Wednesday, Dec 10th, 2025 ~ Peggy Sue Marlin

 CHiPs Fries

I do believe this is Peggy Sue Marlin's first published puzzle - congratulations~!  I found this link to another crossword site, and her name appears there a few times.  For today's theme, Peggy uses the "UK" term for a 'thing' as an adjective for the "American" 'thing', with a humorous result.  My parents were born and raised in Nottingham, England, so I was familiar with the "other" terms Brits use, e.g. lorry for truck, bonnet for hood, etc.  Standard grid, no circles, just thirteen 3LWs, but a few too many names for my taste.  The themers, all unique; 

20. Rental unit with zero personality?: FLAT APARTMENT

A whole building of FLAT apartments

28. One who forgot insect repellent for a walk in the park?: BUGGY STROLLER - Camelot~!

I have to push the Pram A Lot ~!

45. Five-star frank?: BANGER SAUSAGE

This is a FINE example of sausage~!

52. Salad special at a Cape Canaveral cafe?: ROCKET ARUGULA - new to me, I did not know that arugula, everywhere else, is called "rocket" - you learn something new from crosswords everyday~!

And Away We Loo~!

ACROSS:

1. "Star Wars" villain: VADER - "I find your lack of faith . . . . distubing" - name #1

6. Cartoon supplier of explosive tennis balls: ACME

Wile E Coyote's go-to supply company

10. "I'm __ you asked": "GLAD"

14. BP merger partner: AMOCO

15. Glitzy rock genre: GLAM - ah, such sweet memories....NY Dolls and Kiss may have started it all, but I grew up in the 80s with the likes of Poison, Cinderella, and my personal favorite, Mötley Crüe

Care to see the video for Looks that Kill~? -  I'm GLAM you asked~!

16. Work (up): RILE

17. Emblems on some caps: LOGOS

18. Add to the staff: HIRE

19. Auth. unknown: ANONymous

23. Mai __: rum drink: TAI

25. Día de __ Muertos: LOS - Espaniol, "Day of the Dead" - used as the backdrop for the opening sequence from "Spectre", the penultimate Bond film starring Daniel Craig.  There were NO edits for the first four minutes, and that's an incredible feat; the behind-the-scenes making of - with the one-shot description mentioned at 10:42.  Here's a gratuitous Daniel 007 for C.C.

I need to talk to my trainer Brett about this diet & exercise plan

26. "Lost" actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE - "Dae of the Five-O", too - in fact, I see he had a guest "54D." on Law & Order back in 1994 - his IMDb; name #2

27. Grow older: AGE

32. Host of the 2004 Olympics: ATHENS - I believe they hosted the FIRST games, as well

33. __ cards: INDEX - they come in handy for . . . .

34. Repetitive learning method: ROTE - printing music notes on, so I could learn them by sight, rather than counting lines and spaces

35. Craft beer letters: IPA - crossword staple

36. "Aladdin" parrot named for a Shakespeare villain: IAGO - name #3

40. Brother's daughter: NIECE - my niece-in-law broke her lower leg riding a quad on Thanksgiving

43. Puffy reminder of a scuffle: FAT LIP - FAT TIRE is an Amber Ale

47. Washington airport code: DCA - Dah~!  Not SEA for Seattle / Tacoma, the other Washington - D.C. - and Ronald Reagan Airport

49. Bible book before 1 Cor.: ROM - Romans - ooof; I guess it's a change-up from ROMantic COMedy, but I am not familiar with the Biblical books

Bottom Shelf

50. "Star Trek" series, for short: TNG - The Next Generation, and MY generation.  I could not get into the original series, as I knew Star Wars before I saw William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, et. al. in their roles as Kirk & Spock, etc.  I did, however, embrace the characters in this series, which began in 1987

Bangers humor

51. Recycle bin item: CAN

56. Repulsive: ICKY

57. Club choice: IRON - not sa'miches, but one of the "niblicks" used at 44D.

58. Big name in plastic wrap: SARAN - says name right in the clue - #4

61. Outside the lines: FOUL - sports lingo, not coloring books

62. Sandy sediment: SILT - Sandy sentiment~?

You're The One That I Want, Grease, 1978

63. Entry on a Spotify playlist: TITLE - music streaming; I use Pandora; Spotify is too much work for me

64. Carton sealer: TAPE - I first read this as cartOON

Wile E "sealed" in glue

65. Low digits: TOES

66. Quite capable: ADEPT

DOWN:

1. Actor Kilmer: VAL - name #5

2. Ti __: Italian "I love you": AMO - how ROMANtic

3. Ace-versus-ace sky battle: DOGFIGHT - George Lucas explains how he used clips of WWII dogfights so his Star Wars special effects team could grasp what he was aiming for with the Death Star battle finale

4. Climate change sci.: ECOLogy

5. Historian Terborg-Penn: ROSALYN - Sheesh.  On Wednesday.  Name #6 - her Wiki

6. Horrified: AGHAST

7. Chip bag closer: CLIP - Not SEAL

8. Argentine soccer legend Diego: MARADONA - I recalled this name - more here - name #7

9. May birthstone: EMERALD 

Definitely not the Grinch . . . .

10. Nana: GRAM - I grew up with "Granny", thus my one goof in the grid - the 'N' to 'M'

11. One-dimensional: LINEAR

12. Word with run or tag: ALONG - run along, tag-along

13. Al __: pasta specification: DENTE

21. Throw in the trash: TOSS

22. Lead-in to prompter: TELE - TelePrompTer - history

23. Ski lift: T-BAR - third "Tee" answer in row

24. Mustang or Pinto: AUTO - FORD worked, as well - two names used by the Ford Motor Co. - and Charlie's Angels, too

An article from Motorbiscuit about the cars here

29. Davis of "A League of Their Own": GEENA - knew it, still a name, #8

30. More edible, perhaps: RIPER

31. Off-ramps: EXITS

35. Video game plumber who freezes enemies: ICE MARIO - I knew Mario, but not the ICE version - name #9

37. Menu phrase: À LA CARTE - good to see the whole phrase in a crossword

38. More than mega-: GIGA - one point twenty-one GIGAwatts~!

Doc Brown, Back to the Future

39. Like a 24-hour diner: OPEN - all day . . . . and night

41. Memo phrase: IN RE

42. Self-centered sort: EGOTIST - Narcissist was too much for this answer

43. Vampire tooth: FANG

44. Masters Tournament host city: AUGUSTA - I like to watch golf 

45. "Wait, what did you just say?": "BACK UP..."

46. Double duty?: STUNTS - Stunt doubles, har-har

47. Deviate: DRIFT

48. __ powder: COCOA

53. Schwarber who led the National League in home runs in 2022 and 2025: KYLE - I don't care much for baseball, so this one was all perps - name #10

54. Actor's assignment: ROLE - I prefer behind-the-scenes work, but I would love to play a twisted bad guy in a movie some day

55. Set, as a table: LAID - meh, but I guess so

59. Swiss peak: ALP

60. March Madness souvenir: NET - college basketball - the winners usually snip the net from the rim

Splynter

Wednesday, Dec 3rd, 2025 ~ John Harrington

  BRAIN CRAMP

I'm a fan of the Canucks, like Bert  - or perhaps you know of this card game

I do the DOWN clues to start, so I quickly discovered that the theme was DOWN, as well - and I know there are a few visitors to the Corner who are not fond of this type of construction, and now, combined with the always admired circles - just like yesterday~!.  Sigh.   John had one other contribution to the LA Times in the past, almost four years ago to the day with a similar theme that Boomer covered.  I have not had the pleasure of blogging one of his puzzles; I am totally impressed with the theme fills, and their clever arrangement, but some of the other clue/answers didn't thrill me.  A handful of names, 24 each of four- and five-letter words - more than the 17 3LWs - a 15x15 grid, and three unique (*) fills; 

5. The Guess Who song covered by Lenny Kravitz: AMERICAN WOMAN* - I never cared for the original, so the remake did nothing for me - sorry.  

10. Principle that anything that can go wrong will go wrong: MURPHY'S LAW - There are more now;

I have proven the Workshop law too many times to count - hardware as well as tools

19. Comedian's self-deprecating assurance: "I'M HERE ALL WEEK.~!"* - Ba-dum-tiss

29. Unseen collective character on "The Office": CAMERA CREW

I so wanted to link the "best of" this phrase, but it's NSF Work - ironically

7. Routine before a race, or what can be found in this puzzle's circled letters: 

WARM UP STRETCHES* - The circles denote the letters W A R M that s-t-r-e-t-c-h "up" the theme answers - one needs to limber up the noggin before working a crossword puzzle . . . .

Grid Flow is 35.2, roughly the average

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. __ lines: mysterious geoglyphs in Peru: NAZCA - I like watching "Ancient Aliens", and the Lines are a frequent topic on that show - the Wiki; geo name#1

And now A I has discovered 300+ more glyphs - the website

6. Couple: TWO

9. Love, in Spanish: AMOR

13. Geometry class statement: AXIOM - here's an explanation, sort of . . . 

14. Ink pouches: SACS

16. Knockoff version: DUPE - no abbr indicated for "duplicate"

17. Chop finely: MINCE - my AXLE/IRON made this  - L O C - , so I knew something was not right

18. Some Hollywood red-carpet events: PREMIERES - Solid fill

20. Go along with: ESCORT

Air Force One with a fighter "escort"

22. Formal address: MA'AM

23. Con's opposite: PRO - Corrections Officer was too long 😜

24. Celebratory gesture after a success: AIR PUNCH

'tis the season~!

26. "You __ one job!": "HAD~!"

27. TV network based in Central London: BBC - network #1, the "beeb"

30. Complain: CARP

A goldfish carp - get it~?

31. "Claws" actor Jack: KESY - No clue, filled via perps; his IMDb; name #2

33. In the style of, on French menus: À LA

34. Sailor's "Halt!": "AVAST~!"

36. Puts one's feet up: RESTS

39. Instant noodles option: RAMEN - I made my mac N cheese for Thanksgiving, but when I opened this box of Penne, it had Rotini in it

It's an "im-pasta"

41. Ultimate degree: Nth

42. Razzle-dazzle: ÉCLAT - more Frawnche, "burst out"

43. "Sullivan's Crossing" channel: THE CW - network #2 , never watched, filled via perps - name (ish)

44. Caribbean island near Venezuela: ARUBA - geo name #2

46. Blackjack card: ACE - see also 63D.

47. Crucifix: ROOD - My US History teacher in high school was Mr. Rood; he claimed his "rock band" went by the name "Merchants of Death", from the historical WWI pejorative - and he would tell us on Fridays to "make it a better weekend for someone else.", which I always appreciated.

49. Track legend Zátopek: EMIL - name #3

50. __ factor: WOW

51. AIT scanner org.: TSA - three days in a row now; Advanced Imaging Technology, Transportation Security Admin.

53. Spaghetti topper: MEATBALL

Looked so good when I wrote the blog, I went and made more "Ro-Penne" with meatballs

Or is it Pen-tini~?

56. "Monsters, __": INC.

57. With, on French menus: AVEC - more more Frawnche; without = sans

58. Dives like a hawk: SWOOPS

62. Taylor Swift hit that aptly spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100: FORTNIGHT

65. Easy-to-spot jigsaw pieces: EDGES - I had a picture of Cooper made into a jigsaw puzzle as a present for my sister-in-law last year; she and my brother are tackling it now to be done before this Christmas

Me 'n Cooper, loungin' on the couch

66. Release: FREE - messed up my "SPATS" @ 51D.

67. In __ of: LIEU - send donations to the Splynter board game fund in lieu of flowers . . . .

68. Everglades wading bird: EGRET - showed up in Monday's puzzle, too - I lived in Florida for two years, don't  rEGRET moving 😜

69. Threaded together: SEWN

70. Form 1099 fig.: SSN - IRS didn't work

71. Falls (over): KEELS

DOWN:

1. Topic of conversation for parents-to-be: NAME - #. 1. name.  Ha~!

2. Turning point?: AXIS - I put in AXLE, but in retrospect, an axle is not really a "point"

3. Multivitamin element: ZINC - Dah~!  Not IRON

4. Drinkable chocolate: COCOA - I like Ryze mushroom cocoa, but it does not make me as sleepy as advertised

6. Cook's meas.: TSP - a "tisp" is smaller than a tibble-spip, ( TBSP ) amounts I am working with when following a 'ree-sype'

8. One of a geographic quintet: OCEAN - Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic - which is now called Southern

9. Summery drink suffix: ADE - hi Lemonade~!

11. "Tosca," for one: OPERA

12. Fill in, as a bare spot in a yard: RESOD

I think I see a "bare spot" in the yard

15. Noisy kiss: SMACK

21. Chiefs star Kelce, to fans: TRAV - Since I am so NOT a Chiefs fan, I had no clue; this season, no NFL team seems to be the run-away favorite, as far as I can tell - name #4

25. Sanskrit for "life force": PRANA - ooops, not ASANA - that's a hatha yoga posture

27. Oldest Simpson kid: BART - Lisa, & Maggie haven't aged a day in almost 40 years - name #5

28. Ho-hum: "BLAH."

32. Min. fraction: SEC

35. Stick out like a sore __: THUMB

37. Food truck fare: TACO

38. Nurse a grudge, say: STEW - we already had several 'food' clues & answers

40. Green prefix: ECO

45. Slant: BIAS

48. New Jersey NHL player: DEVIL - I lived in Albany, NY, which is home to their farm team, the River Rats

51. Petty quarrels: TIFFS - my answer was Bzzzt~!

52. "Zzz" sound: SNORE - I prefer this ZZ sound

A post-Thanksgiving "TV Dinners", ZZ top

54. Protection: AEGIS - filled via perps; the OE dictionary says it's of Greek origin meaning "shield"

55. Ski resort building: LODGE - A-FRAME didn't fit

59. Fantasy heavy: OGRE

60. Banana skin: PEEL

61. Retired jets, briefly: SSTs - Super-Sonic TransportS - The Concorde, e.g. - this fill has been making a comeback, lately

63. Royal flush card: TEN - had to change my ACE here due to its showing up for Blackjack @ 46A.

64. Winery vat: TUN - filled via perps; etymology here

Splynter