Saturday, January 24, 2026, Rafael Musa, Geoffrey Schorkopf

  Themeless Saturday by Rafael Musa & Geoffrey Schorkopf 

I had these collaborators on September 6, 2025 and had much more luck with that puzzle than I did with this one. I had to get help on a few cells and had an honest-to-goodness Natick at IRE_A/A_AND. The cluing left me out in the dark and some of the fill were not in my vocabulary. All in all it was a slog for this solver and came in the "close but no cigar" category.

As the graphic shows, Rafael (A software engineer for Airbnb in S.F.)  and Geoffrey (a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta) had a lot of unique fill. The gentlemen had 104 open squares and only 28 blocks.

Rafael

Geoffrey

 

Across:

1. Emerge from the ashes, say: RISE AGAIN - Until last year, Indiana Unverstiy's football team had more losses (over 700) than another college program. But with the hire of coach Curt Cignetti they went to 16 - 0 and won the National Championship in 2026.

10. Violin stroke: UPBOW - We guitar players often use an upstrum stroke

15. Mammal with a protective shell: ARMADILLO - This easy 9-letter fill portended an easier solve than it turned out to be

16. Letizia, por ejemplo: REINA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I didn't even know Spain had a King and Queen and no idea what the Spanish word for a queen was either.

17. Drafty places?: BEER HALLS 😀 Perhaps the most famous BEER HALL was the  Löwenbrau's Bürgerbräukeller in Munich where in 1923 Hitler attempted his famous putsch to oust the Weimar Republic.

18. 17-Across option: LAGER - Löwenbrau certainly made a LAGER beer even then

19. "Winners Take All" author Giridharadas: ANAND ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  and 2. Polish humanitarian Sendler: IRENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  The makings of my Natick.

     

20. Wife of Osiris: ISIS.

22. Drooping: LIMP.

23. Sea dogs: TARS.

24. Caterpillar counterparts: DEERES - This John DEERE starts at $1.2M before options

26. Dandy: FOP.

27. Following a pattern, perhaps: ORDERLY.

28. "Sorry, did I overshare?": TMI.

29. End one's Dry January, say: IMBIBE.

33. Rational process?: MEAL PREP - Rational meal prep combines smart planning (stocking up, mapping meals, focusing on protein/leftovers) with efficient cooking, often using technology.

35. Demeanors: MIENS - I see MIEN and its lovely vowels here more often than anywhere else

36. Potential reward for a top-seeded team: BYE - The top four rated teams get a BYE in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. In the last two years those teams with a week off have  a 1 - 7 record.

37. Danish fruit: PRUNE 😀 - That is only one filling option for the pastry known as a danish. They are so named because Danish bakers brought them to America. In Denmark they were known as wienerbrød (Vienna Bread).

 

38. They may trick or treat?: PLACEBOS 😀

40. Excel at another company?: SHEETS 😀

41. Guitar legend Paul: LES.

42. Tangy ramen toppers: SOY EGGS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. NYC setting: EST.

45. Fill a flat?: SUBLET - 😀 I abandoned any use of the word air quickly 

46. The "A" of NATO: ALFA - Putting AMER first did not help. Once I changed that mistake the whole SE corner filled in.

50. Note givers: ATMS.

52. First U.S. president to own a car: TAFT -The 1909 Model M is at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

 

53. Clear as day: PLAIN.

54. Like a flue: SOOTY.

56. "I'm dead serious!": NO FOOLING.

58. Over: ENDED.

59. Parts in two?: DUAL ROLES - I had a huge crush on Haley Mills in her DUAL ROLES in 1961

60. Considers: DEEMS.

61. Works outside?: STREET ART - Works is a noun here. ART came first in the fill for me.

Down:

1. North African capital: RABAT - Casablanca was the movie but RABAT is the capital of Morocco. Anyone else put Cairo first?

3. Bad mark: SMEAR.

4. Brings in: EARNS.

5. Med. condition treated with Vyvanse: ADHD.

6. "The Last Showgirl" director Coppola: GIA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

7. Together: ALLIED.

8. Comment after a bad joke: I'LL SEE MYSELF OUT 😀

9. Folksy denial: NO SIRREE.

10. Short address: URL.

11. Toll: PEAL 😀

12. "That would break the internet!": BIG IF TRUE 😀 If Abe had really said this...

13. "Be right with you": ONE MOMENT.

14. Mario Bros. transports: WARP PIPES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

21. Ward in movies: SELA - How old am I? I put Ward BOND first.

24. Beats by __: DRE

 

25. Spirits of the air: SYLPHS.

27. Go deep, say: OBSESS.

29. "That makes me happy": I'M PLEASED.

30. Solid foods for a baby, e.g.: MILESTONE - The "potty trained" MILESTONE is monumental!

31. Competitive athletic state, colloquially: BEAST MODE - We had this a few Saturdays ago.

32. Business end?: INC.

34. School opening?: PRE.

36. Focus of the 2024 miniseries "Dirty Pop": BOY BANDS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

39. Spell: BOUT - I had a 10-day BOUT with a cold around Christmas 

40. Mil. rank: SGT - I had to muster out CPL, CAP and COL

43. Win at life: GET FAR.

46. Divvy up: ALLOT - The end of every family get together is the "divvy up" session for leftovers

47. Boxer Ali: LAILA - Here with dad.

48. Less coarse: FINER.

49. Inner turmoil: ANGST.

51. Academic acronym: STEM.

53. Toner target: PORE.

55. Passing concern, for short?: YDS - I, uh, passed on INT and TDS

57. Estádio do Maracanã cheer: OLE - The Estádio do Maracanã stadium is in Rio and OLE celebrates soccer goals rather than bull fighting success.

Friday, January 23rd, 2026 ~ Jeff Stillman

RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT

or Vitamin "B" added

gloBe in the dark - showing light polution

This puzzle was right in my vein - literally; my Blood type is B+, er, B-plus, I mean, B "positive"~!  Jeff Stillman is a regular contriButor for the L.A. Times - this is his second in January of 2026 already, and typically offers two or three puzzles a year - needs only a Saturday puBlication for a"week steak".  A simple theme of adding the letter "B" to four in-language phrases to create a humorous change - and just three stray non-theme "B"s in the grid; pretty impressive.  A smooth solve for me - Better than yesterday's.  Single digits on the 3LWs ( nine~! ), no circles, a standard grid, But a few too many names again. The four themers, with no reveal;

20. Add to one's ear piercings?: HIT A NEW LOBE - Hit a new low - which was a clue we sorta saw yesterday; spelling change, same "oh" sound

I learned some new anatomy here

27. "There's nothing like the feeling of posting a vlog!"?: "I LOVE YouTube~!" I love you, too~!" - a different spelling change.  Below is my first "official" post to YT, the raw, unedited - boring - clip of my first time doing epoxy on the table for my brother; not much to see, but you can hear my furnace, Santa go by in the background, and a quote from Ghostbusters. 

46. Trio trying to sneak past the guard at a sauna?: THREE IN A ROBE - Three in a row - same spelling change as the first themer

Does this count as three men in a ROBE~?

55. "Get your own die, pal!"?: "THAT'S MY CUBE~!" - "That's my cue~!" - NO spelling change

"I've wandered, and can't find my cube~!"

BuBt WaBit TheBre's MoBre

ACROSS:

1. Word on some birth announcements: GIRL - gonna be multiple choice, soon

5. Bowlers, e.g.: HATS

Pierce Brosnan from The Thomas Crown Affair - loved the movie

9. Storage box: CHEST - I am thinking about building an LP record chest for my bother to match the table I gave him for Christmas

14. French friend: AMIE - Frawnche lesson #1

15. Bread maker: OVEN - I made my best chicken crust pizza this past weekend; oh so good~!

16. Video counterpart: AUDIO - the "A" in A/V Club

17. Uneven do: SHAG

18. Mallet game: POLO - Ah.  I was stuck in croquet-mode

19. Rapinoe who won the Ballon d'Or Féminin in 2019: MEGAN - Frawnche lesson #2, "Women's Golden Ball" - the "N" was my last fill; this was more like a Saturday clue/answer, as I had no clue - or answer 😜 - name #1

23. Onetime owner of Virgin Records: EMI - Iron Maiden, one of my musical favorites, started out on EMI; their early management led them to fifty years of albums and touring.  There's also a girl who works at my BJs club named Emi; I wondered if it was short for Emilia, or something.  Name(ish)

24. Michael of Monty Python: PALIN - Glad I am a MP fan, otherwise, name #2

25. Seed cases: PODS

33. Brew made from petals: ROSE TEA 

More here

35. Kitchen gadget: PEELER - see 60D.

36. Gives a hand: AIDS

37. Body shop fig.: ESTimate - these days, the car is usually totaled

39. "The King and I" role: ANNA - name #3

40. Uses a Brillo pad on: SCOURS

43. Meditation spot: YOGA MAT

48. Location: SITE - think construction

49. Evasive maneuver: DODGE - I own a Dodge Grand Caravan; taking the ferry on Tuesday to Long Island to deliver and install a new trellis to replace the one that was run over at a friend's house last year - it was "totalled" 😝

52. Dejected: SAD - I am SAD; the Buffalo Bills are out again - as is their coach; I did call it on Jan 2nd

59. Words to live by: AXIOM - "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

61. Home overhaul, informally: RENO - renovation; I like HGTV's show "No Demo Reno"

My business name is "Re-Mölisher" - I try to reduce the demo/waste, too

62. Iranian money: RIAL - Learned by doing crosswords

63. Amazon assistant: ALEXA - I have Alexa, but I put her away to "renovate" my living room, and she's still in her box.  I still love this always funny SNL skit - name #4

Amazon Alexa Silver - uh-huh

64. Small fastener: BRAD - at least it wasn't clued as a name . . . 

65. Utah home of Sugarloaf Mountain: ALTA - Dah~!  I knew ASTA was wrong, however long the name has appeared in crosswords; he's the classic movie dog; geo name #5

66. Back, as a racehorse: BET ON - I read this as 'back OF a racehorse'

Hey, croup fit . . . .

67. "Holy moly!": "YIPE~!"

68. Existed: BEEN - WERE did not gibe; I had - - EN, so I went with THEN; BEEN was slow to come to me, as its pronunciation is more 'bihn', than 'bean', as it looks

DOWN:

1. Nasty cut: GASH - I start with the Down clues, and was on a roll . . .

2. "Ya dig?" reply: "I'M HIP." - but I had "Uh-Huh" here . . .

3. Rodeo rope: RIATA - and LASSO, so the NW was a mess

4. Motivation for seeking counsel: LEGAL ISSUES - great fill, but waited on perps

5. "Heaven forbid!": "HOPE NOT~!" - waited on perps

6. Assert: AVOW - Filled in the A & V, waited on perps - could always be avER

7. Disclose: TELL

8. Comics canine: SNOOPY - name #6

9. Required remittance: CAME DUE - pondered "WAS OWED" - Twurd

10. Peach or plum: HUE - I was not fooled.  Yes, they happen to be fruits as well . . .

Plus burgundy, coffee, ivory....

11. Border: EDGE - good WAG; could have been the verb ABUT

12. "The King and I" setting: SIAM - learned by doing crosswords

13. "Knives Out" actress Collette: TONI - name #7 - no clue, more here

21. The Aswan High Dam's river: NILE - geo name #8 - found this video with the unfinished obelisk featured as well

22. Snout-touching sound: BOOP - toyed with OINK

26. Seafood dish that turns from blue to orange during preparation: STEAMED CRAB

 

They're not blue anymore - a blog here

28. Two-finger sign: VEE

29. Gut course: EASY A - I am not aligned with "easy" meaning "gut" in this instance

30. Arm bone: ULNA

31. Out of shape: BENT - FAT was, ironically, not big enough . . . 

32. Timeline stretch: ERA - Dah~! not EON

33. Sumptuous: RICH - POSH, LUSH~? - ah, my actual name - but did not need to be clued as such

34. Fragrance: ODOR - I associate "fragrance" as positive, say "aroma" - "odor" with "stink", funk", etc.

36. Winter hrs. in Halifax: AST - Atlantic Standard Time

Circled in green, bottom right

38. Craggy hill: TOR - Learned by doing crosswords

41. Surname of two directors in the "Ghostbusters" franchise: REITMAN - Ivan did the always quotable original, and the less entertaining "II"; his son Jason did "Afterlife", which I have, embarrassingly, never heard about . . . now I gotta see it -  name #9

And I see there was a "sequel" in 2024 as well

42. Enemy of the Jedi: SITH - from the ubiquitous Star Wars - name(ish)

44. Period of invincibility in video games: GOD MODE - I like playing Sim City, and I can literally play "God" by turning on - or off - the natural disasters.

45. "About __": Hugh Grant film based on a Nick Hornby novel: "A BOY" - the IMDb

47. Within earshot: NEARBY

50. Skillful deceit: GUILE - My one unspottable error; GUI S E was good enough, and crossing a name, AL(S)TA, I was not going to notice I was wrong 😜

51. Online cash-back offer: eBATE

52. Automaker that declared bankruptcy in 2011: SAAB - The Monday dupe - now on Wednesday~!  I once owned a 1983 900 - buy now, SAAB later - name #10

53. Wagon part: AXLE

54. Lose on purpose?: DIET - the verb; I am back on track - down now at 207lbs, and still "losing"

56. Actress Hatcher: TERI - 'Bond girl' Paris Carver from Tommorow Never Dies, name #11

Pierce again - yet not my favorite Bond, by far

57. Pic: SNAP

58. Joie de vivre: ELAN - Frawnche #3, "Joy of Living"

60. Ergonomic brand: OXO - another Thursday dupe; 'kitchen gadgets', but that phrase was already in the crossword today as a clue, @ 35A.

Splynter

Grid Flow 29.8

Notes from C.C.:

Agnes sent me this precious photo she recently came across. She said "'It's about 30 years old and there are only 4 of us left out of the 9. Brings back many happy memories."

L to R, Seated: Joe, Agnes,  Eileen, Anne
L to R, Standing: Bill, Peggy, Jack, Bud, Mary