Saturday, July 11, 2026, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa

Rafa, a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco. is a frequent constructor and collaborator. I started out looking for an on ramp and found several in the west columns and before I knew it, the entire west side was done. From ther, I was able to get up to speed and his lovely puzzle was done. I'll comment on some of Rafa's more clever entries as I blog. 

Across

1. Bernardine Evaristo's "Girl, Woman, __": OTHER - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Published in 2019, exploring identity, race, class, sexuality, and the history of modern Britain across multiple generations.

     

6. Selfish kinds: HOGS.

10. "Get lost!": SCAT.

14. "Fingers crossed!": I HOPE SO TOO.

16. Not one __: IOTA.

17. Where classes proceed on a case-by-case basis: LAW SCHOOLS 😀

18. "Oh, fudge": RATS.

19. Strong showing from 2012 to 2022, for short?: SNL - 😀 Capitalizing strong as the first word of the clue did not give away that it was a name.

Cicely Strong

20. Hole up: HIDEOUT.

22. Hissed admonishment: SHH.

23. Aired: RAN.

24. Southern brew: SWEET TEA.

26. Revenue metric: AD SALES - This ad, thought to be one of the best ever, announced the release of MacIntosh computers. It aired during the 1984 Super Bowl and generated huge initial sales. This entire 1984 ad

30. Matters of course?: MEALS 😀

31. Area most people can't stand to be in: CRAWL SPACE - Yeesh!

34. Handy accessory?: MITT 😀 - Early baseball players were considered to be "unmanly" if they wore a glove or mitt. Modern players now wear fielding, batting and sliding gloves.

36. Cares for: TENDS.

37. Foofaraw: ADO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Island west of Maui: LANAI.

39. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE.

40. Ding, maybe: E-MAIL ALERT 😀

42. Exams that begin with a Chemical and Physical Foundations section, for short: MCATS - My grandson passed his with flying colors but his roommate failed twice.

44. Ends up behind: LOSES TO.

45. Fried Mexican dishes: CHALUPAS.

48. "Yellowstone" star Bentley: WES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

49. Todos __ días: every day, in Spanish: LOS - Hago el crucigrama todos LOS días. (I work the crossword everyday.)

50. Rep who is also the parent of a child star, perhaps: MOMAGER - Rosalind Russell played one of the first ones in this wonderful movie.

52. __ Fridays: TGI.

55. Lincoln, e.g.: AUTO - Here's the Lincoln Lawyer in one. One story arc concerned a dead body found in the trunk of that Lincoln.

57. Major annoyances: ROYAL PAINS.

59. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo: ISLA.

60. Defend aggressively: TRIPLE TEAM.

Steph Curry getting TRIPLE TEAMED

61. Convene: MEET.

62. Solidifies: SETS.

63. Creates a cozy home: NESTS.

Down:

1. Works in a museum: OILS - Our wonderful puzzle constructor Jeffrey Wechsler was an art curator who worked in a museum curating works therein. 

2. Comparison word: THAN - A beautiful Peruvian folk melody with lyrics by Paul Simon. Enjoy!

3. React to a riot, maybe: HOWL - A great comedian can make you do this

4. Short releases: EPS - Elvis made several with four songs on each.

5. Pool areas?: REC HALLS 😀

6. Under the __: HOOD.

7. Missouri River people: OTOES.

8. Play dirty: GO LOW - There are penalties in football for blocking below the waist 

9. "What are you gonna do about it?": SO SUE ME. 😀

10. Title for David Attenborough: SIR.

11. Areas affected by current events: COASTLINES.😀

12. Initially: AT THE START.

13. Gospel singer Cobbs: TASHA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15. Lights up: SHINES.

21. Top choice: TEE - Many of my tops are TEE shirts with the NASA meatball on them

23. Short end of the stick: RAW DEAL.

25. Traditional Christmas fare for some Latinos: TAMALES.

26. Panto units: ACTS - Panto is short for pantomime 

27. Three-story abode in Barbie pink: DREAM HOUSE.

28. Structure affected by current events: SAND CASTLE 😀

29. Musubi meat: SPAM - A Hawaiian snack. It revealed itself.

32. Statute mandating curb cuts, for short: ADA.

33. Feature of type 4 hair: COIL - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

35. Bandleader Puente: TITO.

38. Pocket-size pointer: LASER PEN - I used mine a lot in my "lectures"

40. Field for a competitive Valorant player: E-SPORTS.

41. Former mill town in the Boston metro area: LOWELL.

43. Belly: TUM.

45. Progressive request: CLAIM 😀

46. Subject for Elena Ferrante: AMORE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A pseudonym for an Italian author who prefers anonymity

  

47. "Stop beating around the bush!": SAY IT.

51. Concerns for some orthodontists: GAPS.

52. Connections: TIES.

53. Minor annoyance: GNAT.

54. Belief systems: ISMS.

56. __ latte: OAT.

58. Put away: ATE.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to CanadianEh!, one of our longtime blog family members. She's been with us since 2012. I hope your day is filled with fun, laughter, and all your favorite things. Thank you for the kindness, insight, and thoughtful contributions you've shared with us over the years!

Friday, Jul 10th, 2026 ~ Mike Peluso

HEavy MEtal, the song from Blue Öyster Cult

This is my first puzzle from Mike Peluso - he has been contributing crosswords since before the Corner, I would guess; his last construction for the LA Times was here, in 2023, on a sumdaze Monday. A simple add-in of the symbol for the element Iron, 'Fe', from the Latin "ferrum".  The cluing was solid Friday-level, with just a hiccup for me at the crossing of two name-ish answers - that's YOU, square #5~!  Standard grid, no circles, less than ten names, no Twurds, and eight "elemental" songs.  The themers & reveal, which is what got me through the themers;

16. Slogan on a very thorough pet sitter's business card?: I WALK THE FELINE - The base phrase is from the Johnny Cash song "I Walk the Line" -  I walked canine Cooper, but not the "feline" cats . . . 

28. Upgrade one's cookie supply?: TRADE WAFERS - Trade Wars - no song for you~! - but think the outer layers of, say, 32A., an Oreo cookie . . .

48. Newest resident of the Land of Enchantment?: SANTA FE BABY - A Christmas Classic, the song "Santa Baby", tho I did not know that the "Land of Enchantment" was New Mexico - I DO know my ex-wife is down there, so it can't be that enchanted . . . 

62. Treatment for anemia, or a treatment given to 16-, 28-, and 48-Across?: IRON SUPPLEMENT - the periodic chart square for Iron, "Fe"

Thanks Bill Nye, Science Guy~!


ACROSS:

1. Places to feel kneaded?: SPAs - I could go for a massage . . .

5. Peter or Paul, but not Mary: TSAR - I do the Downs clues first, and this was my last fill; I had _S_R, yet it took a minute - ah, Russian rulers . . . I solved this one before Moe's Wednesday dupe; name(ish)

9. Vocal quality: TONE - plenty in today's write-up

13. Part of some forests: KELP

This image's website

14. Land parcel: ACRE

15. On the road: AWAY

19. "Exodus" Oscar nominee Sal: MINEO - crossword staple, name #1

20. Anger: INCENSE

22. Snap: PHOTO - Friday vague cluing

24. Carson successor: LENO - Johnny & Jay, the Tonight Show, name #2

26. iPhone platform: iOS

27. Checkers side: RED

The Red and the Black, an "Fe" Maiden song, almost 14mins long
- and - Blue Öyster Cult song #2

32. Sweet sandwich: OREO - the cookies part of OREOs can blended into my ice cream - see 3D.

34. Word on a bottle of Château Margaux: CRU - from the Frawnche for "growth"; more here

35. El Prado, por ejemplo: MUSEO - 'for example, museum', Español #1

36. Cause of statistical misrepresentation: BIAS - that's ALOT of clue for a four-letter answer . . .

38. Colon units: DOTS - Oh, that colon [:] . . . never mind . . .

40. Ordered from DoorDash, perhaps: ATE IN

43. Flight status abbr.: ARRivals

44. Part of many a lunch special: SOUP

"NO soup for YOU~!"

52. Mex. neighbor: USA - there's always that half second of hesitation when I think, "I don't know all those countries in Central America~!"

53. Green around the gills: ILL

54. From the top: ANEW

55. Late bloomer: ASTER

57. Toots and the Maytals, for one: SKA BAND - no clue, but I had perps; more here

Funky Kingston - not really my thing, but I can 'dig' it

60. Aptly named hybrids: UGLIs

66. Four-award acronym: EGOT - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony - somewhere last week I read that Steven Spielberg was a winner - so I wondered what he got his Grammy for; it's a bit of a stretch, but OK . . . the Wiki

Raiders March, Raiders of the Lost Ark

67. Plum kin: SLOE

68. Major disappointment: BLOW

69. Gym reps: SETS - For me, training at the gym is three times a week, two SETS of three exercises, and within those, somewhere between 8-16 "REPetitions"; not quite the same thing, IMHO

70. Actress Daly: TYNE - name #3

71. Bajo opposite: ALTO - 'low & high', Español #2

DOWN:

1. Word with lift or lodge: SKI - ski lift, ski lodge

2. Political research center: PEW - never heard of this; named after the Pew family - the Wiki

3. Dessert option: À LA MODE - look, I made protein ice cream - my trainer got me excited to buy and try the Ninja Ice Creami

The chocolate chips are an added indulgence 😁

4. Share, in a way: SPLIT - but not a banana split - bananas upset my stomach, and I don't know why . . .

5. "Doctor Who" actress Catherine: TATE - I know nothing about the series; it looks like she guest-starred in just three episodes; that's Friday vague - name #4

6. Think tank members, often: SCHOLARS - SCIENTISTS didn't fit

7. Modern art?: ARE - Shakespeare; "Where for art thou~?" - 21st century; "Where're you at~?"

8. Purify: REFINE

9. Softest mineral on the Mohs scale: TALC - This puzzle gets 4-1/2 of 5 ⭐ on the "other" Moe's Scale

10. Tot's scrape: OWIE

11. Childcare providers: NANNIES - There will be NO owies on this nanny's watch~!

12. Unsightly sight: EYESORE - Sightly sight - eye SURE~!

Spectacular view - and the city is pretty as well . . . 🙄

17. Celtic artwork feature: KNOT - Dah~! Not RUNE

This website

18. Sufficient, once: ENOW - ye olde sfelling of ENOUGH

21. Name on some Canadian pumps: ESSO - far right crossword-friendly letters, name(ish)

22. For: PRO

23. Pronoun option: HER - as last week, so again; YOU, OUR, SHE, HIS or HIM~?

25. College domain: EDU. - internet add-on for education

29. Sony record label: RCA - Eartha Kitt, "Santa Baby" was an RCA artist, and so are these girls

The Pointer Sisters, Neutron Dance - seems appropriate for an atomic theme . . .

30. Invoice no.: AMT - I charged $700 to build these custom maple pantry doors to fit an opening the previous contractor framed at 42"- 😖- too small for sliding doors, too big for bi-folds . . . and I always forget to take "before" pictures, and in this instance, would have been worth a laugh

Had to reconfigure the wood floor, too, as the other contractor's

wider opening left two wall-sized "gaps" in the T&G strips . . .🙄

31. Kerfuffle: FUSS

33. Passing thoughts?: OBITuary - Friday clever cluing

37. Food Network host Garten: INA - INA or UTA~?  I always get "her" wrong; name #5

38. Tap: DRAW UPON - Spigot and Faucet were all wet in this instance

39. Bard's sphere: ORB

40. Used car caveat: "AS IS"

41. Hollywood innovation of the 1920s: TALKIES - Ah.  Right.

42. Swell: ENLARGE - nailed it

43. Actor Vigoda: ABE - name #6

45. Generate more revenue than: OUTSELL

46. Tap: USE - Tap: Spinal . . . the "other" umlaut band name . . .

These guys still go to Eleven . . . Rock N Roll Creation

47. Target score at Augusta: PAR - Augusta being the PGA Tour's premier event in Georgia

49. Some coolers: FANS - I'm the "other" fan of PGA Augusta 2026 winner Rory McIlroy

50. Pledge rival: ENDUST - Pledge being the go-to cleaner for Consuela from Family Guy

No, no use Endust . . .

51. Second-oldest Ivy: YALE - There are only eight, and the list has only one four-letter entry . . . alright, maybe it could be PENN 😑

56. "The Lion King" lion: SIMBA - name #7, but I knew this one

58. Rolls-Royce trunk: BOOT - Brit-speak

59. Hill dwellers: ANTS - or POL(iticians)S~?  I picked the correct one this time

61. Joy: GLEE

63. Practice, as a trade: PLY

64. "__ on my watch!": "NOT . . ."

65. Cube root of eight: TWO - ∛8 = 2; geez, now we gotta do math on Fridays~?

Splynter

Grid Flow 19.6, low again

Thursday July 9, 2026 Robin Stears

Robin Stears is cutting the rug today. After constructing crosswords for 30 years, she's still got the moves!

17. Dance move performed when entering a room?: DOORSTEP. A DOORSTEP is just outside a door, while a threshold is the bottom of the doorframe itself. 

21. Cancan move performed while skydiving?: DROP KICK. A DROP KICK is a rarely used tactic in American football, it's only been used successfully once since 1941. Doug Flutie, in his last play in the NFL, kicked it in a game between the Patriots and the Dolphins in 2006.

35. Tango move on "Yellowstone"?: RANCH DIP. Yellowstone, the TV show, takes place on a ranch, where RANCH DIP is presumably served at parties.

46. Five-point spin on the dance floor?: STAR TURN. A STAR TURN is an idiom that refers to the most prominent performance in a show.

56. Leap at a military ballet?: BASE JUMP. BASE JUMPing is an extreme sport where participants parachute from a fixed object rather than an aircraft. BASE is an acronym for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs).

66. Pas de deux move performed where the road divides?: FORKLIFT. Pas de deux is a ballet term referring to an intricate dance duet, probably much more graceful than a warehouse FORKLIFT.

While there is no revealer, we have six (!) themers that all end in a dance move: STEP; KICK; DIP; TURN; JUMP and LIFT. With this many themers, the grid was pretty crowded leaving a lot of short fill which made this easier than usual for a Thursday. I have two left feet, so I found it better to play in the band than be out on the dance floor. 

Let's take the rest for a spin:

Across:

1. Hotel waiters: CABS. Nice misdirect for the dance's opening number.

5. Carried the day: WON.

8. Cuts it close: SHAVES. Literally, it's using a razor - figuratively, it means a narrow escape.

14. Skip past: OMIT.

15. "__ takers?": ANY.

16. Nikon product: CAMERA. 

17. [theme]

19. Unexpectedly funny: IRONIC. Funny strange, not funny haha, I ASSUME.

20. Adopt, as an alias: ASSUME. Believe it or not, my name isn't RustyBrain. 

21. [theme]

23. Makeshift swing: TIRE. Some are fancier than others.

Oh, yours was just a round one?

25. Bard's before: ERE.

26. Network supported by "viewers like you": PBS. And viewers like me! I've volunteered to man the phones at a Public Broadcasting Service fundraiser.

29. Number of legs on a prawn: TEN. Prawns are the larger biological cousins to shrimp.

If you like legs more than wings, these are for you.

30. Shows up: ARRIVES.

35. [theme]

38. Half an Everest expedition: ASCENT. The other half, the descent, is considered more dangerous because after reaching their goal, climbers are exhausted and less focused.

39. Actor Sharif: OMAR. Everyone's favorite OMAR was also a world-class bridge player.

He apparently liked backgammon as well.

40. Club VIPs: DJS. Disc Jockeys. 

42. Inner: Prefix: ENTO. I wanted the more common ENDO, as in ENDOscope and ENDOskeleton. 

43. Curt: ABRUPT.

46. [theme]

49. James M. Cain's "__ Pierce": MILDRED. The film version of his novel won Joan Crawford the Best Actress Oscar for the title role in 1945.

51. Spanish gold: ORO. Lots of ORO at the bottom of the ocean from sunken Spanish galleons off the Gold Coast of Florida.

52. Contact site: EYE. As in contact lens. 

53. Singer Yoko: ONO. The first time Paul McCartney met Yoko, he said, "Oh, no!"

Here she is making EYE contact.

54. Wasabi __: PEAS.

56. [theme]

61. Coffee shop emanations: AROMAS.

65. Artful dodger?: EVADER.

66. [theme]

68. Spot: NOTICE.

69. Apple core, for short: CPU. Central Processing Unit, a computer's "brain" (no relation). 

70. Store that sells Frakta shopping bags: IKEA. It's Kits in Every Aisle.

71. Sounds like a bird: TWEETS. Seems like only yesterday when TWEETS only applied to birds.

72. Slump: SAG.

73. Like a lawn at dawn: DEWY. This is when it dawned on him that he lost.

Truman celebrating his upset victory in 1948.

Down:

1. Led Zeppelin's final studio album: CODA. Like the output from many groups, I like the early albums better.

2. Famous __ cookies: AMOS. Much more famous than these cookies, which are for the Byrd's.

3. "About me" summaries: BIOS.

4. Move with a swagger: STRUT.

5. Used sprinklers on: WATERED. Unless your lawn is already DEWY.

6. United: ONE.

7. "Blue Bloods" org.: NYPD. Blue Bloods was a TV series about the New York Police Department starring Tom Selleck.

8. Annabella of "The Sopranos": SCIORRA. She played Gloria Trillo, Tony Soprano's mistress in Season 3.

9. __ Ferry, West Virginia: HARPERS. HARPERS Ferry is famous as the site of abolitionist John Brown's 1859 raid, which helped spark the Civil War. Because of its strategic location between North and South, the town changed hands eight times during the conflict.

10. Wildly out of control: AMOK. I wanted to spell it AMUK, which was IRONIC because it didn't fit.

11. Start of Caesar's boast: VENI. "VENI, vidi, vici" translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered." It was spoken by Julius Caesar in a report to the Roman Senate over a quick and decisive victory. That's as succinct as it gets. 

12. Actor Bana: ERIC. ERIC Banadinovich is an actor from Down Under who came out on top!

13. Burlap bag: SACK.

18. Suffix that means "maker": SMITH. I grew up in Williamsburg, VA where there are many craft shops plying colonial trades, such as: blackSMITH, tinSMITH and gunSMITH. A friend mine from high school apprenticed as a silverSMITH. 

Amazing quality from only simple tools.

22. Mens __: criminal intent: REA. Oddly, I learned this phrase from watching Legally Blonde.

24. Wednesday's roommate at Nevermore: ENID. From the Addam's Family spinoff, Wednesday. Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday, and Emma Myers plays Thursday ENID.

Wednesday and Enid

26. Many a charity tourney: PRO-AM.

27. Deer friend of Flower and Thumper: BAMBI.

28. Warning from a doghouse: SNARL.

31. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. The Grammy-winning rapper also carved out a successful acting career and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

i
32. Locale: VENUE.

33. Log passage: ENTRY.

34. Granite or marble: STONE.

36. Yucky stuff: CRUD.

37. Comfy loungewear: PJS. Short for Pajamas.

Pajama shorts

41. "Enough!": STOP.

44. Assignment: PROJECT.

45. Terms of service: TENURES.

47. Accent piece: AREA RUG.

48. "The Fountainhead" protagonist: ROARK. The Fountainhead is a 1943 philosophical novel by Ayn Rand that champions individualism, egoism, and artistic integrity.

50. __ Pérignon: DOM. I can think of better ways to spend $250+ than a bottle of champagne. 

55. Utterly reliable: SOLID.

56. Not erect: BENT.

57. Solemnly swear: AVOW.

58. Fully appease: SATE.

59. Falco of "The Sopranos": EDIE. EDIE played Carmela Soprano, Tony's wife. 

You better not mention Gloria.

60. Some USO patrons: PFCS. Private First Class soldiers may attend shows put on by United Service Organizations, an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment and other programs to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

Bob Hope spent 50 Christmases overseas!

62. Podcaster's purchase: MIKE. Bzzzt! No one spells it this way. It's MIC, short for microphone.

63. Several: A FEW.

64. Remain: STAY.

67. Happy Greek cry: OPA. Oh, Pa! I'm so happy!!

Be good. RB

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 56th birthday to our sweet Tony (Anon-T)! Every time I need someone to cover the blog, Tony is there without hesitation. Thank you for always being so generous with your time and willing to help. Hope you have a wonderful birthday, Tony!

 

 

Tony At Wit's End near Carmel on Father's Day 2017