Monday, August 3, 2026, Matthew Luter

Theme:  Spine tingling stuff!

Matthew Luter

Dr. Matthew Luter researches, writes, and teaches about American literature in Jackson, Mississippi.  He's published a slew of crossword puzzles in all the right places over the last five years, and he posts a new one on his website every Tuesday, so if you enjoyed today's puzzle, check this out tomorrow:  matthewluter.com/crosswords.

Today's puzzle features four theme entries in symmetrically placed rows, with two entries spanning the grid from side to side, and two others that each fall just one space short of a complete span.  A pleasure to behold!  The theme is revealed here:

50-Across. Bravely stand one's ground, or what 19-, 24-, and 45-Across typically do?: SHOW SOME SPINE.  "Show some spine" means to act with courage or determination.  The other theme answers show some spine more literally.

19-Across. Long-lived plant native to the Sonoran Desert: SAGUARO CACTUS.  Cactus spines are modified leaves that deter animals from eating the plant, provide shade to the plant, and gather moisture from fog.  Like other varieties of cactus, the Saguaro will always show some spine.

My mother took this photo of Saguaro flowers in Carefree, AZ.

24-Across. Places for books that may be borrowed: LIBRARY SHELVES.  As a former librarian, this entry is dear to my heart.  The spine of a book is the edge where the pages are gathered and attached to the cover.  In the library, we typically attach a call number label to the spine.  Author and title information usually appears on the spine as well.  Although there is a (stupid) decor trend to shelve books with the spines facing the wall, on LIBRARY SHELVES we always show some spine.

45-Across. Anatomical structure that includes bones and joints: SKELETAL SYSTEM.  The human skeletal system is the body's support structure, and includes the skeleton, connective tissue, and muscles.  The axial skeleton includes the bones of the skull, spine, and ribs.  The appendicular skeleton includes the bones of the arms and legs.  Just by standing, you show some spine.  And if you bend forward, we can see it clearly through the skin on your back.

Another way to SHOW SOME SPINE.

This was a spine-tingling start!  Let's see if the rest of the puzzle maintains the excitement.

Across:

1. Collaboratively managed website: WIKI.  Wikipedia says:  "A wiki is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser.  A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or any organization.  The name derives from the first user-editable website called WikiWikiWeb – wiki being a Hawaiian word meaning 'quick'."

5. Responded in court: PLED.

9. Big serving of cake: SLAB.  Apparently, rectangular sheet cakes are now being called "slab cakes," but this clue uses "slab of cake" the way I do, meaning a great, big slice.

This dainty slice is not a SLAB.  More, please!

13. Vows exchanged with rings: I DOS.  Wedding vows.

14. Ireland, to the Irish: EIRE.

15. Novelist Vonnegut: KURT.  Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was the author of fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five works of non-fiction.  The novels include Cat's Cradle (1963) and Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).  

Kurt Vonnegut

16. Hamilton bills: TENS.  Alexander Hamilton was the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.  TEN years ago, the Treasury announced plans to replace his image with a woman's, but the popularity of the Broadway musical with his name helped save his spot on our currency.

17. Landed on a perch: ALIT.  When a bird comes to rest on a branch, it alights.  In the past, it alit.

18. Pet aisle brand: IAMS.  Created by animal nutritionist Paul Iams in 1946, the Iams brand was sold to Procter & Gamble in 1999.  P&G sold Iams to Mars, Inc. for all markets except Europe in 2014, and then sold the European business to Spectrum Brands later the same year.

I AM Such a good dog.

19. [Theme clue]

22. Young newt: EFT.  A newt begins life as an aquatic larva, moves on to the eft or terrestrial juvenile phase, and then returns to the water as an adult.

Eastern red-spotted eft

23. __ and paste: CUT.

24. [Theme clue]

32. Extra sports periods, briefly: OTS.  Overtimes.

33. "You __ what you sow": REAP.  Galatians 6:7, King James Version:  "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

34. Handed out playing cards: DEALT.

35. Clearance rack caveat: AS IS.

37. Prepare to publish: EDIT.

39. Curved line on a musical score: SLUR.  A slur is a musical notation indicating that the notes are to be played smoothly, without separation.

The curved line is a slur.

40. Internet access device: MODEM.

42. "__ Diary ... ": DEAR.

44. End of a college email address: EDU.

45. [Theme clue]

48. Lav: LOO.  Informal British terms for the toilet, or the room with a toilet.

49. Driving range prop: TEE.

50. [Theme clue]

57. Sweetheart: BEAU.

58. One with a superiority complex: SNOB.  Austrian physician and psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937) coined the terms "superiority complex" and "inferiority complex."  The superiority complex is a defense mechanism that helps a person cope with feelings of inferiority.  Are snobs not truly snobby?

59. Hammer, for one: TOOL.

60. Musical based on "La bohème": RENT.  Jonathan Larson’s 1996 rock musical Rent is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera La Bohème. Both works follow a group of impoverished young artists living in a cold space, dealing with fatal illnesses, trying to create art, and looking for love. 

61. Off-white hue: ECRU.

62. Woolly mamas: EWES.

63. Sportsbook figures: ODDS.  A sportsbook is a venue where a gambler can place bets on sporting events.  Most U.S. sportsbooks are in Nevada, but in 2018, a Supreme Court decision allowed all states to legalize sports betting if they so choose. Odds for various events are displayed on large boards.  The odds for the favored team (expected to win) are negative, indicating how much you need to bet to win $100. The odds for the underdog (expected to lose) will be positive, indicating how much you will win if you bet $100.

Looking at the odds boards in a Las Vegas sportsbook.

64. Monopoly card: DEED.  Deeds to property in the classic board game, Monopoly.

Monopoly is often a long and rancorous game.

65. Fairy __: TALE.

And now, what goes Across, must go ...

Down:

1. Comical wordsmiths: WITS.  We have some wonderful wits among the regular commenters here.

2. Brainstorming product: IDEA.

3. Hong __: KONG.

4. Credit card provider: ISSUER.

5. Partridge's place, in a Christmas song: PEAR TREE.  "A partridge in a pear tree" completes every verse of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

6. Disney's "__ & Stitch": LILO.  A 2002 Disney animated film, Lilo & Stitch was remade as a blended live action and animation film in 2025.

Lilo & Stitch -- the original

7. "Springsteen" country singer Church: ERIC.  Eric Church co-wrote and recorded a song called Springsteen, making Bruce Springsteen's music part of a memory evoked in the lyrics.  The 2012 release reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs.

8. Disconnect: DETACH.

9. Fruity candy brand: SKITTLES.

10. Party with poi: LUAU.  A traditional Hawaiian food made of steamed and pounded taro root.

taro root, shown with leaves of the taro plant

11. Sleeve fillers: ARMS.

12. K-pop band also known as the Bangtan Boys: BTS.  BTS is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010.  The young men co-write many of their own songs.  BTS stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates to "Bulletproof Boy Scouts."  Their rise through the pop charts has been meteoric.  Here they are performing on July 19th at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show in New Jersey:

20. Not at all close: AFAR.

21. Prompted, in a theater: CUED.

24. Fertile soils: LOAMS.  Loose, crumbly soil including sand, silt, clay, and rich organic matter.

25. "There, there": IT'S OK.

26. Back of a hit 45 record: B-SIDE.  Remember vinyl records?  Seven-inch 45 RPM records used to have the hoped-for hit single on the A-side, and another song thrown in on the B-side.

27. When repeated, "You know the rest": YADDA.  This expression was popularized by the 153rd episode of Seinfeld, in which George's new girlfriend said "yada yada yada" to shorten her stories.  That episode was titled "The Yada Yada."  YADDA is an alternate, less used spelling,

28. Sales pitch: SPIEL.

29. Parking attendant: VALET.

30. Dodge: ELUDE.

31. Play a ukulele: STRUM.

36. Performances with no empty seats: SELLOUTS.

38. Sensory receptor on a tongue: TASTE BUD.  Taste buds are cell clusters found around the little bumps on the tongue and elsewhere in the mouth.  They detect saltiness, sourness, bitterness, sweetness and savoriness.  A human being has thousands of taste buds at any given point in time, but each one only lives for about 10 days.  Give them a treat during that short window of time!

41. Cat's noise: MEOW.

43. Deli loaves that may be seeded or marbled: RYES.

46. Threw away: TOSSED.

47. 12-Down, e.g.: SEPTET.  Yes, BTS is a septet.

BTS:  count 'em!

50. __ money: startup funds: SEED.  Seed money is the initial capital used to launch a new business or project.  The term was first used in the1950s.  It loosely references the money a new farmer would need for seeds.

51. Appendage often traced to draw a turkey in art class: HAND.  A classic Thanksgiving project in elementary school.

52. Not often, but not never: ONCE.

53. "What __ can I say?": MORE.

54. Des Moines locale: IOWA.  DH has a brother there.  Buried under snow in the winter, Des Moines is startlingly green in the spring.

55. Christmas carol: NOEL.

56. "What __ can I say?": ELSE.

57. Sis's playmate: BRO.  Sis is short for sister; bro is short for brother.  Play nice, you two.

Here's the grid:

DEAR Solvers,

Did any of today's answers ELUDE you?  ONCE?  MORE?  IT'S OK!

Perhaps you gathered your WITS and FIR (Finished It Right).

Tell your TALE in the comments section below!  ("I started off right at 1-Across, YADDA YADDA ...")

-- NaomiZ