L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Husker Gary

Showing posts with label Husker Gary. Show all posts

May 23, 2026

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

May 16, 2026

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”.