Saturday, March 14, 2026, Erik Agard

Saturday Themeless by Erik Agard

Erik Agard (born 1993) is a crossword solver, constructor, and editor. He is the winner of the 2016 Lollapuzzoola Express Division, the 2018 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT), a frequent contributor to the New York Times crossword puzzle, a crossword constructor for The New Yorker, the former USA Today crossword editor, and a former Jeopardy!contestant. He is currently a crossword editor at Apple News+.

This was a very Agardian puzzle as Erik pulled a lot of rabbits out of his cluing hat. I acquired a very hard earned "got 'er done"!

Across:

1. Coagulate: CLOT.

5. Batter's boxful?: CAT TOYS - That's taking a lot of latitude with the noun batter!

12. Not giving anything away: MUM.

15. Rather blue: RACY - The old blue laws banned controversial items such as RACY ones.

16. Puzzle out: UNRAVEL - A skill all of us solvers need

17. One-on-one play in a five-on-five b-ball game: ISO - In the play diagrammed below, the red team has moved all but one player to the left side. They then get the ball to #2 to ISOlate him to make a play by himself.

18. Say too much?: OVERESTIMATE 

20. Actor Beatty: NED.

21. "They had our number": WE LOST.

22. Mani-pedi option: GEL.

23. April option: E-FILE - I E-FILED my tax returns and got my refunds a month ago

25. Mile High horses?: BRONCOS.

27. Jerk components: SPICES. 😀

28. Up-front stake: ANTE.

29. In descending order: MOST TO LEAST.

33. Hi-__: RES - We who have been around computers a long time remember the early Lo-RES games

34. Targets of biannual battery replacements: SMOKE ALARMS - It's recommended they be changed when we change from and to daylight savings.

35. Flash the Dolphin or Splash the Whale: BEANIE BABY.

 

36. High-flying Iñupiat tradition: BLANKET TOSS - Originally, this practice was used to boost scouts high enough to spot whale migrations or other game over sea ice.

38. Significant figure: VIP.

41. Jab in a one-two combo?: BOOSTER SHOT 😀 - Ya got me at first Erik, but I had a DOH! moment when I saw this had nothing to do with boxing.

42. Bona __: FIDE - Latin for "in good faith"

43. Releases, in a way: UNTIES 😀

44. Reduced: SMALLER - I enjoyed the 1966 movie Fantastic Voyage where a four-person vessel was reduced to travel through the human body. 

46. "A Master of __": P. Djèlí Clark novel inspired by Islamic mythology: DJINN ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

47. Basis of some protein powders: PEA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  This is bona fide Saturday cluing for PEA

50. Unit left after a white flag in NASCAR: ONE LAP on any NASCAR 9. Like some tracks: OVAL

51. Scooby-__: DOO.

52. Structure that's built to scale: CLIMBING WALL - Gotta love this use of the word scale.

55. Head up: RUN - If you head up an organization, you can be said to RUN it

56. Box on a table: ELEMENT - The table of ELEMENTS

57. Mahjong piece: TILE.

58. Timeline divs.: YRS.

59. Starting point: SCRATCH 😀

60. Translucent chalcedony: ONYX - This is the stone I chose for my high school ring.

Down:

1. Source of leverage: CROWBAR.

2. Actress Cox: LAVERNE - Yeah, I thought of Courtney first

3. Animals with spots: OCELOTS.

4. Erykah Badu's signature song: TYRONE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

5. Builds specially: CUSTOM MAKES.

6. Insect in the family Formicidae: ANT - Formica is the Latin word for ANT

7. Calc prerequisite: TRIG.

8. Get under control: TAME.

10. "However ... ": YET.

11. Places where days of rest are observed?: SLEEP LABS.

12. Device in a TV news van: MINICAM.

13. No help: USELESS.

14. "Don't be so __": MODEST - What we all say to C.C.!

19. Letters above a tilde: ESC.

24. Passionate: FIERY.

26. Later alternative: SOONER.

27. A few weeks out?: SO LAST MONTH 😀 Things can fall out of fashion in a hurry

30. Interludes on some hip-hop albums: SKITS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ SKITS are short, often humorous or narrative-driven interludes on hip-hop albums that enhance thematic atmosphere, deepen storytelling and provide brief, conversational respites between songs. You're welcome.

31. Enforceability metaphor: TEETH - Talk's cheap, there needs to be some TEETH in the enforcement 

32. Social prohibitions: TABOOS.

34. "No." and others: SENTENCES - Wow!

35. Nevada's Great __ National Park: BASIN.

36. Cannes opener: BONJOUR 😀 I really liked this when it hit me!

37. Ash removers: LOTIONS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I had to look this one up after it filled. The ash is an ingredient in the LOTION used to remove blemishes not the substance being removed. 😳

38. Heavy: VILLAIN - Claude Akins came to my mind

39. If all goes well: IDEALLY.

40. Throw: PERPLEX - Erik has a real talent trying to throw solvers

41. "Why ask why?" beer: BUD DRY - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Only in production from 1990 to 2010 when it was losing money. It was brewed using a special fermentation method designed to let the yeast consume more sugars for a "drier" profile, rather than just watering it down. You're welcome.

42. Reached by air: FLEW TO - The Earth is not flat and the shortest distance between two points might take you in what seems to be an odd route on a flat map.

45. "Lust, Caution" director Lee: ANG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

47. Docking station: PIER 😀

48. 1815 novel set in Highbury: EMMA - A first-edition of this novel that shares my granddaughter's name would run me about $1,700.

49. Support: ABET.

53. Business letters: LLC  and 54. Business letters: INC. 

Thursday, December 11, 2025, Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis, Erik Agard

Theme:  The beat goes on!

Erik Agard and Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis

Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis is an audio and digital producer on the NPR Music Team, and an avid crossword solver.  This may be her first published crossword puzzle.  If so, congratulations!  In the photo above, Sofie was reporting on a crossword tournament at the University of Chicago in October 2025 for radio station WBEZ Chicago.  For today's puzzle, Sofie teamed up with constructor extraordinaire Erik Agard, former crossword editor at USA Today, currently at Apple News+.  It's wonderful to have these young folks making puzzles.

Today's puzzle features three starred clues, and one that reveals their connection:

28-Down. "Genius of Love" band, or what the answers to the starred clues are members of?: TOM TOM CLUB.  Although I was a fan of the band Talking Heads in the 1980s, I did not know about Tom Tom Club, a side project of two of the members.  Their song "Genius of Love" made it to the US top 40 in 1981.

Now that I've heard the song, I'm going to forget it, along with the band.  Happily this ignorance on my part did not keep me from solving the puzzle.  The reveal even helped me complete the starred clues.  They are:

20-Across. *Jelly Roll Morton jazz composition: BLACK BOTTOM STOMP.  I know about Jelly Roll Morton -- the jazz bandleader who was recording in the 1920s -- because of Van Morrison's lyrics:  

And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
And it stoned me

But I didn't know Black Bottom Stomp:

47-Across. *Pronunciation dichotomy popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong: TOMAYTO TOMAHTO.  This difference in pronunciation is highlighted in a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance.  In the movie, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sing it while roller skating.  Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1957.

27-Down. *One minuscule step at a time: ATOM BY ATOM.  Keeping in mind that Sofie is involved with broadcasting music, it's likely that she has a song in mind here, too.  Is she thinking of the British band Satan, with the 2015 album (and song) Atom by Atom?  (There's also a London-based alternative rock group called Atom by Atom.  Listen here:  https://atombyatom.bandcamp.com/album/dirty-bag )

If you've ever wished that NaomiZ would post more links, your wish has now been granted.

Oh, and by the way -- TOM TOMs are drums.  But you knew that.  And -- the word TOM appears twice in each of the starred answers.  But you knew that, too.

Here's the grid, with all those TOMs peeping out:

Now that we've dealt with every TOM, let's see about Dick and Harry, and whoever else.

Across:

1. One-third of a cereal mascot trio: SNAP.  Crackle and Pop wouldn't fit.

5. Start fishing: CAST.  A fisherman casts the line by pulling the rod back and then snapping it forward, releasing the fishing line and launching it forward.

9. Astounds: WOWS.

13. __ d'Ivoire: COTE.  A West African country with a French colonial history.

14. Spa treatment: FACIAL.

16. Pelee Island's lake: ERIE.  The largest island in Lake Erie.

17. Swedish supergroup: ABBA.

18. Mamá's mamá: ABUELA.  Abuela is Spanish for grandmother.  The accent on mamá was your clue for Spanish.

19. Rodgers of the band Chic: NILE.  Co-founder of the band Chic, Nile Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide.  He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has received six Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement/Special Merit Award.  You may not know his name, but I'll bet you've heard the songs:

20. [Theme clue]

23. "Beloved" protagonist: SETHE.  Beloved is a 1987 novel by Toni Morrison.  This harrowing tale of a runaway slave is based on a true story.  In 1856, U.S. marshals broke into a cabin in the free state of Ohio, where a mother who had escaped brutal slavery in Kentucky was hiding with her children.  The mother attempted to kill her own children to prevent their return to Kentucky under the Fugitive Slave Act.  Imagine how awful her experience in Kentucky must have been, to want to spare her children in this way.

24. Many a YA hero: TEEN.  YA = Young Adult, a category of literature aimed at teenagers.  

25. Yellowfin and albacore: TUNAS.

26. Green vegetable in aloo matar: PEA.  Curry with peas is part of our standard rotation!  We use tofu instead of potatoes.

Aloo Matar

28. 2,000 pounds: TON.

29. The Black List items: SCRIPTS.  The Black List is a platform for writers to share scripts with Hollywood professionals and get high-quality evaluations from vetted readers.  https://blcklst.com/

33. Polite: CORDIAL.

37. "I'm sorry" response: THAT'S OK.

38. Vast: IMMENSE.

39. Chows down: EATS.

40. Instant: MOMENT.  One meaning of instant is a precise moment of time.  At that very moment ... or, at that very instant ... 

43. Dreary routines: RUTS.

44. CT scan kin: MRI.

45. Ford SUV: BRONCO.

46. Govt. org. established by Lincoln: IRS.  President Lincoln signed the Revenue Act of 1862, which created the position of Commissioner of Internal Revenue within the Department of the Treasury, and levied the nation's first progressive income tax.  Income tax was repealed in 1872, reinstated in 1894, ruled unconstitutional in 1895, and reinstated through the 16th amendment in 1913.  The taxing agency was renamed "Internal Revenue Service" in 1953.  You're welcome.

47. [Theme clue]

52. Govt. org. established by Nixon: EPA.  President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency by executive order in 1970 to consolidate federal environmental responsibilities and to respond to growing public concern over pollution and environmental degradation.  

53. Movie tech: CGI.  Computer-Generated Imagery.

54. "Did you start already?": AM I LATE?

58. Type of grill or haircut: FLAT TOP.

        flat top grill                           flat top haircut

62. Spot for the cheapest seats in the house, maybe: LAST ROW.

63. "Beauty and the Beast" candelabra: LUMIÈRE.  French speakers have an advantage, since lumière means light.

Lumière from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast"

64. "I've got this": TRUST ME.

65. Partner of "aided": ABETTED.  Aiding others is usually a good thing; abetting is very bad.


Down:

1. Line crossers?: SCABS.  Scabs cross the picket line.

2. Of high morals: NOBLE.

3. Royal appearance?: AT BAT.  Kansas City Royals appear, one at a time, at bat.

4. Fruit parts in some noyaux recipes: PEACH PITS.  Noyaux is a liqueur which infuses the kernels found inside pits of stone fruits into spirits like vodka or rum.  Be sure to roast those kernels to avoid cyanide poisoning!

5. "The Princess Diaries" novelist Meg: CABOT.  The Princess Diaries is a series of young adult novels by Meg Cabot, and is also the title of the first volume, published in 2000.  The series follows an American teenager who turns out to be Princess Regent of a small European country.  The 2001 Disney film starred Anne Hathaway in her film debut as the princess, along with Julie Andrews as her grandmother and Queen regnant.

6. Like some angles: ACUTE.

7. This clue's number en español: SIETE.  Spanish for "seven."

8. Hawk's weapon: TALON.  Photographer Mark Smith call talons "murder mittens."

Mark Smith's photo of a juvenile Bald Eagle

9. Sank: WENT UNDER.

10. Night hunter: ORION.  Most visible during winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

11. Activist and social reformer Mankiller: WILMA.  Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010) was a Native American activist and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.  One of her projects was the subject of the film The Cherokee Word for Water.

Wilma Mankiller 2022 quarter dollar

12. Oozes: SEEPS.

14. "Gorg!": FAB.  Gorgeous!  Fabulous.

15. On the __: LAM.

21. Holds on to: KEEPS.

22. Rush angrily: STORM.  Picture storming off ...

27. [Theme clue]

28. [Theme reveal]

29. Brain __: STEM.

30. Graph that may resemble a pie: CHART.

31. Embarrass on social media, in a way: RATIO.  Ratio as a verb on Twitter:  to flood a tweet or its author with negative replies such that commenters take control of the message away from the original poster.  This makes sense as it influences the ratio of positive to negative responses.  

32. Field hockey garment: SKORT.

Looks like skorts are strictly for the ladies.

33. Seis menos uno: CINCO.  Spanish again!  Six minus one:  five.

34. Indigenous people of Greenland: INUIT.

35. Houston baseballer: ASTRO.

36. "I couldn't care __": LESS.

41. "Click, Clack, __: Cows That Type": Caldecott Honor book: MOO.  By Doreen Cronin, 2000.

42. Otolaryngologist, for short: ENT.  An otolaryngologist, commonly called an ENT doctor, specializes in conditions of the ear, nose, and throat.

48. Cheesy sammies: MELTS.  A melt is a hot sandwich with melting cheese.  The tuna melt is a classic example.

49. Not together: APART.

50. Finest form: A GAME.

51. "Cue the music!": HIT IT.  Back to Sofie's choice!

54. Flying fig.: ALT.  Altitude.

55. Ruin: MAR.

56. Ames sch.: ISU.  Iowa State University is in Ames, Iowa.

57. Mother in a meadow: EWE.

58. Ga. neighbor: FLA.

59. Vietnamese New Year: TET.

60. One of five resources in Catan: ORE.  Catan is a board game in which players establish settlements on a fictional island while acquiring and trading resources.  The resources include wool, grain, lumber, brick, and ore.

61. One on foot: Abbr.: PED.  Pedestrian.

Solvers, did you think that Erik Agard aided or ABETTED Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis in constructing this puzzle?  Was it the PITS?  Did you STORM off without finishing?

Or did you bring your A GAME and finish in LESS time than usual for a Thursday?

TRUST ME, you'll find like-minded people in the comments.  Join us there!

-- NaomiZ