Wednesday, May 6, 2026 - Sita C. Palepu & David Y. Lin

 

Theme:  Texas "Fold'em"

Puzzling thoughts:

Chairman Moe here for his monthly recap.  Unlike the April Fool's Day puzzle, the first Wednesday of May puzzle is a bit more straight-forward.  Maybe too easy as I don't recall having much difficulty solving it

 

Today's constructors appear to have had one other collaborative puzzle published (@ WSJ last August). A Google search for their names did not offer much additional information; perhaps one or both will stop by, read the blog, and offer their comments

 

The puzzle's reveal was probably unnecessary as the starts to 18-23-37-47 Across are all very common POKER terms.  Maybe using CHECK as a fifth term would have made more sense, and eliminate the reveal completely.  Also, POKER NIGHT sometimes consists of playing DRAW POKER and/or 5-card and 7-card STUD POKER - all of which do not feature an "ALL-IN" play as does TEXAS HOLD EM.  But I bet they didn't think of that ... care to wager if they did or didn't? 

 

The entries and reveal:

 

18 Across. "I say we're square now": CALL IT EVEN.  Sounds like a compromise, to me

 

23 Across. Set new, higher standards: RAISE THE BAR.  Sometimes, after reading a few of my fellow blogger's recaps, I wonder if they (or I) have raised the bar for how clever or unique.  Today's recap will definitely "lower" the bar 😀

 

37 Across. Versatile home office device: ALL-IN-ONE PRINTER.  Good choice of entry as the term "all-in" (for Texas Hold em) is hyphenated

 

47 Across. Do a wash day chore: FOLD LAUNDRY.  As my cartoon depicts, folding a fitted sheet should be part of a contest.  Miss M and I choose to make the bed with the sheets we wash, thereby avoiding the dreaded fold of the bottom sheet

 

55 Across. Evening when one hopes to get a good deal, and when one might hear the starts of 18-, 23-, 37-, and 47-Across: POKER NIGHT.  As I said in my "puzzling thoughts", poker night is not just playing Texas Hold em.  But hey, everything fit into place and after reviewing each additional word or phrase in today's puzzle we can comment on how fun it was to solve

 

Here is the GRID: 

 

 

Across:
1. Copious quantity: SEAS.  Not an often used clue for this word; I have seen the clue used to describe the word "OCEANS", though

5. Kiss or slap: SMACK.  Sometimes one follows the other ...

10. Fashion designer Cassini: OLEG.  [Wikipedia] "Oleg Cassini was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after launching his career as a designer in Rome, and quickly secured a position with Paramount Pictures. Cassini established his reputation by designing for films"

14. Crawl (along): INCH.  "Slowly I turned ... step by step ... INCH by INCH ..." Anyone care to guess who said this, and to what response?

15. Host: EMCEE. 

16. Bird symbolizing peace: DOVE.  An old Moe-ku, but appropriate:

        A DOVE flew by and

        Landed on a church steeple,

        Uttering high coo    

17. Canvas bag: TOTE.

[entry]

20. Uncomfortably unfamiliar: ALIEN.  Adjective form; not a noun in this context

22. Handy tool for the error-prone: ERASER. Back when I solved my crossword puzzles on paper, I used an ink pen; never used an ERASER

[entry]

27. Pianist in "Casablanca": SAM.  "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'" [Ilsa Lund]

 

29. Egrets, e.g.: HERONS.  Eries: HURONS

30. Flout openly: DEFY. At first glance I thought this clue read: "Flour openly" - for which I almost entered COAT 

31. Family doctor, for short: PCP.  Moe-l'ick:

        My new doctor is a hippie, you see;

        Hallucinates, when examining me

        For anything that's weird.

        No worries; I'm not sceered 

        Because my PCP's on PCP 

 34. Juicy gossip: DIRT. 

35. Conjure up: CREATE.  See my comments to 16 and 31 Across ... (ps: there'll be a few more ... )

[entry]

40. Leavening agents: YEASTS.  Also, agents that trigger the start of fermentation in wine, as these little buggers convert sugar to alcohol

41. Spool: REEL.  Regurgitating another Moe-l'ick:

 

        Going fishing, it has its appeal

        At least that's what I thought; my gut feel.

        Until seas got so rough

        I said, "That's quite enough!

        I can't handle the rod when I REEL"   

42. Grads-to-be: SRS.  I'm one of many SRS I know who ain't graduating from anything - been there, done that

43. Floor oppositions: NAYS.  CEILINGS was too big of a word to fit

44. Appeared: SEEMED.  Moe-ku:

 

        Tailor was shocked! Man

        Came back to fix loose cuffs. His

        Pants SEEMED to be seamed ...

  

46. Hesitant utterance: ERM. I call "foul"!  The clue needs to suggest that this refers to a British interjection.  No one that I know on this side of the pond uses the word/term "erm"

[entry]

52. "The Daily Show" genre: SATIRE.  Can't comment; no use of politics or religion allowed on this blog site

54. Throwback diet: PALEO.  I had to hunt (via Google) why the term PALEO would be a "throwback" diet.  And after gathering the information, I immediately knew ... 

[reveal]

59. Journalist Lisa: LING.  It took a while before there was a last/proper name in this puzzle.  Kudos!  (I don't count "SAM" as the clue was rather easy to suss)

60. Power source: FUEL.  Speaking of which, I feel myself "running out of energy", so I am going to finish the Across words and take a break.  Might fuel myself with an adult beverage and see if that helps

61. Big bullies: OGRES. Crossword-ese

62. Against: ANTI. Crossword-ese

63. __-Alt-Del: CTRL. The old "three-finger salute"! 

64. Heavy landing sound: THUNK.  Really?  I thought this word was the conjugation of "think and thank" - you know, like "drink, drank, drunk"

65. First lady between Eleanor and Mamie: BESS.  This first lady was known for her privacy and had a few classic quotes (at least that's what AI said)

[time for a drink and a break and to begin fixing dinner - 4/30/26, 5:30 pm MST]

 

[OK, I am back - 5/01/26 10:30 am MST - dinner last night was stuffed peppers and a nice Beaujolais] 

Down:
1. Instrument that may have 21 strings: SITAR.  So, after a quick Google check, sitars can have between 18 and 21 strings - found this YouTube video that will explain

 

2. "__ Holmes": Millie Bobby Brown film: ENOLA.  Enola Gay, I've heard of; Enola Holmes? Nope

3. Brand of microwave popcorn: ACT II.  I like to make my microwave popcorn using a device similar to the one shown below:

 

4. "Gimme a break!": SHEESH. 

 

 

Ha!

 

5. "Gimme a __!": SEC.  

6. UFC sport: MMA.  Ultimate Fighting Contest = Mixed Martial Arts

7. Oft-torn knee pt.: ACL.  Anterior Cruciate Ligament

8. A-listers: CELEBS. Lots of abbreviated words in the "Down" section

9. Knightley of the Netflix series "Black Doves": KEIRA.

 

 

Best known for "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies

10. Lyrical tributes: ODES.  This is how you clue a mid-week level use of the word "ode".  When I solved today's puzzle (May 1st - Friday) the clue was a title ("An ODE We Own")

11. Small sofas: LOVE SEATS.  I wonder if the term love seat came from the shape of one's butt?  Keeping this "clean" here, the person in the middle definitely has a heart-shaped tush; could you say that it's a "love seat"?? 

12. Until the end of time: EVER AFTER.  Sounds like a fairy tale, to me

13. __ X: GEN. "SPACE" had too many letters to fit

19. Road goo: TAR.  I'm guessing now that winter has finally passed, the road crews will be filling in some potholes with road goo 

21. "You __ worry": NEEDN'T.  Ok, I won't

24. Charlie's Angels and the Powerpuff Girls: TRIOS.  I'm guessing that this clue was trying to appeal to both Boomer's and GEN Y's

25. Traffic jam sound: HORN.  I suppose you could use HONK or TOOT, too

26. Joined: ENTERED.  As in a Zoom meeting or Chat room?

28. Austin Powers player Mike: MYERS.  International Man of Mystery

 

 

30. Study: DEN.  Study (noun), as in a room; not study (verb), as for an exam

31. Writer/director Alexander with two Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay: PAYNE.  This clue really got my knickers in a twist; "Golfer Stewart:" would've been a far easier clue for this solver 

32. Empties completely: CLEARS OUT.  ERASES was too short

33. Team leader on offense: PLAY-MAKER.  Usually a wide receiver or running back

35. Mexican condiment: CREMA.  CSO to Lucina - perhaps she could elucidate this for us?!

36. Agitate: RILE UP.  Never the intention of my blogs

38. Facility that may see 16 sunrises a day, familiarly: ISS. International Space Station

39. Fruit covering: PEEL.  RIND also fit

44. Santa's ride: SLEIGH. Moe-ku:

 

        Santa "crushed" Christmas. 

        Folks 'round the world called it a

        One-horse open slay 

45. Paternity testing site: DNA LAB.  When I did the math, there are 12 abbreviations in today's puzzle. That seems to be a bit on the high side

47. Aromatic tree: FIR. Aromatic hair: FUR

48. "... never mind, then": OR NOT. Hmm

49. NFL tackling gp.: D-LINE.  They are ones trying to restrict 33 Down from making a big play (Defensive LINE)

50. Monopoly income: RENTS.  Really?  Rent can be pluralized? IMHO, this would have been a perfect spot to use a clue that yielded an abbreviated word ... 'rents - as in the slang for one's mom and dad

51. Ashram leaders: YOGIS.  

 

53. Unintentional giveaway: TELL.  Good use of this clue today as the theme is based upon poker

 

55. Rank below cpl.: PFC.  Private First Class

56. Steve Carell voice role: GRU. Gru is a grouchy, quick-witted, and cynical supervillain and the boss of the Minions, who also serves as a secret agent in order to fight other supervillains [Wikipedia]

 

57. Coop resident: HEN. I prefer my hens to be "free range"

58. Judgy sound: TSK. [sigh]

Epilogue:

First off, you might have noticed that I used zero hyperlinks today.  I figure you all need a while to get over last month's recap

Second, my score for today's puzzle is ⭐⭐and 1/2⭐'s.  I would like to give it a higher mark but the nicks are for assuming that POKER NIGHT consists only of Texas Hold Em, and the over-use of abbreviations.  Positives for the entries; my favorite was ALL-IN-ONE PRINTER

Wednesday, April 1, 2026 - Tara Holland

 

Theme:  "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice? ... "

 

Puzzling thoughts:

 

Whom else but the resident "Stooge" should be the reviewer of this raucously, racy, risque rhapsody of rapport?  I can't think of anyone.  And who's fooling who?  Have I (46-across: MOI) ever led you folks down the path of presumptive prevarication?  Pshaw!

 

So, let's have at it!  Who's ready to be played the fool? I'll fill you in while describing the "fill"

 

BTW, kudos to Tara Holland - the puzzle constructor - who's been seen published at the LA Times twice in 2025

Across:
1. Tops (off): CAPS.  As in limits the amount of in a drink/alcoholic beverage? 😕

5. Shopping aids: LISTS. A must for this Stooge when he goes grocery shopping

10. Loops in on the sly: BCCS.  I am not that "sly", nor do I have a family stone

14. Tons: A LOT.  I think I was approached by a realtor who once said: "I have tons for sale in this new housing development ..."

15. Foe: ENEMY.  I don't think you could substitute the word enemy into the folktale when the Giant encounters Jack at the beanstalk: "Fee, Fi, [enemy]... I smell the blood of an Englishman"

16. "Excuse me ... ": AHEM.  Pardon my interruption 

17. "That's the last time!": NEVER AGAIN.  But what about the first time? 

19. __ monster: GILA.  The "G" is pronounced like an "H"

20. Standard: NORM.  Or, how about cluing it as a bar "fixture" at Cheers!?

21. Bright: CLEVER.  Witty, perhaps; I don't think of "bright" with being clever

23. The Proclaimers hit subtitled "500 Miles": I'M GONNA BE.  Never heard of this tune before

28. Watchful: ALERT.  3 cups of coffee in the morning makes Moe alert

29. D.C. figure: POL.  I tried SEN first, but to no avail

30. Yardstick, e.g.: RULER.  My ruler only went 12" in length, but I always was the shortest person in my class

32. Top no. in a blood pressure reading: SYS.  Short for SYStolic Pressure - which measures the force in your arteries when your heart beats

33. Baby's bodysuit: ONE-SIE. I hear that the designers of these began making two-sies for parents who had twins

37. Some high-end insulated mugs: YETIS.  A brand name for a drinking vessel, but literally, wouldn't a Yeti in the wild also have an insulated "mug"?  See the "hairy expression" insulating this beast's mug:

39. Is apathetic: DOESN'T GIVE A HOOT.  This reminded me of an old ad, featuring an owl that promoted good citizenship and environmental responsibility when he said: "Give a hoot; don't pollute!"

44. __ squash: ACORN.  Hand's up from anyone who's been reading this blog so far, and thinks that Moe is just completely "nutty" today??

45. Balanced: STEADY. Getting more and more difficult for me as I progress through my seventies

46. Pronoun for Miss Piggy: MOI.  Already used in my intro

49. "West Side Story" role for Rita and Ariana: ANITA.  Actors Moreno and Grande played the role of Anita in the movie adaptation (original and remake).  I thought MARIA was the role, but I was incorrect.  According to a source I found on the Internet: "Anita's the girlfriend of Maria's older brother, Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, the Puerto Rican street gang at war with the Jets. The Jets are the white gang that was co-founded by Tony, Maria's love interest and the Romeo figure. Anita is Maria's friend and confidante, like an older sister to her"

51. With it, once: HEP. Hmm ... no Moe-ku's so far?  Ok, let's try this one - if no one else gets it I know that my fellow blogger Splynter will:

        Old-time hockey star

        Will suss out the cool dudes, by

        Giving (them) a HEP check 

52. Bank nos.: ACCTS.  My checking account number and SSN are the same: 123 45 6789

54. "Should've listened to me!": TOLD YOU SO.  This could've been clued as the title of a Randy Travis hit song: "(I) Told You So"

58. Markets: STORES.  See 5-across for what I bring to markets/stores.  BTW, do you call the facility where you buy food items a supermarket or a grocery store?

60. One of many, in a string of pearls: BEAD.  Don't let this one fool you

61. "Song of Solomon" novelist Morrison: TONI. She shows up a lot in crossword puzzles

62. [reveal] - save for later

68. Many a four-hour film: EPIC.  I can barely stay alert for a two-hour movie

69. Actor Davis - known for "A League of Their Own": GEENA.  Don't let this one fool you

70. Japanese wheat noodle: UDON. Or this one

71. [reveal] - save for later

72. Go-between: ENVOY. Or this one

73. [reveal] - save for later

Down:
1. Country with the world's largest moose population: Abbr.: CAN.  CSO to CanadianEh! Can you attest that there are more moose in CANada than anywhere else in the world?  Have you any moose encounters you care to share with us?

2. Craft brewer's brew: ALE.  Let me tap into this one ...

3. Perspective, for short: POV.  Point Of View

4. Courtroom fig.: STENO.  Makes me think back to the old TV courtroom show, Perry Mason

5. Take in, in a way: LEARN.  This clue/answer made me rethink my response to 21-across (CLEVER).  I wonder if anyone else saw that a four-letter word for "take in" is in the word "learn"

6. Director Bergman: INGMAR.  Note:  The clue read "Director" Bergman, not Actor Bergman.  Did anyone try to sneak Ingrid into the "grid"?  Fun Fact:  Ingmar Bergman is not related to the actor, Ingrid Bergman, but he did marry a woman named Ingrid ...

 

7. Body of water: SEA.  

8. "That's enough!" letters: TMI. Too Much Information

9. Lip-__: SYNC.  Here is a video that you might want to lip-sync the lyrics to

10. Bread traditionally boiled then baked: BAGEL.  My favorite bagel is an onion one, toasted, and then adorned with some smoked salmon and a schmeer of cream cheese - capers, too, if available 

11. Scallion relatives: CHIVES.  Who else thought ONIONS fit here?

12. The "log" in the snack ants on a log: CELERY.

 

13. Really stings: SMARTS.  As someone who has been stung by a baby scorpion I can attest that this REALLY, REALLY smarts

18. Actor Perlman: RON. I knew that Rhea could not be the answer as it had one too many letters in the name.  Fun fact:  Are Ron and Rhea Perlman related? "No, Rhea Perlman and Ron Perlman are not related. Despite sharing a last name, they are two separate actors with no family connection. Rhea Perlman is known for her role in Cheers and for being married to Danny DeVito, while Ron Perlman is known for Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy" [random Internet source provided by AI]

22. Ring in a rodeo ring: LARIAT. 

23. Apple gadget: IPOD.  Is an iPod really a "gadget"?

24. Part of MSG: MONO. Want to learn more about MonoSodium Glutamate? Click here

25. Merriment: GLEE.  Chorus groups were originally called "Merriment Clubs" but someone shortened the name to Glee Club

26. Accept the truth of: BUY INTO. Heh, heh, heh ... 😈<== impish Moe.  Are you buying into my blog, so far?

27. Mtn. stat: ELEV.  Moe-ku:

 

        French student mountain

        Climber enjoys wordplay: They're

        [an] Elev Élevé

31. Summers in France: ETES. Speaking of French ... 

34. Govt. ID issuer: SSA.  Again, mine is 123-45-6789.  Feel free to use it

35. To be safe: IN CASE. But, just in case that SSN does NOT work please don't try it again .. 😀

36. __ mess: classic English dessert: ETON.  New clue for me.  This concoction:

38. Pronoun for Miss Piggy: SHE.  Clecho - see 46-across

40. Moxie: GRIT.  

41. Island known as "The Gathering Place": OʻAHU.  It's also a place where lucky tourists get lei'd

42. Words of appreciation: ODES. This is almost a Friday-like clue

43. Form instead of from, e.g.: TYPO. The autocorrect feature on my technology devices gets a lot of work

46. Ibsen's "The __ Builder": MASTER.  Moe-ku:

        Renowned fisherman

        Taught course on lures and hooks: He's

        A MASTER baiter

47. Cuttlefish cousins: OCTOPI.  With so many arms, why aren't they called a "cuddle" fish? 😏

48. Legendary: ICONIC.  When something is iconic, what comes to mind for you?  

 

50. An all-white animal with pink eyes, maybe?: ALBINO.  Don't be (53-down. Treat alternative:) TRICKed by this clue and answer

55. Airport flight condition: DELAY.  Don't be (53-down. Treat alternative:) TRICKed by this clue and answer

56. Initialism of Young Adult Fiction: YAF. Or this one

57. "Smell" in Scotland: ODOUR. Or this one

59. Herb or spiritual mentor: SAGE. Did this one fool you?

63. What only the most capable crossword puzzle solvers use: PEN. Surely you jest, Moe! "No, I don't, and please don't call me Shirley" <== Famous quote in the movie "Airplane"

64. Part of RPM: REV. I am so confused, Moe ... WTF is going on???

65. Dashboard image that is located between the Tach and the MPH dials: ODO. Is this just some kind of green paint??

66. A fitting text message that Moe sent to his alter ego while blogging this puzzle: LOL!

67. A TV show that would probably have classic 62-across skits: SNL

62 - across. What Chairman Moe did to his audience today: APRIL FOOLS!

71 - across. With 73-Across, classic internet prank pulled by this puzzle's longest answers: RICK.

73 - across.  See 71-Across: ROLL.

WHAT?  This grid didn't appear in your newspaper or AcrossLite / online edition??? 

Ok, Moe.  You had your fun with us.  Ha! Ha!  Can you please give us the REAL version and explanation?

Well, since you asked politely, here goes.  First, the real clues/fill that Tara used, and that I substituted for to make an alternate puzzle:

60-across. Like a turkey burger: LEAN.  My burgers have an 80% LEAN / 20% FAT ratio.  Turkeys are a holiday meat - for me, anyway

62-across. Began to relax: LOOSENED UP.  Moe-ku:

 

        Camper told his shrink

        He dreamt of tepee and yurt.

        Guess he's just two tents 

 

69-across. Made a 43-Down, say: ERRED.

 

70-across. Pre-migraine experience, for some: AURA. 

 

72-across.  Financial obligations: DEBTS. 

 

50-down. "Ready?": ALL SET. 

 

55-down. Monopoly cards: DEEDS. 

 

56-down.  Celebrity chef Martin: YAN.

 

57-down.  Like some headphones: ON EAR. The only kind that Moe will wear

59-down. Vehicle often steered with the feet: SLED.  LUGE fits, too

63-down. Underground rock: ORE.  I hear a good place to find ore is in ORE.

 

64-down. Round figure?: ORB. 

65- down. Twosome: DUO. 

 

66-down. Clickable link: URL.  Part of today's prank

 

67-down. Bestie: PAL.  BFF was tried and failed

 

71 - across. With 73-Across, classic internet prank pulled by this puzzle's longest answers: RICK.

73 - across.  See 71-Across: ROLL.

What in the heck is going on here???

 

When you tried to click on all of the hyperlinks I used in my recap today, you were rickrolled.  As [Merriam-Webster] defines: 

"Rickrolled" (or rickroll) is an internet slang verb and prank where a user is tricked into clicking a disguised hyperlink that leads to the music video for Rick Astley's 1987 hit song, "

Never Gonna Give You Up". It is a bait-and-switch tactic designed to annoy or humorously surprise the viewer

 

The five longest answers in the puzzle progressively "pull"/spell out the title in this song:  

 

NEVER AGAIN 

I'M GONNA BE

DOESN'T GIVE A HOOT

TOLD YOU SO 

LOOSENED UP   

 

And that's about as simple a way as I can explain it!

 

I highlighted below the left-to-right progression of the key words to the Rick Astley tune you heard today, ad nauseam, provided you clicked on the links. This  puzzle was a real "hoot".  The words used were all in-the-language and well-clued. The reveal was at first unknown to me, but when I googled the phrase "rickroll" it all made sense

 

Kudos again to Tara Holland for providing this blogger with his most favorite puzzle to date! This was truly amazing - I hope you all enjoyed both the real and the April Fools puzzles today

 

Here is the REAL grid!