Theme: How shall I post thee? Let me count the ways.
Dylan Shiff is a middle school science teacher and puzzle enthusiast who loves the quirks of the English language. Today's puzzle plays with various meanings of the word POST.
The theme clues and answers are:
18-Across. *Online diary: PERSONAL BLOG. When you self-publish on a website for others to read, you "post" an entry or article to the site, and the entry or article is itself a "post."
25-Across. *Means of sending legal documents: CERTIFIED MAIL. "Post" can be a verb meaning to send a letter or package.
37-Across. *Item pinned to a bulletin board: PROMOTIONAL FLYER. Anything tacked onto a bulletin board is said to be "posted" there.
49-Across. *Professional who stands watch: SECURITY GUARD. A security guard is assigned to a specific location for a defined period; this assignment is his "post."
59-Across. "I want to stay informed!," or what might be said by the answers to the starred clues?: KEEP ME POSTED. This is the big reveal, without which I would never have discerned the connection between the starred clues. A personal blog wants to be kept posted. So does certified mail, a promotional flyer, and a security guard. Wonderful wordplay.
I asked ChatGPT to create an image of a security guard at his post who is writing a personal blog, sending a letter, and tacking a flyer to a bulletin board. The result is the image at the top of this post. AI technology is amazing and terrifying!
How did Dylan fill in the rest of the puzzle? Let's take a look.
1. Chocolaty coffees: MOCHAS. Yum.
7. Unearthed: DUG UP.
12. Silk formation: WEB. Hummingbirds use spider silk to bind their tiny nests together.
15. Punctual: ON TIME.
16. Yoga pose: ASANA.
17. Top card in hearts: ACE.
18. [Theme clue]
20. "Neither fish __ fowl": NOR.
21. Class with pronunciation practice, briefly: ESL. English as a Second Language.
22. Tomato used in tomato paste: ROMA. Roma tomatoes have low water content and few seeds, which makes it easy to reduce them to a thick paste.
23. "It's peculiar ... ": ODDLY.
25. [Theme clue]
29. River mouth formations: DELTAS.
31. "¿Cómo __?": ESTAS. "How are you?" spoken informally, as to a friend or family member. We discovered that in Spain, people leap right into informal address, whereas in Mexico, you can know someone for many years and always use the formal ¿Cómo está usted? depending on the relationship.
32. Jeweler's unit: CARAT.
33. WNBA great Leslie: LISA. Lisa Leslie was a professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Sparks from 1997 to 2009. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medalist. She's a local So Cal gal, but alas, my sports allergy prevented my knowing of her accomplishments.
25. [Theme clue]
29. River mouth formations: DELTAS.
31. "¿Cómo __?": ESTAS. "How are you?" spoken informally, as to a friend or family member. We discovered that in Spain, people leap right into informal address, whereas in Mexico, you can know someone for many years and always use the formal ¿Cómo está usted? depending on the relationship.
32. Jeweler's unit: CARAT.
33. WNBA great Leslie: LISA. Lisa Leslie was a professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Sparks from 1997 to 2009. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medalist. She's a local So Cal gal, but alas, my sports allergy prevented my knowing of her accomplishments.
 |
| Lisa Leslie |
34. Took charge: LED.
37. [Theme clue]
42. Tags in a Google Doc: ATS. I don't use Google Docs, but I read that typing the "at" symbol -- @ -- opens a menu to quickly insert links and other items. It's a shortcut to the insert menu.
43. Border on: ABUT.
44. Ahead of schedule: EARLY.
45. Puts a spell on: HEXES.
47. Extra tires: SPARES.
49. [Theme clue]
53. Bowler's hangout: ALLEY.
54. Limbs symbolic of power in Hinduism: ARMS.
37. [Theme clue]
42. Tags in a Google Doc: ATS. I don't use Google Docs, but I read that typing the "at" symbol -- @ -- opens a menu to quickly insert links and other items. It's a shortcut to the insert menu.
43. Border on: ABUT.
44. Ahead of schedule: EARLY.
45. Puts a spell on: HEXES.
47. Extra tires: SPARES.
49. [Theme clue]
53. Bowler's hangout: ALLEY.
54. Limbs symbolic of power in Hinduism: ARMS.
55. "__ making myself clear?": AM I.
58. Moreover: TOO. Also, besides, furthermore, and additionally wouldn't have fit.
59. [Theme clue]
64. PIN point: ATM. One uses a Personal Identification Number at an Automated Teller Machine.
65. Reach a consensus: AGREE.
66. Dutch beer: AMSTEL. The brewery was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam, taken over by Heineken in 1968, and closed in 1982, with production moving to the main Heineken plant at Zoeterwoude.
67. "Def!": YEP. Definitely.
68. Stockpile: HOARD.
69. 100-seat chamber: SENATE. The U.S. Senate has 100 members, with two senators representing each of the 50 states.
Down:
68. Stockpile: HOARD.
69. 100-seat chamber: SENATE. The U.S. Senate has 100 members, with two senators representing each of the 50 states.
Down:
1. Brood: MOPE.
2. Single notes: ONES. "Notes" can mean paper money. Americans usually say "bills."
3. Corner PC key: CTRL.
4. The "H" of HMS: HIS. His Majesty's Ship. It used to be Her Majesty's Ship when His mama was queen.
5. Cherub in Italian art: AMORETTO. I never heard this term!
6. Spanish title: SENORA.
7. __ Lama: DALAI.
8. __ port: USB. Oh, that kind of port.
9. Gadot of "Wonder Woman": GAL. I know this Gal. Not personally! I know of her.
 |
| Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman |
10. "Last card!": UNO. Uno is a card game developed in 1971, and produced since 1992 by Mattel. A player who plays their next-to-last card must call "Uno" as a warning to the other players that they only have one card left.
11. East Asian temple: PAGODA. A pagoda is a multi-story structure with overhanging roofs. They often serve as Buddhist or Hindu temples or memorials.
12. Title fish in a 1988 heist comedy: WANDA.
13. Produce recall cause, often: E. COLI. E. coli is a group of bacteria that can cause infections in your gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, and other parts of your body.
14. Mineral group for emerald and aquamarine: BERYL. Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate, which forms hexagonal crystals. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities.
14. Mineral group for emerald and aquamarine: BERYL. Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium silicate, which forms hexagonal crystals. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities.
 |
| Aquamarine beryl gets its color from iron. |
19. Ozs. and lbs.: AMTS. Ounces and pounds are amounts.
24. Private online convos: DMS. Direct Messages.
25. Chowder protein: CLAM.
26. Distracting move: FEINT.
27. Rae who played the president of Barbieland: ISSA. Issa Rae plays a number of roles in Crossword Land.
28. Bibliography abbr.: ET AL.
29. Projectile aimed at a bull's-eye: DART. This kind of bull's eye. It is not wise to throw darts at real bulls' eyes.
30. God of love: EROS.
32. IRS worker: CPA.
33. Crummy: LOUSY.
34. Harp kin: LYRE.
35. Morays or congers: EELS.
36. Like kindling, ideally: DRY.
38. "Cash Cab" car: TAXI. Cash Cab is a game show that premiered U.S. and British versions in 2005. A taxi picks up a customer, the host announces that they are on Cash Cab, and they are given the option to play or get out. If they choose to play, they have to stay in the cab until they reach their destination or get three strkes when answering questions. They earn cash for correct answers. I've never heard of this. Anyone here watch it? What kinds of questions do they answer? Do they have to know what an amoretto is?
39. [Eye roll]: I BET.
40. Inspiring chills: FEARSOME.
41. Frying medium: LARD.
45. Shade: HUE.
46. "On & On" singer Badu: ERYKAH. Erykah Badu is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. "On & On" was a Grammy winning single from her first album, Baduizm, released in 1997. We saw her in Chandi Deitmer's puzzle on Sunday 9/7/2025, and in many, many puzzles before that. Time to remember this “Queen of Neo Soul.”
 |
| Erykah Badu |
47. "Why not!": SURE.
48. Argentinian grasslands: PAMPAS.
49. Skewered dish with peanut sauce: SATAY. Yum.
48. Argentinian grasslands: PAMPAS.
49. Skewered dish with peanut sauce: SATAY. Yum.
 |
| Thai tofu satay with peanut sauce. Your skewered protein may vary. |
50. Mexican corn dish: ELOTE. Elote returns to our crossword menu! Corn on the cob, charred on a grill, and then slathered with spicy mayonnaise, crumbled cheese, chili powder and a squeeze of lime. We had this dish in Patti Varol's puzzle on Friday 9/5/2025 and in C.C.'s puzzle on 8/24/2024. Yum.
51. Walk noisily: CLOMP.
52. Played Elden Ring, say: GAMED. Elden Ring is a 2022 role-playing game for PlayStation, Windows, and Xbox.
55. Roti base: ATTA. Roti is an Indian flatbread made of atta flour and water. It is frequently on our crossword menu. DH and I are usually offered naan in Indian restaurants. I'm sure roti is also yummy.
56. Come across: MEET. Hmm. This comes across as odd to me.
57. Running in place: IDLE.
60. Barrier to teamwork: EGO.
61. Important chapter of history: ERA.
62. A pop: PER.
63. Digits often hidden by x's: SSN. In online forms and databases, SSNs are often replaced by x's so that bad folks can't look over your shoulder and steal your numbers.
Here's the grid:
Well, solvers, did you finish this puzzle ON TIME? Did you DART from one clue to the next?
Or did you find it FEARSOME?
KEEP ME POSTED in the comments below!
-- NaomiZ
Notes from C.C.:
Happy
birthday to dear Husker Gary, our caring and creative Saturday Sherpa. I
remember you once shared that you spent a birthday apple-picking with
your grandchildren some years back. Such a sweet image. Do you still
keep up that tradition?
Wishing you a beautiful day filled with family, joy, and maybe even a crisp apple or two!
Wishing you a beautiful day filled with family, joy, and maybe even a crisp apple or two!
Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann (August 2014)
32 comments:
Some “unusual” foods kept this puzzle from
being a run away, but on the whole, it wasn’t terribly difficult. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
The center section (LISA/LOUSY) slowed me down. Didn't notice the reveal, but this was an easy solve as a themeless. Thanx, Dylan and NaomiZ. (Nope, never heard of Cash Cab, either.)
Happy birthday, Husker. Enjoy the day.
Cash Cab: general knowledge questions with increasing cash prizes. Miss 3 questions and you got kicked out on the spot.
Oh, I didn’t notice it was your birthday, H.G. Happy birthday, and thanks for doing the difficult job of figuring out and notating the Saturday puzzle for us! (It’s always the hardest one of the week.)
FIR. I had a devil of a time with the SW. It didn't help having a proper name like Erykah to work with along with some food names like satay, which I knew, and elote, which I didn't know.
Fortunately for me the theme materialized early and the reveal iced it for me.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
FIR, but found->DUG UP, and->TOO, amass->HOARD, and decoy->FEINT. Guessed right at YEP/YuP x ELOTE/ELOTu. Or maybe my subconscious mind remembered ELOTE, finally. Hey subconscious - maybe you could hold on to ERYKAH next?
I really tried to avoid filling ALLEY in respect for Boomer, but perps demanded it.
Happy birthday to H.Gary. Hope it's a good one.
Thanks to Dylan for the fun Thursday tester, and to NaomiZ for another fine review.
FLN - Thanks for the well-wishes and suggestions. I know my atria from my aorta, I just got a little lost in the nomenclature. I've had continuous atrial fibrillation for about 30 years. They tried to convert me, first with medicine, then by stopping and restarting my heart a few times. Guess that's the human equivalent of CTRL+alt+del. In any case, it didn't work.
Happy birthday, HG. I always look forward to your interesting Saturday blogs.
Took 6:05 today to kick the field goal through the uprights.
The Ladies of Today's Puzzle were mostly kind (Issa, Gal, & Lisa), but spelling "Erykah" remains a challenge.
Looks like the LAT is making me learn another Mexican dish (elote) to go with my carne asada and tapas.
HBD to HG!
Good Morning:
Security Guard seems to be an outlier, considering the other three themers are all forms of written communication, but Naomi’s interpretation dispels this notion, I think. In any case, the solve was pleasant and trouble-free, although perps were needed for Lisa, Amoretto, Gamed, and Erykah. No w/os but a hesitation on filling in the Boomer nemesis, Alley.
Thanks, Dylan, and thanks, Naomi, for an informative review, especially your analysis of the theme. Enjoyed all of the striking visuals but the favorite was the comical eye roll!
Happy Birthday, dear Gary, with best wishes that your day is as special as you are! 🎂🎁🎊🎈🎉
Have a great day.
In spite of the list of unknowns, this CW felt pretty easy. Go figure. I needed perps for LISA, GAMED as clued, ERYKAH, ATS, UNO.
I finally remembered ELOTE from á recent CW. I wondered what CLOMs could mean then I changed YEs to YEP and I was SPAREd á FIW.
When my family and I get together sometimes we play á very Spirited game of HEARTS.
Happy Birthday HG. 🎊🎂🎉
Thank you NaomiZ for á great review.
if Elden Ring was as easy as this puzzle I might not be the only one of my friends to have never played it haha
This was fast for a Thursday- not fast enough to beat SS but what else is new?
"Cash Cab" was popular when my kids were in middle/high school - they even did some skits with parodies of it at end of the season banquets and camps
-Didn't know AMORETTO either, but sussed it out with AMOR being the Latin/Italians for love and the ETTO being a diminutive and finished by perps; more familiar with Amaretto the liqueur
-Misty is going to have a fun feast today with the ELOTE and SATAY and the ROMA tomatoes in their somewhere
Happy birthday Gary - it's my SIL's birthday too and his son's (our grandson)
is December 7th
Fun if easier than expected Thursday puzzle. The only odd man out was Guard, until I realized you can post a Guard, then it all made sense...
Happy Birthday Husker Gary!. (You thought I was going to post Husker Cake, didn't you!)
I have a bottle of Amstel, unopened since circa late 80's, that has a Heineken cap on it! Still sealed! I wonder if it's worth anything...
This is what happens when you tell the team to keep you posted around here...
It also reminded me of Mummenshanz.
The pagoda reminded me of a video I saw recently about how pagoda roof tiles are made. If you are into woodworking, you might find this fascinating...
Wait a sec!
That guard image was created by AI by just asking for it?
How do I get into this chatGP thing? This could be perfect for creating silly theme links! (Imagine my imagination gone wild...)
Musings
-A six-minute excursion. I don’t think I can go faster than that, and know I don’t care, but I got on a roll.
-The spelling of DALIA (I thought sure there was a silent H in there) and the complicated spelling of obscure-to-me ERYKA (I see these attempts at name uniqueness all the time in school) were my only speed bumps. Her name seems to be as complicated as her outfit.
-ELOTE and SATAY were somewhat familiar.
-When kids travelled with me, they knew being ON TIME for the bus was five minutes late! :-)
-Almost all Hispanic families in our town make a great effort to learn to speak English.
-Nick Holonyak LED the L.E.D. lighting revolution
-You know someone is struggling when they are using a “donut” tire for a SPARE and it has hardly any tread left
-“I heard you the fourth time! AM I making myself clear?”
-Not only are stores open every day nowadays but the ATM means you don’t have to wait for the bank to open either.
-I MEET (come across) former students very frequently and have no recollection of them at all when they call me by name and ask if I remember them. Having had 15,000 students will do that.
-Thanks for the birthday wishes. I will spend it subbing in Arlington before we drive to Lincoln for a family celebration tonight. I’m sorry to say, C.C., that the trip to the Apple Farm in Nebraska City is a thing of the past. Our busy kids and their kids have too many other commitments.
Weird week for me...yesterday's puzzle felt Friday-level, and I breezed through today's offering at Monday speed.
No overly cute or obscure clues, and the themers filled in quickly without regard to their connection.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Dylan and NaomiZ.
I FIRed in good time and saw the POSTED theme. Hand up for seeing GUARD as an outlier to the other means of communication at first, but I did see the different meanings of POST with the themer.
CARAT or kARAT - both gold and diamonds involve “jewellers’s unit”s. CPA decided it.
Thanks to NaomiZ for explaining ATS.
Hand up for needing perps to spell ERYKAH.
Is it YEs, YEa, YEh? YEP perped.
Edge or ABUT. Ray-o, you are in rare form today.
I learned ELOTE just last week.
Our Canadian equivalent to CERTIFIED MAIL is Registered Mail. I needed some perps to steer me in the right direction.
Happy Birthday HG!
Wishing you all a great day.
Yes, as I recall, Boomer called them Bowling Lanes.
I liked this puzzle.
Happy birthday, Gary.
Hola! I, TOO, liked this puzzle and finished in very good time for later in the week. And I'm always pleased to see a smattering of Spanish like ESTAS, ELOTE and even ERA and UNO qualify.
Cash Cab is great fun for anyone who enjoys trivia. Some people have gone the whole way and earned a WAD of money but many who are immediately stumped get unceremoniously pushed out, rain or shine!
Me too on learning to spell ERYKAH. And I agree with Gary about students trying to be creative in various ways to spell their names.
Have a wonderful day, everyone! Happy birthday to my oldest granddaughter.
Zipped through this CW to FIR in 12, which is exceptional for me for a Thursday. This seemed more Monday level, which is NOT a complaint. Only 8 names, but DNK 6, but they seemed to perp easily enough. Only W/O: FEIGN/FEINT. Subtle difference between the two. English is funny that way. Consider the difference between "One in a million" and "One of a million". Opposite meanings! Security guard I didn't see fitting the theme until NaomiZ 'splained it. And that image is AI? Amazing. Was the image posted for 54A also AI generated? Peculiar to have 9 arms, four on the figure's right side, 5 on the left. Is there a significance to 9 arms? I notice Wonder Woman only has two arms. Think what she could do with 9 arms! I watched some episodes of Cash Cab and found them to be fun. If I recall correctly, some of the questions were double or nothing. Thanx DS for this fun, easy-for-Thursday CW. Thanx too to NaomiZ for the fun and informative write-up. HBD HG!
Oh, no!
Our dear unclefred, yes, if the Cash Cab made it to their destination, they had a chance for a bonus question, which was double-or-nothing on a video clue.
I enjoyed watching that show with my kids when they were younger.
Fun puzzle, enjoyable blog, and Happy Birthday Husker Gary!
Always enjoy the recap Naomi. Very entertaining and interesting. Satay, Elote, and Erykah slowed me down but finally all came together.
Nice Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Dylan. And your commentary and pictures are always helpful, NaomiZ, thanks for those too. And, finally, have a lovely birthday, Gary.
Well, I didn't need a SECURITY GUARD to KEEP ME POSTED about my PROMOTIONAL FLYER, or my CERTIFIED MAIL, or my PERSONAL BLOG. I can look after all that stuff myself. Tell them that they should look after that SENORA and her AMORETTO and make sure that she stays safe in that PAGODA. I BET there's nothing FEARSOME about any of that, and they'd probably AGREE to that. Now let's just have a little music on that LYRE, to get on with our lunch. And then let's get a TAXI and go out to the PAMPAS and enjoy a sunny afternoon there.
Have a delightful rest of the day, everybody.
That last video is fascinating indeed, preceded by á bizarre video. Thank you.
Like a lot of the other comments, as I was ripping through today’s offering from Dylan, I was saying to myself “This is almost too easy for a Thursday…”. Since we only get the LAT Thu>Sun, I don’t get to experience the M/T/W puzzles, so can’t compare. But this one was a fun romp, and I kinda grokked the theme except for GUARD — until NaomiZ enlightened me! Another great review from you; thanks! (Oh, and your AI-generated security guard threw me for a loop — I thought you’d published a photo of Dylan, today’s constructor! 🤣).
The only speed bumps I ran over in this one were the 23Dx33A Natick — a PNX, as I notate it, Proper Name Crossing. Nerny, nerny, constructors!! Also, I’d think “Running in place” would be “idling”, not IDLE, no? Little nit…
If y’all haven’t seen “A Fish Called Wanda”, it’s one of the absolutely funniest flicks ever made; Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Kevin Kline and Michael Palen are just such a tight ensemble, and the script is totally engaging. Worth the time, trust me!
I don’t know how amorous that Italian cherub is, but the liqueur is delicious — Happy Birthday, Gary! Have a shot on me, haha
Speaking of food and drink,I’m doing this just before lunch time, and all of Dylan’s food-oriented fills — SATAY, ATTA, ROMA and ELOTE — have my tummy yelling “Feed me!!”, so I’m outta here 😎
====> Darren / L.A.
Happy Birthday, Gary! Many happy returns
I didn't see it from anyone else's POST but I think this was a 16 x 15 puzzle grid
Hi All!
Thanks Dylan for a quick Thursday run with a cute theme. I liked it.
WO: wrong Hew for a brief moment
ESPs: LISA| ISSA, ERYKAH, A-T-S until the aha that it's @s.
Fav: I'll go with A Fish Called WANDA [Trailer]. Hilarious flick.
Tuesdays at lunch, the team plays a game. Two weeks ago, it was UNO - No Mercy. OMG it's brutal!
C.Moe just beat me to calling out it's a 16 x 15 grid.
LA Darin - I too was thinking of the almond liqueur Amaretto at 5d. Interesting that AMORE is love and AMARO is bitter :-)
FLN - Great expo Splinter. I nailed your "Ice Sport for Idol" == Lip Curling quiz. LOL "Great Moments Sneering History."
HBD HG!
Cheers, -T
Happy birthday, Husker Gary!
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