Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Derek Hinsey

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here (yes, you read that correctly) pinch hitting for our dear Hahtoolah with the recap of a Tuesday Puzzle by Derek Hinsey.  I did not find any prior references to Derek Hinsey when posting the recap so this might be his LAT debut.  If so, welcome Derek and congrats!

Derek has riffed on a theme where the compound word answers to the five themed clues can each be split into two parts.  Each of those now-separated words can be combined with the word POINT to form a common expression.  Let's start with the reveal:

58 Across:  Slam dunk's value, or what 16-, 23-, 34-, 36-, and 49-Across have: TWO POINTS.

 Here are the five places where the gimmick is employed:

16 Across:  Major multistate lottery: POWERBALL.  POWERPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. It was originally released in 1987.  A BALL Point is, of course, a pen.

23 Across:  Opening bid: STARTING PRICE.  The STARTING point is when/where to begin and the PRICE point denotes the niche in the market price-wise (the price point of a Cadillac, for example, places it in competition with other luxury vehicles.

34 Across:  Final part of a chess match: END GAME.  The end point is where, well, something stops and GAME point is a sports reference for what might be the final play of a game.

36 Across:  Florida home of the Harry S. Truman Little White House: KEY WEST.  A KEY point is the gist of the matter and WEST Point is the U.S. military academy.

49. Cool way to keep food fresh?: FLASH FREEZING.  FLASH FREEZING is a rapid freezing process that uses cryogenic temperatures, such as liquid nitrogen at −196 °C (−320.8 °F), to quickly freeze an object and form many small ice crystals, minimizing cell damage for food and tissue preservation. It is commonly used in the food industry and for preserving biological samples. A FLASH point the origin of a conflagration (physical or intellectual) and the Freezing point is where water turns to ice.

This is how the completed grid appears:

Here are the non-themed clues and answers:

Across:

1. "Furthermore ... ": PLUS.

5. Moral transgressions: SINS.  Everyone knows Las Vegas is SIN City but are you familiar with Den City?  Mass over volume.

9. Picnic race bag: SACK.

13. + or - particles: IONS.

14. Need ibuprofen, say: ACHE.

15. Stash: CACHE.

18. Salsa ingredient: ONION.

19. Music genre with Jamaican roots: SKA.  A genre with which most regular solvers are quite familiar.

20. Japanese currency: YEN.

21. Began gradually: EASED IN.

26. __ Allen furniture: ETHAN.  All You Might Wish To Know

28. Dog's warning sound: SNARL.

29. Animation frame: CEL.  Back in the day when cartoons were hand drawn the movement was achieved by drawing and then photographing a series of individual slightly altered hand painted CELs.  Now it's all computer generated.

30. Sharp-witted: KEEN.

31. Short time?: SEC.  Shortened form of SECond

32. Break a fast: EAT.  Sometimes you can get two points on a fast break.

40. Buckeyes' sch.: OSU.

41. Way cool: RAD.  80's slang.  Bitchen.

42. __ vera: ALOE.  A plant that seems to thrive in our puzzles

43. Six-pack muscles: ABS.  ABdominal MuscleS

46. "Jurassic World" actor Chris: PRATT.

48. Demon: FIEND.

52. Let go: RELEASE.

53. Meh, slangily: MID.  New to this solver but it does make sense.

54. Viper in 43-Down: ASP.  How's your ASP been? (a skier's joke).

57. Volunteer's phrase: I WILL.

61. Long for: COVET.  As in "thou shall not long for."

62. Door fastener: HASP.

63. Important cards in solitaire: ACES.

64. Santa __: hot California winds: ANAS.  Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry winds that blow from inland desert areas across coastal Southern California, often bringing hot, dry conditions and very low humidity.

65. "Furthermore ... ": ALSO.

66. Small salamander: NEWT.

Down:

1. Domino spots: PIPS.  By definition.

2. "Check this out": LOOK.

3. Like dirty dishes: UNWASHED.

4. NNW opposite: SSE.  A directional reference.

5. Curved fencing sword: SABER.

6. "Down in front!": I CANT SEE.

7. Anaheim Ducks' org.: NHL.  National Hockey League

8. Gomez of "Only Murders in the Building": SELENA.

9. More rational: SANER.

10. Not basic, in chemistry: ACIDIC.

11. Beef grade below prime: CHOICE.

12. Animal shelter shelter: KENNEL.

15. Dress up at a fan convention: COSPLAY.  From COStume

17. Olympic swimmer Lochte: RYAN.

22. "I was thinking the same thing": AGREED.

24. Dramatic ballroom dance: TANGO.

25. LLC alternative: INC.  Forms of business organizations.

26. __ out a win: EKE.

27. Square root of 100: TEN.

31. Blue cartoon characters: SMURFS.

33. Creator of Finn and Sawyer: TWAIN.

35. Parking lot surface: ASPHALT.

36. Supermodel who is a contributing editor for British Vogue: KATE MOSS.

37. Refinement: ELEGANCE.

38. Anderson Cooper, to Gloria Vanderbilt: SON.

39. Apple TV's "__ Lasso": TED.

41. GPS suggestion: RTE.  RouTE

43. Continent with the most countries: AFRICA.  There are 54 countries in Africa according to the United Nations.

44. Tried to cool down, as hot soup: BLEW ON.

45. DNA sample source: SALIVA.

47. Soul legend Franklin: ARETHA.

48. Classic dog name: FIDO.  

The name FIDO comes from the Latin word "fidus," meaning "faithful." It became widely associated with dogs due to President Abraham Lincoln's pet dog, Fido, who was well-known during his time.

50. 1990s tennis star Monica: SELES.

51. Zilch: ZIPPO.  Slangy

55. Hearty meal: STEW.

56. Quiet "Hey!": PSST.  A sound frequently heard in our puzzles.

59. "The __-Mart Effect": 2006 economics book: WAL.

60. Bond novelist Fleming: IAN.

Well, that's all the points I have to make today.  

__________________________________________

That's Manatee, M. Manatee
MM Out

Tuesday, June 21, 2022, Stella Zawistowski

 

Good morning.  Malodorous Manatee here.  Hahtoolah is still on vacation and, once again, I have the honor of filling in for her.

Today's puzzle setter is frequent contributor, Stella Zawistowski.  I always enjoy solving her puzzles.  Much has previously been written here on The Corner about Ms. Zawistowski so rather than repeat that let's join the festivities.  Party On, Cruciverbalists!

At three places within the grid, Stella has, at the end (or back) of a longer answer, placed synonyms for PARTY.  For our convenience, the themed answers are starred.  Two of these answers are fourteen letters long and two are twelve letters long.  Nice grid, Stella.

Here are the party-themed answers (and their respective clues):

20 ACROSS: *Broadcast quality determined by a car antenna: RADIO RECEPTION. Jumping right in, indeed:

26 ACROSS: *Sine or cosine, for short: TRIG FUNCTION. A TRIGonometry reference. It might have also been clued linguistically: Conjunction Junction . . .

. . . What's Your Function

43 ACROSS: *Issue best kept within the clan: FAMILY AFFAIR.

The reveal comes after the three party-themed answers and explains them to us:

52 ACROSS: Tongue-in-cheek description of a mullet, and of the answers to the starred clues: PARTY IN THE BACK. Hairstyles come and go. The mullet is, perhaps, best forgotten.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

. . .  and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Drains of energy: SAPS.

5. Prefix with sphere: ATMO. ATMOsphere

9. Jousting weapon: LANCE.

14. Drive-__ ATM: THRU.

15. Have to have: NEED.

16. Negatively charged particle: ANION. Positively charged, it is a:

17. Many millennia: AEON. Outside of North America, AEON is favored over EON for uses unrelated to science.

18. Surrealist Salvador: DALI.

19. Muscular: TONED.

23. NFL six-pointers: TDS. TouchDownS

24. Beer barrel: KEG.

25. One, in Germany: EIN.

32. Mongolia's continent: ASIA.

34. Load, as cargo: LADE. STOW would have fit the space.

35. Movement-sensing game console: WII. Nintendo WII

36. Get set, casually: PREP. PREPare

37. Fireplace ducts: FLUES. Somebody asked me what a Spoonerism was. I haven't got a cooking FLUE.

39. "You said the same thing as me!": JINX. Typically, after the coincidental voicing of the same content, the individuals compete to say the word JINX before the other person.

40. Go kaput: DIE.

41. Sheet music symbol: CLEF. NOTE or REST would have fit the space, too.

42. Really, really stinky: RANK. Interesting word, RANK, with other definitions than the one used here.

47. Cry inconsolably: SOB. A depressed French baker sobs bitterly into the dough . . . His life is pain.

48. "__ go time!": IT'S.

49. Boxer's stat: KOS. Knock OutS

57. Move rapidly toward: RUN AT. Alternatively,

58. Sweetie: BABE. Often clued with the movie pig. Used this way, BABE is preferable to the BAE we see so much of lately.

59. Double Stuf cookie: OREO. Cookie of a thousand clues.

60. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE. A frequent visitor.

61. "Yes, let's do it!": I'M IN. Or, a hacker's pronouncement.

62. Actor Sharif: OMAR.

63. Youngster: CHILD.

Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young)

64. Sitcom backgrounds: SETS. The Addams Family tv show living room set was actually pink.

65. Breathe hard: PANT.

Down:
1. Microwave button: START. Among others.

2. Coming up: AHEAD. What did one hat say to the other? "You stay here, I'll go on ahead."

3. Urges along: PRODS.

4. Gymnast Lee who won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics: SUNI.

Suni Lee With Her Medal

5. Nobel Peace Prize winner Sakharov: ANDREI.

6. Hard-boiled Chinese snack: TEA EGG.

7. Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls: MEL C. MELanie Jayne Chisholm

8. Garfield's drooling frenemy: ODIE. That's ODIE on the right, er left.

9. Crisscross pie crust pattern: LATTICE.

10. Bless with oil: ANOINT.

11. Yucatán boy: NINO. One of today's Spanish lesson.

12. Last name of filmmakers Ethan and Joel: COEN. The "Best Of" clips are too long. So, let's just go with this Fargo trailer:

13. Come to a close: END.

21. Bhindi masala pod: OKRA. A Northern Indian curried dish featuring, you guessed it, OKRA. Thanks, perps.

22. Isn't yet decided: PENDS.

26. Felt-__ marker: TIP.

27. Material in a lint trap: FLUFF. Never has anyone that I know referred to lint as FLUFF.

28. Abu Dhabi's fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates

29. "Victory is mine!": I WIN.

30. Pigpen grunt: OINK. What's the difference between bird flu and swine flu? If you have bird flu you get tweet-ment. If you have swine flu you need OINK-ment.

31. Put the kibosh on: NIX. Remember this bumper sticker?

32. "Eri tu," but not "Eres Tu": ARIA. "Eri tu" is an aria from a Verdi opera. "Eres Tu" (It's You) is a popular song. However, ere is a version of "Eres Tu" recorded with a symphony orchestra.

33. Look like: SEEM.

36. Many an email attachment: PDF. Portable Document Format

37. Low-altitude airplane pass: FLYBY. The pattern is full.

38. "Miss Saigon" Tony winner Salonga: LEA. Unknown. Perped.

39. Salsa container: JAR.

41. Formed clumps: CLOTTED.

42. Get out of bed: RISE.

44. Holy Land nation: ISRAEL.

45. Step-counting device: FITBIT.

46. Capital of Greece: ATHENS.

49. Cosmic balance: KARMA. One person's take on this:

50. Salty expanse: OCEAN.

51. Hybrid garment: SKORT. A cross between a SKirt and shORTs.

52. Pull's opposite: PUSH.

53. Voting against: ANTI

54. Bird in Egyptian art: IBIS.

55. First line on a form, often: NAME.

56. "Touched your nose!" sound: BOOP. We have seen this clue/answer before. I prefer this take:

Betty Boop

57. TiVo remote button: REC. RECord.

Stella, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever in the Comments section.  We'd love to hear from you.

. . . . and now it is time to rest and recover from all of this partying.

_________________________________________________________

פרת ים

MM Out

Tuesday, June 7 ,2022, Robin Stears

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here.  "What!? Isn't this Tuesday and not Thursday?" I hear you ask.  "Did I oversleep?  By forty-eight hours?  Where is Hahtoolah?"  Well, as she let us know last Tuesday, Hahtoolah is touring in Europe this month.  I have the honor of filling in for her today.  While I do not expect to come anywhere close to her level of clarity and humor, perhaps we can still share some insights and some laughs.

Today's puzzle setter, in what is not her L A Times crossword debut, is Robin Stears .   Here is a link to a December, 2017 introduction to Robin on the Puzzle Nation site:  Robin Stears / Puzzle Nation.

The puzzle's reveal comes after all four of the themed answers (if you solve from top to bottom):

54. "Shoo!," and an instruction that goes with the last words of the answers to the starred clues: GET OUT OF HERE.

The starred clues and answers are:

19 Across:  *Social media time-out: FACEBOOK JAIL.  Get out of jail.

26 Across:  *Channel bottom: CREEK BED.  Get out of bed.

34 Across:  *Area of Hersheypark with the Candymonium roller coaster: CHOCOLATE TOWN.  Get out of town.

47 Across:  *Bit of trickery on a return: TAX DODGE.  Get out of Dodge.  From oaters.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

 . . .  and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Multivitamin mineral: ZINC.  What kind of metal was RMS Titanic made of?  ZINC.

5. Joined the choir: SANG.  A famous singer SANG for the patients at a hospital.  When he finished he said "Bye bye.  I hope you get better."  "You, too," replied the patients.

9. Corn discard: COB.  The first of twenty-six three-letter answers today.

12. Rachael Ray sauteing initialism: EVOO.

13. Ranch rope: LARIAT.  See also 8 Down.

15. "Knives Out" actress de Armas: ANA.

16. Foam ball brand: NERF.

Nerf Dog Tennis Ball Launcher

17. Kampala's country: UGANDA.  The capital and largest city.

18. Pro Bowl org.: NFL.  The National Football League.

22. Pinnacles: ACMES.  When the clue is singular we have to choose between ACME and APEX but neither APICES nor APEXES was going to work.

25. Church topper: STEEPLE.

30. Frozen rain: SLEET.

31. How-__: DIY guides: TOS.

32. "Life of Pi" director Ang: LEE.

33. Jazz poet Scott-Heron: GIL.  New to me but easily perped.

40. Half an umlaut: DOT.

41. "Blue Bloods" actor Cariou: LEN.

42. Thumbs-up at NASA: AOK.  Not a dyslexic tree.

44. Land measures: ACRES.  A quarter ACRE of undeveloped land might not seem like much to some people but to me it's a lot.

50. Move in a breeze, as a flag: FLUTTER.

53. Printer brand: EPSON.

58. Skeptical laugh: HAH.  Not to be confused with a sneaky laugh, HEH?

59. "__ Rouge!": Kidman film: MOULIN.  Français.  En anglais, c'est Red Mill.

60. Written reminder: NOTE.

64. MSNBC journalist Melber: ARI.  See also Exodus, Entourage, and Jackie "O".

65. Came afterward: ENSUED.

66. Actor McGregor: EWAN.

67. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.

68. Papaya discard: SEED.

69. Many an auctioned auto, for short: REPO.  REPOssessed.

REPOSSESSED - 1990

Down:

1. Super chill, informally: ZEN.

2. "Now __ seen everything!": IVE.

3. Neither's partner: NOR.

4. Dunkin' serving: COFFEE.  In 2019, Dunkin' Donuts changed its name to, simply, Dunkin'.  Several years earlier, Merl Reagle gave us all a laugh by relocating the D and thereby changing the name to Unkind Donuts.

5. Stuffing herb: SAGE.

6. Many a Moroccan: ARAB.  ARAB has also been clued roughly seven hundred other ways according to the Visual Fractions website.

7. Spanish boys: NINOS.

8. "Wonder Woman" star Gal: GADOT.  Gal visits often.

Wonder Woman and Her Lasso of Truth

9. Cocktail party bite: CANAPE.

10. Among one's records: ON FILE.

11. "Swan Lake," for one: BALLET.

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo

13. "Star Trek" captain Jean-__ Picard: LUC.  A CSO to Robert.

14. Doesn't fight back: TAKES IT.  For a brief moment I thought that they had dropped a letter.  Don't TAKE SIT from anyone!

20. Inquire: ASK.

21. Dessert that quivers: JELLO.

22. Play a role onstage: ACT.

23. Shoe with lots of holes: CROC.

24. Netting material: MESH.

27. Rorschach test component: BLOT.  What do you see?

28. Fish that can swim backward: EEL.

29. Handed out cards: DEALT.

33. Group with fortysomethings: GEN X.  Born between 1961 and 1981.

35. Poetic opening: ODE TO.

36. Halloween garb: COSTUME.

37. Spill the __: gossip: TEA.

38. Fistfuls of dollars: WADS.

39. Thumbs-down at NASA: NO GO.  Not A OK.

43. Jeong of "Community": KEN.  This was beyond my KEN.  Thanks, perps.

44. Crocheted coverlet: AFGHAN.

45. "Ramona the Pest" novelist Beverly: CLEARY.

46. Blues and folk singer/songwriter Foster: RUTHIE.

Ruthie Foster Covers Johnny Cash

48. German article: DER.  We have to figure out if it will be DER or EIN.

49. Warm-up act: OPENER.

51. Jackets named for a British school: ETONS.

52. Shake awake: ROUSE.

55. Chimney part: FLUE.

56. Hurried, quaintly: HIED.

57. Finish: END.  So what if you don't know what Armageddon means.  It's not like it's the END of the world.

61. Be indebted to: OWE.

62. Slight touch: TAP.

63. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO.  Another frequent visitor.

. . . . and now, perhaps, it is time to get out of Dodge . . .

פרת ים

MM Out