Saturday, March 28, 2026, Grant Conley

  Saturday Themeless by Grant Conley

I found Grant on FaceBook and he was kind enough to share this:

• This is only my second puzzle published, with the first being in the WSJ. (I'm currently waiting to see if the same paper will accept my latest themed puzzle.)
• Outside of work and crosswords, I enjoy reading, bouldering (new to me hg), and participating in local trivia nights. I also bake a pretty good sourdough.

As for seed entries, DRUMROLLPLEASE and LANDSPEEDRECORD were the first set in this puzzle, though I originally had them in the opposite order; I thought it would make for a snappy solve with the "drum roll" leading into the big stunt. This was eventually sacrificed for a better grid flow and some easier letter pairings. Aside from these, I enjoyed creating the puzzle's few parallel entries, like DOODAD/NOODLE, since such a late-week grid really asked for a little playfulness to lighten it up.

Grant said he did not see the connection I made with the first three clues but for some reason they just came together.

Across:

1. Stratagem: ARTIFICE - Devices used to trick or deceive. One ARTIFICE used by the allies just before D-Day was Operation Fortitude. They assembled to be what appeared to be an actual army "commanded" by General George Patton to fool Hitler into thinking the invasion would take place further east near Calais and not Normandy. Interesting reading

9. Farce: SHAM - Operation Fortitude was a SHAM but it made Hitler divert a lot of firepower away from the Normandy beaches.

13. Phrase shouted after some extras?: READ ALL ABOUT IT - People selling newspapers the next day might be shouting, "Extra, Extra READ ALL ABOUT IT"

16. Critical component of fast response times: CAT LIKE REFLEXES.

18. Fall bloom: ASTER.

19. Chronicle: ANNAL - D-Day was one of the major events in all of the ANNALS of history.

20. Polo alternative: TEE - Better golf courses require players to wear collared shirts.

21. Common feature of a grandfather clock: DOOR.

22. Astaire and Rogers: FREDS - It was fun when I realized Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were really Fred Astaire and Fred Rogers! 😀

23. Hamlet, for one: DANE.

24. Capital One's virtual assistant: ENO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

25. Western outfit: POSSE.

26. Fatty compound: LIPID - Liposuction physically removes adipose tissue (fat cells/lipids)

27. Place for pints: BAR - PUB seemed to be more likely 

28. Intern, often: TRAINEE - We educators call them student teachers or cadets 

30. Closely affiliated with: WED TO.

32. Drops: SINKS.

33. Location without an outlet: DEAD END.

35. "L.A. Law" actress: DEY.

36. Like cappuccino: FOAMY.

37. Wind farm structures: VANES.

39. Tune paired with a silent movie, often: RAG.

42. "My bad!": OOPS.

43. Raptors, e.g.: DINOS.

44. "If This Is a Man" author Primo: LEVI.

45. Turmoil: ADO.

46. Podcast medium: AUDIO - Add two more vowels to previous fill

47. Gainbridge Fieldhouse player: PACER - It is home to the NBA Indiana PACERS and the WNBA Indiana Fever.

48. Achievement last set in 1997 in Nevada's Black Rock Desert: LAND SPEED RECORD.

51. Dramatic introduction: DRUMROLL PLEASE 😀 - One of Grant's seed entries

52. Olden days: YORE.

53. Two quarters, perhaps: SEMESTER - I got my B.A. from Wayne State College that was on a trimester schedule. 

Down:

1. Location with an array of cabinets: ARCADE. 😀

2. Work (out): REASON - We solvers have to use REASON to work out tricky fill

3. Heart on one's sleeve, perhaps: TATTOO - I loved this when I finally worked out what Grant was going  for.

4. One unlikely to have long to-do lists: IDLER - I was first looking for the opposite: Someone who had mostly already done the chores.

5. "Good point": FAIR 🤔

6. Kind: ILK.

7. Busses: CLEARS - The dent in my forehead will heal from when it got hit after I had my DOH moment. I thought I was being so clever with KISSES, then I tried to think what transport vehicle it might be and then the right answer jumped up.

8. From the heart: EARNEST.

9. Places to lounge: SOFAS.

10. Naval base: HULL 😀

11. Consumed: ATE.

12. Cassettes that may spark nostalgia: MIX TAPES 😀

14. Binges: BENDERS.

15. Adjective for a bikini, in a 1960s hit song: TEENIE - Chant it with me - "One, two, three, four, tell the people what she wore..." I love 60's music but this would not make it onto my MIX TAPE.

17. Growing need?: SEED - My radish SEEDS are already sprouting in this record hot Nebraska weather.

22. Specialty: FORTE.

23. Less than impressive: DINKY - The aforementioned bikini might also add this adjective

25. Rice field: PADDY.

26. Most of a stick figure: LINES.

27. Part of a support system: BEAMS - This past Wednesday, Mutual of Omaha celebrated the "topping out of its new 44-story headquarters in downtown Omaha by placing the last BEAM.

29. Interns, often: AIDES - I suspect you can name this intern who started as an unpaid AIDE for Universal Studios in 1969.

30. Phaser banks on the Enterprise, e.g.: WEAPONRY.

31. Captured, in a way: ON VIDEO.

33. Whatsit: DOO DAD.

34. "Dumb & Dumber" co-star: DANIELS.

36. Little horse: FOAL.

38. Noggin: NOODLE.

39. Apply again, as paint: RECOAT.

40. Disinclined (to): AVERSE.

41. Part of a support system: GIRDER - A lovely spot for lunch in 1932

43. British cellist Jacqueline: DUPRE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

44. Corset tighteners: LACES.

46. Whispery genre, for short: ASMR - 

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

 (ASMR) is a calming, static-like tingling sensation triggered by soft sound like whispering, tapping or gentle visuals. It has become a frequent fill in our puzzles.

47. Brazilian soccer legend: PELE.

49. Pair: DUO.

50. Dashboard stat: RPM.

Friday, Mar 27th, 2026 ~ Yijing Chen

  JERKY WELLINGTON

A recipe for "beef" Wellington here

I asked C.C. about our constructor, and she told me that she needs to see the Chinese characters to know more about the author; as far as we can tell, this is a debut - congratulations, and if you are reading this, then please feel free to chime in here at our Crossword Corner.  I loved this puzzle - a fresh, clever, and humorous theme of common 'food' phrases reworked to be the fermented and/or cured, and therefore, "processed", versions of the produce.   Five fills, one a spanner - the one that unlocked the theme for me - two 14- and two 9-letter fills, my only nit for the puzzle being the number of names.  Standard grid, no circles, a low count of 19 3LWs, two tastes, two bad fill-in clues ( for me ) and two cowbells~! 
The themers;

17. Marine animal with a cylindrical body, once processed?: SEA PICKLE - this one is the outlier, with the "processed" part coming last - cucumbers, when processed ( in salt water, dill, etc. ) ferment and become "pickles - ergo, a Sea Cucumber would now be a Sea "Pickle" 😆😜

The Wiki

23. Dearly beloved, once processed?: CIDER OF ONE'S EYE = Apples, processed

36. Dolls that come with adoption papers, once processed?: KIMCHI PATCH KIDS = Cabbage, processed; more here, and a recipe - The dolls were the source of an insane toy stampede in the 80's

The frenzy they caused

46. Dust Bowl-era Steinbeck novel, once processed?: THE WINE OF WRATH = Grapes, processed

Star Trek humor

56. Earth's galaxy, once processed?: CHEESY WAY = Milk(y), processed

Everybody knows the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, is "42"

from Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

But Wait There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. Bring a smile to: AMUSE - "I'm here to amuse you~?  What's so funny about me~?"

6. Aspiring atty.'s hurdle: LSAT - Law School Admissions Test, crossword staple

10. Public health org.: CDC - Centers for Disease Control - something's cheesy . . .

13. Sri Lankan language: TAMIL - HINDI(U) is at 51D.

14. Sounds of realization: "A-HAs~!" - a bit 'meh' in the plural

15. Tart: SOUR - taste #1

16. Stone with a "crazy lace" variety: AGATE

Can be purchased at Etsy here

19. Turn down: DIM

20. Mastercard alternative: VISA - credit card companies

22. Put together: BUILT

27. Airport security containers: BINS

28. Check a final time?: MATE - Ah.  I missed the chess reference; filled via perps, but very clever

29. Words of defeat: "I LOST." - That's exactly what the king🠅said . . .

31. Commotion: STIR

33. "I Think You Should Leave" star Robinson: TIM - No clue.  The movie sounds humorous; name #1

40. Wane: EBB - Does Batman "ebb" to Bruce Wayne~?

41. Spits bars: RAPS - Friday cluing, and sorta clever - rap, the music genre

Intergalactic - Beastie Boys

42. "__ Burr, Sir": AARON - it's still a name, dame, #2

43. Trampled (on): TROD

45. Lock screen display: TIME - as on one's smart phone

52. Readied a putt: AIMED - LIV golf was on the TVs at the gym last weekend; some controversy

53. __ tube: BOOB - slang for the "telly" - does anyone remember the movie "Groove Tube"~? I have mentioned it here at the Corner before

54. Fix unlawfully: RIG - elections, e.g.

59. The Eras Tour venue: ARENA - Taylor Swift, was, sadly (not~!), missing from this year's 2026 Super Bowl, as her fiancé did not make the playoffs 😁 - sorry KC fans . . .

More about those legs . . .

61. Small racing vehicle: KART - think "Go-"

62. Capital on the Tiber: ROME - geo name #3

63. Boots up, as a program: LOADS

64. Messy room: STY

65. Reach great heights: SOAR

66. Was a prelude (to): LED UP - Led Zep - excluding the "solos", which song is John Bonham's best performance~?  My choice is this song - track one, Led Zeppelin I - see also 47D.

"Good Times, Bad Times"

2:45 of non-stop drumming density - More cowbell #1~!

DOWN:

1. Little bit: A TAD - Atwurd

2. Hocus-pocus: MAGIC - one of my "co-trainees" at the gym suggested Sarah J Maas as an author, so I am currently reading "Throne of Glass"

3. Condiment that adds strong, rich flavor, informally: UMAMI BOMB - new to me, but it has appeared in one other crossword . . . taste #2

A recipe here

4. Reflect on, with "with": SIT

5. Like Matt Smith's Doctor, on "Doctor Who": ELEVENTH - Despite having British parents, and being a hard-core Sci-Fi guy, I have never seen, or liked, [GASP] "Dr. Who" - name(ish) - the LIST

6. Sudeikis role: LASSO - Ted, that is, but another show I have never seen - name #4

7. Barley bundle: SHEAF - good WAG on my part

8. MiLB level: AAA - I did not know that Minor League Baseball was abbr this way

9. Small baking meas.: TSP

10. Journalist Roberts: COKIE - her Wiki, name #5

11. With little inflection: DULLY - "dull-ly" - not a word I would use in everyday convo - and then, whilst reading "Throne of Glass", I find the word not once, but twice - here's the first instance . . .

12. Largest Greek island: CRETE - geo name #6

15. "__ me!": "Comin' through!": " 'SCUSE~!" - Eliding over the "EK" part of excuse; not unique; in fact, it's not even a "rare" crossword fill . . . 

18. "Suuuuure": "I BET."

21. April 15 org.: IRS - My "CPA" has my paperwork

24. __ jockey: DISC

25. Forgets, maybe: OMITS

26. Snitch (on): NARC - I do the Downs first, threw in "TELL"

29. Actor Barinholtz: IKE - name #7

30. Ad-__: LIB - Dah~! Got the wrong one #1 - not HOC

31. Fashion designer Kate: SPADE - the one name I did know, #8

32. Spigot: TAP - My favorite "TAP"

Nigel Tufnel, lead guitar, Spinal Tap

33. Michelin surface: TIRE TREAD - I like this clue/answer. It's not unique, either

34. Words of avowal: "I DO." - I 'DID' have this last week, too - I hope it's a sign of things to come

35. Bing portal: MSN - Bing being the search engine of MicroSoft Network - the Wiki

37. Wrinkle remover: IRON

38. Unpopular pet product?: HAIRBALL - Ha~!  Clever clue; I tried NECK CONE - this thingy

He's faking it - theres' no way he would be that happy . . . 

39. __ Sutra: KAMA - You can find the 'crossword position', chapter 18, section 5, verse 2 - here

43. Bird's sound: TWEET

44. Disposes (of): RIDS

45. Number of prongs on a bident: TWO

She's a "two-tining" woman

46. Short nails: TACKS - oops, not BRADS

47. Drum kit cymbals: HI-HAT - I play the drums, and the clue being "plural", I went with "RIDES" - the larger cymbal that sits "opposite" the Hi-Hat - which is a paired set of cymbals - in a kit

I added my drum set below, "backwards" for a lefty, like Phil Collins in Genesis; he switches from the Hi-Hat to the Ride @ 1:00 - my RIDE cymbal is low & inside the crash cymbal.  More cowbell #2~!

48. Nail file material: EMERY

49. Only U.S. president born after 1960: OBAMA - OK, I knew this one as well - name #9

50. Place for a hat rack: FOYER

51. Holi celebrant: HINDU - Learned by doing crosswords; it occurred 4 March this year

More here

55. [I'm surprised!]: GASP~!

57. Mos. and mos.: YRs

58. "__-hoo!": WOO - Dah~! I got the wrong one, #2 - not YOO

60. Sushi topper: ROE

Splynter

Grid Flow a low 25.6

Thursday March 26, 2026 Howard Neuthaler

Howard Neuthaler is a former travel agent *checks notes* scratch that, he's a lawyer, but his puzzle is about taking a trip. Because he's been busy lawyering, he's pretty new to constructing, and this is his LAT debut. Yay!

"Time now for everybody's favorite guessing game, What's My Line? Brought to you by the Los Angeles Times. It's like news that has been printed on paper!"

17. Starting line?: I BETTER GET GOING. Something said at the outset of a trip.

24. Punch line?: TICKETS PLEASE. Asked by a conductor who will punch your TICKET.

43. Pickup line?: WELCOME ABOARD. Spoken by an attendant as one climbs ABOARD.

56. Trip line?: ADVENTURE AWAITS. A phrase from a traveler as one leaves the station.

I assumed all these phrases referred to train travel rather than by ship or plane, because they have a history of punching TICKETS, although they don't do that anymore. In any case, these lines are phases that one might hear when embarking on a trip. Some are said by the traveler, while others are from crew members. I like that they tell a little story. 

Now, if you'll quickly find your seat, we're getting ready to go!

Across:

1. Language in the same family as Hindi: URDU. URDU has 230 million speakers worldwide, primarily serving as the national language of Pakistan and is a recognized official language in India.

5. Balance, for one: SENSE.

10. Spots for STEM classes: LABS.

14. Tap on the nose: BOOP.

15. Opening: WAY IN. This WAY IN is far out.

16. "Aha": I SEE. Hopefully we've seen the last of oho.

17. [theme]

20. Cravings: DESIRES. Yens. I DESIRE lots of yens.

21. Island country whose capital is St. George's: GRENADA.

22. __ and paste: CUT.

23. "Get Out" writer/director Jordan: PEELE. I knew him for years as a comedian, so was surprised when he became a writer and director of horror films. Good ones, too, including an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Get Out.

24. [theme]

29. Hoppy beers, briefly: IPAS. The ever popular India Pale Ales. 

Hoppy beer

30. __ out a win: EKE.

31. Ivan the Terrible and Feodor the Bellringer: TSARS. I knew Ivan the Terrible, but Feodor didn't ring a bell.

34. Scand. land: NOR. Strictly, Scandinavia is comprised of NORway, Sweden and Denmark. Taken together with Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, they're as known as the Nordic countries because of shared heritage and love of colorful crosses.

I35. Vote against: NAY.

36. That, in Spanish: ESO.

38. Poseidon's realm: SEA. The counterpart to this Greek deity is the Roman god Neptune. SEA?

39. "Hello" singer: ADELE. There was a time when I could fill in any 5-letter singer I didn't know as ADELE. Now she's slowly getting bumped by Drake, Kesha, Lorde...and I'm in trouble.

41. "Too cute!": AWW. FuzzyBrain (aka Buster) as a pup.

42. Shade in four-color printing: CYAN.

43. [theme]

47. 49-Across, for one: ASANA.

48. B.A. Baracus player: MR T. I pity the fool that hasn't seen the A Team.

49. Spine-stretching yoga move: CAT POSE.

52. Warm jackets: FLEECES.

56. [theme]

58. Wood used to make some woodwinds: PEAR.

59. Seize without right: USURP.

60. James of "The Godfather": CAAN. In a lighter role, he played a book publisher/dad in Elf.

61. Edges: ENDS.

62. Hammer parts: PEENS. 

63. "Bonanza" brother: HOSS. Some people remember there was a third Cartwright brother besides HOSS (Dan Blocker) and Little Joe (Michael Landon). Adam (Pernell Roberts) left the hit show mid-run due to "creative differences." Mom always liked the other two best.

Little Joe, Hoss and Adam (not pictured)

Down:

1. Former eBay rival: UBID. UBID was an online shopping site for refurbished and overstock consumer electrionics. It's was valued at $1.8 billion at one point, but went bankrupt after the dot.com bubble.

2. Wrapped garment: ROBE.

3. Carries out: DOES.

4. Baby bumps?: UP TICKS. Trending in the right direction - unless they're talking about my weight.

5. Sugary pitcherful: SWEET TEA.

6. Hearing things: EARS. 

7. Big Blue of the NFL, for short: NYG. The New York Giants of the National Football League.

8. Former NPR host Robert: SIEGEL. "Bob" SIEGEL held several news and production roles at National Public Radio, but is best known as a co-host of All Things Considered for many years. This is how I remember him:

9. Daily special, typically: ENTREE.

10. Sub-Saharan female: LIONESS. The Sahara desert spans all of northern Africa, so Sub-Saharan refers to everything south, which is most of the continent.

11. Forbidden City locale: ASIA. Really? That's as specific as you can get? It's like saying the White House is located in North America. Or on Earth.

Forbidden City in Beijing, China

12. Big __ National Park: BEND. Big BEND National Park is in western Texas bordering Mexico along over a hundred miles of the Rio Grande. Although huge (like everything in Texas, apparently) it only ranks 14th in area, with 7 of our largest national parks being in Alaska. In the lower 48, Death Valley (#5), Yellowstone (#8) and the Everglades (#10) round out the top 10.

13. Genesis creator: SEGA. This clue always seem like it wants a biblical answer.

18. "Valid point": TRUE.

19. Affogato scoop: GELATO. Affogato is a simple Italian dessert consisting of a scoop of vanilla GELATO or ice cream "drowned" (affogato) with a shot of hot espresso, creating a contrast of hot and cold, and sweet and bitter flavors. Can't believe I've never tried it.

23. Some EMT gear: PPE. Emergency Medical Technicians may wear Personal Protective Equipment.

24. Rock legend Turner: TINA. The "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" was pretty much timeless.

25. Discontinued Apple gadget: IPOD.

26. Hall of Famer Rod with 3,053 career hits: CAREW. Rod CAREW appeared in 18 consecutive All-Star games, basically his entire career. Among many accolades, he was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his involvement in local community affairs in 1977.

27. Chicago hoops squad: SKY. The SKY of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

28. Undemanding class: EASY A. As has been discussed here before, when I was in college, we called this a gut course, or simply a gut.

32. __ admiral: REAR.

33. Zen garden rake target: SAND.

35. Country great Willie: NELSON. When a guitar is played for many years, it collects wear and tear which adds to its mojo. Modern guitar companies sometimes artificially "relic" their instruments for players that can't wait and will pay extra to look cool now. Personally, I dislike this, as every scratch and ding reminds me of a past moment, and is hard earned. Just think about all the stories that Trigger could tell...

Willie Nelson and Trigger

36. Feta source: EWE. Feta is a Greek cheese known for its salty, tangy flavor and crumbly texture, and is traditionally made from sheep's milk. But EWE knew that.

37. Worked out in the pool: SWAM LAPS.

40. Ten lords in a Christmas carol, e.g.: LEAPERS. I thought they should be LEAPING.

41. "I'm an open book" sesh: AMA. An Ask Me Anything session.

42. Split a course?: CO-TEACH. Although two teachers could CO-TEACH a classroom, or split it in half for smaller groups, more often one teacher leads instruction while the other circulates to offer individual support. This is known as One Teach/One Assist.

44. Total, as numbers in a ledger: CAST UP. New to me. It derives from the Middle English "casten" ("to throw") combined with "up." It originally meant ejecting/vomiting, which morphed into "throwing up" figures on a page. Etymology isn't always pleasant!

45. Like most straws: ONE USE. Millions of plastic straws are used daily, and even those that are disposed of properly may blow away from landfills and harm wildlife. Unfortunately, paper straws get soggy, so here's an idea. Don't use straws.

46. Concoct: BREW. 

49. Wrapped garment: CAPE. I was sari I wrote "toga" first.

50. Arabian port: ADEN. ADEN, Yemen is strategically located at the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula and serves as a gateway to the Red Sea. Due to the Strait of Hormuz being blocked, the route to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal gains significance. 

51. Spot on the small screen: TV AD. Not a pixel, but an AD spot.

52. Common houseplant: FERN. 

53. "Toodles, dahling": CIAO. Because I can't imagine Eva Gabor saying, "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya." Well, maybe in Hooterville.

54. Waze guesses, for short: ETAS. Waze is a navigation app that uses real-time traffic updates to provide Estimated Time of Arrivals.

55. Tax doc IDs: SSNS. Social Secuity Numbers are personal identifications on tax documents.

57. Word on a Paris map: RUE. Rue is "street" in French.

And that's the bottom line.
Be good. RB