Tuesday August 11, 2026 Rena Cohen

Shape-Shifters:

4-Down. Aspiring actor's asset: STAR QUALITY.

8-Down. Trustworthy sort: SQUARE SHOOTER.

17-Down. Intensely shocking events: HEART STOPPERS.

27-Down. Peak physical condition, or a feature of 4-, 8-, and 17-Down: TIP-TOP SHAPE.  Each of the the theme clues is in the down position, making the Shape at the Tip-Top of the answer.

Here's the Grid:

Which personality shape helps you complete this puzzle?

Across:

1. Colorful violet kin: PANSY.  I love these flowers.  

6. Suga and Jung Kook's band: BTS.  BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010.  The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook.  The band makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.

9. "__ the Cat": children's book series: PETE.  Pete the Cat was not around when I was a child.

13. Give a speech: ORATE.

14. Atty.'s title: ESQ.

15. And others, in a bibliography: ET AL.  We had a discussion about this Latin phrase just two weeks ago.

16. Highly sensitive person: EMPATH.

18. Kitchen deputy: SOUS CHEF.  The Sous Chef was in last Tuesday's puzzle and is visiting us again today.

20. Old Russian ruler: TSAR.

21. Bothers greatly: EATS AT.

23. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.  Obi-Wan Kenobi wearing an Obi.  //  And 56-Down. Offspring of Leia and Han: KYLO.  References to the Star Wars franchise.

24. Thigh muscles, familiarly: QUADS.

26. Exposes, in a way: RATS ON.

28. Treat that may be dipped in dulce de leche: CHURRO.  Yummers!  A churro is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape.

30. Indiana University basketball coach Moren: TERI.  Teri Marie Moren (b. Apr. 14, 1969) is the current head coach of the Indiana University women's basketball team.  Unknown to me.

31. Flexible: PLIANT.

32. Amusement park time-saver: FAST PASS.

36. Former first lady Biden: JILL.  Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (b. June 3, 1951) was Second Lady from January 2009 to January 2017 and First Lady from January 2021 to January 2025.

37. Winter migration direction: SOUTH.

39. Tried's partner: TRUE.  Tried and True ...

40. "Hear me out ... ": SO, LISTEN.  I initially tried Listen Up.

42. Woodwind section player: OBOIST.

44. Norse god of thunder: THOR.

45. Two-door cars: COUPES.

46. Neaten: TIDY UP.

49. Many shelter dogs: MUTTS.

50. Astonishment: AWE.

51. Soft drink brand with a "lymon" logo: SPRITE.

53. Creative solution: HACK.

57. Spinning toy: PINWHEEL.

59. "Are you serious?": REALLY.

61. "Let It Go" singer: ELSA.  A reference to the Disney film Frozen.  Elsa is the fictional character in the film.  The actual performer is Idina Menzel (b. May 31, 1971).

62. Genetic transcription molecule: RNA.  Another last Tuesday repeat.

63. Thread holder: SPOOL.

64. Snow day ride: SLED.

65. Daughter's brother: SON.

66. Canine command akin to "drop it": LET GO!

Down:

1. Expert concerned with feet?: POET.  Everything you ever wanted to know about poetic feet.

2. Octopus octet: ARMS.  Octopuses are Remarkably Bright Creatures.

3. Auto parts giant that shares a name with a California wine valley: NAPA.  The National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA) was founded in Detroit in 1925 by 28 independent auto parts suppliers to fix an unorganized parts market.

5. So far: YET.

6. One-ups: BESTS.

7. General __ chicken: TSO'S.  General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish.  It supposedly was first created in the 1950s in Taiwan.

9. Delt neighbor: PEC.  Deltoid and Pectoral muscle groups.

10. Shared ideology: ETHOS.

11. Martial arts-based fitness regimen: TAE-BO.  Everything  you wanted to know about Tae-Bo.

12. Like Santa's helpers: ELFIN.

19. One end of a maze: START.

22. Ruckus: ADO.

25. Spot where there's no trouble brewing?: URN.

28. Advertising award: CLIO.  The Clio Awards were first awarded in 1959 for advertising.  The name is derived from the Greek mythological muse, known as the recorder and glorifier of great deeds and accomplishments.

29. Biker's challenge: HILL.

30. Skin art, for short: TAT.

31. Sleepover attire, familiarly: PJs.  The origin of the word Pajama.  Do people really wear pajamas when they fly?

32. Enjoyable: FUN.

33. Grammy winner India.__: ARIE.  India Arie Simpson (b. Oct. 3, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter.

34. Puzzle (out): SUSS.  I'm sure we all sussed out the correct answers to today's puzzle.

35. Group of reps at the gym: SET.

38. Above, in classic odes: O'ER.

41. "Be quiet!": SHUSH.

43. "Having said that ... ": BUT.

45. Minor injury: CUT.

46. Cassettes: TAPES.

47. "Count on me": I WILL.

48. Quite thick: DENSE.

49. 2026 Winter Olympics host city: MILAN.  The 2026 winter olympics were held in February.

52. "The Biggest Little City in the World": RENO.  Reno is also the home of the National Judicial College.

54. Tons: ALOT.

55. Drain blockage: CLOG.

58. Crumple (up): WAD.

60. Course for some intl. students: ESL.  English as a Second Language.

Until next week ...

חתולה

Monday, August 10, 2026, David Ding

Theme:  Let the good times roll!

Constructor David Ding works in electrical and computer engineering, and because that is not sufficiently challenging, he also engages in creative writing and crossword puzzle construction.  Today is David's Los Angeles Times debut!  Congratulations, David!  You can learn more about David at www.davidyding.com.  While there, if you listen closely, you might still hear the Whoosh! sound of his articles and riddlers going right over the head of yours truly.

Today is Monday, and even this blogger should be able to solve the puzzle.  The clue and answer that reveal the key to today's theme appear here:

59-Across. Call for action, or what one might say before using the ends of 20-, 33-, and 43-Across: LET'S GET ROLLING.  This expression suggests it's time to get started on a task or begin a journey.  How does it relate to the ends of the listed answers?

20-Across. Formal event attended in costume: MASQUERADE BALL.  The end of 20-Across is BALL, and you might say LET'S GET ROLLING if you want to bowl, or play bocce, or skeeball -- that is, to roll a BALL.

masquerade ball

33-Across. Last film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond: NO TIME TO DIE.  The end of 33-Across is DIE, which can be a noun referring to a small cube with numbered faces, used in games.  The plural of DIE is DICE, of course.  You might say LET'S GET ROLLING if you want to start a game of dice -- that is, to roll a DIE.

Daniel Craig in No Time to Die

43-Across. Official record on a ship: CAPTAIN'S LOG.  Thanks to Star Trek, yours truly is familiar with the CAPTAIN'S LOG.  But a LOG is not always a record book.  We usually think of a LOG as a bulky section of a tree trunk or branch.  You might say LET'S GET ROLLING if you want to start a rolleo -- that is, a LOG rolling competition.

Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise recording an entry in his log

Note that the theme answers appear in symmetrically placed rows, and two of the four are just one square short of spanning the grid.  Lovely construction, perfectly befitting the Los Angeles Times.  

Shall we talk about the rest?  LET'S GET ROLLING.

Across:

1. Train for a boxing match: SPAR.

5. Love deeply: ADORE.

10. Follow directions: OBEY.

14. "Beloved" novelist Morrison: TONI.  Toni Morrison (1931-2019) won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved (1987).  It is a gut wrenching exposé of the horrors of slavery in the United States.

15. Kitchen gadget for apples: CORER.

16. Locale: SITE.

17. Bygone GM division: OLDS.  The automobile brand Oldsmobile was founded in 1897 and acquired by General Motors in 1908.  The brand was discontinued in 2004.

18. "Understood": ROGER.  In early radio and Morse code communications, the letter "R" stood for "received."  If spoken, the word "Roger" was used for clarity, based on the military "Able Baker" alphabet, which preceded the NATO alphabet.  If the NATO alphabet had been in use in 1941, we'd be saying "Romeo that" instead of "Roger that."

19. Prize grabber in an arcade game: CLAW.

an exercise in frustration and loss

20. [Theme clue]

23. Like a parent at graduation: PROUD.

24. "Man of Steel" director Zack: SNYDER.  Zack Snyder has made a bunch of comic book film adapations, as well as horror and sci fi films.  His Army of the Dead won the Oscars Fan Favorite at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Zack Snyder and the Man of Steel

25. Geological span: EON.

27. Scissors sound: SNIP.

30. Wimbledon org.: ATP.  Here yours truly hit a fatal snag.  DNK (Did Not Know) that the Association of Tennis Professionals is the global governing body of men’s professional tennis.  I learned (from researching for this blog) that the ATP provides ranking information to Wimbledon, but Wimbledon is owned by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).  So the relationship of ATP to Wimbledon is tenuous. 

I rank this clue "thumb down."

 
33. [Theme clue]

39. Cardamom-infused tea: CHAI.

41. Subscribe again: RENEW.

42. Turn down: DENY.

43. [Theme clue]

46. Broke bread: ATE.

47. Trace of smoke: WISP.

48. Baby goat: KID.

50. Humiliated: ABASED.

55. Walkie-talkie, e.g.: RADIO.  A walkie-talkie is a portable, handheld radio transceiver that can send and receive voice messages.  This can be handy for short range connections where cellular networks do not reach, like when you're out hiking.

walkie-talkie time

59. [Theme clue]

62. College admissions office offering: TOUR.

63. Garden pest: APHID.

64. Hideout: LAIR.

65. Bilingual cartoon explorer: DORA.  Dora the Explorer is the title character of an animated series that ran on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2019, and then spawned sequels, a feature film, and a series reboot.  Dora is Latin American, and the programs teach a little Spanish language.

66. Kitchen gadget for flour: SIEVE.  This simple mesh tool helps break up lumps in flour.

sieve

67. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

68. "Don't come any closer!": STOP.

69. Cuts (down): PARES.

70. Talk back to: SASS.

Down:

1. Tread heavily: STOMP.

2. __ opposites: POLAR.

3. "Consequently ... ": AND SO.

4. Racy: RISQUÉ.  Naughty, suggestive, improper, indecent. 

5. Zoning unit: ACRE.

6. Opportunities, metaphorically: DOORS.

7. Church instrument with pipes: ORGAN.  Shout out to fellow blogger Splynter!

8. Like the sound of an oboe: REEDY.  An oboe is a double reed instrument.  The oboist blows air between two pieces of cut cane (reeds) that are strapped to a metal pipe.  Cane is a type of large grass.  Yours truly has never played the oboe, but has produced some annoying sounds by blowing on a large blade of grass held taut between her thumbs.

9. Made a blunder: ERRED.  

10. Nomination from the Academy: OSCAR NOD.

11. Bar tab, e.g.: BILL.

12. List-shortening abbr.: ET AL.  Latin "et alia," meaning "and others."

13. Source of some flexible wood: YEW.

21. Thick Japanese noodle: UDON.

22. Breezy email sign-off: BEST.  Short way of saying "Best regards."

26. Sushi wrapper: NORI.  Nori is a dried, edible seaweed.  Rolled sushi uses nori to wrap up rice and fillings.

Vegetarian sushi rolls wrapped in nori -- yum!

28. Brainchild: IDEA.

29. Ice cream purchase: PINT.

30. UNC's athletic gp.: ACC.  This blogger's loyal followers may recall that I am allergic to organized sports.  At the long-ago time that I was born, my father had his first professional position, teaching anatomy at the School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, so University of North Carolina did not throw me, but I DNK (Did Not Know) ACC, the Atlantic Coast Conference.  30-Down crossed with the unknown-to-me 30-Across ATP (loosely affiliated with Wimbledon), so the space numbered 30 remained blank.

31. Defrost: THAW.

32. Big __: David Ortiz nickname: PAPI.  This blogger's troubles continued here.  Have I ever heard of  David Ortiz, the Dominican-American former professional baseball player nicknamed "Big Papi"?  That would be a NO.  32-Down crossed with the unknown-to-me 30-Across ATP, so the space numbered 32 remained blank.  I had two blank spaces -- on Monday!  ATP / ACC / PAPI are to blame.  I would say David Ding got dinged here ... or I did.

34. Perfect score in diving, or half a score: TEN.  A "score" is a group of twenty, so half a score is ten.

35. Connections: INS.

36. EGOT-winning Brooks: MEL.  Comedic actor, director, songwriter and playwright Mel Brooks has won the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, making him a rare EGOT recipient.

Mel Brooks receives his first Oscar in 1967

37. Furry "Star Wars" creature: EWOK.  These fictional cuties defied the evil Empire in 1983's Return of the Jedi, in spite of their technological disadvantages.

an ewok

38. Potato spot: EYE.

40. "We've been duped!": IT'S A TRAP.  How I felt about the center left block of the puzzle today.

44. Emer. alerts: APBS.  All-Points Bulletins are alerts sent between law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for wanted persons or vehicles.

45. "You go, __!": GIRL.  This phrase from African American culture went mainstream in the 1990s.  It's a way to praise a woman or girl for an accomplishment.

49. Texas city known as "Big D": DALLAS.

51. Audibly shocked: AGASP.

52. Vintage photo tone: SEPIA.

53. Early anesthetic: ETHER.

54. Motivation: DRIVE.

56. Taurasi who holds the WNBA record for career points: DIANA.  Diana Taurasi is an Argentine and American former professional basketball player. She played 20 seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association, spending her entire WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury.  She holds the all-time WNBA scoring record, and is the most decorated Olympic athlete in any team sport, winning six Olympic gold medals with the United States women's national basketball team.  Perps (perpedicular entries) helped here.

Diana Taurasi

57. Monogram pts.: INITS.  Monogram parts are initials.

58. Fairy tale baddies: OGRES.

59. Stolen goods: LOOT.

60. Capital of France?: EURO.  Not Paris -- the euro is the currency (oh, that kind of capital) of France.

61. Poems of tribute: ODES.

62. QB stats: TDS.  Quarterbacks score touchdowns.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Were you PROUD of your performance today?  Did you ADORE the puzzle and enjoy your TOUR of the grid?

Or perhaps you ERRED as I did, and it wasn't your BEST experience.  Maybe you got STOMPed!

Don't DENY me the gift of your thoughts!  Please comment below.

-- NaomiZ