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Relative difficulty: Easy (7:02 on my phone while waiting for my Popeye's order)
THEME: Repeating letters — Two word phrases where the second word is the same as the final syllable of the first word
Theme answers:
Word of the Day: CBGB (N.Y.C. club that hosted Blondie and the Ramones) —
- [Screen addiction, e.g.] for DEVICE VICE
- The final syllable of the first word is "vice" and the second word is the same: "vice"
- [Where boxers trade jabs] for SPARRING RING
- [Clever chap] for INTELLIGENT GENT
- [Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Linus Pauling, Martin Luther King Jr. and so on] for NOBELIST LIST
- ["Meow, meow, meow!," e.g.] for FELINE LINE
Word of the Day: CBGB (N.Y.C. club that hosted Blondie and the Ramones) —
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal and his ex-wife Karen Kristal at 315 Bowery in the East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that it was a dive bar. The letters CBGB were for Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Kristal's original vision for the club, but CBGB soon emerged as a famed and iconic venue for punk rock and new wave bands [wiki]
• • •
I like a theme that has a revealer. I think it is the raison d'etre for a puzzle; it grounds and centers it. This puzzle didn't have one but I also acknowledge it didn't really need one. The reason for the theme is laid out for solvers and it is basically that... it's a neat pattern! I agree it's neat, by the way! I don't like puzzles where the entries are wacky, and this walked an interesting line where I could almost almost believe that these phrases might actually be used in a conversation. Maybe as a New York Post headline? (SPARRING RING was the weak link to me because I felt the clue was describing jargon and the entry was not the appropriate term (presumably it's just "boxing ring"?) but if someone in the comments knows better than me, please correct me if I'm wrong!)
It's a nice touch that this theme went with spelling and sounds. E.g. "vice" is the same as the last four letters of "device" and it also sounds the same. (Compare to something like "praline line" which has the same letters but different pronunciation, or "minnows nose" that has the same pronunciation but different letters.) The more constraints there are, the harder it is to come up with entries that work-- this was constrained, but at the same time I bet there are other entires not in this puzzle that would work just fine and I bet people in the comments will brainstorm some of them.
I was very briefly confused while solving because I thought JALAPENOS was going to be a theme answers. It's a little unusual to see such a long entry not part of the theme, but it does follow one of the unspoken rules: it (as well as PET PEEVES) is shorter (at nine letters) than all of the other theme entries (ten, twelve, and fifteen letters). Both are great entries, by the way!
Bullets:
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Bullets:
- [Long sandwich with cold cuts, maybe] for SUB — One of my favorite questions is: If you had a sandwich named after you, what it would it be? (There's a good Curb Your Enthusiasm episode about this.) Mine would be soppressata, genoa salami, fontina, olive tapenade, and pesto on a hero roll toasted. Then when it comes off the sandwich press, open it up and add some dressed arugula.
- [A quarter or more of one's life, typically] for SLEEP — This stat made me stop in my tracks. I love sleeping but wow, a whole quarter!!!??? Kind of feels like a waste!
- The CBGB / GMC cross was a total guess from me, and so was the IONE / ROUE cross. Really tough for a Monday!
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- Westwords (Berkeley, CA, Jun. 14, 2026)
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- Pop Sensation (vintage paperbacks)
I came to grief downs-only on JALAPEÑOS - confidently entered Galapagos. Since I didn’t know Neal Stephenson, I thought “what very strange name is this? Also entered Roma for RAMA - so failed to finish downs-only over that section.
ReplyDeletesamsies.
DeleteHad the same issue but GIVES and GEAL eventually assisted. Also couldn’t decide between LEILA, LEELA, and LEALA - none seemed to mean “night”.
DeleteAnonymous 20:27 am
DeleteNight is correct
I misread the clue as light. So l seemed fine.
I figured it is of Middle Eastern origin. And it is. Lord Byron introduced the name to Europe.
Medium.
ReplyDeleteNo costly erasures.
I didn’t know LEILA, OSAKA, and NEAL
I did know CBGB and LUIGI.
No junk, cute/solid theme, liked it.
Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #1126 was an easy-medium Croce for me with the most resistance coming from the SW. Good luck!
Freestyle 1126 was medium, and a one-letter DNF at 5D/15A. If you don't know 5D, the that's a 50/50 square.
DeleteNormal (lack of) difficulty for a Monday, I thought...guessing GMC meant I didn't need an alphabet run at the top. I agree with Malaika that the theme didn't need a revealer. Good start to the week.
ReplyDeleteMy five favorite original clues from last week
ReplyDelete(in order of appearance):
1. Mickey Mouse (7)
2. Biggest restaurant size that nevertheless is often topped? (5)(5)(5)
3. Bar of note? (4)
4. Current affairs? (15)
5. They shine during the day (4)(5)
TRIVIAL
EXTRA LARGE PIZZA
FRET
ELECTRODYNAMICS
SOAP STARS
My favorite encore clues from last week:
Delete[Copy cats?] (3)
[Moves a lot] (4)
MEW
AWES
Cute early week theme - agree with Malaika that it really didn’t need a revealer. SPARRING is how boxers practice - SPARRING RING is valid. The non-theme longs were a little clunky.
ReplyDeleteBEES
Overall fill was clean - liked SMEAR, EGRET, THONG and ESTEEM. Learned LEILA. Limited glue. Must have seen the Ramones 30 times over the years - never at CBs. It was a dump but the place to be for awhile.
The JIVE Five
An enjoyable Monday morning solve.
A Fine LASS You Are
I looked askance at sparring ring. I assume you practice/spar in a boxing ring. But spar can be for other combat sports and the sparring ring can have additional padding.
DeleteIt’s a Malaika Mmonday! If I could have a sandwich named after me, it would be peanut butter and jelly. Then I’d be a household name.
ReplyDeleteof course you would be listed as PB&J....not to be confused with the legendary New York City venue CPBJ that features Punk, Blues and Jazz.
Deletepbandj is part of our email address. I'm PB and my wife is J, but we had to add some other stuff as just pbandj was already taken, probably by vandals under the cover of darkness.
DeleteVery easy. Downs only was five minutes faster than my Monday overall average.
ReplyDeleteI thought the puzzle would be hard but was surprised how easy the theme and fills were.🎈🎈🎊🎊
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteYesterComments by me is further evidence of the ole brain just flowing away with the tide. Messed up a Themer, then complained about it. Dang. But I still stand by SNARF lately being the eating of choice in these puzs. 😁
A lot of grid space taken up by the Themers today. The constructors still managed to pull off a cleanly filled grid twixt all those Themers. Not an easy task.
Theme was OK, agree with Malaika that the sounds and spelling of the repeats being the same elevate the puz a bit.
Downs Only today seems like it would've been easy. I got more Downs than Acrosses on first pass through.
An F right out of the gate is nice too!
Realized that the pattern EG__T could be either EGYPT or EGRET today. Funny things one sees in crosswords.
Welp, hope y'all have a great Monday!
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
@RooMonster 7:16 AM
DeleteThe passion displayed over SNARF v. SCARF vis-à-vis the NYTXW is a testament to the important and in-depth conversations waged here in 🦖-less land. Personally, I will scarf or snarf anything left unsupervised.
I went with NEiL and RiMI for the novelist and the avatar. I’m so terrible at trivia that even Mondays can be a challenge for me.
ReplyDeleteThe theme jumped out at me early. I’m comfortable not wasting valuable space (and putting more strain on the grid) with a revealer when it’s not really necessary, and I agree with Malaika that today certainly seems to be in that category.
Downs only success! I love this puzzle!
ReplyDeleteI really don't understand what is going on at the times this month. This is the fourth recent 'theme' that just seems unworthy of the name. I guess there is a little credit due for all the repeats being four letters (so e.g. chrysanthemum mum would not do), but there must be thousands of options for themers. Doughnuts nuts, contraband band, wineglass lass, aftermath math ... that's less than thirty seconds of thought.
ReplyDeleteBut your themers don't make much sense, and the ones in the puzzle are clever. I think you're being very critical of a cute Monday puzzle.
DeletePerhaps there was a FUDD, MUTT, FINN mini-theme in there (ABCC), too, which I enjoyed. I might be reading too much into it, but that could be echoing the main theme, what with its repeated ending.
ReplyDeleteCute enough theme and I love Malaika's comment about imagining the themers as New York Post Headlines - that is spot on!
ReplyDeleteRunning with the New York vibe, it was nice to see CBGB in the grid (though I usually see it in plural). Truly an iconic NYC venue that was always just out of reach for me due to my age. I was old enough to listen to Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, etc... but way too young to venture down to the Bowery to actually see them there. Saw them elsewhere when I was old enough and there's always Youtube for their early years. 😊
Got a kick out of the LEVY/LEVI duo and thinking about the credits for M*A*S*H* evoked some nice early TV viewing memories for me.
Got a bit hungry looking at SUB, carne ASADA, MASH and JALAPENOS, I'd wash those down with a *vodka* GIMLET...
Thanks Ginny and Rajeswari for a breezy Monday and thanks for the write-up, Malaika! On to Hugh's Monday Haikus:
Calling Mom's sisters
A big FAT ARMY of AUNTs,
Her PETPEEVE, I'd SAY
Failed in the downs-only solve today over the NEiL/RiMA cross. Of course I should have known that would be RAMA, just missed it and had to look at the acrosses to get it. Nice puzzle. Other than that, down-only was helped a lot by those duplicating themers! Thanks, Ginny and Rajeswari!
ReplyDeleteMy pet peeve is that every NYer of a certain age tells you they were a major part of the CBGB scene back in the day. The place is (was) tiny: the physics just doesn't add up.
ReplyDeleteClassic Natick on a Monday at NEaLxRaMA. Granted this looks better than neil/rima, but it's plausible. (Oh, hi Rick Sacra, & Southside).
Malaika, that sandwich sounded delicious until three sauces in the tapenade, pesto, and dressing all competing in the same flavor lane. Maybe it's just too early to think about that.
CBGB is a nice Monday answer. OMFUG is for Saturday puzzles.
ReplyDeleteSolving downs only, gALAPagOS, looked like a sure bet. I wonder if there are JALAPEÑOS there (hi @Queenoid. What are you doing up at 3:35 am? You know you're supposed to sleep a quarter of your life away).
I love both IONE Skye and her ballerina sister 2TWO.
I gotta run. My PETPEEVES needs his morning walk. Thanks, Ginny Too and Rajeswari Rajamani.
Another hand up for careless NEiL/RiMA cross, tho if brain had focused sooner would have realized RAMA was the right answer. More coffee please! Had no trouble with SPARRINGRING but would agree “boxing ring”is probably the more common expression.
ReplyDeleteI needed some Downs to get going on this one (did not come up with USERS for Clientele, or CBGB for NYC Club) and kind of wish I'd tried solving Downs-only. But once I got going it was quite whooshy and I enjoyed it. Nice to include the INTELLIGENT GENTS and Ladies on the NOBELISTIST.. And fun to think about a spicy GIMLET made with JALAPENOS!
ReplyDeleteNot familiar with IONE Skye and still unsure what ROUE is and how it relates to hedonism, so I was looking at that last cross for a while before finally figuring the best guess was “O”. Was genuinely surprised when the solved screen popped up.
ReplyDeleteI’ve got to ask, did you look up the meaning of roue?
DeleteA roue is a (man) of questionable moral fiber, committed to hedonistic acts.
DeleteOnce he cleared the wading birds off the property, the developer said he had no EGRETs.
ReplyDeleteJulianne's gender: Moore is LASS.
Skye's hubby: IONE have eyes for you.
For the Jewish version of the puzzle:
SMEAR -- schmear
CBGB -- Temple Beth Shalom
GIMLET -- Manischewitz
CAVER -- You go. I'll stay here on the tour bus.
THONG -- Seriously? You can't go with us to the beach like that. AUNT Estelle will have another stroke.
SMEAR??? The word is SCHMEAR!!!
ReplyDeleteSo true.
DeleteAmen!
DeleteIn Yiddiish, not English.
DeleteIn parts of Brooklyn, it's "schmear." Everywhere else on the planet Earth, the word is SMEAR. In fact, my system changed "schmear" to SMEAR at first.
DeleteEnglish is spread, for butter and jam.
DeleteNew Yorkish is schmear.
Nobody says SMEAR except when it's on the chin or your tie.
Well, I'm a white Anglo guy from western Canada and I say schmear Smear is what you do when your windshield defroster isn't working fast enough and you try to clear the condensation with your greasy fingers.
DeleteI read the clue as being a verb phrase. To spread something, such as cream cheese, is to smear it. In other words, you spread a spread and smear a schmear.
DeleteEasiest Monday ever ... not complaining, just saying. I solved so quickly now I gotta find my typo :(
ReplyDeleteBTW - to all constructors - please keep MUTT out of puzzles - no dog is a MUTT - thank you.
Forgot to attempt Downs-only, probably due to starting the puzzle before starting coffee. In hindsight, at first glance this looked like it would be a near-impossible solve that way, as the theme answers weren't familiar standalone phrases. But I suppose once you got one theme answer, and deduced the replication, it was solvable, as attested to by others here.
ReplyDeleteFairly low three-letter word count, and pretty solid entries, both especially for a Monday. No idea about CBGB, but fairly crossed. Assume someone here may object to SMEAR, versus Schmear.
Google says LEILA means "night" in both Arabic and Hebrew.
Hmmm… Goigle had nothing to do with it.
DeleteLeila has meant night for a millenia before Google existed.
Malaika, if you find yourself in New York City, you must go to Milano‘s on the upper west side (Near Columbia University) they will make a version of your sandwich that will bring tears to your eyes
ReplyDeleteYep, Monday easy (checks calendar) so just right. The trick was obvious after DEVICEVICE so the other themers pretty much filled themselves in. Unlike Malaika, I like a revealer because I like trying to guess what it is based on the themers. Not today
ReplyDeleteI'm old enough to remember CBGB so that was a gimme. Guessed right on the NEAL/RAMA cross, only minor speed bump was ISLAS before ISLES. Should have got that from Majorca instead of MALLORCA, oops. Thanks to DAVinHOP for googling LEILA. I was wondering about that.
OK Mondecito, GT and RR. A Good Time but Really Ran through this one. Thanks for some speedy fun.
Possibly the easiest downs-only Monday I have done. I may have mentioned this before but I’m not a speed demon. I prefer to stroll. I have been known to check the clock, but not very often. So it wasn’t necessarily a time thing; it just felt really easy.
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of notable hesitations at NEAL Stephenson and LEILA, both names but the second one clued in new, to me, way. I liked that.
Oh, and I skipped SMEAR for as long as possible because I thought it should be SchMEAR. I think I would have clued it differently.
Yes it's picky but to me SPARRING RING just doesn't scan like the other themers. Many other ending in -ring words sound better (caring, boring, adhering,etc)
ReplyDeleteThe ECHO entry coulda said it all, for this MonPuztheme.
ReplyDeletestaff weeject pick: GMC. All 11 runt-words were pretty darn respectable today, but GMC was the only abbreve meat.
honrable mention to SUB, as it was the only one with a U.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {Elmer who hunts "wabbits"} = FUDD. FUDD also, technically, obeys the puztheme rule of repeatin the entry's endin. No good rhyme there, I'd grant.
fave thing: The JALAPENOS spellin challenge. MUTT crossin PETPEEVES was also kinda neat.
Thanx for gangin up on us, Ms. Too & Rajamani darlins.
And yo, @ Malaika darlin.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
p.s.
Runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
I thought some of the themers were a bit wide of the mark. Boxers fight, practice techniques, spar, etc., in a BOXING RING. SPARRING RING sounds contrived, made up just for this puzzle. Not far behind in the sounds-made-up department is FELINE LINE. The AI Overview for FELINE LINE mentions eye makeup, pet care products, line art and grooming. The only "meow" connection is on crossword puzzle sites.
ReplyDeleteOne themer seems to break the pattern of "Two word phrases where the second word is the same as the final syllable of the first word" (per Malaika, my emphasis). The last syllable of the first word NOBELIST is -IST while the second word is LIST.
If you are getting regular restful, restorative, health promoting SLEEP ---and you should be!--- you are probably spending closer to a third rather than a quarter (as clued) of your life in the arms of Morpheus.
I hear some people pronounce JALAPEÑO like hal ah pee noh. It is, of course, hahl ah pain yo. If it doesn't have some pain in it, it's not a JALAPEÑO.
thirty years ago i was a sparring partner for a featherweight contender. i dont think we ever called the arena anything at all. we'd out on our gloves and no one had to tell us where to go. ive never heard sparring ring.
ReplyDeleteWhat was it like?
DeleteYou must have had considerable skill yourself? What’s the key to that level of boxing? Footwork, bakance, hand speed?
Where does strength and physicall ability to withstand to take a punch rank?
Anon 6:04. Probably too late for you to read this but …
DeleteThis is not going to be an expert opinion but when I was in junior high one of my best friends was a Golden Gloves boxer and we, his best buds, would occasionally find ourselves in his family's basement recroom - his version of a SPARRING RING - where he was going to teach us the manly art. One of the first things he taught us was to keep our hands up, protect your head. But, jeez, after two 3-minute rounds your arms were soooo tired. After three rounds you thought they were going to fall right off your body. Paolo wasn't a mean guy and he tried to pull his punches but one day, sparring with the frail, non-athletic kid with the English accent, JP (smartest kid I knew in junior high; what was he doing hanging out with us?) Paolo's instincts took over. JP dropped his left and Paolo nailed him with an uppercut. You could hear JP's tooth shatter. Yowls of pain and cries of shock and then Mama C came thundering down the stairs. Paolo got sent to his room. Peter and I got kicked out and had to walk home in shame. And JP got a free ride to the hospital where he was met by his distraught parents.
I have no idea how they worked out the reparations but we kids all remained friends and Mama C still invited me for Christmas dinner. And the moral of the story is … keep your guard up. I think that's the hardest part.
The second word matches the last four letters of the first word in every themer, but not the "last syllable" of every themer.
ReplyDeleteQuite a pleasing and straightforward down clues only solve. After the first pass, I only had a few blank downs. There were a lot of names but I got pretty lucky with them; they were almost all downs so I got to read the clues; LEILA and RAMA were the only tough ones but I have heard of both of them. I've read several NEAL Stephenson books so I didn't fall into the GALAPAGOS trap!
ReplyDelete(Although the clue for LEILA surprised me... 40 years ago I shared a hotel room with two Israeli boys; I was reading with my light on and I asked if it bothered them. They said it was okay: "leila tov... light is good". So for 40 years I've thought LEILA = "light"!)
And of course the theme was so evident without needing the clues, although it was nice reading those once I was done. This was just fine for a Monday, I'd say.
Literally had never heard of IONE Skye or a ROUE, so lots of learning post-puzzle today!
ReplyDeleteVery sweet Monday. I would not have been able to solve it downs only! Guessed at CBGB and ARMY. TIL LEILA means night, and GIMLET. Good entertaining write up too. Thank you all.
ReplyDeleteWould've been neat to put the constructors names reversed
ReplyDeleteRajeswari Rajamani and Ginny Too
😁
Roo
Can someone help with QED? What is that?
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia: Q.E.D. (also written as QED) is an initialism of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, meaning "that which was to be demonstrated". Literally, it states "what was to be shown".[1] Traditionally, the abbreviation is placed at the end of mathematical proofs and philosophical arguments in print publications, to indicate that the proof or the argument is complete.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteProbably been answered by at least 45 people by now but "quod erat demonstrandum" is Latin for something that has been demonstrated or solved.
DeleteThat which was to be demonstrated .it’s often used at the end iof an argument, also commonly used at after a proof in mathematics
DeleteOops. Forgot to include the actual words
DeleteQuod est demonastratum
Quod erat demonstrandum. It's Yiddish for "that which was to be proven." (Maybe Latin.)
DeleteI had an oddly hard time with this one- almost 5 minutes, which is on the VERY high side for me on a Monday.
ReplyDeleteYou guys, have you heard of Google? The very first link: quod erat demonstrandum = "that which was to be demonstrated", colloquially "end of proof".
ReplyDeleteYa lo he visto todo.
ReplyDeleteLet's talk about the "fast lane" and it's anachronistic existence in 2026. Every city I visit these days is jam packed with traffic from dawn until way after dusk. Cities did not adapt to exploding population, cars are still mandatory in the west as we have no viable public transportation options, and suburbs have sprawled into the horizon. Every single lane is full. And yet, there's a dude every day in an $80,000 vehicle (on payments no doubt) thinking the left lane is the fast lane and everyone in front of him is a morally inferior being. Do your little aggressive lane changing and tailgating thing, and I will see you at the next stop light. Leave the house five minutes earlier and realize wherever you're rushing to get to isn't worth the trouble of going there in the first place. Oh, and maybe get some paint to cover up the shade of fragile masculinity you're wearing.
So it appears SMEAR isn't a thing in New York and honestly I don't think we call it anything other than cream cheese out here. I think if somebody called it a SCHMEAR out here we'd look at each other and think they're tryna be fancy.
Um, everything AGES over time, so what makes cheese and wine noteworthy?
❤️ FEELER. "Meow, meow, meow!" Spelunker.
People: 8
Places: 5
Products: 5
Partials: 0 {This never happens. Congrats.}
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 19 of 76 (25%)
Funny Factor: 2 😕
Tee-Hee: For a ROUE, word after B or D is ondage or iscipline. THONG!
Uniclues:
1 Why the campsite is full of human bones at noon and a grizzly is burping nearby.
2 Smarmily offered peppers from one saying, "Try 'em, they're really not hot."
3 The good feeling locals get knowing dead guys from the neighborhood are super famous.
4 Underwear model's honey makers.
1 DAY AREA EATEN
2 ROUE JALAPEÑOS
3 EGYPT ESTEEM
4 THONG STAR BEES
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Who your daughter dates. APE NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So sparring ring is actually thing. It googles solid and it is something I have heard of. A feline line is not.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the QED answers
ReplyDeleteI thought a few of the crosses in the left and right edges were a little rough for a Monday puzzle!
ReplyDelete