Crossword Blog & Answers for April 21, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• FAST (1A: Observe Yom Kippur, say) Yom Kippur is a Jewish holy day known as the Day of Atonement. It is considered to be Judaism’s holiest day, and is observed by FASTing and prayer. This year Yom Kippur will be observed from sunset, October 1 to nightfall, October 2.
• OTOH (14A: “Then again,” in texts) OTOH is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as [“That being said,” in a text].
• AUNT (22A: Patty or Selma, to Lisa) In the animated sitcom The Simpsons, Patty and Selma are Marge Simpson’s sisters. That makes them Lisa Simpson’s AUNT.
• LES (30A: Gibson ___ Paul guitar) LES Paul (1915-2009) was a jazz guitarist, songwriter, and inventor. He teamed up with the Gibson Guitar Company in the early 1950s, which produced a guitar according to his specifications. Gibson LES Paul guitars are still used by many musicians. Sometimes I joke that everything I know I learned about from crosswords. However, I learned about LES Paul and Gibson LES Paul guitars from an exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington.
• LAKOTA (33A: People also known as the Teton Sioux) The LAKOTA, as the name Teton Sioux suggests, are a subculture of the Sioux people. The LAKOTA have land in North and South Dakota.
• WHEY (35A: No ___! (punny name for a dairy-free chocolate brand)) This is a cute way to clue the word WHEY. No Whey Foods makes chocolate that is milk-free, nut free, gluten free, soy free, and egg free.
• SHO (47A: “Yellowjackets” network, for short) Showtime (SHO, for short) describes the TV series Yellowjackets as “part survival epic, part psychological horror, and part coming-of-age drama.” The show tells the story of a high school girls’ soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. The show recounts the time of survival after the crash, as well as events that occur 25 years later. 
• ELIOT (55A: “Middlemarch” novelist George) Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life is a book by George ELIOT that was first published in installments in 1871-1872. The book is set in the fictional English town of Middlemarch between 1829 to 1832, and focuses on the lives of the town’s residents. George ELIOT was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880).
• ARBOR (63A: ___ Day (tree holiday)) Many countries observe ARBOR Day, a holiday for encouraging people to plant trees. This is a timely clue, as in the United States ARBOR Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April, which is Friday, April 25 this year.
• EMUS (64A: Birds that lay green eggs) The eggs laid by EMUS are a dark green color and can weigh over a pound.
• EDY’S (68A: East Coast ice cream brand) William Dreyer and Joseph EDY founded Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Inc. in 1928. The company has two signature brands: Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream – sold in the Western United States and Texas, and EDY’S Grand Ice Cream, sold in the Eastern and Midwestern United States.
• ADA (5D: “Sanctuary” poet Limon) Ada Limón is the current Poet Laureate of the United States. You can read “Sanctuary” and listen to ADA Limón read the poem here.
• ODD (10D: Like all prime numbers except 2)  That’s ODD, there’s math in my word puzzle… If a number is greater than one and can only be formed by multiplying one and itself, it’s a prime number. Any even number other than 2 will be divisible by two, so will not be a prime number.  
• RPG (12D: WoW or D&D) RPG here stands for role-playing game. World of Warcraft (WoW) and Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) are RPGs. The abbreviation of the names of the games in the clue alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation.
• ATE (13D: Had a Dutch baby) A Dutch baby, also called a German pancake, is a fluffy oven-baked pancake similar to a popover or Yorkshire pudding.
• ANA (19D: “Ugly Betty” actress Ortiz) I wrote about the TV series Ugly Betty (2006-2010) last month. ANA Ortiz played the role of Hilda Suarez, sister of the title character. 
• OTTERS (49D: Sea mammals that hold hands while sleeping) Yesterday we saw the singular OTTER clued as [Mammal form of the shape-shifting creature Kushtaka].
• RBG (58D: First SCOTUS justice to officiate a same-sex wedding) Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020), known as RBG, was a member of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993-2020. In the summer of 2013, the Supreme Court ruled on two cases that made same-sex marriage legal in all U.S. states. On August 31, 2013, RBG officiated the wedding of Michael Kaiser (who was the president of the Kennedy Center at the time) and John Roberts (a government economist, not the Supreme Court chief justice). RBG is believed to be the first SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) justice to officiate a same-sex wedding.
• SUE (60D: WNBA great Bird) SUE Bird is a retired professional basketball player. She played for WNBA’s Seattle Storm from 2002-2022. The Seattle Storm won four WNBA championships during SUE Bird’s time on the team. SUE Bird also has five gold medals from her time playing on Team USA in the Olympics.