Fancy one-handed basketball shot / MON 10-6-25 / Cat's little pink paws, cutesily / Skaters who do lifts and twizzles / Ralph who ran for president four times / Whoopi's role in 1985's "The Color Purple" / Sun phenomenon that can cause radio blackouts / Popular brand of hiking sandals

Constructor: Hannah Binney

Relative difficulty: Easy (solved Downs-only)

THEME: PEOPLE FOOD (59A: What a dog desires from the dinner table ... or a hint to 17-, 25-, 36- and 47-Across) — familiar phrases made out of a body part (i.e. parts of "PEOPLE") and a FOOD:

Theme answers:

• FINGER ROLL (17A: Fancy one-handed basketball shot)
• ARM CANDY (25A: Good-looking companion on the red carpet, say)
• KNUCKLE SANDWICH (36A: Punch in the mouth, slangily)
• TOE BEANS (47A: Cat's little pink paws, cutesily)

Word of the Day: twizzle (28D: Skaters who do lifts and twizzles = ICE DANCERS) —

 

A twizzle is "a multirotational, one-foot turn that moves across the ice" in the sport of figure skating. First performed by David Grant in 1990, the International Skating Union (ISU) defines a twizzle as "a traveling turn on one foot with one or more rotations which is quickly rotated with a continuous (uninterrupted) action". It is most often performed in ice dance, although single skaters and pair skaters also perform the element. Twizzles have been called "the quads of ice dance" because like quadruple jumps in other disciplines, twizzles are risky and technically demanding.

• • •

[George "The Iceman" Gervin]

Ah, I like this one, mainly because it reminds me of my former dogs and current cats. My cats want nothing, or very little, to do with PEOPLE FOOD. Alfie will lick an ice cream bowl, sort of, sometimes, but mostly they just want their cat food. Or their treats, they really live for those Greenies. Every morning, after second breakfast (yes, second breakfast, don't ask), Ida gets up on the counter while I'm making coffee in anticipation of a little game I call "playing treats." "You wanna play Treats?," I ask. She does. So I get out the little plastic carton (we buy them in bulk), and I shake a few into my palm and then I bounce them across the counter and onto the floor and she chases them like they're prey. Alfie needs to have his Treats handed to him daintily. He does not play Treats. Too lazy, or too dignified, not sure which. But Ida goes sliding across the kitchen tiles, or the wooden floors, swatting and batting and devouring every treat I throw for her. But PEOPLE FOOD? ...  I've seen these damned cats turn their nose up at tuna. Honest-to-god tuna, and they're like "meh, where is kibble and/or Treats!?" Weirdos. My dogs, on the other hand, would eat anything. Dog food, PEOPLE FOOD, cat food, dish towels that got soaked in turkey drippings, whatever. But only the cats have TOE BEANS. Alfie has the best TOE BEANS. His paw pads are all dark except one on his forepaw, which is pink, so he has a special weird toe bean. My daughter once had a t-shirt made for me, based on the (now long canceled) TV show Alphas, that said "ALFIES" on it. It mimicked the logo of the show (multiple cat silhouettes instead of multiple human silhouettes) and then had a little cat paw icon with Alfie's signature toe bean anomaly. Here I am wearing the shirt at an Elvis Costello concert a few years back, the only time I've ever been recognized by anyone outside of a crossword tournament (Elaine here was like "I know you" and I'm like "uh ... I don't think so" and she says "Rex Parker?" and I was like "Whoa, yes, OK, hi.")

And here is Proof of Toe Bean:

Today's revealer really did its job. I thought there was some kind of hand theme going on—I had the FINGER and KNUCKLE answers and didn't recognize ARM CANDY was even part of the theme, so when I hit PEOPLE FOOD, the whole concept locked into place. I hadn't even thought about the food angle. When I'm solving Downs-only, I don't tend to think too hard about the (Across) themers unless / until I have to. So the revealer revealed, and all the theme answers are interesting phrases, and the grid is clean, and I didn't get tripped up anywhere, so I'm pretty happy.

[Dutchess and Gabby eying the PEOPLE FOOD]

I had one initial error today. I wrote in "DON'T STAND" (?) instead of "DON'T GET UP" (3D: "Stay seated"). I got out of that one when I ended up with SENE at 23A, which is obviously not a thing. At first I thought maybe EPIC was wrong (24D: "Beowulf" or the "Iliad"), but then I decided STAND was wrong, and GET UP slid right into its place. I didn't make a mistake with WENT, but I balked at it and refused to write it in because the clue seemed off (39D: Left the area). I mean ... [Left] would do just as well. What's this "the area" stuff?? It adds nothing. That's a better clue for, say, WENT AWAY, not just WENT. So as I say, I just left it, and ended up finishing with it, which is why it's highlighted in today's answer grid (above) (the highlighted answer is almost always the very last thing I entered in the grid—I just leave the cursor where it is, take a screenshot, and that's that).

[10D: Music genre for Bob Marley]

Additional notes:

• 31A: Whoopi's role in 1985's "The Color Purple" (CELIE) — this seems hard for a Monday. I never saw it, as it's an Across answer. I think I would've remembered the name, but I'm not sure. It's funny (-ish) that CELIE is the second Whoopi role I can think of that appears from time to time in crosswords. The other is ODA Mae Brown, the character she played in Ghost (for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar) (ODA is also old school crosswordese, most often clued as [Harem room] or [Seraglio section]). CELIE has now appeared in the NYTXW 14 times, all of them with a Color Purple-related clue.
• 33D: Secret compartment, informally (HIDEY HOLE) — one of a very nice set of four long Downs today. Here's Chippy, our resident (front porch) chipmunk, in his HIDEY HOLE (of sorts):

• 43A: Popular brand of hiking sandals (TEVA) — the very phrase "hiking sandals" sounds like an oxymoron to me, but as someone who has developed toe (bean) blisters lately due to semi-dramatic increase in walking, I may have to look into some free-toe alternative to normal footwear. Or else just tape my toes. Or get a shoe with a wider toe box. Or just lie around on the couch watching movies and stop walking altogether. Somehow running (which I also do) has never given me blisters, but walking ... bah. I feel betrayed by walking, honestly.

Thanks to Rafa and Eli for filling in for me while I recovered from facial surgery that was way more ... involved (and gruesome) than I thought it would be. Basal cell carcinoma on the nose ... I've had better times at the doctor! Anyway, I get to wear a nose bandage for a couple weeks, so I'm gonna get a fedora and a suit and pretend I'm Jake Gittes from Chinatown. I'm sure that reference will go over Big with my students.

See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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Portree is the capital of this isle / SUN 10-5-25 / Rapper with a feline-sounding name / Ad Council spots, for short / Swiss locale of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum / Proofreader's Mark

Constructor: John Kugelman

Relative difficulty: Easy/Medium

THEME: ALL TOO WISE — Common two-word phrases have a Y added to the end of both words to make wacky new phrases.

Word of the Day: STAR APPLE (96A: Purple fruit with a distinctive inner shape) —

(Redirected from Star apple) Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was domesticated.^[3] It has spread to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and is now grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia.^[4] It grows rapidly and reaches 20 meters in height. The fruit is globose and typically measures from 2 to 3 inches in diameter.^[7] When ripe, it usually has purple skin with a faint green area appearing around the calyx. A radiating star pattern is visible in the pulp.

 

• • •

Hello everyone, it's Eli filling in for Rex on this fine Sunday. We're getting actual autumnal temperatures in LA so far, and I've been enjoying Oktoberfest celebrations at my local brewery, so I'm in a fine mood today. Let's jump right in!

Theme answers:

• CLASSY MATEY (22A: Sailor who drinks only the finest grog?)
• GOODY COPY (24A: Knockoff version of a sweet treat?)
• CRANKY CASEY (34D: Actor Affleck when he needs a nap?)
• MOUTHY HARPY (39D: Half-woman, half-bird, all attitude?)
• HANDY BELLY (43A: Convenient spot for a cat nap?)
• FORTY WORTHY (62A: Suitable for the middle-aged?)
• FISHY HOOKY (80A: Suspicious absence from school?)
• COCKY PITY (102A: "How sad. You actually think you can win," e.g.?)
• STEAMY IRONY (104A: A locksmith getting stuck in bedroom handcuffs, say?)

Wow. I don't think I realized how much theme content there was until I had to type it all out. The puzzle is titled "All Too Wise," but all I can think is "Why? WHHHYYYYYY?" Ok, I'm being a bit harsh to try to make a joke. The theme works fine, though some of the answers are notably stronger than the others. I most enjoyed CLASSY MATEY (can't turn down a good grog), MOUTHY HARPY (A+ clue on that one), and FORTY WORTHY (for the pure silliness). I also appreciated that CRANKY CASEY brought attention to Casey Affleck. I feel like Ben is seen far more frequently in puzzles, but Casey is also a pretty prominent actor. The rest of the themers didn't do much for me, though something about the phrase "bedroom handcuffs" in 104A does make me snicker a bit.

41D: Benny Hill theme song

The fill doesn't suffer too badly for all of that theme density. BOWER (53D: Garden shelter) is not a word I really care to remember; for some reason it just bores me. I'm also keeping a close eye on CHINESE TEA (42D: Oolong or lapsang souchong). I mean, yes, it's factual; something about that exact phrasing just seems oddly specific to me. I enjoy drinking tea, and I don't know that I've ever gone to a tea house and asked for "Chinese Tea," specifically. I'm going to allow it, but watch yourself, counselor. I'm also a little confused about IT'S A HIT (59A: Agent's good news). Agent? I work in entertainment, and I can't imagine anyone waiting for their agent to tell them their project is doing well. I like it as a grid entry, but that clue has me scratching my head.

The only two things I have marked with a full frowny face are ICKY POO (81D: Disgusting, in totspeak) and OVERHOT (57A: Scorching). For icky poo, I just don't like cutesy-speak, even when it's designated as for toddlers. I feel like a toddler would say "Icky," and an adult who was trying to hard to meet them at their level would say "Icky poo." I just had a reversion to the phrase when I read it. And overhot (over hot?) just feels like "not a thing." I live in the San Fernando Valley. We spend a good portion of every Summer (and Fall, usually) in triple digits. I've never heard someone refer to it as "over hot" before. Overheat? Sure! Over hot? No.

Those two aside, solid puzzle! It took me a little longer than my average Sunday, but it's possible that's just because I was trying to remember things to blog (also, see above about celebrating Oktoberfest). A perfectly cromulent way to spend a Sunday solving.

Stray Thoughts:

• 43D Actor Bill of "Barry" (HADER)— I loved Barry, but to me, Hader's masterpiece is Mickey on Bob's Burgers.

• 1A: Classic target of a troll (BILLY GOAT)— Really fun clue, but as a Cubs fan, this always makes me think of the Curse of the Billy Goat. I never believed in it, but that didn't stop me from naming the beer I brewed during the 2016 World Series run Goatbuster IPA. 
• 21A: Kindle competitor (NOOK) — Is it, though?
• 84A: Taps on the snoot (BOOPS) - If you need a snoot to boop (for some reason, cutesy talk doesn't bother me with dogs), here's Huckleberry for all your booping needs:

• 35A: Projectionist's item (FILM REEL) - I'm lucky to have a wife who works in film restoration, so in recent weeks I've been able to see screenings of either restorations or film prints of The Sound of Music, Ed Wood, Tron, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Film is awesome. Support it.
• 88A: Stooge who said "Soitenly!" (CURLY) - Speaking of my wife and classic film, in what most people would assume to be a gender role reversal, my wife LOVES the Three Stooges. I've grown to appreciate them (especially Moe, who worked like crazy to keep that act alive and his family employed over the decades), but I've always preferred the Marx Brothers.
• 72D: "___, Silver!" (HIYO) — I'm the very specific kind of nerd who loves singing barbershop music. So, Lone Ranger references always make me think of the Gas House Gang:

Ok, thanks for spending some of your Sunday with me! Rex should be back tomorrow (I think). Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
=============================
❤️ Support this blog ❤️: 

• Venmo (@MichaelDavidSharp)]

=============================
✏️ Upcoming Crossword Tournaments ✏️

• Midwest Crossword Tournament (Chicago) (Sat., Oct. 4, 2025)
• Finger Lakes Crossword Competition (Ithaca) (Sat., Oct. 18, 2025)

=============================
📘 My other blog 📘:

• Pop Sensation (vintage paperbacks)

Read more...