Saturday, September 5, 2026, Matthew Luter

Saturday Themeless by Matthew Luter

xDr. Matthew Luter is a writer and teacher in Jackson, MS. Originally from Laurel, MS, he is an alumnus of Millsaps College and of the University of North Carolina. He teaches courses in American literature at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

The solve was fun until the NE corner where INTERROBANG was really "out there". Usually long fill is very helpful but it provided no help with a part of the puzzle that was a challenge to me. It MADE NO SENSE.

ACROSS

1. Nowhere near: AFAR.

5. Allegro: RAPID. - I'm confident that our cultured solvers here at the corner know at the Allegro Spring movement from Vivaldi's Four Seasons! Listen to this unique presentation of this Allegro piece

10. Improvise: VAMP.

14. Podcaster's software option: GARAGE BAND - A Mac product 

16. Cricket field shape: OVAL.

17. Conversion that some pray will be successful?: EXTRA POINT 😀

18. Work with Python, say: CODE.

19. Arise: EMERGE.

20. Retraced one's steps, in a way: PACED.

21. Light touch: PAT.

24. Hybrid punctuation mark: INTERROBANG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Can you believe this word‽

26. Unsure where to go: ADRIFT.

28. Logical start: GEO.

29. Jane in a suit?: DOE 😀 Jane DOE is the female equivalent of John Doe. They simply refer to an unknown person in a legal matter.

30. Pantheon honoree: DEITY.

31. Cereal with a vanilla-flavored Confetti version: CHEERIOS.

34. Back up: SAVE.

35. Kleptocracy ruler: THIEF.

36. "The Mystery at Lilac Inn" sleuth: DREW - From October 1930

38. Setting of Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes": LIMERICK - You can join this tour at 20 O'Connell St, Prior's-Land, Limerick, Ireland

                                 

40. Hermitlike: ALONE.

. Wanders in an airport?: TSA. 😀

42. Sportscaster Patrick: DAN.

43. Words of warning: OR ELSE.

44. Absolute noob: RANK AMATEUR - Me at chess

48. Steered: LED.

49. Pretty penny or bad penny: IDIOM.

50. Collection of highlights, perhaps: TOP TEN

Current List

Same time of year 1964

52. Dreamcast maker: SEGA.

53. Help line?: DO ME A SOLID.

57. Kathryn of "WandaVision": HAHN ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

58. Strong desire for one in search of just desserts?: SWEET TOOTH. 😀

59. Secondary social media accounts: ALTS - I barely have any primaries let alone any secondaries 

60. Pernod flavor: ANISE.

61. Headphones maker based in Milwaukee: KOSS - You really have to look closely to see the word KOSS on these headphones

Down:

1. Actuarial stat: AGE - I'll soon turn 80 and this is what one actuarial says my future looks like.

2. Quaint transmission: FAX -  😀 Not transmitting much anymore

3. Word with pop or op: ART.

4. Like an Inverted Jenny stamp: RARE - This misprint can be worth as much as two million dollars.

5. Turn sharply to the right?: REPENT - Assuming you had been turning to the wrong 😀

6. "Cancel the launch!": ABORT - Jim Lovell considered this option during the launch of Apollo 13

7. 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Bueckers: PAIGE.

8. Something that may be on display while playing D&D: INNER GEEK 😀

9. "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT.

10. Informal lexicon: VOCAB.

11. Vegetarian sushi option: AVOCADO ROLL.

12. Beggared belief: MADE NO SENSE.

13. Fundraising promise: PLEDGE.

15. Turn into a competition, say: GAMIFY - The most famous example of this (3:10)

20. Subpar: POOR.

21. Trampoline park gear: PADS.

22. "We agreed on this!": A DEAL'S A DEAL.

23. Bar exam setting?: TRIVIA NIGHT - Matthew took some pretty big liberties with the language here but it was fun when I "got it"!

25. Utah's Capitol __ National Park: REEF.

27. Article: ITEM.

31. Neighborhood that may contain a paifang: CHINA TOWN.

32. Minute Maid brand: HI-C.

33. Unserious: IDLE.

35. Mine wagon: TRAM - An electric TRAM hauling gold or silver at the Bohemia Mine in Cottage Grove, OR. Postmarked 1909.

37. Intruder from under the surface: WEED.

39. Semisoft cheese: EDAM.

40. Halt: ARREST.

41. Country star Yearwood: TRISHA - She has been married to this "other singer" since 2005.

43. Showed up at dinner?: OUTATE - If. you GAMIFY eating...

45. Zen riddles: KOANS - I learned this in cwd and I know the example of, "What is the sound made by one hand clapping?"

46. "The Wrestler" Oscar nominee: TOMEI - Her portrayal a stripper won accolades for her acting and 44-year-old body.

47. Light blades: EPEES.

51. Alcove: NOOK.

53. Mamdani political org.: DSA.

54. Bath lav: LOO.

55. "__ no use": ITS.

56. Org. that oversees 41-Across: DHS.

 

Saturday, August 29, 2026, Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa

Rafael

Geoffrey

This is my 3rd collaborative puzzle I have had with these transcontinental constructors. I was very pleased to earn a "got 'er done" and really enjoyed some of the cluing and fill. 

Birds of a feather: Rafael is a software engineer for Airbnb in S.F.  and Geoffrey is a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta. 

Across:

1. Chance to refuel after a run: APRES SKI - Oh, APRES (after) a SKI run! 

9. Cruelty-free target of poaching: PEAR. 😀

13. Contributes to: GOES IN ON.

14. Ncuti who plays the Fifteenth Doctor: GATWA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15. Mobile vendor?: APP STORE. 😀 The vendor is not mobile, the device for which it is intended is mobile 

16. Extravagant: WANTON.

17. Chiang Mai residents: THAIS - Chiang Mai is the name a city in NW Thailand that is also the capital of the Chiang Mai province.

 

18. Bath bomb component: EPSOM SALT.

20. Place that's all abuzz: HIVE.

21. The Refined Feline purchase, perhaps: CAT TREE.

22. Did brunch, say: ATE.

23. Like crosswords, hopefully: FUN.

24. Vicuòa kin: ALPACAS.

28. Folks who are so last yr.: SRS 😀

29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America 

30. Pilots on the air: SERIES PREMIERES - Can you name these pilots that became regular SERIES after this PREMIERE. * Answer at bottom

34. Conflict involving customs: TRADE WAR.

35. Y as in Yucatan?: AND - One of my all time favorite clues! The letter Y is Spanish serves as the conjunction AND and Spanish is certainly spoken in Yucatan. 

C.C. Y yo somos amigos desde hace años. (C.C. and I have been friends for years). Even after I had AND filled in, it took a small bolt of lightning for me to get it! DOH!

36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.

37. On point: APT.

38. Deg. from Goizueta: MBA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

41. Causes a scene?: DIRECTS - He directed many a memorable scene.

43. Snippy: CURT.

44. Physical procedure?: BLOOD DRAW 😀

47. Husk-steamed fare: TAMAL - Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal (plural: tamales ). The English "tamale" is a back-formation from tamales. You're welcome.

Here is a TAML on a plate with 
some tamales in the background

48. Freshens, in a way: REDOES.

49. New York university: COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA is about 4 miles north of Ground Zero

51. Swears: AVERS.

52. Cutesy name for the squishy parts of a paw: TOE BEANS.

53. Trash: DISS.

54. High-minded one: IDEALIST.

Down: 

1. Name on a literary award: AGATHA - The Agatha Awards are annual literary prizes named after AGATHA Christie and present by Malic Domestic Ltd to honor traditioanal "cozy" mystery and crime fiction. These are books featuring no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence. 

2. Chart-topper: POP HIT.

3. Fix a lot, say: REPAVE - Uh, perhaps a parking lot

4. Polish brand: ESSIE.

5. Takes a load off: SITS.

6. __-Cat: SNO.

7. Like gochujang and jjimjilbang: KOREAN - The former is a culinary item and second is a bathhouse. 

  

8. Bumbling: INEPT.

9. With a crispy crust, say: PAN-SEARED.

10. Piedmont blues guitarist Baker: ETTA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

11. Unaccounted for, for short: AWOL.

12. Tirade: RANT.

14. Important part of a set: GAME POINT - Unusual tennis scoring for a game is 15, 30, 40, GAME POINT. You win the set if you win 6 games (7 games if there is OT). Tennis peeps will understand this scoreboard:

16. Country homes?: WORLD MAPS 😀

19. Played out: STALE - Same old, same old

21. Swears: CUSS WORDS - Producer David O. Selznick fought the censors hard in 1939 to get this word into one of the most famous lines in film history. 

23. Full scholarships, informally: FREE RIDES.

25. Mercury or Saturn: CAR.

26. Gator tail?: ADE.

27. Short cry for help: SOS.

28. Means of indirect access: SIDE DOORS.

29. Stray: ERR.

30. Femme canonisée: Abbr.: STE - The abbr. for a French female saint (Femme canonisée) is STE

31. Hesitant sound: ERM.

32. Art form that originated in the Bronx: RAP.

33. Knife block insert: PARER.

37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.

 

38. Capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra: MUMBAI - Originally MUMBAI, Portuguese Bombain, British BOMBAY, Back to MUMBAI to get rid of all British influence in 1995.

39. Processing centers?: BRAINS - Some process better than others.

40. "About dang time!": AT LAST - Nobody does it better than our cwd friend Etta James.

42. Sustainable landscaping options: CACTI.

43. __ Up: board game with a desert motif: CAMEL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. Slender fastener: BRAD.

45. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI - Of all their great tunes, this is my fav.

           LEVI

46. Some Olds works: ODES - Sharon's ODE to Dirt

47. Polka horn: TUBA.

50. Suni honored with the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025: LEE.

 

*Friends     Big Bang Theory     Golden Girls     Seinfeld