Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Joe Marquez

What, me worry?  The profession in each theme clue has a major worry, which is explained in the answer.

19-Across. Worry for a campaign manager?: PRIMARY CONCERN.  Thank goodness the election is over and we don't have to worry about the next primaries for another year or so.

25-Across. Worry for a stunt performer?: DOUBLE TROUBLE.

43-Across. Worry for a winemaker?: PRESSING ISSUE.

52-Across. Worry for a dry cleaner?: DELICATE MATTER.

Here's the Grid:

What other concerns can be found in today's puzzle?

Across:

1. Largest of the Three Bears: PAPA.

5. Golf ball prop: TEE.

8. Moon's path: ORBIT.

13. Last (and next) U.S. state to host the Winter Olympics: UTAH.  The Winter Olympics were last held in Utah in 2002.  The games will return to Utah in 2034.  I'll probably be too old by then to compete in the down hill racing.  At least, that's my excuse.

14. Drive-__ window: THRU.

15. "Still Alice" Oscar winner Julianne: MOORE.  Julianne Moore (née Julie Anne Smith; b. Dec. 3, 1960) is a talented actress.  She made many independent films in the 1990s.  Still Alice was a 2914 film about a professor, played by Julianne Moore, who developed Alzheimer's disease.

16. Lacking color: PALE.

17. Name in a will: HEIR.  Technically speaking, one is not an heir while the donor is still alive.  An heir is specifically a person legally entitled to inherit from someone after they have died

18. Physicist Newton: ISAAC.  That's Sir Isaac Newton (Jan. 4, 1643 ~ Mar. 31, 1727) to you.

22. __ and yang: YIN.

23. Day on Mars: SOL.  For a detailed explanation of what this means, check out this site.

24. "Your Song" singer Rita: ORA.  Rita Ora (née Rita Sahatçiu Ora; b. Nov. 26, 1990) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  She is a British singer.  She was born in Pristina, Yugoslavia (present-day Kosovo), but her family moved to England when she was just an infant.

32. Quibbles: CARPS.

34. Gradually withdraw: WEAN.

35. AirPod holder: EAR.

36. Universal modes of transport?: UFOs.

37. Trojan War epic by Homer: ILIAD.  Hand up if you have read The Iliad in the original Greek.  

39. Tex-Mex snack: TACO.  Yummers!

40. Froot Loops mascot Toucan __: SAM.

41. Actor Alda: ALAN.  Alan Alda (né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; b. Jan. 28, 1936) is probably best remembered for portraying Hawkeye Pierce on the long-running sit-com M*A*S*H.

42. Roof overhangs: EAVES.  At the place to hang the icicles.

47. Federal org. employing ecologists: EPA.  As in the Environmental Protection Agency.

48. Feline: CAT.  As if I needed an excuse to post a cat cartoon ...

49. "Notorious" SCOTUS justice: RBG.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg (née Joan Ruth Bader; b. Mar. 15, 1933 ~ Sept. 18, 2020) became known as Notorious RGB due to her many scathing dissenting opinions.

57. Taylor Swift album with the hit "Cruel Summer": LOVER.

58. Grumpy sort: CRAB.

59. Source of misery: BANE.

60. Pie serving: SLICE.

61. Enormous: MEGA.

62. Web developer's creation: SITE.

63. Shoulder muscles, briefly: DELTS.  Short for Deltoid muscles.

64. PC file suffix: EXE.

65. Walk heavily: PLOD.

Down:

1. Young dog: PUPPY.

2. Video game pioneer: ATARI.  Atari has been around since the early 1970's.   The name Atari comes from a term in the board game Go. 

3. Eve, but not Adam: PALINDROME.  However, Madam, I am Adam is a palindrome.

4. "Beg pardon": AHEM.

5. "__ Never Catch Us": Jessica Goodman bestseller: THEY'LL.  They'll Never Catch Us is a young adult thriller.

6. Actor Stoltz: ERIC.  Eric Cameron Stoltz (b. Sept. 30, 1961) has been in many films since the 1980s. 

7. French money: EURO.  One side of the Euro coin is the "national" side and has a symbol of its country of origin.

8. Letter between xi and pi: OMICRON.  //  And 39-Down. Letter between sigma and upsilon: TAU.

9. Capital of Dominica: ROSEAU.  Dominica is an island in the Caribbean.

10. Wild hog with tusks: BOAR.

11. Tehran's country: IRAN.  I strongly recommend the book The Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali.  A novel that follows events in Iran, from the 1953 coup, through the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and after.

12. Sleuth, in old slang: TEC.

14. Pulsate: THROB.

20. Tech giant based in Taiwan: ASUS.  I am not familiar with this company.

21. Santa-tracking org.: NORAD.

26. Photo __: some PR events: OPS.

27. Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick: EWING.  Although Patrick Aloysius Ewing (b. Aug. 5, 1962) was born in Jamaica, his family moved to Boston when he was a young child.  He was a student at Cambridge Rindge and Latin where he learned to play basketball.  He never played for the Boston Celtics, however.

28. Lipton product: TEA.

29. Canadian treat that resembles a certain animal part: BEAVERTAIL.  Hi, CanadianEh!

30. Lingerie trim: LACE.  Followed by 31-Down. Greek Cupid: EROS.

32. Turning point: CUSP.

33. Miles off: AFAR.

37. Hipbone-related: ILIAC.  Not to be confused with 37-Across.

38. PC-to-PC hookup: LAN.  As in Local Area Network.

41. Has high hopes: ASPIRES.

42. "¿Cómo está usted?": ESTA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  I am doing very well, thank you.

44. Exclusive: SELECT.

45. Stretch of glacial growth: ICE AGE.

46. Brazilian dance: SAMBA.

50. Japanese box lunch: BENTO.

51. Avarice: GREED.

52. Mete (out): DOLE.

53. Like Doctor Doom: EVIL.  A reference to one of the supervillains in Marvel Comics history.

54. Pinnacle: ACME.

55. Sue at Chicago's Field Museum, e.g.: T-REX.  Sue the Tyrannosaurus rex is at the Field Museum in Chicago.  The dino skeleton was found in South Dakota by Susan Hendrickson in 1990. 

56. Baking amt.: TBSP.  As in a Tablespoon.

57. 1960s hallucinogen, for short: LSD.

חתולה

 

 

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 80th birthday to Husker Gary's wife Joann and her twin sister Joyce! Here's a lovely picture of them with their mom Martha, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 100.

Gary and Joann had to say goodbye to their beloved cat Lily on Sunday. Such a sad time for them. Hope all the happy memories of Lily bring them some comfort.

 

Tuesday November 3, 2026 Kevin Shustack

Peat and Repeat and Repeat and Repeat and Repeat.

20-Across. Marshy source of organic fuel: PEAT BOG.  In Europe, archeologist have often found mummified bodies in peat bogs.

22-Across. Attempt to hit: SWIPE AT.

31-Across. Budget-friendly fare: CHEAPE ATS.

41-Across. Slip by unnoticed: ESCAPE ATTENTION.

And the unifier:

52-Across. Rare championship sequences, or what can be found in this puzzle's circles: FOUR PEATS.  One of the four Peats is not like the other Peats.  

Here's the Grid:

This was a very name-heavy puzzle.  It didn't bother me, but I know many people don't like seeing so many names in a puzzle.  The names here covered several generations, so there is probably at least one name for everyone to recognize.

Across:

1. Open-handed hit: SLAP.

5. Saudi neighbor: OMANI.

10. Reasons to cry "April Fools!": GAGS.  //  And 18-Across. "April Fools!": GOT YA!

14. Bull, in Spanish: TORO.  Today's Spanish lesson.

15. Former One Direction member Niall: HORAN.  Niall James Horan (b. Sept. 13, 1993) is an Irish singer and musician.  His band, One Direction, was apparently one of the best-selling boy bands.  [Name # 1.]

16. Actor Morales: ESAI.  We haven't seen Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (b. Oct. 1, 1962) in a while.  He used to appear in the puzzles with alarming frequency.  Maybe he has aged out of the current demographics.  [Name # 2.]

17. Upper limbs: ARMS.

When Octopus arms become Upper Limbs.

19. Epistles: Abbr.: LTRS.  Today's Greek lesson.  Epistles is a Greek word meaning Letters.  Typically, when this word is used, it refers to a number of letters in the New Testament.  

24. Touched down on a runway: LANDED.  It's going to be a bumpy ride.

25. Come out: EMERGE.

26. "Middlemarch" novelist George: ELIOT.  The given name of George Eliot (Nov. 22, 1819 ~ Dec. 22,  1880) was Mary Ann Evans.  She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. In addition to Middlemarch, she wrote several other novels, including The Mill on the Floss and Silas Marner.  She was well known and led a rather scandalous life.  [Name # 3.]

27. Unfortunate: SAD.

30. Word before beauty or peace: INNER.  As in Inner Beauty or Inner Peace.

34. __ tai: cocktail: MAI.  Yummers!

37. Squeeze water from: WRING.

38. Show hosts, for short: MCs.  As in the Master of Ceremonies.

46. Eighth Greek letter: THETA.  It's all Greek to me.

47. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE.  Bill Nye (né William Sanford Nye; b. Nov. 27, 1955) is a science "communicator." He is best known for being the host of the science education television show Bill Nye the Science Guy.   His life has not been without controversy.  [Name # 4.]

48. "Live at the Acropolis" musician: YANNI.  Yanni (né Yiannis Chryssomallis; b. Sept. 14, 1954), is a Greek composer, hence the "Acropolis" in the clue.  [Name # 5.]

49. Appear that way: SEEM SO.

51. Pass along, as an unwanted present: REGIFT.

56. Acid counterpart: BASE.  Today's Chemistry lesson.

59. Auction warning: GOING.

60. Somewhat open: AJAR.  When is a door not a door ...

64. Run in place: IDLE.

65. Opposite of double: HALVE.  Today's Math lesson.

66. Zero, in tennis: LOVE.  We've discussed the rational for Love meaning Zero in tennis in the past.

67. Planner pages: DAYS.

68. Long shots, in hoops lingo: TREYS.  A reference to the game of basketball.

69. Black-__ Susan: EYED.  How the flower got its name.

Down:

1. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE.

2. "Because you're worth it" cosmetics brand: L'OREAL.  This tagline made its debut in the 1970s, although the company claims's it a mission and not a tagline.  

3. Italian fashion house: ARMANI.  The luxury fashion house was named after Giorgio Armani (July 11, 1934 ~ Sept. 4, 2025).  [Name # 6.]

4. Scholar pursuing an advanced deg.: POST-DOC.  As in Post Doctorate degree.

5. "Good Lord!": OH, G'D.

6. Big name in synthesizers: MOOG.  The Moog Synthesizer was named after Robert Arthur Moog (May 23, 1934 ~ August. 21, 2005), who was an American electronics engineer and electronic music pioneer.  In 1964, he founder the Moog synthesizer.  [Name # 7.]

7. Museum display: ART.  I recently visited the Detroit Institute of the Arts.  It was an amazing museum.

8. Votes against: NAYS.  Today is Election Day.  Please exercise your rights and vote.

9. At a loss for words, perhaps: IN AWE.

10. Felt-tip alternatives: GEL PENS.

11. Toward the back of a boat: ASTERN.

Anatomy of a boat.

12. Parking structure: GARAGE.

13. Sorority member: SISTER.

21. Word in many temple names: BETH.  The word Beth is a transliteration of the Hebrew word בית, which, in Hebrew is pronounced more like Beit, or Bayet.  The word means House.  I used to attend a synagogue called Beth Shalom, which means House of Peace.

23. "You found the one and only": I'M IT.

27. Kitchen wrap brand: SARAN.

28. Unfortunate: A PITY.

29. Al __: pasta specification: DENTE.  Today's Italian lesson.  The phrase al dente means to the tooth.

32. Female sheep: EWE.

33. Mature: AGE.

34. Queens baseball players: METS.

35. Queens tennis stadium namesake: ASHE.  Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player.  He won three Grand Slam singles titles in singles and two in doubles,  [Name # 8.]

36. Slushy drink: ICEE.  They can come on lots of different flavors.

38. Pocket-size: MINI.

39. NCAA div.: CONF.  LSU, which frequently appears in the puzzles, is in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and competes in NCAA Division I.

40. Irritable state: SNIT.

42. Some convenience store inconveniences: ATM FEES.

43. El __, Texas: PASO.

44. Russian denial: NYET.  Today's Russian lesson.  And NO, I won't tell you what it means.

45. Neighborhood event with good deals: TAG SALE.

50. "This __ to be good": OUGHT.

51. Rants and raves: RAGES.

53. Lion's sound: ROAR.

54. Mound that grows until laundry day: PILE.

55. "Inside Out 2" emotion voiced by Ayo Edebiri: ENVY.  [Name # 9.]  //  And 61-Down. "Inside Out 2" emotion voiced by Amy Poehler: JOY.  [Name # 10.]  Both Aye Edebiri (née Funmilayo Edebiri; b. Oct. 3, 1995) and Amy Poehler (née Amy Meredith Poehler; b. Sept. 15, 1971) are American comedians and actresses.

56. Auction action: BID.

57. Tooth care org.: ADA.  As in the American Dental Association.

58. __ as a fox: SLY.

62. "__ Maria": AVE.

63. Like Clifford of kid lit: RED.

חתולה