Tuesday March 17, 2026 Sala Wanetick and Amie Walker

Let's Talk:

19-Across. Emotional plea in "Top Gun" and "Top Gun: Maverick": TALK TO ME, GOOSE.

26-Across. "I didn't hear a 'Please'!": SAY THE MAGIC WORD.

43-Across. "Why this course of action?": EXPLAIN YOURSELF.

And the unifier:

53-Across. Requests to Siri and Alexa, or what 19-, 26-, and 43-Across literally are: VOICE COMMANDS.

Across:

1. Lobby group for seniors: AARP.  American Association of Retired Persons.

5. "__ knew?": WHO.

8. Red light therapy venues: SPAS.  Red Light Therapy uses low-level, 630–700 nm wavelengths of red and near-infrared light to boost cellular energy, reduce inflammation, and promote tissue repair.  Sessions last 5–20 minutes and are used to treat acne, wrinkles, hair loss, and chronic pain. While generally safe, it requires consistent use to see results and may carry risks of eye damage if not used properly.  I think I'll pass on this therapy.

12. Pink's counterpart in "Wicked": GREEN.

14. Stranger __ fiction: THAN.

15. Work for: EARN.

16. Italian liqueur such as Aperol or Campari: AMARO.  Amaro is a family of Italian herbal liqueurs, (amaro means bitter) that are made by infusing a base spirit (like wine or neutral grain spirit) with a blend of botanicals such as herbs, roots, flowers, and citrus peels, resulting in a bittersweet, complex flavor profile.

17. Blow off steam: VENT.

18. Cogito, __ sum: ERGO.  Today's Latin lesson ... or, as René Descartes (Mar. 31, 1596 ~ Feb. 11, 1650) so succinctly stated:  I think, therefore I am.

22. NYC summer hrs.: EDT.  As in Eastern Daylight Time.  We just "sprung" forward over the weekend.

23. Most consecutive Super Bowls won by the same team: TWO.  Eight NFL teams have won 2 consecutive Super Bowls:  Green Bay Packers (I-II), Miami Dolphins (VII-VIII), Pittsburgh Steelers (IX-X & XIII-XIV), San Francisco 49ers (XXIII-XXIV), Dallas Cowboys (XXVII-XXVIII), Denver Broncos (XXXII-XXXIII), New England Patriots (XXXVIII-XXXIX), and Kansas City Chiefs (LVII-LVIII).

24. Italian fashion house: PRADA.  Prada means Meadow in Italian.  The Italian fashion house, however, was founded by Mario Prada (1894 ~ 1958).

31. "I __ a hunch!": HAD.

32. Insta upload: PIC.  As in Pictures.

33. Guitar Hero World Tour console: WII.

34. Helpful feedback: INPUT.

37. Fuel efficiency stat: MPG.  As in Miles Per Gallon (of gasoline).

38. Gives a hoot: MINDS.

40. Corp. leader: CEO.  As in Chief Executive Officer.

41. Wilmington's st.: DEL.  Wilmington is in Delaware.

42. __ rummy: GIN.  Gin Rummy is a card game.

50. Harbor Freight purchases: TOOLS.

51. "Hello, fellow sheep": BAA.

52. Stretch the truth: LIE.

57. Graduate of the CIA, perhaps: CHEF.  Not the Central Intelligence Agency, but the Culinary Institute of America.

59. Great Plains tribe: OTOE.

60. Corrosive compounds: ACIDS.

61. Subtle glow: AURA.

62. Numbered hwys.: RTES.  As in Routes.

63. "Girls5eva" co-star __ Elise Goldsberry: RENÉE.  I am not familiar with with either Renée Elise Goldsberry (b. Jan. 2, 1971) or Girls5eva.

64. Fishnet fabric: MESH.

65. Pops: DAD.

66. Covers with grass: SODS.

Down:

1. Rock shop options: AGATES.

2. Naval fleet: ARMADA.  The best known Armada is the infamous Spanish Armada, which set sail from Spain in 1588 in an effort to invade England.  It failed.

3. "Million Dollar Listing" field: REALTY.

4. Fringe benefit: PERK.

5. Cry of delight: WHEE.

6. Kick back (with): HANG.

7. Good place for a lecturer to stay?: ON TOPIC.

8. Teeter-totter: SEESAW.

9. Streamline, perhaps: PARE DOWN.

10. Iguazu Falls land: Abbr.: ARG.  Iguaza Falls is a spectacular waterfall system that consists of over 275 individual drops spanning nearly 2 along the Argentina-Brazil border. 

11. Cold-sounding commercial prefix: SNO.

13. "Anything else!": NOT THAT!  Not exactly sure how this answer fits.

14. Claire Dunphy, e.g.: TV MOM.  Claire Dunphy was the fictional mother on Modern Family.  She was programmed by Julie Bowen (née born Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer, b. March 3, 1970).

20. Carried a debt: OWED.

21. Goblinlike creature: ORC.  The Orc is a fictional creature from The Lord of the Rings.

25. Bone-dry: ARID.

27. Thanksgiving, e.g.: Abbr.: THU.  Thanksgiving is a holiday that always falls on the third Thursday of November.

28. Put on, as nail polish: APPLY.

29. Job for a DJ: GIG.

30. Prefix with loyal and service: DIS.   As in Disloyal and Disservice.

34. The "I" of the RICE method: ICE.  Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate.

35. Dismissive call: NEXT.

36. Puffy pastries: POPOVERS.  Yummers!

37. Guys: MEN.

38. San Diego neighborhood whose name means "sea view": MIRAMAR.

39. __ and outs: INS.

41. Lack of harmony: DISCORD.

42. U.S. Pacific island: GUAM.  Guam appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle.  [See clue 24-down.]  Since 1898, Guam has been a U.S. island territory.  It is the largest, most populous, and southernmost island in the Marianas archipelago and Micronesia.  Guam is known for its beautiful by tropical beaches, Chamorro villages and ancient latte-stone pillars.  Guam’s WWII significance is on view at the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, whose sites include Asan Beach, a former battlefield.

44. Bath scrubber: LOOFAH.

45. Oscar winner Mahershala: ALI.  Mahershala Ali (né Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, b. Feb. 15, 1974) is an American actor who has two Oscars: One for his portrayal of a drug dealer in Moonlight and one for his portrayal of Don Shirley in Green Book.

46. Thin woodwinds: OBOES.  These woodwinds make frequent appearances in the puzzles.

47. Pacific climate phenomenon: EL NIÑO.  Everything you ever wanted to know about El Niño.

48. Heavy-__: sleepy: LIDDED.

49. Admits, with "up": 'FESSES.

54. Jazz great James: ETTA.  Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) is a frequent guest in the puzzles.

55. Like many dorms: CO-ED.  Last Tuesday this was clued as Not Single-Sex.  [See 16-Across.]

56. Top poker cards: ACES.

57. Kiss __: PDA capturer at a stadium: CAM.  The infamous Kiss Cam from last summer's Coldplay concert.

58. Shade on a color wheel: HUE.

חתולה

Happy St. Patrick's Day

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. 😀