Thursday April 30, 2026 Joseph A. Gangi

We interrupt our regularly scheduled puzzle for this special coverage. Joseph Gangi has been constructing for several years now, and this time he has delivered our morning paper with headlines that become attention grabbers to hook readers.

17. "Local Couple Makes a Commitment," e.g.: EXCLUSIVE REPORT. When a couple decides to be EXCLUSIVE, it means they won't be seeing other people. It's a stepping stone between casual dating and a committed relationship.

27. "China Falls From Top Spot," e.g.: BREAKING NEWS. My favorite themer with a fun play on words with that country being in the NEWS all the time. Here, "China" is dishware BREAKING when dropped on the floor. 

48. "Final Finalist Finally Arrives," e.g.: LATEST UPDATE. LATEST as in the last one time-wise.

63. "Photographer Embraces Traditional Darkroom Techniques," e.g.: DEVELOPING STORY. DEVELOPING pictures the old-fashioned way.

A fun outing where most of the names were very common instead of obscure, and no reveler was needed. For a Thursday, this was pretty easy...plenty of "E"s but no "Z"s - almost a pangram! At first, I thought all the"X"s would play into the theme, but that was incorrect.

Let's see what's in the rest of the paper:

Across:

1. Gimli's weapon in "The Lord of the Rings": AXE. Grimli is a dwarf warrior, and a major character in Tolkien's fantasy trilogy.

4. Mine passage: SHAFT. Some miners get the elevator, others get the SHAFT.

9. Healthy side: SALAD. Unless it's loaded with excessive toppings and high-calorie dressings.

14. __ lunch: BOX. I don't remember having a lunch BOX. I guess we were a brown bag family.

15. Peninsular Arab state: QATAR. One of the few answers with a "Q" not followed by "U". These words are usually anglicized from other languages that do not use the English alphabet.

16. Act with feeling: EMOTE.

17. [theme]

20. Nephew of Donald Duck: LOUIE. Huey, Dewey and LOUIE are the triplet nephews of Donald Duck and grand-nephews of Scrooge McDuck, 

Huey (red), Dewey (blue), & LOUIE (green)

21. Word with tea and toast: TEXAS. TEXAS tea always reminds me of the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies.

22. Diner slice: PIE.

23. Meat product with a museum in Minnesota: SPAM. I keep getting unsolicited emails to go visit it.

25. July's namesake: CAESAR. Julius CAESAR. His great-nephew CAESAR Augustus got the following month.

27. [theme]

32. Civil rights leader Wilkins: ROY. ROY Wilkins led the NAACP as executive secretary and director for over 20 years (1955–1977).

33. Emotionless: STONY. Emotionless: STOIC.

34. Olympic skater Cohen: SASHA. Not to be confused with Sacha Baron Cohen. 

Skater vs. Jester

38. Lotion additive: ALOE.

40. Carriers powered by pantographs and overhead lines: TRAMS. A pantograph is a roof-mounted apparatus on electric trains, TRAMS, and trolleybuses used to collect electricity from overhead wires.

42. Early operating system: UNIX. My dear RightBrain was an early UNIX programmer who developed accounting software for small businesses. The real brain in the family!

43. Drink carelessly: SLURP. Meanwhile, I just SLURP and make a mess.

45. Puts one foot in front of the other: STEPS. And pretty soon, you're walking!

47. Conduit shape: ELL. Having worked with electrical conduit most of my life, I thought it's a tube shape, not how it is bent.

48. [theme]

51. Video meeting need: CAMERA. But not pants.

54. Cozy alcove: NOOK. A good place to curl up with an e-book.

55. Prefix with meter: ODO. ODO (by itself) is probably the weakest answer in the grid. An ODOmeter measures distance traveled.

56. "The Three-Body Problem" genre: SCI-FI. The Three-Body Problem is the first book in Cixin Liu's Hugo Award-winning Remembrance of Earth's Past science fiction trilogy. Volume 1 has been made into a TV series on Netflix.

60. "Cannot __": slangy expression of mock horror: UNSEE.

63. [theme]

66. Flared dress style: A-LINE. As the name implies, it's a dress that flairs like the letter “A” -otherwise known as "a dress" to me. I'm a modemuffel, a German colloquial term for someone who disregards fashion, typically wearing whatever they want, focusing on comfort, or having no interest in current trends.

67. Timed perfectly: ON CUE.

68. Cone-bearing tree: FIR. Cone-wearing dog - with fur. 

69. Disreputable: SEEDY.

70. Tandem pair: SEATS. On a bicycle built for two (unless you have a toddler).

71. Start of a giant recital?: FEE. This clue was my FAVE. 

The giant from Jack and the Beanstalk

Down:

1. Genesis brother: ABEL. Funny how all these early guys have 4-letters in their names.

2. Love letters?: XOXO.

3. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?": EXCUSE YOU.

4. Rodent proof?: SQUEAKS. Fun clue. Rodent-proof (with a hyphen) is something completely different.

5. Gives birth to: HAS. 

6. Bumping heads: AT IT.

7. Bestest: FAVE. Words like "bestest" are my least FAVE.

8. Predatory dino: T-REX. Dino is short for dinosaur, and T-REX is short for Tyrannosaurus REX, just like its arms. That's why it has trouble playing the piano. 

9. Goes back and forth: SEESAWS.

10. Psych (up): AMP.

11. Cereal shapes: LOOPS. They also make other shapes.

12. Open-air rooms: ATRIA.

13. Try to stop: DETER.

18. "Radical Optimism" singer Dua: LIPA. Dua LIPA is an English singer and songwriter who describes her style as "dark pop."

Best New Artist Grammy in 2019

19. 5K, for one: RACE. A five kilometer RACE is just over three miles.

24. Baker's protection: MITT.

26. Genesis twin: ESAU. Almost a Biblical clecho.

27. Some undergarments: BRAS.  Some other undergarments: BVDS.

28. $2 worth of nickels, e.g.: ROLL. It costs the U.S. Mint 13.78 cents to produce and distribute a single nickel, thus this roll of 40 is worth $5.54. A penny for your thoughts?

29. Like Vikings: NORSE.

30. Swarming pests: GNATS. 

31. Citi Field MLBer: NY MET. From Major League Baseball's New York Metropolitan Baseball Club.

35. Leaves unnoticed: SNEAKS OFF.

36. Dagger handle: HILT.

37. Wheelbarrow part: AXLE.

39. Dashiell contemporary: ERLE. Dashiell Hammett and ERLE Stanley Gardner both wrote hard-boiled crime novels. They were egg-cellent.

41. Twirled: SPUN.

44. Pesto option: PARSLEY.

46. Marriage partners: SPOUSES.

49. Folded fare: TACO.

50. Word of warning: DON'T.

51. Musical endings: CODAS.

52. One-named singer whose surname is Adkins: ADELE. 

Who's your Grammy?

53. Theater showing: MOVIE.

57. NYSE investment opportunities: IPOS. An Initial Public Offering from the New York Stock Exchange.

58. "Whatever": FINE.

59. Highlander of ancient Peru: INCA. Highlander of ancient Loch: NESS.

61. Cleveland's lake: ERIE. Speaking of lakes, they never ask about the other Cleveland area lakes, like Wallace, Coe or Shaker Lakes. 

62. Brontë governess: EYRE. Jane EYRE from the novel by Charlotte Brontë.

64. Frame : bowling :: __ : curling: END. And a split END may result from curling.

65. Tear down to the studs: GUT.

Be good. RB

Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Yijing Chen

 

POLES APART

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap of a polarizing puzzle by Yijing Chen who, apparently, had an L A Times crossword debut roughly one month ago.  Like it or not we may not reach agreement on this one.  In fact, we may end up POLES APART.  "What kind of poles?", I hear you ask.  Well, it could have been TOTEM POLES, or TEN-FOOT POLES, or fishing POLES, or Power POLES, or POLE Dancing or the POLE POSITION, or even someone from Warsaw.  However, our constructor elected to go in other directions.  Perhaps a POLL was taken.  Perhaps not.  In any event, let's start with the two-part reveal:

35 Across:  With 39-Across, diametrically opposed, or what this puzzle's sets of circled letters are: POLES.

39 Across:  See 35-Across: APART.

At four places in the grid our constructor has assembled types of POLES by combining letters that are APART in the answers to the themed-clues.  Those four places are:

20 Across:  Cinematic cultural phenomenon in the summer of 2023: BARBENHEIMER.  BARBER POLE.  The answer, here, refers to the phenomenon when two motion pictures, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer", were very popular simultaneously in 2023.

29 Across:  Abolitionist known for her "Ain't I a Woman" speech: SOJOURNER TRUTH.  SOUTH POLE.  All you might wish to know:  Sojourner Truth

44 Across:  Literary movement that included Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg: BEAT GENERATION.  BEAN POLE.  The answer, here, refers to two well-known poets of the 1950's.

54 Across:  Micronutrient such as zinc or iodine: TRACE ELEMENT.  TENT POLE.   Humans require just a little bit, or TRACE, of those elements in their diets.

This is how it all looks in the grid with those often-polarizing circles, no less:

.... and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Be starstruck: GAWK.

5. Oft-pickled pod: OKRA.  I have a friend always baits her hooks with OKRA when fly fishing...She's really into podcasting!

9. Check for freshness: SNIFF.  Does it pass the smell test?

14. Actor Clive: OWEN.

15. Eclipse body: MOON.  Earth's MOON is involved in both a solar and a lunar eclipse.

16. Voice above baritone: TENOR.

17. The Fates, e.g.: TRIO.  In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai—often known in English as the Fates—were the personifications of destiny. In certain accounts, they were considered as three sisters: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, though their number and names varied over time. 

18. Game played "with my little eye": I SPY.  Usually played in a car on a road trip.

19. Hoarse: RASPY.

23. Since Jan. 1: YTD.  Year To Date

24. Misery: WOE.  Relationship WOEs...

I was dating a radiographer. She was a lovely girl, but we broke up recently. 

I was lying and she saw right through me.

Still, at least she knew my heart was in the right place.

25. Toward sunrise, on an equinox: DUE EAST.

32. Green-lights: OKS.  Okay?

33. Winery wood: OAK.  It turns out that the barrels that wines and spirits are aged in have a whole lot to do with the flavor of the finished product.

34. Narrow inlet: RIA.  A word more often used in crossword puzzles than IRL.

38. Cal. divisions: MOS.  CALendar / MOnthS

41. Purple yam: UBE.

42. Vehicle that can really move?: VAN.  Nice (not the city in France) wordplay.  A moving VAN.

43. Hurdle for M.A. hopefuls: GRE.  Graduate Record Examination

50. Some Middle Easterners: SYRIANS.  Several to choose from.

51. Yalie: ELI.  A frequent class of visitor.

52. Numeral associated with "The Force Awakens": VII.

This solver is looking forward to the Mel Brooks version:

May the Schwartz be with you.

57. __ powder: CHILI.

60. Hot rod's rod: AXLE.  A double automotive reference.

61. Geometric calculation: AREA.

62. Bamboozles: DUPES.  Used, here, as a verb.

63. Academic reviewer, often: PEER.  Not used, here, as a verb.

64. Vermeer's "__ With a Pearl Earring": GIRL.

1665

65. Runaway hit: SMASH.

66. Small vortex: EDDY.

67. Site for artisans: ETSY.  A web site frequently visited in our puzzles.

Down:

1. Eked out a living: GOT BY.  A nice role reversal.  Often we get EKED as an answer clued in various ways.

2. "Fiddlesticks!": AW RATS.  So many possible combinations involving AW, oh, ah, darn, dang, RATS . . . among several others.  Thanks, perps.

3. Odd duck: WEIRDO.  Speaking of ducks and WEIRD . . .

4. Radio dial: KNOB.

5. Portending danger: OMINOUS.  What do you call a guy doing ominous Latin chanting?  Greg or Ian.

6. Acceptable, casually: KOSHER.

7. Line that might get tied up: ROPE.  Not a telephone reference.  A clue meant to be taken quite literally.

8. "What do you think?": ANY IDEAS.

9. F1 circuit type: STREET.  An automobile racing reference.

10. More warm, in a way: NEARER.  Idiomatic.  As in "You're getting warmer."

11. Useful connections: INS.

12. Dandy: FOP.

13. Cook, as pot stickers: FRY.  

21. Endor inhabitants: EWOKS.   Do EWOKS defecate in the woods?  No, they have Endor plumbing.

22. Gloom: MURK.

26. Spiritual glow: AURA.  All of the psychics got this one.

27. Hullabaloo: STIR.  Not a reference to the old TV show.

28. "Fine, be like __!": THAT.

30. Average __: JOE.  Sometimes clued with a coffee reference.

31. Who lives in a ghost town?: NO ONE.

35. Trivia night spots: PUBS.

36. Heed: OBEY.

37. "O, that way madness lies" king: LEAR.

38. Use Beard Club products, perhaps: MANSCAPE.  MANSCAPE 

refers to the trimming or shaving of a man's body hair to enhance his appearance. It typically involves grooming areas such as the chest, back, and groin for a neat and polished look.

39. "Glee" teen played by Kevin McHale: ARTIE.  A reference to the TV show.

40. Smallest Canadian prov.: PEI.  Prince Edward Island

Eastern Canadian Provinces

42. __ cava: VENA.  The VENA CAVA is one of two venae cavae.  They are two large veins that return deoxygenated blood to the heart from the human body.

43. Drawing room?: GALLERY.  Another clue meant to be taken literally.  A place where one would find drawings.

45. Mr. and Mrs.: TITLES.  From the specific to the general.  The clue could have been a couple of hundreds of things.

46. Like some Christmas sweaters: GARISH.   Excessively bright or showy.  Ugly was too short. 

47. Had trouble moving steadily: REELED.

48. Ready to move on: OVER IT.  As in "I am so OVER IT !"

49. SF NFLers: NINERS.

53. 2026 Olympics host: ITALY.  This type of clue is easier to figure out now that the summer and winter games are not held in the same year.

55. Crossed (out): EXED.

56. Final Fantasy spellcaster: MAGE.  Final Fantasy was an unknown reference to this solver but various mystical-related stuff was not and MAGE is often found in other contexts.

From Wikipedia, "Final Fantasy is mostly an anthology series with primary installments being standalone role-playing games, each with different settings, plots and main characters, but the franchise is linked by several recurring elements, including game mechanics and recurring character names."

57. Jewel case items: CDS.  Those clear, square cases that the Compact DiscS are stored in are often referenced in our puzzles.  A bit of misdirection if a solver first thinks of forms of jewelry.

58. Sound of a running fridge: HUM.

59. Hoppy brew, for short: IPA.  India Pale Ale originated in the 18th century when British Brewers created a hoppy ale that could survive the long sea voyage to India.

Well, that will wrap things up for today.  If there was any snow left, this marine mammal would grab his favorite type of POLES.  

M M Out

Tuesday April 28, 2026 Robert E L Morris

A Little Dab Will Do You!  Today we have a puzzle filled with homophones.  The last word or syllable of each theme has the same sound.

17-Across. Total left to pay: BALANCE DUE.

26-Across.  Farmer's wake-up call: COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO.

45-Across. "Any suggestions for my next move?": WHAT AM I GONNA DO?

59-Across. Water on the grass at dawn: MORNING DEW.

Here's the Grid:

How will we DO with the rest of the puzzle?

Across:

1. Minty cocktail associated with the Kentucky Derby: JULEP.  Yummers!

6. FedEx competitor: UPS.  Both companies have been delivering packages to the wrong addresses.  I get daily notices on NextNeighbor from people trying to locate a package that has been misplaced.  

9. No longer happening: PAST.

13. Pioneering gaming company: ATARI.  Atari has been in the gaming business since 1972!

14. The two of them: BOTH.

16. Palo __, California: ALTO.

19. Decisive victory: ROUT.  The largest rout in college football took place in 1916 when Georgia Tech beat Cumberland University in a score of 222 to Zero.  John Heisman, later honored by having a trophy named after him, was the coach of Georgia Tech.

20. __ Na Na: SHA.  Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll and doo-wop revival group formed in the late 1960s.

21. Rower's blade: OAR.

22. Anxious fellow in the maternity ward: DAD-TO-BE.

24. James Bond creator Fleming: IAN.  In addition to writing the James Bond series, Ian Fleming (né Ian Lancaster Fleming; May 28, 1908 ~ Aug. 12, 1964)  also wrote children's book, notably Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

25. Mineral in hemoglobin: IRON.

33. Weighty volume: TOME.

34. Golf course standard: PAR.

35. Sends sprawling: TRIPS.

36. Color wheel segment: HUE.

37. Stirs memories in: REMINDS.

40. To the __ degree: NTH.

41. Athlete from College Station, Texas, familiarly: AGGIE.  The school was founded in 1871 and opened in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, hence the A&M in its name.  Texas A&M was the state's first public institution of higher education.  It was established under the Morrill Land-Grant Act. It began as an all-male military academy, then evolved into a major research university.  In the 1960s, the school began admitting women and minorities.  In 1963, the name officially became Texas A&M University.

43. Wedding announcement word: NÉE.  We see this French word often in the puzzles.

44. Anti-fur gp.: PETA.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

49. Slender: SLIM.

50. Early ISP: AOL.  America On Line.

51. Infuriated: MADE MAD.

54. PC key on either side of the space bar: ALT.

55. Angst-filled musical genre: EMO.

58. Region: AREA.

62. Fibs: LIES.

63. Victorious cry: I WIN!

64. Deliver a speech: ORATE.

65. Gentle whirlpool: EDDY.

66. Hoops org.: NBA.  The National Basketball Association has been around since 1947.

67. Louisa May Alcott's "Little __": WOMEN.  Little Women is the 1869 novel by Louisa May Alcott.  It was based on Alcott's live and follows the lives of the four March sisters ~ Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy~ as they grow from childhood to womanhood during the American Civil War.

Down:

1. Quick punches: JABS.

2. Arches National Park state: UTAH.  Arches National Park was established to protect over 2,000 natural sandstone arches,  It was originally designated as a National Monument in 1929 before it became a National Park in 1971.

3. "__ Land": Emma Stone/Ryan Gosling musical film: LA LA.  La La Land is a movie that starred Ryan Gosling (b. Nov. 12, 1980) and Emma Stone (b. Nov. 6, 1988) as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.

4. Chapter in history: ERA.

5. Acorn producer with a pyramid-shaped crown: PIN OAK.  A Pin Oak is a fast-growing, deciduous tree in the red oak family known for its distinctive pyramidal shape, drooping lower branches, and tolerance for wet, heavy soils.  Native to the eastern and central US, it is popular in landscaping for its russet-red fall color, though it requires acidic soil to prevent yellowing.

6. Taxi alternative: UBER.

7. Group of whales: POD.

8. Recording venue: STUDIO.

9. Significant other: PARTNER.

10. __ gobi: vegetarian curry dish: ALOO.  Aloo gobi is a flavorful Indian curry made from potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi) cooked with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a blend of aromatic spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander. It is generally served over a bed of rice.  The key to a good aloo gobi is cooking the potatoes and cauliflower to a tender consistency, which means adding them at different stages or cooking them separately before combining. 

11. Ticket remnant: STUB.  Most of my tickets are now electronic, so I no longer have ticket stub souvenirs.

12. Lug (around): TOTE.

15. Gathered through the grapevine: HEARD.

18. Party snack: CANAPÉ.  Yummers!

23. Dunderheads: DOLTS.

24. Raw bar surface: ICE.

26. Cold symptom: COUGH.

27. Final Greek letter: OMEGA.  It's all Greek to me.

28. Beaver construction: DAM.

29. Round rubber gasket: O-RING.  Sadly, the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was caused by the failure of rubber O-ring seals in the right Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), which became brittle and failed to seal in cold temperatures

30. Enjoyed an elegant supper: DINED.

31. Decide one will: OPT TO.

32. Workplace std. setter: OSHA.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration often finds it way into the puzzles.  

33. Melt: THAW.

37. Dominion: REALM.

38. "The Matrix" protagonist: NEO.  Neo was portrayed by Keanu Charles Reeves (b. Sept. 2, 1964).

39. Alaska national park with the tallest peak in North America: DENALI.  So beautiful and majestic.

42. "Piece of cake": IT'S EASY.

44. Friend: PAL.

46. Florida setting of some Carl Hiaasen novels: MIAMI.  Carl Hiassen (b. Mar. 12, 1953) is a Floridian journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and in his spare time he began writing novels.  His novels are humorous crime stories.  I haven't read any of books, but I did watch his adapted-for-television show Bad Monkey.

47. "Works for me": I'M DOWN.

48. "Maybe later": NOT NOW.

51. Like tomcats: MALE.

52. Bone-dry: ARID.

53. Monopoly card: DEED.

54. Actress Kendrick: ANNA.  Anna Cooke Kendrick (b. Aug. 9, 1985) is known for her comedic timing and endearing characters in musicals and comedies.

55. Mild Dutch cheese: EDAM.  Yummers!  Edam is a semi-hard Dutch cheese traditionally sold in spheres with a red wax rind.

56. Dole (out): METE.

57. Wilson of "Stick": OWEN.  Owen Wilson (b. Nov. 18, 1958) is also known for his comedic roles in movies and television.  In Stick, Wilson portrayed a has-been golf pro.

60. Part of a celery stalk: RIB.  It's the chewy part of the celery.

61. Miracle-__: garden brand: GRO.

I'm sure you all DID well on today's puzzle.

חתולה