Saturday, July 18, 2026, Ricky Sirois

 Saturday Themeless by Ricky Sirois

Ricky provided me with a very pleasant 29-minute solve that evolved from the bottom up with long fills emerging and becoming the seeds from which the rest of the fill emerged.

When this picture was taken in 2022, Ricky was the Assistant Director of the Concord, MA Public Library and a participant in The National Scrabble Players Championships.

Across:

1. Doctrines: DOGMATA - Dogma leapt to my mind and so its plural filled the bill.

8. Incomplete Wikipedia article: STUB - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A stub is an article that is deemed too short and incomplete to provide in-depth encyclopedic coverage of a subject.

12. 1990s sketch comedy show: IN LIVING COLOR - This show ran on the then-new Fox Network and launched some very famous careers such as Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez.

15. PBS series hosted by librarian Mychal Threets: READING RAINBOW - I fondly remember when this show first appeared in 1983 with LeVar Burton as the host.

LeVar                         Mychal

17. Lemon juice?: GAS 😀

 

18. Javelin: SPEAR.

19. Strong suit: ASSET.

21. Conditional word: ELSE - If you issue a threat that ends in "OR ELSE", you'd better have an idea what that ELSE might be.

23. Senior: OLDER.

25. Mother of Apollo and Artemis: LETO.

26. Shaping tool: LATHE.

28. Tillamook's state: OREGON - Where you can find the home of great cheese and ice cream 

30. Blast: BALL.

32. "Am I free to go?": ARE WE DONE - AREWE _ O _ _ first gave me ARE WE GOOD?

34. Complex trap: WEB.

35. Nail salon brand: OPI - A frequent cwd polish brand

37. Gen __: XER - We two Boomers raised two Gen-XERS, born 1967 and 1971

38. __ États-Unis: LES - lez-ay-taz-yoo-nee

39. Recklessly: HEAD FIRST.

42. Has a summer job?: ADDS - 😀 We crossword peeps always suspect that a flower might be a river and a summer might be someone finds sums by adding. 

44. Recently: OF LATE.

45. Birds paraded on Saint Stephen's Day in Ireland: WRENS - No, they don't get those little birds to line up 😀 More

47. Pressing need: IRON.

48. Hardship: TRIAL - PP&M sing that TRIALS don't last forever.

50. Grow friendlier: THAW.

54. Squeals: SINGS - Or rats or tells or narcs 

56. __ nerve: OPTIC.

58. Like: ALA.

59. "Regardless of what you think ... ": BELIEVE IT OR NOT - A vintage 1930 version. Wow, power steering forecast almost 100 years ago!

62. "I deserved that": SERVES ME RIGHT.

63. "Do-Re-Mi" figure: DEER a female deer...

64. Spanish wives: ESPOSAS - Hmmm...

Down:

1. Expression of grief: DIRGE.

2. Youngest Oscar winner: O'NEAL.

1974 Candidates

3. Part of a frame job?: GLASS 😀 - Could be used for art 

4. Just OK: MID.😐 Meh...

5. Dollar alternative: AVIS.

6. Second-rate: TINPOT - This TINPOT leaped to my mind

7. Capellini: ANGEL HAIR.

8. Alarm: SCARE.

9. French pronoun: TOI.

10. Pinkie-side bone: ULNA.

11. Gravity-powered racer: BOBSLED - SOAPBOX fit so nicely but...

13. Equipment that may level the playing field: GRADER.

14. Copper alloy popularized by its use in Fabergé eggs: ROSE GOLD.

 

16. Wipes brand: WET ONES.

20. Vocal qualities: TONES.

22. Lens opening?: ELL - A meta clue we see often here

24. Sports reporter Holly: ROWE - Holly is a proud cancer survivor and sometimes works with no or very little hair.

27. Up in the air: ALOFT.

29. Played over: RERAN.

30. Barbecue option: BEEF RIB.

31. Snacks for sea otters: ABALONES.

33. Leeway for a test-taker: EXTRA TIME - Standardized tests forbid this

34. Start of some "Jeopardy!" responses: WHO IS - The correct question is at the bottom of this write-up. 

36. Neoplasticism pioneer Mondrian: PIET  - Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue' (1939-41). Experts say the original would sell for $20M or more today.

40. Offered as an inducement: DANGLED.

41. App gestures: SWIPES.

43. Setting not observed by most of Arizona: Abbr.: DST.

46. Ruling classes: ELITES.

49. Opportunity on Mars, e.g.: ROVER 😀

51. Chills: HANGS - Derived from "hang out"

52. Word in many Polynesian languages: ALOHA.

53. Los Angeles neighborhood where many Walter Mosley novels are set: WATTS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

55. Royal address: SIRE.

57. Business org.: CORP.

60. Anticipatory period: EVE.

61. Duran Duran album with the hit "Hungry Like the Wolf": RIO - Some serious Saturday cluing for RIO

Correct Jeopardy question is: WHO IS Celine Dion?

Saturday, July 11, 2026, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa

Rafa, a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco. is a frequent constructor and collaborator. I started out looking for an on ramp and found several in the west columns and before I knew it, the entire west side was done. From ther, I was able to get up to speed and his lovely puzzle was done. I'll comment on some of Rafa's more clever entries as I blog. 

Across

1. Bernardine Evaristo's "Girl, Woman, __": OTHER - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Published in 2019, exploring identity, race, class, sexuality, and the history of modern Britain across multiple generations.

     

6. Selfish kinds: HOGS.

10. "Get lost!": SCAT.

14. "Fingers crossed!": I HOPE SO TOO.

16. Not one __: IOTA.

17. Where classes proceed on a case-by-case basis: LAW SCHOOLS 😀

18. "Oh, fudge": RATS.

19. Strong showing from 2012 to 2022, for short?: SNL - 😀 Capitalizing strong as the first word of the clue did not give away that it was a name.

Cicely Strong

20. Hole up: HIDEOUT.

22. Hissed admonishment: SHH.

23. Aired: RAN.

24. Southern brew: SWEET TEA.

26. Revenue metric: AD SALES - This ad, thought to be one of the best ever, announced the release of MacIntosh computers. It aired during the 1984 Super Bowl and generated huge initial sales. This entire 1984 ad

30. Matters of course?: MEALS 😀

31. Area most people can't stand to be in: CRAWL SPACE - Yeesh!

34. Handy accessory?: MITT 😀 - Early baseball players were considered to be "unmanly" if they wore a glove or mitt. Modern players now wear fielding, batting and sliding gloves.

36. Cares for: TENDS.

37. Foofaraw: ADO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Island west of Maui: LANAI.

39. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE.

40. Ding, maybe: E-MAIL ALERT 😀

42. Exams that begin with a Chemical and Physical Foundations section, for short: MCATS - My grandson passed his with flying colors but his roommate failed twice.

44. Ends up behind: LOSES TO.

45. Fried Mexican dishes: CHALUPAS.

48. "Yellowstone" star Bentley: WES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

49. Todos __ días: every day, in Spanish: LOS - Hago el crucigrama todos LOS días. (I work the crossword everyday.)

50. Rep who is also the parent of a child star, perhaps: MOMAGER - Rosalind Russell played one of the first ones in this wonderful movie.

52. __ Fridays: TGI.

55. Lincoln, e.g.: AUTO - Here's the Lincoln Lawyer in one. One story arc concerned a dead body found in the trunk of that Lincoln.

57. Major annoyances: ROYAL PAINS.

59. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo: ISLA.

60. Defend aggressively: TRIPLE TEAM.

Steph Curry getting TRIPLE TEAMED

61. Convene: MEET.

62. Solidifies: SETS.

63. Creates a cozy home: NESTS.

Down:

1. Works in a museum: OILS - Our wonderful puzzle constructor Jeffrey Wechsler was an art curator who worked in a museum curating works therein. 

2. Comparison word: THAN - A beautiful Peruvian folk melody with lyrics by Paul Simon. Enjoy!

3. React to a riot, maybe: HOWL - A great comedian can make you do this

4. Short releases: EPS - Elvis made several with four songs on each.

5. Pool areas?: REC HALLS 😀

6. Under the __: HOOD.

7. Missouri River people: OTOES.

8. Play dirty: GO LOW - There are penalties in football for blocking below the waist 

9. "What are you gonna do about it?": SO SUE ME. 😀

10. Title for David Attenborough: SIR.

11. Areas affected by current events: COASTLINES.😀

12. Initially: AT THE START.

13. Gospel singer Cobbs: TASHA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15. Lights up: SHINES.

21. Top choice: TEE - Many of my tops are TEE shirts with the NASA meatball on them

23. Short end of the stick: RAW DEAL.

25. Traditional Christmas fare for some Latinos: TAMALES.

26. Panto units: ACTS - Panto is short for pantomime 

27. Three-story abode in Barbie pink: DREAM HOUSE.

28. Structure affected by current events: SAND CASTLE 😀

29. Musubi meat: SPAM - A Hawaiian snack. It revealed itself.

32. Statute mandating curb cuts, for short: ADA.

33. Feature of type 4 hair: COIL - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

35. Bandleader Puente: TITO.

38. Pocket-size pointer: LASER PEN - I used mine a lot in my "lectures"

40. Field for a competitive Valorant player: E-SPORTS.

41. Former mill town in the Boston metro area: LOWELL.

43. Belly: TUM.

45. Progressive request: CLAIM 😀

46. Subject for Elena Ferrante: AMORE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A pseudonym for an Italian author who prefers anonymity

  

47. "Stop beating around the bush!": SAY IT.

51. Concerns for some orthodontists: GAPS.

52. Connections: TIES.

53. Minor annoyance: GNAT.

54. Belief systems: ISMS.

56. __ latte: OAT.

58. Put away: ATE.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to CanadianEh!, one of our longtime blog family members. She's been with us since 2012. I hope your day is filled with fun, laughter, and all your favorite things. Thank you for the kindness, insight, and thoughtful contributions you've shared with us over the years!