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

Friday, Aug 28th, 2026 ~ Patti Varol

 -URN IN HELL

"sorry, we don't serve "iced coffee . . . "

Another construction from the LA Times crossword editor, Patti's last appearance was Monday, June 8th.  I blogged her last Friday puzzle on April 27th, when she changed "W" to "V".  Today she simply drops the letter "B" from common phrases - therefore, minus the "B" - to give us an alternative and perhaps funny new phrase - with no Stray "B"s in the crossword, either~!   Standard grid today, no 'outlier' letters, nine names, Twenty-Four 3LWs, and no Twurds.  The themers and the reveal; 

18. Be time-consuming?: EAT THE CLOCK - 'Beat The Clock' was (is) a TV Game Show

29. Instruction from a lazy track coach?: RACE YOURSELVES - Brace Yourselves~!

My first thought of lazy and races . . .

47. "42nd Street," e.g.?: ROADWAY MUSICAL - Broadway Musical - I get it, -ut a -it redundant

60. Create a state of anarchy?: END THE RULES - Bend the Rules~?  I think they're -roken now

69. So-so grade, or an apt title for this puzzle: B MINUS - Sometimes, when I am improvising on the guitar, I drift into the key of "B minus"

-ut Wait There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. Thurman of "Red, White & Royal Blue": UMA - name #1, crossword staple

4. Most unexpected: ODDEST

10. Axe handle: HAFT - my INCITE at 11D. gave me HILT

14. Bath rug: MAT - not a name . . . 

15. Subtlety: NUANCE

16. Important stretches: ERAS - yet another way to clue this #1 crossword fill

17. Go where one shouldn't: PRY

20. AirDrop tablet: iPAD

22. Female pig: SOW

23. __ cuisine: HAUTE

24. Drummer in the Electric Mayhem: ANIMAL - Muppets musical interlude #1

and the "other" Philthy Animal of drummers

26. "Lessons in Chemistry" actress __ Naomi King: AJA - no clue, the IMD_, see also 64D., name #2

28. TV writers __ and Marty Krofft: SID - name #3, which I recalled from my childhood

The Land of the Lost - Saturday morning awesomeness,

with Sleestak and Cha-Ka

33. Russian news acronym until 2014: ITAR - I knew this, likely from doing crosswords; name(ish)

34. Minute: WEE - my-NOOT, not MIN-uht

35. Pseudonym letters: A.K.A. - Also Known As, Thursday dupe

36. Lunch spot: DELI

37. "A Complete Unknown" subject: DYLAN - and "a complete unknown" to me; -ob Dylan was -efore my time; didn't get my "ta-DA~!", knew I made my mistake here, -ut it took two MIN-uhts to scan the puzzle -efore the V-8 can came sailing at me, and the "Y" finally dawned on me.  The Wiki, and name #4

39. Video file format: MPEG

43. Corp. leader: CEO - C-suite

45. Feel icky: AIL

46. Washed-out: PALE - not the -LUE DOT from last Friday

51. Ceiling spinner: FAN

52. __ and outs: INs - musical interlude #2

Spy in the House of the Night, -lue Öyster Cult,

"ins and outs" lyric @ 0:30

53. Show of affection: CARESS

54. That is, in Latin: ID EST - literal Latin

56. Chance, quaintly: HAP - the def

59. Dissenting body: SECT

63. Lend a hand: AID

65. Toy brand with Creator 3-in-1 sets: LEGO

66. Title for Marie Curie: MADAME - name(ish)

67. Type of A/V connector: RCA

68. Put pen to paper: DREW - not clued as a name, thank you . . .

70. Data breach fig.: SSN - Social Security Number

DOWN:

1. Official who works close to home?: UMP - Har-har.  -aseball's home plate . . .

2. Stew: MARINATE

3. Unexpected: ATYPICAL

4. At some point: ONE DAY

5. "Dance the Night" singer Lipa: DUA - name #5, -ecoming a weekly crossword staple 

6. Who __: New Orleans Saints fans: DATS - name(ish), -ut I knew this; a shout-out to our Lousiana residents

7. Opposite of exo-: ENTO - Not enDo

8. Unstressed vowel sounds: SCHWAs - the "uh" sound

9. Top pick?: TEE - BRA could not work - it might not have a B-cup, but it has a "B"

10. Goddess of death played by Cate Blanchett: HELA - I don't care for the any of the "comic -ook universe" movies, name #6

11. Stimulate: AROUSE

12. "In all honesty ... ": "FACT IS . . . " - OK, twurd(ish)

13. Clucked in disapproval: TSKed

19. Hopscotch player's supply: CHALK

21. "Sweet land of liberty," in song: AMERICA - musical interlude #4

Let Freedom Ring

24. Very dry: ARID

25. Dirt: LOWDOWN - musical interlude #3

-oz Scaggs, and a prelude to 64D.

27. Patrick's "Star Trek: Picard" role: JEAN LUC - name #7, and a shout-out to our own PICARD

He meant "-arn owls"

30. Short turnaround?: UEY - A--reviation for U-turn, I had "Uie" to start, so I got in my own way

31. Pass along: RELAY

32. Many a "What We Do in the Shadows" character: VAMPIRE - no clue, filled via perps

38. Objective: AIM

40. Indy 500 leaders: PACE CARS - Ah, those leaders.  In the year I was -orn, it crashed . . . 

This photo's we-page story, and a YouTu-e link

41. Rubber bands: ELASTICS - nailed it

42. Salon array: GELS -Dah~!  I tried DYES

44. Novelist Wharton: EDITH - first female Pulitzer Prize winner, 1921 - name #8

47. "SNL" Emmy winner Gilda: RADNER - name #9

48. Jumpy: ON EDGE - see -elow

49. Meditation retreat: ASHRAM -  I am attending a 12-Step retreat next month

50. Mouths off to: SASSES - Not "on edge" - of the grid, that is; crossword friendly letters

51. Area of study: FIELD

55. Stash securely: STOW

57. Bavaria-based automaker: AUDI - here's their R8

A few of my favorite things

-avarian Castles, Cars, and Cuties

58. Map out: PLAN

61. Diplomatic HQ: EMBassy, the crossing ''B" and an a--reviated headquarters

62. Bird in the bush: EMU - Ah.  The Australian  -ush; G'day, mate

64. Karate level: DAN - musical interlude #5 - I could have gone with Steely Dan's "Aja", -ut that's already in the puzzle, so here's

Do It Again, in the key of G - minus . . . 🙄

Splynter

Grid Flow 34.9