FOURTH SUNDOWN & INCHES
Actually, it's #5, and Across, but . . .
LA Times assistant editor Katie Hale is back - her last crossword offering was a month ago, on a Monday, here. The last one I blogged was a co-authored puzzle that had too much of a cringe factor ( for me ) to be enjoyable. Today, however, was a pleasant, and partially humorous construction, with four themers, including two grid-spanners, that added our star, the three-letter word SUN, to common phrases, giving them 'solar' power. There were maybe a few too many 2-word entries, especially in the Downs, but it was Friday-level, if not easier. Standard grid, no "outlier add-ons" this week, with 10 names, no circles, and a near-perfect balance of 3-, 4-. and 5-letter words. The themers and reveal;
18. *Action figure at the bottom of a pool?: SUNKEN DOLL - I first thought maybe G.I. Joe~?
I had the 80's "action figures" the same size as the Star Wars ones
23. *Naval officer's very quiet "ahoy there"?: LITTLE BOSUN PEEP - Bosun, the shortened version of "boatswain" -
35. *Jokes about miscellaneous items?: SUNDRY HUMOR
48. *Essential for authors who work at the beach?: WRITER'S SUNBLOCK
56. Clean energy option, or a hint to what the answers to the starred clues have?: SOLAR POWER
But Wait There's More~!
ACROSS:
1. "Cor, blimey!": "I SAY~!" - Brit-speak
5. Oxygen co-creator: OPRAH - Oxygen, the network, not the element, from "THE" Creator - name #1
10. Mascaron image: FACE - filled via perps, WAGed the "C" - this architectural detail
14. Drive-__: THRU
15. Tricky tennis serve: SLICE - meh. It's called an "ace" where I play tennis
16. Traffic-dependent figs.: ETAs
17. Azaria of "Brockmire": HANK - I know him from the Simpsons; name #2
20. WSW reversal: ENE
21. Virtual citizenry: SIMS - Another good guess on my part - but I have played Sim City & The Sims
22. Dad's sister: AUNT
28. Outdoor dining spot: PATIO
29. "Oh, now I see": "A-HA~!"
30. TV controller?: FCC - The Federal Communications Commission - I cound not recall what the second "C" stood for
31. 19th Greek letter: TAU
33. Cryptography org.: NSA - Thursday dupe
34. Mineralogist who created a scale: MOHS - this puzzle's themers gave me a laugh, so I am giving it the "other" kind of star, a 4 / 5⭐ from on the "other" Moe's Scale - name(ish)
38. 2025 WNBA champions: ACES - I follow no basketball at all, tried the SUNS - but knowing the theme after the fact meant it could not be - plus I missed the "W" part of the clue as well . . . 😜
40. Solstice mo.: DECember - Monday, the 21st of this year, 12:50pm on the LA Times coast
41. Live and __ live: LET - in 1973, Wings "used to say . . ."
Live & Let DIE~!, Mr. Bond - James Bond
42. "Starship Troopers" backdrop: WAR - had it, filled it in, then took it out . . . tacky, with egregious graphic violence, loved it; the IMDb
43. Zing: PEP
44. Gives, but not forever: LENDS - I had perps from doing the Downs first, so it was not LOANS
53. Olympic swimmer Torres: DARA - name #3 - her website
54. Cruising: ASEA
59. Snitch (on): NARC
60. "Copacabana" bartender: TONY - had this Barry Manilow reference three weeks ago; name #4
62. Wayfair rival: IKEA - I have bought home items from Wayfair, only shopped once at an Ikea
63. Referendum side: PROS
64. Like some buns: MESSY - Ah. Those kinds of bun
There's a red-haired beauty at my gym,
always on the Stairmaster when I am
65. Join (up): TEAM
DOWN:
1. Networking assistance: IT HELP - 2-word #1 - AND - 51D. 1-Down callers: USERS
2. Grammy winner Twain: SHANIA - name #5
A knock-off of Robert Palmer's video, which has more leg in it
3. "Is This Thing On?" star Will: ARNETT - name #6
4. Big laugh: YUK
5. Activist/actor Davis: OSSIE - learned by doing crosswords, name #7
6. Straight up: PLUMB - the same client with the pantry doors just got a new pocket door installed
7. Classic laundry soap: RINSO - I have heard of this brand, but I used Tide, but switched to soap flakes as suggested in the book "Laundry Love" that sumdaze suggested - name(ish)
8. "Jeepers!": "ACK~!" - Dah~! Not EEK
9. Little laugh: HEE - waited on perps; HEE, HAW or TEE~?
10. Beyond irritated: FED UP - the name chosen for the new merger of Federal Express and UPS 😜
11. Try to make right: ATONE FOR - 2-word #2
12. Pasadena research univ.: CAL TECH - 2-word #3
13. Pre-naturalization test course, for short: ESL - "English as Second Language" - Do you have to take the test/course these days~?
19. Meemaw alternative: NANA - no one in my family has ever used either term for "Granny"
21. "McSorley's Bar" painter: SLOAN - John, name #8
24. "__ Andronicus": TITUS - T.I.L. this is a Shakespeare play, name #9
25. Ceremonial accessory: SASH - I tried VEIL first
26. Rental after closing, maybe: U-HAUL - I was thinking a place to sleep after closing on the sale of a house, but you haven't bought a new one, like "HOTEL"
27. Hardware for Xbox: PCs
32. Cow's milk source: UDDER - this is udderly true . . . 🙄
33. US Open locale: NYC - I figured it was the tennis Open
34. Interstate stopover: MOTEL - so my HOTEL was looking wrong now . . .
35. Fig. for ordering replacement parts: SERIAL No. - 2-words, yeah, but I like this fill, #4
36. Set pieces: REPS - at the gym. I am now 193.0lbs - I took a pic of the scale last Saturday; my trainer allows 3lbs for sneakers and clothes - when I picked up the phone for the image, it added .5lbs~!
Now my trainer thinks I can get down to 160lbs - Yikes~!
37. Peach __: MELBA - Pie & Cobbler didn't fit the dish
38. "So sweet!": "Aww. . ."
39. Side mirror spot: CAR DOOR - I clipped the one on the passenger side on my Dodge Grand Caravan, bought a replacement unit, but to get to the screws I have to strip out half the dashboard - I'm in no hurry, and the mirror isn't actually broken - just the remote motor doesn't work - 2-word #5
43. Cider source: PEAR - never heard of cider from pears - it's called Perry; a recipe here
45. Like some cheesecake: NO-BAKE - technically, there's a hyphen, so not a 2-word answer
46. Region with many Nats fans, briefly: D.C. AREA - 2-word(ish)
47. Overview producer?: SKYCAM - Big Brother is watching . . . 😶
49. Canteen stack: TRAYS
50. Perceived to be: SAW AS - aaaand Twurd~!
52. Uncool: NERDY
56. Auto care brand: STP - Crossword staple
57. Actress Grier: PAM - two mentions in three weeks for me, name #10
58. Come up short, maybe: OWE
59. Minor quibble: NIT - "can't you see that man is a nit~!"
No, dagnubbit~!
Splynter
Grid Flow an even 30.0 - and it was the puzzle I blogged
where I first introduced this parameter
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