Saturday, May 16, 2026, Karen Steinberg

Saturday Themeless by Karen Steinberg 

Karen and David
Steinberg

Hi Gary,

I'm the mom of crossword constructor and editor David Steinberg; I'm also a writer and psychologist, even though in high school math was my favorite subject and an occupational interest test told me I should become a computer programmer (!).  As a teenager I solved crosswords in magazines and logic puzzles in books but stopped when I got to college.  I didn't start up again until more than 35 years later, when David began constructing.

As for this puzzle, ZILLENNIAL was the seed entry—as soon as I heard the term, I wanted to make a puzzle using it.  I listen to many podcasts and watch many (too many!) reality TV shows, so I'm constantly hearing new words and expressions and writing them down.  I was lucky that some other good long entries (especially ZETTABYTE and BELLY BUTTON RING) worked well with the grid.  Despite all the great new words these days, though, I'm trying to focus more on themed puzzles now.  I do have a couple of other themelesses I'm working on too, however, so we'll see which I end up finishing first! 

Best,

Karen

On a sadder note, Karen told me that her husband Paul passed away in 2023. Losing someone like Paul is heavy, but there’s something genuinely powerful in what Karen said—“the puzzles go on.” It speaks to continuity, legacy, and probably something they shared deeply as a family.

Karen, Paul and son David had the first
 "Family Puzzle" in the NYT on 5/22/22

Across:

1. Studies: GAZES AT 

8. Google Play download: APP GAME - Subway Surfers is said to be the most downloaded APP GAME numbering over 3 billion. 

15. Woodcutter in a tale told by Scheherazade: ALI BABA.

16. Went by yacht: CRUISED.

17. Navel brass?: BELLY BUTTON RING - Karen supplied a very gettable grid spanner.

19. Patisserie treat: ECLAIR.

20. Cocktail whose color comes from grenadine: PINK LADY.

21. Winter hrs. for most of western Indiana: EST.

22. Relieve (of): DIVEST.

23. "Milk" director Gus Van __: SANT - You may have to blow up the image to see Gus's name below the title.

25. Sector: ZONE.

26. Not discourteous: CIVIL - CIVIL discourse is as desirable as it is rare in some venues

30. The CW predecessor: UPN - United Paramount Network. CW stands for the parent networks CBS and Warner brothers.

31. "Ooh, burn!": ZING - I stuck with DING too long

32. "The Tale of __ Puddle-Duck": JEMIMA - You can get this 1908 first edition for $650.00

33. Winless racehorses: MAIDENS.

35. Apple cultivar that dates to American colonial times: WINESAP - Some say WINESAP apples came to America as seeds from Europe and some say they are native to our country.

36. Euchre kin: ECARTE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Here it is as an APP GAME

37. Oscilloscope display: WAVE - This Heathkit oscilloscope is the same model I used in my physics classroom for years. 

38. Sch. in Athens: UGA - The University of Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA have had 11 bulldogs name UGA for their mascot. Here is number 10.

39. Sparked again: RELIT - Grilling in a wind might require this action

40. Connection point: NODE.

41. Barbaro's role in "A Complete Unknown": BAEZ - Monica Barbaro played Joan BAEZ in this biopic about Bob Dylan.

Joan Baez.                      Monica Barbaro

42. Pyle player: NABORS - Jim NABORS was supposed to be a "one off" character in The Andy Griffith Show but was an immediate hit, became a regular  and eventually got his own spinoff series 

 

44. Berkeley, familiarly: CAL.

45. Kodai Senga's signature pitch: FORK BALL - The pitch is thrown with fingers forming a fork around the ball

48. Yoga pose that alternates between arching and rounding the spine: CAT COW.

 

51. Beyoncé challenge in the song "Energy": EVERYBODY ON MUTE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

53. Shows some major respect?: SALUTES.

54. Mythical hunter transformed into a stag: ACTAEON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Google this gruesome story if you must.

55. Cunning: SLYNESS.

56. Lunar event: MOONSET - Today the Moon will rise at about 6:00 am and set at about 7:30 pm. The Moon is in the Waning Crescent phase and will be so close to the Sun that it will be invisible for all practical purposes. My students were always amazed that the Moon is not visible every night.

Down:

1. Kapler who was NL Manager of the Year in 2021: GABE.

2. Obi-Wan player: ALEC - Sir ALEC Guiness played the role in the 1977 Star Wars but said this about it

3. Microgeneration of the 1990s: ZILLENNIAL - The group that spans the gap between Millenials and Gen Z's and a seed entry for Karen. 

4. Marketing method: EBLAST - An EBLAST (email blast) is a one-time mass email sent to a large group of recipients simultaneously, often to promote, announce or inform 

5. "Just tell me!": SAY IT.

6. Dict. tag: ABBR.

7. __ cross: TAU.

8. On the move: ACTIVE.

9. Tending (to): PRONE.

10. Anticonformist subculture: PUNK SCENE.

11. Some brunch dates: GIRL TIME 😀

12. China setting: ASIA.

13. Make better: MEND.

14. Anxious: EDGY.

18. Halloween prank: T-PING - A leaf blower and toilet paper is a great demo of Bernoulli's Principle

22. Puts on: DONS.

23. Ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates: SUMER.

24. Quickly: APACE.

25. Niche mag: ZINE - A magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter”.

27. Facial expressions, e.g.: VISUAL CUES - Read the room!

28. PR concern: IMAGE.

29. Bolivian cultural center: LA PAZ.

31. One sextillion memory units: ZETTA BYTE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

32. Speak unseriously: JIVE June Cleaver (Barbra Billingsley) speaks JIVE

34. Mid-party errand: DRINK RUN - Getting low on liquor so...

35. Balls (up): WADS.

37. Macrocosm: WORLD.

40. "We can manage without them": NO LOSS.

41. Superhero star of a Lego movie: BATMAN.

43. Sweets: BABES ❤️

44. Epic poem division: CANTO.

45. Admit, with "up": FESS.

46. Like a kumquat: OVAL.

47. Depend (on): RELY.

48. 2025 French Open winner Gauff: COCO.

49. __-Missouria Tribe: OTOE - A familiar cwd tribe 

50. Bounced: WENT.

52. Vegetable related to lilies: YAM.

 

Saturday, May 2, 2026, Zhouqin Burnikel

Saturday Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel

The coded grid shows that C.C. had a lot of fresh fill that included delicious looking Asian cuisine. She also seems to have a Kentucky Derby mini-theme on this first Saturday in May. As usual her cluing was amusing without being "too far out there".

                 

Here's what she had to say when I asked her about a mini-theme and American, where she excels, and Chinese slang.

Hi Gary,

Yes, there's a mini theme on the Saturday grid. 

Chinese works quite differently. Much of its richness comes from characters and tonal nuances rather than the kind of wordplay we often use in English puzzles. Mandarin has four tones, while Cantonese has nine, which adds another layer to how meaning is conveyed.

C.C.

The horses are in the chute and ready to run, so let's go!

Across:

1. Branch of Islam that includes Zaydism: SHIA - I only know SHIA and SUNNI so...

5. KJ of "Riverdale": APA - I recognized Riverdale as being the high school from Archie comics which I read in my misspent yute. KJ plays Archie in a CW series.

8. Growing concern?: FARM.

12. Brand with TV ads featuring Garfield: IAMS.

13. Half of all integers: EVENS - This got a chuckle from this math teacher

15. "2 funny": LMAO.

16. Galileo Galilei Airport city: PISA.

17. Place for fans to show support: MERCH BOOTH - Taylor Swift MERCH booths usually set up days before her concerts. It is estimated that her MERCH sales were over $400 M while tickets generated over a billion dollars.

19. Kentucky Derby moniker: RUN FOR THE ROSES and 50. Racetrack with twin spires: CHURCHILL DOWNS This is always decided today, the first Saturday in May

21. Narrow passages: STRAITS - One particular one has been in the news a lot lately 

22. Feature of thioacetone: ODOR.

Yikes!

23. Do groundbreaking work?: HOE.

24. Intake plans: DIETS.

26. "He has my whole heart": I'M HIS - The Spanish version: 62. Part of a basic Spanish conjugation: ERES - ERES el amor de mi vida. (You are the love of my life.) 

30. Brian who scored "The Lovely Bones": ENO.

31. Crumb: IOTA.

32. Patronizing person: CLIENT.

33. APR reducer: REFI.

35. Heading up?: NORTH - On most maps

37. Pop singer Alessia: CARA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Figures in quotes: PRICES.

40. Corner: TRAP.

42. "Corduroy" writer/illustrator Freeman: DON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

43. Bloom in a fall bouquet: ASTER.

44. Anne who had a recurring role on "The King of Queens": MEARA - Anne is shown after being reunited with her longtime husband and comedy partner, Jerry Stiller.

45. Post __: HOC - A clever example (1:27)

46. Grammy winner Winans: CECE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. "My guess is ... ": I ASSUME.

54. Make it big: RISE TO FAME.

55. GPS listings: ETAS.

57. Bean sprout?: IDEA.

58. Stalking cats: PUMAS.

59. Skillful: DEFT.

60. Stretch in office: TERM.

61. Go out for a bit?: NAP 😀

Down:

1. Bit of suction: SIP.

2. Treatments for locks: HAIR TONERS.

3. Positive thinker's comment?: I'M SURE OF IT - A famous example: QB Joe Namath guaranteed his underdog NY Jets would win Super Bowl III over the heavily favored Colts and everyone thought he was crazy. Check out the score.

4. Happy baby, for one: ASANA.

5. Not a fan of: AVERSE TO.

6. Smart-alecky: PERT.

7. Pozole peppers: ANCHOS.

8. Amplifier for tap dancers, perhaps: FLOOR MIC.

9. "Spark" singer Tori: AMOS.

10. Put on a scale, say: RATE - example 11. Scale name: MOHS - A mineral hardness scale seen here often.

13. Pride and joy: EMOTIONS.

14. Storage unit: SHED.

18. Use a salamander: BROIL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

20. Wall Street's nabe: FIDI.

21. Himalayan ethnic group: SHERPA.

25. __ Tatin: TARTE.

27. Specialist in executive orders?: HEAD HUNTER - If an executive orders you to find a certain employee, "Who Ya Gonna Call?"

28. Temporary repository: IN ROOM SAFE.

29. Position: STANCE.

32. Guessing game: CHARADES - You've got to have some miles on your tires to remember this 50's TV show.

                     

34. Frappe ingredient: ICECREAM.

36. National Park Service handout: TRAIL MAP.

39. Standing upright: ERECT.

41. __ Robles, California: PASO - A GPS can tell the correct RTE to PASO Robles using the right 56. GPS listings: STS. and even your ETA.

44. Rice vermicelli: MEI FUN.

47. Do some kitchen prep: CHOP.

49. Nobel, for one: SWEDE - His final home

50. Brief review: CRITique or CRITIcism

51. "Take cover!": HIDE - We lived pretty close to SAC Air Base and so we did this drill in the 1950's

52. __ error: USER.

53. Priest in "Lost Horizon": LAMA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯