Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Mat Holmes

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap of a Wednesday puzzle by Mat Holmes.  Mat has had puzzles published previously in other venues (The Atlantic, Universal, Defector) but I believe that this is his LAT debut.  Congratulations, Mat and welcome to the asylum (er, community).

This morning's puzzle offering is perfect for those of you who are always looking for new ways to get your kicks.  Now, despite the "spoiler" above, you might be thinking something along the lines of:

Paul Revere and the Raiders - Kicks

Or, perhaps:

Asleep At The Wheel - Route 66

Or, perhaps, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes or even a couple of Nissan automobiles.

But, no.  KICKS here is used in the slang connotation of athletic shoes (Silver Kicks?).  Perhaps not as much fun as any/all of the above but it works very well for the puzzle.  Let's start with the unifier:

59 Across:  Trusted companions, or what the sets of circled letters in this puzzle literally are: SIDEKICKS.  

At five places in the grid Mat has place brand names for sneakers/tennis shoes/athletic shoes.  These are referred to as KICKS in contemporary slang and each name abuts a side of the puzzles.  Get it?  Side kicks.  To help us out, or to irk those who profoundly dislike them, circles have been utilized to help us see what is fairly obvious once the theme is grokked. . . if one is familiar with the brand names involved.

Here are the places where the gimmick is employed (deployed?):

16 Across:  Mark Twain lad who falls in love with Becky Thatcher: TOM SAWYER.

22 Across:  Exclamation in "Tommy Boy": HOLY SCHNIKES.  This solver was not familiar with this exclamation.  "Tommy Boy" is a 1995 buddy flick starring Chris Farley and David Spade.

32 Across: Some family vehicles: MINIVANS.

40. Wonder Woman publisher: DC COMICS.

47 Across:  Talk to: CONVERSE WITH.  When this solver was in Junior High School, CONVERSE All Stars were the cool (neat, bitchen) shoe to have.

This is how everything lays out in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Opera star Nellie with a peach dessert named for her: MELBA.  Nellie MELBA (Helen Porter Mitchell) took the pseudonym Melba from her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

6. Commercial flop: DUD.  Edsel was too long.  So was BOMB.

9. Outer layer: RIND.  As on a watermelon.

13. Celestial hunter: ORION.  The constellation.

14. Squeeze bunt result: RBI.  A baseball reference.  Run Batted In

15. "Same here": ME TOO.  We all got this one.

18. English derby town: EPSOM.  Those of you who watched Rocky & Bullwinkle might remember this:

19. U.K.-based global bank: HSBC.  All You Might Wish To Know

20. __ Lingus: AER.

21. Seat of power: THRONE.  Both figuratively and literally.  Also slang for toilet.

25. Big name in BoSox history: YAZ.  

28. Chance to stand for a spell?: BEE.   Spelling BEE.

29. Keep out of sight: HIDE.  If you HIDE well enough then folks will find neither hide nor hair of you.

30. Cover story: ALIBI.  Not as in the cover story of, say, Time Magazine.  A CYA story.

36. "The Biggest Little City in the World": RENO.  Self-proclaimed.

37. Umami, for one: TASTE.

39. Furry Endor denizen: EWOK.  A Star Wars reference.  Specifically a reference to the fictional planet Endor.  EWOKs aren't meant to be left outside......they're Endor pets.

42. Japanese beer brand: ASAHI. KIRIN would also have fit the allotted space.  Sapporo was too long.

43. Topple (over): KEEL.  The phrase "KEEL over" originates from nautical terminology, referring to a ship capsizing or rolling so far on its side that its keel is visible.

44. Ocean Potion no.: SPF.  Number is abbreviated as no. in the clue, so . . .   A Sunscreen reference with a rhyming clue.  Do we have a motion to salute that notion?

46. __ Kippur: YOM.  The Day of Atonement.  All You Might Want to Know

52. Chances for a hit: AT BATS.  Another baseball reference.

53. Actor Kingsley: BEN.  Actor #1

54. Facility: EASE.  In 1953, Tom Lehrer used the word FACILITY in a similar context in the lyrics of this song:

58. "If __ Street Could Talk": film based on a James Baldwin novel: BEALE.

61. Pianist Schnabel: ARTUR.  All You Might Want To Know

62. Scrape (out): EKE.

63. Elba of "Cats": IDRIS.  A frequent visitor.  Actor #2

64. In real time: LIVE.

65. Meditative discipline: ZEN.  What did the ZEN master say to the hot dog vendor?  Make me one with everything.

66. Connect with: TIE TO.

Down:

1. Grown-up silkworm: MOTH.

2. Greek Cupid: EROS.

3. Life partner?: LIMB.  Not your soulmate.  As in the expression:

4. KitchenAid alternative: BOSCH.  Maybe not the first name to come to mind.  Amana and Miele would both have fit the space.

5. "Blonde" star de Armas: ANA.  Actor #3

6. Visine target: DRY EYE.

7. Rides with surge pricing: UBERS. 

8. S, SW, or SSW: DIR.  DIRection

9. Temporary stays: REPRIEVES.

10. Gentle reply to an apology: ITS OK.  Several not-so-gentle replies come to mind.

11. Terrible turnout: NO ONE.  The turnout cannot get much more terrible than this.

12. Geodesic structures: DOMES.

Buckminster Fuller

15. Body art that uses henna: MEHNDI.  New to this solver.  Thankserps.

17. Corduroy rib: WALE.

21. Yours, once: THINE.  This above all....

23. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.  Another "Star Wars" reference

24. Debit slip: CHIT. 

25. Football unit: YARD.  An American Football reference.

26. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.  Actor #4

27. Nutrient in oysters: ZINC.  The crossing YAZ helped.  If y0u did not know that one then perhaps you tried IRON?

31. Car seller's concern: BOOK VALUE.

32. Ed.'s stack: MSS.  Abbreviation for ManuScriptS

33. Not home: AWAY.

34. Nabe in L.A. and NYC: NOHO.  Nabe = neighborhood.  Abbreviated clue.  Abbreviated answer.  NOrth of HOuston Street in New York City.  NOrth HOllywood in Los Angeles.

35. Take a little off the top: SKIM.  Not a haircut reference (TRIM).  A monetary (or milk) reference.

37. Ranking groups: TIERS.  There can't be a TIER list for knots because they would all be tied.

38. Knee parts commonly viewed with MRIs: ACLS.  Abbreviated clue . . .   Plural clue . . .

41. Limo driver in the airport, e.g.: MEETER.  Cute.  Someone who meets someone at the airport.  For some reason, MEETER made me think of greeter which led me to think of this Tim Hawkins song:

42. Astern: AFT.  A nautical reference.

44. Norway neighbor: SWEDEN.  It had to be either SWEDEN, Finland or Russia.

45. Evergreen tree: PINE.

47. Plotting group: CABAL.  What do you call a secret CABAL of strippers who surreptitiously control the adult entertainment industry?  The Illumi-naughty.

48. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.  Five letters, three of which are vowels.  A constructor's friend.  Actor #5

49. Channel for hoops fans: NBA TV.   Hoops being a slang term for the game of basketball.

50. Motorized ride: E-BIKE.

51. Supermodel Klum: HEIDI.  Actor #6

55. Farm unit: ACRE.  1 ACRE of land for sale, no house.  That’s a lot.

56. Funny sketch: SKIT.

57. Canadian gas brand: ESSO.  Derived from the initials of Standard Oil.  S O 

59. "__ who?": SEZ.  Oh yeah?

60. Footballer's uniform: KIT.  In the soccer world (or football as most of the world outside the USA calls soccer) KIT means the uniform that they players wear.  So, the answer to this clue is "by definition" once one figures out the global nature of the clue.

Well, that will wrap things up for today.  As it is a Wednesday, and not a Tuesday or a Thursday, I can take a day off from this:

_____________________________________

MM Out

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 Victoria Fernandez Grande

Until We Meet Again.  Good Bye, Farewell, Adieu, Adiós, Au revoir, Ciao, Zàijiàn, Sayōnara, and Dasvidaniya.

20-Across. Jocular term for some close colleagues: WORK HUSBANDS.  There are Work Wives as well.

33-Across. Achievements tracked by Guinness: WORLD RECORDS.

41-Across. Practice weapons that may be made of hickory: WOODEN SWORDS.

And the unifier:

57-Across. Goodbyes, or what 20-, 33-, and 41-Across are doing?: PARTING WORDS.  The word Word is parted in each of the theme clues.

Here's the grid so you can see the parting of the words.

Across:

1. Many July 4 parties, for short: BBQs.

5. Some protective athletic gear: PADS.

9. Warms (up): HEATS.

14. Extend one's term: RE-UP.

15. Nashville's Grand Ole __: OPRY.  The Grand Ole Opry began on November 28, 1925, as the WSM Barn Dance.  It was originally a designed to showcase country fiddling.  It formally became known the Grand Ole Opry in 1927.

16. Terse denial: AM NOT.

17. Smoothie berry: AÇAI.  This berry has become a crossword staple.

18. Prickly __ cactus: PEAR.  Everything you wanted to know about the Prickly Pear Cactus but didn't know to ask.

19. Like some candy: NUTTY.

23. Cosmetics company that owns CeraVe: L'OREAL.  The CeraVe company focuses on dermatology.

24. Logan Roy's daughter on "Succession," familiarly: SHIV.  Sarah Snook (b. Dec. 1, 1987) portrayed Siobhan Roy, who was know affectionately (?) know as Shiv.  I say affectionately because if you watched Succession, you know that no one showed affection towards each other. 

25. Rustic dwelling: HUT.  //  And 31-Across. Poolside 25-Across: CABANA.

28. Crafty: SLY.

29. Chocolate or yellow pooch: LAB.

36. Prefix meaning "all": OMNI-.  Today's Latin lesson.

39. As well: TOO.

40. In a frenzy: AMOK.

46. Affectionate and familiar way to sign a note: LOVE, ME.

47. Not close by: FAR.  //  And 43-Down. Close by: NEAR.

48. Burst, as a balloon: POP.

51. Mexican Mrs.: SRA.  Today's Spanish lesson

52. Big party: BASH.

55. Interstellar cloud: NEBULA.

59. Apple beverage: CIDER.

62. Sandwich cookie with many limited-edition flavors: OREO.

63. Seeds: PIPS.

64. Scoring 100% on: ACING.

65. Nevada gambling destination: RENO.  I heard Johnny Cash went there once.

66. Memo phrase: IN RE.

67. Japanese lunchbox: BENTO.

68. Genesis garden: EDEN.

69. New Mexico skiing destination: TAOS.

Down:

1. Rumbles: BRAWLS.

2. Desperate whisper to a parent in front of one's crush, maybe: BE COOL.

3. Industrial site that may become a swimming spot: QUARRY.

4. Sharp increase: SPIKE.

5. All the rage: POPULAR.

6. Gorillas, e.g.: APES.  The terms are not interchangeable.

7. Dribs and __: DRABS.

8. Red wine grape: SYRAH.  Syrah, also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In the 1990s, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche.

9. Portable cleaner, for short: HAND VAC.

10. Outback birds: EMUS.

11. Colony insect: ANT.

12. Youngster: TOT.

13. Farm pen: STY.

21. Saintly glow: HALO.

22. "__ to Each Other": Olivia Dean hit: NICE.

25. Cause injury to: HARM.

26. Ctrl+Z, on a PC: UNDO.

27. Chore: TASK.

30. Simple sammies: BLTs.  As a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich.

32. Feathery wraps: BOAS.

33. __-angle lens: WIDE.

34. __ Jones: DOW.

35. Skylight spot: ROOF.

36. Birds whose young sometimes face-plant to sleep: OWLS.  Baby owls sometimes sleep on their tummies because their heads are too heavy to sleep in an upright position.  Who knew?

37. Tie up, as a boat: MOOR.

38. __ Scotia, Canada: NOVA.  Today's Latin lesson.  Nova Scotia means New Scotland.  It is on of the four Canadian maritime provinces.  It was named in 1621 when King James VI of Scotland granted the land to Sir William Alexander for a Scottish colony.

42. Trade restriction: EMBARGO.

44. Crab __: fried appetizer filled with cream cheese: RANGOON.  Crab Rangoon deep-fried appetizer made with wonton wrappers filled with a creamy mixture of cream cheese, imitation crab meat, and seasonings.  It is typically served with a spicy sauce.

45. Did some doodling: DREW.

48. "Your Pet, Our Passion" food brand: PURINA.

49. Seasoned expert: OLD PRO.

50. Makes the grade: PASSES.

53. Shop: STORE.

54. Added to the staff: HIRED.

56. Hasbro toy that requires quick reflexes: BOP IT.  I am not familiar with this toy.  It doesn't look like much fun.

57. __-up emotions: PENT.

58. State bird of Hawaii: NENE.  When I first began doing crossword puzzles, the Nene was a crossword staple.  The nene is a species of bird endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.  The nene is exclusively found in the wild on the islands of Maui, Kauai, Molokai, and Hawaii.  Even before Hawaii became a state, the nene it was designated to be the official island bird.  

59. Taxi: CAB.

60. Freezer cubes: ICE.

61. Clamor: DIN.

And my Parting Words:  Until Next Week.

חתולה