Saturday, May 31, 2025, Adam Aaronson and Ricky Cruz

26:34

Of course, when I have to leave the house before 6:00am the Saturday puzzle is a bear. 

I liked the start of the Downs - KIBOSH (Nix), but I don't often think of it as a stand-alone verb. It's always "put the KIBOSH on" something, not "KIBOSH" it. But maybe that's just me.

"Underline?" was an amusing - and tricky! - clue for SEWER. See also: "Leaves the rest?" (AWAKENS); and "Minor key?" (ISLET). Good QMCs, all.

The idea of a CHESSBOXER was new to me, and the Wikipedia page strikes me as something that could have been put together as a gag to support this entry. But then, there seems to be a 12-year-old video by the Wu Tang Clan called "The Mystery of Chessboxin'," with 59 million views, so... maybe it's real? 

In other news, the other side of the partnership with LAY, the "Chip maker in a 1961 merger" was the Frito company. And speaking of words that start with F and end with O, the "Most populous California city with a one-word name" for (FRESNO) was very clever. 

So much in here... who knew there was ALOE juice? Or that CAPTCHA stood for "Completely Automated Public TURINGTEST to tell Computers and Humans Apart?" And how about ALLEYOOP (Two-person shot)? So good.

I gotta run, but this was a helluva Saturday puzzle. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Ya EBOY,
- Horace

 

Friday, May 30, 2025, Rafael Musa

10:00

This one went right along. Everything seemed kind of straightforward. Not DUH, exactly, but because it was a Friday, and because of the clue (DUH) I guessed GOL (Shout during a Real Madrid penalty shootout), then GAYBAR (Establishment that might host a drag brunch) seemed obvious, and SWEARJAR (Something that's filled with bad words), too, went right in. That kind of thing. The answers were more complex, or more unusual, in a way, but they were not exactly challenging. Like ROCKBAND (The White Stripes or Deep Purple), for example, RESALE (Thrift store transaction), and even the grid-spanner DRIVERSLICENSES (Things checked at checkpoints).

My favorite answer was SLAMDUNK (Sure thing). And "She's a believer" (NUN) was the best clue.

Frannie called out DAZING (Stunning) as feeling forced, and that crossword darling the O.E.D. agrees with her, telling us that there are fewer than 0.01 occurrences of the word per million words in modern written English.

Some days are just days, and some crosswords are just crosswords, but a rose is a rose is a rose.

- Horace

Thursday, May 29, 2025, John Kugelman

Today I finished the puzzle without understanding the theme, as is sometimes possible, and it took me a minute to figure it out! 

The revealer, TEASEUP, is to be taken for what it sounds like "Ts up," and it explains that in the answers to the clues with asterisks, like "*Two sure things," the Ts will be up one row. So 54-Across isn't just DEA, it's DEATHANDTAXES, but the Ts are above the black squares. It's a nice little trick. And who knew Mensa was a constellation? Probably all those Mensa nerds, that's who.

I thought "Insect named for the Virgin Mary" (LADYBUG) was interesting. Wikipedia tells me that it was so named for its color - because Mary was often depicted wearing red in old art. Of course I googled "Mary in old art" and what do you know, she often has a red dress on. She also usually has a blue garment on over the dress, but yeah, red. Interesting.

SNOOPS (Nosy parkers) and AMSCRAY ("Make like a drum and beat it!") is a solid top row. "Certain seasonal workers?" (REINDEER) was cheeky. "ALL hat, no cattle" and "Over-the-top dramatic" (FULLDIVA) were fun. 

Finally, I learned the word "Dissemble" (LIE) from Pinafore, so why not end with a little more G&S -

Though to catch my drift he's striving,
I'll dissemble – I'll dissemble;
When he sees at what I'm driving,
Let him tremble – let him tremble!

Tho' a mystic tone I borrow,
He shall learn the truth with sorrow;
Here today and gone tomorrow.

Yes, I know.
That is so!

- Horace 

Wednesday, May 28, 2025, Peter A. Collins

An impressive grid by one of the Old Masters of the NYTX world, in which circled letters rising and falling in the shape of the Sun's daily arc spell out "sunrise, sunset." As the words dawn and set they cross the entries GOODMORNING and NIGHTYNIGHT, and there's a bonus/revealer/additional element of FIDDLER (Musical featuring the song depicted by this puzzle's circled letters, familiarly). Very nice.

I'm not sure what, if anything, the black squares represent. At first I thought there might be a stylized violinist in the center, but now I just think it's all just normal left-right symmetry blocks. I might make it into a T-Shirt design ... don't all the black squares, taken together, look something like a super hero emblem? (Mr. Wednesday!)... and it makes me wonder if there would be any concern about rights... Probably not. If that's not a transformative use, then I don't know what is. But Mr. Collins - I'll send you one if I ever end up doing it. :)

Anywhooo, where was I? 

I overthought things right at the start, wanting a rebus to fit "bebop" into 1-Down - "Genre for Count Basie or Charlie Parker" (JAZZ). I even took out JIB (Small foresail) briefly! But ZENO (Philosopher known for paradoxes) set me straight again.

I guffawed at "Terse admonition" (DONT), and, honestly, I love the little squares of crosswordese threes in the West and East - ABA/NAV/EYE and TVA/EEG/RTE. I feel it's totally worth it in a puzzle as elegant as this. And besides, you still get nice fill like ACUMEN (Astuteness), POINTA (Starting place), AVERTED (Turned aside), and GURGLED (Sounded like a brook). Doesn't that last one always make you think of Pirates?

When the enterprising burlar's not a-burgling
(Not a-burgling)
When the cut-throat isn't occupied in crime –
('Pied in crime,)
He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling –
Brook a-gurgling
And listen to the merry village chime –
Village chime.

Well, it does me. 

- Horace 

 

Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Ginny Too

The HOLYTRINITY is represented today by three theme answers:

WHOLLYOWNED - Like a subsidiary with only one parent
HOLEYCHEESES - Swiss and Jarlsberg
HOLIFESTIVAL - Colorful Hindu celebration

A tidy little Tuesday theme. 

Loved that today started with "Puccini heroine who 'lived for art, lived for love'" (TOSCA). How'd that work out for her?...

BADASSERY (Acts that are tough, rebellious and cool, in slang) was fun, and its symmetrical counterpart IMALLEARS ("Tell me") was nice and colloquial. The clue: "Caaaaaaar, you might say" had me stumped for quite a while (LIMO) (lmao). "Helps out a friend, purr-haps?," on the other hand, wasn't hard, but was a cute clue for CATSITS.

How about "Lines of communication" for CABLES? It could work many ways.

Overall, a decent Tuesday.

- Horace

Monday, May 26, 2025, Ari Halpern

The theme seems a little weak today. It's MOVIEOFTHEWEEK, and there are three movies that have a day in the title. They are out of order (if you follow ISO 8601), and there are only three of them. I know that it's impossible to get all seven in a weekday grid, and so, ok, fine. Also, the clue for hte revealer is "1070s-'80s TV staple ..." but two of the three movies are from 1999 and 2003. Is that weird? Of course, there's the 1976 version of FREAKYFRIDAY too... why not reference that one?

BRAINSTEM (Body part connecting the cerebrum to the spinal cord) and NERDALERT ("Look at this guy spouting useless trivia!" are fun ones. CUSP (One of four on most molars) is a tough one for a Monday. And I tried the perhaps rather too obvious "god" for "Topic for an evangelical preacher" (SIN). Who knew?

LENGTHENS (Stretches out) and ESCAPEKEY (Aid for getting out of a computer jam) seemed a little meh, but CIRCA (Around, as in dates) and CAVERN (Stalactite site) were fun.

- Horace

Sunday, May 25, 2025, Dylan Schiff

TRAVEL BUG

If you have been going to the A.C.P.T. for many years, you will understand me when I tell you that this puzzle gave me a little P.T.S.D. from an infamous Puzzle Five that used the idea of recombinant D.N.A. as a theme. In that puzzle, however, there were no helpful, color-coded circles to guide you. Sigh...

But that was then, this is now, and here, the combination of rebuses and WORMHOLES that work in both the Across and Down clues are really quite a lovely achievement, and an unusually complex Sunday theme. Beautiful, really. Not that that Puzzle Five wasn't also beautiful... probably...

I will not give theme examples today, but instead will leave it to you to untangle it all. I am reviewing, after all, not providing answers.

And speaking of reviewing, do I NEEDTO question whether the inclusion of CATHETER (Angioplasty tube) passes the "Sunday Morning Test?" Or is that test now OBSOLETE? And I suppose SODOM is ok because it's biblical... but then we can't just fill the grids with nothing but TREACLE. Gotta elicit a GAH or two with a little OLE POP. 

OK, enough of that. What about EMUOIL (Wellness product derived from an Australian bird)? Who knew?

SOLID puzzle. I DIG it.

- Horace

 

Saturday, May 24, 2025, Gene Louise De Vera

Fifteen extra squares and a mini-theme today in this 16x15 Saturday grid. 

All starts well in the NW with PSYCH (Course on behavior, for short), HEIR (Mary 1, to Henry VIII), PECOS (River that once marked the boundary of the Wild West), and SPAWNPOINT (Location where a video game character starts (or restarts) a level). All solid. And on the other side, there's RIGAMAROLE (Song and dance), which makes me think of a co-worker who likes to call out "rigamaroo."

Having eaten out yesterday (and split the bill) I smiled when I got MYTREAT (Nice thing to hear from one's dining partner). And speaking of money, I enjoyed the slightly anachronistic PURSES (Places for change). I was surprised when I finally got SHAQ (Magic center, familiarly) - Gotta get that brain a little more plastic! And speaking of - I'm not sure I fully understand ALIENQUEEN (Xenomorph who can produce humanoid offspring). Is that just general fantasy, or is it referring to a specific sci-fi book or movie? 

The mini-theme involves CAUTIOUSOPTIMISM (Feeling described as "hoping for the best, but fearing for the worst") and PLEASANTSURPRISE (Positive result of having 18-Across, perhaps). Nice. And there are loads of other solid C/APs today: "Shelters from the heat?" (SAFEHOUSES); "Not recommended" (ILLADVISED); and "Exposed" (OUTED), to name just three.

Solid Saturday.

- Horace

 

Friday, May 23, 2025, Kate Hawkins

Were you as surprised as I was to see KISSEDBUTT (Sucked up) in the grid today? Hah! 

AKEE (Fruit that grows on Jamaican beaches) put the song "Jamaican Farewell" into my head, and it's one of those times that learning something new made another thing that I had long heard as only sound suddenly make sense. This time it was the line "AKEE rice, saltfish are nice are nice, and the rum is fine any time of year." I have sung that many times, but I always just glossed over the first word." 

The top left gave me a lot of trouble at the end of my solve, mostly because I held fast to what I thought was a clever answer to "Dining at Chipotle or Panera, e.g." - hAuTCASUAL. I guess FASTCASUAL must be a thing, but what's "slow casual?" Or is that just "casual?" FASTCASUAL strikes me as a little like festina lente. And speaking of Latin, nice bit of trivia in "Fish bred by Roman nobles" (EELS).

Lots of fun clues in this one. "Watch this space!" (WRIST) took me forever, but I guffawed when I finally got it. And "A lot can be made of these" (ACRES) was cute. "Place for a cabin" (SEMI) was tricky. "Check for pieces, say" (FRISK) was clever.

Finally, always nice to see TOM in the grid. :)

- Horace

Thursday, May 22, 2025, David J. Kahn

This is a complex theme. MONEY CHANGES EVERYTHING is the multi-answer revealer, and it explains, in a way, that the word "all" (EVERYTHING) in the theme answers is changed into the currency of the country in brackets in the clue. Let's look at the themers:

*Be brave and proud [Iran] - should be "stand tall," but replace all with rial and you get STANDTRIAL
*How some medications are taken [Jordan] - ORDINARY (dinar)
*Luminous meteor [South Africa] - FIREBRAND (rand)
*Ubiquitously [Korea] - WONOVER (won)
*Ones on your side [Costa Rica] - COLONIES (colón)

See what I mean? Complex. 

Luckily, the rest of the answers were, at least on the left side, for me, pretty straightforward. On the right side we had things like EZER (1990s Israeli president Weizman) and DEDE (Film editor ____ Allen). 

This one was all about the theme, in my opinion, and it was pretty impressive.

- Horace

 

Wednesday, May 21, 2025, Ilana Levene and Scott Hogan

Today's theme is fun, exhortation-style re-cluing of common phrases or things:

CHEESEDOG - "Smile for the photo, dude!"
DELIVERYMAN - "Work on your enunciation, bro!"
TWISTEDSISTER - "That is messed up, girl!"
BLOCKBUSTER - "Protect the quarterback, buddy!"
WILDHONEY - "That's unbelievable, love!"

This one made me smile. 

I also enjoyed the twin "Fragment" entries, SHARD and SLIVER, and the not-so-directly-paired-but-still-similar PORTENT (Omen) and BODES (Seems to point to). And I guess we have the "outdated" pairing of SIDE (One of two on a record) and PPS (Afterhought's afterthought: Abbr.). Or maybe not... vinyl has been having a nice resurgence lately, and I just wrote PPS in an email not long ago...

Can I call out CIA (Org. whose officers train at Camp Peary) and FBILAB (Forensics HQ in Quantico, Va.)? Do I need to call out pairings at all? What even is a reviewer?

- Horace

Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Rena Cohen

The theme today appears to be cluing common-ish phrases in a novel way. I say common-ish, because I am not familiar with WEASELWORDS, and might have thought of "Mink, ferret, stoat, etc." before thinking of words that are intentionally false or misleading when seeing the phrase. CATCHPHRASES ("Eye on the ball," "Get under it!," "I got it!," etc.) and FINISHLINES ("Ta-da," "All done," "There you have it," etc.) were both fine. And SIGNLANGUAGE is what? Common words that are also used on signs? (Yield, Stop, Dead End, etc.) Seems odd, but ok.

I liked ONMESSAGE (Consistent with party policy), "Somme friends" (AMIS), and "Consumers of hogwash" (SWINE). The clue "What 'America runs on,' in a franchise slogan" makes me wonder just how far DUNKIN has grown. 

It might not surprise you to learn that I just looked that up, and I am way behind the times! Since starting right here in Massachusetts (Quincy) in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts (now just Dunkin') has grown to have approximately 14,000 locations in 39 countries, with South Korea being its biggest overseas market. I feel I should balance all this Dunkin' talk by saying that I would never get anything from Dunkin', and I can't remember the last time I was ever in one. 

Lastly, GALL (Chutzpah) is a good word.

- Horace

Monday, May 19, 2025, Kiran Pandey

An OG theme of four entries that are all OHGEEZ, in that they are each two-word things where the first word starts with O and the second with G.

OLIVEGARDEN - Casual dining chain with unlimited breadsticks.
OLYMPICGAMES - Event whose symbol is five interlocking rings
OPERAGLASSES - Theater binoculars
ORANGEGROVE - Starting point for Tropicana or Florida's Natural juice

Two things about the theme answers - One of the parties I was at this past weekend was catered with Olive Garden food, and those breadsticks are kind of terrible, and at that same party, someone joked about getting orange juice somewhere and commenting "Weird to have straight mixer, but ok." Hah.

I have often heard the question asked, "Do you consider yourself an artist or a craftsman?," so to see ART clued with "Crafstmanship" is interesting... I know, I know, the crossword clue world is one where meanings are merged, not carefully separated, but still.

FAE (Race of mythical beings, in fantasy fiction) was new to me. I understand it means "fairies," but is slightly broader. 

Nice patriotic mini-theme with TEN (Number of amendments in the Bill of Rights), "We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident," and HONESTABE. And an even minier theme of the crossing EROTICA and TUSH. GAH.

- Horace

Sunday, May 18, 2025, Garrett Chalfin

HALVING THE LAST WORD

Fun theme today of doing just what the title says - splitting the last word in the theme answers and reinterpreting as two separate words, then cluing appropriately. As in:

MAKINGANIMPACT (Casting a total brat in the school play?)
SALESPERSON (Metric in a competitive family business?)
TAKEOFFICE (Remove from the champagne bucket?)
and the most absurd
LOVEHOTELS (Be crazy about Chicago trains with broken A.C.s?)

The long Downs were good, with COFFEEOCLOCK (Time for a pick-me-up, humorously) and the difficult to spell CONNOISSEURS (Arbiters of taste). Continuing with the french, we have BEAUCOUP (Much in quantity) and DES (French for "from").

What did you think of CAPE (Where the Pilgrims first landed in the New World)? Seems a little spare. I would have expected either the full Cape Cod, or else maybe "The Cape"? 

On the other hand, I loved CHAOS ("The score upon which reality is written," per Henry Miller). Ain't that the truth. I feel like I have been living in a tornado recently. Since yesterday morning I've driven about 500 miles, attended a luncheon, a graduation, a reception, a graduation party, a group breakfast, and a Eurovision party. And now I am writing this review. And then I will collapse. 

- Horace

 

Saturday, May 17, 2025, Ryan Judge

Tough grid today with rare diagonal symmetry. I didn't exactly notice it during the solve, but I didn't exactly not notice it either. The fifteens of KIMSCONVENIENCE (Sitcom set in a corner store run by a Korean Canadian family (2016-21)) and SAMEDAYDELIVERY (Prime choice) (Wean yourself from Amazon. It's not hard.) were balanced by a wide open SE corner, and the middle was relatively open and free-flowing.

ANYADVICE (Tip line?) took me forever, and it wasn't helped by my mistake of AfC (Miami is in it, for short) (ACC). And I don't say "DIAL" up, so "Turn (up)" took a while too. 

REDGIANT (The sun, e.g., in about five billion years) was hopeful, in that by then all of the problems on Earth today will be long gone. Of course, I will be too, but still...

Love any nod to Poe - (N.F.L. team whose name is a literary reference) (RAVENS), and I like the trivia in "Chain whose name came from a Boston hotel whose sign was too expensive to remove." It had been a hotel, but it was the third hotel bought by a pair of people who eventually used that name for their entire chain. The holding company eventually became the Sheraton Corporation of America, and was the first hotel chain to be listed on the NYSE, in 1947.

- Horace

Friday, May 16, 2025, August Lee-Kovach

Fun nine-stacks today. My favorites among the longer entries are:

SPACESHIP - One shooting for the stars? 
ICANTEVEN - "Words fail me ..."
NERDALERT - Sarcastic reply when someone quotes "Star Trek"
FORTHEWIN - Announcer's call before a potential buzzer beater
and
LOSEATURN - Tough draw

And, of course, any mention of the DOOMSDAYMACHINE brings to mind the single greatest comedy and anti-war movie of all time:

In other news, AGEISM (Certain hiring bias) went right in. *ahem* But I don't have to worry about that, since I will never be applying for another job again. This sweet, payless blogging gig is all I need.

- Horace

Thursday, May 15, 2025, Simeon Seigel

Cute theme today playing with DOUBLENEGATIVES, where two "no"s make a "yes." The two most interesting examples are:

TIED[NO][NO]HIRTS - Some colorful apparel
and
HAWKE[NO][NO]TATE - Des Moines's domain

I got some of the "no" rebuses on their own, and I think it was with R[NO][NO]EED (Certain grain source) that I finally got it. The top left was where I finished today, with the biological trivia SETAE (Small, clingy bristles on a gecko's foot) crossing the still-unclear-to-me ESP (Unnatural sight, in brief). When I think of ESP I think of extra-sensory perception, which isn't really a "sight." What am I missing, Kelly? :)

Of the C/APs I did understand, I liked BFF (Close one, for short), "Call for delivery?" (PUSH), "Establishment where things are cut and dried?" (HAIRSALON), and the "charger" pairing of ELTORO (Charger in una corrida) and DAS (Chargers in courts, for short).

A fun Thursdsay.

- Horace

p.s. It's fun that IMPALA shows up in the puzzle and in Strands today. 

Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Rebecca Goldstein and Adam Wagner

Boy, this played really tough for a Wednesday. "Do a spit take?" for SWAB was just so far from me. I get that you could be said to SWAB a baby's (or your) chin to "take" spit away... and for me, CRAB (Sea creature whose name doesn't rhyme with 1-Across, weirdly) isn't really all that far in pronunciation from SWAB. It all started out so weird. 

And then there's the theme. The second word in each theme answer is made to describe letters in the first word. As in, the two Os in the word "mood" are "rings," and the two Cs in "character" are "arcs." Kind of cool, I guess.

It's odd that CORNBELT "Midwestern agricultural swath" and GNU should appear two days in a row, isn't it? And have you ever thought of that "Bit of equipment in a dentist's office" as an XRAYCAMERA? I guess it is, but I have never called it anything but an x-ray machine. 

As you can see, something set me off this morning. I hope you had a better experience with it.

- Horace

Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Joe Rodini

I love this theme. It's a FOODFIGHT with food and food-related things reinterpreted as actions:

FRUITPUNCH - Ladled party drink
CORNBELT - The Midwest states, agriculturally speaking
LAMBCHOP - Bone-in cut whose name became an endearment
BANANASLUG - Bright yellow creature that moves about 6.5 inches per minute

The speed in that last clue is a weird flex, but ok. 

There's a nice contrarian mini-theme with "Voting against" appearing twice (ANTI, CON), and maybe "Use a scope" (AIM) is also related? 

I loved the clue "One of a salty septet" for SEA. And it's especially nice that it's followed by the evocative "Blanket draping a mountain at dawn" (MIST), because my family's beach cottage is named SEA MIST. :)

CAPER, ADDLE (Bewilder), GNASH, and CRUMBLE are all good words. And although 'Two pools of light, a mirror bright,' in generative A.I. poetry" (EYES) is nice and modern, the idea of A.I.-generated poetry makes me sad.

- Horace

Monday, May 12, 2025, Christina Iverson

Hah! Four theme answers that are very ANDY:

BRANDYALEXANDER - Dessert cocktail with crème de cacao
CANDYLAND - Classic board game with the Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Lane
HANDSTAND - Move from an acrobat or breakdancer
SHETLANDISLANDS - Scottish archipelago west of Norway

Cute.

I did not understand 40-Across at all until I put the entire clue into Google and discovered that "Inside Out" is a movie. And what an unusual clue for MOSAIC (Art with tiles in fancy styles (that might produce smiles)). Odd.

I love a MALT. mmmm.... And I also love SALT. 

- Horace

Sunday, May 11, 2025, Brendan Emmett Quigley

POWER GRID

Yowza! Quite a grid today. A super-chunky, open affair that sets a new low for black squares in a Sunday grid. And as far as I can see, the only theme is Mr. Quigley's mastery of open space. Power Grid indeed.

B.E.Q. always challenges this solver, and it started right away in the top left, where I could find entry only with the gimme "Fictional character who says 'Here's to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick'" (ROMEO). The next Down clue "Mechanism that controls a camera's aperture" seems a little off to this photographer, whose answer would be either "f-stop" or "shutter." IRIS isn't a word that I have heard used when referring to a camera. Of course, maybe videographers use it... 

Moving on, I liked PROMISEME ("Pinky-swear?"), and on the other side of the top I liked both MOTHEREARTH (Nature personified) and MUSICALNOTE (Step on a scale?). 

And I appreciate the disturbing clue "Fish that passes the 'mirror test' of self-recognition" (MANTARAY). Ugh. Sometimes it seems like humans are the only creatures on this planet without a consciousness... 

This puzzle was also notable in that it contained two of the most obscure entries I have ever seen - IMMIX (Amalgamate) and MIDINETTE (Shopgirl in a Paris boutique). Never heard of either. The crosses were ok for those, but I had to guess both As in TARAROAD (1999 Maeve Binchy novel) which crossed ARIE (____ Crown Theater (downtown Chicago landmark)) and YOLANDA (Reality TV star Hadid). Luckily, it all worked out.

- Horace

Saturday, May 10, 2025, Shaun Phillips

I didn't have much time today so I bore down on this one and ended up finishing it in 8:26. I started with sLOP for "Unappetizing food" (GLOP), and then was helped greatly by LETSGOFLYAKITE ("Mary Poppins" tune that begins "With tuppence for paper and strings / You can have your own set of wings"), which must have been a gimme to anyone in my generation. And speaking of my generation - the ELDERS, the HOMEOWNERs - I think we can probably all relate to "Didn't make it through the late show, say" (NODDEDOFF). Hah!

DEBUSSY (Pioneer in musical Impressionism, despite rejecting the term) wasn't exactly a gimme for me (it probably was for Colum), but it wasn't hard to guess once I had the ending "ussy." 

The jokey OTTO (Apt name for a NASCAR driver?) was fun, and BONES (Ribs, e.g.) was amusing and unexpected, but I found IMISSED (Sad remark at a carnival ring toss booth) somewhat bizarre. 

Loved "Someone will pay for this" (TAB), and hey, it's been a while since poetry was FOISTEDON you by my hand, so let's end with this:

Scorn not the Sonnet

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned, 

Mindless of its just honours; with this key 

Shakespeare unlocked his heart; the melody 

Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound; 

A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound; 

With it Camöens soothed an exile's grief; 

The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf 

Amid the cypress with which Dante crowned 

His visionary brow: a glow-worm lamp, 

It cheered mild Spenser, called from Faery-land 

To struggle through dark ways; and, when a damp 

Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand 

The Thing became a trumpet; whence he blew 

Soul-animating strains—alas, too few!

- Horace

Friday, May 9, 2025, Willa Angel Chen Miller and Erik Agard

A decent Friday puzzle today with some interesting clues. At the very center is CHILE (Roughly 62% of its claimed territory is in Antarctica) - Who knew?! And "Cooking byproduct sometimes called 'liquid gold'" (PASTAWATER) - Why? Should I be saving and bottling it? I looked a tiny bit online about this, and some suggest you mix it with butter, pork fat, or oil to make sort of a pan sauce for whatever you just cooked in it. They assume that salt has been added to the water for cooking, which is something that I never do. Pro tip - it's unnecessary. 

Doesn't OFFTHEGRID (Impossible to contact by ordinary means) sound so appealing? I want to go to there. Well, there or the SEASHORE. I suppose they could be combined... 

There's slight repetition in the symmetrical "ITOO, sing America" and "How could INOT?" And the reminder of FREETRADE (Unfettered flow of goods) is too soon, too painful. Will the TEENY-handed tyrant turn the Dollar to PLAYMONEY? Sorry... too political... 

I'll end by calling out the cutest clue "Seeking comment?" (READYORNOT). :)

- Horace

 

Thursday, May 8, 2025, Dan Caprera

Today we are required to think outside the box. The somewhat surprising central revealer BUTTOUT gives the clue that sixteen entries either start or finish outside of the grid, and when all those missing letters are read, they spell four alternate words for "butt." Starting at the top and going clockwise, those words are: RUMP, SEAT, REAR, and TUSH.

 

I knew something was going on right away with "Coin toss call" ([T]AILS), but I managed to get all the way through the puzzle without ever figuring out what the missing letters actually spelled.

So, as I review the entries in this grid, I find ways that several words might be tied in with the theme, but I am going to just leave the associations to you. 

I enjoyed this one. 

- Horace

Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Tom McCoy

This is an interesting theme. Who knew that PITTSBURGH is a "City that had the final letter of its name removed in 1891, only to [have it] be restored in 1911"? And I wonder, during that time were letters addressed to "Pittsburg" returned to sender? And yeah, now that I wrote "Pittsburg" it just looks so wrong. We have towns for which the spelling is variable in Massachusetts, too. There's Marlborough/Marlboro, Westborough/Westboro, and the like. I honestly don't know what the official spelling is for those towns. 

 

But all that town talk aside, the spelling variation is put to work today, of course, in service of the theme. And as usual, I wonder how long it took Mr. McCoy to come up with four viable options. 

PEACEMARCH - Nonviolent protest, A farewell to artist Chagall? Nonviolent protest
PUTUPWITH - Endure, Display some humorous posters?, Endure
FIGHTINGIRISH - Notre Dame team, Asset in a staring contest?, Notre Dame team
DOTHEMATH - Figure it out, "Let's see that dance move where you lie flat by a door!"?, Figure it out

That third one is such a stretch, but the idea of a "fighting iris" has had me laughing all morning. He must still be smiling to himself about getting that through...

Nice clue for OREO (Wheel on a school bus-themed cake, perhaps). And for TSA (Org. that might have you put your belt on a belt). And the fill was really TOPNOTCH today - ENMITIES, INTREPID, REALM, HECTOR (Browbeat), KAPOW! And how about that clue for ATOM (A little bit of everything?). 

Excellent.

- Horace

 

Tuesday, May 6, 2025, Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Sometimes a silly theme works, and sometimes it doesn't. Today it does. :) Who doesn't like COTTONCANDY? And who doesn't like seeing those words broken down into the absurd "'Cott' on C and Y?" And who thinks of these things?!

The theme is contained in six perfectly cromulent entries: 

APRICOTTART / FALLACY
GILSCOTTHERON / SPACY
COTTAGECHEESE / ICYSTARES

Lovely.

Aside from that, BOOBOO (It might be treated with a kiss and a Band-Aid) is cute, and I like the multi-language entries - MAS (More, in Mexico City), APPA (Dad, in Korean), Raison d'ETRE, and DESI (Member of the South Asian diaspora).

BEERMAT (Disposable coaster at a bar) is highly questionable, and HITPARADE (Listing of top tunes) seems a bit out-dated, but I suppose no moreso than STOOGES (Moe, Larry and Curly) or ALBEIT (Though), and I liked both of those. de gustibus non disputandum est, as we say. 

- Horace

Monday, May 5, 2025, Eric Rollfing

Another day, another theme. Today it's three things that, if personified, could say WEGOWAYBACK: a TIMEMACHINE; a DENTISTSCHAIR, and your CREDITHISTORY. Amusing.

Two things in this puzzle annoyed me, and sometimes that's all it takes. The first was "Must-haves during heat waves, for short" (ACS). Air conditioning is a problem, not a solution. And the second was "Pre-A.D., in dating" (BCE). The systems are A.D./B.C. or C.E./B.C.E. I get that you can't use "C.E." in a clue for "B.C.E.," but I still think it's inelegant.

On the other hand, I did like the inclusion of DISC golf. And the clue "406, for the entire state of Montana" got me wondering how many states still had just one AREACODE. Any guesses? It's hard to say, because Google gives me different answers, but whatever the number is, it includes four of the six New England states. Connecticut has four, and Massachusetts, shockingly, has nine! 

- Horace
 

Sunday, May 4, 2025, Brandon Koppy

FORCE PLAY

The "play" on "force" is the habit among Star Wars nerds fans to say MAYTHEFOURTHBEWITHYOU on May fourth, which is today. The "play" in the puzzle is to have that saying apply to the theme answers such that the fourth letter of each be "with U." As in:

GIN[SU]KNIFE - Product that "can cut a slice of bread so thin you can almost see through it!," in old ads
BEG[RU]DGING - Given reluctantly
and
BLO[WU]PDOLL - Companion who might take your breath away?

The rebuses work in the Downs as well, but they are not in the fourth spot. That, I think, would have been nearly impossible.

I was eleven when Star Wars came out. Two of my brothers went, and when they came home they were so excited about it they convinced the rest of my family to go. So the next day we all went down to White City together to see it. I remember loving it, and I eagerly awaited and then saw the rest of the trilogy. I even saw some of the prequels, but I think it was "Attack of the Clones" that marked the end of my interest in the franchise. 

Was it my "Au REVOIR les Enfants" moment? 

- Horace

Saturday, May 3, 2025, Michael Lieberman

A big gimme at 1-Across started this one off well. If you haven't read ANIMALFARM (Source of the line "Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend"), do yourself a favor and get a copy out of your local library. It's apt that it appears in a puzzle with SSR (Onetime union member: Abbr.), but LETSFACEIT, it could be applied to other countries as well. (SOS!)

"How some people self-identify" (ITSME) was cute, and I hadn't heard the term PREHAB (Physical therapy before an operation, familiarly), which is also cute. And even though I am currently a member of a place called the Artisans Asylum, I spelled ARTISANAL (Made using traditional methods) wrong (ARTISiNAL), and I had guessed LOSERbuYS (LOSERPAYS) for "Stakes of some bar bets," so I had a hard time seeing GAPS (Intervals). If I had known SPITSGAME (Tries to talk smoothly, in slang) it would have gone better. But I'm still a little confused - does this mean that the person only tries, but does not succeed to talk smoothly? 

In other argot, I enjoyed HADNOCHILL (Was way too keyed up, in modern slang), and that one seems much more straightforward. I also enjoyed SLOE (Blackthorn berry). Mmmm.... gin....

So a few snags, but I still finished in under ten, thanks to what seemed like a very straightforward top half. Final review - good, but a little on the easy side for a Saturday. What'd you think of it?

- Horace

 

Friday, May 2, 2025, Robyn Weintraub

A clean, fun puzzle today - ASEXPECTED from Ms. Weintraub. Filled with clever clues - "Concrete example of rotational forces and fluid dynamics?" (CEMENTMIXER) - and tasty fill - ONIONRINGS (Sides of circles?) ... YOUGETTHEIDEA.

The paired clues of "Titular female Disney character whose name also appears in a Shakespeare play" (ARIEL) and "Titular male Shakespeare character whose name also appears in a Disney film" (TIMON) were lovely. "Literary bird with a one-word vocabulary, apparently" (RAVEN) was near and dear to my heart. And "Sci-fi remakes?" (CLONES) was cute.

I wanted "free" for "One of two for one" (HALF), and I think I dropped in "Takeaminute" before changing to THINKITOVER for "No need to respond right now," but not much else held me up in this smooth, fun, free-flowing grid. A-plus.

- Horace

 

Thursday, May 1, 2025, Aidan Deshong and Adam Levav

This theme makes no sense to me. CIRCLESBACK (Brings up a prior topic ... or a hint to making sense of the answers to this puzzle's starred clues) means, I guess, that we skip the circled letters the first time we see them and then add them to the end of the word. So "baseline" at 18-Across, wherein the S and the first E are circled, becomes "balinese" (*Cat breed named after an Indonesian island from which it didn't originate). And "kimonos" (K and I) becomes "monoski" (*Relative of a snowboard). And so on. Meh.

Honestly, it started off badly for me with ARTLAB (Schoolroom that serves as a studio). Isn't that just a classroom where they teach art? Who says ARTLAB? 

"Is for the people" is a fun clue for ARE. And "Places to carry out some takeout orders, for short?" (ORS) was good. Is it fair to say that someone ONMEDS is "Popping pills, say"? And aren't people "inducted into" something? "President posthumously inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame, informally" (IKE) sounded weird. And while I'm complaining - "Turns into stars, say?" is a bit too cute for CENSOR. When do you ever see  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars blocking out a word?

- Horace