Saturday, February 7, 2026, Amie Walker

 Themeless Saturday by Amie Walker

Amie Walker is an attorney/current stay-at-home parent to three little girls in Chandler, Arizona. When she’s not thinking about puzzles, she loves spending time with her family and singing in her women’s choir. Here is a picture of Amie on Jeopardy on 3/28/22. 

The bottom of this puzzle was an 

tough sledding for me where gaming slang, three obscure names and my not remembering the spelling of CAESAREAN and its "AE" grouping. 😖 Sigh, I had one bad cell but let's move on and I'll give you my other 45. Ponder: MUS(E)ings.

Across:

1. Franciscan philosopher who inspired the main character in "The Name of the Rose": OCCAM -

William of Baskerville, the protagonist of Umberto Eco’s 1980 novel, The Name Of The Rose,

 is a fictionalized, homespun homage to the real-life 14th-century philosopher William of OCCAM. He embodies OCCAM's "razor" principle, using logic, empiricism, and skepticism to solve mysteries, reflecting the transition from medieval dogma to modern scientific thought. You're welcome!

6. Nap spot: SOFA.

10. Bands that stabilize knees, for short: ACLS - The natural bands and not these

14. "Care to explain?": WHAT IS THIS.

16. Grand: THOU - Slang for thousand

17. Squeals: NAMES NAMES - Our crossword regular Elia Kazan NAMED NAMES at the McCarthy HUAC committee and Hollywood remembered.

18. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI - Second from right

19. Nurse: SIP.

20. Utter: TOTAL.

21. Pointer from a proofreader: CARET.

22. Possible start of a folktale: LEGEND HAS IT.

24. Volga __: Turkic people in western Russia: TATARS.

27. Body work?: TATTOOS.

29. Celebrity gossip show: E-NEWS.

30. High kicks: HEELS - Kicks is slang for shoes, so...

32. Howe'er: THO.

33. Director Coogler: RYAN. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

34. Ninny: GOOSE - I am prone to call our kitty a silly GOOSE

35. Jalopy: HEAP.

36. "Newhart" production co.: MTM and Rhoda, Lou Grant, WKRP, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, among many others. 

37. Guy who made one helluva deal?: FAUST - My first thought was not of Goethe but of the musical Damn Yankees where Joe Hardy sold his soul to beat those Damn Yankees.

Devil     Joe Hardy                        Lola

 38. Western Australian port: PERTH.

39. Like things?: SIMILES - I was very happy to enter SIMILAR first.

41. Lofty nests: AERIES.

42. Get drinks on tap, say? MOBILE ORDER  More

45. Be worthy of: MERIT.

46. Swear off?: BLEEP - Theater critic Kenneth Tyan was on BBC and is given credit for the first person TV to get BLEEPED. He innocently used the word f*** as a synonym for intercourse.

47. Young dog: PUP.

50. Some, in Spanish: UNAS - Le regalaré UNAS rosas rojas para el Día de San Valentín. (I will give her red roses for St. Valentine's Day)

51. Challenges for some gamers: BOSS LEVELS.

53. Some flatfish: SOLE.

54. Takeout deliveries?: CAESAREANS - I am still upset with myself for not knowing the odd spelling of CAESAREAN. It would have unlocked the stack of these three female names below I did not know: 

41. Writer __ Rogers St. Johns: ADELA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

43. Actress Elizabeth: OLSEN - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ She was in six of these movies and said it ruined her chance at other roles

44. Journalist Maria who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021: RESSA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  She won for her efforts in the The Philippines

55. Meadow moms: EWES.

56. Volcano seen on "The White Lotus": ETNA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

57. Fender guitar, for short: STRAT - Their ranges from $15,000 to $80,000.

Down:

1. __ up to: OWNS.

2. Masala __: CHAI.

3. Stay out for the night: CAMP.

4. Grabbed a bite: ATE.

5. Welcome patio features on a hot day: MISTERS - Awnings did fit but alas...

6. Washington, but not Jefferson: STATE - Forming a new state is largely a symbolic idea by people of northern California and southern Oregon who feel they are ignored by Sacramento and Salem.

7. "Sheesh!": OH MAN.

8. Real-world experiment: FIELD TEST - Farmers are constantly FIELD TESTING new methods in their, uh, fields.

9. Burro: ASS.

10. "Took you long enough": AT LAST - After waiting 86 years for Red Sox to win the World Series.

11. "SNL" alum who played a Spartan: CHERI OTERI.

12. Relish a paradoxical passion: LOVE TO HATE.

13. "__ yourself": SUIT.

15. Smooches in a lorry, say: SNOGS - or a quick kiss in a lift on the way up to a flat to watch the Beeb on the telly

21. Animals with righting reflexes: CATS.

22. Pink flamingo spot: LAWN.

23. "Veep" Emmy winner Tony: HALE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

24. Stretch-y things: TERMS - You can stretch these TERMS as long as you want as seen below. 

I also thought of our constructors stretching out TERMS for clever cluing 😀

25. "We don't have all day": ANY TIME NOW.

26. Magic spirit, say?: TEAM MORALE 😀 The NBA TEAM the Orlando Magic

28. Some on the JV squad: SOPHS.

30. Home on the water: HOUSE BOAT.

31. Lip balm brand: EOS.

34. "Coco" voice actor __ García Bernal: GAEL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

35. Title for Beethoven: HERR.

37. Move like a hummingbird: FLIT.

38. Eyes: PEEPERS - Jeepers, creepers...

40. Nile birds with curved bills: IBISES.

47. Cider choice: PEAR - This is also called Perry and is made from fermented pears

48. Radius neighbor: ULNA.

49. "C'mere!": PSST.

51. Dating letters: BCE.

52. Lab doc: VET. 😀

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 Amie Walker and Amanda Rafkin

Jump Jive an' Wail.  The circles all spell out synonyms for Jump.

17-Across. Sweet apple cultivar from Minnesota: HONEY CRISP.   HOP.  Everything you wanted to  know about Honey Crisp Apples.

25-Across. Enjoy a clothes-free swim: SKINNY DIP.  SKIP.

36-Across. Common Banksy technique: SPRAY PAINTING.  SPRING.  Banksy is a pseudonymous and controversial English street artist identity remains unconfirmed.  There was a Banksy in New Orleans.

Banksy in New Orleans.

48-Across. Buttery cookie made with citrus zest: LEMON SNAP.  LEAP.

And the Unifier:

59-Across. House of Pain hit that begins "Pack it up, pack it in," and a description of each set of circled letters: JUMP AROUND.

Here's the Grid so you can see the Circles:

Across:

1. Feel sore: ACHE.

5. Caution light color: AMBER.

10. Tuts: TSKS.

King Tuts

14. More than dampen: SOAK.

15. Ballet-inspired fitness class: BARRE.  Barre exercise is a low-impact workout that combines elements of ballet, Pilates, and yoga to build strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, and core stability. The exercise uses a ballet barre, for support and features high repetitions of small, pulsing movements and isometric holds.

16. Mimics: APES.

19. "As __ on TV": SEEN.

20. TV series pts.: EPS.  Episodes, I presume.

21. Is inquisitive: ASKS.

22. Pedometer unit: STEP.

23. Seattle WNBA team: STORM.

29. Move stealthily: SNEAK.

31. Statler and Waldorf, e.g.: DUO.  Characters from The Muppets.

32. Short way to go?: RTE.  The abbreviation for Route.

33. "Omg, I just got it!": AHA!

34. Boca Raton's st.: FLA.

35. Chrysalis: PUPA.

40. Landlocked Asian country: LAOS.

41. Key in a keyboard combo: ALT.  Control-Alt.-Delete.

42. Laverne of "Orange Is the New Black": COX.  I never watched Orange Is the New Black, so was not familiar with Laverne Cox (b. May 29, 1972).  Apparently, she portrayed Sophia Burnet on the show.

43. Little trickster: IMP.

44. Letters before an alias: AKA.  Also Known As.

45. Really long stories: EPICS.

52. V-sign sentiment: PEACE.

54. Linus's sister: LUCY.  From the Peanuts cartoon.

55. Grain in 26-Down: RICE.  //  And 26-Down. Savory breakfast cake of South India: IDLI.  Definitely not a Tuesday word.  Idli or idly is a type of savory rice cake, originating from Southern India.  It is a popular breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented de-husked black lentils and rice.

57. Male offspring: SON.

58. Party thrower: HOST.

62. Pop singer Sands: EVIE.  I am not familiar name Evie Sands (b. July 18, 1946).  I recognize some of her music, but I think what I remember was another artist singing the songs.

63. Thin woodwinds: OBOES.

64. Go back and forth, in a way: PACE.

65. Religious offshoot: SECT.

66. Curt: TERSE.

67. Vehicle with runners: SLED.

Down:

1. Campfire residue: ASHES.

2. Takes over: COOPTS.

3. "MMMBop" boy band: HANSON.  Hanson is a pop rock band made up of three brothers Isaac Hanson (b. 1980), Taylor Hanson (b. 1983), and Zac Hanson (b. 1985).   They were big in the 1990 when they were still very young.  Hanson is best known for the 1997 hit song MMMBop was one of their big hits from 1997.  At the time the video was recorded, the brothers were only 16, 14, and 11 years old.

4. Scrape (by): EKE.

5. Pre-K song subject: ABCs.

6. Stains: MARKS.

7. Rapid: BRISK.

8. Hosp. areas: ERs.  As in Emergency Rooms.

9. Sales agt.: REP.

10. Delicious: TASTY.

11. Complete as fast as possible, as a video game: SPEED RUN.

12. "Young ears are listening": KEEP IT PG.

13. Fig. exposed in some data breaches: SSN.  As in Social Security Number.

18. World's largest manufacturer of musical instruments: YAMAHA.  When I think of Yamaha, my first thought is motorcycles.  Yamaha Corporation and Yamaha Motor are related but separate companies.

22. __-Caps candy: SNO.  Yummers!

24. Raises, as kids: REARS.

27. Subtle distinction: NUANCE.

28. Chicken pot pie vegetable: PEA.

30. Inuit boats: KAYAKS.  A brief history of the Kayak.

34. Avocado's abundance: FAT.  Yummers!  My favorite restaurant has stuffed avocados.

35. __ cut: cropped style: PIXIE.

36. Marriage equality anthem by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: SAME LOVE.

37. Taylor Swift genre: POP MUSIC.  I heard she just got engaged.

38. Make an itinerary, say: PLAN.

39. Tall hat: TOPPER.  Meh!  I wasn't keen on this clue.

40. Short, for short: L'IL.

44. "__ ideas?": ANY.

46. Like a situationship: CASUAL.  Also known as Friends with Benefits.

47. Light fixture on a wall: SCONCE.

49. Group of eight: OCTET.

50. "My knight in shining __!": ARMOR.

51. Singing ability, informally: PIPES.

53. Came to a close: ENDED.

56. Guitar protector: CASE.

58. "__ making a list ... ": HE'S.  I saw some Christmas decorations in a store over the weekend!  Way too early!!  Is it too soon for a Santa cartoon?

59. Scribble (down): JOT.

60. Purple yam: UBE.  This tuber appears with some frequency in the puzzles.

61. Photo __: OPs.

I'll Jump away for now.

חתולה