Sunday, August 30, 2026 ~ Zhouqin Burnikel

"As PER Usual"

As PER C.C., it's Anon T subbing on this final August Sunday. September starts in two days and the weather will begin cooling off enough to get back to weekend biking and after work pickleball.

C.C. has provided us an Insert Three Letters puzzle that turns normal phrases into a A BIT of whimsy. Let's us play...

23. Bonus for never giving up?: PERSEVERANCE PAY. SEVERANCE PAY - your layoff package. The PERSERVERANCE PAY is what you keep getting to stay w/ the company that just laid off 20% of your team.

39. Big spender?: PRODIGAL PERSON. The parable of the PRODIGAL SON who was a spendthrift PERSON.

58. Device that might buzz during a night out?: SOCIAL BEEPER. A SOCIAL BEE lives in a colony. A BEEPER set to silent mode "buzzes" when it vibrates.

83. Elaborately embroidered falsehoods?: GRAND PERJURY. A GRAND JURY will indict a ham sandwich for PERJURY.

101. Green light for a lunar expedition?: MOON PERMISSION. This is my fav. JFK gave PERMISSION for the MOON MISSION at Houston's Rice University.
 

JFK's Moon Challenge

119. People who pack picnic lunches?: HAMPER OPERATORS. A picnic HAMPER is another name for a picnic basket and a HAM is an amateur radio OPERATOR.

32. Special offers at a body shop?: BUMPER DEALS. A BUM DEAL the car's BUMPER.

46. Gathering for chile lovers?: PEPPER RALLY. A PEP RALLY for PEPPERs.

Across:

1. Draw of a dim sum cart: AROMA.

Yum!

6. Space balls?: ORBS.

Another Mel Brooks Classic

10. "Sesame Street" basics: ABCS. I grew up on Sesame Street #GenX

14. Zipper alternative: SNAPS. Fasteners.

19. Mushroom with a pitted cap: MOREL.

Morel Mushrooms

20. Home of the Nazca Lines: PERU. I first read that as lions and was wondering which NCAA school I was looking for :-)

Nazca Lines

21. Coachella aesthetic: BOHO. I assume slang for bohemian.

22. Fit to eat, to Muslims: HALAL. Even if you're not Muslim, Halal Guys is yummy.

23. [See: Theme]

26. __ acid: AMINO.

27. Part of a play: SCENE. Act I, SCENE I opens with a dark and stormy night.  -Snoopy

28. Fusses over, with "on": DOTES.

29. Some contract negotiators: AGENTS.

30. Nursery arrival: BABY.

33. Win the heart of: ENAMOR.

35. Flight board stats: ETDS. Estimated Time of Departure.

37. Quick meeting?: SESH. Oy! Lazy for session. #KidsTheseDays

38. Actor Simu: LIU.
 

Simu Liu

39. [See: Theme]

42. Recliner part: ARM REST. I kept trying to think if there was a word for the lever on the side of a La-Z-Boy that wasn't, um, lever ;-)

44. Ibiza, por ejemplo: ISLA.

There it is.

45. Like draft beer: ON TAP. Anytime I visit a new town, I ask, "Do you have anything local ON TAP?"

47. Totally stoked: HYPED. ampED also fits.

48. UFO engineers: ETS. Extra Terrestrials fly Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon [né Unidentified Flying Objects].

50. Blue-roofed breakfast chain: IHOP. Née International House of Pancakes.

53. Symbol of resistance: OMEGA. Here's how big a nerd I am; I didn't even think uprisings, but went right to ohm.

56. Tick away: ELAPSE.

58. [See: Theme]

61. Kitchen cover-ups: APRONS. Cloche fits for the singular.

63. Just slightly: ABIT.

65. Disc golf obstacle: TREE.

66. Blueprint deet: SPEC.

67. Spearheaded: LED.

68. Actor Sheridan: TYE.

Tye Sheridan

70. Cause for a blessing: ACHOO. Gesundheit.

72. Key below ~: TAB. Hand up if you didn't even need to look at your keyboard.

74. Legal addendum?: ESE. Ha! Legalese - aka legal jargon.

75. Think piece?: IDEA. Oops, I had op-ed

77. "This Is Us" director Ken: OLIN.

Ken Olin

79. Trade show: EXPO.

81. Spoiled: MARRED.

83. [See: Theme]

86. "Buck-a-shuck" delicacy: OYSTER.

88. "Tropic Thunder" actor Nick: NOLTE. A very funny movie (R-LV) with a surprise in the credits.

Nolte is at 1:05

89. Gooey lump: GLOB.

90. Sock end: TOE.

91. Dining hall offerings: MEALS.

94. Swahili for "lion": SIMBA.

Simba is presented - Lion King

96. Washington Spirit player Morgan: ESME.

99. Mollusk often pan-seared: SCALLOP.

101. [See: Theme]

105. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU. Geaux Tigers!

106. Hip-hop's Salt-N-__: PEPA. Female rappers from the late '80's / early 90's.

109. Loads and loads: A TON.

110. Mean: INTEND.

111. Gave the once-over: EYED.

112. Virtual persona: AVATAR. Mine is a gray-shaded "-T" w/ the word "Anonymous" spelled out in the top crossbar.

114. Nonglossy lipstick option: MATTE. Non-glossy anything is MATTE. Or flat. Or eggshell. Or satin. Or, no, that's it... satin is when it starts getting a sheen. It all has to do with how much light is reflected by the (war) paint.

116. Blissful spots: EDENS.

118. Starbucks size: VENTI. I'm the grump that just asks for a large.

119. [See: Theme]

124. Fizzled out: ENDED.

125. Slushy treat: ICEE.

126. Singer India.__: ARIE.

127. Vibe: TENOR.

128. Great balls of fire: STARS.

129. Fuse together: MELD.

130. Give conditionally: LEND.

131. Canary feed: SEEDS.

Tweety popped his SEEDS

Down:

1. Electric violin hookup: AMP. Having AMP here nixes ampED at 47a.

2. Orange sushi topping: ROE.

Yummers!

3. Hockey great Bobby: ORR.

4. Like a bad breakup: MESSY.

5. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.

6. Anxiety-reducing feature of some tests: OPEN NOTES.

7. Double-check, in a way: REREAD.

8. Garment once called a corselet-gorge: BRA.

9. Optical effects caused by ice crystals: SUNDOGS. A halo caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sundogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun [WikiP].

Sundogs

10. Help in a burglary: ABET.

11. Girl who lost her sheep: BO PEEP.

12. Morally pure: CHASTE.

13. Vegan milk option: SOY. More like soy juice.

14. Deep carpet: SHAG.

15. Tells all: NAMES NAMES. Dirty rat!

16. Dress shape: A-LINE.

17. Trousers: PANTS.

18. Wade clumsily: SLOSH. I remember the joy of sloshing through puddles in my yellow goulashes. I didn't have to clean up the mess :-)

24. Zigs or zags: VEERS.

25. Color similar to salmon: CORAL. Turn in your man card if you can see the difference ;-)

29. Org.: ASSN.

30. Yawn-inducing: BLAH. Not Bore :-(

31. Light as can be: AIRY.

32. [See: Theme]

34. Nintendo virtual personae: MIIS. You create a Mii AVATAR on your Wii.

36. Bit of moisture: DROPLET.

39. Intellectual stickler: PEDANT. Well, actually... :-)

40. Secular: LAIC.

41. Great Plains people: OTOE.

43. Settle elsewhere, casually: RELO. RELOcate.

46. [See: Theme]

49. Nokcha or sencha: TEA.

51. __ fade: haircut with shaved sides: HI TOP.

Hi Top

52. Sculling tool: OAR.

54. Noisy migratory birds: GEESE.

55. Curved: ARCED.

57. Mil. mind game: PSYOP. Psychological Operation. Mess w/ the advisary's head.

58. [Not my error]: SIC.

59. None of the above: OTHER.

60. Smiles brightly: BEAMS.

61. Square up: ALIGN.

62. Pascal of "The Last of Us": PEDRO.

Vote for Pedro

64. Folk instrument: BANJO.

Steve Martin

69. Gracefully refined: ELEGANT. [See: Steve above]

71. Clearasil rival: OXY.

73. Gotham City hero: BATMAN.

76. Power source for a warp drive in "Star Trek": ANTIMATTER.

Spock mentions antimatter at 1:08

78. Offline, online: IRL. In Real Life aka Meat Space.

80. "Away from work" letters: OOO. Out Of Office. Could just be WFH that day #ThursdayCallback

82. Casting need: REEL.

84. Promotional sample: DEMO.

85. Lyft alternative: UBER. Rideshares.

87. "You got that right!": YES INDEED.

90. Take for a spin, perhaps: TEST. Do you scare the dealer a bit when you take a test drive? I want to see what the machine will do on a short on-ramp in Houston traffic :->

92. Come up short: LOSE.

93. Tater: SPUD. The Idaho tuber.

95. Hog with tusks: BOAR.

97. Strike down, biblically: SMITE. Old Testament had a lot of smote folks runnin' around.

98. Corundum, for one: MINERAL.

Corundum

100. Hackathon participant: CODER. Or just a hacker :-)

Defcon 34

102. Pulpy refuse: POMACE. Pomace, pumace, or marc is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. [WikiP]

103. Molar cover: ENAMEL. Teeth.

104. Enter via cracks: SEEP IN.

106. Covers a lot of ground?: PAVES. Cute.

107. Special occasion: EVENT.

108. Bear in a bamboo forest: PANDA.

111. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.

113. Lends a hand: AIDS. and ABETs?

115. Pranked with Charmin: TPED. Rollin' the trees.

117. D.C. ballplayers: NATS. The Washington Nationals.

119. "That's the guy!": HIM. Who, me?

120. Minecraft block: ORE.

121. Lowest sudoku number: ONE.

122. Casting need: ROD.

Everyone needs ROD Stewart in their movie, no?

123. Soon-to-be alums: SRS. Seniors ready to graduate get the ask for the alumni fund before getting their diploma. #TrueStory

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: Bore -& BLAH, op-ed -& Idea
ESPs: SUNDOGS
Fav: OMEGA's clue

Y'all have a great Sunday!

Cheers, -T

Saturday, August 29, 2026, Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa

Rafael

Geoffrey

This is my 3rd collaborative puzzle I have had with these transcontinental constructors. I was very pleased to earn a "got 'er done" and really enjoyed some of the cluing and fill. 

Birds of a feather: Rafael is a software engineer for Airbnb in S.F.  and Geoffrey is a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta. 

Across:

1. Chance to refuel after a run: APRES SKI - Oh, APRES (after) a SKI run! 

9. Cruelty-free target of poaching: PEAR. 😀

13. Contributes to: GOES IN ON.

14. Ncuti who plays the Fifteenth Doctor: GATWA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15. Mobile vendor?: APP STORE. 😀 The vendor is not mobile, the device for which it is intended is mobile 

16. Extravagant: WANTON.

17. Chiang Mai residents: THAIS - Chiang Mai is the name a city in NW Thailand that is also the capital of the Chiang Mai province.

 

18. Bath bomb component: EPSOM SALT.

20. Place that's all abuzz: HIVE.

21. The Refined Feline purchase, perhaps: CAT TREE.

22. Did brunch, say: ATE.

23. Like crosswords, hopefully: FUN.

24. Vicuòa kin: ALPACAS.

28. Folks who are so last yr.: SRS 😀

29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America 

30. Pilots on the air: SERIES PREMIERES - Can you name these pilots that became regular SERIES after this PREMIERE. * Answer at bottom

34. Conflict involving customs: TRADE WAR.

35. Y as in Yucatan?: AND - One of my all time favorite clues! The letter Y is Spanish serves as the conjunction AND and Spanish is certainly spoken in Yucatan. 

C.C. Y yo somos amigos desde hace años. (C.C. and I have been friends for years). Even after I had AND filled in, it took a small bolt of lightning for me to get it! DOH!

36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.

37. On point: APT.

38. Deg. from Goizueta: MBA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

41. Causes a scene?: DIRECTS - He directed many a memorable scene.

43. Snippy: CURT.

44. Physical procedure?: BLOOD DRAW 😀

47. Husk-steamed fare: TAMAL - Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal (plural: tamales ). The English "tamale" is a back-formation from tamales. You're welcome.

Here is a TAML on a plate with 
some tamales in the background

48. Freshens, in a way: REDOES.

49. New York university: COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA is about 4 miles north of Ground Zero

51. Swears: AVERS.

52. Cutesy name for the squishy parts of a paw: TOE BEANS.

53. Trash: DISS.

54. High-minded one: IDEALIST.

Down: 

1. Name on a literary award: AGATHA - The Agatha Awards are annual literary prizes named after AGATHA Christie and present by Malic Domestic Ltd to honor traditioanal "cozy" mystery and crime fiction. These are books featuring no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence. 

2. Chart-topper: POP HIT.

3. Fix a lot, say: REPAVE - Uh, perhaps a parking lot

4. Polish brand: ESSIE.

5. Takes a load off: SITS.

6. __-Cat: SNO.

7. Like gochujang and jjimjilbang: KOREAN - The former is a culinary item and second is a bathhouse. 

  

8. Bumbling: INEPT.

9. With a crispy crust, say: PAN-SEARED.

10. Piedmont blues guitarist Baker: ETTA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

11. Unaccounted for, for short: AWOL.

12. Tirade: RANT.

14. Important part of a set: GAME POINT - Unusual tennis scoring for a game is 15, 30, 40, GAME POINT. You win the set if you win 6 games (7 games if there is OT). Tennis peeps will understand this scoreboard:

16. Country homes?: WORLD MAPS 😀

19. Played out: STALE - Same old, same old

21. Swears: CUSS WORDS - Producer David O. Selznick fought the censors hard in 1939 to get this word into one of the most famous lines in film history. 

23. Full scholarships, informally: FREE RIDES.

25. Mercury or Saturn: CAR.

26. Gator tail?: ADE.

27. Short cry for help: SOS.

28. Means of indirect access: SIDE DOORS.

29. Stray: ERR.

30. Femme canonisée: Abbr.: STE - The abbr. for a French female saint (Femme canonisée) is STE

31. Hesitant sound: ERM.

32. Art form that originated in the Bronx: RAP.

33. Knife block insert: PARER.

37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.

 

38. Capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra: MUMBAI - Originally MUMBAI, Portuguese Bombain, British BOMBAY, Back to MUMBAI to get rid of all British influence in 1995.

39. Processing centers?: BRAINS - Some process better than others.

40. "About dang time!": AT LAST - Nobody does it better than our cwd friend Etta James.

42. Sustainable landscaping options: CACTI.

43. __ Up: board game with a desert motif: CAMEL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. Slender fastener: BRAD.

45. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI - Of all their great tunes, this is my fav.

           LEVI

46. Some Olds works: ODES - Sharon's ODE to Dirt

47. Polka horn: TUBA.

50. Suni honored with the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025: LEE.

 

*Friends     Big Bang Theory     Golden Girls     Seinfeld