Saturday, May 30, 2026, Alan Levin

 Saturday Themeless by Alan Levin

Across

1. Adjustable border: HEM 😀

4. Heavy coat?: FOG. 😀

7. Donor's words: I GAVE.

12. Smithwick's, for one: ALE.

          

13. Metric weights: KILOS.

15. Puff piece?: CIGAR 😀

16. Join: SIT BESIDE - When Queen Elizabeth II's dad George VI came to D.C. for a state dinner in 1939, this was the seating chart.

Click to enlarge

18. Temper: INURE.

19. Rogers Centre team: TORONTO BLUEJAYS - I would love to watch the MLB TORONTO BLUEJAYS play a game while I am sitting atop the CN Tower and then they have retract the roof in the Rogers Centre 

21. Georgia city nickname: A-TOWN - An alternate name for the state capital Atlanta, GA.

22. Rodeo circuit?: LASSO 

23. "May I?": PLEASE.

26. Boondocks: STICKS - The boondocks is an American expression from the Tagalog (Filipino) word bundók ("mountain").

30. Problem that can grow with fame: EGO.

32. Rendezvous: TRYST.

34. Time when shadows are shortest: NOON - I lovingly remember the long shadows of afternoon World Series games in late September. 

35. One goal of the Marine Mammal Protection Act: DOLPHIN SAFE TUNA - This Chicken Of The Sea TUNA is non-GMO and DOLPHIN SAFE as efforts were made to have the nets cause less distress to dolphins. 

39. Diamond who went platinum: NEIL - Here is NEIL's first certified platinum album (sales over one million). It did not make platinum but I just about wore out his very first album

40. Ricochet: CAROM.

41. Syncopated piece: RAG - Wasn't he your first thought too?

42. Intel providers: ASSETS - ASSETS (spies) are often sent out to gather intel

45. Take to the limit: MAX OUT.

47. __ restaurant: THEME - One of my favs is the Sci-Fi Drive In at Disney Studios. You are seated in replicas of old cars while old move trailers, cartoons and ads play on the big screen.

49. Try to get a rise out of: TROLL.

52. Major achievement?: BACHELOR'S DEGREE - I've got one of those around here somewhere where I majored in math. 58. Studied on the side: MINORED IN - My minor was physics. 

57. Dough in a French bakery: EUROS - I wonder what euphemisms the French use for money.

59. Pong maker: ATARI - Wanna play a free online game?

60. Some clinic procedures: SCANS.

61. Arch Manning's uncle: ELI.

62. Caesar dressing?: TOGAS  😀

63. "Gorillas in the Mist" subject: APE.

64. Managed: RAN.

Down:

1. "__ la vista": HASTA - "See you later" literally means "until the view" or "until the seeing". ¡Hasta luego, cocodrilo! (See you later alligator)

2. "Daniel Deronda" novelist: ELIOT - George ELIOT. The nom de plume for Mary Ann Evans. 

"No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love, and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from."

3. Chicago, for one: METROPOLIS.

4. Hand ball?: FIST 😀

5. Pasta aglio e __: OLIO - Below is spaghetti aglio e OLIO (with garlic and oil)

6. Seventh-inning stretch song, often: GOD BLESS AMERICA - MLB started doing this after 9/11 and now only the Yankees do it.

7. Least friendly: ICIEST.

8. Noir establishment: GIN JOINT - Hey, you thought of this too...

9. Arizona's __ Fria river: AGUA - Even I can translate this but...but if you can't

10. Fluctuate: VARY.

11. Spanish 101 word: ERES - Tù ERES muy comico. (You are very funny.)

13. "30 Rock" page: KENNETH - Getting his tie pulled by star Tina Fey

14. Actress Ward: SELA.

17. Pick up a few spares, perhaps: BOWL - The hardest one.

20. Carrier letters: USS.

24. "Midsommar" director Aster: ARI. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

25. Line up: SYNC - I love getting together to watch the Lincoln Saltdogs professional baseball team play for Father's Day, but we have to SYNC the schedules.

27. Writ, e.g.: COURT ORDER.

28. Longboard Island Lager brewer: KONA.

29. Bump in the road: SNAG.

30. Honey Cone lead singer Wright: EDNA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

31. Says: GOES.

33. Hill of __: home of Ireland's Lia Fáil: TARA All you'd ever want to know

Lia Fáil - The Stone of Destiny on The Hill Of Tara

36. Abundance: PLETHORA.

37. Arctic __: FOX.

38. Theatrical folks: EMOTERS.

43. Something to prove: THESIS.

It should be THESIS and not THESES 
but I liked the cartoon.

44. Poivre et __: SEL - French words for the two most common condiments 

46. Beseech: URGE.

48. Some parents: MOMS.

50. Arabic name that means "night": LEILA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

51. Bolshevik leader: LENIN.

52. Exhausted: BEAT.

53. "Set it and forget it" mode: AUTO - Not foolproof

54. Rugged feature: CRAG.

55. Show appreciation at a poetry slam, e.g.: SNAP.

56. "That's all, folks!": DONE - 

Saturday, May 23, 2026, Rafael Musa

  Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa

Rafa, a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco. is a frequent constructor and collaborator. 

Across:

1. Sudoku diagrams: GRIDS.

6. Snap: PIC.

9. Rib: TEASE.

14. Iconic part of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird": OUTRO - Song beginning: Intro :: Song ending : OUTRO. Depending on the tempo, the OUTRO lasts about half as long as the entire 9 minute song.

15. Admirable sorts: CLASS ACTS - There's this blogmistress in Minneapolis I know...

17. Piano part: PEDAL.

18. Store for a little while?: POPUP SHOP.

19. "La Classe de Danse" painter: DEGAS - Even I can translate this title

21. Tale designed to tug at one's heartstrings: SOB STORY.

22. Parade locale since 1890: PASEDENA

24. Approves: OKS.

25. Seuss character who lives in a pond on Sala-ma-sond island: YERTLE.

26. Greek goddess of discord: ERIS.

29. "Use your inside voice": DON'T YELL.

31. Challenging direction to sail: UPWIND.

35. __ Bauer: EDDIE - Not a chance for Hank

36. Not well: ILL.

38. Cartoon hero with a blond bob: HE-MAN.

 

39. Hudson Valley college chartered by a brewer in 1861: VASSAR.

41. "Hola" follower, perhaps: COMO ESTA.

43. "__ bon!": TRES.

45. Packaged meals that might contain tamagoyaki: BENTOS.

46. Big Mac rivals?: PCS. 😊

49. Requirements for some brick buildings: LEGO SETS - This LEGO SET has a titanic price of $929.

51. Water wings?: SEA PLANE 😀

54. "The Social Network" Oscar winner Sorkin: AARON.

56. Urban prowlers: ALLEY CATS.

58. Jeopardy: PERIL.

60. Small digit: LITTLE TOE. 😀

61. Outerwear option: PARKA.

62. Shot not allowed in some pool halls: MASSE.

63. Chemistry suffix: ENE.

64. Warm compress targets: STYES - _ _ _ E S was not ACHES

Down:

1. RNC group: GOP.

2. Wished undone: RUED.

3. "Maybe": IT DEPENDS.

4. Queen, maybe: DRAG ARTIST.

5. Way out?: SO LAST YEAR.

6. Main doc: PCP.

7. Words of resignation: I LOSE.

8. Graham's "Boardwalk Empire" role: CAPONE.

Al CAPONE                   Stephen Graham

9. Qt.'s 192: TSPS.

10. Right way?: EAST - On a map

11. Sound before some blessings: ACHOO 😀

12. Wading bird that communicates with bill clattering: STORK An annoying 25 second example

13. Awards for top plays: ESPYS - Last year it was Saquon Barkley's hurdle effort.

16. Car company that hosts Share the Love community events: SUBARU.

20. Counter offer?: SALE 😀

23. Spot with a sandwich board: DELI.

25. Jedi of Dagobah: YODA.

27. Safari and others: IPHONE APPS - I use the Safari browser on my MacBook and iPhone

28. Pick-me-up indulgence: SWEET TREAT.

29. Coder, colloquially: DEV - Isn't it obvi? Totes adorb!

30. Bus. type: LLC - Limited Liability Company

32. "My bad!": I'M SO SORRY - This is close enough to post this great emo song of my yute

33. D.C. team: NATS.

34. Cellular plan?: DNA 😀

37. University of New Mexico mascot: LOBO.

40. Adjust, as a corset: RELACE - I'll bet you can name this character whose corset is being RELACED.

42. Table outside?: MESA 😀

44. American century: SENATE - The less common second definition from Merriam-Webster

46. Song of worship: PSALM.

47. "La Vida Es un Carnaval" singer Cruz: CELIA - Even I could translate this.

48. Cures, in a way: SALTS.

50. Board: GET ON.

52. Some rescues: PETS.

53. Singing crocodile voiced by Shawn Mendes in a 2022 film: LYLE.

55. Largest company headquartered in Oregon: NIKE - Makes sense

57. "Capisce?": SEE.

59. "__ Mañanitas": LAS - Translation