Tuesday, March 10, 2026 Geoffrey Schorkoph and Matthew Luter

Odds or Evens?

20-Across. Road trip activity with yes or no answers: TWENTY QUESTIONS.

34-Across. Uno's predecessor: CRAZY EIGHTS.

41-Across. Hasbro product with yellow and red checkers: CONNECT FOUR.

And the unifier:

51-Across. "You must consider the odds," and what can be said about 20-, 34-, or 41-Across?: IT'S A NUMBERS GAME.  Consider the Odds that all the Games have Even Numbers.

Across:

1. Sleight of hand: MAGIC.

6. Film trivia site: IMDB.  As in Internet Movie DataBase.  It's useful when you recognize an actor's face, but can't think of his name.

10. __ golf: DISC.  I'll let the golfers among us describe this sport.

14. Best Picture Oscar winner starring Mikey Madison: ANORA.  Anora is a romantic comedy-drama about a young girl from Brooklyn who meets and marries the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch.  His parent's aren't amused.

 

15. Nurture: REAR.

16. Machu Picchu builder: INCA.  Machu Picchu is an Incan city set high in the Andes Mountains in Peru. Built in the 15th century and later abandoned.  It is known renowned for its dry-stone walls that fuse huge blocks without the use of mortar and panoramic views.   It is truly breathtaking.  If you have an opportunity to visit the site, I highly recommend it.

17. Played on TV again: RERAN.

18. Years, in Latin: ANNI.  Anno is singular; Anni is plural.

19. Aussie greeting: G'DAY.  We learned about Australian greetings a couple of weeks ago.

23. Fashion designer Anna: SUI.  Anna Sui (b. Aug. 4, 1955) was a big name in fashion in the early aughts.

24. Low-carb diet: KETO.  Keto is short for ketogenic, a diet designed to induce ketosis, a metabolic state where the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

25. Bona fide: ACTUAL.  More of today's Latin lesson.  It literally means In Good Faith.

29. On a cruise ship, maybe: ASEA.

31. Glamping options, for short: RVs.

36. Butter unit: PAT.

37. Saintly ring of light: HALO.

38. "Hamilton" actress Phillipa: SOO.  Philippa Anne Soo (b. May 31, 1990) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  She is best known for her role as Eliza Hamilton in the original Broadway musical Hamilton.

39. The Big Easy, for short: NOLA.  As in New Orleans, Louisiana.

40. Mother of 41-Down: EVE.  //  41-Down. Genesis brother: CAIN.

45. Lair: DEN.

46. Like some limited-release films: ARTY.

47. Hoot and __: HOLLER.

48. Bed size: TWIN.  Back in the olden days, married couples slept in twin beds.

50. Buddy: PAL.

59. __ scale: measure of mineral hardness: MOHS.  The Mohs scale of mineral hardness was developed in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs (né Carl Friedrich Christian Mohs; Jan. 29, 1883 ~ Sept. 29, 1839), a German chemist.

60. Beat handily: ROUT.

61. Language of Sri Lanka: TAMIL.  Sri Lanka is the island country off the tip of India.

62. Item on a stage manager's checklist: PROP.

63. Ilk: SORT.

64. Pizzeria appliances: OVENS.

65. Participates in a bee: SEWS.

66. Tense and irritable: EDGY.

67. Gossipy person: YENTA.

Down:

1. Bodega: MART.

2. From the top: ANEW.  A crossword staple.

3. 1990s vice president: GORE.  Before he became the 45th Vice President, Al Gore (né Albert Arnold Gore Jr.; b. Mar. 31, 1948) served as a United States Senator from Tennessee.

4. Tehran's country: IRAN.  I think this country has been in the news recently.  Did any of you watch the television show Tehran that is on Apple TV?

5. "Who knows": CAN'T SAY.

6. Baghdad citizen: IRAQI.

7. Array of course offerings?: MENU.

8. Great __: big dog: DANE.

9. Staple of Texas barbecue: BRISKET.  Yummers!

10. Finger or toe: DIGIT.

11. Splashy hotel amenity?: INDOOR POOL.

12. Read a barcode: SCAN.

13. Tropical islets: CAYS.  Everything you ever wanted to know about Cays, but didn't know to ask.

21. Christmas season: YULE.

Christmas in July.

22. Brews enjoyed with scones: TEAS.

25. Felt a workout: ACHED.

26. Hunger for: CRAVE.

27. Amateur production: TALENT SHOW.

28. "The Residence" star Aduba: UZO.  I am not familiar with either The Residence or Uzo Aduba (née Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba; b. Feb. 10, 1981).  She is probably best known for her portrayal of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on Orange Is the New Black.

29. Torment: AGONY.

30. "If the __ fits ... ": SHOE.

32. Regard highly: VALUE.

33. Ringo of the Beatles: STARR.

35. "This __ about you": ISN'T.

39. Gp. that sets a zebra among the Lions?: NFL.  The zebras here are the referees.

42. Surgical asst.: OR NURSE.

43. Blacken, as a steak: CHAR.

44. "Anna Karenina" novelist: TOLSTOY.  Leo Tolstoy (Sept. 9, 1828 ~ Nov. 20, 1910) published Anna Karenina as a novel in 1878.  It had initially been released in serial increments between 1875 and 1877.  You can read it here.

49. Builders of papery nests: WASPS.

50. Like one who holds grudges: PETTY.

51. Rascals: IMPS.

52. Ripped: TORE.

beyond torn.

53. Word before ring or swing: MOOD.

54. Town: BURG.

55. Donated: GAVE.

56. Blessing ender: AMEN.

57. Julep herb: MINT.  Yummers!

58. Disney princess with icy powers: ELSA.  A reference to Frozen.

That's all for this week.

חתולה

Saturday, January 24, 2026, Rafael Musa, Geoffrey Schorkopf

  Themeless Saturday by Rafael Musa & Geoffrey Schorkopf 

I had these collaborators on September 6, 2025 and had much more luck with that puzzle than I did with this one. I had to get help on a few cells and had an honest-to-goodness Natick at IRE_A/A_AND. The cluing left me out in the dark and some of the fill were not in my vocabulary. All in all it was a slog for this solver and came in the "close but no cigar" category.

As the graphic shows, Rafael (A software engineer for Airbnb in S.F.)  and Geoffrey (a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta) had a lot of unique fill. The gentlemen had 104 open squares and only 28 blocks.

Rafael

Geoffrey

 

Across:

1. Emerge from the ashes, say: RISE AGAIN - Until last year, Indiana Unverstiy's football team had more losses (over 700) than another college program. But with the hire of coach Curt Cignetti they went to 16 - 0 and won the National Championship in 2026.

10. Violin stroke: UPBOW - We guitar players often use an upstrum stroke

15. Mammal with a protective shell: ARMADILLO - This easy 9-letter fill portended an easier solve than it turned out to be

16. Letizia, por ejemplo: REINA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I didn't even know Spain had a King and Queen and no idea what the Spanish word for a queen was either.

17. Drafty places?: BEER HALLS 😀 Perhaps the most famous BEER HALL was the  Löwenbrau's Bürgerbräukeller in Munich where in 1923 Hitler attempted his famous putsch to oust the Weimar Republic.

18. 17-Across option: LAGER - Löwenbrau certainly made a LAGER beer even then

19. "Winners Take All" author Giridharadas: ANAND ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  and 2. Polish humanitarian Sendler: IRENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  The makings of my Natick.

     

20. Wife of Osiris: ISIS.

22. Drooping: LIMP.

23. Sea dogs: TARS.

24. Caterpillar counterparts: DEERES - This John DEERE starts at $1.2M before options

26. Dandy: FOP.

27. Following a pattern, perhaps: ORDERLY.

28. "Sorry, did I overshare?": TMI.

29. End one's Dry January, say: IMBIBE.

33. Rational process?: MEAL PREP - Rational meal prep combines smart planning (stocking up, mapping meals, focusing on protein/leftovers) with efficient cooking, often using technology.

35. Demeanors: MIENS - I see MIEN and its lovely vowels here more often than anywhere else

36. Potential reward for a top-seeded team: BYE - The top four rated teams get a BYE in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. In the last two years those teams with a week off have  a 1 - 7 record.

37. Danish fruit: PRUNE 😀 - That is only one filling option for the pastry known as a danish. They are so named because Danish bakers brought them to America. In Denmark they were known as wienerbrød (Vienna Bread).

 

38. They may trick or treat?: PLACEBOS 😀

40. Excel at another company?: SHEETS 😀

41. Guitar legend Paul: LES.

42. Tangy ramen toppers: SOY EGGS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. NYC setting: EST.

45. Fill a flat?: SUBLET - 😀 I abandoned any use of the word air quickly 

46. The "A" of NATO: ALFA - Putting AMER first did not help. Once I changed that mistake the whole SE corner filled in.

50. Note givers: ATMS.

52. First U.S. president to own a car: TAFT -The 1909 Model M is at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

 

53. Clear as day: PLAIN.

54. Like a flue: SOOTY.

56. "I'm dead serious!": NO FOOLING.

58. Over: ENDED.

59. Parts in two?: DUAL ROLES - I had a huge crush on Haley Mills in her DUAL ROLES in 1961

60. Considers: DEEMS.

61. Works outside?: STREET ART - Works is a noun here. ART came first in the fill for me.

Down:

1. North African capital: RABAT - Casablanca was the movie but RABAT is the capital of Morocco. Anyone else put Cairo first?

3. Bad mark: SMEAR.

4. Brings in: EARNS.

5. Med. condition treated with Vyvanse: ADHD.

6. "The Last Showgirl" director Coppola: GIA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

7. Together: ALLIED.

8. Comment after a bad joke: I'LL SEE MYSELF OUT 😀

9. Folksy denial: NO SIRREE.

10. Short address: URL.

11. Toll: PEAL 😀

12. "That would break the internet!": BIG IF TRUE 😀 If Abe had really said this...

13. "Be right with you": ONE MOMENT.

14. Mario Bros. transports: WARP PIPES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

21. Ward in movies: SELA - How old am I? I put Ward BOND first.

24. Beats by __: DRE

 

25. Spirits of the air: SYLPHS.

27. Go deep, say: OBSESS.

29. "That makes me happy": I'M PLEASED.

30. Solid foods for a baby, e.g.: MILESTONE - The "potty trained" MILESTONE is monumental!

31. Competitive athletic state, colloquially: BEAST MODE - We had this a few Saturdays ago.

32. Business end?: INC.

34. School opening?: PRE.

36. Focus of the 2024 miniseries "Dirty Pop": BOY BANDS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

39. Spell: BOUT - I had a 10-day BOUT with a cold around Christmas 

40. Mil. rank: SGT - I had to muster out CPL, CAP and COL

43. Win at life: GET FAR.

46. Divvy up: ALLOT - The end of every family get together is the "divvy up" session for leftovers

47. Boxer Ali: LAILA - Here with dad.

48. Less coarse: FINER.

49. Inner turmoil: ANGST.

51. Academic acronym: STEM.

53. Toner target: PORE.

55. Passing concern, for short?: YDS - I, uh, passed on INT and TDS

57. Estádio do Maracanã cheer: OLE - The Estádio do Maracanã stadium is in Rio and OLE celebrates soccer goals rather than bull fighting success.