Get Down! The circles are all in theDownposition and spell out a type of common type of aSystem.
4-Down. Unauthorized rock recordings: BOOTLEG ALBUMS. LegalSystem. ALegal Systemis the framework of rules, procedures, and institutions that a community uses to interpret and enforce their laws.
8-Down. "SNL" sketch featuring Christopher Walken and a percussion instrument: MORE COWBELL. Ecosystem. An Ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment.
25-Down. Retail rep's quota: SALES TARGET. Star System. A Star system is a group of planets, meteors, or other objects that orbit a large star.
And the unifier:
19-Down. Grammy-winning metal band, or what can be found three times in this puzzle?: SYSTEM OF A DOWN. Hand up if you knew of this Armenian-American band. Apparently it has been active since the mid-1990s. It was unknown to me and if it wasn't for the circles, I would have had trouble with today's theme.
Here's the Grid:
Across:
1. Wound cover: SCAB.
5. Fox or ox: ANIMAL.
11. Tub: VAT.
14. Christmas pageant headwear: HALO.
15. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" star Lombard: CAROLE. Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a 1941 film. Tragically, the following year Carole Lombard (née Jane Alice Peters; Oct. 6, 1908 ~ Jan. 16, 1942) was killed in a plane crash.
16. Australian bird: EMU.
17. Silicon Valley city Palo __: ALTO.
18. 1920s dance craze that originated in South Carolina: CHARLESTON.
20. Oregon Trail river: PLATTE. The Platte River originates in the Rocky Mountains as two main tributaries, the North Platte and the South Platte, in Colorado and Wyoming. It flows through Nebraska and eventually empties into the Missouri River near Plattsmouth, Nebraska
22. Letters that end a proof: QED. Today's Latin lesson. QED is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase Quod Erat Demonstrandum, which roughly translates to that which was to be proved.
23. Oxen harness: YOKE.
24. Aviator hat features: EARLAPS.
26. T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical __": CATS.
28. "At Last" singer James: ETTA. Our old friend Etta James (née Jamesettta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) is back to grace us with song.
29. Raw bar mollusks: OYSTERS. For a fascinating look into the history of oysters, I recommend The Big Oyster, by Mark Kurlansky.
33. Male deer: STAG. I tried Buck first, but the perps objected.
36. Reuben sammie side: SLAW.
38. Orange __ tea: PEKOE. Everything you didn't know you needed to know about Orange Pekoe Tea.
39. Like ice caps: POLAR.
41. Wane: EBB.
42. Troutlike fish in the Great Lakes: SMELT. Yummers!
43. Use TurboTax, say: E-FILE.
44. Oracle: SEER.
46. Poems of praise: ODES.
47. Give up, informally: CUT BAIT.
49. Laze: LOAF.
51. Arm bone: ULNA.
52. Celebrity chef Emeril: LAGASSE. Although Emeril Lagasse (né Emeril John Lagassé, III; b. Oct. 15, 1959) is known for Creole and Cajun cuisine, he was actually born in Fall River, Massachusetts and is of French and Portuguese descent.
56. Like some margins of victory: SLIM.
59. Globe: ORB.
61. Mellow: SEDATE.
62. The "MO" of FOMO: MISSING OUT. Fear Of Missing Out.
65. Foreboding sign: OMEN.
66. MLB official: UMP.
67. South Dakota's capital: PIERRE. Unless you are from South Dakota, this is probably more than you ever though you would know about Pierre.
68. Troubles: WOES.
69. Identity celebrated during Pride Month: GAY. June is Gay Pride Month.
70. Show up for: ATTEND.
71. __ a soul: NARY.
Down:
1. Circle or triangle: SHAPE.
2. __ lily: trumpet-shaped flower: CALLA. They are beautiful flowers.
3. Religious platform: ALTAR.
5. Says yes to: ACCEPTS.
6. "Nope": NAH.
7. Country where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet: IRAQ.
9. From sunrise to sunset: ALL DAY.
10. Olympic gymnast Suni: LEE. Her given name is Sunisa Phabsomphou Lee (b. Mar. 9, 2003). She participated in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
11. Presidential power: VETO.
12. Out of control: AMOK.
13. Melody: TUNE.
21. Tit for __: TAT.
27. Recipe amts.: TSPS. As in Teaspoons.
30. Just managed, with "out": EKED.
31. Actor's part: ROLE.
32. Production designer's creations: SETS.
33. Job detail, for short: SPEC. This is becoming a crossword staple.
34. Pad thai protein option: TOFU. Yummers! I love pad thai.
35. Landed: ALIT.
37. "The Godfather" actor Vigoda: ABE. Abraham Vigoda (Feb. 24, 1921 ~ Jan. 26, 2016) portrayed Salvadore Tessio in The Godfather and Phil Fish in the sitcom Barney Miller.
40. Not imagined: REAL.
45. Like some nuts: ROASTED.
48. Complicit: IN ON IT.
50. Life time: AGE.
53. South Pacific island group: SAMOA.
54. Take the wheel: STEER.
55. Itty-bitty: EENSY.
56. Self-satisfied: SMUG.
57. Peru's capital: LIMA.
58. Classic road trip game: I SPY. I Spy with my Little Eye ...
60. Tire through tedium: BORE.
63. Hoppy brew letters: IPA. As in India Pale Ale. Everything you ever wanted to know about IPA.
Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with a fun, mid-summer puzzle.
Theme:Pool Your Resources
Let's dive right in with the reveal:
64 Across. Summertime backyard bash, and a hint to the ends of 17-, 25-, 40-, and 50-Across: POOL PARTY.
Late July is definitely the season for a swimming POOL PARTY here in the Northern Hemisphere; however, constructor Doug Peterson was thinking about a different type of POOL. He gave us these four themed answers with a billiards item at the end of each.
17 Across. Nonverbal signal during a conversation: SOCIAL CUE.
25 Across. Falafel cart breads: PITA POCKETS.
These are stuffed with falafel (deep-fried balls filled with chickpeas and/or fava beans) and other healthy veggies.
40 Across. Whoppers, e.g.: MALTED MILK BALLS. The simplicity of this clue can take a solver down a few roads: fish, lies, Burger King hamburgers, etc.
Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard is followed by his team car during this year's Tour de France during the individual time trials. That BICYCLE RACK holds a lot of spare bikes for one rider! As of this writing, Jonas is expected to finish this year's Tour in 2nd place.
Putting it all together, we have what we need for a POOL table PARTY:
CUE, POCKETS, BALLS, RACK I like how Doug found alternate meanings for each of these. Nice shot, Doug!
15. Scottish water: LOCH. Scotland has over 30,000 fresh-water LOCHs.
16. Suspect's story: ALIBI. awesome alliteration
19. Fan mags: ZINES. magaZINES
20. Steve Harvey, for one: TV HOST. Harvey was born on January 17, 1957 in Welch, West Virginia. He has been active in the entertainment industry since 1985. His IMDb page lists his various hosting gigs.
21. Tease playfully: RAZZ. We had a fun little Z knot here.
23. Test taken by some college srs.: GRE. Some college seniors take the Graduate Records Examinations when applying to grad school.
24. "Correct": YES.
28. "A Series of Unfortunate Events" villain __ Squalor: ESME. ESP for me.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. I like the surname "Squalor" for a children's book. It definitely gives off 'bad guy' vibes. This clue made me think of aptronyms then that made me think of my favorite cycling commentator, Bob Roll. "Roll" is a good last name for a former cyclist, don't you agree?
Phil Liggett and Bob Roll are the main NBC commentators for the Tour de France. Phil is from the UK and Bob was born in Oakland, CA. (Bob often stands with his left arm akimbo when holding a microphone.)
29. Commercial suffix with Cray or Motor: -OLA.
30. Opera solo: ARIA.
33. British noble: EARL.
36. Pressed (on): URGED.
43. Hatchling sound: CHEEP. Last week we had hens clucking so this week I thought I would look for a sound bite of chicks CHEEPing. In doing so I learned something really cool. It turns out you can hear chicks CHEEPing inside the eggs before they hatch! Stay tuned to when he turns off the background fan noise. 44. Stretch across: SPAN.
58. Lille chum: AMI. I like how the clue writer played with lil', a shortened form of little to possibly throw a solver off. Lille, France is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region in northern France, near the border with Belgium. It is also the location of Stage 1 of this year's Tour de France. When in France, one might use the French word for chum.
map of the 21 stages in the 2025 Tour de France
59. Prix __ menu: FIXE. ...more French. Prix Fixe means "fixed price" and can sometimes be found on restaurant menus.
60. Snappable chocolate bar: KITKAT. 🎵Break me off a piece of that KitKat bar.🎵
62. __ Rae: Sally Field Oscar role: NORMA. I used to know someone named Amron. Her mother's name was Norma. See what she did there?
66. Luxury Italian handbag brand: GUCCI.
67. Campaign staffer: AIDE.
68. Sickle or saw: TOOL.
69. One of 1,406 for Rickey Henderson: STEAL. Even I know that Rickey Henderson (1958 - 2024) was known for stealing bases. He had 1,406 career STEALs. His nickname was the Man of STEAL. (Haha! Good one!) Henderson's Hall of Fame page
70. Letters before a summary: TLDR. Too Long, Didn't Read
71. Novelist Rice: ANNE.
Down:
1. Damp-smelling: MUSTY.
2. __ and beyond: ABOVE. While the cyclists compete on the roads in the Tour de France, there is another competition happening among the farmers along the route. These displays are meant to be captured from ABOVE by the helicopters covering the race.
This 50 sec. video shows an entry from
the 2011 Tour de France Field Art competition.
The bike frame is made from hay bales.
3. Computer troubleshooters: TECHS.
4. Set of three: TRIO.
Vince Guaraldi Trio ~ Linus and Lucy ~ 1964
5. Too early or too late: ILL-TIMED. I liked this timely fill! Apparently the last TIME this answer appeared in an LA TIMEs crossword puzzle was in 2010.
6. Soft shoe, briefly: MOC. I first had "tap" as in "tap dance". Now I think the clue is saying that a MOCcasin is a shoe made of soft materials.
7. Integra automaker: ACURA.
8. Like items on clearance: CHEAP.
9. Nightspot for cool cats: JAZZ CLUB. I liked this fill and its symmetrical partner, 41-Down.
I'm one of those people who listens to a lot of JAZZ on my smart speaker but do not know anything about the artists or music. I do know I like Esperanza Spalding's music. She is from Portland, OR. Here is her 2012 song named for Portland's nickname, The City of Roses. 10. Yale grad: ELI.
11. Trace of color: TINGE.
12. Only movie critic with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: EBERT. (1942 - 2013)
Back in the day, I used to watch Siskel & Ebert's TV show to get suggestions for which VHS to rent at the video store. Ebert's Walk of Fame page
13. Levitates: RISES.
18. Egyptian serpents: ASPS.
22. Menagerie: ZOO. A menagerie is a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition.
26. Blue Jays and Blue Jackets: TEAMS. Toronto's MLB TEAM and Columbus' NHL TEAM
27. Martial art featured on "Cobra Kai": KARATE.
28. Restaurant: EATERY.
30. "Mayfair Witches" cable network: AMC. AMC+ is a subscription TV channel. Mayfair Withes first aired on January 8, 2023. I am not their target audience.
31. Cheer syllable: RAH.
32. Suffix with infant: -ILE. Does anyone else watch Resident Alien? Alan Tudyk is outstanding as an alien with superior intelligence but who is immature when it comes to human SOCIAL CUEs. He looks like a normal human to other humans except for the mayor's son, Max, who can see his true alien face. This 1:41 scene is an example of his infantILE nature when arguing with a child. (Warning: foul language used in a humorous way.) 34. Tear roughly: RIP.
35. Woolly animal of Peru: LLAMA. The annual average temperature in the Peruvian Andes varies from 64°F (18°C) in the low-lying valleys to an icy 32°F (0°C) at higher elevations. I'm glad the LLAMAs have wool coats!
37. Mop & __: GLO. Here is a Mop & Glo TV commercial from 1973: 38. Pipe bend shape: ELL.
39. Broadband inits.: DSL. initials and Digital Subscriber Line
41. Magnificent blunder: EPIC FAIL.
42. Pitch that moves unpredictably: KNUCKLER. Is this a nickname for a KNUCKLE ball?
47. Boxer Muhammad: ALI.
49. Playlist option: SKIP. You can SKIP to the next song on your playlist.
50. Across-the-forehead hairstyle: BANGS.
51. "Catch ya later": I'M OUT. and 61 Down. "Bye now!": TA TA.
52. "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. She is a powerful enchantress in Greek mythology.
53. One living overseas, for short: EXPAT. EXPATriot, for long
54. Tend to a pesky squeak: RE-OIL. Pesky implies the squeak has been tended to in the past but is persistent so another application is in order.
55. Ohio's "Rubber City": AKRON.
6. __ Rouge: BATON.
57. Fashion sense: STYLE.
63. Old record label: MCA. MCA was established in 1972. MCA, Inc. became Universal Studios, Inc. in 1996 then that became Universal Music Group but Universal still uses the name for its branch, MCA Nashville. Here is an artist from their roster:
Lyle Lovett ~ Stand By Your Man~ 1989
65. Kind of weird: ODD. Hearing Lyle Lovett cover that 1968 Tammy Wynette hit feels kind of weird.
The grid:
What a nice coincidence to have so many Tour de France connections this week! 😜 If you are not a professional cycling fan, you might be happy to know that the three-week race concluded yesterday. Crossword puzzles reference the more popular sports all year long. Fair enough but cycling is my favorite.
