Wednesday, Jun 11th, 2025 ~ Dylan Schiff

Once Upon a Time....Happily Everafter

The End

I am unsure how to call this crossword puzzle; on the one hand, it was a solid mid-week challenge for me; on the other, it took a cheat peek to find out why I did not get a "ta-DA~!".  Then, after staring at the theme answers for longer than I care to admit, I finally figured out the common thread (only due to the fact that I recognzied the first two as titles ) and it left me feeling less than pleased / satisfied; sorta deflated, I guess.  YMMV.  Too many names again, even if they are fairly familair - I am not even going to bother linking to them this week - no circles,  a balance of 21/22 3LW& 4LWs, and two unique fills (*); 

17. Australia's unofficial national anthem: WALTZING MATILDA - Matilda, the book

23. Bite-sized treats: DONUT HOLES* - Holes, the book

37. Wide-eyed awe: CHILDLIKE WONDER - Wonder, the book

52. Cares: GIVES A HOOT* - Hoot, the book

61. Perfect resolution, or a feature of 17-, 23-, 37-, and 52-Across: STORYBOOK ENDING - the four theme fills END with the title of a story/book

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Play mates?: CAST - I do the Down clues first, and I never saw my errors here in the NW . . . .Sigh

5. "31 Days of Oscar" cable network: TCM - Turner Classic Movies

8. Electric current unit: AMPERE

14. "The Traitors" host Cumming: ALAN- name #1

15. __ Speedwagon: REO - name #2, and I am tired of this clue/answer - don't like the band, either....

16. Folk medicine figure: HEALER - I had _ E A _ _R, pondered "REAPER" - hey, technically, death is a "medical" thing 

20. Punk subgenre: EMO - seems like every week we get this fill

21. Debate topic: ISSUE

22. Obi-Wan portrayer Guinness: ALEC - name #3

26. Took a dip: SWAM

28. Former Russian ruler: TSAR - music interlude; here's an instrumental from Black Sabbath

They would open their show with "Supertzar" playing in the background

29. Bout ruling, briefly: TKO - Technical Knock-Out

31. Dug-out material?: ORE - yeah, I figured this was the common O-R-E fill, trying a different approach  on the cluing - I'll admit, it's not bad

32. Overture follower: ACT I

35. Sign of things to come: OMEN

36. Go (for): OPT

42. Protein in a Monte Cristo: HAM

Now I'm in the mood for a sa'mich

43. Sisters in habits: NUNS

44. Analogy phrase: IS TO

45. Afore: ERE

46. "Your point?": "AND....~?"

47. Tried to buzz: RANG - a bit Meh.

50. Onetime Volvo rival: SAAB - two Swedish automakers

57. Highlands family unit: CLAN

59. "Barbie" director Gerwig: GRETA - name #4

60. Lucy of "Elementary": LIU - name #5

64. Sore: TENDER - my feet are sore - I have walked my neighborhood every day but one since I joined the gym; I need to get me some comfortable hiking footwear

65. "__ the fields we go ... ": "O'ER"

66. "Diana" singer Paul: ANKA - name #6

67. "Voilà!": "PRESTO~!"

68. Hosp. workers: MDs

69. Outperform: BEST


DOWN:

1. Imitated a crow: CAWED - bleery-eyed, I read this as "COW", so I put in MOOED; that didn't work with "Waltzing...", so I switched to LOWED, and never checked my Across; hence my black marks in the grid below....

2. San Antonio field trip destination: ALAMO - name(ish)

3. Place to find high rollers?: SALON - high on one's head kind of rollers

4. Red block in Minecraft: TNT - good WAG on my part, but then again, three letters . . . .

5. "How Do I Live" singer Yearwood: TRISHA - I did recall this was spelled "SHA", not "CIA" - still, name #7

6. One who may remove a curse?: CENSOR - Bloopers

7. Tycoon: MOGUL

8. "Now I've got it!": "A-HA~!"

9. Social media parent company: META - 'they' own Facebook and other social media outlets, I think, and the company is going with "Social Technology" for a title, promoting "virtual reality" goggles - I have tried a set with a model I built in Revit of a church pipe organ; I was impressed, but it made my modeling skills look lame by comparison.  The webpage

10. Equipment for building sand castles: PAILS - what about the shovels~?

Methinks this is called "cheating"

11. "Legally Blonde" protagonist: ELLE WOODS - full name #8

12. Place to see stars: RED CARPET - the kind of stars whose NAMES appear too often in crosswords these days...

13. Historical span: ERA - the most over-used crossword fill

18. Comic strip about a teenager: ZITS - name(ish)

19. "I'd like to see you": "MEET ME."

24. Gas or elec.: UTILity - there's no gas lines in my area; I have to buy oil this week; the water heater is on my furnace

25. Distort, as data: SKEW

Don McMillan, Technically funny

27. Paris subway: METRO - another WAG on my part

30. Creative mind behind the Imagine Peace Tower: ONO - name #9

32. Feels yesterday's workout: ACHES - just in my legs

33. Thespian's role: CHARACTER - ah, good fill

34. Chance for an introvert to recharge: TIME ALONE - I am all for time alone - my ex-wife once called me "anti-social", which was a bonus - it meant I was diagnosed with a disability, and didn't have to participate - 😜

35. Says "Go ahead," say: OKs

38. Genetic material in Rosalind Franklin's "Photo 51": DNA - a "pivotal diffraction X-ray image" of the strand in 1952 - the story here

39. Source of inspiration?: LUNG - Breathe in~!

40. Rainbow band: INDIGO - I toyed with "ROY G BIV", but once I had some crossings, I see it was just ONE band of color

41. Nearby: NIGH - Ah, that kind of nearby, like the end of the world is NIGH~!

47. Made a big stink?: REEKED - I once managed a nightclub that had live bands on the weekends, and one of the groups was called "REEKING HAVOC" - I tried to explain that it's WREAKING, but they're heavy metal, so their name was "better" 🤘

48. Daisylike blooms: ASTERS

49. Side with tandoori chicken: NAAN

51. Medieval poets: BARDS

53. Revved engine sound: VROOM

54. QB protectors, in football lingo: O-LINE - The offensive group of  five (~) guys in front of the quarterback in the NFL

55. Pen sounds: OINKS - That kind of pen

56. Gently pull on: TUG AT

58. Opposite of da: NYET - Tsar-speak for yes and no

61. Valvoline rival: STP - another common crossword fill

62. "Dude ... ": "BRO..."

63. Smidgen: DAB - hey, at least it was not 'A DAB'

Splynter    

Wednesday, Jun 4th, 2025 ~ Joe Marangell

SHHH~!

TurkiSHHH Delight

My first time covering a crossword from Mr. Marangell.  His first LA Times was here, back in November 2024.  Yes, circles, but very few names, chunky triple sevens in all four of the Down corners, and overall, a tight group of four unspoken ways to express joy, anger, approval and indifference, "quietly" hiding in the circles;  

17. Credit card promotion for frequent fliers: BONUS MILES - SMILE  😁 - I don't have any credit card with frequent flyer bonus miles - travel for me was always covered by the company; the pipe organ company did not take full advantage of this perk, go figure 🤔

Smile - it looks like it might a good trip; I should become a frequent flyer

24. Etsy purchase, perhaps: CUSTOM PRINT - STOMP 😡 - I don't make prints, but I do build wood furniture - I can see myself selling some pieces through etsy

This one is SOLD already, but I could make one just like it

34. Key partnership?: PIANO DUET - NOD 😉 - The internet says a piano duet is TWO pianos, not just two piano players, this "duet" is hysterical...

Heart & Soul - "chopsticks"

50. Handwoven products at Istanbul's Grand Bazaar: TURKISH RUGS - SHRUG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Colorful; I have an abstract-patterned one waiting for a place in my home

58. "Is that so?," or a hint to the communication methods found in this puzzle's circled letters: YOU DON'T SAY - tacit, non-verbal means of expressing one's response

And Away We Go~!

Across:

1. Tree with papery bark: BIRCH

6. Opera set in Memphis: AIDA - crossword staple

10. Part of a Cape Cod, familiarly: CRAN - "A" Cape Cod is a vodka cocktail with cranberry and a slice of lime; I noted that if one is not careful, when you buy the Ocean Spray cranberry "cocktail", the amount of  "added" sugar is insane; I buy the "diet" version ( ironic ) that has 1g of 'natural' sugar

14. Japanese lager brand: ASAHI - AND - 47D. Japanese dogs: AKITAS - our consturctor must have an affinity for things "A" Japan, as AKIRA was in his first LA Times

15. Ignore: SNUB

16. Main character: HERO

19. Simplicity: EASE

20. Explosive sound: BLAM - I usually wait on perps, as there are dozens of "sounds" this could be

21. Blackjack card: ACE

22. Elizabeth __ cosmetics: ARDEN - the website

23. Hor. map line: LATitude

27. Latin catchall: Et Alii - and others, typically seen as "et al."

29. Annually: PER YEAR

30. Checkout option: DEBIT - I get 5% cash back/points with my Discover & Amazon credit cards - I use my debit card at the gas pump because credit is usually higher priced.

31. Sharp-witted: KEEN

33. Wily: SLY

38. HS exams for coll. credit: APs - Meh.  I don't care for the plural abbrs in crosswords 

41. Hit or __: MISS

42. Athlete who may run four laps: MILER - Ah- I was just a week too early with this fill . . . . 

46. Takes a turn: ROTATES - Literally - not 'your move', during a game

49. Second-most-populated city in Oregon: EUGENE - behind Portland, I am guessing

53. Contribute: ADD

54. Amazon biz: eTAIL

55. U.K. constituent: ENGland - Nottingham was the place both my parents grew up

This image can be purchased on etsy

56. Upper hand: EDGE

57. Prime condition: MINT - I tried BEST

61. Actress Swenson: INGA - I knew her from "Soap" and "Benson" - her IMDb.  My buddy's ex-wife chose this name for their sedond daughter, so that she could be nicknamed "Iggy"

62. "How __ can I put this ... ": ELSE

63. "Dragon Ball" genre: ANIME

64. Goes out with: SEES

65. Counterpart: PEER - KEEN, SEES and PEER today

66. Subsides: WANES

DOWN:

1. Talked excitedly: BABBLED

2. Keep away from others: ISOLATE - I prefer "solitude" to crowds; I am an introvert

3. Accumulated charges: RAN A TAB

4. Buddy: CHUM

5. That fella's: HIS

6. Nike competitor: ASICS

7. Shore recess: INLET - yeah, but meh; I grew up on Long Island, and the "inlets" were channels to the Great South Bay

8. Expected: DUE

9. Situp muscles: ABs - I do not work on the ABdominals at the gym yet - my trainer "Brett" says my "keg" is in the way - har-har....that's why I am going to the gym 😜

10. Manhattan garnish: CHERRY

11. Prepares: READIES

12. Premier League club known as the Gunners: ARSENAL - oh, my dad would be so disappointed I did not know this immediately - he ate, breathed and slept "European" football - soccer

13. "Stay out": NO ENTRY - we had this identical entry also in the Down in his debut LA Times puzzle

18. Home of Haleakala National Park: MAUI - figured it was Hawai'i, I tried OAHU

22. Start of Q2: APR - The second quarter of the year is April, May, June

24. __ Field: home of the Mets: CITI - Knew this because I grew up on Long Island - but it was Shea back then

25. Sides of a paper?: OP-EDS

26. Restaurant offering: MENU - I WAGed this; good one

28. Body part used in kissing and telling: LIP - cute

31. Kosher deli snack: KNISH - pronounced "Kuh - nish"

Looks tasty

32. Greek goddess of the dawn: EOS

35. City near the geographic center of Iowa: AMES

36. Big birds: EMUS

37. Comedian Notaro: TIG - more here

38. NASA moon exploration program since 2017: ARTEMIS

39. Dish with fries and gravy: POUTINE  - Fries topped with cheese curds and hot gravy

I made my own hash browns in the air-fryer this weekend

40. Offbeat: STRANGE

43. Shows through the door: LEADS IN

44. Checkmate phase: END GAME - Not "YOU LOSE"

45. Flights that may serve dinner and breakfast: RED-EYES

48. Shorthand for sharing a new realization: TIL - I was thinking in terms of text messages, like "FYI".  Meh.  I found this, so it's legit

49. Waffle choice: EGGO

51. Second word in an ecological mantra: REUSE - Reduce, - - -, Recycle

52. Working for: UNDER

56. Italian volcano: ETNA - Etsy, now Etna

58. "Uh-huh": YEP - AND - 60D. "Uh-uh": NAW - Slangy verbal communications 

59. Flamenco cheer: OLÉ

Splynter