Friday, November 28, 2025, Wendy L. Brandes

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malordorous Manatee here hoping that everyone shared a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday with family and friends.   Now, however, it is time to shake off those trytophan-induced food comas and take a look at a Friday puzzles by Wendy Brandes.  The theme of the puzzle seems appropriate both because yours truly has recently taken several days (weeks) off and because many people have today off from work/school.  Let's start with the unifier:

62 Across.  "You need some time away from work," and how to make the starred clues match their answers: TAKE A FEW DAYS OFF.

At three places in the grid (with their clues bearing stars) we need to drop an abbreviation for a day of the week from the clue in order to make the answers fit those clues.  The days of the the are consecuitve and we can only specultate as to whether or not that elegant twist was intended.

17 Across. *Bucket list entries?: LIFE LONG FRIENDS.  Drop the FRI(day) and the result is a group of life long ambitions.

27 Across. *Result of being left off a guest list?: SOCIAL SATIRE.  Drop the SAT(urday) and the result is SOCIAL IRE.  One might be angry for missing out on a social activity.

48 Across. *Big victory for the Mets or the Yankees, e.g.?: SUNNY DELIGHT.  Drop the SUN(day) and many folks in the Big Apple will be delighted with the win.  Without the "drop" it's a drink.

The completed grid looks like this:

Below are the rest of the clues and and answers.  Note that there are ten to thirteen names/proper nouns depending on what you wish to include (e.g. NASCAR) which seems to this blogger to be in line with current trends in the crossword world.

Across:

1. "Good to go!": ALL SET.

7. Happy dances: JIGS.

11. Spice mixture: RUB.  Common in BBQ circles.  Here's a link to one of the Manatee's favorite rubs:  Amazing Ribs - Memphis Dust Rub

14. Water heater: BOILER.

15. Again: ANEW.

16. Actress de Armas: ANA.

20. East, in Spanish: ESTE.

21. Had on: WORE.

22. Oft-turned things in a spy thriller: PAGES.

23. Implored: PLED.

25. Witty: CLEVER.

31. Show appreciation: THANK.

32. Jewel: GEM.

33. City choker: SMOG.

37. Broadcast: AIR.  Used as a verb.

38. Made secret, in a way: ENCODED.

42. Had oatmeal, say: ATE.  Clued this way there countless substitutes for oatmeal.

43. Used cars?: RODE.  Used was used as a verb in the clue (and not used as an adjective).

45. B+, e.g.: ION.  B being the symbol for the element boron and the plus sign indicating an ION.

46. "High School Musical" actor Zac: EFRON.

52. Not commissioned: ON SPEC.  As in to speculate.

54. Environmentalist Brockovich: ERIN.  Made famous by the Jula Roberts film.

55. "To repeat ... ": I SAID.  Don't you make Al repeat it . . .

56. Crowd sound: ROAR.

58. British tennis player Raducanu: EMMA.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

65. __ out a win: EKE.

66. Reusable shopping bag: TOTE.

67. Org. that might have a Mustang circling a track: NASCAR.  Not a horse racing reference.  A Ford Motor Company reference.

68. Irate: MAD.  My girlfriend  got mad at me because I wouldn’t stop singing “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees. At first, I thought she was kidding.  But then I saw her face.

69. Peepers: EYES.

70. Indignant retort: DOES SO.


Down:

1. Qualified: ABLE.

2. "Number the Stars" novelist Lowry: LOIS.

3. Big moment in a pairs figure skating routine: LIFT.

4. Hit the snooze button, perhaps: SLEEP IN

5. Dragon roll fish: EEL.  With apologies to Dean Martin, Harry Warren and Jack Brooks:

When you swim in the creek, and an eel bites your cheek.  That's a moray.   When the moon hits the sand and an eel bites your hand  That's a moray.

6. Masonry tool: TROWEL.  What do you call a tech-savvy shovel?  An internet trowel.

7. Jaromír who is the oldest NHL player to record a hat trick: JAGR.

8. Passed on a bug to: INFECTED.

9. Eur. land: GER.  GERmany is in EURope.

10. Thief on "Dora the Explorer": SWIPER.

11. Spot for burners: RANGE.  As in what we cook on.

12. Below: UNDER.

13. Low voice: BASS.

18. Go-aheads: NODS.  Approvals.

19. Rainwater diverters: EAVES.  True but a bit of a stretch.

24. Winnebago, e.g.: LAKE.  RV was too short. 

26. Flavor of green Skittles: LIME.

27. Lead: STAR.  Hmm.  The clue/answer could be either a pair of nouns or verbs.

28. Home of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center: OHIO.

29. Part of a hand: CARD.  Palm would have fit.

30. Ecstasy's opposite: AGONY.

34. Actress Helgenberger: MARG.

35. Texter's "Let's look at this a different way": OTOH.  On The Other Hand

36. Fellow: GENT.

39. First number in Hawaiian ZIP codes: NINE.

40. Grounded in reality: CONCRETE.

41. Grocery section: DELI.

44. Always Morphing nail polish brand: ESSIE.  Some of us know ESSIE, Opi and Ulta well . . .but only from our puzzles. 

47. Delicacy: FINESSE.  Not something to eat.  Tact.  Looks sorta like ESSIE.

49. App release: UPDATE.

50. Out of power: DEAD.  Could have been clued Grateful ______ .

51. Entry on a to-do list: ERRAND.  Chore and task were both too short.

52. Honshu port city: OSAKA.

53. Bare: NAKED.

55. Tabloid pair: ITEM.

57. Needs to pay back: OWES.

59. Comfy shoes, for short: MOCS.  Moccasins

60. Some design degs.: MFAS.  Master of Fine ArtS

61. Natural hairstyle: AFRO.  The hairstyle is not really "natural" despite often being clued this way.

63. "The Crown" actress Claire: FOY.

64. NBA legend Ming: YAO.  A basketball reference.

Well, that will wrap things up for today.  For those who are interested, the travels went smoothly although we were surprised by this fellow upon turning a corner in Tokyo:

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Friday, August 23, 2024, Wendy L. Brandes

Good Morning Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with the lowdown on a Friday puzzle by Wendy L. Brandes.  Not unlike the puzzle we solved two weeks ago, our constructor (and editor) have elected to go with a bit of "letter play".  In this instance, as is often the case, the key to figuring out what is going on lies within the reveal.  Today, that is located at:

52 Across:  Cheer heard in the Bronx, or a phonetic hint for making the starred clues match their answers: LET'S GO YANKEES.

Well, that's crystal clear.  Not!  First, this solver, a lifelong Dodgers fan and son of a Brooklyn-born mother had to get past the fact that the answer is something that would never, ever pass my lips.  Second, it seems to mean absolutely nothing.  Of course that is never the case with these things.  Okay, then, what does it mean?  After a bit of head scratching the light bulb began to glow, albeit dimly.  The first step was to notice the EA letter combination in each clue.  Perhaps the key was there.  While the EA thing did prove to be something of a dead end it at least set this solver's feet on the right path.  It's the E!  Get rid of the E.  YANK the EES!  Or, if you prefer, Let's Go Yank EES.  Without the Es in the clues, the relationship between the clues and the answers does make sense.  Here are the three places where this bit of legerdemain is employed:

20 Across. *Bean poles: STRIKE LEADERS.  Bean Poles morphs into Ban Pols when we YANK (delete) the E's.  Ban Politicans is roughly equivalent to Strike (as is delete) your Leaders.  Bob Dylan said it best.

27. *Beat poet: WITCHES CAULDRON.  Beat Poet morphs into Bat Pot when we yank the E's.  Witches reportedly use bats (not in the baseball sense), or parts thereof, as ingredients when concocting their brews in their caldrons (large pots).

43. *Came clean: PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB.  Came Clean morphs into Cam Clan.  In this case a Clan (group) of Camera enthusiasts.

This how it all appears in the grid:

And, here, now, the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Like dumping someone via text: COLD.  A bit of slang to start.  Neil will explain.  It should not require an Astrophysicist to explain the first clue/answer but, hey, resources are resources.

5. Send to a specialist: REFER.  Within my HMO trying to get a needed REFERal sometimes leads to a case of REFER madness.

10. Chris elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021: BOSH.  Has Ch. Moe been keeping something from us?  No.  A proper noun that we either knew or perp'd.

14. Healing plant: ALOE.  We apply quite a lot of this when solving puzzles.  It often helps ease the pain.

15. Musical set in Argentina: EVITA.

16. Biblical preposition: UNTO.  And lo, an angel appeared UNTO the prophet Isaiah, and said:

Angel: "Behold! I exceed ninety degrees!" 
Isaiah: "Uh... what?"
But the angel gave no explanation and then vanished.
Isaiah muttered: "What an obtuse angel."

17. Feature of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign: NEON.

18. Green energy option: SOLAR.   Green as in eco-freindly.

19. Not superficial: DEEP.

23. Leave speechless: AWE.

25. Drink suffix: ADE.  As in lemonaADE or GatorADE or PowerADE.

26. Another name for bingo: BEANO.  New to this solver.

32. Zones: AREAS.

33. Word on Rhode Island's flag: HOPE.

34. 525,600 minutes: YEAR.  Anyone bother to check the math?

35. Starts bubbling, maybe: BOILS.

37. Slumps: DIPS.  Hand up for first thinling SAGS.

41. "It's __ real": BEEN.

42. Greeting on a name tag: HELLO, my name is....

49. __ Hebrides: OUTER.  See also 63 Across.

50. Assistance: AID.

51. G7 member: USA.  The Pols change, the countries remain the same.

57. "Holidays Symphony" composer Charles: IVES.

58. "Inferno" poet: DANTE.

59. Pride constituent: LION.  Not a reference to sexual preference.  Here, kitty, kitty.

62. Actress Spelling: TORI.

63. __ Hebrides: INNER.  See also 49 Across.  The southernmost of the INNER Hebrides is Islay, famous for its peated whisky.

64. Movie concessions purchase: SODA.  Popcorn was far too long to fit.

65. Latin infinitive: ESSE. 

66. "Yikes!": EGADS.  Something that someone might say.  Thanks, perps.

67. Concludes: ENDS.

Down:

1. "__ you not?": CAN.

2. Chant heard at Angel City FC games: OLE.  A soccer (football) reference.  Often clued with a Spanish or Mexican flavored reference.

3. Leaves to steep: LOOSE TEA.  Not as in departs for the kitchen.

4. Impress accidentally?: DENT.  An automobile accident will often create quite an impression.

5. Dwell: RESIDE.  Someone told me as a kid that huge reptiles RESIDE in the sewers...What a croc that turned out to be.

6. Brings to mind: EVOKES.

7. Single __: FILE.

8. Bibliography abbr.: ET AL.

9. Like white peacocks: RARE.  True but . . . .

10. Blossomed: BUDDED.

11. In __ and out ...: ONE EAR.

12. Omelet bar burner: STERNO.

13. Boards: HOPS ON.  As in she HOPS ON the bus.  Another one . . .

21. Fan sounds: RAHS.  E.G. sports fans.  Not something to cool the room.

22. Qualified: ABLE.

23. On vacation: AWAY.  Okay, but next Yuletide are we going to sing "On vacation in a manger..."?

24. Medium of many a Calder mobile: WIRE.

28. Mustang, for one: CAR.  Not a (direct) horse reference.

29. Home of the Terracotta Army: CHINA.  This solver first thought of XIAN but it was too short so settled for the less specific answer.

30. Email pioneer: AOL.  Remember all of those free floppy discs?

31. FedEx rival: UPS.

35. Plead: BEG.  As a youngster, my daughter BEGged me to play as a horse. I begrudgingly agreed...I didn't really want to be a neigh sayer.

36. Not 'neath: OER.

37. Human Rights Day mo.: DEC.  Only twelve from which to choose (as long as the editor sticks with English) so a single perp'd square usually let's us know.

38. Sleight of hand: ILLUSION.

39. Asset: PLUS.

40. Udon kin: SOBA.  When it's just a noodle reference we have to figure out which of these two it is going to be.

41. Five-time Wimbledon winner Björn: BORG.

42. __ Park: University of Chicago locale: HYDE.  Often clued with an FDR reference.

43. Like someone who writes thank-you notes: POLITE.

44. __ rancheros: HUEVOS.  I understand that blanquillos is often the preferred word as HUEVOS has another meaning in some contexts.

45. Playful paddlers: OTTERS.

46. "Kitchen Confidential" actress Santiago: TESSIE.  

47. Cooled off like an overheated boxer?: PANTED.  Not a prize fighter reference.

48. Ones on a path to the top?: HIKERS.  Hiking puns can be hillarious.

53. Garfield frenemy: ODIE.

54. Yin and __: YANG.

55. "Object Lessons" novelist Quindlen: ANNA.

56. Alternatively: ELSE.

60. Quirky: ODD.  You know what's ODD?  Every other number.

61. Rapper on the "King's Disease" trilogy of albums: NAS.  As a frequent visitor, NAS is always my first guess for three-letter rap-related answers even though I am completely unfamiliar with the body of work.

That will conclude the chain yanking for today except, perhaps, for a parting shot below.

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GO DODGERS !

GO DODGE RS

CART TRAIL

Friday, January 20, 2023, Wendy L. Brandes

(Except, Perhaps, Today)

Good Morning Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with your Friday puzzle recap.  Today's puzzle comes to us courtesy of previously-published Wendy L. Brandes.

Let's start with the reveal:

52 Across:  Chophouse order, and an apt title for this puzzle?: NEW YORK STRIP.

What the constructor has done is remove (strip) the NY (New York) from recognizable word patterns and, thereby, created new, humorous definitions for four clues. Here are the four themed-answers:

20 Across:  Dinner roll that provides an unexpected boost?: ENERGIZER BUN.  ENERGIZER BUNNY.

27 Across:  Outlandish stories about Vietnamese soup?: PHO BALONEY.  PHONY BALONEY  PHO, of course is a Vietnamese soup.  BALONEY, in addition to being a lunch meat, is slang for nonsense.

37 Across:  Valued at one fancy ballpoint?: COSTS A PRETTY PEN.  COSTS A PRETTY PENNY.  Ballpoint pen.

46 Across:  Golfers who just need to dance, dance, dance before every drive?: TEE BOPPERS.  TEENY BOPPERS.  May the gods forgive me:  I never thought that I would cite the following anywhere, anytime , for any reason:

This is how it all looks in the grid . . .

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

Across:

1. Meet portion, or portion of meat: LEG.  For example, a leg of a relay race or a chicken leg.

4. Film franchise featuring Lightning McQueen: CARS.

8. Regarding: ABOUT.

13. Portfolio options, for short: IRAS.  Individual Retirement AccountS

15. Perched on: ATOP.  The god of thunder rides to the top of the mountain atop his noble steed.

Upon reaching the summit, he gets off his horse, raises his hammer to the sky and yells, "I am Thor!"  The horse turns around and says, "That'th cuth you forgot your thaddle thilly!"

16. Deteriorating: WORSE.  A bit of a head scratching moment because the clue is a gerund but the answer is not.  WORSEning?

17. "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of __": NIMH.

18. NYC gallery with a Bell helicopter on display: MOMA.

19. Melted together: FUSED.

23. Pool necessity: CUE.  Not a swimming pool.

24. Had as a regular customer: SOLD TO.

32. Bulky boats: ARKS.

Noah's Ark

34. Lithium-__ battery: ION.

35. Seized auto: REPO.  Derived from REPOssession.

36. Tease mercilessly: RIDE.  

42. Texter's "But ... ": OTOH.

43. "Monday Night Football" commentator Aikman: TROY.  I would have clued this with a reference to UCLA.

44. Young man: LAD.

When I was a lad I served a term

As office boy to an Attorney's firm.

I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,

And I polished up the handle of the big front door.

45. Anklebones: TALI.  Plural, in Latin, of TALUS

49. Stretching muscle: TENSOR.

51. Common Market letters: EEC.

58. Silky fabric: SATIN.  Letters I've Written Never Meaning To Send (mail).

61. The "genu-" in "genuflect": KNEE.

Tom Lehrer -1967

plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

62. American tennis phenom Gauff: COCO.

63. Begins: OPENS.  COMMENCES was far too long and STARTS would not fit either.

64. Low-pH stuff: ACID.

65. Is shy: OWES.  Not a reference to social interaction but, rather, a financial reference.

66. Play area: STAGE.  Not a reference to children on the schoolyard but, rather, a theatrical reference.

67. Egg layers: HENS.  This clue is to be taken literally and not, in this case, idiomatically as in "to lay an egg" meaning to do something poorly.

68. After taxes: NET.

Down:

1. Command to a prompter: LINE.  The use of "Command" threw me off a bit.  I think of it as more of a request.

2. Actress Moriarty who plays Starlight on "The Boys": ERIN.

3. PlayStation, for one: GAME CONSOLE.

4. Strappy top, for short: CAMI.  CAMIsole

5. Comprehensive: ATOZ.  From A TO Z.

6. Trevi Fountain city: ROME.  Was the answer going to be ROME or ROMA?

7. Like Greenland's population: SPARSE. 0.14 people per square kilometer.  For comparison the USA population density is 34.05 per square kilometer.

8. "Zero stars": AWFUL.

9. Edge: BOUNDARY.  I just found out that my girlfriend is mad at me.  According to her diary, I have "BOUNDARY issues".

10. Sterile work environs: ORS.   Operating RoomS

11. Employ: USE.  I once saw a car with a bumper sticker that said:

12. "Thank you for coming to my __ Talk": TED.  A phrase that has become a part of the urban lexicon.  The phrase parodies the popular TED talk series, where in some cases the statements made by the performers are very obscure and meaningless.

14. Azalea, e.g.: SHRUB.  I bought a new SHRUB trimmer last week.  It's cutting hedge technology.

21. Park and drive: GEARS.  VERBS would have fit.  An automotive reference.

22. "If I Were a __": Beyoncé ballad: BOY.  If she were, she probably would not look like this:

25. Horseracing achievement: TRIPLE CROWN.

26. "Will do, hon": OK DEAR.

27. Crochet loop: PICOT.  A learning moment.  Thanks, perps.

28. Heckle: HOOT AT.

29. Seydoux of "No Time to Die": LEA.

30. On the facing pg.: OPP.  Punt!  OPPosite

31. Compass dirección: NORTE.  Spanish in the clue . . .

33. Mails: SENDS.  Baby You Mail me?

Sam Cooke

38. Watering down: THINNING.

39. Tarzan creator's monogram: ERB.

40. Also: TOO.  It can mean overly, too.

41. Blood groups: TYPES.

By Percent of US Population

46. AAA job: TOW.

47. Neo-soul artist Badu: ERYKAH.  Troy, Coco, Erin, Lea and now ERYKAH.  Okay, that's enough of this for today.

48. Boxer's favorite store, maybe?: PETCO.  Not a pugilistic reference.  A canine reference.

50. Feel: SENSE.

53. "... cut __": end of a carpentry maxim: ONCE.  Measure twice . . .

54. Bridle strap: REIN.  Neither RAIN nor REIGN.

55. Canvas shoe brand: KEDS.

56. Frozen treat brand: ICEE.  SLURPEE wouldn't fit.  SQUISHEE is almost never seen in our puzzles.

57. Station: POST.  One of those words that can either be a noun or a verb.

58. Distress signal: SOS.  Morse code.

59. Likely (to): APT.

60. Leaves for dim sum: TEA.  TEA leaves.

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