Tuesday, August 5, 2025

QOD:  Research means to investigate something you do not know or understand.  ~  Neil Armstrong (né Neil Alden Armstrong; Aug. 5, 1930 ~ Aug. 25, 2012), American astronaut

Years on End.  

4-Down.  *  Grayish time at dusk or dawn:  HALF LIGHT.  Half Year //  Light Year.  Did you know there are three distinct types of Half Light? There is Civil Dusk/Dawn, Nautical Dusk/Dawn and Astronomical Dusk/Dawn.  These stages are determined by the position of the sun below the horizon.

18-Down. *  Removed from the docket, as a legal hearing: OFF CALENDAR.  Off Year  //  Calendar Year

28-Down. *  Penultimate: SECOND LAST.  Second Year  //  Last Year

37-Down. *  Nontraditional: NEW SCHOOL.  New Year  //  School Year  The school year begins here on Thursday, August 7.  

And the unifier:

10-Down:  Like some annual accounting comparisons, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues:  YEAR ON YEAR.  The word Year can be added to each of the words in the theme answers to give us a new concept.

Across:

1. Cashew, e.g.: NUT.

4. __-hop music: HIP.

7. Director Reiner: ROB.  Robert Norman Reiner (b. Mar. 6, 1947) is probably best known as his portrayal of Michael Stivic from All in the Family.  One of the earliest films he directed is This is Spinal Tap.  He also directed When Harry Met Sally ...

10. Tuber in West African cuisine: YAM.

13. Nonsense refrain syllables: SHA LA LA.

15. Laudatory poem: ODE.  A crossword staple.

16. Big bird: EMU.  Emus appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle.

17. In full view: FOR ALL TO SEE.

19. Like Big Bird's name: APT.

20. Seaport's loading and unloading area: WHARF.

21. Opening of a never-give-up slogan: IF AT FIRST.  This initially looked at this answer and saw I Fat First.  What??!!

23. Unfriendly: ALOOF.

25. Editor's target: TYPO.

26. B'way musical set in Paris: LES MIS.  Or more formally, Les Misérables.  I see this shortened to Les Miz more often than Les Mis.  The musical is based on the 1862 novel by Victor Hugo (1802 ~ 1885), which was about the June Rebellion of 1832 in Paris.

29. Spy org.: CIA.  As in the Central Intelligence Agency.

31. Burden: ONUS.

34. Logger's tool: AXE. 

Paul Bunyan with his Axe in Bangor, Maine.

35. Brag: GLOAT.

37. "Bye Bye Bye" boy band: *NSYNC.  The boy band that was active in the late 1990, and helped to launch Justin Timberlake's career.

38. Open __ night: MIC.

39. 1-800-555-2368 for Ghostbusters, e.g.: HOT-LINE.

41. Pilot's update, briefly: ETA.  As in Estimated Time of Arrival.

42. Up in the air: ALOFT.

44. Hem again: RESEW.

45. Broadcast: AIR.

46. Silver State city near Tahoe: RENO.  Reno, Nevada is the home of the National Judicial College.

47. Junior: SON.

48. Fish-eating hawk: OSPREY.

50. Unit of medication: DOSE.

52. Prom, for one: DANCE.

54. Brand of flour since 1880: GOLD MEDAL.  Everything you ever wanted to know about Gold Medal flower.

57. "By the power of Grayskull" cartoon hero: HE-MAN.

61. Pen name letters: AKA.  Also Known As.

62. "Fingers crossed!": I SURE HOPE SO.

64. Tax org.: IRS.  As the Internal Revenue Service.

65. Fella: LAD.

66. Cock-a-doodle-do-er: ROOSTER.

67. "Unforgettable" singer __ King Cole: NAT.  Sadly, Nat King Cole (né Nathaniel Adams Coles; Mar. 18, 1919 ~ Feb. 15, 1965), died of lung cancer at only age 45.

68. Lamb's mother: EWE.

69. No. on a resume: TEL.  As in a Telephone number.

70. "A Change Is Gonna Come" singer-songwriter Cooke: SAM.  The death of Sam Cooke (né Samuel Cook; Jan. 22, 1931 ~ Dec. 11, 1964) remains mysterious many decades later.

Down:

1. "Click this link at your own risk" letters: NSFW.  Not Suitable For Work.

2. "Crikey": UH, OH!

3. "The Big Lebowski" actress Reid: TARA.  Tara Reid (née Tara Donna Reid; b. Nov. 8, 1975) portrayed Bunny Lebowski in the film.

5. __-at-ease: ILL.

6. Barbecue spot: PATIO.

7. Santa __, California: ROSA.

8. Folk singer known as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement": ODETTA.  Odetta (née Odetta Holmes; b. Dec. 31, 1930 ~ Dec. 2, 2008) makes occasional appearances in the puzzles.

9. Muscular: BEEFY.

11. Concert blasters: AMPS.

12. Pup without a pedigree: MUTT.

14. SoCal NFLer: LA RAM.

22. Wall St. debuts: IPOs.  As in Initial Public Offerings.

24. Capital city near the North Sea: OSLO.  The capital of Norway.

26. Rapper Kendrick: LAMAR.  Kendrick Lamar (né Kendrick Lamar Duckworth; b. June 17, 1987) is a Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, songwriter and record producer.

27. One cast out: EXILE.

30. "Seriously?": IT IS.

32. Release, perhaps: UNTIE.  Unite!

33. Frightening: SCARY.

36. Other, in Spanish: OTRO.  Today's Spanish lesson.

40. Like much classic Las Vegas signage: NEON.

43. Sustenance: FOOD.

47. Teeter-totter: SEESAW.

49. Pals, in slang: PEEPS.

51. "Say cheese!": SMILE.

53. Warning signal: ALERT.

54. "Buy low, sell high" result: GAIN.

55. Creole pod: OKRA.  Okra is a staple in Gumbo.  It is also good fried.

56. "Bro!": DUDE.

58. New York MLB team: METS.

59. Sailing: ASEA.

60. Social standard: NORM.

63. Soil-turning tool: HOE.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

QOD:  Trying to be popular in high school is like trying to be mayor in a city that won’t exist in four years.  ~  Jenny Holzer (b. July 29, 1950), American conceptional artist

Get Down!  The circles are all in the Down position and spell out a type of common type of a System.

4-Down. Unauthorized rock recordings: BOOTLEG ALBUMS.  Legal System.  A Legal System is the framework of rules, procedures, and institutions that a community uses to interpret and enforce their laws.

8-Down. "SNL" sketch featuring Christopher Walken and a percussion instrument: MORE COWBELL.  Ecosystem.  An Ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment.

25-Down. Retail rep's quota: SALES TARGET.  Star System.  A Star system is a group of planets, meteors, or other objects that orbit a large star. 

And the unifier:

19-Down. Grammy-winning metal band, or what can be found three times in this puzzle?: SYSTEM OF A DOWN.  Hand up if you knew of this Armenian-American band.  Apparently it has been active since the mid-1990s.

Here's the Grid:

Across:

1. Wound cover: SCAB.

5. Fox or ox: ANIMAL.

11. Tub: VAT.

14. Christmas pageant headwear: HALO.

15. "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" star Lombard: CAROLE.  Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a 1941 film.  Tragically, the following year Carole Lombard (née Jane Alice Peters; Oct. 6, 1908 ~ Jan. 16, 1942) was killed in a plane crash.

16. Australian bird: EMU.

17. Silicon Valley city Palo __: ALTO.

18. 1920s dance craze that originated in South Carolina: CHARLESTON.

20. Oregon Trail river: PLATTE.  The Platte River originates in the Rocky Mountains as two main tributaries, the North Platte and the South Platte, in Colorado and Wyoming.  It flows through Nebraska and eventually empties into the Missouri River near Plattsmouth, Nebraska

22. Letters that end a proof: QED.  Today's Latin lesson.  QED is an abbreviation for the Latin phrase Quod Erat Demonstrandum, which roughly translates to that which was to be proved.

23. Oxen harness: YOKE.

24. Aviator hat features: EARLAPS.

26. T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical __": CATS.

28. "At Last" singer James: ETTA.  Our old friend Etta James (née Jamesettta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) is back to grace us with song.

29. Raw bar mollusks: OYSTERS.  For a fascinating look into the history of oysters, I recommend The Big Oyster, by Mark Kurlansky.

33. Male deer: STAG.  I tried Buck first, but the perps objected.

36. Reuben sammie side: SLAW.

38. Orange __ tea: PEKOE.  Everything you didn't know you needed to know about Orange Pekoe Tea.

39. Like ice caps: POLAR.

41. Wane: EBB.

42. Troutlike fish in the Great Lakes: SMELT.  Yummers!

43. Use TurboTax, say: E-FILE.

44. Oracle: SEER.

46. Poems of praise: ODES.

47. Give up, informally: CUT BAIT.

49. Laze: LOAF.

51. Arm bone: ULNA.

52. Celebrity chef Emeril: LAGASSE.  Although Emeril Lagasse (né Emeril John Lagassé, III; b. Oct. 15, 1959) is known for Creole and Cajun cuisine, he was actually born in Fall River, Massachusetts and is of French and Portuguese descent.

56. Like some margins of victory: SLIM.

59. Globe: ORB.

61. Mellow: SEDATE.

62. The "MO" of FOMO: MISSING OUT.  Fear Of Missing Out.

65. Foreboding sign: OMEN.

66. MLB official: UMP.

67. South Dakota's capital: PIERRE.  Unless you are from South Dakota, this is probably more than you ever though you would know about Pierre.

68. Troubles: WOES.

69. Identity celebrated during Pride Month: GAY.  June is Gay Pride Month.

70. Show up for: ATTEND.

71. __ a soul: NARY.

Down:

1. Circle or triangle: SHAPE.

2. __ lily: trumpet-shaped flower: CALLA.  They are beautiful flowers.

3. Religious platform: ALTAR.

5. Says yes to: ACCEPTS.

6. "Nope": NAH.

7. Country where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet: IRAQ.

9. From sunrise to sunset: ALL DAY.

10. Olympic gymnast Suni: LEE.  Her given name is Sunisa Phabsomphou Lee (b. Mar. 9, 2003).  She participated in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

11. Presidential power: VETO.

12. Out of control: AMOK.

13. Melody: TUNE.

21. Tit for __: TAT.

27. Recipe amts.: TSPS.  As in Teaspoons.

30. Just managed, with "out": EKED.

31. Actor's part: ROLE.

32. Production designer's creations: SETS.

33. Job detail, for short: SPEC.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

34. Pad thai protein option: TOFU.  Yummers!  I love pad thai.

35. Landed: ALIT.

37. "The Godfather" actor Vigoda: ABE.  Abraham Vigoda (Feb. 24, 1921 ~ Jan. 26, 2016) portrayed Salvadore Tessio in The Godfather and Phil Fish in the sitcom Barney Miller.

40. Not imagined: REAL.

45. Like some nuts: ROASTED.

48. Complicit: IN ON IT.

50. Life time: AGE.

53. South Pacific island group: SAMOA.

54. Take the wheel: STEER.

55. Itty-bitty: EENSY.

56. Self-satisfied: SMUG.

57. Peru's capital: LIMA.

58. Classic road trip game: I SPY.  I Spy with my Little Eye ...

60. Tire through tedium: BORE.

63. Hoppy brew letters: IPA.  As in India Pale Ale.  Everything you ever wanted to know about IPA.

64. Coffee server in a diner: URN.

That's it for this week.

חתולה