Monday, February 9, 2026, Dan Caprera

Theme:  Ewes use yews for shelter -- don't youse?

Constructor Dan Caprera is back to remind us that English can be puzzling.  He's constructed a lovely grid -- see the end of this post to admire the symmetry -- in which he employs all the English homonyms of RIGHT.

17-Across. "Don't forget we want lots of letters!": REMEMBER TO WRITE.

28-Across. Aviation pioneer who said, "It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill": WILBUR WRIGHT.

50-Across. Exchange of wedding vows, e.g.: MARRIAGE RITE.

64-Across. "I think that's correct," or what one may say about the ends of 17-, 28-, and 50-Across: SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME.

Time to check the rest of the clues and answers.

Across: 

1. Prepare to be photographed: POSE.

5. Lobster's pincer: CLAW.  Lobsters have two specialized claws, the pincer and the crusher.  The pincer claw is smaller, narrower, and used for tearing food, while the larger, thicker crusher claw is used for breaking shells.

9. Trig subject: MATH.  TRIGonometry is a branch of MATHematics concerned with relationships between angles and side lengths of triangles.

13. "Grand" ice cream: EDY'S.  Sold as Dreyer's in the Western United States.

14. Buenos __, Argentina: AIRES.

16. Wound-treating plant in ancient Greece and Egypt: ALOE.

17. [Theme clue]

20. PC connection port: USB.

21. __ of Skye: ISLE.  The Isle of Skye is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.

22. Gabbed on end: YAKKED.

23. 10-min. NFL periods: OTS.  Not offensive tackles, but overtimes.  I think overtime is about avoiding tie scores.  Enlighten me!

25. Buffoon: OAF.

27. Sesame __ bun: SEED.

Do the seeds enhance your enjoyment?

28. [Theme clue]

32. Emphatic confirmation of accomplishment: I DID SO!

33. __-mo replay: SLO.

34. Under the weather: SICK.

38. "__ Misérables": LES.  Les Misérables is a musical based on the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, in which no good deed goes unpunished.

39. "That's gross!": EWW.

41. Songwriter __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.  Lin-Manuel Miranda is famous for another historical musical, Hamilton, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2016.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Philippa Soo

43. Convent resident: NUN.

44. The Dalai __: LAMA.  The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.  Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Thondup in 1935) was enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama in 1940.  When Tibet rebelled against the People's Republic of China in 1959, he escaped to India and established a Tibetan government in exile in Dharamshala, where he continues to live and teach.  He was the 1989 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Dalai Lama in 2012

46. Have lunch: EAT.

48. Replaceable turntable part: NEEDLE.  Last Wednesday's puzzle by Nate Curry and Zhou Zhang was all about machines that "move the needle."  They missed the turntable!  But then, it's a mostly obsolete technology.

Many of our regular readers are old enough to have played recorded music with a needle!

50. [Theme clue]

53. React to ear scritches, perhaps: MEOW.

55. U.K. part: ENG.  Part of the United Kingdom is England.  An abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.

56. Near-failing grade: DEE.

57. Hats for haute cuisine chefs: TOQUES.

59. Gas sealed in glass: NEON.

61. Rizzo the Muppet, for one: RAT.

64. [Theme clue]

67. Fluttered down to the ground: ALIT.

68. Pitcher Ryan who holds the MLB record for career strikeouts: NOLAN.  Nolan Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball. 

Nolan Ryan

69. Apex: ACME.

70. Ice Spice songs: RAPS.  Isis Gaston, AKA Ice Spice, is an American rapper.  She had a top ten single with Nicki Minaj, and another with Taylor Swift.  She's received four Grammy nominations and a handful of awards.

Ice Spice

71. Word underlined in red, maybe: TYPO.

72. Fight enders, briefly: TKOS.  Technical knockouts in boxing and mixed martial arts.

Down:

1. Cuzco's country: PERU.

2. Lyrical homages: ODES.

3. Book club discussion topic: SYMBOLISM.  Sure, and let's not forget to discuss motifs, allusions, the unreliable narrator, and the book jacket!

4. Opposite of WNW: ESE.  Compass points.

5. Fleet that may display local ads: CABS.

6. Stay out of the limelight: LIE LOW.

7. Unpaid and overdue debts: ARREARS.

8. Drenched: WET.

9. Grocery stores: MARKETS.

10. Quite similar: ALIKE.

11. Schlepped around: TOTED.

12. Follow, as advice: HEED.

15. Tempeh base: SOY.

18. Apply incorrectly: MISUSE.

19. Launder: WASH.

24. "More deets soon": TBD.  To Be Determined.

26. Staff, as a position: FILL.

28. "Elf" star Ferrell: WILL.  Will Ferrell established his comedic reputation as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2002, and has starred in many comedy films since then.  He's also taken on dramatic roles, and received four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work as a producer on the drama series Succession and for the specials Live in Front of a Studio Audience.

29. Lightbulb moment: IDEA.

30. Coxswain follower: ROWER.  In a boat with oars, the coxswain is in charge of navigation, steering, and safety.  The rowers follow the coxswain's directions.

Sounds like COCKsun.

31. Not hanging around: GOING.

35. The Smiths genre: INDIE ROCK.  The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums).  They focused on the sound of their instruments, in contrast to the synthesizer sounds popular at the time.

36. __ of personality: CULT.

37. Reflex test target: KNEE.  Striking the patellar tendon with a reflex hammer allows a physician to assess the nervous tissue between the L2 and L4 segments of the spinal cord.

And here I thought the doctor was just having a laugh at my expense.

40. Suffix with spy or ransom: WARE.

42. May refuse to: NEEDN'T.  

45. Sum totals: AMOUNTS.

47. In a high-pitched, cheap-sounding way: TINNILY.  This sounded odd to yours truly, but it's a word meaning "with a sound that is of low quality or like metal being hit."  In other words, "with a tinny sound."  I've used the word "tinny" a few times but have never needed to say "tinnily."

49. Poet's before: ERE.  In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, the dwarves sing:

Far over the Misty Mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, ere break of day

To seek our pale enchanted gold

51. Floored: AWED.

52. Factor in family planning: AGE GAP.  How many years do you want to leave between siblings?

53. Bucks: MOOLA.  Also spelled moolah, it's slang for "money."

54. Provide with gear: EQUIP.

57. Russian monarch: TSAR.

58. Data breach target fig.: SSN.  Hackers target Social Security Numbers.  A nasty business.

60. "What a disaster!": OH NO!  What you say when you've been hacked.

62. Nerf darts, e.g.: AMMO.  And yet the only ammo you have to wield is Nerf darts.  Because you're a nice person.

Nerf Elite Jr Explorer Blaster with Nerf Darts

63. Golf pegs: TEES.

65. Nonsense, to a Brit: ROT.  As in "What a lot of rot you do talk."

66. Tit for __: TAT.  Responding to negative treatment like injury or insult with more of the same.

Here's the grid:

I have YAKKED long enough!  I NEEDN'T go on.

Time for me to LIE LOW and let you express your IDEAs in the comments.

Thanks for playing along!

-- NaomiZ

 

 

Notes from C.C.:

 

Happy 55th birthday to dear Splynter, our fun and steadfast Friday Sherpa! During his many years blogging the Saturday puzzles, he missed only one - a true testament to his reliability. He later went on to guide us through Wednesdays with the same care and insight. 

 

So proud of his gym journey the past year. Seriously impressive. Wishing you a year of laughter, strength, and continued gym success, Splynter!

 

Thursday, October 9, 2025, Dan Caprera

Theme:  Tousled topknots. 

Some messy buns are truly casual, and others are carefully calculated, like the lovely coiffure pictured above.  Today's puzzle constructor has at least a couple dozen crossword puzzles under his belt, including six in the L.A. Times.  And he's a funny guy!  Dan Caprera:  Writer. Comic. Barrel-Aged to Perfection.  More at DanCaprera.com.

Today Dan has deliberately messed up some BUNS, scrambling them in the theme answers.

17-Across. *Vessel secretly ridden by Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark": GERMAN SUB.  The movie Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in 1981.  I don't remember many details from 44 years ago!  Perpendicular entries saved the day for me.

Indiana Jones and the U-Boat in the Marvel Comics adaptation

24-Across. *Hank Aaron's record 2,297: RUNS BATTED IN.  Wow!  That's a lot!  Famous baseball batter, not too hard to guess the statistic category.

1976 Topps trading card

39-Across. *Ursine critter with a distinctive orange patch on its chest: SUN BEAR.  This arboreal bear is found in tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

Sun Bear

50-Across. *Don't pull any shenanigans: MEAN BUSINESS.  Be determined and firm.

"I look like I mean business, and, by golly, I do!"

61. Casual updos, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: MESSY BUNS.  An updo is a hairstyle in which the hair is swept up and fastened away from the face and neck.

Before the rage for messy buns, there were more formal buns:

Not being much of a hair hopper, I'll jump right into the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Distracted boyfriend and Surprised Pikachu: MEMES.  Folks put their own text to these popular images.

"Distracted boyfriend"

"Surprised Pikachu"

6. Giants slugger Mel: OTT.  Another famous batter.

9. Grows faint: DIMS.

13. Glorify: EXALT.

14. __ Beta Kappa: PHI.  The oldest academic honor society in the United States, founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

15. Waiting, as champagne: ON ICE.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Saw: MAXIM.

20. Brief fight: SET TO.

21. "X" and "Pearl" actress Goth: MIA.  Mia Gypsy Mello da Silva Goth (born 1993) is an English actress.  DNK.

Mia Goth

23. Loan option, for short: REFI.  Short for refinance.

24. [Theme clue]

27. Divine: FORESEE.  Divine as an intransitive verb.  Per Merriam-Webster:  to seek to predict future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers : to practice divination : prophesy

30. Clothing line: SEAM.

31. Instrument commonly made from African blackwood: OBOE.

32. Prefix with net or com: INTER.

35. Abate: EBB.  Abate is to decrease in force or intensity.  Ebb (as a verb) is to fall from a higher to a lower level.

38. Gym unit: REP.  Short for repetition, as gym is short for gymnasium.

39. [Theme clue]

41. Couple: DUO.

42. Go green, perhaps: DYE.

43. Shredded __: WHEAT.

44. Euro forerunner: LIRA.  Lira was the basic monetary unit of Italy, until replaced by the euro in 2002.

45. Actress Remini: LEAH.  Actress Leah Remini, know for roles on sitcoms The King of Queens and Kevin Can Wait, wrote a book about her upbringing in the Church of Scientology and produced an Emmy Award winnning documentary series on the same subject.

Leah Remini

47. LeBron James and Steph Curry, by birth: OHIOANS.  LeBron plays basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Steph for the (San Francisco) Golden State Warriors.  Steph's father also played on an NBA team.  LeBron's father was a criminal and not involved in his life, but LeBron moved into the home of a youth football coach who introduced him to basketball at age nine.  Sometimes the road is crooked.  

50. [Theme clue]

54. "Let There Be Rock" band: AC/DC.

55. Laid low: HID.

56. Rizzo of "Midnight Cowboy": RATSO.  Dustin Hoffman played "Ratso" Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy, the 1969 film that is the only X-rated film ever to win an Academy Award.  It won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy

59. Musical endings: CODAS.

61. [Theme clue]

64. Woeful words: ELEGY.

65. Flock sound: BAA.

66. Emma Roberts, to Julia Roberts: NIECE.  Emma Roberts has played a number of roles in horror films and has a reputation as a scream queen.

Emma Roberts' hair color is in a constant state of flux.

67. Really ticks off: IRES.

68. PC key near Z: ALT.

69. City east of the Great Salt Lake: OGDEN.


Down:

1. "Family Guy" daughter: MEG.

Meg Griffin      

2. Awkward people to run into, perhaps: EXES.

3. Frutti di __: Italian seafood dish: MARE.  Seafood in Italian is "fruits of the sea."

Fettuccine ai Frutti di Mare

4. One of many in Boston Common: ELM TREE.  The Boston Common is the oldest city park in the United States, established in 1634.  Its Great Elm Tree was destroyed by a storm in 1876, but many others grow there today.

Boston Common

5. Position: STATUS.

6. Black __: OPS.  Black ops, or black operations, refers to secret missions that are hidden from public knowledge, and sometimes even from personnel of the organizing agency.  The CIA is said to conduct black ops to protect national security.

7. Flip (through): THUMB.

8. Leg bone: TIBIA.  The tibia, also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee; it connects the knee with the ankle.

Or, as you may have learned:

The foot bone's connected to the leg bone

The leg bone's connected to the knee bone

The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone

Doin' the skeleton dance

Tibia -- frontal view.

9. Abbey title: DOM.  Monks are called "'Dom,'" an abbreviation of "Dominus" which means "Lord."  Let us all recall fondly Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk whose labors in the vineyard were focused on Champagne.

NaomiZ and DH on pilgrimmage in 2018

10. Covered by one's insurance: IN AREA.  Insurance is often limited to a particular geographic coverage area.

11. Found object art, often: MIXED MEDIA.

12. N.K. Jemisin genre: SCI-FI.  N. K. Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.  She is the first African American author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the first author to win that award in three consecutive years, and the first to win it for all three novels in a trilogy.  Guess we'd better read her Broken Earth series.  She went on to win a fourth Hugo for Best Novelette, and a fifth for Best Graphic Story.  Wowza.

N. K. Jemisin

16. Key with one sharp: Abbr.: E MIN.  E minor.

18. Zero: NONE.

22. Totally stumped: AT SEA.  Idiomatically, to have lost one's bearings, to be bewildered.

25. River to the English Channel: SEINE.  The Seine originates northwest of Dijon, flows through Paris, and northward into the English Channel at Le Havre.

26. Region: Abbr.: TERR.  Territory.

27. Expedition maker: FORD.  A full-size SUV.

28. Comply: OBEY.

29. Obstacle course component, often: ROPE LADDER.

33. Org. for LeBron James and Steph Curry: NBA.  See 47-Across.

34. Grand __ National Park: TETON.

36. Aloe target: BURN.

37. Fluffy accessories: BOAS.  A boa is a fluffy fashion accessory, worn around the neck like a scarf, and often made of feathers.  Let's go faux for the sake of the birds.  These are pretty costumey anyway.

39. Deckhand: SWAB.  A ship's crew member may be a deckhand, whose duty is to mop or "swab" the deck of the ship, and is therefore called a swab or swabbie.

40. "Totally!": UH HUH.  Yep, I agree with you.

44. Got clobbered: LOST BIG.

46. Coop up: ENCAGE.  Not a word we use every day.  

48. Feminine possessive: HERS.

49. "My vote is to skip it": I SAY NO.  Want to go see the new Superman movie again?  I SAY NO.  DH says yes.  He happily accepted younger son's invitation without mentioning he'd seen it already.

50. Scotch cookie spice: MACE.  Scotch spice cookies are made with molasses, cinnamon, and mace, which is the outer coating of the nutmeg seed.  In 2019, a Reddit user was investigating a murder that occured in their Maine home in the 1930s, and happened upon a contemporary cookie recipe in the course of the investigation.  The cookies have become an internet sensation of sorts, called "murder cookies" because of the source.  Another Reddit user explains, "They're KILLER!"  All news to me.

another item for our crossword picnic

51. Biotech bacteria: E. COLI.  Most Escherichia coli strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut.  These bacteria are harmless or even beneficial to humans.  Some types cause food poisoning, mostly through fecal-oral transmission.  (Don't eat poop.)  E. coli is easy to grow in a laboratory and is used in biotechnology and microbiology as the host organism for recombinant DNA.

52. Disney lion: SIMBA.  The title character of The Lion King (1994).

Simba as a cub and as an adult lion

53. Perfect: IDEAL.

57. Courted?: SUED.  Took to court.

58. As soon as: ONCE.  I'll be ready once I finish the crossword puzzle, darling!

60. Pt. of GPS: SYS.  Global Positioning System.

62. Convened: SAT.  

63. Capitol fig.: SEN.  A figure you encounter in the capitol might be a senator.

Here's the grid:

I cannot FORESEE what the comments will be.

Will our cruciverbalist crowd EXALT today's puzzle and constructor?

Or will they THUMB their noses if they LOST BIG?

Please weigh in!

-- NaomiZ