Saturday, December 6, 2025, Emily Biegas

Saturday Themeless by Emily Biegas

Emily               Sala

Emily and her friend Sala Wanetick have had several LA Puzzles published, and this appears to be Emily's first solo effort. The picture on the left is of Sala and Emily after they had one of their puzzles accepted in the NYT.

I had a fun time with Emily's solo effort that even included two math terms.

Across:

1. __ curtains: CAFE.

5. __ operandi: MODUS - Usually seen as M.O. or method of operation.

10. Depop's parent company: ETSY.

14. Libation made with skin-contact grapes: ORANGE WINE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Unlike traditional white wines, where the juice is immediately separated from the skins after pressing, orange wine ferments with the skins for a period that can range from a few days to many months. You're welcome.

16. Geodesic structure: DOME - The Desert DOME at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is amazing.

17. Main, often: STREET NAME.

18. Subj. of some food labeling laws: GMOS - Geneitecally Modified Foods

19. Currency exchanged for GBP, perhaps: EUR.

20. Singer __ Marie: TEENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

21. Bird feeder?: BEAK 😀

22. Angry: CROSS.

24. Spreadsheet specification: RANGE - =SUM(B13:B17) will add up the numbers in the RANGE from cell B13 to cell B17.

26. Quirk: TIC.

28. Record holders: LOGS.

30. Half-baked, say: NOT DONE 😀

32. A-one: PRIMO.

34. Educated: LETTERED.

35. American, for one: PROCESSED CHEESE - I know Velvet is a PROCESSED CHEESE product, but it's great for a toasted cheese sandwich to accompany tomato soup... 

   

37. Home of the Glastonbury Festival: SOMERSET - It is held in Pilton, which is a town near Glastonbury in the county of SOMERSET in SW England.

38. Grazing groups: HERDS.

39. "Whew, that was close!": I MADE IT - Name the movie with this scene (* answer at bottom)

40. Unadorned: BARE.

41. Trig ratio: SIN - Opposite/hypotenuse = SIN

42. "__ me!": SPARE.

44. Digression: ASIDE.

48. Editorial override: STET.

50. "Mangia!": DIG IN - An Italian invitation to chow down

52. Small inlet: RIA.

53. Common pendant on a graduate's tassel: YEAR.

54. Talisman: MAGIC CHARM.

56. "I __ sorry": AM SO.

57. Enigmatic rock group: STONEHENGE 😀 15 days from now, on the winter solstice, this is what the sunrise will look like at STONEHENGE. 

58. Jangling set: KEYS - Tools for every custodian

59. Laconic: TERSE.

60. Brick oven output: PIES.

Down:

1. Trig ratio: COSEC.

2. Fischer who invented the plastic drywall anchor: ARTUR - I've used them a lot but as for the inventor ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

3. Grain bowl ingredient with a nutty flavor: FARRO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  An ancient wheat grain

4. GPS heading: ENE.

5. Dole (out): METE.

6. Possessive types: OWNERS.

7. Kristen's "Spencer" role: DIANA.

8. Part of UAV: UNMANNED - UNMANNED Aerial Vehicle 

9. "What'd I tell you?": SEE.

10. Browser with a blue-and-green wave logo: EDGE.

11. Natural shade produced by lycopene: TOMATO RED.

12. Mezcal quality: SMOKINESS.

13. Celebratory cry: YES.

15. "You should take a break": GET SOME REST.

21. Put all of one's eggs in one basket: BET THE RANCH.

23. Like some packaged produce: SLICED.

25. "Copy": GOTCHA or...

27. Give up: CEDE.

29. Buzz: GOSSIP.

31. Some riding mowers: DEERES.

32. "Pinky swear!": PROMISE ME.

33. Genre for novelists Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros: ROMANTASY - I filled this in and then it took a while to see the portmanteau: ROMANCE and FANTASY.

34. Court call: LET - Tennis court

35. Trident-shaped letters: PSIS.

36. Make plans to tie the knot: SET A DATE.

40. Sets off: BEGINS.

43. Fastidiousness: RIGOR.

45. From Tehran: IRANI 

46. Requiem: DIRGE.

47. Big name in midcentury modern design: EAMES.

49. Archer in Greek mythology: EROS.

51. Brand that once had a licensing deal with 7-Eleven: ICEE - They now call them Slurpees

53. __ butter: YAK - The source 

54. DEN airport zone: MST.

55. Like a cool cat: HEP.

*Whew! That scene was of Gordie and Vern escaping the train in the wonderful "coming of age" movie Stand By Me.

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 88th birthday to dear Lucina, who visited Minnesota in 2012. Here's a picture of me, Lucina and her three sisters at Mall of America.   

C.C., Lucina, Marge, Yoli & Juanita 

Friday, December 5, 2025 - Brian Callahan & Taylor Johnson

 Theme:  "Pocket change"

And here is a YouTube clip of one of the songs from this album

Puzzling thoughts:

The reason I chose "Pocket Change" as the theme title is because, well, I found that cool album cover photo and an equally cool song from that album.  So there!  But if we use it to describe today's puzzle, it fits; we see four entries that are all created from the letters in the word "pocket", so in a sense, we have (a) pocket "change"  

In the grid image below, I highlighted the word P-O-C-K-E-T in each of the entries. I was hoping that the remaining letters in each entry would have some added meaning, so I reached out to Taylor Johnson (one of the co-constructors) to further define what this puzzle's all about: 

Taylor replied, "It's essentially a letter-bank theme! Basically, the reveal is saying that each of those entries is "made OUT OF POCKET," meaning that the only letters used to make those entries are the letters in (the word) POCKET.  Some letters are repeated in some entries, but overall, the only letters that appear are P-O-C-K-E-T. I hope this clears things up! Thanks!"

Taylor said nothing more about whose idea this was, his or Brian's.  Both of these gentlemen have scores of published crossword puzzles between them; not sure if this was their first collaboration though

Entries:

17-across. *Odist with a passion for the culinary arts?: COOKTOP POET.  Might this inspire the Chairman to embrace this entry?  Why not!  How about a Moe-l'ick for a change?

        Former chef just decides to embark

        Doing stir-fry.  He went on a lark

        Opened restaurant in town

        Near the green; what a clown!

        'Cause he calls it: "A Wok in the Park"        

24-across. *Eight-member band from Seoul, perhaps?: K-POP OCTET.  How about another Moe-l'ick?

        K-Pop octet conducted a poll

        And the question was painfully droll:

        "Just because that we lack

        Any singer who's black

        Do you think that we ain't got no Seoul?"

37-across. *Social media community obsessed with quick kisses?: PECK TOK.  Sorry, nothing in this one inspired the Chairman, poetically ... and to be honest, I thought this entry could have been left out

 

However, after I wrote today's blog, I got an email from the constructors and explained (to this old Boomer) what this meant.  Apparently, people who love reading (for example) might have a "community" on Tik Tok that refers to all the people who make videos about books; and they are then known as "Book Tok".  I suppose that those who do kissing videos might resemble this one:

 

 

48-across. *Beverage sold at a Florida theme park?: EPCOT COKE.  I dunno if Brian and Taylor checked first, to see if Disney World features Coca-Cola products, but they do.  So, I guess I can let this one slide.  And because Disney serves Coca-Cola products, this one inspired a Moe-ku:

        Disney hired Coke

        To build a new attraction

        Called:  Fanta - Sea Land

Reveal:

59-across. Like some expenses, and how the answers to the starred clues are made?: OUT OF POCKET.  (Described above)

Here's the grid, and then off to the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:
1. Casual top?: CAMI.

5. __ page: website introduction: SPLASH.  Would've preferred ___ pool for this one; fun!

11. Spanish infinitive: SER.  To be in Espanol

14. Stratford-upon-__: AVON.  Birthplace of Shakespeare

15. Cause: LEAD TO.

16. Hullabaloo: ADO.  Does anyone remember this Hullabaloo?

[theme entry]

19. "Snowden" org.: NSA. Snowden

20. Morsel: TIDBIT.

21. Flavor of some purple ice cream: UBE.  I would not want ice cream to taste like this

22. Condition that affects one's ability to focus, briefly: AD/HD.

23. Pastoral: IDYLL.

[theme entry]

26. Word on a shoppe sign: OLDE.  Here is a shoppe where you can buy olde signs

28. "Yes __!": SIRREE.

29. Soft "Hey, you": PSST.

32. Great Basin people: UTES.

35. Gets warmer, in a way: NEARS.

36. Prefix in some genre names: ALT.

[theme entry]

39. Jazz guitarist Metheny: PAT. 

 

40. Paris river: SEINE.

42. Catch: HEAR.

43. IDs on tax forms: SSNS.  Mine is 123-45-6789.  Yours? [don't reply!] 

44. Star associated with Venus: SERENA.  Her sister; former tennis stars, Venus and Serena Williams.  The movie, King Richard, talks about their rise from Compton, CA to being the best sister act in sports

46. Expand: GROW.

[them entry]

51. Catch: HITCH.  

55. Infielder played by Bernsen in the "Major League" films: DORN.  An interview with Roger Dorn

56. Weep: CRY.

57. Eritrea's capital: ASMARA.

58. Egg cells: OVA.

[theme reveal]

61. Hat similar to a songkok: FEZ.  Songkok?  What the *?!# is that?  Oh, this:

62. "The way things stand ... ": AS IT IS.

63. "Je t'__": French "I love you": AIME.  

64. Get too much sun: FRY.

  

65. Change from residential to commercial, say: REZONE.  

66. Educational spots, briefly: PSAS.

Down:
1. Arizona flora: CACTI.  CSO to Lucina, Yuman, and yours truly - any other Arizonans I've missed? Here is a picture of a very rare cactus 

Crested Saguaro

2. Steer clear of: AVOID.

3. Mercurial: MOODY.

4. Image that's subject to interpretation: INK BLOT.

5. Opening: SLOT.

6. Verve: PEP.

7. Relish: LAP UP.  "Condiment" did not fit

8. Vinegary sauce: ADOBO.  Maybe one of our posters can share a recipe? 

9. Brews: STEEPS.  As in tea

10. Word with tip or take: HOT.  Hot tip; Hot take

11. Driving challenges?: SANDTRAPS.  The ones in the photo below are known as "The Church Pews" and were last seen in this past June's U.S.Open Championship held at Oakmont CC outside of Pittsburgh

12. "Thinking Out Loud" singer: ED SHEERAN.  Ed and I share the same birthday.  Here are some others who were born on this date.  And below you can listen to a seasonal song from Mr. Sheeran

13. Driving challenges?: ROAD TESTS.  If I recall, I passed on the first go around.  Had to parallel park; serpentine through cones; and do it all in a car with a manual gear box.  Apparently this is what the PA test involves nowadays

18. Register: TILL.  This:

22. Lot unit: ACRE.

24. Fore-and-aft rigged boat: KETCH.

25. [I'm a pig!]: OINK.

27. Outstanding: DUE.

29. Sent along (to): PASSED OFF.

30. Pajama party: SLEEPOVER.  Is this a song video you'd play at a sleepover? [contains a few nasty words so beware]

31. Suffering from cabin fever: STIR CRAZY.

33. Pull (out): EKE.

34. Play area: STAGE.

37. Cooped (up): PENT.

38. Bobby of the Bruins: ORR.  The best NHL player to wear the #4 sweater? 

41. Quite bright: NEON.

43. Pool wear: SWIM CAP.  What do you think of this one?

45. Point the finger at: ACCUSE.  

47. Very, very: OH SO.

49. Ana of "Love, Victor": ORTIZ.  This person: 

50. Onetime capital of Japan: KYOTO.  Maybe my co-blogger MalMan can comment about Kyoto?

52. Brand of rolled tortilla chips: TAKIS. Total unknown to me.  Don't think that I have ever tried them.  To those who have, are they any good?

53. Taco topping: CREMA.  It's the Mexican version of cream cheese

54. Abhors: HATES.

57. Cathedral area: APSE.  Crosswordese

59. Dory propeller: OAR. and 60-across. Dory propeller: FIN. Are clechos.  

59 across DORY

60 across DORY

Since I don't have deep pockets, this is all you get for today!  Have fun with your comments and/or questions.  See you in two weeks