Wednesday, September 3, 2025

AV Club untimed (Jenni) [3.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
LAT 3:51 (Gareth) [3.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 7:53 (Eric) [2.33 avg; 12 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 2:20 (Kyle) [4.44 avg; 8 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) [3.25 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today 14:40 (Emily) [2.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ 7:01 (Eric) [2.50 avg; 3 ratings] rate it

Gary Larson & Amy Ensz’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “Codependent” — Eric’s Review

Gary Larson & Amy Ensz’s Wall Street Journal Crossword — 9/3/25

If whatever crossword I’m solving has a title, trust me to forget to read it. Had remembered to read the title of this puzzle, I might not have spent half my solving time trying to figure out how this simple theme works. Instead, I muddled along and tried unsuccessfully to make sense of the wacky stuff.

As soon as I was finished with the grid, I looked at the title, and the theme clicked: Add CO to well-known words and names and make sort of wacky two-word answers:

• 17A [Location for a hostile takeover?] COUP SETTING This threw me off because it made me think the wackiness came from the sound “coo” — but that’s irrelevant. And only a little upsetting.
• 25A [Cloakroom caper?] COAT HEIST As an atheist since my early teens, I feel seen.
• 36A [Abdominal owies?] CORE ACHES This one bugs me a little, possibly because it’s not as wacky as the others. Or maybe it’s just too much of a reach.
• 50A [Fossil fuel supplement?] COAL ADD-IN
• 59A [Air-conditioned workplace?] COOL FACTORY

As a relatively recent transplant to the Centennial State, I should have been all over this theme. But because the wackiness comes from the first word in each two-word answer, it was not easy to get the theme answers via the Wheel of Fortune method I rely on. Still, it’s an obvious-enough theme that it works without a revealer.

Other stuff:

• 1A [Makes calls] REFS Not UMPS. At least I’ve learned to wait for a cross or two.
• 5A [Diamond units] CARATS This could have been baseball, but it’s jewels. The CARAT/KARAT question came up in the comments here a few days ago. Someone mentioned the “Four Cs” by which diamonds are graded: Carats, Cut, Color and Clarity. If you have trouble remembering whether it’s K or C, maybe that will help. (The purity of gold is typically expressed in karats.)
• 30A [Eye of round, e.g.] LEAN CUT LOIN CUT slowed me down for a bit. I eat meat, but unless we’re talking poultry, don’t ask me where on the animal a cut of meat comes from.
• 47A [Gleefully greedy exclamation] ALL MINE

• 55A [On crutches, say] LAME I try not to be ableist, but it’s hard sometimes to think of a substitute for “lame” in the sense of “poor.” I’ve been using “weak,” but I’m open to suggestions for a better term.
• 67A [Spots for spectacles] ARENAS I spent too long interpreting “spectacles” as “eyeglasses,” even though I never refer to my own glasses that way.
• 1D [Busy time at Churchill Downs] RACE DAY May is the busiest time of the Texas Legislature’s biennial regular session. Either house is likely to meet on any given Saturday or Sunday. When the Speaker of the House was a guy whose family owned a horse track in San Antonio, those of us working for the legislature could be sure that the House would adjourn by noon or 1 PM on Kentucky Derby Day so he could get back for the race. It was almost as reliable a break as Mother’s Day.
• 2D [Hot stuff] EROTICA/3D [Make nervous] FLUSTER People don’t label things NSFW for no reason. Just respect your coworkers’ sensibilities. (And don’t get caught!)
• 11D [Some Pompeii art] MOSAICS Off the M, I tried MURALS. I should know better.
• 13D [Nile Delta site of a 1799 find] ROSETTA Why am I just now learning that the Rosetta Stone is named after a place that’s now called Rashid?
• 40D [Openly disregarded] FLOUTED A Facebook friend recently got in a snit about an article in the San Francisco Chronicle in which the writer used “flaunted” when they should have used “flouted.” Don’t be that writer!
• 46D [Egg-laying mammals] PLATYPI If the correct plural of “octopus” would be “octopodes” (based on its Greek origin), shouldn’t the plural of “platypus” be “platypodes”?
• 52D [Agreement that quadrupled trade in 20 year] NAFTA One of the worst experiences of my legislative career was when NAFTA took effect. There was a provision in the treaty that said it superseded any state laws that conflicted with its terms. The lieutenant governor told my bosses that he wanted us to identify every Texas statute that was affected. What a mind-numbing (and probably pointless) use of our time that was.
• 59D [Presidential monogram after JAG] CAA Who among us remembers Chester A. Arthur? Probably no one, since he became president in 1881 following John A. Garfield’s assassination. But the last surviving grandchild of John Tyler died just a few months ago, so who knows?

Michael B. Berg’s New York Times Crossword — Eric’s Review

Michael Berg’s New York Times Crossword — 9/3/25

Today’s we get a punny theme based on a phrase that originates in Polari, which Merriam-Webster describes as “a kind of slang known especially for its use in 20th century British gay culture”:

• 17A [Neutral shade in some Florida décor?] TAMPA BEIGE
• 23A [Lighthearted invitation for joining one’s sled team?] SKIP TO MY LUGE
• 38A [Fancify … or a phonetic hint to 17-, 23-, 50- and 62-Across] ZHUZH UP
• 50A [Headline during a zombie attack?] THE DEAD SIEGE
• 62A [Price of makeup at the dollar store, informally?] BUCK A ROUGE

I got 17A and immediately saw the “Tampa Bay” pun, which is my favorite of the four. I’ve only been to Florida twice — a long layover in Orlando 25 or so years ago and a weekend in St. Augustine Beach a few years back. But what little I know of the state makes me think that the “beige” part might not be inappropriate.

But even after getting the “phonetic hint,” I didn’t quite see how the puns worked, which meant the theme didn’t help me with the two theme answers in the bottom half of the grid. That’s okay; any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me.

The theme is slightly off-putting for me because I associate ZHUZH UP with Queer Eye, which I have not seen. My husband (whose equivalent phrase is “tart up”) and I tried to watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and abandoned it after a few episodes. I’m comfortable with the way my aesthetics express themselves, but I have a strong sense that the Fab Five would find me wanting in some areas.

But I did like TAMPA BEIGE, THE DEAD SIEGE is not bad given its clue, and BUCK A ROUGE reminds me of a favorite bit of the Bakersfield sound, so that offsets the Queer Eye aspect. And I like that The New York Times Games team is pushing the gay agenda. On Tuesday, Connections featured Earring Magic Ken!

Other stuff:

• 16A [Guthrie who sang “Alice’s Restaurant”] ARLO In the original live recording of that song, which is a product of the anti-Vietnam war culture Guthrie inhabited, he advises young men summoned for draft physicals to go in singing “Alice’s Restaurant” so that the examining physicians will think they’re mentally ill. Better yet, he says, go in with another potential draftee while singing his song and “They’ll think you’re both faggots.” I’m glad that he eventually modified that line, but you still hear the original now and then, and I cringe every time.
• 29A [Fish feared by dragons in “How to Train Your Dragon”] EELS I had no idea on this, but maybe it will stick along with the other eel-related knowledge I’ve picked up from crosswords.
• 42A [Tolkien trilogy, to fans] LOTR I’d be happier if this clue had “some” in it. I would never call it anything but The Lord of the Rings. I’d be even happier if the clue didn’t call it a “trilogy.” It’s a single novel in six parts. (End of geek-out.)
• 47A [A half-filled auditorium, per Robert Frost] HELL That’s much better than my original answer, HALL.
• 49A [Puts the pedal to the metal] GUNS IT I just now looked at the grid and saw this as GUN SIT. Surely someone that concerned about their guns wouldn’t leave town without taking their weapons with them.
• 3D [Munitions] ARMS Not AMMO.
• 5D [Cosmetics-regulating org.] FDA Shouldn’t any clue about a federal regulatory agency include “former”?
• 7D [Reason for a tucked tail, perhaps] GUILT Not GUILE.
• 10D [How a Dylan impersonator might sing] NASALLY I’ve been a fan of Bob Dylan’s music for 50 years. One thing about Timothée Chalamet’s performance in A Complete Unknown that really impressed me was how he captured Dylan’s phrasing without sounding like a Dylan impersonator.
• 28D [Prepare to do an oil change, say] POP THE HOOD This bothered me a little because in the job I had in college, I changed the oil on dozens of cars. You don’t need to pop the hood to get to the drain plug or, on many cars, the oil filter. Eventually, you’ll probably open the hood to add the new oil. But why not just put “check the oil” in the clue?

Robyn Weintraub’s New Yorker crossword – Kyle’s write-up

The New Yorker solution grid – Robyn Weintraub – Wednesday 09/03/2025

Thanks Robyn for today’s New Yorker puzzle. Nice collection of long entries here including “I’M NOT FEELING IT”, SQUIRREL MONKEY, “HOW DO I LOOK?”, ROUGH DRAFT, DEAR READER, GREEN SALAD, “HERE’S AN IDEA” and GUESSTIMATE.

How widely used is NETIQUETTE? This feels like a throwback to the early 2000s.

Shorter fill is mostly smooth, except I wasn’t a fan of the partial AT YOU.

Michael Berg and Brian Callahan’s Universal crossword, “Spelling Bees” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 9/3/25 • Wed • “Spelling Bees” • Berg, Callahan • solution • 20250903

• 62a^R [Pre-apocalyptic period in some sci-fi stories … or a phonetic hint to what’s found in each starred clue’s answer?] BEFORE TIMES, or B four times.
• 18a. [*Relaxing soaks] BUBBLE BATHS.
• 24a. [*Former Nick Jr. series whose title repeated a nonsense word] YO GABBA GABBA. Didn’t know this one at all, and struggled to parse the spacing as it was filled in via crossing entries. Did they have to pay royalties to the Ramones?
• 40a. [*Beer brand] PABST BLUE RIBBON. That’s a rather minimal clue.
• 52a. [*Chili’s barbecue entree] BABY BACK RIBS.

Really appreciating how the only Bs in the grid appear in the theme entries (and the revealer).

Can’t offhand come up with a music choice that fits the criterion, so we’ll have to make do with a five-B song:

• 4d [“Sry” alternative] MYB, for “my bad”. Or is it MY B? I haven’t encountered it, so it kind of looks like “mind your business” too.
• 8d [Street foods that may be halal] KEBABS.
  
• 33d [Nevada home of the Triple-A Aces] RENO. 39a [Poker stake] ANTE.
• 34d [ __ musubi (Hawaiian snack)] SPAM. In retrospect, I should have gotten this more easily. 17a [Tuna in a pole bowl] AHI.
• 37d [Cone alternative] CUP. Ice cream.
• 43d [Words after a fall, hopefully] I’M OK, which may not be completely accurate. Trust me.
• 63d [Clumsy Midwesterner’s interjection] OPE. Isn’t it more of an all-purpose utterance?
• 66d [Do some quilting] SEW. Like, y’know, at a quilting bee. I’m sure the clue is an intentional wink.
• 22a [Palindrome in pasta dish names] ALLA.
  
• 47a [Petrifying woman of Greek myth] MEDUSA. Literally speaking. Also, have you done the NYT Spelling Bee today?
• 67a [Part of BCE] ERA. The only three-letter part, and neither ‘before’ nor ‘common’ are typically abbreviated.
• 70a [Main and 42nd: Abbr.] STS. I thought the clue was describing a particular intersection, rather than simply providing a pair of examples.

Shannon Rapp and Will Eisenberg’s AVCX Classic Crossword “Gettin’ Stupid in Your Area” — Jenni’s review

Sneaking in late – sorry! I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. I admit I have no idea what the title has to do with anything. Then again I don’t anything about the Beastie Boys except that there were three of them.

At first I thought the title had to do with the theme clues being, well, kind of stupid.

AVCX, September 3, 2025, Shannon Rapp and Will Eisenberg, “Gettin’ Stupid in Your Area,” solution grid

• 18a [“Oui oui, here’s some facts about this acteur FRANÇAIS /I sing and I dance
  and I starred in ‘DÉDÉ’ / I wear ze straw boater and I rock ze black tux/ I did ‘Aristocats’ because I ran out of FUCKS!”] is MAURICE CHEVALIER. Too bad they couldn’t work GIGI into the clue.
• 23a [“I dance en pointe, I’ll keep you on your TOES / I got sportswear, you can buy my CLOTHES / I broke down barriers, you know what I mean? / Black lead ballerina but just call me QUEEN!”] is MISTY COPELAND.
• 46a [“My research work’s got ‘em all held CAPTIVE / My songs get spun yeah I’m radioACTIVE / You got a Nobel Prize? Oh, good for you! / Now fall down and cry cause I’ve got TWO”] is MARIE CURIE.
• 67a [“‘Madame Web’ was a bomb, yeah it got bad GRADES / But you know she laid it down in ‘Fifty SHADES’ / You’ve seen her face on the silver screen / Now sit and watch her spin on the sound MACHINE”] is DAKOTA JOHNSON.

Then I got to the revealer 75a [One Beastie Boys song in which the members introduce themselves … or a description of the crew that rhymes in this puzzle] is, apparently, TWO MCS AND ONE DJ. Cute! And I have a hard time believing that Shannon’s last name didn’t have something to do with the genesis of this puzzle.

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: never heard of the song. Also did not know that KELP is the base for fries at the Krusty Krab.

Emma Oxford’s USA Today Crossword, “Your Fly Is Down” — Emily’s write-up

Better get that!

USA Today, September 03, 2025, “Your Fly Is Down” by Emma Oxford

Theme: –FLY can be added to the last word of each downs themer to form types of flying insects

Themers:

• 3d. [Ingredient in some body lotions], COCOABUTTER
• 13d. [“Why are you in such a hurry?”], WHERESTHEFIRE
• 23d. [1977 animated musical about an orphan and his reptilian friend, Elliott], PETESDRAGON

What a themer set with COCOABUTTER, WHERESTHEFIRE, and PETESDRAGON. I needed some crossings for each but everything was fairly crossed. Plus, how satisfying is it for the themers to be in 3, 13, and 23? So good!

Favorite fill: TROPES, ASAHI, and AROMA

Stumpers: STOLE (misdirected by the cluing), SEENOTE (tough crossing for me), and PHONEITIN (needed crossings)

Such a fun puzzle and amazing grid. Despite it being one of my slowest solves, it still felt smooth. Did I have an off day or did you find it tougher cluing as well?

4.5 stars

~Emily

Michael Torch’s LA Times Crossword – Gareth’s theme summary

A cute and tightly defined theme by Michael Torch revolves a round the central entry: AHEADOF. Each of four “pinwheeled” theme answers starts with a word that satisfies “HEAD OF ___”. So:

[Extracts dirt from the carpet, maybe], STEAMCLEANS. Head of steam.
[California’s “Eureka” and New York’s “Excelsior”] STATEMOTTOS. Head of State.
[Vidal Sassoon’s expertise], HAIRSTYLING. Head of hair.
[Low-carb sandwich], LETTUCEWRAP. Head of lettuce.

Gareth