Friday, June 27, 2025, Caroline Hand

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Welcome to the Crossword Corner mixer.  What is a bit out of the ordinary, today, is that, thanks to the imagination of our constructor, Caroline Hand, it is the drinks themselves that are doing the mingling with each other.  Let's start with the reveal:

62 Across:  Cocktails, and what 18-/39-Across and 24-/54-Across literally are?: MIXED DRINKS.  This was a case where the reveal was, indeed, helpful in figuring out what was going on in the grid.  Also, thank you, Caroline, for "pairing up" the drinks.  It certainly made things easier to sort out.  At four places in the puzzle the names of mixed drinks get taken apart and then re-assembled in order to answer the clues:

18 Across:  Innie or outie, in Paris?:  In one regard, a bellybutton reference.  FRENCH NAVEL and 39 Across:  Poor internet service?: FUZZY CONNECTION.  

A Fuzzy Navel and a French Connection get mixed up with each other.

24 Across:  Result of applying bright yellow polish?: LEMON NAIL and 54 Across:  Feature of an old iron roller coaster?: RUSTY DROP.  

A Lemon Drop and a Rusty Nail switch partners.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

... and the rest of the attendees:

Across:

1. Set: PUT.  As in to place something on a table or shelf (or in its place).  See also 13 Down.

4. Very Cherry Twist soda brand: SHASTA.

10. Back up: CLOG.  As in the hairs stuck in the drain are CLOGging up your bathroom sink.

14. Actress de Armas: ANA.

15. Risks: PERILS.  Used as a plural noun.  As in:

16. Robust: HALE.  Free from infirmity or illness.

17. Brief "Blah, blah, blah": ETC.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.

20. Safari roarer: LION.

22. End __ high note: ON A.

23. Viper roll fish: EEL.  This solver had never heard of a Viper Roll but it was easy enough to figure this one out.

27. Garth's co-host: WAYNE.  WAYNE Campbell and Garth Algar.  From the "Saturday Night Live" skit and subsequent films.

Another Bit of A Mash-up

31. Taqueria option: ASADA.  One of today's Spanish lessons.  Grilled.

32. Quaker product: OATMEAL. The clue refers to the cereal company not the religious sect.

34. Type of symmetry: RADIAL.

38. European volcano: ETNA. 

Earlier This Month

44. Samoan capital: APIA.  Four letters three of which are vowels.  A constructor's friend.

45. Good guy: MENSCH.  A bit of Yiddish.  A man of great integrity and honor (a MENSCH)  began earning some extra cash by driving for an app-based ride sharing service. To market his services to people in the community, he made business cards offering rides from the Uber Mensch. He thought that his community was under-served and that he could fill that Nietzsche.

46. Not as warm: STONIER.  A bit of a stretch definition-wise?  COOLER was too short.  

48. Recitations made by students before entering Oxford's Bodleian Library: OATHS.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.  From Wiki:  "Before being granted access to the library, new readers are required to agree to a formal declaration. This declaration was traditionally an oral oath, but is now usually made by signing a letter to a similar effect."

53. Picker-upper: TONIC.  Good for what ails ya'.

58. Largest U.S. labor union: NEA.

60. Spanish relative: TIA.  Another of today's Spanish lessons.  Aunt.

61. Like canned olives: OILY.

67. Boxer Laila: ALI.  A frequent visitor as is her father.

68. Lines of praise: ODES.  An Ode To Crosswordese

69. Sweet: DULCET.

70. Alpha preceder: GEN.  As in Gen-x or Gen-z or GEN-alpha which encompasses those born from 2011 - 2024.

71. Rootless plant: MOSS.  As in "A Rolling Stone gathers no MOSS".  See also 25 Down.

Shoulda Kept Rolling

72. Snide looks: SNEERS.

73. Rowing machine, familiarly: ERG.  From Wiki, "The word ERGometer comes from the Greek word ‘ergon’ and ‘metron’. While these might sound more like gladiator names than a way to measure your progress, the word ergon means ‘to work’ and metron means ‘to measure’. So the term ‘ergometer’ means that it measures work."

Down:

1. Dish named for the pan it's cooked in: PAELLA.

2. Lets free: UNTIES.  If 17 Across had been a reference to the Las Vegas Electric Day Carnival (EDC) then this answer would have been UNDIES.

3. Toyota pickup since 1995: TACOMA.

4. Daytime coverage letters: SPF.  Sun Protection Factor.  A sunscreen reference.  We had this one two weeks ago.

5. Wading bird: HERON.  Why does a heron sleep with one leg in the air?  Because if it lifted both legs it would fall over.

6. Big event space: ARENA.

7. Middle East peninsula: SINAI.  Also the name of a famous mountain and a famous hospital.

8. Pampering, for short: TLC.  Tender Loving Care

9. 1970s tennis great: ASHE.  A frequent visitor.

10. Dylan portrayer: CHALAMET.  A more recent visitor.  How does it feel?

11. Head, in Hammersmith: LAV.   British English for toilet.  Hammersmith is a district in West London and a head is what a toilet on a ship is called. 

12. "Viva!" alternative: OLE.  A hearty cheer!

13. Set: GEL.  We also saw this clue and answer combination two Fridays ago.  See also 1 Across.

19. Pond critter: NEWT.  Tiny is a great name for my NEWT - because she is, after all, my NEWT.

21. Show approval: NOD.  In many societies, but not all around the globe.

25. __ a one: NARY.  Nobody.  Not a soul around.

26. Interest-ing offers?: LOANS.  Interesting cluing.  LOANS bear/earn interest.

28. Hairy cryptid: YETI.

29. Second prefix: NANO.  Not second as in the one after the first and before the third.  A measure of time reference.  A NANO-second is equal to one one-billionth of a second.

30. Zip: ELAN.  A bit of a stretch.  Also a bit of misdirection as zip can mean none/nada.

33. Obi-Wan player: ALEC.  In the "Star Wars" movies, ALEC Guinness played Obi-wan Kenobi.

35. Pinnacle: ACME.  We never know if it will be ACME of APEX until we crosscheck.  They, however, know immediately:

36. "Cloud Cuckoo Land" novelist Anthony: DOERR.  New to this solver.

37. Lodge: INN.  The worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at was called The Fiddle.  It was a vile INN.

39. Observe Ramadan: FAST.    FASTing, for an entire month from dawn to sunset requires the abstinence from sex, food, drinking, and smoking.  It occurs roughly around the time of the Vernal Equinox.

40. Doing: UP TO.  As in "What the heck are you UP TO, now?"  No good, probably.

41. Western national park: ZION.

42. Eccentricity: ZANINESS.

43. La __: brand of Asian food products: CHOY.  Jim Henson created their spokesdragon.

47. Summer coffee choice: ICED.

49. Stir: ADO.  Not as in to stir a mixed drink.

50. Emergency room procedure: TRIAGE.  TRIAGE is a process for sorting injured people into groups based on their need for or likely benefit from immediate medical treatment. Triage is used in hospital emergency rooms, on battlefields, and at disaster sites when limited medical resources must be allocated.

51. Whoop: HOLLER.

52. Agent's activity: SPYING.  Not a Hollywood agent.  Not an agent of change.  One of these:

55. Purposeful: UTILE.  Purposeful/UTILE was not the first connection this solver made.

56. Thereafter: SINCE.  RIP, Brian.

57. Giver's counterpart: TAKER.

59. Goes on to say: ADDS.

62. Former sitcom starring Allison Janney and Anna Faris: MOM.

63. Rite answer?: I DO.  Is that the right answer?

64. Tic-tac-toe side: XES.  X's and O's   Is XES is usually spelled this way?

65. Broadcast: RUN.  As in "what year did (fill in your favorite TV show) RUN?  Definitely a "pre streaming" concept.

66. GPS lines: STS. STreetS   Global Positioning System

Well, that will wrap things up for today.  It's time, now, for this marine mammal to navigate his way back to the office.

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Friday, February 9, 2024, Caroline Hand, Katie Hale

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of  today's puzzle which, fittingly, was constructed by not one but two puzzle setters.  If you woke up feeling poorly this morning then this puzzle may not have been for you.  However, if you woke up fooling peerly then you may have found that the solving went smeethly and agrooably.  Let's start with the reveal:

66  Across:  Tennis match with teams of men and women, or what 18- and 25-Across and 42- and 55-Across literally have: MIXED DOUBLES.

At two places (four clues/answers) Caroline and Katie intentionally mix up the double vowels (oo and ee) from two clues/answers and, thereby, create amusing responses to the carefully worded clues.  The first pair is at:

18 Across:  Plays a trick on Miami's basketball team?: FOOLS THE HEAT     and

25 Across:  Spring occasion when people get really emotional?: APRIL FEELS DAY

FEELS THE HEAT and APRIL FOOLS DAY have traded double vowels

The second pair is at:

42 Across:  Orange rinds of epic proportions?: OLYMPIC SIZE PEELS and

55 Across:  Wagers about how many ingredients are in a bottle of shampoo?: CHEMICAL POOLS

OLYMPIC SIZE POOLS and CHEMICAL PEELS have engaged in a bit of vowel swapping.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

.... and, now that we're done with the vowels' key party, let's have a look at the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Baldelli who was AL Manager of the Year in 2019: ROCCO.  Things start off with a reference to the Minnesota Twins.

6. Leave the dishes for tomorrow, say: SOAK.  SOAKing is a great way to avoid difficult scrubbing (dibbicult sruffing?).

10. Fistful of dollars: WAD.

Clint Probably Got This Answer Quickly

13. Nook purchases: E-BOOKS.  NOOK is Barnes and Noble's electronic reading platform/device.

15. Subject: TOPIC.  Current events are a fish's favorite TOPIC of discussion.

17. Spa brand: OPI.  Usually clued with a reference to nail polish.

20. Molecular messenger: RNA.

21. Dump, as stock: SELL.

22. Breakdown helpers: AAA.

23. Monarch: RULER.

30. Cuban dance: MAMBO.  O, possibilmente, italiano

33. Comforts: SOLACES.  

34. Rita on Avicii's "Lonely Together": ORA.

35. UFC fighting style: MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts

38. Prefix with gender: CIS.

"Mongo CIS" Just Does Not Seem Right

39. Some UPenn degs.: MBAS.  Many schools offer MBA degrees.  The UPenn bit was not very helpful.

46. Hands together time: NOON.  Analog, not digital.

47. Not awesome: MEH.

48. Big fuss: ADO.

49. Writer Joe Hill, to Stephen King: SON.  This solver did not know that.  This Joe Hill, I know:

50. Amends last year's tax return, say: RE-FILES.

53. The Chi-__: R&B quartet: LITES.

59. Titan, once: OILER.  The Tennessee Titans football team started out in 1960 as the Houston Oilers before relocating to Nashville in 1997.

60. Prefix in some genre names: ALT.

61. __ Rios, Jamaica: OCHO.

65. School opening?: PRE.  Some solvers might feel that the southwest, with its PRE, SEC and EST stack, was a bit 47 Across.

71. Wall St. regulator: SEC.

72. Cutting: SNIDE.  A fairly ambiguous clue.

73. Writes to: EMAILS.  Can we read EMAILS on our EBOOKS?

74. D.C. hrs.: EST.  Anybody remember Werner Erhard?

75. African antelopes: GNUS.

76. Teaser: PROMO.  As in teaser ad.

Down:

1. Bowl game officials: REFS.  A football reference.

2. Cor anglais kin: OBOE.  Clued many ways but not as many ways as OREO

3. Awesome: COOL.  Slang.

4. Work together briefly?: COLLAB.  A punt (or slang depending on your perspective).  COLLABoration "in brief".

5. Allows: OKS.

6. Gets home, in a way: STEALS.  Another baseball reference.

7. __ and aah: OOH.  What goes OOH OOH?  A cow with no lips.

8. Imitate: APE.  Used as a verb.  See also 36 Down.

9. Telluride maker: KIA.  An automotive reference.

10. Advertising exaggeration, perhaps: WORLD'S BEST.

11. CPAP target: APNEA. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure used to treat breathing problems.

12. Log with a lock: DIARY.

14. Guest __: STAR.

16. Copy shortcut: CTRL C.  A computer user's technique.

19. Japanese "yes": HAI.

24. "I can help!": USE ME.  We have seen this several times in our puzzles.  Has anyone actually heard a person say "USE ME" ?

26. Pageantry: POMP.

27. Areas of interest: FOCI.  Plural of FOCUS.

28. "Hamilton" role for Phillipa Soo: ELIZA.

29. Made less harsh: EASED.

30. Eclipse participant: MOON.

31. "Hope" singer Parks: ARLO.

32. City executive-to-be: MAYOR ELECT.

36. Imitate: MIMIC.  See also 8 Down.

37. Amtrak choice: ACELA.  A train ride often taken in our puzzles.

40. Healing plant: ALOE.  A constructor's friend.

41. Bank acct. application digits: SSNS.  

43. Greek muse of memory: MNEME.  Inspiration for:

44. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" poet Silverstein: SHEL.

45. Straw __: POLL.

51. Gels: FIRMS.

52. Some kings and queens: SPADES.  A playing card reference.

54. Weather map line: ISOBAR.  Where do meteorologists relax after work?

55. Grove: COPSE.

A small COPSE set among a field of dandelions.

56. Brings on: HIRES.  They could have gone with the root beer.

57. Far from current: OLD.

58. Chiwere speakers: OTOE.  OTOE visit us often.  All About These Friends of Crossword Constructors

62. Advertiser's honor: CLIO.  The CLIO awards are named for the Greek goddess CLIO, the mythological muse known as "the proclaimer, glorifier and celebrator of history, great deeds and accomplishments.

63. Big wheel at sea: HELM.  A big steering wheel.

64. __ buco: OSSO.

67. Dutch bank: ING.

68. Mark, as a box: X IN.  Punt

69. Part of a prof's address: EDU.  The ending for a university's email address.  dot EDU

70. Plate official: UMP.  Yet another baseball reference.

Y'er Out!

Okay.  If you say so.

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