Tuesday December 30, 2025

QOD:  I always prefer to believe the best of everybody ~ it saves so much trouble.  ~  Rudyard Kipling (né Joseph Rudyard Kipling; Dec. 30, 1865 ~ Jan. 18. 1936), British author

Don't leave mad, just leave.  

20-Across. Departure instructions for an ornithologist?: LEAVE THE NEST.  Birds leave the Nest.

35-Across. Departure instructions for a railway worker?: MAKE TRACKS.  Railway workers leave the Tracks.

42-Across. Departure instructions for a student pilot?: TAKE FLIGHT.  Pilots leave when they take Flight.

And the unifier:

53-Across. Plan for ending involvement, or an apt title for this puzzle: EXIT STRATEGY. 

Across:
1. Closes, as a parka: ZIPS.

5. Animal that may sleep upside down: SLOTH.  Sloths are interesting creatures.  They are so incredibly slow that it can take them a month to digest a leaf.  Did you know that they can swim?  They are faster in water than on land.

10. Morning joe: JAVA.

14. Prepare for publication: EDIT.

15. Secret stash: CACHE.

16. Decorative pitcher in still lifes: EWER.

Still Life with Ewer, by Willem Kalf

17. Silicon Valley city Palo __: ALTO.

18. Catchall option on a survey: OTHER.

19. Smartphone message: TEXT.

23. Keyboard key with an arrow: ENTER.

24. Behr product: PAINT.

28. Zodiac sign boundaries: CUSPS.

31. Green vegetable in a pod: PEA.

33. Soccer star Hamm: MIA.  Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm, b. Mar. 17, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. She played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004.

34. Not in support of: ANTI.

39. Box office bomb: FLOP.

40. Stadium: ARENA.

41. Eccentric fellow: COOT.  Also a water bird.

44. Play part: ROLE.

45. Blackjack card: ACE.

46. Spearheaded: LED.

47. Back tooth: MOLAR.

48. Gumption: NERVE.

50. Tiny bits: IOTAS.

59. Bowl over: STUN.

62. Unpleasant, as weather: NASTY.

63. Speck in the ocean: ISLE.

64. Machu Picchu country: PERU.  //  And 54-Down. Machu Picchu native: INCA.  Machu Picchu will really take your breath away.

65. Crossword hints: CLUES.

66. Old Testament brother: CAIN.  //  And 56. Old Testament brother: ESAU.  So many choices here.  I had to wait for the down answer to find Cain, who slew Abel.  This biblical story is the basic theme of John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden.  Esau was the fraternal twin brother of the patriarch, Jacob.  Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah.

67. Wheel shaft: AXLE.

68. Bright-eyed: ALERT.

69. Underwater vessels: SUBS.

Down:
1. Unbridled enthusiasm: ZEAL.

2. Loafing around: IDLE.  Not to be confused with Eric Idle, who is anything but.

Eric Idle (b. Mar. 29, 1943)

3. Bread with a pocket: PITA.

4. Hat worn by Abraham Lincoln: STOVE PIPE.

5. "Severance" star Adam: SCOTT.  Adam Scott (né Adam Paul Scott) also portrayed Ben Wyatt on Parks and Recreation.  I tried watching Severance, but quickly got bored.

6. Spinning shaper in a woodshop: LATHE.

7. Earthy pigment: OCHER.  This pigment contains ferric oxide, which gives it varying shades light yellow to brown or red.

8. Every now and __: sporadically: THEN.

9. Roll-call response: HERE.

10. Volkswagen sedan: JETTA.

11. Fill with wonder: AWE.

12. Irk: VEX.

13. Museum collection: ART.

 

21. Coast Guard rank: Abbr.: ENS.  As in Ensign.  The Coast Guard Ensign is the most junior commissioned officer rank.

22. Practice boxing: SPAR.

25. "That works for me": I'M COOL.

26. Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA.  Nikola Tesla (July 9, 1856 ~ Jan. 7, 1943) was a Croatian-American inventor and futurist.  He is best known for designing the AC electrical system, the global standard for power transmission. In 1898, he also invented a remote-controlled boat.

27. Many a winery visitor: TASTER.

28. Flowy robe with long sleeves: CAFTAN.

29. Loosen, as a shoe: UNLACE.

30. Novelist Bram who created Dracula: STOKER.  Bram Stoker (né Abraham Stoker; Nov. 8, 1847 ~ Apr. 20, 1912) was an Irish novelist.  He is best known for writing the 1897 novel Dracula, the Transylvanian vampire.   and the creator of the fictional character Count Dracula.  Stoker never went to Transylvania, but did a lot of research to create its environs.

31. Phnom __, Cambodia: PENH.  Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia.

32. Coup d'__: sudden regime change: ETAT.

35. Like green-headed mallards: MALE.

36. Extremely dry: ARID.

37. Beer barrel: KEG.

38. Word puzzles with hidden messages: ACROSTICS.

43. Move a muscle: FLEX.

47. Goat's bleat: MAA.

49. Event site: VENUE.  Radio City Music Hall is the venue of the Rockettes.  Did you know that the Rockettes are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year?  The dance troupe was actually founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1925 before moving to New York in 1932.  They were first known as the Missouri Rockets.  The venue has a seating capacity of just under 6,000!

50. Magazine edition: ISSUE.

51. Furry swimmer: OTTER.

52. Lovers' meeting: TRYST.

55. Like skyscrapers: TALL.

57. Smooth-talking: GLIB.

58. Cravings: YENS.  Not to be confused with the currency of Japan.

59. Pampering place: SPA.

60. __-Mex cuisine: TEX.

61. Web address: URL.  As in Universal Resource Locator.  This has become a crossword staple.

I make tracks now on this Penultimate day of 2025.  Wishing you all joy and health for 2026.  See you in January.

חתולה

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

QOD:  The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.  ~  Willie Nelson (né Willie Hugh Nelson; Apr. 29, 1933), American country musician

 

Favorite places.  Each profession in the theme clue has a favorite "to-go" place that relates to his or her job. 

20-Across. Journalist's go-to place for getting scoops?: ICE CREAM STAND.  A good Journalist would get Scoops on a story, then go to the Ice Cream Stand for a Scoop of Ice Cream.

31-Across. Novelist's go-to place for spinning yarns?: CRAFT STORE.  A good Novelist Spins Yarns for a story, the goes to the Craft Store for yarn for knitting.

40-Across. Screenwriter's go-to place for envisioning stories?: SKYSCRAPER.  A Screenwriter Envisions Stories, then might climb Stories in the Skyscraper.

52Across. Business writer's go-to place for establishing accounts?: BROKERAGE FIRM.  A Business Writer might Establish Accounts, which are at the Brokerage Firm.

Across:

1. Scallion kin: LEEK.  What's the difference, you ask.

5. Call at the plate: SAFE.  //  And 39-Across. Diamond experts?: UMPS.

9. Furniture in a cozy inn's common room: SOFAs.

14. Tehran's land: IRAN.

15. Colorful breakfast cereal: TRIX.  Trix are for rabbits.

16. Lyric poem: EPODE.  An Epode is a form of lyric poem written in couplets, in which a long line is followed by a shorter one.

17. Savory paste in Japanese cuisine: MISO.  It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus Aspergillus).

18. Tick off: RILE.

19. __ City, Iowa: SIOUX.

23. Movies that aren't silent: TALKIES.

24. Luxury watches such as Seamaster and Speedmaster: OMEGAs.  A brief history of the Omega watches.

This Speedster will set you back about $32,500.

27. Many a time, poetically: OFT.

28. Burlap fiber: JUTE.

30. Nutritional fig.: RDA.  As in the Recommended Daily Allowance.

35. "And not a moment too __!": SOON.

36. 50%: HALF.

37. Hankering: YEN.  Also the currency of Japan.

38. __ sock: TUBE.

43. "Doesn't do much for me": MEH!

44. Club membership charges: DUES.

45. Pillbox, for one: HAT.  Jackie Kennedy was known for wearing Pillbox hats.

46. Attach with a click: SNAP ON.

48. Open-sided garden shelters: GAZEBOs.

55. Steel girder: I-BEAM.

57. Tart: SOUR.

58. Theater box: LOGE.

59. Barista's brew: LATTE.

60. Bearers of gold, frankincense, and myrrh: MAGI.

61. Human rights lawyer Clooney: AMAL.  Amal Clooney (née Amal Alamuddin; b. Feb. 3, 1978) married George Clooney in 2014.  She holds duel Lebanese-British citizenship.

62. Performed an optical procedure, perhaps: LASED.

63. Idyllic place: EDEN.

64. Well-mannered fellow: GENT.

Down:

1. Set a boundary: LIMIT.

2. CNN journalist Hill: ERICA.  Erica Ruth Hill (b. 1976) is an American journalist who has been with CNN since last year.

3. Painter's canvas holder: EASEL.

4. Merchandise that's not the real deal: KNOCK OFFS.   We had expensive Omega watches above.  Can you spot the knock off?

5. U2's "Where the __ Have No Name": STREETS.

6. Opera solos: ARIAS.  One of my favorite arias.

7. Festival showing: FILM.

8. Post-breakup pair: EXES.

9. Bagel variety: SESAME.

10. Express a viewpoint: OPINE.

11. Dairy or grains: FOOD GROUP.

12. Garage converted to rental space, e.g., for short: ADU.  Apparently this is short for Accessory Dwelling Unit.  Unknown to me.

13. Driver's license datum: SEX.

21. Falling-out: RIFT.

22. Reusable bag: TOTE.

25. Photoshop company: ADOBE.

26. More reasonable: SANER.

28. Baby kangaroos: JOEYs.  Kangaroos typically have one baby at a time. A female kangaroo can give birth to several joeys per year.  The word Joey comes from the aborigine language and joey means ‘small animal’. Joey is the collective norm for any small animals.

29. Caterer's coffee containers: URNS.

31. Pals: CHUMS.

32. Quick-cooking noodles: RAMEN.

33. Collections of letters: ALPHABETS.

34. Youngster: TYKE.

35. Waver over a capital building: STATE FLAG.  There is a mother pelican feeding her babies with her own blood in the center of the Louisiana state flag.  A white ribbon beneath the crest displays the state motto, "Union, Justice, Confidence" in blue. The flag was officially adopted on July 1, 1912, one hundred years after Louisiana became a state.  Louisiana joined the union in April 1812.

40. Done for: SUNK.  //  And 44-Down. Done for: DOOMED.

41. Embarrassment: CHAGRIN.

42. Bulldoze: RAZE.

47. Go on and on: PRATE.

48. Tire pressure indicator: GAUGE.

49. Ecological community: BIOME.  A biome is an area classified according to the species that live in that location.

50. Church pipes: ORGAN.  Hi, Splynter!

51. Silvery fish: SMELT.

53. Name in a Salinger title: ESME.  For Esme is a short story that was originally published in 1950.

54. Took the high __: ROAD.  The term Taking the high road means behaving in a moral and ethical way, even when faced  the temptation to act in a less honorable way.  It implies choosing a course of action that is righteous and upright.

55. Under the weather: ILL.

56. Sheep sound: BAA.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה