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. 

Friday, Apr 3rd, 2026 ~ Kyle Dolan

 GO TEAM

"Run Away~!" "Take off~!" "Beat It~!"

Crossword constructor Kyle Dolan frequently appears on Saturday; based on my research, this is his first Friday for the LA Times - all he needs now is a Thursday puzzle, and he gets the "EGOT" of grid making - yay~! ( see 36D. ).  I have mixed feelings about today's offering; the theme is quite fresh and felt Friday-level, five phrases redefined as 'names' for a "collection" of other similar-use phrases, but was dismayed with a triple Natick in the vicinty of Minnesota ( but not Cedar Rapids ); two names dropping off an answer with a semi-vague clue; can't win 'em all, I guess.  Standard grid, no circles, just 11 3LWs, two handfuls of names, two Wines, two Whiskeys.  The themers;  

17. "Pay attention," "Listen up," and "Eyes on the prize": FOCUS GROUP - "Focus~!" group of phrases

24. "Unbelievable!," "That's crazy!," and "What a coincidence!": WILD BUNCH - "Wild~!" bunch of synonymous words/phrases

38. "Gee whiz!," "Golly!," and "Holy cow!": BOY BAND - "Boy~!" band of words/phrases

49. "Sleep tight," "Sweet dreams," and "Don't let the bedbugs bite": NIGHT CREW - "(g)'night." crew of phrases

61. "Check this out," "I'll demonstrate," and "Eyes on me": WATCH PARTY - "Watch~!" party - the only one that I was not familiar with; the standard definition of "watch party" is 'friends who get together' to view, say, the Super Bowl

Don't "Hit the Road", There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. Have a sudden inspiration?: [ GASP ] - , the "inhale" meaning of inspire, plus sudden = sharply

5. Less cockamamie: SANER - Meh.  TAMER, SAFER~? - this is the "structure" of most of the words I have ever missed solving the Wordle - the "_ vowel _ E - R" type, where I simply run out of guesses; there are hundreds of words that fit.  If my first five-letter guess doesn't give me anything, I immediately fill in "_ vowel _ E - R" for the maximum # of attempts

10. Hydropower sources: DAMS

14. "__, sing America": Hughes: "I TOO" - "I had" no poetic clue, filled via perps; name #1

15. Scent: AROMA

16. Rapper who plays Fin on "Law & Order: SVU": ICE-T - short for Odafin, name #2

19. Whiskey mixer: SODA - whiskey #1 - could have been CoLa - SODA was a good WAG on my part, as cola was the go-to choice ( usually diet ) for the Happy Hour crew when I worked at the night club/band bar Casanova's in Cincinnati, OH

20. Place for post-debate interviews: SPIN ROOM - makes sense after it filled, via perps, but then I went looking for some info, and realized it could be this kind of "Spin" room

21. Bug experts, for short: IT PROS - Information Technology professionals, e.g., "Geek Squad"

23. Work in a cast: ACT - work in a cast . . .

26. Implore: PLEAD

28. "That a fact?": "IS IT~?"

29. Tampa Bay team, familiarly: BUCS - the Buccaneers of the NFL - or the cost of corn these days . . .

30. Like folk tales: ORAL

33. Settle, as a debt: REPAY

37. Hospital dept.: ICU - Intensive Care Unit

40. Modeled on: À LA

41. Down source: GEESE - Geese "Up" is when they "take off"

43. Art __: DECO - I like Art Deco

44. Former quarterback Aikman: TROY - announcer with Joe Buck on NFL MNF games - name #3

24 seasons together

45. Winery purchase: CASE - Wine clue #1, you lush . . . then again, I bought beer in case quantity, so I will take that back

47. Pettiness: SPITE

54. Dusk, poetically: E'EN

55. Catch: ENMESH

56. Low-cal drink: LITE BEER - I do the Downs first; otherwise, this could have been DIET COLA

60. Singer Lambert: ADAM - filled via perps, don't know this artist  - name #4

63. Ceremonial event: RITE

64. Responded to an alarm: AWOKE

65. Viking character: RUNE - ah.  Not, say, "ERIK" - from this show - but . . . 

66. Lip: SASS - a "lip" synonym on the edge again

67. Detect: SENSE

68. Getaway spots: SPAs

DOWN:

1. Motion pictures?: GIFs - good one; took me a minute, plus the "G" when I sussed "GASP"

A Graphic Interchange Format moving picture of "Run Away~!"

MP & the Holy Grail

2. Sitting on: ATOP

3. Nonverbal signal: SOCIAL CUE - I was thinking "HAND SIGN", but "sign/signal" was too close for a crossword clue/answer, and it didn't fit, anyway; not familiar with this phrase

4. Mimics a cat, perhaps: POUNCES - Friday vague

5. Starchy palm product: SAGO - one of the triple Natick that got me - not TARO

6. One-way symbol: ARROW

7. Swedish actress Rapace who plays Lisbeth Salander: NOOMI - I did not know who this was until I went to IMDb - she played Elizabeth Shaw in the 'Alien' franchise movie "Prometheus" - name #5

She did not look like this in that movie . . . 

8. Bird in the bush: EMU - "Bush" being the quaint nickname for the hinterlands of  Australia

9. Word after Grand and Cedar, in city names: RAPIDS - Grand in MI, Cedar in IA and MN

10. Row: DISPUTE - rOW, not rOE

11. Part of a squirrel's diet: ACORN

12. French red wine: MÈDOC - Wine clue #2, more here for the lushes connoisseurs

13. Hoard: STASH - the noun, not the verb - I tried AMASS - another good 'edge' word

18. Sp. miss: SRTA - Español abbr

22. Classic car, informally: T-BIRD

25. Light purple: LILAC - followed by . . . 

26. Dark purple: PUCE

Tough to find on one palette - and that's a dark lilac

27. Scooby-__: DOO - name #6

29. Well-known: BIG - one of the bands that frequented Casanova's was "Big In Iowa", a sort of self-deprecating name drawn from a quote here - I was friends with Rick House, one of the guitarists; he, founder Bob Burns, and bassist/WEBN radio host Ken Glidewell have since passed away . . . sheesh

31. Winona of "Stranger Things": RYDER - name #7

32. Actor Vigoda: ABE - name #8

34. Work together: PARTNER UP - a unique fill

35. Skin soother: ALOE - very much NOT a unique fill

36. Happy cry: "YAY~!" - "yay, I finally got my ta-DA~!" when I filled in the correct word at 5A.

38. Heart throbs: BEATS

39. Figs.: NOs - abbr, figures & numbers

42. Plots: SCHEMES - nailed it

44. Haberdashery accessories: TIE BARS - There's two kinds - I wanted TIE TACkS - more here

The concrete rebar/epoxy connections on the left

46. Both sides of America?: SCHWAS - very clever - the phoneme, /ə/, when saying /ə/-MEH-rik-/ə/; it's the most common sound in the English language - more here

48. Tiny sound: PEEP

49. Gets warmer?: NEARS - think the guessing game, where someone is getting closer or further from some hidden item, and the other person says "colder, cold, warm, warmer, hot, HOT~!"

50. Birthplace of novelist Kiran Desai: INDIA - Sheesh.  Friday.  Half WAG on my part; name #9

51. Exams for future MBAs: GMATS - not LSATs, not MCATs, this test is for getting into schools for the acquisition of a Master of Business Adminstration degree

52. John with an EGOT: ELTON - I always get fooled by "John" being his last name, #10

53. Threads in tea lights: WICKS - Friday clue, but clever

57. You, once: THEE - Dah~!  I tried THOU

58. Peak near Catania: ETNA - yada yada, I threw this volcano name in, and "ding~!"

59. Whiskeys that are typically more dry than bourbons: RYES  - Whiskey #2, the basis for the drink called a Manhattan, which reminds me of the only time I ever tasted this liquor.  Growing up, we had watered down iced tea; a treat was a can of full-sugar soda; the adults would have a "Manhattan" at holidays; I figured it must be even better than soda, the "nectar of the gods" - until I tasted it - blech~!

62. Speechless feeling: AWE - not knowing "why" the adults really drank Manhattans certainly left me speechless regarding its taste & lack of sweetness

Splynter

Grid Flow 29.2

Thursday April 2, 2026 Kiran Pandey

Kiran Pandey has been constructing puzzles for a few years now, but this is his LAT debut. Congrats!
This grid features a less common mirror image symmetry, and that's a reflection of its creator. 

55A. Some lead roles, or features of 3-, 7-, and 11-Down?: TITLE CHARACTERS. Each film TITLE has special CHARACTERS (like in a good password) that have been used to create a phrase found in movie reviews. Note that none of these movies actually fit the answer in the traditional sense, it's just the punctuation we're looking at.

3D. "M*A*S*H," in a way?: STAR VEHICLE. A STAR VEHICLE is a film specifically designed to showcase the talents of a well-known performer. The "stars" in this one are actually asterisks, but I still rate it 3★'s.

7D. "E.T.," in a way?: PERIOD PIECE. A PERIOD PIECE is a movie set in a specific, earlier historical era, often characterized by lavish production design, costumes, and settings that evoke that time. Period.

11D. "Face/Off," in a way?: SLASHER FILM. A SLASHER FILM is a sub-genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, often by use of blades or sharp tools. Lovely. I like horror films but not slashers with their gratuitous violence.

Fun theme. Kiran is new so he doesn't know that themers are supposed to go horizontally...kidding! I liked the mix of downward themers and discovering the revealer across near the end. He also includes several other nice long vertical fills, which add sparkle, but also leaves us will a lot of 3LW & 4LW. Overall, a good Thursday effort.

M0▽!N9 ()n:

Across:

1. Rae of "Barbie": ISSA. ISSA Rae is a popular American actress, writer, and producer. She is a living doll!

5. Baseball card giant owned by Fanatics: TOPPS.

10. Covert summons: PSST.

14. Court dividers: NETS. Court dividers: BARS.

15. Fast train in the Northeast: ACELA.

16. Hoppy drafts: ALES. The perfect brew for Easter week!

17. Insta post: SNAP. Instagram is a social media network featuring SNAPshots and short videos.

18. Untamed: FERAL. 

19. Namesake of a speed ratio: MACH. Ernst MACH defined velocities compared to the speed of sound, commonly used as unit of air speed where MACH 1 is 761mph (the speed of sound at sea level).

When I'm in a hurry, I shave at 2,283 mph.

20. Cause of inflation: AIR.

21. Spotty?: STAINED.

23. __ Lanka: SRI.

24. Celestial explosions: NOVAE. Had to wait for perps for the final letter to determine if we were using the Latin or English plural.

26. "__ a chance": NOT. 

27. Bygone anesthetic: ETHER. 

29. Standing straight: ERECT.

30. Church headquartered in SLC: LDS. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.

31. "Shrinking" actor/co-creator Goldstein: BRETT. BRETT Goldstein is an English actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer who is perhaps best known for his role as Roy Kent in the Apple TV+ sports comedy series Ted Lasso. I saw him in a stand-up special on HBO and he was surprisingly good.

32. The Phanatic's team, on scoreboards: PHI. The Phillie Phanatic is the mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. He is one of the highest paid mascots in MLB, earning $200K per year! I'm green with envy.

33. Basket made on a rebound: TIP-IN. Part of the madness that is March. My alma mater, UVa, runs hot or cold. They once lost in the 1st round, then won it all the following year. This time they didn't make it past the 2nd round. Oh well, there's always next year...

35. Form 1099 agcy.: IRS. The Internal Revenue Service is the agency that is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes.

36. Dry as a desert: ARID. I guess we are going through my whole medicine cabinet today.

37. Soul singer Baker: ANITA. ANITA Baker is an American jazz and soul singer known for her sophisticated, romantic ballads.

38. Creative degs.: MFAS. Masters of Fine Arts are graduate degrees in visual arts, creative writing, film, or performing arts. 

40. Campaign-funding gps.: PACS. Political Action Committees are groups that pool campaign contributions from donors to support or oppose political candidates, legislation, or ballot initiatives.

41. "The Hunger Games" ally of Katniss: PEETA. Katniss Everdeen and PEETA Mellark, the "star-crossed lovers" from District 12, evolve from reluctant allies in the 74th Hunger Games into a deeply bonded couple.

42. Trig ratio: SINE. Trigonometric should not be abbreviated because SINE is the full name of the function. Its abbreviation is SIN.

43. Weekly skit show, familiarly: SNL. Ye olde Saturday Night Live.

44. Symbol produced by pressing shift+5: PERCENT. % - hey, it works!

46. Cell service letters: LTE. Long-Term Evolution is a 4G wireless broadband technology that provides high-speed data for mobile devices.

47. Just make do: EKE BY. I'm not sure this is proper English. “To eke” can be used by itself meaning to stretch a limited resource. “She eked the meager budget to cover expenses.” Or, more commonly, it is used with “out” as in, “He managed to eke out a living.” Seems like he was going for "squeak by."

49. Spanish infinitive: SER. SER means "to be." An infinitive is the base form of a verb, often preceded by "to" (e.g., to walk), that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb within a sentence.

50. "Darn it!": AW MAN. 

52. Add up to: ARE.

54. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer: ELI. A student from Yale in Saybrook, Connecticut.

55. [theme]

64. Hat part: BRIM.

65. Indulge: HUMOR.

66. Group of three: TRIO. Now you're checking out my vitamins?

67. Turn down: DENY.

68. "But of course!": OH YES. 

69. Goes on and on: YAPS. FuzzyBrain YAPS when we get a delivery. Better than a doorbell!

Buster guarding the house.

Down:

1. Absurd, as a scheme: INSANE. That's crazy!

2. Shenanigans of the upper class?: SENIOR PRANK. This is a trick! "Shenanigans" is almost always plural, but seems odd with a singular answer. 

3. [theme]

4. Nile viper: ASP.

5. 27th U.S. president: TAFT. As you can see, William Howard TAFT had a sweet tooth. They even named Salt Water Tafty after him.

6. Passenger ships: OCEAN LINERS.

7. [theme]

8. Temporary water provider: PLANT SITTER. A PLANT SITTER comes to your house while you are away. They typically charge $20/hr for just watering, but it can be more if they keep them company.

9. Red tag event: SALE.

10. Cooking spray brand: PAM. 

11. [theme]

12. December tradition in some offices: SECRET SANTA.This is a tradition in which staff members are randomly assigned a coworker to whom they give a gift, often with a price limit. 

13. Gym top: T-SHIRT. While gym is short for gymnasium, T-SHIRT isn't short for anything. It's just shaped like a T. The only way to shorten a T-SHIRT is to make it a crop top.

21. Ready: SET. In America, we say, "On your mark, get SET, go!" In Britain, it's often, "Ready, steady, go!"

Thank goodness we don't use starting pistols anymore.

22. Former Interior Secretary Haaland: DEB. DEB Haaland was the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary. She is currently running for governor of New Mexico.

25. Litmus reddeners: ACIDS. This is a test.

28. Takes a little off the top, say: TRIMS.

33. Cassette: TAPE. A 90-minute cassette has about 440' of tape inside - that's 1-1/2 football fields long all over the seats of my car! Don't ask me how I know.

34. Bread baked in a tandoor: NAAN.

36. Church recess: APSE. 

39. Observed: SEEN.

44. Combustible pile: PYRE.

45. Soft mineral: TALC. Can't stay out of my medicine cabinet, can you?

48. Pleasant, as a summer night: BALMY.

51. Good at banter, say: WITTY. Better than corny!

53. Parrot: ECHO.

54. "I'm all __!": EARS. ...said the field in Iowa. OK, that was corny.

55. Up in the air, briefly: TBD. To Be Determined.

56. Great vexation: IRE. I'm Really Enraged. Wait, that wasn't an abbreviation.

57. Soft metal: TIN. Like my old Band-Aid box, but stop snooping around my bathroom!

58. "You don't see that every day!": HUH.

59. Poehler who co-founded the Upright Citizens Brigade: AMY. From SNL to Parks & Rec, AMY has always been a dependable comedienne. 

60. Fish-to-be: ROE. 

61. Bullpen stat: ERA. Another baseball clue, this is the Earned Run Average - the average number of earned runs a pitcher allows every nine innings, with lower numbers indicating better performance.

62. Fabric tear: RIP.

63. Request for a tropical getaway, perhaps?: SOS. Fun clue. SOS is not an abbreviation of anything, it's just the letters corresponding to a Morse code distress signal that are easy to remember and type.

Godspeed, Artemis!

Be good. RB