Saturday, September 5, 2026, Matthew Luter

Saturday Themeless by Matthew Luter

xDr. Matthew Luter is a writer and teacher in Jackson, MS. Originally from Laurel, MS, he is an alumnus of Millsaps College and of the University of North Carolina. He teaches courses in American literature at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

The solve was fun until the NE corner where INTERROBANG was really "out there". Usually long fill is very helpful but it provided no help with a part of the puzzle that was a challenge to me. It MADE NO SENSE.

ACROSS

1. Nowhere near: AFAR.

5. Allegro: RAPID. - I'm confident that our cultured solvers here at the corner know at the Allegro Spring movement from Vivaldi's Four Seasons! Listen to this unique presentation of this Allegro piece

10. Improvise: VAMP.

14. Podcaster's software option: GARAGE BAND - A Mac product 

16. Cricket field shape: OVAL.

17. Conversion that some pray will be successful?: EXTRA POINT 😀

18. Work with Python, say: CODE.

19. Arise: EMERGE.

20. Retraced one's steps, in a way: PACED.

21. Light touch: PAT.

24. Hybrid punctuation mark: INTERROBANG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Can you believe this word‽

26. Unsure where to go: ADRIFT.

28. Logical start: GEO.

29. Jane in a suit?: DOE 😀 Jane DOE is the female equivalent of John Doe. They simply refer to an unknown person in a legal matter.

30. Pantheon honoree: DEITY.

31. Cereal with a vanilla-flavored Confetti version: CHEERIOS.

34. Back up: SAVE.

35. Kleptocracy ruler: THIEF.

36. "The Mystery at Lilac Inn" sleuth: DREW - From October 1930

38. Setting of Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes": LIMERICK - You can join this tour at 20 O'Connell St, Prior's-Land, Limerick, Ireland

                                 

40. Hermitlike: ALONE.

. Wanders in an airport?: TSA. 😀

42. Sportscaster Patrick: DAN.

43. Words of warning: OR ELSE.

44. Absolute noob: RANK AMATEUR - Me at chess

48. Steered: LED.

49. Pretty penny or bad penny: IDIOM.

50. Collection of highlights, perhaps: TOP TEN

Current List

Same time of year 1964

52. Dreamcast maker: SEGA.

53. Help line?: DO ME A SOLID.

57. Kathryn of "WandaVision": HAHN ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

58. Strong desire for one in search of just desserts?: SWEET TOOTH. 😀

59. Secondary social media accounts: ALTS - I barely have any primaries let alone any secondaries 

60. Pernod flavor: ANISE.

61. Headphones maker based in Milwaukee: KOSS - You really have to look closely to see the word KOSS on these headphones

Down:

1. Actuarial stat: AGE - I'll soon turn 80 and this is what one actuarial says my future looks like.

2. Quaint transmission: FAX -  😀 Not transmitting much anymore

3. Word with pop or op: ART.

4. Like an Inverted Jenny stamp: RARE - This misprint can be worth as much as two million dollars.

5. Turn sharply to the right?: REPENT - Assuming you had been turning to the wrong 😀

6. "Cancel the launch!": ABORT - Jim Lovell considered this option during the launch of Apollo 13

7. 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Bueckers: PAIGE.

8. Something that may be on display while playing D&D: INNER GEEK 😀

9. "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT.

10. Informal lexicon: VOCAB.

11. Vegetarian sushi option: AVOCADO ROLL.

12. Beggared belief: MADE NO SENSE.

13. Fundraising promise: PLEDGE.

15. Turn into a competition, say: GAMIFY - The most famous example of this (3:10)

20. Subpar: POOR.

21. Trampoline park gear: PADS.

22. "We agreed on this!": A DEAL'S A DEAL.

23. Bar exam setting?: TRIVIA NIGHT - Matthew took some pretty big liberties with the language here but it was fun when I "got it"!

25. Utah's Capitol __ National Park: REEF.

27. Article: ITEM.

31. Neighborhood that may contain a paifang: CHINA TOWN.

32. Minute Maid brand: HI-C.

33. Unserious: IDLE.

35. Mine wagon: TRAM - An electric TRAM hauling gold or silver at the Bohemia Mine in Cottage Grove, OR. Postmarked 1909.

37. Intruder from under the surface: WEED.

39. Semisoft cheese: EDAM.

40. Halt: ARREST.

41. Country star Yearwood: TRISHA - She has been married to this "other singer" since 2005.

43. Showed up at dinner?: OUTATE - If. you GAMIFY eating...

45. Zen riddles: KOANS - I learned this in cwd and I know the example of, "What is the sound made by one hand clapping?"

46. "The Wrestler" Oscar nominee: TOMEI - Her portrayal a stripper won accolades for her acting and 44-year-old body.

47. Light blades: EPEES.

51. Alcove: NOOK.

53. Mamdani political org.: DSA.

54. Bath lav: LOO.

55. "__ no use": ITS.

56. Org. that oversees 41-Across: DHS.

 

Friday, Sep 4th, 2026 ~ Wendy L. Brandes

BLACKTOP MARKET

Psst~!  I gotch yer tarmac right here . . . 

This is Wendy's 20th puzzle for the LA Times - she has one for each day of the week, but Friday is her most prolific, with eight constructions in total counting this post; her last was almost a year ago.  The theme this time invloves the clever addition of "top" into the long fills, and in some nifty, awkward spots, no less. I found today's crossword Friday-level, struggled in the SE corner with crossing names ( Natick ), one semi-Twurd, and an incorrect guess on my part, but it all worked out in the end.  A 15 x 16 grid with eight extra black boxes called cheater squares, nine names, ten more 3LWs than four-letter ones, a couple of Twurds, a couple of Frawnche, a couple of baseball, and a couple of cringe-worthy fills.  The themers and the centered reveal;

20. Concern that one's sneakers are hopelessly out of style?: HIGH TOP ANXIETY - High Anxiety

27. Knocked over a bottle of booze?: TOPPLED THE FIFTH - my favorite of the themers, "Pled The Fifth" ( Amendment )

Baseball #1

46. "Project Runway" timer?: FABRIC STOP WATCH - Fabric Swatch

The cat wants a swatch of that outfit . . .

54. Going on and on about one's new cookware?: IN PAN TOPIC MODE - In Panic Mode

That's not breakfast sausage . . . 😆

35. Not well-balanced, or an apt title for this puzzle?:

TOP HEAVY

But

Wait,

There's

More~!

 

ACROSS:

1. Breaks down: SOBS

5. Virginie-Occidentale et Californie: ETATS - Frawnche #1, for states, West Virginia, and California; I am learning how to play Hotel California - just have to get better with the opening chord progression picking pattern

I have an Epiphone 6 &12-string with bolt-on necks,

so I could turn it upside down and play lefty 

10. Chilean sea __: BASS

14. "Love ya!": "MWAH~!" - we've seen this before in crosswords - a "kissy" noise - 😘

15. Diana Taurasi's jersey number: THREE - WNBA, basketball, name #1

16. Joined with: WED TO - Twurd

17. Bach title: HERR - name(ish)

18. Settles: CALMS

19. Leader of a chipmunk band: ALVIN - name #2

23. Bakery allure: AROMA

25. First responder gp.: EMS - Emergency Medical Services

26. Indication that docs are included: ENCs - ooof - Enclosures

32. Forest carpet: MOSS

33. Chitchat: GAB

34. Web design lang.: CSS - I knew of "C", "C+", and a few other coding languages, but not this one

39. Phillipa of "Hamilton": SOO - learned by doing crosswords, still a name, #3

41. Tax return fig.: AGI - Adjusted Gross Income

42. Hit close to home?: BUNT - worthy of being a C.C. clue . . . baseball #2

52. Tyke: TOT

53. Pirouetting, say: ON TOE

59. Pont des Arts city: PARIS - Frawnche #2

60. Olympic gymnast Strug: KERRI - I was down to _ERRI, so a WAG of K, or T or . . . name #4

61. St. Louis landmark: ARCH

64. "My Brilliant Friend" novelist Ferrante: ELENA - semi-WAG, secretive identity, name #5

65. Etsy business: eTAIL - online Retail

66. Macaroni art need: GLUE

67. Curl counts: REPS - Workouts, not wigs

68. Al __: pasta specification: DENTE

69. Looks at: EYES - I see you checking out my asphalt . . .

DOWN:

1. "I can't believe u": SMH - Text-speak #1 for Smacking My Head -🤦‍♀️- S'edMH on a few fills today

2. Be behind, in a way: OWE

3. Does a pub crawl: BAR HOPS - frequently in my ute

4. Crayfish kin: SHRIMPS - Cringe.  Perhaps we can have deers, sheeps and oxes, too . . .

5. Engrave: ETCH

6. "Don't be like __!": "THAT~!"

7. Folk singer Guthrie: ARLO - crossword staple, still a name, #6

8. Protein in some vegan ribs: TEMPEH - Ah.  The "H" filled via perps

The website

9. Tahini ingredient: SESAME - I tried YOGURT, but that's Tzatziki

10. Convictions: BELIEFS - nailed it

11. Onsets: ADVENTS

12. Knit or purl: STITCH - I learned to knit years ago, but lost interest once I did . . .

13. Some smart TVs: SONYs - I tried OLEDs

16. Buildup on a menorah, perhaps: WAX - Meh.  I thought it was an oil lamp, but I'm not Jewish . . .

21. Miss: GAL - I went with "ERR". the other kind of miss - and how could I miss miss~?

black tights on blacktop

22. Research-funding org.: NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation  - the website

23. Cash provider: ATM

24. Hopping pal of Pooh: ROO - from Winnie the Pooh books - name(ish)

28. Motivation for a vanity project: EGO -  We had EGOs yesterday, too

29. Big name in sealant: DAP - I use this brand all the time

30. "Frankly," in texts: TBH - Text-speak #2, To Be Honest

31. In need of salt, say: ICY - took a moment, but once I thought 'blizzard' instead of 'bland', nailed it

35. Publisher with a mountain peak logo: TOR

36. Put away the groceries?: EAT - Har-har

37. Many moons __: AGO

38. A-lister: VIP - I tried PRO

39. Time commitment for some jrs.: SAT PREP - clever, but still Twurdish

40. Gets: OBTAINS - solid Friday clue/answer

42. Detail in a van Gogh self-portrait: BANDAGE

"What~?  I can't hear you . . . "

43. Downright: UTTERLY

44. Cpl. or sgt.: NCO - military abbr, Non-Commissioned Officer

45. With 51-Across, Wyle drama: THE - 51A. See 45-Down: PITT - The IMDb; I had no clue, name #7

46. Closing number: FINALE - Dah~! Not ENCORE

47. Pugsley kin: ITT - PITT and ITT, plus a Monday dupe, name #8

Slash, the Cousin Itt of Rock N Roll

48. Out of options: COOKED - Yeah, but meh.  I think I would have preferred rOOKED - at least I can see a checkmate in chess being forced by a ROOK

49. Rays home, for short: ST. PETE - [Devil] Rays, from Tampa Bay - baseball #3 - In the Ms. Wendy puzzle I blogged, 2024, Tropicana Field was a clue

50. Court: WOO - Nailed it - but SUE was my first thought

51. Three-time Oscar nominee Laurie: PIPER - vaguely remembered, but I still had to do the alphabet run with the crossing PITT, so Natick . . . Rotten Tomatoes link, name #9

55. Intel org.: NSA - No Such Agency - 🤫

56. Persia, today: IRAN - Iran today is a prickly place - Geo name #10

57. Lit __: CRIT - Abbr for Literary Criticism - this website came up when I Googled

58. Unit equal to 20 north-south blocks in New York City: MILE - Huh.  Learning moment for me - I figured it was ACRE, but was waaaay off . . . 

62. Pool necessity: CUE - Ah.  That kind of pool; got me

Gonna need the girl, too, obviously . . . 

63. Guys: HEs - Meh.  I had MEN, so 33.3% correct

Splynter

Grid Flow 10.0 - the lowest recorded on Friday to date

 
Notes from C.C.:

 

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