An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
SUNDAY PUZZLE — Hi everyone! We’re so excited to be back this week with another crossword for you all. We hope you had a fabulous first week of classes and first football game of the season if you attended! If you happen to be interested in joining our team of puzzle constructors, applications are now open—you can visit join.michigandaily.com/ to apply today! If you have any questions about what we do or how to get involved, feel free to email our co-Managing Editors Talia and Hailey at crosswords@umich.edu. If you have any specific comments on today’s puzzle, don’t hesitate to let us know at taliabla@umich.edu and alexrw@umich.edu. Thanks for playing, and enjoy!
Tricky Clues
5A. This clue might’ve tripped you up if you were thinking of a cat as the Halloween animal in question. Sorry! The clue “Rust-colored Halloween animal” refers to RED BAT, a species of microbat found across eastern North America, among other regions. These guys are known for their camouflage skills, using their red-colored fur to mimic dead leaves as they hang upside down from branches.
29A. If you’ve been on TikTok at all in the past year or so, you might’ve come across the song “Love Me Not.” The clue “R&B singer Ravyn” refers to LENAE, the singer-songwriter behind this hit single that peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. If anyone reading this is a Sabrina Carpenter fan, be on the lookout for Ravyn Lenae opening for the Short n’ Sweet Tour in select cities later this year.
60A. This clue might’ve been a toughie if you avoid tailgates (like Alex). A BORG refers to an alcoholic mixed drink typically made with water, vodka and Mio flavoring, contained within a gallon jug, and labeled with a punny name. Some of our favorites include “Borg Time Rush,” “Borgan Wallen,” and “Ann Arborg.”
52D. We hope this clue didn’t break your spirit. “You buy it to break it” refers to PIÑATA, the popular papier-mâché party item filled with candy meant to break open. Funny story: Alex attended a birthday party for a friend and was accidentally hit with the bat instead of the piñata.
65D. The clue “Mr. ___ (old detective game)” refers to REE. The only murder mystery board game we’ve ever played is Clue, but its predecessor is actually Mr. Ree: The Fireside Detective, which came out in 1937. Both games involve a murder mystery, rooms and weapons, but unlike in Clue, Mr. Ree involves one player secretly becoming the murderer during the game.
Today’s Theme
If you were confused as to how any of these words relate, if you look closely you’ll see that each of the themed entries in this puzzle include a body part. At 18-Across, you’ll find “head” within the entry BOBBLEHEAD. Next, you’ll find “tongue” at 24-Across within the entry TONGUE TIED. After that, you’ll find “foot” at 55-Across inside FOOTPRINTS. Lastly, you’ll find “heart” within the word SWEETHEART at 63-Across. All of these seemingly unrelated words come together at 39-Across with the revealer, LETS GET PHYSICAL. Though the clue itself refers to the 1981 Olivia Newton-John song, we used the phrase as a play on getting a physical exam at a doctor’s appointment, where you might get your head, tongue, foot, and heart checked. Hopefully you were able to put that together and enjoyed solving!
Answer Key:
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