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Sep 26, 2026

Saturday, September 26, 2026, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson


  
Our Wyoming native who went to college in Minnesota is now doing greatwork for a startup group called BetterFi, a nonprofit working to end predatory lending in Tennessee.

I made great progress and soon had the NW to SE swath done and then had to go in to finish off the other corners which was a fun challenge with a lot of international cuisine and filmakers. 

Across:

1. Releases: EMITS.

6. Ardent supporter: MEGAFAN - This Raider fan qualifies


13. Island country that changed the shape of the International Date Line by skipping December 30, 2011: SAMOA.


14. "Anything you say": SURE SURE.

15. Guttural sound: CROAK.

16. Outermost meningeal membrane: DURA MATER.


17. Hot: IN DEMAND.

19. "Bad idea": DON'T.

20. High return: LOB.


21. 41-Across teacher: SENSEI and 41. Dojo discipline: KARATE.


23. Army __: ANTS.

24. Double-reed woodwind related to the shawm: OBOE - Adrian muddied the waters by adding a shawm in the clue 


26. Seldom seen: SCARCE.

28. Racing headgear: CRASH HELMET - 76-year-old comedian Andy Huggins says at his age he worries about falling and so he wears a HELMET. To keep from looking foolish, he also carries a skateboard.


30. Tailgating area: LOT.


33. Angiogram image, perhaps: AORTA - It kinda stands out, doesn't it


34. "__ bien": MUY.

35. Durable fabric: CHINO.


37. Drug featured in the Dock Ellis biopic "No No: A Dockumentary": LSD.


38. "How's it hangin'?": WHAT'S SHAKIN'


42. Bernie Sanders' mittens, for one: MEME.

What's shakin' Bernie?

43. Singer known as the "Goddess of Pop": CHER - Depends on who you ask. 

  

47. Harsh critics: HATERS.

49. PC IDs: IPS.


50. Martinican poet Césaire who helped found the Négritude movement: AIME 
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


51. Dessert often made with espresso: TIRAMISU.


53. "Chocolate in every bite" cookie maker: CHIPS AHOY.

56. Sonicare rival: ORAL B.

58. Herb in fines herbes and herbes de Provence: TARRAGON - Fines Herbes (fēnz erbs - literally fine herbs): Made with a specific combination of four fresh herbs in equal parts: parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil.


59. Bring up: RAISE.

60. Welcome words?: IT'S OPEN.


61. Wrapped: ENDED.


Down:

1. Key hit in panic: ESC.

2. Platform game that debuted in 1983: MARIO BROS - I loved playing their lo-res game on my Apple IIe


3. "You sold me": I'M ON BOARD.

4. Bufotoxin source: TOAD - Bufotoxin is a milky, poisonous defense chemical secreted by the skin and parotoid glands of true toads in the genus Bufo.


5. Array at an izakaya: SAKES Izakaya (居酒屋) are casual drinking establishments, similar to tapas bars, where customers order a variety of small dishes of food that can be shared at the table. 


6. Genre in which readers are clued in to the plot?: MURDER MYSTERY.

7. Time to study: ERA. 

8. Beaut: GEM.

9. Taqueria option: ASADA - When you're done at the izakaya, you can drive on over to a taqueria for some carne ASADA (grilled meat) food.

 

10. Guest room fixture: FUTON.

11. "__ you sweet!": AREN'T.

12. "Aw, phooey": NERTS.

14. Vinyasa sequence also called Surya Namaskar: SUN SALUTATION ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  - 
Vinyasa is the movement between poses. This slowly revealed itself.

16. Event one must prepare for exhaustively?: DANCE MARATHON - A DANCE MARATHON was the subject of this movie 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The trailer


18. Vibe well: MESH.

20. Word in many union names: LOCAL - Hormel's LOCAL 22 Union has sponsored champion softball teams here in town for years.

22. Halo-halo base: ICE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ More exotic food! This is a Filipino shaved ICE treat.


25. Part of i.e.: EST.

27. Make a lasting impression?: ETCH.

29. Skateboarding star Tony: HAWK - Tony now "hawks" Qunol products


30. "This bears repeating ... ": LIKE I SAID.

31. Instinctively: ON IMPULSE - I bought a Mazda Miata on impulse many years ago and regretted it. It always needed repairs and wouldn't handle snow.

32. Hues: TONES.

36. Muffuletta ingredient: HAM ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ More unknown (to me) food. The classic New Orleans sandwich combines a homemade olive salad with layers of thin-sliced Italian cold cuts. Man it looks so good!


39. Derisive laugh: HAH.

40. "Buona __": SERA.

43. Tacos de nopales need: CACTI - Our buffet continues: 


44. Percussion set: HI HAT.

45. Dubai rulers: EMIRS.

46. High-quality proof, for short: REPRO - Repro stands for reprographics (or reproduction), but in publishing, printing, and design, a REPRO specifically refers to a high-quality proof of text and images. It is used as the final checkpoint to verify that everything looks perfect before the final print run.


48. Camping treat: SMORE.

52. Home country of filmmaker Asghar Farhadi: IRAN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 


54. Chump: SAP.

55. Sit in a cellar, perhaps: AGE.

57. Sack: BED.