Wednesday, Mar 26th, 2025 ~ Zhou Zhang

HEAD to HEAD

This looks to be Zhou Zhang's solo debut for the LA Times - congratulations~!  I did some research and found he co-authored a WSJ crossword just last month.  We have just five (ish) names, no circles, no expanded grid, and three of his four themers are unique to crosswords.  So, too, is 33D - one of two 9-letter non-theme fills, the other being 3D, and that fill has only appeared in one other crossword.  Well done, sir.  The themers;

18. Chance to have a heart to heart?: ROYAL FLUSH

Suit of hearts

26. Spot to meet face to face?: MAKEUP MIRROR

I love the double image of this Def Leppard album cover

47. Professional who is willing to see eye to eye?: POTATO FARMER

website

61. Person who will go toe to toe?: PEDICURIST

I also found this

Better would've been having the answers in "body" order, "head to toe", but still a solid puzzle, IMHO

 
And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Crystal balls, e.g.: ORBS - ah. I do the downs first, so my 2D. was wrong

5. French cap: BERET - OK, to answer the oft asked question, "Frawnche" comes from this scene from the 80's movie Better Off Dead

And the water is from "Peru"

10. Greek earth goddess: GAIA - Crossword friendly 75% vowels; name #1

14. __ out: sing with gusto: BELT - I have been known to belt out a karaoke song or two

15. Quartz type: AGATE - I did not know this popular crossword fill was quartz ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

16. Branches: ARMS

17. Clever concept: IDEA - I am working diligently to finish one of my board games; I printed a prototype game board and showed it to someone I trust with the idea - and she suggested some clever and well-appreciated corrections for me

20. "Girl Crush" country singers Little Big __: TOWN - filled via perps - their Wiki, name #2

21. Cat's warning sound: HISS - Jonesy gave Brett - and the viewers - a heads up HISS that the full-grown "30A." was right behind 

22. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright: ALBEE - name #3, needed some perps

23. Some saxes: ALTOs

25. Rewards for a good dog: TREATS - I am reading a book from Robert Crais called "Suspect" with a traumatized USMC German Shepherd as a character - still no news on my four-legged friend yet 😞

30. Unfamiliar: ALIEN - A what~?  A, a Xenomorph~?

James Cameron's 1986 sequel, Aliens

31. New prefix: NEO

32. Trip around the sun: YEAR - yup, that's what it is - and they're going faster, I've noticed

36. Beast of burden: ASS

37. Puts to work: EMPLOYS - AND - 66A. Puts to work: USES

41. Gibbon or gorilla: APE

42. See 43-Down: MOSS -AND- 43. With 42-Across, hanging growth in Louisiana swamps: SPANISH

44. Beverage suffix: ADE - Hi, lemonADE ~!

45. "__ love": "LOTSA"

51. Cocktail party appetizer: CANAPE

54. Dude ranch greeting: HOWDY

55. Solo: ALONE

56. Sound from a fan: WHIR

I'm a "fan"

58. Wax-wrapped Dutch cheese: EDAM

63. Subterfuge: RUSE

64. Parted partners: EXES

65. Scuffle: MELEE

67. Result of a bug bite, perhaps: RASH

68. Pot payments: ANTES - in card games like the hand of poker above

69. School orgs. that may sponsor fundraisers: PTAs - Parent Teacher Associations

DOWN:

 1. Somber bio: OBIT - we are getting Spinal Tap II the movie this year; here's a cut from bassist Derek Smalls solo album

"She puts the b***h in obituary"

2. Ctrl+Y action: REDO - ctrl + C is 'copy';....ctrl + Z is 'UNDO' - yet there's a "Y" in copy, but no "Z"  in undo and no "Y" in redo. . . . never mind

3. Expressed affection from afar: BLEW A KISS - 😘

4. Marvel Comics legend: STAN LEE - Ah.  The "real" side of comics, not the "super" side. Name #4

5. Go around for rounds: BAR HOP - them days are behind me

6. Self-interest doctrine: EGOISM

7. Sunbeams: RAYS

8. Texts from a chronically late friend: ETAs - text implies an abbr. in this clue, at least it's different

9. Contact no.: TELephone

10. Place for portraits and prints: GALLERY

11. Island near Venezuela: ARUBA

12. "No more for me, thanks": "I'M SET"

13. Symbol on the first day of Lent: ASHES

19. Once-popular casino game: FARO - Just watched a clip about the tunnels dug for the Faroe Islands

24. Melody: TUNE

25. "Iliad" city: TROY

26. Counterpart of sir: MA'AM

27. As well: ALSO

28. Small bay: INLET

29. __ Speedwagon: REO

33. "You can't catch me!": "EAT MY DUST~!"

34. Church recess: APSE - I'm in this article from The American Organist magazine for our work on the new pipe organ at a church in Lynchburg, VA - I'm the one with the bald spot in the last image 😜

This is that same console that did not fit through the door 😆

35. __ admiral: REAR - Not just in charge of the "aft" or "stern" of a ship; here's the Wiki

38. Chess ending: MATE

39. Cuddling in the park, for short: PDA - Public Display of Affection

40. Barbecue side option: SLAW - I prefer fries

46. Phrase often heard in a restaurant kitchen: "ORDER UP~!"

48. Oil cartel letters: OPEC - Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries; I just learned that Norway is now at the top of the NON OPEC list; the YouTube clip

49. "That makes sense now": "OH I SEE."

50. Strengths: FORTES - Forte is my accountant's last name; he's good with numbers- it's his "forte"😜

51. Escapade: CAPER

52. Word said with an Echo?: ALEXA - I have to link this again, it was just too good - thanks, MM~!

Uh-huh....uh-huh....

53. Connection points: NODES - get to the point . . . .

56. Small songbird: WREN - not the architect this time

57. Sword handle: HILT

59. Not on solid ground: ASEA

60. What a toddler might leave behind: MESS

62. Actress Thurman: UMA - name #5, crossword staple

Splynter

Wednesday, Mar 12th, 2025 ~ Rebecca Goldstein

 THE HOLY GALE

Pope Francis, 2018 - Daily Mail

Another Wednesday RG puzzle, another 15 x 16 grid, and another crossword with those sinister circles - but really not so bad this week - a handful of foreign words/phrases, and nary a name in sight~! Wow~!  ( OK, two. ) Right to the theme reveal;

59. "This may come as a shock," or an apt title for this puzzle: HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT - each theme answer "holds" ( within  the circles ) a type of hat 

17. Gym shorts, yoga pants, tank tops, and the like: ATHLETIC APPAREL - a CAP is a piece of athletic apparel, too

28. "Adiós, amigo": HASTA MAÑANA - the Scottish TAM

Why it's called the "Tam O Shanter"

35. Raise doubts: CALL INTO QUESTION - a chef's TOQUE

45. Concept in modern morality: CYBER ETHICS - Le Frawnche Beret

Oui~!

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Work Extra?: CHEW - clever start; Extra, the chewing gum

5. "Surely, you __!": JEST

9. Coral habitats: REEFS

14. Greek vowel: IOTA

15. Duel tool: EPEE

16. Heart chambers: ATRIA - my only goof; I had ETAS, but changed this to AORTA - yet I was already correct.  I went down to Long Island this past weekend to see my younger brother, who just had a scare - he was lying down with chest pains last week, and thank God he has a concerned fiancée - she insisted it was more than just a "pulled muscle" and it turned out to be cardiomyopathy - but I also discovered he takes a LOT of medications, and that's scary. . . .

I did get to see my buddy Cooper - no luck yet on finding my own four-legged friend, Irish Miss

20. Spotted wildcat: OCELOT

21. Butter squares: PATS

22. Distress signal: SOS

24. Mineral and metal mixtures: ORES - I like this alliterative alternative clue - I had to think about it

25. Alley-__: OOP

26. "Cut that out!": "STOP~!"

27. Served right?: ACED - an unreturnable serve is an ACE

32. Feathered neckwear: BOA - ah, the BOA shows itself this week - AND - 62D. Word of agreement: YES - Oh, so this week, it's yeS and not yeA

33. Unpleasant person: PILL - my mom was good for using this 'slang'

34. Name that means "my God": ELI - clued differently on Monday

42. Neuro scan: EEG - ElectroEncephaloGram

43. __ snuff: UP TO

44. Mexican Mrs.: SRA

50. James of "Misery": CAAN

51. Accomplishes: DOES

52. Humble abode: HUT

Goin' to the Jabba the Hutt hut

53. Fine feathered friends: FOWL

54. Tofu protein: SOY

55. Hieroglyphic bird: IBIS

57. Successful in a critical situation: CLUTCH - typically describing people in "athletic apparel"

63. Vegetable that may be white, yellow, green, or purple: ONION

64. Told tales: LIED

65. Fruity pastry: TART

66. In a weird way: ODDLY

67. "What __ is new?": ELSE

68. Put one's foot down: STEP

DOWN:

1. "Adiós": CIAO

2. Mugful with marshmallows, maybe: HOT COCOA

3. Exquisitely delicate: ETHEREAL

4. Like some ancient cities: WALLED

Do you recognize this WALLED city~?  Answer below

5. The Godmother of Punk Joan: JETT 

6. Prefix with pen or gram: EPI - EPIpen, EPIgram

7. Triple __ liqueur: SEC - I'm all too familiar with the "Kamikaze" shot

BONZAI~!

8. Service center?: TEAPOT - clever; the "central" element in a teas service set

9. Spellbound: RAPT

10. Airline stats: ETAs

11. Slip up: ERR

12. __ Bowl: annual game in Arizona sponsored by Vrbo: FIESTA

13. Watering hole with swinging doors: SALOON

18. Goddess of the dawn: EOS

19. Potato, in Spanish: PAPA

23. Place for a massage: SPA

25. Norway's capital: OSLO - OK, another name, but this one's a crossword staple

26. Hissy fit: SNIT

27. Block letters: A B C

28. Door opener: HINGE - my only nit; the knob/handle/lockset opens, the hinge "hangs" the door

29. Ctrl-__-Del: ALT

30. Track competitions: MEETS

31. Too: ALSO

33. Spot for a long walk on the beach?: PIER - funnier would have been to clue this "A SHORT spot for a long walk" . . . .

36. Wine bottle sediment: LEES

37. Throw in the towel: QUIT

38. Inventory tracking aid, briefly: UPC - Universal Product Code - and the 21st century QR code

39. "Nothing gets past me": "I SAW THAT."

40. Dental hygiene: ORAL CARE

41. Granny, to some: NAN

45. Music format stored in wallets: CDs

46. "Hello there!": "YOO-HOO~!"

47. Out of reach of: BEYOND

"Beyond " @ 1:15

48. Slim: THIN

49. Shake a leg: HUSTLE

50. Legal arenas: COURTS

53. Bug often observed in winter: FLU - Ah, that kind of "bug"

55. Adored one: IDOL

56. All elbows: BONY

57. Key for a smart lock: CODE - I have this Schlage smart lockset on my sunroom door

58. URL opening: HTTP

60. Pot topper: LID

61. Liquid in the story of Hanukkah: OIL - burned for seven more nights than expected; the Wiki

Very "theme" oriented

Splynter

ANSWER:

Firenze - Florence, Italy

Wednesday, Mar 5th, 2025 ~ Sala Wanetick & Emily Biegas

 COVER GIRLS

Emily and Sala - more here

Today's puzzle, from veteran constructors Sala and Emily, who appeared just last month as a duo as well, failed to hit the mark for me this time.  The theme is kinda weak, and the 20-something names, including a crossing where I had no choice but to do an alphabet run, just sucked the life out of this one.  We have two 8-letter themers, and yet two Down answers are longer; a whopping 28 4LWs, but at least there's only 9 TLWs.  On top of that, the only musical entry that I can relate to is the first - the others are just not my thing; sorry 'bout that.  On a positive note, 17A., 40A., and the theme answer are unique fills, so there's that.  The themers;

17. Fleetwood Mac hit with the lyric "I'll settle for one day to believe in you": LITTLE LIES - a LIE can cover the truth . . .?

26. Taylor Swift hit that features a sweater metaphor: CARDIGAN - usually covers a shirt/blouse . . .?

40. Elvis Presley hit about someone who only looks like an angel: DEVIL IN DISGUISE - disguise as a cover up . . .?

50. Rihanna hit about friends who stick together rain or shine: UMBRELLA - under cover from the rain . . .~?

63. Musical remakes, and what 17-, 26-, 40-, and 50-Across all are, in a way: COVER SONGS - "songs" that have something that covers; I guess.  As for an actual cover song, if it's a "tribute" band, then all you do is cover songs.  I feel that if an artist is going to cover someone else's song, then it should have some variation on the original, i.e., Run-DMC covering Aerosmith as a rap song - I couldn't narrow it down to one great choice, but here's an example;

Flamenco Led Zeppelin - Rodrigo Y Gabriela

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Update a historic home, say: REHAB - I am in the business of updating "historic", and we would never refer to it as a 'rehab' - rehab is where I spent six weeks after detox.  'nuf said.

6. Quick look: PEEP

10. "Dream on": "AS IF."

14. Enlighten: EDIFY

15. Crooner Paul: ANKA - I know him, but name #1

16. Novela introduction?: TELE - Telenovela, a serialized drama in Latin American TV

19. Jai __: ALAI - this used to appear in lots of puzzles "back in the day" - it's only popped up once or twice in a long, long time

20. Pro vote: YEA - My yeS had to change to yeA

21. Ingrid's "Casablanca" role: ILSA - Oops, I thought it was ELSA - that's the "Frozen" girl - name #2

22. Strenuous: TIRING - Crosswords like this are not enjoyable, just TIRING

24. Prefix with tech: NANO - nanotech

28. Milwaukee team: BREWERS - Great logo - I like it when the letters/name is cleverly embedded in the image - here's another great logo

The m and b in the glove~?  That to me is a well-designed logo

31. "The Daily" podcast producer, briefly: NYT - no clue, but I had _YT already; name(ish)

32. Special glow: AURA

33. Paul of "The Batman": DANO - name #3 - I looked it up; he played the Riddler.  I did not see the movie, and I don't care to link for every name today

35. Venomous snake: ADDER

43. Be of __: help: USE TO

44. __ Point, California: DANA - DANO, DANA - Sheesh - name #4

45. Summer getaway: CAMP - I was never 'enrolled' camp, but from what I hear and read, it was not all that fun for many - SEND away, now that's more like it 

46. Govt. intel org.: NSA - I could explain the abbr., but then I'd have to....

48. Gets to giggle: TICKLES - tickles my fancy

55. For fear that: LEST

57. Quite bright: NEON

59. Alley-__: OOP

62. Actor Alda: ALAN - crossword staple, name #5

66. Rare rocks: GEMS

67. Sinister: EVIL

68. Verdi work: OPERA - name(ish)

69. "Gotcha": "I SEE."

Dr. Venkman, @ 0:50

70. "The Voice" host Carson: DALY - name #6

71. Elevates: RISES - meh.  rAises is a better match, e.g. stress from crossword solving RISES blood pressure~? 

DOWN:

1. Depend (on): RELY

2. Actress Falco: EDIE - name #7

3. Touched on something touchy: HIT A NERVE - let me count the (names) ways . . . .

4. Back of the boat: AFT

5. Author credit: BYLINE

6. Buds: PALS

7. Pioneering computer: ENIAC - I had ATARI until it showed up three answers later; name(ish)

8. Scrape (by): EKE

9. Danish, e.g.: PASTRY

10. Pong platform: ATARI

11. Former baseball commissioner Bud: SELIG - I could not recall this name, # 8

12. Glazer of "Broad City": ILANA - name #9

13. Pretend: FEIGN - I think this puzzle is pretending to be a crossword

18. "Euphoria" actor Jacob: ELORDI - name # 10, 3 of the 4 previous clues - tho a unique fill

23. Pet collar attachment: ID TAG

25. Stand by for: AWAIT

27. Designate as a successor: ANOINT - meh.  aPPoint fits better.  Anoint to me is religious ceremony

28. Grammy winner Erykah: BADU - even if I DO know this one, ugh; name #11

29. Feels remorse: RUES - he rues the day he said he'd blog Wednesdays . . . . 😜

30. Flip-flop, e.g.: SANDAL

34. Confidentiality contract, for short: NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement - I am seriously considering spending the money to get my board games produced - I need a patent lawyer - anyone at the Corner who can recommend one~?

36. Dodges: DUCKS - this DODGE is not a DUCK or an ADDER - it's a VIPER

37. Landline sounds: DIAL TONES - the other nine-letter, 'longer than theme' fill

38. "Twilight" vampire Cullen: ESME - name #12

39. Gym count: REPS - now this is a good one - the singular count clue and the plural reps answer

41. Not a people person, say: LONER - I am definitely NOT a "people person"

42. Mariner: SAILOR

47. Prepared to serve, as pie: SLICED

49. Black out: CENSOR

50. With 56-Across, grilled eel dish: UNAGI - AND - 56. See 50-Down: NIGIRI - no clue, and when the clues are circumreferential* like this, it's even worse - and name(ish)

51. Odometer units: MILES - my car allows me to track gas prices when I fill up, but every now and then, the same buttons I use to adjust the price end up changing my MPH to KPH; I look down and I am doing "58" in a 30 - Yikes~!

52. Not one's best effort: B-GAME

53. Flush: RINSE

54. Blacksmith's block: ANVIL

58. Wriggly: EELY

60. Fantasy monster: OGRE

61. Unpaid ads: PSAs - Public Service Announcements

64. Egg cells: OVA

65. Maker of Lincoln Park After Dark nail polish: OPI - I've learned that the answer regarding makeup, etc., is either OPI or EOS these days - and name(ish)

* I made this word up, but it works for me, so there.

Splynter