Wednesday, Aug 13th, 2025 ~ Kaela Curry & Kevin Curry

ACES HIGH

 
Aces High - Iron Maiden

Kevin and daughter Kaela ( see here ) have teamed up to give us a mirror symmetry, FOURTEEN x 16 grid with horizontal Royalty in the themers, and a vertical Royal Reveal.  Kevin and wife Zhou Zhang paired up here for the LA Times back on July 10.  Because of the odd-sized grid, both 52A. and 57A. are unique fills.  Triple-five corners, 24 3LWs,  ten names, and no circles.  The themers and reveal;

19. Head of a hive: QUEEN BEE

29. Colorful bird with a daggerlike bill: KINGFISHER

52. Milkweed pollinator also called "common tiger": MONARCH BUTTERFLY

More from Wiki

10. With 39-Down, defenders over London, or an apt description of 19-, 29-, and 52-Across?: ROYAL

39. See 10-Down: AIR FORCE - I do the Down clues first, so I 'revealed the reveal' to start

Here's me back in 2006 at MacArthur Airport standing beside a fully functional P-51 Mustang

TWELVE cylinder monster - you felt it take off 

And in case you can't see the above link, here's a PS image of the same page.

And . . . . Happy Left-Hander's Day~!

YO DUDE, that's like, backwards, my man. . . .25A.

Up, Up, And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Weight-to-height meas.: BMI - Body Mass Index - my trainer has me do a "weigh-in" every two weeks; my fat % went from 40 down to 29.8 over the three months I have been working out - and we're steady holding at 30lbs lost, as well - the next 30 are going to be harder

4. Classic diner order: BLT - Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato, crosswordese

7. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU - Louisiana State University -shoutout~!

10. Big truck: RIG 

13. Go on the __: LAM - A little Blue Öyster Cult for you

I'm on the Lam....but I Ain't No Sheep

14. Slaps after shots: BAR FIGHT - my 8D. was "ENOUGH", so this section was all wrong

17. "I __ you one!": "OWE"

18. Verbal hesitations: UMs....ers, uhs, needed crossings 

20. __ and yang: YIN

21. Site with "gently used" items: eBAY

23. Buyer's incentive: REBATE - AND - 24A. Buyer's incentive: SALE

25. "My man!": "YO DUDE~!"

27. Frequent toddler mishaps: SPILLS

34. Gather: AMASS - we had this Monday

37. Nevada gambling city: RENO - name #1

38. Parting words: CIAOs - a bit meh.

42. "Cool" amount: MILlion - I have not made my first "cool" million - yet.

43. State between the Pacific Ocean and the Snake River: OREGON - name #2

45. Pen filler: INK

46. Announcement after a brief game stoppage: "PLAY ON~!"

49. Big name in hiking backpacks: OSPREY - not clued as the bird to avoid a theme conflict

57. Reluctant whine: "AWW, DO I HAVE TO~?" - cute 12-letter clue/answer

58. Winnie-the-Pooh's creator: MILNE - name #3

60. "Hot To Go!" singer Chappell: ROAN - don't know of her, more here - name #4

61. Join: MERGE

64. Runway worker: MODEL

65. Overly proud: SMUG

66. Implicit: TACIT - two "-cit" words

67. Complicated situation: SNARL

68. Snakelike: EELY

69. End of the Greek alphabet: OMEGA

DOWN:

1. TV dog whose mum and dad are Chilli and Bandit: BLUEY - I wonder who came up with this clue....

And name #5

2. Caribbean dance: MAMBO - I can never remember if it's SAMBA or MAMBO - I was wrong today

Perry Como Papa Loves Mambo from Ocean's Eleven - UH~!

3. [Crying emoji]: I'M SAD  😢

4. Cookout, for short: BBQ - Barbecue - no "Q" in the word, actually 

5. Fashion icon Ralph: LAUREN - name #6, but I have heard of him - he's worth a cool $11.9 Billion

6. Peach or beech: TREE - rhyme time

7. Pride parade inits.: LGBT - the acronym has expanded - more here

8. "OK, OK!": "SHEESH~!" - I tried ENOUGH, then STOP IT 

9. SLC athlete: UTE - the Utes, short for University of Utah sports players, and Salt Lake City

11. Volunteer's response: "I WILL."

12. Parental hand-me-downs: GENES

15. Black History Mo.: FEBruary

16. Two peas __ pod: IN A

22. Hardy-har-hars: YUKs

24. Speaker on an iPad: SIRI - I am PC - and nam(ish)

26. Put down: DIS - as in DISrespect

28. Delt neighbor: PECtorals, muscles of the chest

30. Watchdog's warning: GRR~!!! - argh~!  Not ARF~!

31. Service charge: FEE

32. Gerund suffix: ING - a form derived from a verb that acts like a noun

33. Phillipa of "Hamilton": SOO - name #7

34. Time toggle: AM/PM - nice alliteration in the clue

35. Venus de __: MILO - and now Spinal Tap, with their album, Intravenus De Milo -name #8

Spinal Tap album reviews - here

36. Hawkeye Pierce player on "M*A*S*H": ALAN ALDA - his whole crossword-friendly name ( #9 ) today

40. Law school newbie: ONE L - crossword staple

41. Absolut alternative: SKYY - Vodkas; here's some "JACK" for a Royal Flush 

43. Like audiobooks, once: ON CD

44. Child's punishment, maybe: NO TV - that was my generation; today I am guessing it's "no phone"

47. Snoozefest: YAWNER  - Booooooring~!

48. "Animal Farm" novelist George: ORWELL - Double Plus Ungood - his 'other' novel, name #10

50. Appear that way: SEEM TO

51. Image-cultivating group, informally: PR TEAM - Public Relations - the spin doctors

53. Carriage puller: HORSE - OK I was looking for a "10" horse team for the Royal Flush

Alas, we only have eight . . . .

54. Desert or tundra: BIOME - toyed with CLIME

55. Company for DIY movers: U-HAUL

It does say you can move a 2-3 bedroom house . . . .

56. Like some tartar sauce: TANGY

58. Ruler divs., casually: MMs - not "INs", which I didn't think was correct; not sure why we had the 'casually' in the clue, with 'divs.' already there for the abbr.

59. Non-neutral particle: ION

62. Short-term engagement: GIG

63. "When ru coming?": "ETA~?"

Splynter

Wednesday, Aug 6th, 2025 ~ Chandi Deitmer & Claire Rimkus

 CAKE-SNIFFER~!

Carmelita Spats, from a Series of Unfortunate Events

We had a Saturday puzzle last month from Chandi Deitmer, cowritten with Erik Agard; today she has teamed up with crossword constructor Claire Rimkus, who has puzzles published in the NYT, mostly Fridays.  While I found the reveal to be cute, the ridiculous number of names - person, place and thing - so many of them that I lost count, just drained the fun out of  the solve.  There were a few crossings that I did not appreciate, e.g. CATIO/CASABA, FARRO/SEURAT.  Big, chunky triple-seven(ish) corners, no circles, a balance of 3&4LWs, but overall, a "meh" for me - YMMV.  The themers, and the reveal;

16. Professional who makes a lot of scents?: PERFUMER - one of only two unique fills today, CATIO being the other.  I have linked this before, but I find it fascinating that not only is it a "thing", but I bought a sample, and happen to like the cologne.  Perfumer Xerjoff teamed up with Black Sabbath's riff master guitarist Tony Iommi to create a fragrance called "Scent of Dark"

The promotional video

25. Professional who sniffs out crime?: POLICE DOG - animal #1; couldn't decide which I liked more

No new friend yet, but I am Cooper-sitting while my brother is on his honeymoon next month

37. Professional who helps you breathe easy?: ALLERGIST - a physician who specially trained to diagNOSE, treat and manage allergies, asthma, etc.

53. Professional who stops to smell the rosés?: SOMMELIER - "Ro-zays", the 'pink' wines; a sommelier is a wine expert, knows how to pair them with food, etc.; my friend who runs three restaurants on Long Island started out as one; the "nose" of a wine is its scent in the glass - here's one website

64. Rhinoplasties, or an apt description of 16-, 25-, 37-, and 53-Across?: NOSE JOBS - each of the themers is a "job" related to a type of  'nose'

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Huge volume?: TOME - not enough to fool me, big book....

5. Animated pic: GIF - I tried "CEL" - but pic is an abbr, ergo GIF - Graphic Interchange Format

8. Model Delevingne: CARA - name #1 - how have I never heard of her~?

Her Wiki

12. Cameo shape: OVAL

13. Obama-era legislation, for short: ACA - Affordable Care Act

14. Canary melon kin: CASABA - never head of this fruit

18. Lion or tiger: ANIMAL - along with these two, we have six other animals in this puzzle today

19. Pt. of some gender-affirming care: HRT - Didn't know this one, either, at least as clued - Hormone Replacement Therapy - more here

20. "The Circus" painter Georges: SEURAT - name #2; his Wiki

22. "The Elephants" painter Salvador: DALI - name #3, animal #2 - I know the painter; had the "wrong" painting

I was thinking Swans Reflecting Elephants - this one

23. Puma rival: ASICS - name(ish) - footwear

27. Chorus section: TENORS

29. Make the cut?: LOP

30. Novelist Patchett: ANN - name #4

31. Cape Cod Bay mammal: SEAL - I did not know there was such an animal - #3

32. Mayberry boy: OPIE - name #5

35. Donkeys: ASSES - animal #4

40. Dahi-based drink: LASSI - NOT the animal, but a name all the same - more here

43. Clarinet insert: REED

44. Oklahoma city: ENID - place name #1

48. Poet Limón: ADA - name #6

49. Mega Man platform letters: NES - Nintendo Entertainment System; 1987 video game

51. Like plants that grow at high elevations: ALPINE

57. Cravat alternative: ASCOT - neckwear

58. "You got that right!": "TRUE~!"

59. Color on the Qatari flag: MAROON

61. Afore: ERE

62. Inspire 34-Down: ENRAGE

66. More treasured: DEARER

67. Kind of suffix?: "ISH"

68. Textbook section: UNIT

69. Old-timey television feature: DIAL

70. GPS approximation: ETA

71. Understands: GETS

DOWN:

1. Tall headgear: TOP HATS - I remember being appalled the first time seeing this guy on MTV, the "cousin Itt" of Rock N Roll, and his now famous "top hat"

Slash performing at Back to the Beginning - R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne

2. Supervise: OVERSEE

3. Tennis great Hingis: MARTINA - name #7 - her Wiki

4. Pixie: ELF - Pixie is the name of my 2014 Prius C-2; 40-50MPG, corners like it's on rails

5. Ready to dive in: GAME - this took me a while to suss; the phrase "I'm game~!"

6. Get a winter coat?: ICE UP - pondered "SLEET"

7. Grain that may be cooked like risotto: FARRO - never heard of this 

8. Preserve: CAN - the verb

9. Off-mic comment: ASIDE - meh.  I think of an 'aside' being an stage actor's comment to the audience

10. Open-sided shelters: RAMADAS - I was today years old when I learned this

11. Rock-clinging gastropod: ABALONE - A-buh-low-nee; animal #5 - I have heard of them, but never eaten one - the Wiki

14. Screened porch for an indoor pet: CATIO - I put in PATIO, figured there must be more to this; crossing an unknown melon didn't help - but it is a thing - animal #6

15. Sets straight: ALIGNS

17. Former country that included five -stan countries, for short: USSR - place name #2

21. Make a claim: ALLEGE

24. Sugary drinks: COLAS - I had SODAS - 60% correct

26. Filing pros: CPAs - Certified Public Accountants - crosswordese

28. La Tierra's star: SOL -Espaniol lesson; The Earth, and the Sun

33. Region in the Achaemenid Empire: PERSIA - place name #3 - sheesh, on Wednesday~?

34. Heated anger: IRE - these names are getting my IRE up, too many can  "62A." me

36. Pedometer units: STEPS - On my walk last week, I ventured down the railroad tracks to take this photo

38. Request from an underprepared actor: LINE - Pssst~! Line~! an unintended "ASIDE"

39. Ore. neighbor: IDA - plc nm #4 - Oregon & Idaho

40. Endured: LASTED

41. Covered in tinsel, maybe: ADORNED

42. Katana-wielding fighter: SAMURAI

45. "You nailed it!": "NICE ONE~!"

46. Circling: IN ORBIT - good clue/answer

47. Loathes: DETESTS - methinks most of the Cornerites despise "CrossNAMES" - I know I do . . . .

50. Bull on a glue bottle: ELMER - dont' care if I know it, name #8

52. Pool division: LANE - our blog hostess knows much about pool lanes

54. "The Stiller and __ Show": MEARA - names #9, tho I did know this one

55. Bert's roommate: ERNIE - names #10 - Muppets

56. Rule the __: ROOST

60. Dept. of Labor div.: OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Administration

63. Mani-pedi polish option: GEL - I thought it might be the new crosswordese "OPI", then I tried "RED" - Bzzzt~!

65. Instrument that might be played alongside spoons and a stovepipe: JUG

Splynter

Wednesday, Jul 30th, 2025 ~ Dan Kammann & C.C. Burnikel

X(word)-RAY 

EYES

Blue Oyster Cult - X-ray Eyes, from Heaven Forbid, 1998

which refernces the movie starring RAY Milland

This is the fourth collaboration  between "Ironman" Dan ( see here - thanks HuskerG~! ) and our lovely hostess, C.C., plus their second crossword this month for the LA Times.  A simple but enjoyable puzzle featuring four unique and different "Rays", with two 10-letter Down fills as well.  Twenty 3LWs, Twenty-six 4LWs, a handful of names, and no circles. Yay~!  The themers, with no reveal;  

17. Place to catch some rays: SCI-FI MOVIE - classic "laser guns" type of "RAY" - I loved the original 1953 War of the Worlds movie - and despite being a huge fan of Speilberg's work and the stunning visuals, his remake was awful

Based on the H.G. Wells book

34. Place to catch some rays: ROOFTOP DECK

Now that's how to find 11D.~!

42. Place to catch a Ray: FOOD NETWORK - Rachel Ray, that is - struggling lately

62. Place to catch a ray: OCEAN FLOOR

More on Rays here

And A-Ray We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Like just-cut radish slices: CRISP

6. Butter used in pantua: GHEE - Learned from doing crosswords

10. Lack of objectivity: BIAS

14. Wood that repels moths: CEDAR - I currently have a cedar bench in my kitchen, but I have plans to build a foyer on the front stoop of my house - the bench will move in there; item #28 on my self-inflicted "to-do" list . . . .

15. Covered with grease: OILY - I got covered in grease last week when I discovered the trailer ball on my minivan was rusted into the hitch bar; it took 70A. of penetrating oil, lying on the garage floor, and a sledgehammer to get the thing loose and free, dammit. 

16. "Do __ others ... ": "UNTO" - The Golden Rule

19. Nose-in-the-air sort: SNOB

20. Set of the rosary: DECADE - I have it on good authority that this was the editor's clue; not familiar with a 'decade of the rosary' ( I'm not Catholic, just spiritual ), a "set" of ten Hail Marys - more here

21. Scavenging carnivore: HYENA

22. [This isn't my typo]: SIC

23. Like a locked door: SHUT

26. Visibly embarrassed: RED - or like lethal alien "Death rays"

27. Traffic report vehicles, briefly: COPTERS - Ironic when it creates the traffic and can't report it . . . .

I found this shocking and incedible Wiki article

31. Readily available: ON TAP

33. Guatemala gold: ORO - Espaniol lesson #1

38. __ of Skye: ISLE

40. Not 'neath: O'ER - poetic contractions

41. "Basket of Bread" painter Salvador: DALI - there are TWO, actually - Basket and THE Basket

47. Pepsi holder: CAN

48. Hide from prying eyes: STASH

49. Pool section with diving boards: DEEP END - falls between DEPEND and DEEPENED when unparsed

51. Residue in a fire pit: ASH

53. Desperate request: PLEA

55. Jellyfish home: SEA

56. Midnight fridge visits: RAIDS - If I raid the fridge now, it's for a handful of air-fried shrimp 

58. Petty complaints: GRIPES

61. Coin in the Trevi Fountain: EURO - one day I hope to toss a coin . . . .

66. Penny-__: ANTE - low-cost poker

67. "What __ wrong?": "WENT"

68. "Broad City" star Glazer: ILANA - only name I did not know; filled via perps

Her IMDb

69. Bratty back talk: SASS

70. Tons: LOTS

71. Like reserved seats: TAKEN

DOWN:

1. Loops in on an email thread: CCs - a self-shout-out~?

2. Remote button with a red dot: RECord - or the "Death ray" button 😜

3. Response to "Anyone see that?": "I DID~!" - unparsed, it's "IDID"; looks Latin

4. Least dangerous: SAFEST - "don't push the button with the red dot~!"

5. More expensive: PRICIER

6. "No news is __ news": GOOD

7. Spots for queens: HIVES - oh, that kind of  queen - bees; I was thinking chess board

I made this image with Revit; here's another cool chess image

8. "Hostel" director Roth: ELI - I was going to add a link, but it's horror, and NSFW - or me, really

9. Calm part of a storm: EYE

10. Unable to hang out: BUSY

11. State sought in meditation: INNER PEACE - OM - our first 10-letter Down fill

12. Right wrongs: ATONE - Dah~!  Not AMEND; 40% correct, plus an "E"

13. Just terrible: SO BAD - like my War of the Worlds 2005 review

18. "Large" prefix: MACRO - Don McMillan, Technically Funny

Better than "Microsoft"

21. URL opener: HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol

24. Souped-up car: HOT ROD

25. __, dos, tres: UNO - Espaniol lesson dos

27. Hairdo: COIF - had it, took it out; my 29D was GOLF shirts, so the Across answers were not making any sense

28. Approximately: OR SO

29. Top choices for golfers: POLO SHIRTS - 'top' as in clothing; by default could NOT  be "GOLF shirts", Duh.  The second 10-letter Down fill.

30. Provide comfort to: SOOTHE

32. Say further: ADD

35. __ and far between: FEW

36. Family group: CLAN

37. Warmhearted: KIND

39. Toronto summer hrs.: EDT - Eastern Daylight Time - we need to scrap this nonsense

43. Catches a few z's: NAPS - I am up at 3 or 4am every day, and take a nap every day - I like this way of living

44. Adult ed class: ESL - Crosswordese, English as Second Language

45. Sticky pine secretion: RESIN

46. Stay in shape: KEEP FIT - Dah~!  Not WORK OUT - I have grown to enjoy my workout at the gym - this past Saturday, my trainer was out ( he went to the ball game the night before ) and I had the opportunity to "play hookey", but I went in anyway; he sent me a text of what exercises I could do that morning

50. Spanish dish with rice and saffron: PAELLA - I enjoy this dish, but over the past few weeks, I have been perfecting my "chicken crust" pizza, where I use ground chicken, 93% lean, to make a 'pie' - it is so good, and good for me

51. Calculus calculations: AREAS - specifically the area under a curve

 I prefer L x W . . . . 😁

52. Bathhouse hot spot: SAUNA

54. Singer's representative: AGENT - I'd like to be just famous enough to require an agent, whether for my music, games, or publications - I am still working on my Sci-Fi novel

57. "What __ it matter?": "DOES"

59. "Well, darn!": "RATS~!"

60. Enjoy a bubble bath: SOAK  - I came home to soak last Saturday, partially due to being sore, and also due to the poison ivy - which I get every F*&%ing summer - aaah, Aveeno~!

62. Bird with piercing eyes: OWL - "WHO" has piercing eyes~?

Are you lookin' at me~?

63. Jensen Huang of Nvidia, e.g.: CEO - didn't recognize him, but it was easy enough to suss 

64. Atomic number of hydrogen: ONE - the first, and most abundant element in the universe

The other elements artistically rendered

65. Competed in a relay, say: RAN - I like to walk my neighborhood; I don't "get" running - JMHO

Splynter