Monday, October 19, 2026, Jackson Musker

Theme:  ABCs of ambulation.

Jackson Musker

In the last two months, Jackson Musker has published crossword puzzles in the Wall Street Journal and Universal Crossword.  Today marks his debut in the Los Angeles Times.  Congratulations, Jackson!  You are on a roll!  If you, dear reader, listen to public radio in Los Angeles, you may remember Jackson as a reporter on KPCC's Off-Ramp, or perhaps you enjoyed The Dinner Party Download, which Jackson produced for American Public Media.  For updates on his audio career, see jacksonmusker.com.  For more about today's puzzle, keep reading!

The theme clues and answers are:

18-Across. Enjoy a prime position: SIT PRETTY.  The idiom "sitting pretty" means being in a favorable, comfortable, or financially secure position.

23-Across. Cramped areas under some houses: CRAWL SPACES.  A crawl space is an unfinished, narrow space between the earth and the bottom floor of a building, typically measuring about 1 to 4 feet in height.  Very common here in Los Angeles, where basements are rare.

36-Across. Ben E. King hit that begins "When the night has come / And the land is dark": STAND BY ME.  Released in 1961, this song became a hit again in 1986 when it was used in Rob Reiner's movie of the same name, based on a Stephen King novel called "The Body."

51-Across. Biopic about Johnny Cash and June Carter: WALK THE LINE.  The 2005 movie stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

57-Across. Slow-but-steady progress, or the progression found at the starts of 18-, 23-, 36-, and 51-Across: BABY STEPS.  Aha!  SIT, CRAWL, STAND, and WALK are stages in a baby's development.  Our one-year-old grandson has completed the first three steps, but does not yet walk unsupported.  That's okay.  Baby steps!

Across:

1. Weeper's output: TEARS.

6. Aid and __: help on a heist: ABET.

10. Miles away: AFAR.

14. Planetary path: ORBIT.

15. Puzzle cube creator Rubik: ERNŐ.  Ernő Rubik is a Hungarian architect known for creating the Rubik's Cube (1974).

Have you ever unscrambled one?

16. Tiny, in tech: NANO.  A nanometer is one billionth of a meter.  Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension measuring between 1 to 100 nanometers.  There are 25,400,000 nanometers in 1 inch.

17. Long-lived desert plants: CACTI.

18. [Theme clue]

20. Ration out: ALLOT.

22. "America's Got Talent" judge Mandel: HOWIE.  Howie Mandel is a Canadian comedian, film and television actor, and producer. He voiced Gizmo in the Gremlins films; played an ER doctor on NBC's St. Elsewhere; is a judge on America's Got Talent; and hosts The Price is Right Tonight in Canada.

Howie Mandel through the ages

23. [Theme clue]

27. African antelope: GNU.

29. Turned down: DENIED.

30. Sci-fi blasters: RAY GUNS.

32. Grill briquettes: COALS.

33. Ukraine's capital: KYIV.

35. Be a bookworm: READ.

36. [Theme clue]

39. Danish shoe company: ECCO.  ECCO has been making shoes since 1963, and opened its first retail store in 1982.  The brand owns leather tanneries in the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia and China.  ECCO shoes are sold in 101 countries.  Their reputation is for comfort and durability.

ECCO Men's Nubuck Lace-Up Sneaker

42. Soft throw: TOSS.

43. Solemn promises: OATHS.

47. Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York: CORNELL.

49. Extremists: ULTRAS.

50. Classic Pontiac muscle car: GTO.  The Pontiac GTO started the trend for "muscle cars" in the 1960s.  Muscle cars are two-door, four passenger cars with powerful engines.

1966 Pontiac GTO

51. [Theme clue]

54. Many a middle schooler: TWEEN.  BeTWEEN childhood and the TEENage years are the TWEEN years -- roughly ages 9 to 12.

56. Actress Tyler who voices Lana Kane on "Archer": AISHA.  Aisha Tyler is an American actress, talk show host and director. She played Andrea Marino in the first season of Ghost Whisperer, Dr. Tara Lewis in Criminal Minds, Mother Nature in the final two The Santa Clause films, and voiced Lana Kane in Archer. She also had recurring roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Friends.

Aisha Tyler

57. [Theme clue]

59. Swedish stores with flatpack furniture: IKEAS.

63. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.

64. Stratford's river: AVON.  William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, lived there with his wife and children, and is buried there in Holy Trinity Church.  

NaomiZ-upon-Avon last month

65. Release: LET GO.

66. "A __ formality": MERE.

67. Colorful amphibian: NEWT.

68. Future JDs' exams: LSATS.  Law School Admission Tests are required of those seeking Juris Doctor degrees.

Down:

1. List of chapters at the front of a book: Abbr.: TOC.  Table Of Contents.

2. Chapter in history: ERA.

3. Alphabet starter: ABC.

4. Actress and philanthropist who has co-produced films with Tom Hanks: RITA WILSON.  Margarita Wilson Hanks is an actress, singer, and producer with a long list of credits.  With her husband, actor Tom Hanks, she supports women's cancer research, among other charities.  They also support the Shakespeare Center of Los Angles.  Bet they've been to Stratford-upon-Avon!

Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks

5. Most calm: STILLEST.  WordHippo.com says that other words for STILLEST include peacefullest, tanquilest, placidest, and silentest.  None of these sound good to me.

6. Greek fable writer: AESOP.

7. Water filter brand: BRITA.  I gave up using Brita pitchers years ago because they developed molds that were impossible to remove, and had to be replaced regularly.  It turns out that a Brita pitcher filter does not remove most of what can make water unsafe, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, arsenic, nitrate, fluoride, and dissolved solids.  If you can afford to install a reverse osmosis system, it does a much better job.  Activated charcoal filters and water softeners are also superior to Brita.

8. Sinus MD: ENT.  ENT stands for ear, nose, and throat. It refers to a medical specialist who treats conditions in these areas

9. Likely to tip over: TOP HEAVY.

10. Over again: ANEW.

11. Exhaustion: FATIGUE.

12. Insect's feeler: ANTENNA.

13. "You Got It" singer Orbison: ROY.  Roy Orbison (1936-1988) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist known for his powerful voice and emotional ballads. He was popular in the early 1960s and again in the late 1980s when he performed as a member of the Traveling Wilburys:  Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty.  What a group they made!  Here's Roy Orbison, solo, performing "You Got It."

19. Pink, as cheeks: ROSY.

21. Psychedelics study subj.: LSD.  LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide), commonly known as acid, is a hallucinogenic drug derived from ergot, a type of fungus.  Psychedelics are powerful psychoactive substances that alter perception and mood and affect cognitive processes.  They are generally considered physiologically safe and do not lead to dependence or addiction.  They may lead to countercultural revolutions, though!

As a TWEEN in the 1960s, I was concerned that being a young adult
would involve dropping acid regularly and having sex with random people.

23. Public health agcy.: CDC.  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

24. __ Speedwagon: REO.  REO Speedwagon -- named for a brand of truck -- was an American rock band formed in Illinois in 1967. The band had great success throughout the 1980s. Their best-selling album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than 10 million copies.  Take a listen to "Can't Fight This Feeling."

25. "Knives Out" actress de Armas: ANA.  Ana de Armas grew up in Cuba, moved to Spain, and then moved to Los Angeles, playing leading film and TV roles along the way.  She was the holographic AI Joi in Blade Runner 2049 (2017), nurse Marta Cabrera in the mystery film Knives Out (2019), Paloma in the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021) and Marilyn Monroe in Blonde (2022), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.  

Ana de Armas

26. Nursery beds: CRIBS.

28. Amer. currency: USD.  United States dollar.

31. North American quintet depicted on the Michigan quarter: GREAT LAKES.

This Michigan quarter was "colorized" by a private company
after issuance by the U.S. Mint. 

33. Grassy mound: KNOLL.

34. Gridiron figs.: YDS.  American football fields are called "gridirons" and are measured in YarDS.

37. Many a fan of the Hawks and the Dream: ATLANTAN.  The Atlanta Dream are a women's team in the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Atlanta Hawks are a men's team in the National Basketball Association.  Makes sense that an Atlantan would cheer them on.

38. Bump that indicates a lawn infestation: MOLEHILL.  If your lawn is full of adorable furry mammals, can you really call it an infestation?

Cute!

39. Heartbeat check, for short: ECG.  Electrocardiogram.

40. Humble home: COTTAGE.

41. Prying tool: CROWBAR.

44. Uni- + bi-: TRI.

45. Chewie's co-pilot: HAN.  Chewbacca and Han Solo are characters in the Star Wars films.

Chewie and Han

46. NNW reversal: SSE.  Opposite points of a compass.

48. Meadow moms: EWES.  Mama sheep.

49. Syllables of uncertainty: UHS.  I tried UMS first.

52. Punch sound: KAPOW.

53. Naysayer's quaint contraction: 'TISN'T.  An old fashioned way of saying "it isn't."

55. Charlotte Brontë's "Jane __": EYRE.  Jane Eyre is the title of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel, and the name of its heroine.

57. Punch sound: BAM.

58. Night before: EVE.

60. Due-in hr.: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival.

61. Writer's rep: AGT.  A writer's representative is her agent.

62. Distress letters: SOS.  SOS is a Morse code distress signal ( ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ) designed for ease of use and recognition. SOS did not represent any words when first used.  Later, backronyms were created for it in popular usage, and SOS became associated with phrases such as "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship." 

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Did any part of today's puzzle bring you to TEARS?  Were you DENIED the coveted FIR (Finished It Right)?

Or was it just BAM, KAPOW, done?

We always look forward to your comments.

-- NaomiZ