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)_/¯ 

 

 

Saturday, April 25, 2026, Greg Snitkin & Amie Walker

Saturday Themeless by Greg Snitkin & Amie Walker 

 

Here's a nice note from Greg: 

Bio: I am a dad with 3 small kids and am an Assistant Controller at a hedge fund in NYC.

Notes: I'm a big fan of Amie's puzzles, so when I found myself on a mission to make a 68-word themeless with clean fill, I approached Amie who graciously joined the cause. When she suggested this fun grid layout with diagonal symmetry I knew I asked the right person! Fun fact - back in 2012 I may have bought a bunch of TWINKIES when I heard Hostess was filing for bankruptcy.

Amie, who is an attorney in Chandler, AZ, added: It's always a delight making grids with Greg, one of the nicest folks in puzzles. I really enjoyed his wordplay clues in this one. Fun fact: I have never actually had a Twinkie!

Across:

1. Award for Attica Locke's "Bluebird, Bluebird": EDGAR - Attica Locke's "Bluebird, Bluebird" won the prestigious 2018 Edgar Award for Best Novel

6. Gala portion: APPLE CHIP  😀- APPLE computers contain many CHIPS but that was not relevant here

15. Duane __: NYC chain owned by Walgreens: READE.

16. Personal compass: MORAL CODE.

17. "Precision Crafted Performance" sloganeer: ACURA.

18. One who really gets people?: PRANKSTER - They might yell, Gotcha! 😀

19. Like a wise guy: SAGELY.

21. Draws: TIES - This game has ended in a draw or TIE because it is black's move and his King can not move into check

22. Apt name for a cinematographer: CAM 😀

23. Visual aids: EYEPIECES - Different EYEPIECES can give different telescope images

25. Soccer great called "O Rei": PELE - Any four-letter soccer player, hmmm...

26. Had the conn: STEERED - Captain Kirk leaves and turns STEERING over to Mr. Sulu. Derived from "conduire" (to conduct) or a "conning tower," the "conn" is not an abbreviation but a nautical term for the station controlling ship maneuvers, separate from commanding the entire vessel. You're welcome!

28. Gospel-singing sister of Aretha: ERMA - The Franklin sisters

ERMA             Aretha                  Carolyn

29. Degree of difficulty?: PHD - 😀 Yes, obtaining that degree is difficult. 

32. Couture letters: YSL.

33. "How fun!": OH NEAT.

35. Features of some cold cases?: EAR ACHES 😀

38. Mark up: NOTATE.

39. Fabric: CLOTH.

40. Part of a Cuban combo: BONGO.

42. Went first: LED.

43. The hills of Rome, e.g.: SEPTET.

45. Parents: FOLKS.

47. Hidden assets: SECRET WEAPONS.

52. Hostess treats: TWINKIES - If kept in their air tight wrapping, they will last 45 days, not forever. 

54. First name in country pop: SHANIA.

55. Voice-activated, say: HANDS FREE - I say, "Siri, call Joann" and she does!

57. Bucks: BREAD - BREAD as slang for money is a frequent Saturday visitor 

58. Chiwere speaker: OTOE.

59. Cheerful tune: LILT.

60. One bit: AT ALL.

61. __ Reader: UTNE. The Current edition

62. Serpentine fish: EELS.

63. Bounce back: RALLY - The Vikings were down by 33 points at halftime.

Down:

1. Wipe: ERASE.

2. Get on with one's half-life?: DECAY 😀  

3. Get a feel for: GAUGE.

4. Campaign managers?: AD REPS.

5. Wake-up calls: REALITY CHECKS.

6. Rock blaster: AMP - I abandoned TNT after some crossers appeared

7. Billy who wore a velvet tuxedo jacket and ball gown to the Oscars in 2019: 

 PORTER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. Speak highly of: PRAISE.

9. Kent co-worker: LANE - In the English County of Kent, a co-worker might be a MATE, but Lois LANE worked in Metropolis with Clark Kent. Somehow Clark's (George Reeves') glasses hid his super identity from Lois Lane (Noel Neill).

10. __ Club: ELKS.

11. Loops into a chain: CCS - Much easier today rather than using Carbon CopieS

12. Breakfast option: HOT CEREAL - Mom always said they would "stick to my ribs".

13. The one, so to speak: IDEAL MATE - As we approach 60 years of marriage, I think we've got this covered.

14. Spread throughout: PERMEATED - Last year, wildfires in Canada PERMEATED the air in several states

20. "Big yikes": YEESH.

24. People person?: CELEB - CELEBS do appear in People Magazine

25. Bottled (up): PENT.

27. Useful connections for networking?: DONGLES - For some reason, Apple did not put in any USB-A or HDMI ports in my current MacBook and so I had to buy (and learn the word) a DONGLE. They have since put them back. My current MacBook with only two USB-C ports is shown on the bottom below.

 

29. Chest day targets, for short: PECS.

30. Lucy of "Pretty Little Liars": HALE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think Lucy is second from the left

31. Surprises with a call: DROPS IN ON - Nobody did it like Cosmo Kramer

34. Place to blow off smoke?: HOOKAH BAR - We love the Rick Steves Travelogues on PBS. While in Turkey he did visit a HOOKAH BAR but said he only "smoked" dried apples.

36. One who shows up: ATTENDEE.

37. Low-pressure approach: SOFT SELL - We've left dealerships when getting the hard sell

41. As we speak: NOW.

44. Layered dessert often topped with syllabub: TRIFLE - A TRIFLE is a classic English layered dessert typically composed of sponge cake shake in sherry, fruit, custard and topped with whipped cream, or, historically, a whipped cream, wine and lemon mixture know as a syllabub. You're welcome.

46. City-state documented by Herodotus: SPARTA.

48. Inducing the heebie-jeebies: EERIE - Our favorite cwd lake takes on another vowel

49. "Inside the NBA" analyst since 2011: O'NEAL - Shaq and his girlfriend at an NBA event

50. Horan of One Direction: NIALL - On the left 

51. "I hate to say it ... ": SADLY.

52. The old you?: THOU 😀 How Great THOU Art might be the greatest hymn of all time

53. Inventor who coined the term "horsepower": WATT - WATT, you want more?

56. "Arrival" arrivals, briefly: ETS - This interesting movie had the ETS arriving in an upright craft.

Notes from C.C.:

Here's a thoughtful initiative from the Minnesota-based constructors Will Eisenberg and Hannah Slovut-Einertson: Midis for Minnesota, a pack of 13 midi puzzles tied to donations supporting immigrant families in need. The puzzles are edited by Will. Contribute to a mutual aid organization, send in proof, and the puzzles are yours. I made the preview puzzle. Give it a solve.