Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Daniel Britt

DELTABURKE and DANNYBONADUCE are real throwback references, aren't they? I can't picture either one of them, but their names are floating around in my memory. DREWBARRYMORE, on the other hand, I can picture. I can picture her in E.T. and in Charlie's Angels. She's always been a favorite. And then there's DAVIDBOWIE. He's got to be the most famous of the four, right? And maybe he's the most likely to have introduced himself by saying IMDB. But probably not. 

Philbo would be sad that I did not immediately know that OTTAWA lay on the banks of the Rideau River. Sigh. I probably know more about SATURN than I do about Canada. 

WIREMESH (Latticed metal used in construction and fencing) - is that just chain link? And aren't there Gentlemen's clubs that aren't NUDIEBARs? Another thing I know very little about...

This felt like it played hard for me but was over in six and a half minutes, so I guess it's still right in that Tuesday range. How'd you like it?

- Horace 

Monday, July 14, 2025, Christina Iverson

If you know this blog, you know I like goofy, so this play on HARRYSTYLES name is a-ok with me. :) Ms. Iverson gives us four hairy styles at the ends of BASKETWEAVE, PRETZELBUN, THEREDPONY, and MONOBOB. And what's more, it's in sort of a pinwheel shape, going both across and down, which I also enjoy. So thumbs up on theme. Very LIKABLE.

It's Monday, so the fill can't be too fancy, but we get a few more interesting words like COWER (Crouch down in fear), IONIC (Like some chemical bonds), KHAKI (Color for some business casual pants), and ROBUST (Vigorously strong). "We are family!" (KIN) was amusing, and I enjoyed the quaintness of GOSHNO contrasting with NUDE and INHEAT. 

Fun Monday.

- Horace 

Sunday, July 13, 2025, Brandon Koppy

This is one of those tricks where it looks like the puzzle is "wrong," in that there is a complete disconnect between East and West, but then, of course, answers are revealed at the end by revealing hidden letters under the black squares. And these letters, as luck would have it, spell out "the doors." 

While the eight "bonus clues" seem anti-climactic, the hiding of the hidden words is pretty clever in some spots. BEET and OVEN turning into "Beethoven" is nice, and DISHON as two words, combining with RING to make "dishonoring" is pretty good too. The change from HONE and TWOMAN to "honest woman" is marred by the very clue and answer themselves. "New bride, quaintly." Ick.

The other two pieces of theme material are the Doors song BREAKONTHROUGH TOTHEOTHERSIDE and the phrase HOLESIN THEWALL.

Overall, not a bad theme, I just had a few issues with it. But maybe that's just me.

What else? HADLUNCH (Took an hour off mid-day, say) seemed a bit random. INPAWN (Traded for cash) - I am familiar with pawn shops, of course, but "in pawn" isn't something I hear. On the other hand, SCHISM, ECHELON, TADPOLE, TUSHIE, SCOURED, and ATELOCAL - all strong.

- Horace 

Saturday, July 12, 2025, Katie Hoody

WHATABLAST. This is the second time I have seen Ms. Hoody's byline, and it's the second time I will be giving her a rave review. 

Clever cluing was everywhere today: "Skipping music, say" (ABSENT), "Adjunct faculty?" (SIXTHSENSE), "What might be seen around a star" (POSSE), "Spot for newborn care" (NEST), "Period ender" (HORN) (think: hocky game), "Wit's end?" (NESS), and my personal favorite - and the one that took me so, so long to see - "Rush to find a mate?" (SPEEDCHESS). So good.

Then there were the connected "Waste" clues for DEBRIS and BLOW, the interesting trivia clues like "Kind of spider believed to spread to distant areas via railway" (HOBO) and "Its official languages are Chamorro and English" (GUAM). 

ICONOCLAST (Convention challenger) is a lovely entry. LINGO (Terms of a trade) and RIGAMAROLE (Series of hoops and hurdles) are fun. Overall, just a really solid Saturday. WHATABLAST indeed.

- Horace 

Friday, July 11, 2025, James McCarron

I admit it, I prefer themeless puzzles. Sure, sometimes there's a really clever idea, and sometimes those clever ideas are well done, but there's nothing quite so enjoyable than working through a themeless. Clues like "Tales are related about them," that seem so opaque, suddenly bring a smile when enough crosses allow you to see CAMPFIRES. Or "What might come with a twist or two," which gets you thinking about cocktails, but really refers to BALLOONANIMALS. And then there are clues like "Colonial group" are old standbys, but still maybe take the beginning A to remind you that they want ANTS. 

And then there are the answers like "You're warm" where you know what they mean, but you're not sure if it's going to be GETTINGnearER or GETTINGCLOSER.  

It's always nice to get an OGDEN Nash quote "The cow is of the bovine ilk; / One end is moo, the other, milk." I think the first Nash I can remember learning, back when I was under ten, was "If called by a panther / Don't anther." Which I see now comes from a slightly longer poem:

The Panther is like a leopard,

Except it hasn't been peppered.

Should you behold a panther crouch,

Prepare to say Ouch.

Better yet, if called by a panther,

Don't anther.

 

So anyway, I don't have a ton of time this morning, but sitting in this cafe doing this puzzle gave the day an excellent start.

 

- Horace 

Thursday, July 10, 2025, Emily Biegas and Sala Wanetick

Today's forced theme is four playing cards interpreted as clues. The ace of spades is used for MASTERGARDENER. That's cute. Then we get TIGERWOODS, who hasn't been the king of clubs for many years now. The queen of hearts is a MATCHMAKER, and then the jack of diamonds is, apparently, JACKIEROBINSON. Hmm.

"Curve that gives one pause?" is a cute clue for COMMA, and likewise "Big race that's no longer around" for DINOSAURS. 

After I got "CO..." at the start of "Urban housing option," I thought there must be a rebus because "condo" wouldn't fit. I guess I'm not much of an urbanite, because COOP didn't come to me for quite some time. Hah.

Is DEUCE bonus material?

- Horace 

Wednesday, July 9, 2025, Desirée Penner and Jeff Sinnock

Kind of an odd, positionally-clued theme today. The top row clues all included the word "top" in them: "Top dog?" (MUTT), "Top hat?" (LID), and "Top gun?" (PISTOL). And the sides all included the word "side" in the clue: "Side dish?" (PLATE), "Side kick?" (PUNT), etc. And likewise at the bottom: "Bottom feeder?" (TROUGH). I thought the weakest were "Bottom line?" for RAY and "Side plank?" for BOARD. What is a "side plank?" Oh wait... unless it's a yoga move... Anyway, EDGES serves as a highlighter, of sorts, in the very center. Nice.

LEVITATE (Get off the ground?) is a fun one. And I didn't realize that D.F.W. taught at POMONA. Someone I know when to POMONA around the time he could have been there. If I ever see her again I'll ask whether or not she had a class with him. 

What else? My brother Rich used to say YOUDIRTYRAT in a bad Cagney voice when I was little. And it's funny that MOOLAH is in again today.

The second and second-to-last lines today strike me as very crosswordy - EPEE ETE OCTOPI and NANANA ATO AGES. 

Happy Wednesday!

- Horace