Saturday, August 1, 2026, Emily Biegas

 Saturday Themeless by Emily Biegas

In my last puzzle by Emily I came up a few cells short and today it was one cell with the coffee crossing modern "dish the dirt" show. I had a hard time starting this puzzle but had fun once I left the starting block and then had to finish  the NW. It was populated by clues and fills that were not in my vocab, so I had to get help on two cells to unlock that corner. I'll get over it. Does the picture suggest to you that Emily and I may have different life experiences? 😊

Across:

1. Many a Maximum Fun collaborator: PODCASTER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Signal to change a battery: CHIRP - Smoke detectors leapt to my mind.  It would be a real chore to count all the batteries in this house and most just quit working when they need replacing. 

15. Espresso variety: AMERICANO - I was so sure of some variation of ARABICA for too long

16. Norse pantheon: AESIR ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

17. Makes: GENERATES.

18. Buttoned-up sort: PRUDE.

19. Fashion designer Saab: ELIE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Here he is with some of his creations. 

20. Noted law maker: NEWTON - I have taught NEWTON's Laws hundreds of times

22. "__ of Me": PJ Harvey album: RID ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  - No idea on the artist or the song. I looked up some of her lyrics and they match the tenor of her picture.

23. Impetus: REASON.

25. Poivre partner: SEL.

26. Ten ahead?: DECA 😀 DECADE

27. WashU's city: STL - A 12-minute drive from The Gateway Arch

28. House Stark patriarch: NED - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ From Game Of Thrones 

30. Fed action: RATE CUT.

32. Show stopper?: SERIES FINALE 😀 The most watched TV episode of all time - 106 million viewers.

34. "Measure twice, cut once," for one: MOTTO - Adage, Maxim

37. Sentimental one: SAP.

38. Golf course halves: NINES - The first NINE holes are called the front and the second NINE holes are called the back

39. Discount emporia: THRIFT STORES.

42. Look down upon: SCOFF AT.

43. Goss: TEA - Slang double header: Goss is short for gossip and "stir the TEA" means share the goss.

44. UFC style: MMA - Mixed Martial Arts. Not a fan.

47. Feature of an ungulate: HOOF.

48. Title choice on some forms: MRS - On the old What's My Line show, John Daly's first question of a female contestant was her marital status. Uh, that would not fly today.

50. Contests: ARGUES.

52. Fender Deluxe Reverb, e.g.: AMP - Fender says guitar and Reverb says AMP.

53. "Help me out, would ya?": BE A PAL.

55. WNBA positions: Abbr.: CTRS - The best of the new NBA CTRS is 7' 4" Frenchman Victor Wembanyama .

56. Take care of: SEE TO.

58. Joint tissue: CARTILAGE.

60. Shinto shrine entrance: TORII - The TORII Gate in Omaha's Lauritsen Gardens was a gift from Omaha's sister city Shizuoka, Japan.

61. Race unit: KILOMETER - My granddaughter regularly runs 5K and 10K races

62. First name in landscape photography: ANSEL.

63. Drag event?: SNOREFEST.

Down:

1. Motorola devices: PAGERS - Many hospitals still use them. They are great for professional purposes, almost never get spam calls and can get service where cell phones can be blocked.

2. Tamagoyaki, e.g.: OMELET ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

3. No answer?: DENIAL - No answer: "On advice of counsel..."

4. Grand Council of the __: political body in Canada: CREES 

5. Cause of inflation: AIR 😀

6. Security line machine: SCANNER.

7. The Village Voice critic Greg who was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2024: TATE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   Uber obscure to this solver

8. TMZ alternative: E-NEWS.

9. Athletic position?: ROSTER SPOT - Here is a list of 87 players trying to make a ROSTER SPOT on the 2026 KC Chiefs 53-man squad.

10. Skipper, for short: CAP'N.

11. "That girl?": HER.

12. "Consider it done!": I SURE CAN - My reply when C.C. asked me if I could blog the Saturday puzzle about ten years ago.

13. Lampoon: RIDICULE.

14. Antecedes: PREDATES - Precedes was a decent first guess

21. "Frozen" character who sings "In Summer": OLAF - Naive OLAF sings this ironic song

24. Ad hoc: ONE OFF - Several TV characters were intended to be ONE-OFFs, only appear once and then leave the cast. Some made such a lasting impression they became regulars. Examples: Frasier Crane, Saul Goodman, Max Klinger, Gomer Pyle, et al. Others?

26. "Train Dreams" writer Johnson: DENIS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

29. Fighting words?: DISS TRACKS - DISS has become a familiar fill and here it serves to describe musical answers to artists who felt they were "disrespected'.

31. Lack of sensitivity: TIN EAR - Oho, that's not what you meant...

32. Shortchange: STIFF - I would never STIFF a server because of a bad meal

33. "I could __": EAT.

34. Stratovolcano in NorCal: MT SHASTA.

35. "Gimme a break": OH COME ON.

36. Highway enforcers: TROOPERS - A truly thankless job

40. Mild: TAME.

41. Many a "Selling Sunset" cast member: REALTOR. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. Re-strain?: MUTATE 😀 Kind of a stretch?

45. Picks a lane?: MERGES.

46. Declare: ASSERT.

49. Valencia's country: SPAIN.

51. Sign of treble?: G CLEF - Named for the second note on the staff. The stylized "G" wraps around that second line

53. Get hot: BOIL.

54. "Alligator Boy" in a 2021 Netflix animated film: ARLO. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

57. Runoff cause, perhaps: TIE - It wasn't an actual TIE but no one got more than 50% of the vote.

59. "__ Mine": George Harrison book: I ME - Song video and book cover:

  

Saturday, July 25, 2026, Mike Graczyk

 Saturday Themeless by Mike Graczyk

A fun solve on what appears to be Mike's initial LA Times puzzle. My trek started in the NE with my Greek wife's least favorite salad and expanding out from there.

Across:

1. "Who's interested?": ANY TAKERS - Knowing the real issues for this trip, this NASA guy knows all the perils and is a hard no! 

NOT ME!

10. Saw: ADAGE.

15. "Do I know you?": HAVE WE MET.

16. Historic site in Jordan known as the Rose City: PETRA - One of the new seven wonders of the world

17. Eggs-cellent breakfast spot: 😀 OMELET BAR.

18. "Door's open!": ENTER.

19. "You bet!": YES.

20. Pinch-hit: STEP IN - What we subs do during the school year

22. Next: THEN.

23. Hardly pusillanimous: BOLD.

24. Bears named for an Alaskan archipelago: KODIAKS.

26. Call it a day: GO HOME.

29. People who pay flat rates?: TENANTS - I think we all know what an apartment is called in the UK

30. Wistful words: I HOPE.

31. Went to court?: WOOED - 😀 Court is a verb here.

32. One who loves ewe very much: RAM.

34. Migrators in the Maasai Mara's Great Migration: GNUS.

35. Brook swimmer: TROUT.

36. Brand of shapewear: BALI.

37. Brief alarm: SOS.

38. Essence: POINT.

39. Test versions: BETAS.

40. Takes back: RECANTS.

42. "You bet!": SURE DO.

43. Ouster: DEPOSAL - Ouster : Oust :: Deposal : Depose 

44. One thing after another: LIST.

45. Campus building: HALL - My home for two years

46. Connecticut governor Ned: LAMONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. Rugby ball prop: TEE.

51. Taco truck option: ASADA.

53. Places to break some records?: RAGE ROOMS - or break most anything else

55. Hammer and anvil, for two: BONES.

56. "I wish wearing flat-irons on our heads would keep us from __": "Little Women": GROWING UP.

57. IV part: INTRA.

58. "No prob": EASY PEASY.

Down:

1. "Hello, sailor!": AHOY.

2. Appellation: NAME - For wine: An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated,

3. __ Rocher cosmetics: YVES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

4. Office no.: TEL.

5. "Way cool!": AWESOME - In my opinion, this is the most overused adjective used today

6. Boiling point?: KETTLE 😀

7. War zone journalist: EMBED.

8. Bring in: REAP.

9. Go down swinging, perhaps: STRIKE OUT.

10. Mimic: APE.

11. Tooth component: DENTIN.

12. "If we stayed on such a road ... ": AT THAT RATE - Ten minutes/hole. AT THAT RATE we should be done in three hours.

13. Dish with feta and Kalamatas: GREEK SALAD.

14. Brings in: EARNS.

21. Largish combo: NONET - Nine, count 'em, nine

23. Catchy tunes, informally: BOPS.

25. Pops: DAD.

26. Some play dates?: GIGS - My grandson will be taking his years of experience, his Master's Degree and connections to NYC to play some GIGS.

27. "Just wondering": OH NO REASON - Yeah, right...

28. Leaves for one's residence?: HOUSE PLANT.

29. Pluto and others: TOONS.

31. Plain to see: WRITLARGE.

33. Soup often served with gyoza: MISO.

35. Like some languages: TONAL.

36. Muppet who loves pigeons: BERT.

38. Faux finish?: PAS - I have made many a faux PAS in my life.

39. Way to travel with class?: BUS TRIP - I travelled the 1,400 miles to KSC with 23 classes with airplanes but never on a BUS. 😳

41. "You're even farther now ... ": COLDER - The opposite...

42. Muscular: SINEWY.

43. Abu __: DHABI - The silent "H" threw me for a while 

44. Screen icons: LOGOS.

47. "Matilda" star Wilson: MARA.

48. Caesar wrap?: TOGA. 😀

49. Cassowary kin: EMUS.

50. Award for top plays?: ESPY - ESPN's yearly awards for top sports plays 

52. Butterfield of "Sex Education": ASA.

54. Number worn by Oscar Robertson: ONE.