Friday, Jan 30th, 2026 ~ Zachary David Levy

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STRIKE

The previous LA Times "Z-D-L" puzzle was one I blogged on Wednesday back in November - the Monty Python and the Holy Grail "just a flesh wound" masterpiece - if you happen to be a fan . . . Today Mr. Levy's construction features four themers that have a synonym for "speak" going UP the Down fills, but defined as its homonym; I was perplexed as to why I could not get the answer for 9D to gibe with the crossings, until - the V-8 can.  Not too difficult for a Friday, IMO, but we get a bit bogged down with the names again; a standard 15 x 15 grid, more than double the number of four-letter words to 3LWs, no circles, and missing only the "Q" for a pangram *.  The themers and reveal; 

4. Fast service: SSERPXE MAIL - Express is spelled "up" in the grid

9. Seize-the-day type: OG GETTER - here's where I sussed the theme, as I knew it had to be "GO"

27. Many a land-grant university: ETATS SCHOOL - State, going "up"

40. Hogwash: RETTU ROT - Utter, going "up"

25. Comment to a low talker, or what is found in 4-, 9-, 27-, and 40-Down: SPEAK UP - here's the collection of scenes from the "low talker" episode of  Seinfeld

She appeared in court for the finale, too

         's
         e
     t   r  e
t    i   e  r
u   a  h  o
B W T M

ACROSS:

1. Sticks (out): JUTS - AND it's crossing - 1D. Talked and talked: JAWED ( and a theme Easter Egg )

Now there's a juts/jawed combo

5. Site of an 1836 siege: ALAMO - starting with a geo name, #1

10. Got 100% on: ACED

14. Latin 101 word: AMAS

15. Enter again, as data: RELOG - a bit meh

16. Opera star: DIVA

17. Rouse: WAKE

18. Greg Maddux's record 18: GOLD GLOVES - I know so little about baseball, I started with NO HITTERS, but it didn't fit - name #2

20. "Self-Reliance" essayist: EMERSON - ah - Ralph Waldo; learning moment; more here - name #3

22. __ urchin: SEA

23. Sorta: "ISH" - many crossword clues/answers of late have drifted too far towards "ish"

24. Challenges, as a credit card charge: DISPUTES

26. Neutrogena product: T-GEL

It "appears" you need glasses to use the product

28. Crosses (out): X'ES - to "E" or not to "E"; that is the question - "X's" looks correct to me; but then again, "X'ed" seems OK

29. Stone fruit center: PIT - I've never eaten a stone - are they any good~?  Sounds crunchy

31. Lean: TILT

34. Department with direct marketing campaigns: SALES

37. __ noire: BETE - Frawnche, literally "black beast"; i.e., one's bane or bugbear

38. Côte d'__: AZUR - plus Frawnche; "azure ( blue ) coast" = French Riviera

39. Teen dance: PROM

40. Put on again: RE-AIR - pump in again; re-air

Now how's she gonna pedal in those shoes~?

41. Actress Garr: TERI - I liked her in "Young Frankestein" - name #4

Now listen very carefully . . . 

42. "Casablanca" role: ILSA - name #5

43. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS - no clue; Canadian Football League - more here - geo name(ish)

44. London's neighboring county: ESSEX - geo name #6

45. Terse denial: "NOT I."

46. Letter after sigma: TAU

47. __ Technica: tech news website: ARS - filled via perps and a WAG

48. Stick together: CLOT

50. Conveyances also known as tricycle rickshaws: PEDICABS

The Deluxe Model

55. Energizer size: AAA - ooof; not AAs

57. Run smoothly: HUM

59. Magenta kin: FUCHSIA - spelling moment for me - I had FUSCHIA

60. Spaceflight company based in Kent, Washington: BLUE ORIGIN

Captain Kirk was on a flight - the story here

63. Stalwart trees: OAKS - I could argue that all trees are "stalwart", by definition

64. In case: LEST

I like this 

65. Eye-shaped windows: OCULI - most of what I find online is round, not "eye" shaped; the Wiki

When I hear 'oculus', I think of the Pantheon

66. Possessive pronoun: ONE'S - e.g. "gird one's loins"

67. Org chart topper: EXECutive

68. Fundamental principle: TENET

69. Countess's title: LADY - Here's Tom Jones, now 85yrs old, married for 59(~!) years until the passing of his wife and lifetime love Melinda in 2016; I grew up listening to his baritone voice, as my parents were born & raised in England - more on Tom from Wiki here

"Never Had A Lady Before"

from "Rescue Me", his 1979 "disco" album; so many great songs

DOWN:

2. Savory quality: UMAMI

3. Views: TAKES - Friday cluing; as in "what's your ___ on this~?" but pluralized, meh

5. Jargons: ARGOTS - the "lingo" of a (usually secret) social group - the plural is again a bit 'meh'

6. Sierra __, Africa: LEONE - geo name #7

7. "__ set": ALL - vague; Friday

8. Online admins: MODS - moderators

10. Fuss: ADO

11. Makes more sophisticated: CIVILIZES - a weapon from a more "civilized age"

Your father's lightsaber

12. Festive nights: EVES - what are festive days~?  Adams~?

13. Run without saying goodbye, perhaps: DASH

19. Gamer's woe: LAG - think online gaming ( or someone taking too long to play a word in Scrabble )

21. Goes after, in a sense: SUES

30. Terse confirmation: "IT IS."

32. Entice: LURE

33. Cereal coveted by a silly rabbit: TRIX - name(ish) . . .

. . . are for kids~!

34. Whirl: SPIN

35. Folk singer Guthrie: ARLO - name #8, crossword staple

36. Fruitless endeavor: LOST CAUSE - stone fruitless = LOST QUARTZ 😜

37. Dracula player Lugosi: BELA - Here's Bella - one of the other trainers at the gym, wearing the shirt I made for my trainer Brett - that's him on the shirt; he and some of the other members are always mocking me for calling the gym equipment "tools" - hey, I do "work"(out) with them . . . name #9

44. Writer/illustrator Carle: ERIC - Didn't recognize the name - #10 - filled via perps - but I do recognize his work; I see he passed in 2021 at age 91.  His website

47. Marketing space: AD UNIT - I tossed in AD PAGE

49. "What do we have here?": "O-HO~!"

51. IRS convenience: eFILE

52. Mat position: ASANA - yoga~! yoga~! yoga~!

Animal House announces toga party

53. Trained for part of a triathlon: BIKED - good WAG; running and swimming are the other two events

54. Not very respectful: SASSY

55. Up to the task: ABLE

56. Ken's "Jeopardy!" predecessor: ALEX - I watched Mr. Trebek growing up; have not watched any Jennings episodes - name #11

58. Maze runners: MICE - Dah~!  I put in RATS

61. Brief "Blah, blah, blah": etc.

62. Squirt __: GUN - I bought a pair that actually have a pretend, Glock-like "slide" 

You lock the slide back to expose the fill hole, thus "loading" it

Splynter

Grid Flow 43.2

* Which "Q" would you prefer~?

The "Q"s of James Bond, 007

Thursday, January 29, 2026 MaryEllen Uthlaut

Today, MaryEllen Uthlaut has given us a Dutch treat, if going Dutch is indeed a treat! The last time she treated us here was on Thanksgiving Day.

This solved as a themeless, which is just as well because after I read the revealer, I still had no idea what was going on. But my fans (?) out there in crossword-land wouldn't want me to give up! So I dug in and eventually everything checked out.

63. With 65-Across, request from some diners, or what a black square creates in rows 3, 6, 8, and 10 of this puzzle: SEPARATE + CHECKS. So, we have SEPARATE CHECKS, where people in a group  each pay for their own meal. The trick is the end of the first answer together with the beginning of the second (the parts that are "separated" by a black square) ideally combine to form a type of "check." 

3rd row = 17A + 18A TARMAC COUNTESS → An ACCOUNT is a financial arrangement with a business entity whereby goods or services may be obtained without outlaying money until a set time later. I don't think she meant a checking ACCOUNT.

6th row = 27A + 30A SATIN VOICED → An INVOICE is a itemized document a seller sends to a buyer requesting payment for goods or services.

8th row = 38A + 40A LOVE SET ABSCOND → A TAB is a running total of what one owes, typically at a bar. 

10th row = 47A + 50A GERBIL LEMON → A BILL is a payment request,,but usually more informal than an invoice.

All pretty clever, but some of these work better than others. When patrons ask for a check, they are often handed a totaled TAB or BILL. They are never handed an INVOICE, at a restaurant at least. And having an ACCOUNT is more of a business dealing, meaning that you will pay later (on ACCOUNT of having no money!). Unless MaryEllen simply intended that all these debts could be paid by check...

CHECK please! I've got a game to catch.

Across:

1. Grape used for sweet wine: MUSCAT. Varieties of MUSCAT grapes have been around since antiquity. Their intense perfume inspired Pliny the Elder to call them "the grape of the bees". Unfortunately, he didn't respond to my email asking why.

7. Ornery sort: CUSS. I had CRAB at first and wouldn't let it go for the longest time. Am I a CUSS?

11. Nev. neighbor: ARI. Nevada is next to ARIZONA and four other states.

14. Colored ring: AREOLA.

15. Like many new recruits: UNTESTED.

17. Airport area: TARMAC. Here's the TARMAC at NARITA, Japan.

18. Noble title: COUNTESS. I entered "dutchess" at first, part of my ornery NE corner.

19. High-five, e.g.: SLAP.

20. HP supply: INK. Formerly known as Hewlett-Packard, HP printers need INK.

22. Airport serving Tokyo: NARITA. NARITA International Airport is in a city on the eastern outskirts of the capital. Not to be confused with Narnia, which is on the other side of the wardrobe.

23. Make changes to: RETOOL. Usually in order to improve something.

26. Buttonlike flower: TANSY. I wrote pANSY, adding to my infamous NE meltdown.

27. Silky material: SATIN.

30. Spoken: VOICED.

32. Novelist Lurie: ALISON. ALISON Lurie won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1984 novel Foreign Affairs.

34. The Mustangs of the NCAA: SMU. The Southern Methodist University Mustangs football team play in the NCAA Football Subdivision (FBS) under the Atlantic Coast Conference. Dallas-based SMU, along with California's Stanford, joined the ACC last year even though neither school is anywhere near the east coast. Unfortunately, it makes extremely long road trips for all teams involved with them.

35. Feel sorry about: RUE.

38. Tennis shutout: LOVE SET. Winning a set 6-0. My LOVE, RightBrain, plays in two tennis leagues. Her custom license plate says "ELSKA," which is Swedish for LOVE. She was an exchange student there in high school.

40. Run away (with): ABSCOND.

43. 1980s Formula One driver __ Fabi: TEO. I somehow forgot about this Italian driver who was in his heyday 50 years ago. 

44. North Sea diving bird: AUK.

46. Fill with bubbles: AERATE.

47. Leaping rodent: GERBIL.

50. Edsel, notably: LEMON. The Edsel wasn't really a LEMON, in the sense that it was in the shop all the time. It failed due to styling missteps, poor marketing strategy and bad timing as a recession hit.

A face only a mother could love!

51. Follow, as a tip: ACTON.

54. Ties in knots: SNARLS. Like South Fla. rush hour traffic, or in almost any major city nowadays. Honestly, traffic is my #1 complaint around here.

56. Kin of ad hoc: PRO TEM.

58. Add color to: DYE.

59. Set of circumstances: CASE. As in The Curious Set of Circumstances of Benjamin Button. 

63. [theme]

65. [theme]

67. Perfect examples: EPITOMES.

68. Maintenance job: TUNE UP.

69. Champagne label word: SEC. Despite the name SEC meaning "dry," it is sweeter than Brut and Extra Dry.

70. Transmitted: SENT.

71. Place for mail to accumulate: IN TRAY.

Down:

1. Floor cushions: MATS.

2. Eurasia's __ Mountains: URAL. It's URAL, as usual.

3. "Buona __": SERA. "Good evening" in Italian. "Buona SERA" may be used as both a hello and a goodbye during the evening hours.

4. Be made up of: COMPRISE.

5. Taking after: ALA.

6. Understood: TACIT.

7. Birds that make hourly appearances: CUCKOOS. The CUCKOO'S sound is created by two tiny flue pipes in the clock with bellows attached to their tops. The clock's movement activates the bellows to send a puff of air into each pipe alternately when the timekeeper strikes. That's CUCKOO!

8. Card game with an edition for colorblind players: UNO. When you're down to one card, you must shout, "UNO!"

9. Shock: STUN. When another player asks, "How many cards do you have left?" before you say "UNO!"

10. Legislative century: SENATE.

11. Had DiGiorno, perhaps: ATE IN. Frozen pizza has gotten better over the years, but still can't compete with fresh. "Is this delivery?" said no one, ever.

12. Takes five: RESTS.

13. Emphatic agreement: I'D SAY.

16. Fine fiddle: STRAD. STRADivarius. The difference between a fiddle and a violin is mainly what kind of music is played on it. Folk and country musicians call them fiddles, while classical and jazz players use violins.

21. Veterans Day mo.: NOV. It falls in the month of NOVember.

24. Mireille of "Hanna": ENOS. Who? Of what? I guess I don't watch the right TV shows. 

25. Peruvian metropolis: LIMA.

27. Shaker fill: SALT.

28. __ vera: ALOE.

29. Early DVR: TIVO.

31. Birthplace of 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Randy Arozarena: CUBA. Names can be hard, but you know what's harder? Where they're from.

33. Closely related: NEAR. 

35. Cover a lot of ground: ROAM. 

36. King James preposition: UNTO. UNTO is used many times in the KJV, such as, "For UNTO us a child is born." Surprisingly, it was not in the Golden Rule as written: "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."

37. Garden of delight: EDEN. Here's the most famous panel from Bosch's triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights."

39. Ice cream containers: TUBS. 

41. "Don't __ yourself short": SELL.

42. __ roll: CRESCENT.

45. Most charitable: KINDEST.

47. Insinuated: GOT AT. I see what they are getting at.

48. Año openers: ENEROS. Spanish years begin in Januaries, as do most years. (The plural of January looks weird!)

49. Nonprofessional: LAY.

51. Semicircular recesses: APSES. APSES may also be polygonal.

52. Pancake with frizzled edges: CREPE.

53. Debate assignment: TOPIC.

55. Prefix with linear: RECTI. Rectilinear means consisting of, or moving in a straight lines, unlike this fellow:

57. Broadway "Auntie": MAME. Rosalind Russell played everyone's favorite aunt in both the 1956 play and 1958 movie.

60. Aspire laptop maker: ACER.

61. Predatory seabird: SKUA. Today I learned that SKUAs (pronounced skew-ah) are common in Antarctic and Arctic regions. They've been spotted at the South Pole. (At the North pole, they are striped! 💈 )

62. Catch sight of: ESPY. I ESPY with my little eye...

64. Lost Tribes number: TEN. The TEN Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE.

66. Nomadic invader: HUN. 

Thank you for all the kind words on yesterday's puzzle that I coauthored with C.C. This really is the best Corner of the internet! Be good. RB

Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Brian Russell & Zhouqin Burnikel

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here . . . and, yes, you read that correctly . . . . with a recap of a Wednesday puzzle.  As C.C. mentioned late last year, I have gone from recapping on alternate Fridays to recapping the final Wednesday puzzle each month.  Call it semi-retirement or a new adventure . . . or both.  As the fates would have it, for this, my first Wednesday foray, we get a puzzle co-constructed by C.C.  I have reviewed something like 125 puzzles here on the corner and this is first C.C. puzzle I have had the privilege to recap.  To make things even more special, C.C's co-constructor is our own Brian "Rusty Brain" Russell who is making his debut.  What a nice way to enter the Wonderful World of Wednesday.

Brian describes the genesis of the puzzle, and its evolution, as follows:  

"My initial inspiration was the old joke, “How do you make a jam sandwich? Take two pieces of bread and jam them together!” It got me thinking about different kinds of jams, and here we are. Creating a crossword is a great learning experience. While I came up with phrases and clues, C.C. is the mastermind that pulled it together on a grid. Hope you enjoy!"

With that in mind, let's dive right in starting with the unifier:

63 Across:  Impromptu jazz performance, or an apt title for this puzzle: JAM SESSION.  In this case a JAM is a group of musicians playing together more or less making it up as they go along.  However, at four other places in the grid, C.C. and Brian have asked us to come up with answers that riff on the word JAM in its various other forms

17 Across: Filled pastry: JELLY DONUT.  Jelly, marmalade, confiture, etc.  In other words - JAM.

24 Across:  Office machine: LASER PRINTER.  We are all familiar with printer jams.   Bottleneck, congestion, stoppage.  In other words - JAM.

39 Across:  High-flying NBA All-Star event: SLAM DUNK CONTEST. Stuff, push, cram.  In other words - JAM.  A basketball reference.  A slam dunk is also called a "jam" and that formed the basis of a successful electronic game:

51 Across:  Rush hour gridlock: TRAFFIC SNARL.  AKA a traffic jam.  This one could have referenced a musical moment by Steve Winwood and Dave Mason.

This is how it all appears in the grid:

. . . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Violin players: BOWS.  Not the musicians.  What they often hold in their hands.

5. Discussion site: FORUM.  As in an online FORUM, or I suppose an ancient form of FORUM.

10. Omelet need: EGGS.

14. Potatoes, in Indian dishes: ALOO.   This has become a crossword staple.

15. Remove from memory: ERASE.

16. Young stallion: COLT.  By definition.

19. Clarinet kin: OBOE.  Frequently heard in our puzzles.

20. Promotional cost: AD FEE.

21. Field expert: REF.  A REFerence to a REFeree (on, for example, a football field).

23. Night before: EVE.

29. __ Martin cognac: REMY.

32. Charlottesville sch.: UVA.

33. Slow-cooked dish: STEW.  Security professionals advise to never use ‘beef stew’ as a password.  It isn’t stroganoff.

34. "Peace" shape: VEE.

35. Camera component: LENS.  What is the best type of lens to use for photographing cars?  Auto focus.

37. "Gotcha": I SEE.

44. Keep a sauce from congealing, say: STIR.

45. Screw feature: SLOT.  Oh, the noun.

46. __ sequitur: NON

47. Tech in key cards: RFID.

49. Prove human, in a way: ERR.  A misstep frequently occuring in our puzzles.

50. Attention-getting hiss: PSST.  A sound often heard in our puzzles.

55. Gut punch reaction: OOF.

56. Sheridan of "Ready Player One": TYE.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

57. Tree that's tapped: MAPLE.  For sap from which to make syrup.

61. Ride-hailing company whose cars once featured big pink mustaches: LYFT.   From Wiki: "The Lyft pink mustache was a large, fuzzy icon that drivers attached to their cars to identify themselves as part of the Lyft ride-sharing service. It was replaced in 2015 by a smaller, glowing dashboard version called the "glowstache" to create a more subtle appearance."

67. In __ land: LA LA.  Slang for being out of touch with reality.

68. Acting award won by Ke Huy Quan in 2023: OSCAR.  For his role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once".

69. Patch up: MEND.  How do you mend a broken Jack O'lantern?  With a pumpkin patch.

70. Winter slider: SLED.  People ask me why I keep bringing my sled to places like yard sales and flea markets.  I tell them the answer is simple...Toboggan!

71. Rosary components: BEADS.

72. Mount Olympus figure: ARES.  One of twelve.

Down:

1. Mexican peninsula, informally: BAJA.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  BAJA California.

2. Screen on some handheld games, for short: OLED.  Organic Light-Emitting Diode

3. Canine in some fairy tales: WOLF.

4. Exclusively: SOLELY.  I hear that Google is set to come out with a new browser that manages search results based SOLELY on your DNA.  The browser is going to be called Google Chromosome.

5. Provided with kibble, say: FED.

6. El Dorado building material: ORO.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  El dorado is the legendary city of gold.  ORO is gold in Spanish.

7. Legged it: RAN.

8. Take illegitimately: USURP.

9. Units of length: METERS.  So many to choose from.  Thanks, perps, for narrowing things down.

10. Earth-friendly prefix: ECO.

11. Intermediaries: GO BETWEENS. Liaisons.

12. Baseball fielder's need: GLOVE.  MITT was not long enough.

13. Take the wheel: STEER.

18. Vote of approval: YEA.  We never know if it will turn out to be AYE or YEA.  At least there's not a three-letter word with the same letters that begins with E and means a vote of approval.

22. Mesh with a group: FIT IN.

25. Chekov colleague: SULU.  Not a Russian novelist reference.  A "Star Trek" reference.  Pavel Checkov and Hikaru SULU.

26. Makes level: EVENS.

27. Irritates deeply: RANKLES.  From the Web:  "The word “rankle” isn’t just another random slang—it has roots going way back to Old English and Middle French! Originally, rankle described a physical wound that kept festering or burning inside. Imagine a sore that just won’t heal, constantly annoying you—that’s literally what rankling felt like.  Fast forward to today, and we’re mainly using it to describe emotional or mental irritation rather than literal wounds. The idea of an “annoyance that won’t heal” stuck around pretty well!"

28. Cheep digs?: NEST.  Cheep not cheap.

29. Campers on wheels, briefly: RVS.  Recreational VehicleS

30. Slippery swimmers: EELS.  What a shocker !

31. Fundraising event where one can win a round: MEAT RAFFLE.  Round as in a beef round roast.  From Wiki:  "A meat raffle is a tradition of raffling off meat, often in pubs and bars in Australia, in some areas of Britain and the US, and in Western Canada."  New to this solver.

36. Treat with contempt: SCORN.

38. Those, in Havana: ESOS.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  The language of Havana, Cuba is, of course, Spanish.

40. Annoy slightly: MIFF.

41. Train of thought: DRIFT.  As in "Do you catch my DRIFT?"

42. __ vez: again, in Spanish: OTRA.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  Literally, another time.

43. Blasting material: TNT.  TriNitroToluene

48. Home project done solo: DIY JOB.  Do It Yourself

50. Blood bank supply: PLASMA.

51. Charges on roads: TOLLS.

52. Fit for a queen: ROYAL  Add an E and we get:

53. Stop: CEASE.

54. Suite divs.: RMS.  RooMS

58. Place to dock: PIER.  I never wanted to go to the docks, but after my friends pestered me for an hour I finally gave into PIER pressure.

59. Unaccompanied: LONE.

The LONE Ranger

60. Stops: ENDS.

62. Little bit: TAD.  The teacher asked, "Name three famous Poles!"  Tommy proudly answered, "North, South and TAD."

64. Former Lynyrd Skynyrd label: MCA.   This solver did not know the label but it was pretty clear, after a couple of perps, that it was going to be something like either RCA or MCA.   And, since it's been teed up:

65. Like lyrics full of heartache: SAD.  One of the saddest:

66. Critical-care hosp. areas: ERS.  Emergency RoomS

Well, that will wrap things up for this Wednesday.  Have a great (Wednes)day, everyone.

_________________________________________

M M OUT