Tuesday, October 6, 2026 Tennessee Grimes

Hit the Road, Jack!  Last Tuesday, we were on the Road.  This week we are still on the road, but obeying the signs along our travel.

20-Across. Plan for ending a relationship: EXIT STRATEGY.

28-Across. Have a meeting of the minds?: BUMP HEADS.

38-Across. "Can it!": STOP YOUR YAPPING.

46-Across. One who's not a fast-food fan?: SLOW EATER.

And the unifier:

53-Across. Nonverbal communication, or what can be found at the starts of 20-, 28-, 38-, and 46-Across: SIGN LANGUAGE.

Here's the grid with all the Signs.

This was a strange puzzle for me.  I found it both very challenging, and yet I also had more answers filled in by the perps without having read the clue.

Across:

1. Signs of healing on scrapes and cuts: SCABS.  I initially tried Scars because that word appears often in the puzzles.  Scabs aren't as drastic as scars, though.

6. Dedicated poems: ODEs.  A crossword staple.

10. "Omg same": IT ME.  Meh!

14. Ancient Aegean region: IONIA.

15. Start of a Spanish cheer: VIVA.

16. Phobia: FEAR.

17. Like grapefruit juice: TANGY.

18. Sinister: EVIL.

19. Greek salad cheese: FETA.  Feta is a Greek white brined cheese made from sheep's milk or a blend of sheep and goat's milk.  The brine gives it the signature salty taste.

23. Boathouse blade: OAR.

24. World's second-tallest bird: EMU.  Everything you ever wanted to know about the difference between an Emu and an Ostrich.

25. Hooting bird of prey: OWL.

33. Major fad: MANIA.

35. Mil. mail drop: APO.  As in Army Post Office.  Your military mail guide.

36. Deg. for a CFO or a CEO: MBA.  The Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Executive Officer would likely hold a Master of Business Administration degree.

37. Feathery cleaner: DUSTER.

42. Protected place for boats: HARBOR.  Anyone else try Marina?  And:  30-Down. Secured in a 42-Across: MOORED.

43. Pirate's cry: YAR.

44. Fib: LIE.

45. Swedish home furnishing stores: IKEAs.  This company is becoming a crossword staple.  Did you know that Ikea has been around since the 1940s?  The company was started by a 17-year-old who began selling small office supplies.

49. Actor Beatty: NED.  Although Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 ~ June 13, 2021) appeared in over 160 films, he his probably best remember for his role in Deliverance.

50. "Last Week Tonight" network: HBO.

52. Company abbr.: INC.

59. Pesky insect: GNAT.

62. From the top: ANEW.

63. Push: IMPEL.

64. Numerous: MANY.

65. __ Millions lottery: MEGA.

66. Republic in the Himalayas: NEPAL.  Since August, a series of flash floods destroyed many parts of Nepal and Tibet.  Hundreds of people died or are still missing.

67. Deep black: ONYX.

68. Crafty website: ETSY.

69. Diary passage: ENTRY.

Down:

1. Location: SITE.

2. Gently persuade: COAX.

3. Years in old Rome: ANNI.  Today's Latin lesson.

4. Circus tent: BIG TOP.

5. Opens up at a checkup: SAYS AH.

6. Eggs __ easy: OVER.

7. Aria singer, maybe: DIVA.

8. Paperless party announcements: EVITES.

9. Capital of Oregon: SALEM.  Ever wonder why Salem is the capital of Oregon?  It is far more interesting than one would suspect.

10. Questionable: IFFY.

11. Golf peg: TEE.

12. Gym cushion: MAT.

13. Noteworthy period: ERA.

21. Vibration: TREMOR.

22. Clog, informally: GUM UP.

25. Betting unwisely, in poker slang: ON TILT.  This term originated with the pinball machine.  If a player shoved or shook the machine too hard out of anger, a sensor would trigger a "TILT" warning and freeze the flippers as a penalty.  It was adopted by poker players who suffered big losses.

26. Frankfurter: WIENIE.

27. More roomy: LARGER.

28. Knock down violently, as a door: BASH IN.

29. Quick on the __: UPTAKE.

31. __ Dhabi: ABU.  Abu Dhabi is famous for being the ultra-wealthy political capital of the United Arab Emirates, combining massive oil reserves with world-class cultural and architectural landmarks.

32. Hannah of "Splash": DARYL.  Splash was released in 1984!  Can you believe it was that long ago?  

34. European viper: ASP.

37. Naturalist Charles with a theory of evolution: DARWIN.  Charles Robert Darwin (Feb. 12, 1809 ~ Apr. 19, 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology.  In 1925, John Scopes (Apr. 3, 1900 ~ October. 21, 1970), a teacher from Tennessee, was convicted for teaching the theory of evolution to his biology class.

39. Org. for tenpins players: PBA.  As in the Professional Bowlers Association.

40. Mario Kart and Mario Party dinosaur: YOSHI.

41. Basketball Hall of Famer Ming: YAO.  Yao Ming (Sept. 12, 1980) is a Chinese former professional player.  He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, and then spent his entire nine-year National Basketball Association career with the Houston Rockets.

46. 14-line poem: SONNET.

47. "Purring" car part: ENGINE.

48. Shrewdness: ACUMEN.

51. So-so effort: B-GAME.

53. Mythical river of the underworld: STYX.

54. Bench supports: LEGS.

55. Not home: AWAY.

56. Date with a doc: APPT.  As in an Appointment.

57. Clockwork part: GEAR.

58. Shortstop De La Cruz who led the majors in stolen bases in 2024: ELLY.  Elly Antonio De La Cruz (b. Jan. 11, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds. 

59. Bioengineering letters: GMO.  As in Genetically Modified Organism.

60. Brit's grandma: NAN.

61. "__ volunteers?": ANY.

חתולה

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 Kelly Morenus

Rollin' Down the Highway.  The last word of each theme answer is another name for a Street.

18-Across. "Show us how it's done": PAVE THE WAY.

24-Across. "Quit interfering": STAY IN YOUR LANE.

40-Across. "Don't stoop to their level": TAKE THE HIGH ROAD.

52-Across. "Perfect for me": RIGHT UP MY ALLEY.

And the unifier:

62-Across. Informal language, or what 18-, 24-, 40-, and 52-Across are examples of?: STREET TALK.

Here's the grid:

Across:

1. Liquefy: MELT.

5. Lima's country: PERU.  Peru is a South American country that bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile.  It's home to a section of Amazon rainforest.  Machu Picchu, the ancient Incan city, is located high in the Peruvian Andes mountains.

9. Pokes (around): NOSES.

14. Fruit with wrinkled skin: UGLI.  Ugli fruit is a Jamaican tangelo.  It is a natural citrus hybrid created from a cross between a grapefruit (or pomelo), an orange, and a tangerine.  It is larger than a grapefruit with a thick peel that fits loosely around the pulpy orange flesh inside.  Green patches on the skin do not mean it is unripe.  Did you know that it is also the registered trademark for a brand of Jamaican tangelo?

15. Greek Cupid: EROS.

16. Disconnected: APART.

17. Mouse catcher: TRAP.

20. Some office subs: TEMPS.

22. Wedding declaration: I DO.

23. Ascend: RISE.

28. Britches, informally: TROU.  The last time I heard this word was back in college when the frat boys would joke about dropping trou.

29. Pod filler: PEA.

30. Part in four-part harmony: ALTO.

33. __ carte menu: À LA.  A crossword staple.

35. Car in the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun": T-BIRD.

44. Large deer: MOOSE.  I never thought of a moose as a deer, but apparently they ar the largest living species in the deer family, known scientifically as Cervidae.

45. Contraction that's typically followed by "be": IT'D.  Followed by another contraction: 46-Across. Fails to be: ISN'T.

47. Corp. VIP: CEO.  As in Chief Executive Officer.

50. House of Lords title: EARL.

59. Junior staffer: AIDE.

60. Charcoal grill residue: ASH.

61. City with the Heat and the Hurricanes: MIAMI.  A sports reference:  Basketball and Football.

66. Out of control: AMOK.

67. "Money __": Netflix crime series: HEIST.  In this series, a criminal mastermind (The Professor) developed a plan to pull off the biggest heist in recorded history ~ to print billions of euros in the Royal Mint of Spain.  To help him carry out the plan, he recruited eight people with certain abilities and who have nothing to lose. The group of thieves took hostages to aid in their negotiations with the authorities.

68. Actor Morales: ESAI.  Esai Morales (né Esai Manuel Morales Jr.; b. Oct. 1, 1962) used to make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  He will be celebrating his 64th birthday on Thursday.

69. "Great" detective of kid-lit: NATE.  Nate the Great is a children's chapter book series featuring a young boy detective and his dog, Sludge.  There are 31 books in the series, which was initially created in 1972.

70. Donkeys: ASSES.

71. Credit report category: DEBT.

72. Uno y dos: TRES.  Spanish math.

Down:

1. Mixed-breed dogs: MUTTS.

2. Everglades wader: EGRET.  Egrets aren't limited to the Florida Everglades.  There are many egrets that hang out near my house.

3. Woolly pack animal of 5-Across: LLAMA.

My encounter with a Llama in Peru.

4. What a child might stand on to watch a parade: TIPPY-TOES.

5. Get-up-and-go: PEP.

6. Chapter of history: ERA.

7. Finnish game developer that created Angry Birds: ROVIO.

8. Depleted: USED UP.

9. Casual refusal: NAH.

10. "Tosca," for one: OPERA.  Tosca is an opera by Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858 ~ Nov. 29, 1924).  It is sometimes billed as a political thriller that takes place in Rome during the Napoleonic Wars.

11. Welcomed at the door: SAW IN.

12. Delete: ERASE.

13. Eyelid irritation: STYE.

19. Dashed: TORE.

21. Title for Paul McCartney: SIR.  Paul McCartney (b. June 18, 1942) was knighted in 1997.  He was the first Beatle to be awarded this honor.

25. "Hurt Somebody" singer-songwriter Kahan: NOAH.  I am not familiar with this singer-songwriter.

26. Christmas season: YULE.

27. Lattice strip: LATH.

30. Convenience in many cash-only establishments: ATM.  This used to be a crossword staple.

31. Thai neighbor: LAO.

32. Boxing ref's ruling, for short: TKO.  As in Technical Knock-Out.

34. Tropical tuna: AHI.  Yummers!

36. Sparkling: BRILLIANT.

37. iPhone platform: iOS.  As in iPhone Operating System.

38. Tried to get elected: RAN.

39. Pesticide in Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," for short: DDT.  Silent Spring was first published in 1962.  The book exposed the hazards of indiscriminate pesticide use, particularly DDT, and launched the modern environmental movement.  Rachel Carson (May 27, 1907 ~ April 14, 1964) named the book Silent Spring because it envisioned a future spring morning where no birds sang due to the devastation of wildlife from chemical pesticides.

41. __ support: TECH.

42. Thing: ITEM.

43. Aussie greeting: G'DAY.

48. Coup d'__: ÉTAT.  Today's French lesson.  A coup d'état is a sudden, illegal overthrow of an existing government by a small group, usually backed by the military or internal state forces.

49. Removed from power: OUSTED.  Probably ousted due to a coup d'état.

51. Smash (into): RAM.

52. Ceremonial acts: RITES.

53. Elba of "Cats": IDRIS.

54. Grown goslings: GEESE.

55. Lunar cycle part: PHASE.

56. Rapper Kendrick: LAMAR. 

Kendrick Lamar (b. June 17, 1987)

57. Act with passion: EMOTE.

58. Expression of surprise: YIKES.

59. Girl who befriends a magical star in Disney's "Wish": ASHA.

63. Sci-fi figures: ETS.  As in ExtraTerrestrials.  

64. Chem class site: LAB.

65. Hobby shop purchase: KIT.

חתולה