Saturday, April 4, 2026, Matthew Luter

Saturday Themeless. by Matthew Luter

Dr. Matthew Luter is a writer and teacher in Jackson, MS. Originally from Laurel, MS, he is an alumnus of Millsaps College and of the University of North Carolina. He teaches courses in American literature at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

I got a great toehold in the NE, flew through the SE and then the SW and then the NW proved to be a swamp for this solver but I availed myself of a little help and got 'er done. Missing 1 Across for this NASA educator was a tough pill to swallow. There were some other fills in the NE that defeated me - MATT?, that Sister, RSS FEED? CLIOS as clued, A PLUS PLUS just seemed like green paint and that deodorant, really?. Yeah, I know, "It's a game not a test!!"

Across:

1. National Air and Space Museum relic: MOON ROCK - Houston, I had a problem, even with most of the letters filled. I went through all the vehicles I could think of but came up empty.

               

9. Coastal landmark: PIER.

13. "Better than perfect!": A PLUS PLUS - 🤨 I remember Mrs. Thomsen telling us sophomores that nothing can be better than perfect and I agree. Other non-comparable adjectives - Unique, Flawless, Ultimate...

15. Top spot: ACME.

16. 1990s deodorant brand whose name inspired a Nirvana song: TEEN SPIRIT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ain't no way.

18. Harvest: REAP.

19. Cardinal pts.?: TDS - The Arizona Cardinals of the NFL not compass points. 😀

20. Helper in a Cinderella story: FOOTMAN.

22. Game cube: DIE.

23. Detective Monaghan in Laura Lippman novels: TESS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

24. Target that may have chalk marks: CUE BALL 😀

26. "Seconded": I AGREE.

29. Tam pattern: TARTAN.

30. Short strings?: STRAD - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ My learned Lincoln friend Dr. Fred Ohles told me, STRAD is a common shortening among musicians for violins and violas made in Italy between about 1670 and 1730 by Antonio Stradivari and other members of his family. Highly prized, more than 600 of them are still being played today. 

31. Part of a security check: VIRUS SCAN.

34. Tabloid duo: ITEM.

35. Sunders: RENDS - The more familiar use of that word is, "What God hath joined together, Let no man put asunder."

36. Extremely dry: SERE.

37. Crunchy legumes: SNAP BEANS.

39. "The Sound of Music" heroine: MARIA - A 4. Sister: NUN of whom the other sisters sang "How do you solve a problem like MARIA?"

40. With no sense of urgency: SLOWLY.

41. Seiko brand: PULSAR - PULSAR is not the same brand as Seiko, but they are closely related as Pulsar is a subsidiary brand owned and produced by Seiko Watch Corporation. 

42. Future maple syrup: TREE SAP.

44. Symbol on a staff: NOTE.

45. Call the shots?: REF.

46. Maker of Scribble Scrubbie Pets products: CRAYOLA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. Low digit: ONE.

51. O'Keeffe flower: IRIS.

53. Water park?: DROP ANCHOR 😀 - Loved this one!

55. Remedy: CURE.

56. Final novel of Willa Cather's "Prairie" trilogy: MY ANTONIA - Nebraska's most famous author

57. Joint with crossed cruciate ligaments: KNEE.

58. "The Great Gatsby" term of endearment: OLD SPORT - Leo DiCaprio uses the phrase 55 times in the movie.

Down: 

1. Actor Bomer: MATT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Due to his uncanny resemblance, MATT was selected to play Montgomery Clift in an HBO biopic but it was never made.

2. Page full of takes: OP-ED 😀 All right, this was really fun once I saw it was about the takes various people have on topics. 

3. La Liga cheers: OLES - La Liga translates to The League in Spain which has 20 soccer teams.

5. Source of some updates: RSS FEED ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format that allows users to automatically receive updates from websites, blogs, and podcasts without visiting each site individually

. You're welcome.

6. Antagonize: OPPOSE.

7. Perks of big promotions, maybe?: CLIOS - A CLIO Award is the perk for big ads or promotions.

8. Cobain of Nirvana: KURT.

9. Course standard: PAR.

10. Winter Olympics pairs: ICE DANCERS.

11. "Inbox zero" obstacle: E-MAIL - More if you must know

12. Ward off: REPEL.

14. Some chip holders: SIM CARDS - Where we frequently encounter them

17. Sign of spring: TAURUS - It appears CROCUS was wrong.

21. Clears: NETS.

23. Stomp all over: TRAMPLE -  No aliens necessary for crop circles. 

25. Beer whose logo was the U.K.'s first registered trademark: BASS ALE - 1876

26. Goddess of the Great Ennead: ISIS - If you must know...

27. Abbr. on a memo: ATTN.

28. Serious cooking mishap: GREASE FIRE - Don't use water to extinguish it!

29. Like cheap speakers: TINNY.

31. Italian entree, familiarly: VEAL PARM.

32. Covent Garden solo: ARIA - 

The Royal Opera House is located on 

Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD

33. At hand: NEAR.

35. Poster heading: REWARD - The territory of New Mexico paid Sheriff Pat Garrett the bounty for killing William Bonney.

38. Pear variety: BOSC.

39. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters attendees: MUTANTS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

 is a fictional, private educational institution in the Marvel universe founded by Professor Charles Xavier to train young mutants to control their powers and live in harmony with humans. You're welcome.

41. Marie Curie's homeland: POLAND.

42. Take in: TRICK.

43. Many an episode on MeTV: RERUN - Desi Arnaz insisted I Love Lucy use 35mm film instead of using crude kinescopes so the episodes could be rerun.

44. Pad in Mexican cuisine: NOPAL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

47. Ma who founded the arts organization Silkroad: YOYO.

48. "This can't be good!": OH NO - Mr. Bill and his catchphrase first appeared on SNL 50 years ago

49. Cain genre: NOIR ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  His novels became the source for many film NOIRS.

50. Basic Latin verb: ERAT - We often see "Quod ERAT demonstrandum." (Which was to be demonstrated). 

52. Last word of the first verse of "Amazing Grace": SEE - ...was blind but now I SEE

54. Procedural figure: COP - 

A 

police procedural is a sub-genre of crime fiction focusing on realistic, team-based investigations—including detectives, forensics, and patrol officers—rather than a single hero.