The Dog Days of Summer — Bonus Monthly Crossword August 2024

hello and welcome to a special edition of solving it softly I'm Kevin here at data cross puzzles going to do a uh themed puzzle for the month of August 2024 this one is by Amy lucido and um edited by Christina Iverson I haven't recorded any of these special puzzles these monthly extras that are in the New York Times app the games app uh so I'm not entirely sure what to expect as far as what type of theme are you know what type of theme is possible so actually let me bring up this one uh so this is the card for Amy Lucio from xwordinfo decom and she has done 16 total puzzles published for the New York Times I'm not entirely sure what the breakdown is of the vi of these uh extra these bonus puzzles what that is I do the the bonus puzzles but I just don't know entirely what the there's usually a theme like it's going to be related to the dog days of summer so I'm assuming that it's going to be kind of dog themed or summer themed or or both um so let's give it a go see what um what I can do with this here what we can learn here classic dog name that means Faithful is um I don't know uh not sure enthusiasts are fans maybe and maybe it's Fifi is that what that means p means faithful if at first you don't succeed that fits that uh that phrase there great uh oh a Great Dane so it's not uh Fifi it's going to be something else Great Dane is marmaduk or Astro and I think wait a minute isn't um uh isn't Scooby uh a Great Dane if I'm not mistaken miles away is a far um Pho Pho means faithful okay that's that is the CL most classic of do memes I don't know why I didn't think of that that's okay darling dog of Peter Pan Nana brand for Clean cleaning your Kines is Oral B that's that's that's very funny uh how How Stella learned to talk the groundbreaking story of the world's first talking dog is that who that is places for papy yawns to nap but not probably not Great Pyrenees so guess they difference between a toy dog and a uh and a big dog um it's got to be your lap uh not not about the the great Pur news might they might try you know and you might enjoy it Paw Patrol dog whose name sounds like what he might do to bad guys I do not know anything about Paw Paw Patrol other than their their public servants um so I guess that's good um some prosecutors for short could be I guess like assistant daaz or something um I don't how that would fit with the theme though so I guess in general just like the whole the whole whole grid is full of just these uh clues that are related to the theme uh which is given like by the title the dog days of summer of course right so um I'm guessing that this is this might be I don't see how it fits with the with the theme actually a sound of Enlightenment maybe is a H dog in Coco who journeyed to the Land of the Dead or the Italian poet he's named for oh gosh I did not see Coco um yeah child a childish that's not true no way I don't know way I was like no way and he was like way first dog of 2021 um first dog of 2021 uh oh is that um one of President Biden's dogs not sure I'm getting a little dehydrated here Hannah Barbara is an animation studio behind the Huckleberry Hound show oh wait wait that's how it spelled I thought it was with an H at the end it's not okay interesting that's going to be a um uh Mandela effect for me there uh am not maybe child childish not true that's not true am not also like the playground retorts that come up frequently in the the in the cross word here um Adas is this assistant DA maybe the stretch across could be span so in this section we're not getting so many dog uh Clues here except for right champ is the name of uh one of um President Biden's dogs uh really a lot tons Maybe and do is it Dante I guess that would make sense as an illusion to like Dante's Inferno right I guess word with devil or dog devil I don't know we going to have to get some crosses for that one H um oh maybe it's stello how Stell is this Chomp is there a guy named is there a dog named Chomp you might do that to bad guys no it's it's not okay so no it is Stella and then it's Chase might Chase okay that sounds like a name a dog maybe or what you might do to one pet right and so square one is going to be the start um word with devil or dog still not seeing that cocker spaniel famous for a spaghetti kiss was the lady and they come between do and me uh do and M it's not Spanish it's GNA be do ray do Ray and it's gonna be Rays okay prayer opening is [Music] um oh Lord every kid's and parents favorite Australian Cattle Dog uh wait a minute is that Lassie that's not Lassie I do not know Stark brother who is the bant of greywind on Game of Thrones that was Jon Snow wasn't it or maybe it's Rob Rob okay yeah with the two bees uh rest one chin one's chin on the dinner table and makes sad eyes perhaps begs blank Woods film character with a chihuahua named Bruiser oh not sure Clifford was the Big Red Dog right and so a social media celebrity whose name rhymes with pug is Doug and he is one wait a minute Doug the pug okay I'm not familiar with Doug lwoods right the film character in a with a chihuahua named Bruiser so lwoods from Legally Blonde the protagonist there uh Sly dog or Sly devil maybe just a heads up um FYI for your information hat to a dog perhaps um a f an enemy alasa opso is a dog breed with luxurious lock locks Shaggy's pal familiarly is Scooby a scoob scoob so that's why they didn't mention Scooby with a great because I'm pretty sure Scooby is a Great Dane the set down is to place or to pat pat down wait a minute that doesn't sound right Willis who played man trying to track down his stolen dog in Once Upon a Time in Venice don't do not know that a shout from inside of a ghost costume probably is boo and I was keeping an eye out for 46 across I'm pretty sure this is AO just to read out this clue here palindromic name of the Bulldog that set a Guinness world record for longest human tunnel traveled through by a Skateboarding Dog Is AO and I guess this is brace I guess or brace brace Willis brace Bruce Bruce Willis brace Willis what the heck am I talking about the set down is to put down what am I I'm still in Monday mode movie with a tagline he sits he stays he shoots he scores Air Bud there's no rule that says a dog can't play basketball rules briefly is um I don't know a long part of a hound maybe the ear always think hounds have long ears stay away from my bone would be G RS rules and rs briefly is RS okay hey there's a squirrel bark okay what's up to a smart alec is um the sky like a Chow Chow but not a Mexican hairless dog it is furry and an org with a canine search and rescue team the FEMA so we had two clues in here that kind of are uh referencing today's this is I'm doing this on Tuesday August 27th and that that crossword uh has a couple um um common Clues and and answers in this in with this puzzle here so a column that may be titled why dogs are better than cats is an opinion an oped uh baby beagle is a puppy and So Weird Al Yankovic's poodle hat is an album let's see Al of Dog Day Afternoon Pacino right is that the is that the one about the court or something he starts yelling about the the court being out of order or is that a different movie it might be a different one therefore uh and so maybe and so therefore golden retriever that was elected mayor of Idlewood California don't know that one CR off not sure let's go back up around and get back up to 28 across first we'll do General on a Chinese menu is got to be General so and the biblical your is got to be thy thine by maybe TNT is what sniffer dogs can detect I think gaming rookies are going to be noobs uh sled dog with a statue honoring him in Central Park not even sure it's jumped through in an agility course is probably a hoop so maybe it is yeah it is Thigh because activity that might involve downward dog is definitely yoga and a Coliseum Garmin is a toga that made more than twice as much money as his co-star Elizabeth Taylor and Lassie come home so we're not going to see Lassie as an answer I guess because it's in this clue um so not sure what collie that is but that's an interesting fact twice as much money um as uh Elizabeth Taylor interesting um I don't see what this is we're getting a uh a a crash course in uh famous celebrity dogs TV home of the badmin dog show Sky I don't know no we already used Sky 1974 film with a 2004 sequel subtitled off the leash I think wait 1974 um no idea beef alternative in some high-end dog food recipes uh beef alternative um not sure highend food dog dog food dog Golden Retriever elected miror I'm don't know that one put psychic's claim for short maybe ESP Jay who once interviewed Triumph the insult comic dog and also I think Conan right so I think it's Jay Leno I thought yeah uh Broadway musical in which Sandy is always played by a rescue dog Broadway musical must be Annie Birds on Canadian $1 coins got to be loons a legendary lock is Loch nesk I I almost read that first uh as IO and I was like what the heck is that but it's a lock Snoop Dog we got scoo and Snoop Doggy Style rapper familiar familiar I cannot pronounce that I have to work on my pronunciation with that word vinas and Ferb chihuahua named for his [Music] Hugh uh pinty maybe Pinto yeah so ESP that's got to be ESPN and this is Snoop approves is okay so Pinky Okay so he he's pink okay I guess man's best friend friend like some coffee or tea warm or iced iced probably right iced coffee iced tea hoopla could be a do bogged down could be mired I don't see that one to cross off um nope not coming to me uh I guess the national dog of Cuba is the havan uh that does make sense that it would be you know havan would be from Cuba as a Havana being the rot I guess of of Havanese erdu is the language from which the bully CA GRE breed gets its name cross off is Frost off X Out okay so we're looking okay Max is a golden retriever that was elected mayor of Idlewood California and X out that's just a weird I I was just not expecting it to be X out like that um but anyway a groomers Target ha just in general Fin's shapeshifting Canine Companion on Adventure Time I don't know that uh this one's a tough one Isaac azimov is the Sci-Fi author Tommy's best F Animal Friend on Rug Rats is um oh wait a minute oh no I don't know this I was thinking of Chucky but that's not a dog aminol friend is the way you pronounce it right oh boy lead zeppin is the band that sang Black Dog or reformed black dog rope Black Dog whatever uh Fin's shape shifting can nope I do not I think I'm stuck here I think I might be stuck it's like apple or something I don't know could be apple maybe a Groomer's talk Target I'm not sure why that is like that um not sure what's going on here Finn's shapeshifting Kine companion I'm at a loss here so can I reason this one out 1974 film with a 2004 sequel subtitled off the leash um I don't know 30 years later they did a remake huh a sequel um in 2004 so I'm not seeing what this is at all I might be stuck um what could could this be sled dog with a statue honoring him in the central Park and the col so R pat pat maybe Pat and this could be bat bat B something um I don't I don't know what could be a beef alternative BS shape shifting canine I I'm going to have to just look something up I'm not sure about this let me look up a 1974 sequel off the leash well that's an album for sure I wonder if we can disambiguate this one just search for no okay so we can't disambiguate off the leash search for Pages containing off the leash leash maybe Benji Benji off the leash okay right okay right okay Jake is that Jake is that who that is shape shifting maybe there's a spike and a a Groomer's Target would be a nail be Spike on bis bison is that what that is TV home of the badmin dog show I didn't even catch the pun okay a Saturday Night Live um B batau ba ba I don't know we're going to have to guess um BTO BTO Barco BTO banto BTO bapto I don't know what this is tell me I've got something else okay thank goodness I don't even know what I pressed uh Balto is that what that was po was the collie that made more than twice as much money as Elizabeth Taylor okay and Balto okay fun fun one there who are these These dogs here Balto an Alaskan Husky and sled dog belonging to musher and breeder Leonard theala achieved Fame when he led a dog a team of sled dogs there so sled dog with statue honoring him in in Central Park there okay so uh that is this um special puzzle here for the month of August the dog days of summer so please let me know how you did in the comments and please uh let me know what you think of me doing the bonus puzzles as a little extra to the dailies I will catch you all in the dailies and uh will be back next month actually it'll be back in a couple days this is actually I'm recording this at the end of the month and hopefully I'll record the other one probably within the first week it gets posted so be on the lookout for that so check out the other New York Times cross wordss I have done there and YouTube thinks that you would like this video from me and please click that subscribe button help this channel grow I would greatly appreciate it have a great day [Music]