There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Sit Down
Constructor: Kapil Mehta
Editor: Anna Gundlach
Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor
Kapil: The title Sit Down came out of my attempts, mostly unsuccessful, to train our pet dog Chip (picture below)! There were two aspects of this crossword that I liked. First, I had relatively few three letter words and those were mostly not abbreviations. And second, I has happy to include the word Sherpa in the grid. Sherpas are legendary Himalayan mountaineers. When this crossword is published it will be a hot 104 degree Farenheit in Delhi, where I live. How I wish I could go live with the Sherpas through the summer!
Random Thoughts & Interesting Things
- SHERPA (17A: Tibetan ethnic group) The SHERPA people are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the high mountain region of the Himalayas, a mountain range in Asia. Mount Everest, Earth’s highest peak, is located in the Himalayas. Many climbers who attempt to reach the peak of Mount Everest use SHERPA guides.
- NOUN (21A: Person, place or thing) As the Schoolhouse Rock song about NOUNs says it, “…I find it quite interesting / A NOUN’s a person, place, or thing…”
- YETIS (27A: Himalayan cryptids) YETIS, also known as Bigfoot or Abominable Snowmen, are creatures in Himalayan Folklore.
- ALASKA (33A: Its state sport is dog mushing) This clue made me wonder whether all U.S. states have an official state sport. The answer is no. Including ALASKA, eighteen U.S. states have state sports that have been recognized by their legislatures. Colorado has a state summer sport (pack burro racing) and two state winter sports (skiing and snowboarding). Two states just recently adopted state sports in 2022: Missouri (archery) and Washington (pickleball).
- TORTILLA (35A: Crispy chilaquiles ingredient) Chilaquiles are a traditional dish in Mexican cuisine, often made from leftover TORTILLAs and served for breakfast. Crisp TORTILLA triangles are topped with salsa (either green or red) and the mixture is simmered to soften the TORTILLAs. Other toppings are added such as chicken, cream, queso fresco, onion, avocado, refried beans, or scrambled eggs.
- PASTA (53A: Bucatini or pappardelle) Bucatini PASTA is essentially hollow spaghetti noodles. Pappardelle are wide, flat, PASTA noodles.
- HODA (56A: “Today” co-host Kotb) HODA Kotb co-hosted Today (NBC’s morning news show) from 2007 to 2025. She’s also an author, and has written books for children and adults. Her 2010 autobiography is titled, HODA: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee. One of her children’s books, I’ve Loved You Since Forever (2018), was adapted into a lullaby by Kelly Clarkson.
- NOVA (57A: ___ Scotia) NOVA Scotia, whose name translates to New Scotland, is a province in eastern Canada. Halifax is its capital. NOVA Scotia is Canada’s second-smallest province by area. (Prince Edward Island is Canada’s smallest province.)
- PUBLIC TRANSIT (19D: Topic discussed on the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes) Not Just Bikes is Jason Slaughter’s You Tube channel where he posts commentary about urbanist issues including PUBLIC TRANSIT. He also discusses cycling in the Netherlands (where he and his family now live).
- ELLA (28D: “First Lady of Song” Fitzgerald) ELLA Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was known as the “First Lady of Song” and the “Queen of Jazz.” She was particularly known for her scat singing skills (vocal improvisation with nonsense syllables or no words at all)
- TAIL (29D: Part of a cat or turkey) and TOM (31D: Male cat or turkey) My cat, Willow, (who is not a TOM, but has a TAIL) thinks it was a fun choice to link these consecutive clues with the repetition of “cat or turkey.”
- ARGO (34D: 2013 Best Picture Oscar winner) The 2012 movie, ARGO, is a historical drama that tells the story of a CIA agent named Tony Mendez (portrayed by Ben Affleck), who led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran under the guise of filming a science fiction movie. Argo was adapted from Tony Mendez’s 1999 memoir, The Master of Disguise, and a 2007 Wired article by Joshuah Bearman titled, “The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.”
- LOIS (37D: Daily Planet reporter Lane) LOIS Lane is a character who first appeared in DC Comics comic books in 1938. She is a journalist for the Daily Planet, and the primary love interest of Clark Kent and his alter ego Superman. LOIS Lane has appeared in many other media adaptations including movies, TV shows, and video games.
- HEN (41D: Female fowl) HEN is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as [Female bird or lobster].
- APT (46D: Letters that can fittingly fill in the blanks in _ppro_ria_e) This is an interesting fill-in-the-blank clue. It is indeed fitting that the word APT is found in the word ApproPriaTe.
- CACAO (50D: Chocolate-yielding tree) I, for one, give thanks for the CACAO tree and the chocolate it yields.
- A couple of other clues I especially enjoyed:
- RHYME (40A: What “miss you” and “this clue” do)
- OH NO (58D: Reaction to breaking a glass table)
Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis
- SURPRISE VISIT (4D: Unexpected pop-in)
- SECURITY DEPOSIT (6D: Payment that might cover a tenant’s damage)
- PUBLIC TRANSIT (19D: Topic discussed on the YouTube channel Not Just Bikes)
SIT DOWN: Each vertical (DOWN) theme answer ends with the letters S-I-T: SURPRISE VISIT, SECURITY DEPOSIT, and PUBLIC TRANSIT.
This is a clever theme and a nice set of theme answers to illustrate it. I appreciate that in each theme answer the word SIT is at the end of a longer word, as opposed to the word splitting up, as in the phrase, “easy does it,” for example. That feels nicely consistent. Thank you, Kapil, for this excellent puzzle.
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