Wednesday, Oct 22nd, 2025 ~ Emma Oxford

  BLUFFY McLIARPANTS

It seems fitting that I should get a poker/card-playing theme - sadly, I was down on Long Island this past weekend to attend the wake of my dear friend Greg B., whom I'd known for nine years, as he died last Tuesday after a three-year battle with brain cancer.  I had not seen him since the diagnosis, as the disease had made it diffiuclt for him to retain your name or the thread of a conversation, so he opted to spend his time ( rightfully ) with his wife and daughter.  I was grateful to him for inviting me to his home for a poker game once a week, and you knew it was poker night because he would wear a shirt with "Bluffy McLiarpants" across the front; the image above was my response to that shirt; I wore this at the card table to "distract" the other players 😵.  We've seen several Emma Oxford puzzles for the LA Times, and today's grid was a pleasant solve for me; no circles, just a few names, and a Wednesday difficulty.  The themers which represent the "stages" of a card game;

18. 1977 Top 20 single by Boz Scaggs: LIDO SHUFFLE - Cool song

23. "Love your work!": I'M A HUGE FAN - we would fan first, to see who dealt first

38. Engagement ring option: PRINCESS CUT - done by the player to the dealer's right

54. Aspiring musician's goal: RECORD DEAL - always to the left

59. Dramatic presentation often staged during Lent: PASSION PLAY - we would PLAY high/low games, with a "stack" of chips, and the winners would "split" the pot; you could also go 'both ways', and if you won, you would "sweep" - thus, the words on my T-shirt

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Civil War POTUS: ABE - I wondered what his middle name was; POTUS is the abbr for President of the United States, so I wondered what A_L would be - more here

4. Anklebones: TARSI - crossword staple

Such beautiful Tarsi

9. Lawn ornament in a hat: GNOME

14. Bagel topping: LOX - I stopped in to see Cooper ( also my brother, who shares the same house with the dog ) and had me another bagel with chocolate chip cream cheese - it's better than it sounds~!

15. Not suitable: INAPT

16. Aspirational, as goals: LOFTY - my lofty goal is to be recognized for my fantasic board games - still trying to figure out how to get them produced

17. Hill worker?: ANT - not the quaint reference to the "US Capitol", on the "hill"

20. DEA agent: NARC

22. 44th first family: OBAMAS

27. Drive-__: THRU

30. Polite assent in Seville: SIS, ENOR - Si, C.C.~!

31. Court figs.: DAs - District Attorneys

33. Rower's implement: OAR

34. "The Mystery of __ Drood": EDWIN

36. Face With Tears of Joy, for one: EMOJI - 😂

41. Selected: CHOSE

43. Cars: AUTOS

44. Zeus, e.g.: GOD - "high -ODs" . . . 

45. Skip the grass seed: SOD - low "-ODs"

48. Cloaks: MANTLES - I watched two "classic" movies over the weekend - "The Curse of Frankenstein" ( that's Fron-ken-schteen - see 7D. ) and "The Horror of Dracula", both starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee - two actors who would later have roles in the Star Wars films

Tis the season~!

52. Highlander of ancient Peru: INCA

56. Zeus's daughter: ATHENA

58. Not fooled by: ONTO

64. Do some mending: SEW

65. The Ivies, e.g.: OCTET - those eight being these

66. Leader of the girl group Red Velvet: IRENE - we've seen her here before - KPOP

67. Before, before: ERE - "Able was I . . . "

68. Some Southwest landmarks: MESAS

69. Things to read on the road: SIGNS - 𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅯 if you're gonna rock down to . . . .

... and not recharge your smart phone 𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅯

70. Australian airport code: SYDney

DOWN:

1. "Ironic" singer Morissette: ALANIS - I linked her and the song in a previous puzzle

2. Brand of scouring powder: BON AMI

3. Bonuses: EXTRAS

4. Up to, for short: TIL - unTIL

5. Alex and __ jewelry: ANI - I had ANN to start, but she showed up later at 62D.  Here's a shocking story behind the woman who founded the jewelry company

6. "Tubular!": "RAD~!"

7. "Spaceballs," for one: SPOOF - Mel Brook's parody of the Star Wars films; it's a tough call as to which of his other spoofs is better  - Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein~?

Dark Helmet & Colonel Sandurz

8. Bleak assessment: IT'S BAD

9. Down in the dumps: GLUM

10. Skim, in the dairy aisle: NO FAT

11. Branch: OFFSHOOT

12. The NHL's Canadiens, on a scoreboard: MTL - abbr for Montreal; I had MON - MTL is nearly a unique fill; The "Habs" - too early in the season for me still, CandianEh!

13. Quiet part of a hurricane: EYE

19. "Pitch Perfect" actress __ Mae Lee: HANA - filled via perps

Her IMDb

21. "Here's to you!": "CHEERS~!"

24. Boxers or briefs: UNDIES - which are you~?  Or do you go "commando"~?

25. Formal dress: GOWN - were undies "formerly" worn beneath that gown . . . ?

26. Actor Stoltz: ERIC - I liked him in Pulp Fiction

Prank caller~!

28. "The Big Bang Theory" character: RAJ - I asked my brother, sitting across his dining room table, for this answer - he likes it, but I cannot stand to watch a single scene of this show

29. New England sch.: URI - University of Rhode Island - my "CT nextdoor neighbor"

32. __ fiddle: SECOND - HA~! FIT-AS-A- worked, too~!

35. Teacher's org.: NEA

37. High-priority activity, per some guidebooks: MUST-DO

38. Downloads before a long road trip, perhaps: PODCASTS - ROAD MAPS worked, too, but duped

39. Japanese sport: SUMO

40. Rating unit: STAR - I give this crossword four-and-a-1/2 out of five "Moe Stars" 

41. Much of the F/X in the MCU: CGI - Computer-Generated Imagery, the Marvel Comic Universe; I am not a fan of this genre, tho I did like Deadpool

42. Babe: HON - I prefer this quaint three-letter SO nickname to "bae"

46. Black-and-white treat: OREO

47. "Mystic River" novelist Lehane: DENNIS - I have read the book; one of a just a handful from authors whose work gave me an emotional response - another was The Secret Place by Tana French

49. Inserts in some frames: LENSES - those kinds of frames

50. Diner or bistro: EATERY

51. Lost steam: SLOWED

53. Lost: AT SEA

55. Island off Naples: CAPRI

57. Battleship successes: HITS - the Milton-Bradley ship-hunting game

59. Juice brand with distinctive bottles: POM

60. Nail, as a test: ACE - R.I.P. ACE Frehley of KISS

Shock Me - the extended "smoking guitar" solo from 1977

61. Relay segment: LEG

62. "The Baby-Sitters Club" writer __ M. Martin: ANN - more here

63. "Affirmative": "YES."

For Greg

Splynter

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 Kieran Boyd and Brian Callahan

Baby Animals.

18-Across. Animated Disney film set in an arcade: WRECK IT RALPH.  A KIT is the term used for a baby Fox.  Babies of rabbits, raccoons, minks and groundhogs are also referred to as KITs.

25-Across. Hole in an argument: LOGICAL FALLACY.  Baby animals that can be called a CALF include cattle, elephants, giraffes, whales, bison, moose, and hippopotamuses.

40-Across. Rock group with flashy outfits: GLAM BAND.  A LAMB refers to baby sheep.

53-Across. "Consider this ... ": NOW LET'S SUPPOSE.  An OWLET refers to a baby owl.

And the unifier:

64-Across. Feeling like age is just a number, and an apt description of 18-, 25-, 40-, and 53-Across: YOUNG AT HEART.  The circles spell out the names of a baby animal which is in the "heart" of the answer.

Across:

1. Asian country that dominates badminton in the Olympics: CHINA.

6. Expert who works with both feet and meters?: POET.  Everything you ever wanted to know about poetic feet and meters.

10. Cape __, Massachusetts: COD.  Cape Cod is a hook-shaped peninsula in Massachusetts formed by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last ice age. Extending 65 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape's geography includes diverse features like salt marshes, freshwater ponds, sand dunes, and beaches, all subject to constant change from ocean currents and storms.  The Cape has a very interesting cultural history.

13. Clumsy: OAFISH.

15. Sandwich cookies: OREOS.  A crossword staple.  We learned last Wednesday that the Oreo was preserved in a vault as part of a 2020 publicity stunt.

17. São Paulo salutation: OLÁ.  São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil.  The city was founded in 1554 by Jesuit priests.  It is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world.

20. Brief "I don't need the details!": TMI.  Textspeak for Too Much Information.

21. "Peter Pan" pirate: SMEE.  This pirate makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

22. In really good condition: FIT.

23. Turkey-roasting aid: BASTER.

29. __ fide: BONA.  Today's Latin lesson.  The term means In Good Faith and is used to describe something as real, sincere and real.

30. Replacement car: LOANER.

31. In really good condition: LIKE NEW.

34. Letter between zeta and theta: ETA.  It's Greek to me.

35. Pass over: SKIP.

39. Notable time: ERA.

43. Boise's st.: IDA.  Boise is the capital of Idaho.

44. Ice cream brand: EDY'S.  This ice cream brand along with the OREO are frequently the desserts of choice in the puzzles.

46. Night before: EVE.

47. Knocked to the ground: LAID LOW.

49. Rise: ASCENT.

52. Boring: DULL.

58. Pencil end: ERASER.

59. "Oh wow!": GEE.

60. "__ bien!": TRÉS.  Very Good!  This is today's French Lesson.

63. With 31-Down, "Life of Pi" director: ANG.  //  31-Down: See 63-Across: LEE.  Lee Ann (b. Oct. 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker and he will celebrate his 71st birthday on Thursday.

68. Rob __ cocktail: ROY.  A Rob Roy is a classic cocktail made with Scotch whisky, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters, garnished with a maraschino cherry or lemon peel. 

69. Writer Proulx: ANNIE.  Annie Proulx (née Edna Ann Proulx; b. Aug. 22, 1935) is an American novelist and journalist.  She has written many books, but the only one I have ever read is The Shipping News, which takes place in Newfoundland, Canada.

70. Belgrade's country: SERBIA.  The Danube River runs through Belgrade.

71. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU.  Stu Sutcliffe (né Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe; June 23, 1940 ~ Apr. 10, 1962) was the original bass guitarist with the Beatles.  In addition to playing guitar, he was a painter, which was one reason he left the band.  He began studying art in West Germany.  Sadly, he died at age 21 of a brain hemorrhage.

72. Auction cry: SOLD.

73. County of southeast England: ESSEX.

Down:

1. Ranch ruminants: COWS.  The baby is a CALF.

2. "No __, no foul": HARM.

3. "Doing all right": I FEEL OKAY.  I feel better than just Okay.

4. "Good job!": NICE ONE!

5. Request: ASK.

6. Door: PORTAL.

7. Pop singer Rita: ORA.  Rita Ora (née Rita Sahatçiu; b. Nov. 26, 1990 ) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  She was born in Kosovo.

8. Snakelike fish: EEL.

9. Big enchilada: TOP BANANA.

10. Terra-__ tiles: COTTA.  Today's Italian lesson.  Terra-Cotta is an Italian phrase that means Baked Earth.

Terra-cotta warriors in Xi'an.

11. Native of Veracruz: OLMEC.  Technically the OLMEC were an ancient civilization in Mesoamerica, flourishing from approximately 1500 to 300 BCE along the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

12. No-no for a vegan: DAIRY.

14. Classic LP player: HI-FI.  Short for High Fidelity sound on a record player.

16. Sedimentary rock: SHALE.

19. __-tac-toe: TIC.

24. Some camera shop buys, for short: SLRs.  As in Single Lens Reflex camera.

26. Crew: GANG.

27. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB.  Lisa Anne Loeb (b. Mar. 11, 1968) first made the music scene with her hit Stay.

28. Like some programming errors: FATAL.

29. Feathered friend: BIRD.

32. Subatomic particles with a negative charge: ELECTRONS.

33. "... amber __ of grain": WAVES.  America the Beautiful

36. Core muscles to die for: KILLER ABS.

37. Venerated object: IDOL.

38. Furry foot: PAW.

41. Department store section: MEN'S.

42. First queen of Carthage: DIDO.

45. "Do the Right Thing" pizza place: SAL'S.  Do the Right Thing was a 1989 Spike Lee film that addressed racism in Brooklyn.  Sal Fragione was the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. Non-Italinan  neighbors became upset when they saw that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors.

48. Fluffy cleaners: DUSTERS.

51. Yanked: TUGGED.

53. Approaches: NEARS.

54. "... up to you, though": OR NOT.

55. Japanese cattle breed: WAGYU.  Their babies are referred to as 子牛 or Koushi.

56. Word after "chick" or before "hen": PEA.  A Chickpea is a legume, also known as a garbanzo bean.  A Peahen usually refers to a female peacock.

57. Feathered or furry friends: PETS.

61. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.  Whenever I see Erie in the puzzle, I think of our friend Abejo.

62. Lay's chips in a tube: STAX.

65. __, due, tre: UNO.  Today's Spanish math.

66. Soccer zero: NIL.

67. Tee-__: HEE.

50-Down. "Toodles!": SEE YA.  I will be out next week, but I am confident that you will have a fantastic substitute.

חתולה

Monday October 20, 2025 Matthew Stock

  

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here, struggling to keep up with Mathew Stock's clever clues. Is it just me and too much time off or was this one tricky for a Monday? Well, at least the theme was easy an easy order:  

The unifier spells it out:

54 Across. Combo meal component, and what the answers to the starred clues have: SIDE OF FRIES. All the themed answers have a type of French fries at the right SIDE of the answer. We have:

16 Across. *Breakfast chain founded in metro Atlanta: WAFFLE HOUSE.  I went to one once to see what it was all about. Not really my thing.  

This is the WAFFLE HOUSE scene from the 2010 movie Due Date, 

starring Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. (4:18 min.)

Truthfully, I find this genre of movies too uncomfortable to watch.

18 Across. *Harlem Globetrotters legend known for his shaved head: CURLY NEAL. I loved the Globetrotters as a kid so I remembered CURLY but guessed "bEAL" for his last name as I was unfamiliar with 13-Down and thought it could have been an initialism.  

Here is #22 in action. 

I like the last clip where he does a bounce pass though his opponent's legs to himself.

1:12 min. (It's worth the click just to hear their theme song again!)

34 Across. *Dramatic snag in the outfield: SHOESTRING CATCH.  I was unfamiliar with this term but clocking the theme helped (as it should). It is when a baseball player catches a ball close to his feet, meaning very close to the ground.  

This video is just 12 seconds.

51 Across. *Feature of some blocky footwear: WEDGE HEEL.  Women's footwear -- finally something I can relate to!  

Here they all are:

(l. to r.) WAFFLE, CURLY, SHOESTRING, and WEDGE FRIES
We're going to need more ketchup!

Next, we'll dip into the remaining clues:

Across:

1. Prefix with gender: CIS-.

4. East Coast gas station chain with a goose logo: WAWA.  I used to live near one when I lived in Virginia back in the aughts. DH loved their coffee. I've never been a coffee drinker so....

Do you see the yellow goose?

8. Play group?: BAND.  The question mark indicates word play. Think "musicians". 

I was trying to decide which BAND to link, then it hit me -- The BAND!  

The Band     ~     Up On Cripple Creek     ~     1969

Note:  Some of you might be disappointed I did not use The Weight.

I've used it in the past so I went with something different. You can hear that song here.

12. Little troublemaker: IMP.  CSO to our Cornerite IMP!

13. Purple flower: LILAC.  My old neighborhood in Colorado had several old LILAC bushes. I was told they were planted back when people had outhouses. Their fragrance helped mask the odor when  things began to thaw in the spring.

14. Wind instrument that typically has 23 tone holes: OBOE.

15. Hopping pal of Pooh: ROO.  

20. Florida freshwater springs mammal: OTTER.  

This is a 2:32 min. video about freshwater OTTERs in Montana.

(It is shorter plus it has better information than the Florida ones I viewed.)

21. Make it to: ATTEND.  Ah, as in, "Did you ATTEND the fundraiser?" / "Did you make it to the fundraiser?"

Trying to make ATTain work tied me up in the NW.

22. "Gracious!": OH, MY.     and     25-Across. "Gracious!": WOWIE.

24. __ Diego Padres: SAN.

27. Ceiling spinner: FAN.  

30. Brief "We'll figure it out later": TBD.  To Be Determined

31. Jazz horn: SAX.  

Charlie Parker [1920-1955]     ~     All the Things You Are

32. Baseball apparel company: NEW ERA.  Gracious! I did not know this one either!

37. "Pick up the pace!": PRONTO.

38. Female 11-Down: DOE.     and     11-Down. Buck or 38-Across: DEER.   

Here's a pic from my recent trip.
This wild buck let me hand-feed it an apple.
He and his buddies hang out in the orchard,
waiting for humans to pick the apples they cannot reach.
Yes, I was a bit nervous of those antlers!

39. "Go team!": RAH.  

40. Guffaw: YUK.  A guffaw is a loud or boisterous burst of laughter.

41. __ and aahed: OOHED.

43. Theater chain initials: AMC.  AMC originally stood for American Multi-Cinema.

44. Research on a rival, briefly: OPPO.  OPPOsition Research  more from the Political Dictionary

45. Tennis legend Gibson: ALTHEA.  Althea Neale Gibson [1927-2003] was an American tennis player and golfer. In 1956 she became the first Black player to win a Grand Slam event.  more achievements

48. Cupcake topper: ICING.  Here are some fun ones for Halloween:  

56. Bard's before: ERE.  "Bard's" hints at Old English.

57. More than one can count: A TON.  

58. Some UNESCO World Heritage Sites: RUINS.  "UNESCO" stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Its website says, "We strengthen ties between people to build peace." An example of an UNESCO RUINS site is the Ruins of Leon Viejo in Nicaragua.

59. Quoter's "I'm aware of the error": [SIC].

60. Join using heat: WELD.  

Welding for Beginners  (4:14 min.)

61. Singles: ONES.  Think "dollar bills".

62. Shriek of fear: EEK.  

Down:

1. Historian's word of approximation: CIRCA.  CIRCA is a preposition which means "at approximately". It is used especially with dates. It comes from the Latin circum, meaning around. In a roundabout way, it is related to circumference.

2. "Later": I'M OUT.

3. Gambling venue that may offer Super Bowl parlays: SPORTSBOOK.  A SPORTSBOOK is a place -- either a website or a building -- that accepts bets on sporting events, especially college and professional events. more from Investopedia  Thanks, perps!

Coincidentally, Wiki sported this pic & caption. (See 16-Down.)

4. Elastigirl, to Mr. Incredible: WIFE.  

5. __ Romeo: ALFA.  CSO to -T!

6. Enjoy a mudhole: WALLOW.  When my dog was 3 years old, we went to a group picnic in the hills and she found a smelly, wild pig mudhole. She thought it was glorious! I cannot remember how many baths it took to get rid of the smell.  

7. Blackjack card: ACE.

8. Pirate riches: BOOTY.     and     9-Down. Sit beside: ABUT.  <snicker, snicker>

10. Won by a __: NOSE.  This idiom means to defeat an opponent by a very small margin. It is believed to have originated in horse racing.

13. __ Back: movement focused on ancestral sovereignty: LAND.  Learning moment for me. Of course it makes sense now that I see the answer....

16. MGM Grand rival: WYNN.  I did not know this one either but I knew that the MGM Grand was a casino so a homophone for "win" seemed plausible.

(See photo for 3-Down.)

17. HS course that taught practical skills: HOME EC.  I am wondering why this clue is in the past tense. Do they no longer teach HOME EConomics in High Schools?

19. Tough to move: LEADEN.  Trying to make LoADEd work added to my difficulties with 21-Across.

23. Dating app "designed to be deleted": HINGE.  This one was out of my wheelhouse as well. Apparently HINGE is a dating app geared more towards finding a serious relationship. "Designed to be deleted" probably means that you will find your true love in the first go-round and then no longer need the app so you will delete it from your phone.

25. Card game that requires no skill: WAR.  WAR is the Candy Land of card games. There is no mechanism for players to impact the results.  

26. Iron __: rust: OXIDE.  CSO to RustyBrain!

Here's a brief engineering science lesson:  Iron is a metal and metals have a crystalline molecular structure. The crystalline structure of iron oxide is less dense than that of iron so it flakes off in what we call "rust", exposing additional iron to even further rust. Contrast this with another metal, aluminum. Aluminum oxide has a more dense crystalline structure than aluminum. This means you get a denser surface but do not get the flaking. As a result, you will not have additional aluminum exposed to further oxidation. Now, think about why we use aluminum cans to store food.

27. Greek salad topper: FETA CHEESE.  It originates from Greece and is made from sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep's and goats' milk.

How to make FETA CHEESE at home

28. St. Louis landmark: ARCH.  The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot-tall monument in St. Louis, Missouri. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible structure.  website

29. "Pass": NAH.

30. Drive-__ window: THRU.  

Click to enlarge.

31. Hunch over: STOOP.  SlOuch did not quite fit.

33. Campfire output: WARMTH.  This one took a minute, probably because I have been conditioned to think of "ash"-related words when we see campfire in a clue.

34. Mission-driven individual?: SPY.  Is this clue referring to the Mission Impossible films???

35. Slow-moving, as traffic: STOP GO.  STOP-and-GO???  

36. Silent "Go for it": NOD.

42. "Sounds like a blast!": HOW FUN.

43. Brewmaster brews: ALES.

44. Without stopping: ON END.  For example, "The sun shone for days ON END."

45. Many moons: AGES.  The Earth's moon's cycle repeats every 29.5 days.  

46. Spooky: EERIE.     and     52-Down. Lake between Toledo and Buffalo: ERIE.

47. Smart __: ALECK.  I think I've always spelled this without the "K". Merriam-Webster says my spelling is a less common variant.

48. "That much was clear to me": I SAW.

49. Quote as a source: CITE.

50. Megastar: IDOL.

53. Commotions: DINS.

55. To's counterpart: FRO.  

Today's grid: 

We do not usually see themed answers on consecutive rows.

Many thanks to RustyBrain and Anonymous T for filling in these past five weeks! While I was away, I did two back-to-back bicycling trips. The first was centered around Bend, OR and the stunning Crater Lake. The second was a tent-camping trip through CA, NV, and UT. Here I am towing my dog, Meadow, in Goblin Valley State Park, UT.