Sunday August 17, 2025 Kaye Brown

Theme: "PARTING COMPANY" - Each theme answers is a farewell phrase paired with an animal, with the phrases rhyming to the animal names.

22. Response to "See ya later, alligator": AFTER A WHILE, CROCODILE.

38. 22-Across variation in a flower garden?: BYE BYE, BUTTERFLY.

57. 22-Across variation in a desert?: IN A SHAKE, RATTLESNAKE.

82. 22-Across variation in a forest?: TAKE CARE, GRIZZLY BEAR.

102. 22-Across variation in a birdcage?: BE SWEET, PARAKEET.

118. 22-Across variation in Ontario?: HANG LOOSE, CANADA GOOSE.

Cute idea. Each answer follows the same pattern. I'm not famliar with "in a shake" as a goodbye phrase. When I lived in Guangzhou, there was a German lady who sometimes hiked with us. She always said "Stay sweet!"

Congrats to Kaye Brown on her LAT debut!

Across:

1. Starts using, as an accent: ADOPTS. My English has an Xi'an accent.

7. Accumulate: AMASS.

12. Challenging bio course: AP CLASS.

19. Like a network used in machine learning: NEURAL.

20. Finish, as a crossword, e.g.: SOLVE.

21. Evergreen seed: PINE NUT.

25. Anxiety from social media scrolling, for short: FOMO. Fear of Missing Out. The opposite is JOMO, the Joy of Missing Out.

26. Voices above tenors: ALTOS.

27. Used in beta: TESTED.

29. Part of the hook in a 2007 Rihanna hit: ELLA. Her song "Umbrella".

32. "The Pitt" figs.: MDS.

35. Amble (along): TOOTLE.

37. Cautionary __: TALE.

42. Studio Ghibli film about a magical goldfish: PONYO. She became a human in the end. 

43. Member of the fam: BRO.

44. Sketch comedy series starring Odenkirk and Cross: MR SHOW. Bob Odenkirk. David Cross. 

45. City in western Germany: ESSEN.

47. Iroquois nation: SENECA.

49. Clarinetist's supply: REEDS.

53. Above, poetically: OER.

54. Orb weaver's creation: WEB.

62. "Pull up __": A SEAT.

63. Soprano solo: ARIA.

64. Spoke like a cat: MEOWED.

65. Garden bed planting: BULB. I want more peonies. 

68. Peter's adversary in a Prokofiev composition: WOLF. "Peter and the Wolf".

71. "Clueless" source novel: EMMA.

73. Some recital attendees: DADS.

74. Like characters that lean one way?: ITALIC.

77. Require: NEED.

79. Likeness: IMAGE.

87. Part of a pronoun pair: SHE.

88. "Origin" director DuVernay: AVA.

89. SpongeBob's pet, for one: SNAIL. Gary the Snail. 

 

 

90. Party balloon filler: HELIUM.

93. Rough it in comfort: GLAMP. Anon-T was vacating in our Boundary Waters region a few weeks ago. Tough guy.

95. "The Phantom Tollbooth" author Juster: NORTON.

98. The NCAA's Tigers: LSU.

99. Broken wagon part in Oregon Trail: WHEEL.

107. Supplant: OUST.

108. __ fin: DORSAL.

109. Bichon frise bark: YIP.

110. Brontë's Jane: EYRE.

111. Wife, in 101-Down: ESPOSA. And 101. Francia's neighbor: ESPANA. Francia is Spanish for France.

113. Film without a major studio: INDIE.

115. 106-Down portrayer McGregor: EWAN. 106. Skywalker mentor: KENOBI.

125. Acrobat's attire: UNITARD.

126. "The Dark Knight __": RISES.

127. Set of grading criteria: RUBRIC. Not a word I use. 

128. Scapegoats: PATSIES.

129. Porterhouse, e.g.: STEAK.

130. Averred: SAID SO.

Down:

1. Santa __ winds: ANA.

2. Pt. of HDTV: DEF.

3. Not in the closet: OUT.

4. Assembled on-site: PREFAB.

5. Poi source: TARO. Love taro. Never had poi before. 

6. __ poetry: SLAM.

7. Volcanic fallout: ASH.

8. "You're accusing me!?": MOI.

9. Pesto __ Genovese: ALLA. Pesto originated in Genoa. 

10. Lithe: SVELTE.

11. Subdivision: SECTOR.

12. Biblical disciple: APOSTLE.

13. Insta grid item: PIC.

14. Benjamin: C NOTE.

15. Graf below a headline: LEDE.

16. Jennifer of "Murder Mystery": ANISTON. So happy to see her in love again. 

17. "Aladdin" title: SULTAN.

18. Icy, as a glare: STEELY.

23. Ovens for buns, but not loaves: WOMBS. Also love this clue: 34. Certain delivery worker?: STORK.

24. Satellite dish spot: ROOF.

28. "Gloria in Excelsis __": DEO.

29. Recedes: EBBS.

30. Ancient harp: LYRE.

31. Téa of "Death of a Unicorn": LEONI.

33. "Oh, of course!": DUH.

36. Disinfectant brand: LYSOL.

39. Some fitness orgs.: YMCAS.

40. Wipe away: ERASE.

41. Cutesy: TWEE.

42. In and of itself: PER SE.

46. Appear: SEEM.

48. Activate: ENABLE.

50. Segment of a Taylor Swift show: ERA.

51. Truth or __: DARE.

52. Perform repetitive movements to self-soothe, say: STIM. Like shaking your legs while sitting?

54. East Coast mini-mart: WAWA. I just learned Daiso opened a store in MN in April. 

55. Barely achieved, with "out": EKED.

56. Items of varying comfort for Goldilocks: BEDS.

58. "Yee-__!": HAW.

59. Make up (for): ATONE.

60. Language from which "curry" is derived: TAMIL.

61. "I'll keep opening briefcases, Howie!": NO DEAL.

65. Twitch currency: BITS. Not famliar with this. 

66. Four Corners state: UTAH.

67. Tahoe or Huron: LAKE.

69. Millipede's multitude: LEGS.

70. Common houseplant: FERN.

72. Actress Poehler: AMY.

75. Poker proclamation: I CALL.

76. Catalan sparkling wine: CAVA.

78. One-seventh of una semana: DIA.

80. Loathe: ABHOR.

81. Davis of "The Fly": GEENA.

83. Stallone franchise: RAMBO.

84. Low-budget pub: ZINE. Publication/Magazine.

85. Polish currency: ZLOTY.

86. "Inside Out" kid: RILEY.

91. The "U" in EULA: USER. EULA stands for End-User License Agreement.

92. Silencing button: MUTE.

93. "Start already!": GET ON IT.

94. Dots: PERIODS.

96. Troy tech univ.: RPI. Hi there Agnes!

97. Playable on a VCR: TAPED.

99. Misery: WOE.

100. Sweep under the rug: HUSH UP.

103. Tax doc IDs: SSNS.

104. Thigh-high waterproof boots: WADERS.

105. Inspire: ELICIT.

108. __ Lama: DALAI.

112. Cpls.' superiors: SGTS.

114. Lighten (up): EASE.

116. Edit __: battles on Wikipedia: WARS.

117. Piscina filler: AGUA. Piscina is Spanish for "pool".

119. Mined resource: ORE.

120. Principals' org.: NEA.

121. Query: ASK.

122. Chicago airport code: ORD.

123. Member of the fam: SIS.

124. Friendly prefix: ECO.

C.C.

Saturday, August 16, 2025, August Miller

 Saturday Themeless by August Miller

Here is a wonderful interview of this former physics Ph.D. candidate turned farmer who lives in Berkshire County, MA: https://dailycrosswordlinks.com/2025/03/29/constructor-spotlight-august-miller/

 Across:

1. "Totally had you there!": PSYCH.

6. "Odelay" musician: BECK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Pricing words: A POP.

14. Terence Blanchard work: OPERA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

15. Boba tea additive: ALOE.

16. Igloo shape: DOME.

17. Modern farm technology: SOLAR ARRAY.

19. Rollover subj.: IRAS.

20. One who went gray gracefully: SILVER FOX.

21. Way around D.C.: METRO - My granddaughter used this on every school day at American University in D.C.

22. "Or __ what?": ELSE.

23. __ out: TRY - Not: Far, Pig, Cry, Pan, Opt, Eke, Way, etc.

24. Part of a college visit: TOUR.

25. "American Hustle" org.: FBI - Based on FBI Abscam Sting scandal of late 70's

26. Orbiter until 2001: MIR - A space station launched and operated by Russia (nee Soviet Union 😀)

27. Clerical tunic: ALB.

30. Line at a reunion: IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU - First of three grid spanners. The top two were helpful but the name took a lot of help.

36. Springtime side: ASPARAGUS SPEARS.

37. "The Substance" Golden Globe nominee: MARGARET QUALLEY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Natori Feathers garment: BRA.

39. QB stats: YDS.

40. Rte. 180?: UEY - We said, "Flip a UEY"

41. First name in couture: YVES - We often see his initials in crosswords

43. Tip for a writer?: NIB.

44. Simple sammies: PBJ'S - I love PB&J's and BLT's

48. Gross-smelling: FETID - A lyric from the play 1776 sung by William Daniels as John Adams as he bemoans the tedious drafting of the Declaration in the hot summer of 1776.

50. "Get some rest": GO TO SLEEP.

52. Very little: A DAB.

53. Gathering where everyone gets shots?: BOTOX PARTY.

54. Niche mag: ZINE - In slang, "zine" is a shortened term for fanzine, which is a small-circulation, self-published magazine or booklet, often focusing on a a specific niche interest. 

55. Injury kissed by a parent: OWIE.

56. __-Norman French: ANGLO.

57. Outlet for crafty types: ETSY.

58. Six-legged farm animals: ANTS.

59. Ingredient in some printing ink: RESIN.

Down:

1. Crew: POSSE - Originally a group formed by a lawman in the old west to pursue outlaws. These days it can be any group with a common purpose.

2. Turn: SPOIL.

3. Uses one's outside voice: YELLS.

4. Fancy and then some: CRAVE.

5. Fabled napper: HARE.

6. Spots to grab a few beers: BAR FRIDGES 😀

7. Orbit City boy: ELROY - George Jetson's son

8. Cajole: COAX.

9. Essential: KEY.

10. Parting mot: ADIEU 😀

11. Representation: PORTRAYAL - Hmmm... Burt Lancaster as an Apache warrior in the 1954 movie Apache

12. Actor Sy of the Netflix series "Lupin": OMAR ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

13. 100 centavos: PESO.

18. Multimedia surfaces: ART BOARDS.

21. Union's demand: MORE PAY.

24. Container that can be repurposed as a biodegradable planter for seedlings: TISSUE BOX - EGG CARTON was a first confident entry for this solver.

25. Made inroads: FORAYED - Yup, you can make any noun into a verb

26. Summer cloud: MOSQUITOES - We have hardly any at all for several summers but with all the rain we have had this year...

28. Stories of the past: LORE.

29. Not free: BUSY.

30. "For one," for one: IAMB - "For one" is one IAMB

31. Ruler until 1917: TSAR.

32. Some faux coats: SPRAY TANS - A lot of Nebraska girls get a "fake bake" for Spring Prom

33. __ gift: GAG.

34. Sound of disapproval: TUT.

35. Serpentine creature: EEL.

42. Evoking good feelings, in slang: VIBEY  - "Vibey" is an informal term, generally meaning lively and brand, often used to describe a place, atmosphere, or even a piece of music. 

43. Cry in the playground: NOT IT - I remember these words preceding a spirited round of hide-and-go-seek.

44. American way?: PLANE. 😀

45. Features of icy breakups: BERGS.

46. Actor who played the Emperor of China in 2020's "Mulan": JET LI.

47. Watch from the bushes, say: SPY ON.

48. Get to: FAZE.

49. Exchange words?: EDIT. 😀

50. Vera Wang design: GOWN.

51. Exchange words: SPAR - Before fists fly, these sessions are used to increase the gate 

53. Serpentine creature: BOA.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 75th birthday to our punny and witty Friday  Sherpa MM. Here is a picture of him at Chiang Rai in 2017. 

Chiang Rai, 2017