Saturday, July 18, 2026, Ricky Sirois

 Saturday Themeless by Ricky Sirois

Ricky provided me with a very pleasant 29-minute solve that evolved from the bottom up with long fills emerging and becoming the seeds from which the rest of the fill emerged.

When this picture was taken in 2022, Ricky was the Assistant Director of the Concord, MA Public Library and a participant in The National Scrabble Players Championships.

Across:

1. Doctrines: DOGMATA - Dogma leapt to my mind and so its plural filled the bill.

8. Incomplete Wikipedia article: STUB - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A stub is an article that is deemed too short and incomplete to provide in-depth encyclopedic coverage of a subject.

12. 1990s sketch comedy show: IN LIVING COLOR - This show ran on the then-new Fox Network and launched some very famous careers such as Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez.

15. PBS series hosted by librarian Mychal Threets: READING RAINBOW - I fondly remember when this show first appeared in 1983 with LeVar Burton as the host.

LeVar                         Mychal

17. Lemon juice?: GAS 😀

 

18. Javelin: SPEAR.

19. Strong suit: ASSET.

21. Conditional word: ELSE - If you issue a threat that ends in "OR ELSE", you'd better have an idea what that ELSE might be.

23. Senior: OLDER.

25. Mother of Apollo and Artemis: LETO.

26. Shaping tool: LATHE.

28. Tillamook's state: OREGON - Where you can find the home of great cheese and ice cream 

30. Blast: BALL.

32. "Am I free to go?": ARE WE DONE - AREWE _ O _ _ first gave me ARE WE GOOD?

34. Complex trap: WEB.

35. Nail salon brand: OPI - A frequent cwd polish brand

37. Gen __: XER - We two Boomers raised two Gen-XERS, born 1967 and 1971

38. __ États-Unis: LES - lez-ay-taz-yoo-nee

39. Recklessly: HEAD FIRST.

42. Has a summer job?: ADDS - 😀 We crossword peeps always suspect that a flower might be a river and a summer might be someone finds sums by adding. 

44. Recently: OF LATE.

45. Birds paraded on Saint Stephen's Day in Ireland: WRENS - No, they don't get those little birds to line up 😀 More

47. Pressing need: IRON.

48. Hardship: TRIAL - PP&M sing that TRIALS don't last forever.

50. Grow friendlier: THAW.

54. Squeals: SINGS - Or rats or tells or narcs 

56. __ nerve: OPTIC.

58. Like: ALA.

59. "Regardless of what you think ... ": BELIEVE IT OR NOT - A vintage 1930 version. Wow, power steering forecast almost 100 years ago!

62. "I deserved that": SERVES ME RIGHT.

63. "Do-Re-Mi" figure: DEER a female deer...

64. Spanish wives: ESPOSAS - Hmmm...

Down:

1. Expression of grief: DIRGE.

2. Youngest Oscar winner: O'NEAL.

1974 Candidates

3. Part of a frame job?: GLASS 😀 - Could be used for art 

4. Just OK: MID.😐 Meh...

5. Dollar alternative: AVIS.

6. Second-rate: TINPOT - This TINPOT leaped to my mind

7. Capellini: ANGEL HAIR.

8. Alarm: SCARE.

9. French pronoun: TOI.

10. Pinkie-side bone: ULNA.

11. Gravity-powered racer: BOBSLED - SOAPBOX fit so nicely but...

13. Equipment that may level the playing field: GRADER.

14. Copper alloy popularized by its use in Fabergé eggs: ROSE GOLD.

 

16. Wipes brand: WET ONES.

20. Vocal qualities: TONES.

22. Lens opening?: ELL - A meta clue we see often here

24. Sports reporter Holly: ROWE - Holly is a proud cancer survivor and sometimes works with no or very little hair.

27. Up in the air: ALOFT.

29. Played over: RERAN.

30. Barbecue option: BEEF RIB.

31. Snacks for sea otters: ABALONES.

33. Leeway for a test-taker: EXTRA TIME - Standardized tests forbid this

34. Start of some "Jeopardy!" responses: WHO IS - The correct question is at the bottom of this write-up. 

36. Neoplasticism pioneer Mondrian: PIET  - Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue' (1939-41). Experts say the original would sell for $20M or more today.

40. Offered as an inducement: DANGLED.

41. App gestures: SWIPES.

43. Setting not observed by most of Arizona: Abbr.: DST.

46. Ruling classes: ELITES.

49. Opportunity on Mars, e.g.: ROVER 😀

51. Chills: HANGS - Derived from "hang out"

52. Word in many Polynesian languages: ALOHA.

53. Los Angeles neighborhood where many Walter Mosley novels are set: WATTS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

55. Royal address: SIRE.

57. Business org.: CORP.

60. Anticipatory period: EVE.

61. Duran Duran album with the hit "Hungry Like the Wolf": RIO - Some serious Saturday cluing for RIO

Correct Jeopardy question is: WHO IS Celine Dion?

Friday, Jul 17th, 2026 ~ Alex Rossell Hayes & Brian Callahan

BRING 'B' RING

Now that's some "BLING"

We have seen Brian's name on crosswords before, but I do believe this is the first for Alex Rossell Hayes, so congrats on your debut~!  I loved this puzzle - solid fill, brilliant cluing, it made me smile, and not only is it clever, but in alphabetical order, too - paired A, E, I, O, & U five-letter words 'broken up" to provide some humorous results.  Friday level difficulty, but I was on the constructors' wavelength and breezed through, despite the chunky triple-7-letter plus corners.  An over-sized 15x16 grid, two handfuls of names, no circles, and an even spread of 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- AND 7-letter words.  The themers, no reveal;

18. Vague advice for space travelers worried about black holes?: "AVOID A VOID."

The Endurance approaching Gargantua, from Interstellar

26. Air travel that's the fifth-best option?: "PLAN E" PLANE

The captain has turned off the seatbelt warning . . . 

36. "My job is ranking people on a scale of 'miffed' to 'downright furious'"?: "I RATE 'IRATE'."

😑😕😖😠😡

"The in-flight meal was unacceptable~! 😡"

51. Juliet's response when her love asks what city is as eternal as their bond?: "ROME, O ROMEO." - "Wherefore art thou~?  Not in Rome, and frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"

60. Helpful draw when trying to play a Q word in Scrabble?: UTILE "U" TILE

Richard III - more Shakespeare humor

But Wait, There's More~? . . . 🤪

ACROSS:

1. Agreeing (with): SIDING - not the vinyl cladding on my house

7. Unleash (on): SIC - I had SET to start

10. Chemically quiet: INERT - like the rightmost column in last week's periodic chart

15. Rocker Dee: SNIDER - Name #1, but I knew him because his band, Twisted Sister, were from my home area of Long Island

16. "Industry" network: HBO - had the "H", WAGed the rest

17. Levi's Stadium player: NINER - What if they actually played IN Levi's~?

501-fly football

20. Prickly plants: CACTI 

21. Green prefix: ECO

22. Folk icon Joan: BAEZ - name #2, but fairly well-known

23. Washed-out: PALLID

24. Espresso froth: CREMA - we had this $6999 coffee-making machine in the office at my last drafting job - it grinds beans & boils water . . . I can do that and save seven thousand dollars 😁

Miele CVA7845 sold here if you must have one

28. Element of many English breakfast blends: ASSAM TEA - enough perps to WAG the rest

30. Sci-fi beings: ETs - AND - 60D. Sci-fi craft: UFO - clecho(ish) #1

31. Vehicle with sliding doors: VAN - I have a 20yr old Dodge Grand Caravan, and lately, there's been a rattle driving me nuts; turned out to be the plastic handle of the sliding door; the spring that holds it in place has gotten "tired", so the lever jiggles as I drive . . . 

Up here in CT, I can now register this as a "classic" - and the insurance drops

32. Waver: TEETER - and Tweeter in the same puzzle~!

33. Group of badgers: CLAN

35. Part of R&R: REST - the other "R" is Relaxation ( I have also seen Recuperation )

39. Catchall gp.: MISCellaneous

42. Bad-mouth: DISS - usually just "dis", as in disrespect, but 'acceptable'

43. "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" singer: MONROE - Marilyn, name #3

47. Sun Devils sch.: ASU - Arizona State Uninversity - learned by doing crosswords

48. Snag: GET - AND - 6D. Snag: GRAB - straight clecho, #2

49. Treble-makers?: TWEETERS - Wow.  Old-school speaker reference . . . I almost didn't get it

Not your Twitter tweeter

54. Colorful South Asian dresses: SARIs

55. Running groups?: SLATES - Friday vague; those elected to run an organization; more here

56. Aphrodite's son: EROS - Name(ish)

58. Thai neighbor: LAO - the people, not the land

59. Places for soaks: BATHS - I do love to take a hot bath after I tear myself up at the gym

63. Pair of hearts?: ATRIA - the "other" pair are Ventricles

64. Enthusiast: FAN

65. Tickled: AMUSED - this puzzle tickled my fancy

66. Show emotion: REACT

67. Estadio cheer: OLÉ - Español; Spain & Argentina for the World Cup

My father was a HUGE soccer fan, so I had to root for England,

his ( and mom's ) home country

68. Most easygoing: LAXEST

DOWN:

1. Org. with a "Get Ready for Baby" page: SSA - Great new clue for this tired fill, but it took waaay to long for me to find that page on the Social Security Administration website

2. Multiplication, to division: INVERSE - You'd have to "subtract" a letter to fit 'opposite' . . . 🙄

3. Bishop's domain: DIOCESE - nailed it, spelling and all

4. Hard to translate, in a way: IDIOMATIC - "the whole nine ( letters ) yards"

5. Nancy Drew's boyfriend: NED - name #4, and I thought it was NED, but hesitated

7. Slip-ons lack: SHOELACES - nine-letters #2

8. Third-largest of the Balearic Islands: IBIZA - geo name #5

They're probably excited about the World Cup there, too

9. Fish oil source: COD

10. Like LOL, but not haha: IN CAPS - slighly Twurdish, but Friday clever - LIKE WHEN PEOPLE TEXT IN CAPS TO INDICATE THEY ARE SHOUTY~!!!!

11. Horan of One Direction: NIALL - no clue, filled via perps, name #6

12. Lesotho, for one: ENCLAVE - learning moment for me; the Wiki

13. Organ parts with rods and cones: RETINAS - I knew we needed an EYEpart, tried CORNEAS - Bzzzzt~!

14. Aquaman's staff: TRIDENT - seemed the logical answer for a "sea-based" superhero

Aquaman and his other A I-generated "staff" 🙄

19. __ pen: VAPE - ooof.  Friday vague - this thing

23. Honey or sugar: PET NAME - I figured we were looking for something like this

24. Feline: CAT - "Fe" line is sooo last week . . . 

25. Pt. of USA: AMERica

27. Far from far: NEAR - har-har

29. Goods people: TRADERS

34. Scope rival: LISTERINE - Solid fill, simple cluing, nine-letters #3

35. Wedding attire, for some: RENTAL TUX - nine-letters #4; I rented my tux for the premiere of  "The Golem", the movie I worked on back in 1997-8 - available on YouTube July 20th

37. "Mambo Birdland" Grammy winner Puente: TITO - two weeks in a row; name #7

38. Low digits?: TOES

39. Milky Way kin: MARS BAR

  40. Silo: ISOLATE - Phew~!  Friday vague - verb def. #2

41. Indonesian island crossed by the equator: SUMATRA - geo name #8

44. Bring up again: RERAISE - e.g. an issue, not the poker version of re-raise

45. Colorful songbirds: ORIOLES - nailed it

46. Sourdough starter?: ESS - Sourdough, meta-clue; my trainer put me on to sourdough bread

48. Charges: GOES AT 

50. Product removed by shear force?: WOOL - sheAr, not sheEr

The "other" sheer force

52. Value system: ETHIC

53. Heavy __: METAL - so, so last week . . . 

57. Shut tight: SEAL

61. Thurman of "Gattaca": UMA - crossword staple, name #9

62. Philly summer hrs.: EDT - Philadelphia, PA is currently observing Eastern Daylight Time

Splynter

Grid Flow 59.8 - high

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 71st birthday to dear Naomi, our brilliant Monday Sherpa! Her Monday write-ups are always thoughtful, informative, and beautifully crafted. Thanks for all you do for our blog, Naomi, and have a fantastic birthday!

NaomiZ 

2) Happy 73rd birthday to YooperPhil, another longtime member of our Crossword Corner family. Wishing you a wonderful birthday and many happy returns!