QOD: Emily Biegas

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Tuesday, 16 December 2025

Tuesday December 16, 2025

QOD: I don’t believe in astrology ~ I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical. ~ Arthur C. Clarke (né Arthur Charles Clark; Dec. 16, 1917 ~ Mar. 19, 2008), British science fiction author

Hear, Hear! All ears are not used for hearing.

17-Across. Dog ears?: BOOKMARKS.

26-Across. Bunny ears?: SHOELACE KNOT.

42-Across. Elephant ears?: CARNIVAL FOOD.

56-Across. Mouse ears?: MICKEY HAT.

Across:

1. Sound of an eye-opening moment: AHA!

4. Unlikely to break the ice: TIMID.

9. Objects of worship: IDOLS.

14. Most populous city in Can.: TOR. Toronto. Hi, Canadian, Eh!

15. Pointlessly silly: INANE.

16. Inter Miami captain Lionel: MESSI. Lionel Andrés Messi (b. June 24, 1987) is an Argentine professional soccer player. He has been with Miami since 2023.

19. Windshield sticker: DECAL.

20. Smoothie bowl berry: AÇAI. This berry is a small, dark purple fruit that grows in the Amazon. And you can purchase them from the other Amazon.

21. Start for giving and taking: MIS. As in Misgiving and Mistaking.

22. Beefsteak, for one: TOMATO. A beefsteak tomato is a large, meaty and juicy variety of tomato. It is most common on burgers, sandwiches and salads. Yummers!

23. Quickly don: THROW ON.

25. Regal home: MANOR.

30. Like walruses and wild boars: TUSKED.

33. Mo. with a spooky finale: OCT. October has a spooky Halloween finale.

34. Gold, in Spanish: ORO. Today's Spanish lesson.

35. Got up: AROSE.

36. Sailor's yes: AYE.

37. New York mascot with a baseball for a head: MR. MET. Apparently there is a Ms. Met, too.

39. "Geaux Tigers!" sch.: LSU. As in Louisiana State University. If you watch college football, you know that LSU has been in the news a lot recently, and not for having a winning team.

Mike the Tiger, the mascot of LSU.

40. Four-time WNBA MVP Wilson: A'JA. A'ja Riyadh Wilson (b. August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player. She plays for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association. Aja is also the name of a Steely Dan album.

41. Creamy chocolate dessert: MOUSSE. Yummers!

46. Software-creating professional: CODER.

47. Riled up: ANGERED.

51. "Not all __ wear capes": HEROES.

53. French sailor's yes: OUI. Today's French lesson.

54. Actress Headey: LENA. I never watched Game of Thrones, was not familiar with this actress. Apparently, Lena Kathren Headey (b. Oct. 3, 1973) portrayed Cersei Lannister on that show.

55. Greek alphabet ender: OMEGA. It's all Greek to me.

58. Inbox message: E-MAIL.

59. Hightails it: FLEES.

60. Royal flush card: ACE.

61. Knighted women: DAMES. That's Dame Helen Mirren (née Ilyena Lydia Mironoff; b. July 26, 1945) to you. She was made a Dame in 2003.

62. "The Jetsons" dog: ASTRO. A reference to the cartoon from the 1960s.

63. "Dynamite" K-pop group: BTS.

Down:

1. Chance for a hit: AT BAT.

2. Moonshine: HOOCH.

3. Thundering, as a crowd: AROAR. Mike the Tiger and the Crowd Roar.

4. Minnesota governor Walz: TIM. Timothy James Walz (b. April. 6, 1964) is the 41th governor on Minnesota. He has been in office since since January 2019.

5. Irritable: IN A MOOD.

6. "Semper fi" shouter: MARINE.

7. Signs, as a contract: INKS.

8. Jardin __ Tuileries: public space near the Louvre: DES. More of today's French lesson. The Tuileries Garden is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Queen Catherine de' Medici had the garden made as part of the Tuileries Palace in 1564. After the French Revolution, it became a public park.

9. "That's all for me": I'M DONE.

10. View as appropriate: DEEM OK.

11. Formal nods from the Academy, informally: OSCAR NOMS. As in a nomination.

12. Future esq.'s exam: LSAT. As in Law School Admission Test. This appeared in Friday's puzzle, so I'll steal MM's accompanying image.

13. Rural storage tower: SILO.

18. Mall stalls: KIOSKS.

22. Diplomacy: TACT.

24. "This ride is fun!": WHEE!

25. Spice in pumpkin spice, often: MACE. Mace is a spice from the nutmeg tree. It is also a weapon.

27. Like a ride-or-die friend: LOYAL.

28. Metal-yielding rocks: ORES. A crossword staple.

29. Checkout lane bag: TOTE.

30. Anticaking agent in table salt: TALC. I was not aware that Talc was used in food products. Apparently, the FDA has approved it in foods at a concentration of less than 2%.

31. Latin for "bear" in constellation names: URSA. Also known as the Big and Little Dipper.

32. Common substitute for Greek yogurt: SOUR CREAM.

36. Slightly open: AJAR. Not to be confused with 40-Across.

37. Electronic music pioneer Robert: MOOG. The use of the Moog synthesizer was first used in the mid-1960s. Robert Arthur Moog (May 23, 1934 ~ Aug. 21, 2005) was an American engineer and pioneer in electronic music.

38. Without manners: RUDELY.

40. St. crossers: AVES. Streets and Avenues. Sounds like a game of Chutes and Ladders.

41. Nickname: MONIKER.

43. Painful head rub: NOOGIE.

44. Lofty standards: IDEALS.

45. Sink fixture: FAUCET.

48. Home update, familiarly: REHAB.

49. Put into law: ENACT.

50. Candlelit dinners for two, e.g.: DATES.

51. Cleared weeds in the garden, say: HOED.

52. Jane Austen novel that inspired the movie "Clueless": EMMA.

53. Frying liquids: OILS.

56. Iowa Writers' Workshop deg.: MFA. As in a Master of Fine Arts. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

57. That, in Tijuana: ESO.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

I'll be out next week, but I know you will be in good hands. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

Tuesday, 10 June 2025

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

QOD: You don’t want to own a boat. You want to be friends with someone who owns a boat. ~ Bill Burr (né William Frederick Burr; b. June 10, 1968), American stand-up comedian

A Menagerie in the House. One word in each two-word theme answer is a Sound a Pet might make.

17-Across. American government official accused of Soviet espionage in the McCarthy era: ALGER HISS. // Snake (or a Cat). Alger Hiss (Nov. 11, 1904 ~ Nov. 15, 1996) was and remains a controversial figure. He was accused of spying for the Soviet Union, but was never convicted on these charges. Instead, he was convicted of perjury. Whether or not he actually committed espionage remains unresolved.

25-Across. Arts and entertainment company known for large-scale interactive installations: MEOW WOLF. // Cat. I was not familiar with Meow Wolf.

34-Across. Traditional canoe material: BIRCH BARK. // Dog. A brief history of the Birch Bark Canoe.

48-Across. Kaleidoscope opening: PEEP HOLE. // Chick.

And the unifier:

57-Across. Beach Boys album that's No. 2 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and what can be found in 17-, 25-, 34-, and 48-Across: PET SOUNDS.

Across:

1. Chatted privately online, for short: DM'ED. As in Direct Message(ed)

5. Smack: SLAP.

9. College mil. unit: ROTC. As in Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

13. Meaty red sauce: RAGU. Ragu a sauce typically made with ground meat, onions, tomato puree, and red wine, and served with pasta. It is also the name of a commercially prepared pasta sauce.

14. Musical finale: CODA.

15. Belgian bills: EUROS. The euro (€) is the official currency of 20 out of 27 European Union member countries. The following countries use the euro: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

19. Curry who was the NBA MVP in 2015 and 2016: STEPH. Steph Curry (né Wardell Stephen Curry II; b. Mar. 14, 1988) professional basketball player and is currently a point guard for the Golden State Warriors.

20. Subgroup: FACTION.

21. Golf peg: TEE.

23. Soccer star Hamm: MIA. Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist (1996 and 2004) and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion (2001 and 2002).

24. Connects with: TIES TO.

27. Class for some immigrants: Abbr.: ESL. As in English as a Second Language. It's a crossword staple.

28. Anaheim MLB team: ANGELS.

30. Heaps: ALOT.

31. Oscar winner Benicio __ Toro: DEL. His full name is Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (b. Feb. 19, 1967). He won an Oscar for his portrayal of a conflicted Mexican detective in the 2000 crime thriller Traffic.

32. Pre-Easter period: LENT.

33. Plans secretly: PLOTS.

37. Colorado spot for hitting the slopes: ASPEN.

40. Daytime TV host Kelly: RIPA. Kelly Maria Ripa (b. Oct. 2, 1970) has been co-hosting the Daytime show Live! since 2001. She has had a number of co-hosts including: Regis Philbin, Michael Strahan, and Ryan Seacrest. Her current co-host is her husband, Mark Consuelos (né Mark Andrew Consuelos; b. Mar. 30, 1971).

41. Indy 500 sponsor: STP. Did you know that STP stands for Science, Technology, Performance?

44. Ballet class bend: PLIÉ.

45. Verse: POETRY.

47. Cartoon frame: CEL.

50. Break free: ESCAPE. On May 16, 10 inmates escaped from a jail in New Orleans. As of yesterday, 8 of the 10 had been recaptured.

52. Suffix with puppet: -EER. As in a puppeteer.

53. Total: ADD.

54. Latvia's northern neighbor: ESTONIA.

55. Declares publicly: AVOWS. A crossword staple.

59. Genuine, casually: LEGIT.

60. Wild and crazy: AMOK.

61. Brazilian soccer legend: PELÉ. Pelé (né Edson Arantes do Nascimento; Oct. 23, 1940 ~ Dec. 29, 2022), was a Brazilian professional soccer player and is generally regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

62. One-__-fits-all: SIZE.

63. Comedian Love: LONI. I am not familiar with Loni Love (b. July 12, 1971). Before turning to show biz, she earned a degree as an electrical engineer and worked in that field until the early 2000s.