Her puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Universal, Los Angeles Times, Fireball, and Boswords Themeless League. Barb lives with her husband in their empty nest in suburban Philadelphia and works as an engineer.
I was able to waltz through Barbara's excellent puzzle in 25 minutes. I know many of you will notice and appreciate that used only five 3-letter words: EPA, FRI, KIA, OHM and RAD.
Across:
1. Subject of the Caldecott Honor book "The Right Word": ROGET - This took longer than it should have. I wonder if ROGET has a synonym for "Duh!"
6. Lines of praise: ODES.
10. "The __ Tour": record-setting 2023-24 concert series: ERAS - Daughter and two granddaughters attended this concert in this venue. Taylor returned here in October to watch her KC Chiefs' beau Travis Kelce play at Arrowhead.
14. Butterfly's stage: IMAGO - A familiar stage in crossword biology
15. Stroke of luck?: HOLE-IN-ONE - Yup, that's yours truly! A nice easy swing with a 9 Iron on a 115 yd hole.
17. City between Bismarck and Minneapolis on I-94: FARGO.
18. __ store: MOM AND POP - They are becoming extinct partly because of 30. Net income?: E-TAIL.
19. Swiss cheese?: FRANCS - Cheese is another euphemism for money
21. Camp site: MESS TENT - Can you find it?
22. Being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM - an artificial human being in Hebrew folklore endowed with life. Yeah, I knew that. 😙
24. Unleavened flatbread: ROTI.
25. Band whose work is featured in the musical "Head Over Heels": THE GO-GOS.
28. Go on and on: NATTER.
32. Cool kin: RAD.
33. Relish: SAVOR.
35. Cheek muscle, for short: GLUTE - 😀
36. Acrobat's company: ADOBE.
38. AQI monitor: EPA.
39. Played again: RERAN.
40. Brown ermine: STOAT.
41. "__ Baby": 2020 film set during a Jewish ritual: SHIVA - Rotten Tomatoes
43. Soul provider: KIA - Names for car models are common on the cwd lot
44. Shirley Jackson's genre: HORROR - I read The Haunting Of Hill House as a teenager in one of mom's condensed collection
46. Biological building block: STEM CELL.
48. Emotional wound: SCAR
50. Assortment: ARRAY.
51. Threat to some colonists: ANTEATER 😀
55. Seuss reptile: YERTLE - Was I the only one who first put turtle?
58. Barrier visited by tourists: CORAL REEF - My first thought was the Berlin Wall
The Great Barrier Reef
60. Hawkeye missile: ARROW 😀
61. One who doesn't like to just veg?: MEAT LOVER - MEAT EATER? Not so much.
62. Two-terminal device: DIODE.
63. Trees with oval leaves: ELMS.
64. Sub contractor?: DELI 😀
65. Elusive Himalayans: YETIS.
Down:
1. Jazz motif: RIFF - Some RIFFS are improvised.
2. Ilhan who was the first person to wear a hijab on the House floor: OMAR.
3. Remote target: GARAGE DOOR 😀
4. Holiday concoction: EGGNOG.
5. Extremely tight: TOO CLOSE TO CALL.
6. Omega, in physics: OHM
7. Bad lot: DOOM - Not my lot in life
8. Bull in a product name: ELMER - It held the table I made in 9th grade shop together over 60 years ago.
9. Salt, say: SEASON 😀
10. Theme that plays over the closing credits: END TITLE - Final scene of Breakfast Club, END TITLE and credits. Bonus: What 1968 film used Strauss' Blue Danube for the END TITLE? (*answer at bottom)
11. Hitchcock's first film in color: ROPE.
12. Soon, long ago: ANON 😀
13. Third-qtr. month: SEPT.
16. Photogenic: INSTAGRAM READY - Whether the subject is ready or not
Hi all and Happy Friday! Today I get to blog another Peterson Puzzle. Doug offers us an "add a sound" gimmick for fun, whimsy, and profit! Let's dig in...
20. Phrase on a card in Desert Monopoly?: DO NOT PASS GOBI. DO NOT PASS GO is both a Community Chest and a Chance card.
33. Doll with many advanced degrees?: GENIUS BARBIE. GENIUS BAR is Apple Stores' counters.
41. Part of the year that's filled with possibility?: MONTH OF MAYBE. MONTH OF MAY.
25. "The Red Tent" novelist Diamant: ANITA. Anita is known for her bestselling novels including "The Red Tent", "The Boston Girl" and "Period. End of Sentence."
Anita Diamant
27. Sanaa citizen: YEMENI.
29. Stable environment?: BARN.
31. Clearasil shelfmate: OXY.
33. [See: Theme]
36. Nevada city on I-80: ELKO. And 69a - Nevada city on I-80: RENO.
39. Calendar col.: FRIday.
40. Hinged fastener: HASP.
41. [See: Theme]
46. Pirouette point: TOE.
47. Actress Taylor-Joy: ANYA. The Queen's Gambit is the only movie I know her from.
Anya Taylor-Joy
48. Dismays: ALARMS.
52. Bamboo fencing?: KENDO. Cute - fencing: like with an epee but with bamboo.
54. Capote nickname: TRU.
55. Time capsule time: ERA.
56. [See: Theme]
60. Bundle of wheat: SHEAF.
Sheaf of wheat
62. Apple variety: GALA.
Gala is an apple cultivar with a sweet, mild flavor, a crisp but not hard texture, and a striped or mottled orange or reddish appearance.
63. Sweeties: BAES.
64. Soeur de la mère: TANTE. Nique! :-) French? Google Translate: Mother's Sister: Aunt. Oui.
65. "No time to wade through this" initialism: TL;DR. Have we all learned this by now? Too Long; Didn't Read. Basically and executive summary of blather before / to follow.
66. Sparkle: ELAN.
67. Provide backing for: ENDOW.
68. Word with box or car: SEAT.
69. [See 36a]
Down:
1. Haughty: LORDLY.
2. Having a melody: ARIOSE. In classical music, arioso is a category of solo vocal piece, usually occurring in an opera or oratorio, falling somewhere between recitative and aria in style. Literally, arioso means airy. [WikiP]
3. With 7-Down, masterpiece: MAGNUM. 7d - See 3-Down: OPUS.
4. "And don't forget ... ": ALSO.
5. Star of the 1925 film "The Gold Rush": CHAPLIN. Charlie. His exile was the topic of Tuesday's Fresh Air [NPR]
6. "That's on me": MY BAD. Me messed up.
7. [See: 3d]
8. Team that shares an arena with the Liberty: NETS. New York Liberty is a WNBA team that shares Barclays Center with the NBA's Brooklyn NETS.
9. Pietà figure: MADONNA. Not the singer.
10. Defense mechanism?: ALIBI. Cute.
11. Nunavut neighbor: MANITOBA.
Canada, Eh?
12. Chilean's "I love": AMO. Spanish.
13. Brillo alternative: S.O.S.
I bet you thought I was going with The Police* [5:03] again ;-)
21. Mood: TONE.
22. Threads: GARB.
26. x or y, on graphs: AXIS.
28. John Legend accomplishment, briefly: EGOT. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony.
29. Myanmar, once: BURMA.
30. Java setting: ASIA. Not a coffee house.
32. "No prob": YEP.
34. Highly questionable: IFFY.
35. Seehorn of "Better Call Saul": RHEA.
Rhea Seehorn
36. Life-saving pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.
The TL;DR:
WOs: ALIas-> ALIBI, RENO->ELKO
ESPs: ARIOSE, ANITA, ANYA, TILDA, TANTE Fav: Mr. Bean
Cheers, -T
*DW & I saw Sting two Sundays ago. Message in a Bottle was in the set-list and it rocked The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Also, DW was enamored with Sting's physique (arms!) - I need to work out if I'm going to look that good at 72yrs!
///or MAYBE just play bass? :-)
In what are obviously dark times, our constructors Emily Biegas and
Sala Wanetick and our editor Patti Varol offer us some rays of
hope in the form of a puzzle theme about the hope of youth and
love. It is fitting that both Emily and Sala are making their first
appearance in the LA Times. Here are
both of their bios
(along with some bonus puzzles), and here are the theme clues ...
17. *Posh quintet?: SPICE GIRLS. Here's their 2 Become 1
from their debut album Spice ...
29. *"Robbers & Cowards" indie rock band: COLD WAR KIDS.
COLD WAR KIDS 2006 album Robbers & Cowards was their debut
album. Here's their Love is Mystical from their 2017 album
L.A. Divine ...
48. *Musical duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe: PET SHOP BOYS.
Here's their Love Comes Quickly from their debut album
Please ...
And here's the reveal ...
63. Ministry community for religious
teens, and what the answer to each starred clue can be called:
YOUTH GROUP. All of the theme clues end in a collective noun for a
YOUTHGROUP ...
SPICE GIRLS COLD WAR KIDS PET SHOP BOYS
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Danish shoe brand: ECCO. If you're into hiking, a pair of
these can be yours for only $300.00 (plus tax) ...
ECCO BIOM C-TRAIL ANKLE BOOT for Women
5. __ Sketch: ETCHA. Probably not a good
artistic medium if you live in an area with lots of seismic activity ...
Etcha Sketch
10. Study desperately: CRAM. Cramming CALMLY would
probably be more effective.
14. Contented sighs: AAHS. Is it 2 A's or 2 H's? Wait for
perps.
15. Croc kin: GATOR. CAYMAN wouldn't fit.
16. Subway fare?: HERO. Looks like a yummy pun ...
All American Club
17. [Theme clue]
19. Grub: EATS.
20. Wriggle out of: ESCAPE.
21. Paper handout: LEAFLET.
23. Eliminates: RIDS.
25. "Our treat!": ON US. But if you don't parse it right it could
be a burden.
26. Cutting tool: SAW. AXE fit but didn't perp.
29.
[Theme clue]
34. Other, in Spanish: OTRO. Today's Spanish lesson.
36. "Stat!": NOW.
37. On bed rest, say: LAID UP.
38. "__ Break": Kathryn Bigelow surfing film: POINT.
Point Break
is a 1991 American crime action film directed by
Kathryn Bigelow. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves,
Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing
term "point break", where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out
from the coastline. From what I can tell from this trailer it has a lot of
beautiful cinematography. The movie (not the trailer) is
Rated R ...
40. Verve: PEP.
42. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.
43. Remove from office: UNSEAT. Lately some of those SEATS have been musical chairs.
45. Before, in poetry: ERE.
47. Fill up: SATE.
48. [Theme clue]
51. Ra or Odin: GOD. Odin seems to get all the press, so today will be the Egyptian god Ra day. Without him we wouldn't even have day.
Ra god of the Sun
52. Business casual top: POLO.
53. Moist: DEWY.
55. Consonant sound common in Spanish: ROLLED R. More Spanish, and
Italian.
58. Spa rooms with heated stones: SAUNAS.
62. Et __: and others: ALIA. Today's Latin lesson.
63.
[Theme reveal]
66. Avocado app: GUAC. Not a recipe finder for Guacamole dishes,
but shorthand for appetizers that use avocados.
2. Means of emphasis: CAPS. It's how you tell the "clues:" from the FILL around here.
3. Stylish: CHIC.
4. Muppet who sings "I Love Trash": OSCAR. Chacun à son goût!
...
5. Stirred up: EGGED ON.
6. Mai __: TAI.
7. NFL snapper: CTR. The man in the middle.
8. Lacking substance: HOLLOW.
9. Premier League powerhouse: ARSENAL.
Arsenal Football Club
is an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London.
Arsenal compete in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The
club has won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA
Cups, two League Cups, 17 FA Community Shields, the Football League Centenary
Trophy, one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
10. Gesture of approval: CHEFS KISS.
11. True-to-life: REAL.
12. Museu Picasso pieces: ARTE. The
Museu Picasso
is an art museum in Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It houses an
extensive collection of artworks by the twentieth-century Spanish artist
Pablo Picasso, with a total of 4251 of his works (Pablo worked hard). Not all of his
works were abstract cubism, probably his most recognizable style. Here's one of my favorite Picasso's, at the
National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The Lovers
13. The better part: MOST.
18. Monumental: EPIC. One of my favorite EPICS is Richard Wagner's 4
opera cycleThe Ring of the Niebelungs, about the swashbuckling hero
Siegfried. Here he rests briefly from his labors to contemplate the
wonders of nature in the beautiful interlude known as "Forest Murmurs" ...
22. Mystical halos: AURAE. AURAE are often used to identify the saints in images. Here's a saint much loved by the animals ...
St. Francis of Assisi
24. Unappetizing fare: SLOP.
26. Absorb, as a spill: SOP UP.
27. Do penance (for): ATONE. Atonement is a 2007 movie about a wrong that is never really ATONED for, something that the perpetrator must take to her grave. A powerful and beautiful film ... 28. Apple Watch spot: WRIST.
30. Dorky sort: DWEEB.
31. Heart on a dog collar, perhaps: ID TAG. E.g. "I Love Pat!" or your dog's name here ...
32. Caused by: DUE TO. As opposed to "Not caused by", the fallacious POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC. Today's Logic lesson.
33. Word with dating or skating: SPEED. The former is a good way to meet a large number of potential long-term dates in a short period of time. BTW SpeedDating, is a single word and is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah, who began hosting such events in 1998
35. Column to the left of a decimal: ONES PLACE. It's theone thing that all numbering systems have in common. But what's to the left of the ONES PLACE depends on the numbering system being used. In the decimal system that's called the TENS PLACE, but in another widely used systemit is called the TWO's
place. Like the saying goes, "There are 10 kinds of people
in the world -- those who understand binary and those who don't". For
those who don't, this might help ...
49. Allowing for osmosis: POROUS. AKA "selectively-permeable". Osmosis
is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules
through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water
potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of low
water potential (region of higher solute concentration), in the
direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two
sides.
50. Party favors: SWAG. Also a Silly Wild A** Guess. Something we do a lot of around here!
54. Glamping options: YURTS. Glamping is a portmanteau of "Glamorous" and "Camping". You can glamp in style with this traditional Mongolian YURT for only $14,800.00 ...
56. "So You Want To Talk About Race" writer Ijeoma: OLUO. So You Want to Talk About Race is a 2018 non-fiction book by Ijeoma OLUO.
Each chapter title is a question about race in contemporary America.
Oluo outlines her opinions on the topics as well as advice about how to
talk about the issues. The book received positive critical reception,
with renewed interest following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, after which the book re-entered The New York Times Best Seller list.
57. Actor Neeson: LIAM. William John Neeson OBE
(born 7 June 1952) is a Northern Irish actor. He has received several
accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award,
three Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed
seventh on The Irish Times list of Ireland's 50 Greatest Film Actors.
Neeson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.
65. Swim-bike-run race, for short: TRI. Triathlon. A CSO to
sumdaze.
This review is offered in memory of
Elizabeth Jane Schmedes (May 16th, 1941 - March 29th, 2023), a much loved
youth minister at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Pikesville, MD.
Betty often told her students that "the word B.I.B.L.E. stood for
Basic Information Before Leaving
Earth".
Betty and her late husband Eddy
Thank you Betty for all that you did for the young people of St. Charles,
Bill
and Teri
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for
her constructive criticism.
Theme: Saving Face. Some ideas about the FACE are preserved in this puzzle. Let's see how it works.
18 A. *"Attractive!": EYECATCHING. Immediately appealing or noticeable; striking.
24 A. *"Noisy!": EARPIERCING. A sound that is high pitched, annoyingly loud and unpleasant.
49 A. *"Amazing!": JAWDROPPING. Causing great surprise or astonishment.
64. *"Delicious!": LIPSMACKING. Highly pleasing or appealing to the sense of taste or smell
And the unifier -- 40 A. Many an emoji, and a feature of the starred clues and their answers?: FACIALEXPRESSION. A motions or position of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication.
So, what's going on here? The theme fill don't really describe facial expressions - at least not in any consistent way. So we must dig a layer deeper. A verbal expression is the act of making your thoughts, feelings, etc., known by speech or writing. Here we have idiomatic expressions that relate to parts of the face, hence FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. Well done Jill Singer!
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here, with eyes wide open. Let's nose our way into the puzzle, lick our lips, and see what we can sink our teeth into.
Across:
1. Whomp, quaintly: SMITE. Strike with a firm blow. The past tense is smote.
6. Religious subdivisions: SECTS. Group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs from those of a larger group to which they belong. World wide, there are about 40,000 Christian denominations. Do they qualify?
11. Injury reminder: SCAR. A mark left on the skin or within body tissue where a wound, burn, or sore has not healed completely and fibrous connective tissue has developed.
15. Hoosier hoopster: PACER. The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.
16. Sunlit courtyards: ATRIA. An ATRIUM is a central hall or court in a modern building, with rooms or galleries opening off it, often glass-covered.
17. Large volume: TOME. The dormant scientist in me wanted this to be the amount of space inside a geometric figure. But, alas, it is a large, weighty, often scholarly book.
20. Othello's false friend: IAGO. Iago is the main antagonist in Shakespeare's play OTHELLO, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona.
21. Marketplaces on smartphones: APP STORES. In the singular, a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context.
22. Urchin-eating mammal: OTTER. Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among other animals. Sea urchins are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin are distributed on the seabeds of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to 5,000 meters. The spherical, hard shells of sea urchins are round and covered in spines. Yum!
23. Place to stop on an RV trip: KOA. KOA (short for Kampgrounds [sic] of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded in 1962 and is based in Billings, Montana, United States.
27. Replayed tennis serve: LET. A serve is called a LET when the ball hits the net cord but still lands in the service court. Such a serve is not considered a fault and the server may repeat the service attempt.
30. Not particularly inspiring: BLAH. Used to refer to something which is boring or without meaningful content. Something to which you might say, "Meh!"
31. Thin nails: BRADS. Small wire nails with small, often asymmetrical heads. The depressions caused by driving them are brad pits.
33. Fundamental: BASAL. Of or relating to the foundation, base, or essence of a thing.
36. Pulitzer winner Ferber: EDNA. Edna Ferber [1885 - 1968] was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big, Show Boat, Cimarron, Giant and Ice Palace, which also received a film adaptation in 1960.
43. Pedal pushers: FEET. Pedal pushers are calf-length trousers that were popular during the 1950s and the early 1960s. Often cuffed and worn tight to the skin. But that's not we are talking about. We are talking about the lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, used to push the pedals of, frex, a bicycle.
44. Heeds: OBEYS. Complies with the command, direction, or request of a person or a law.
45. Expert in Islamic law: MUFTI. An Islamic scholar who is legally able to rule on various religious and personal matters. In some places, people going through a divorce might need the help of a mufti. In Islamic countries, muftis are officials who are authorized to make legal decisions or help judges in deciding cases.
46. Breakfast brand: EGGO. Eggo is a brand of frozen waffles owned by the Kellogg Company, and sold in North America. Several varieties are available, including homestyle, miniature, cherry, blueberry, strawberry, vanilla bliss, brown sugar cinnamon, apple cinnamon, buttermilk, chocolate chip, and Thick & Fluffy. Wikipedia
48. Sunscreen letters: SPF. Sun Protection Factor, a measure of how much solar energy (UV radiation) is required to produce sunburn on protected skin
56. Function: USE. An activity or purpose natural to or intended for a person or thing.
59. Say "y'all," say: ELIDE. Omit a sound or syllable when speaking.
60. Without a rival: UNOPPOSED. Unchallenged.
63. Big fuss: TODO. A commotion or fuss.
66. Site with tutorials: EHOW. eHow is an online how-to guide with many articles and 170,000 videos offering step-by-step instructions. eHow articles and videos are created by freelancers and cover a wide variety of topics organized into a hierarchy of categories.
67. Water filter brand: BRITA. Brita GmbH is a German manufacturer of water filters headquartered in Taunusstein near Wiesbaden, Hesse. The company's manufacturing facilities are located in China, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Brita products are distributed in 69 countries
68. Plain text: PROSE. Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.
69. Cut, as a log: SAWN. Here, "cut" is functioning as a verbal adjective rather than a verb, describing the condition of a log.
70. Meal that gets tossed: SALAD. Garden salads use a base of leafy greens such as lettuce, arugula or rocket, kale or spinach; they are common enough that the word salad alone often refers specifically to garden salads. A tossed salad is one mixed with an oil dressing.
71. More rational: SANER. The comparative form of sane, thus, more sane.
Down:
1. Bark elicitor: SPEAK. Command to a canine.
2. Breakfast brand: MAYPO.
3. Winter carnival structure: ICE PALACE. A castle-like structure made of ice.
Or this
4. Gumshoes: TECS. Slang words for detective.
5. Latin 101 verb: ERAT. Meaning “he/she/it was.”
6. Pelvic bones: SACRA. The sacrum is a triangular bone in the lower back formed from fused vertebrae and situated between the two hipbones of the pelvis.
7. Old anesthetic: ETHER. A pleasant-smelling colorless volatile liquid that is highly flammable. It is used as an anesthetic and as a solvent or intermediate in industrial processes.
8. Like potato chips but not mashed potatoes: CRISP. Firm, dry, and brittle, especially in a way considered pleasing or attractive: "crisp bacon."
9. Metal derived from cassiterite: TIN. Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. A silvery-coloured metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort.
10. Droop: SAG. Bend or hang downward limply.
11. Sutures: STITCHES UP. Closes a wound by sewing it shut. An oddity of the English languages that the word up is superfluous in this construction.
12. South American mammal related to the raccoon: COATI. Coatis, also known as coatimundis, are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera Nasua and Nasuella. They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The name "coatimundi" comes from the Tupian languages of Brazil, where it means "lone coati".
13. Pharmaceutical giant: AMGEN. Amgen Inc. is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.
14. Corp. makeover: REORG. A reorganization is a significant and disruptive overhaul of a troubled business intended to restore it to profitability. It may include shutting down or selling divisions, replacing management, cutting budgets, and laying off workers.
19. Small digit?: TOE. Any of the five digits at the end of the human foot. Alternatively, could be the numbers one or two. Any of these cold also be call a low digit.
22. "You for Me" singer Rita: ORA.
25. Letter-shaped girders: I-BARS. An iron or steel beam that is I-shaped in cross section.
26. International fashion magazine: ELLE. A worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. Published by the Paris-based Lagardère Group, Elle is considered one of the world's leading women magazine, with 45 editions around the world and 46 local websites.
28. Made shorter, in a way: EDITED DOWN. To edit down is to make changes to a text or movie, deciding what will be removed and what will be kept in, in order to prepare it for being printed or shown:
29. Gp. known for travelers' checks: TSA. The Transportation Security Administration: the US government organization that checks that the activities of companies transporting people or goods are safe, legal, etc. Another cleverly misdirecting clue.
31. Buddy letters: BFF. Best Friend Forever.
32. Issa of "The Photograph": RAE.
33. Free jazz kin: BEBOP. BEBOP is a type of jazz originating in the 1940s and characterized by complex harmony and rhythms. On the other hand, free jazz is an improvised style of jazz characterized by the absence of set chord patterns or time patterns. If they are kin, it is of a very distant variety.
34. Firetruck tool: AXE. A tool typically used for chopping wood, usually a steel blade attached at a right angle to a wooden handle.
35. Intel collector: SPY. A person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy or competitor.
37. Spread of cultural ideas, e.g.: DIFFUSION. The spreading or merging of different cultural ideas. It occurs directly, indirectly, or through force and appears in various forms, including: Relocation diffusion: When people migrate to new places and influence or become influenced by the existing cultures.
38. "__ a chance!": NOT. Ain't happenin'.
39. Singer-songwriter DiFranco: ANI. Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco [b. 1070] is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz
41. Amazon's arrow smile, e.g.: LOGO. A logo is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or to include the text of the name that it represents as in a wordmark.
42. Texting tech: SMS. Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text messages.
47. Hurdle for Ph.D. hopefuls: GRE. The Graduate Record Examination is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the United States and Canada and a few other countries. The GRE is owned and administered by Educational Testing Service.
49. Ballet leaps: JETES. Jumps in which a dancer springs from one foot to land on the other with one leg extended outward from the body while in the air.
50. Hilo hello: ALOHA. Hawaiian greeting.
51. Inelegant bit of typesetting: WIDOW. A widow occurs when the last line of a paragraph is not able to fit at the bottom of a page or column. Instead, it sits at the top of the next page, looking out of place.
52. Dilation target: PUPIL. The opening at the center of the iris through which light passes. The iris adjusts the size of the pupil to control the amount of light that enters the eye. It is dilated [opened wider] for certain medical examinations of the eye.
53. Place to share pics: INSTA. Short for Instagram - a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters, be organized by hashtags, and be associated with a location — via geographical tagging.
54. Wanderer: NOMAD. A member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock.
55. Dean's list no.: GPA. Grade Point Average.
57. Gut feeling: SENSE. A feeling or reaction based on an instinctive emotional response rather than considered thought.
58. Tool for making neat beds: EDGER. This ambiguous clue refers to garden beds, not pieces of furniture designed for sleeping.
61. Patients' main MDs: PCPS. Primary Care Physicians.
62. Pod in Cajun cuisine: OKRA. Abelmoschus esculentus, known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods used in the cuisine of many countries..
64. Lots of ozs.: LBS. Sixteen ounces make a pound.
65. George Gershwin's songwriting brother: IRA. Ira Gershwin [1896 - 1983] was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 20th century.
Here we are at the end of another Wednesday. Did you save face? Win by a nose? See you next time. I'll keep an eye out for you.
