Saturday, September 26, 2026, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson

  

Our Wyoming native who went to college in Minnesota is now doing greatwork for a startup group called BetterFi, a nonprofit working to end predatory lending in Tennessee.

I made great progress and soon had the NW to SE swath done and then had to go in to finish off the other corners which was a fun challenge with a lot of international cuisine and filmakers. 

Across:

1. Releases: EMITS.

6. Ardent supporter: MEGAFAN - This Raider fan qualifies

13. Island country that changed the shape of the International Date Line by skipping December 30, 2011: SAMOA.

14. "Anything you say": SURE SURE.

15. Guttural sound: CROAK.

16. Outermost meningeal membrane: DURA MATER.

17. Hot: IN DEMAND.

19. "Bad idea": DON'T.

20. High return: LOB.

21. 41-Across teacher: SENSEI and 41. Dojo discipline: KARATE.

23. Army __: ANTS.

24. Double-reed woodwind related to the shawm: OBOE - Adrian muddied the waters by adding a shawm in the clue 

26. Seldom seen: SCARCE.

28. Racing headgear: CRASH HELMET - 76-year-old comedian Andy Huggins says at his age he worries about falling and so he wears a HELMET. To keep from looking foolish, he also carries a skateboard.

30. Tailgating area: LOT.

33. Angiogram image, perhaps: AORTA - It kinda stands out, doesn't it

34. "__ bien": MUY.

35. Durable fabric: CHINO.

37. Drug featured in the Dock Ellis biopic "No No: A Dockumentary": LSD.

38. "How's it hangin'?": WHAT'S SHAKIN'

42. Bernie Sanders' mittens, for one: MEME.

What's shakin' Bernie?

43. Singer known as the "Goddess of Pop": CHER - Depends on who you ask. 

  

47. Harsh critics: HATERS.

49. PC IDs: IPS.

50. Martinican poet Césaire who helped found the Négritude movement: AIME ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

51. Dessert often made with espresso: TIRAMISU.

53. "Chocolate in every bite" cookie maker: CHIPS AHOY.

56. Sonicare rival: ORAL B.

58. Herb in fines herbes and herbes de Provence: TARRAGON - Fines Herbes (fēnz erbs - literally fine herbs): Made with a specific combination of four fresh herbs in equal parts: parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil.

59. Bring up: RAISE.

60. Welcome words?: IT'S OPEN.

61. Wrapped: ENDED.


Down:

1. Key hit in panic: ESC.

2. Platform game that debuted in 1983: MARIO BROS - I loved playing their lo-res game on my Apple IIe

3. "You sold me": I'M ON BOARD.

4. Bufotoxin source: TOAD - Bufotoxin is a milky, poisonous defense chemical secreted by the skin and parotoid glands of true toads in the genus Bufo.

5. Array at an izakaya: SAKES Izakaya (居酒屋) are casual drinking establishments, similar to tapas bars, where customers order a variety of small dishes of food that can be shared at the table. 

6. Genre in which readers are clued in to the plot?: MURDER MYSTERY.

7. Time to study: ERA. 

8. Beaut: GEM.

9. Taqueria option: ASADA - When you're done at the izakaya, you can drive on over to a taqueria for some carne ASADA (grilled meat) food.

 

10. Guest room fixture: FUTON.

11. "__ you sweet!": AREN'T.

12. "Aw, phooey": NERTS.

14. Vinyasa sequence also called Surya Namaskar: SUN SALUTATION ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  - Vinyasa is the movement between poses. This slowly revealed itself.

16. Event one must prepare for exhaustively?: DANCE MARATHON - A DANCE MARATHON was the subject of this movie 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. The trailer

18. Vibe well: MESH.

20. Word in many union names: LOCAL - Hormel's LOCAL 22 Union has sponsored champion softball teams here in town for years.

22. Halo-halo base: ICE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ More exotic food! This is a Filipino shaved ICE treat.

25. Part of i.e.: EST.

27. Make a lasting impression?: ETCH.

29. Skateboarding star Tony: HAWK - Tony now "hawks" Qunol products

30. "This bears repeating ... ": LIKE I SAID.

31. Instinctively: ON IMPULSE - I bought a Mazda Miata on impulse many years ago and regretted it. It always needed repairs and wouldn't handle snow.

32. Hues: TONES.

36. Muffuletta ingredient: HAM ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ More unknown (to me) food. The classic New Orleans sandwich combines a homemade olive salad with layers of thin-sliced Italian cold cuts. Man it looks so good!

39. Derisive laugh: HAH.

40. "Buona __": SERA.

43. Tacos de nopales need: CACTI - Our buffet continues: 

To make cactus tacos, scrape thorns off nopales (duh), boil them for 15 mins with onions, bay leaves, and cilantro, then sauté with chilis and jalapeños.

44. Percussion set: HI HAT.

45. Dubai rulers: EMIRS.

46. High-quality proof, for short: REPRO - Repro stands for reprographics (or reproduction), but in publishing, printing, and design, a REPRO specifically refers to a high-quality proof of text and images. It is used as the final checkpoint to verify that everything looks perfect before the final print run.

48. Camping treat: SMORE.

52. Home country of filmmaker Asghar Farhadi: IRAN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

54. Chump: SAP.

55. Sit in a cellar, perhaps: AGE.

57. Sack: BED.

Saturday, June 14, 2025, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson

                    

Our Wyoming native who went to college in Minnesota is now doing great work for a startup group called BetterFi, a nonprofit working to end predatory lending in Tennessee.

This face below represents how surprised I was when DOLMA and ANARCH turned out to be correct and I got the congratulations message!

                   

Across:

1. Longtime Harmon role: GIBBS - Watching Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon as GIBBS on the left below) on NCIS is a guilty pleasure of mine. The good guys always win, there is a lot of technology and some very quirky but attractive characters.

6. Solutions-oriented support group?: LAB TECHS - They prepare chemical solutions and can provide solutions to problems. 

14. "The Misfits" star: MONROE - Her husband Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay for his wife Marilyn but her marriage and life fell apart during the shooting of this last film for her and Gable. More about this troubled film

15. Emphatic phrase in an accusation: I MEAN YOU.

16. Raise, in a way: UPTILT - An unfamiliar word to me whose meaning is obvious

17. Course layout: SYLLABUS.

18. Timepiece useful in lunar gardening: MOON DIAL - If you believe the success of your garden depends on what the phase of the Moon is when you plant...

20. Reach: ACCESS.

21. Pandora selection: SONG.

22. Opposite of pos.: NEG - Does anyone remember Erik Agard's "Negative post/PRE" from a few Saturdays ago?

24. Image on the Lebanese flag: TREE.

25. Showing gumption: FEISTY.

28. "The Low __ Theory": A Tribe Called Quest album: END ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

31. Bankroll: WAD.

32. "Shame": THAT'S TOO BAD - Standard sarcasm on Seinfeld 

35. Banker who fills and empties pockets?: POOL HUSTLER - Oh, those pockets that can be targets of banked shots! A classic, gritty b/w 1961 film that got 94% on the Tomatometer!

36. "Tell the truth": DON'T LIE TO ME.

37. Clear dishes: BUS.

38. Brief, for short: Abbr.: SYN - Meta clues are always a challenge. Brief is a SYNONYM for short

39. Disorder organizer: ANARCH - From Greek an- "not" + arkhon "ruler," meaning "leader of leaderlessness," a paradoxical term used since the 1660s for "anarchist"

42. Source of some plant-based milk: OATS.

44. Shock-absorbing component of some running shoes: GEL.

46. Branch of Islam: SHIA.

48. High winds: FLUTES.

51. Disorder organizers: NEATNIKS - A Hawkeye line from M*A*S*H

54. Liquidation event: FIRE SALE.

56. Some bees: DRONES.

57. Family time at the Y: OPEN SWIM.

58. Chestnut kin: AUBURN.

59. "Alas ... ": SAD TO SAY.

60. Outdoor tables?: MESAS 😀

Down:

1. Disappear suddenly: GO POOF.

2. Chant: INTONE.

3. "Challenge accepted!": BRING IT ON - You can be pretty 4. Willing to accept a challenge, perhaps: BOLD  from the balcony.

5. "Are we alone?" org.: SETI - A trailer for a fav movie of mine, Contact, about the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence 

6. Hosiery thread: LISLE - LISLE is a type of finish that was applied to obtain smooth and even yarns. More

7. "The Backyard Bird Chronicles" writer/illustrator Tan: AMY.

8. New Grass Revival icon Fleck: BELA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

9. One on the Mohs scale: TALC.

10. Put into law: ENACT.

11. Offensive actions online: CYBER WAR.

12. Promotion from within: HOUSE AD - A HOUSE AD refers to advertising content that a website or media outlet uses to promote itself for its own offering rather than external products or services.  

13. Figured (out): SUSSED - A skill we solvers must have

14. "__ the word": MUM'S.

19. "Updates to share?": ANYTHING.

23. Age poorly: GET STALE.

26. Takes on set: SHOTS.

27. Running figure: TALLY.

29. Off: NOT ON.

30. Stuffed dish from Turkey: DOLMA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Stuffed grape leaves

33. Perkins who co-hosted "The Great British Baking Show": SUE - Not only had I never heard of Ms. Perkins, she is no longer with the show. In the picture below, SUE is on the left.

34. People with strong opinions on draft picks?: BEER SNOBS.

35. Copped an attitude: POSTURED.

36. "Radical Optimism" singer: DUA LIPA - She, and her helpful vowels, have been on our cwd playlist for quite a while now.

37. West End smashes: BOFFOS - Indicates a big hit in London's West End theatre district

40. "Things Fall Apart" novelist Achebe: CHINUA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

41. Folks who walk on the wild side?: HIKERS 😀

43. Surgical tube: STENT.

45. Foe: ENEMY.

47. Professional gp.: ASSN.

49. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO.

50. Maxims: SAWS.

52. DeVine of "The Righteous Gemstones": ADAM - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

53. "Can't argue with that": TRUE.

55. "Weetzie Bat" writer Francesca __ Block: LIA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯