Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Derek Hinsey

 

Good Tuesday Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here (yes, you read that correctly) pinch hitting for our witty and insightful Hahtoolah with the recap of a Tuesday puzzle.  That's twice in one week for this blogger bringing new meaning to semi-retirement.  I know that you all will miss, among other things, the wonderful cartoons that Hahtoolah finds, sorts through, chooses and shares with us but I will try to make up for that lack somehow.

In this, his LAT debut, constructor Derek Hinsey has riffed on a theme where the compound word answers to the five themed-clues can each be split into two parts (duh, M.M, that's why they call them compound words).  Each of those now-separated words can be combined with the word POINT to form a common expression.  Let's start with the reveal:

58 Across:  Slam dunk's value, or what 16-, 23-, 34-, 36-, and 49-Across have: TWO POINTS.  A basketball reference that is used here, instead, to indicate that each answer contains two "pointed" references.

Here are the five places where the gimmick is employed:

16 Across:  Major multistate lottery: POWERBALL.  POWERPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. It was originally released in 1987.  A BALL Point is, of course, a type of pen.

23 Across:  Opening bid: STARTING PRICE.  The STARTING point is when/where to begin and the PRICE point denotes the niche in the market price-wise (the price point of a Cadillac, for example, places it in competition with other luxury vehicles.

34 Across:  Final part of a chess match: END GAME.  The END point is where, well, something stops and GAME point is a sports reference for what might turn out to be the final play of a game.

36 Across:  Florida home of the Harry S. Truman Little White House: KEY WEST.  A KEY point is the gist of the matter and WEST Point is the U.S. military academy.

49. Cool way to keep food fresh?: FLASH FREEZING.  FLASH FREEZING is a rapid freezing process that uses cryogenic temperatures, such as liquid nitrogen at −196 °C (−320.8 °F), to quickly freeze an object for food and tissue preservation. A FLASH point the origin of a conflagration (physical or intellectual) and the FREEZING point is where water turns to ice.

This is how the completed grid appears:

Here are the more numerous non-themed clues and answers:

Across:

1. "Furthermore ... ": PLUS.  Hand up for first thinking of ALSO which we then got at 65 Across.

5. Moral transgressions: SINS.  Everyone knows Las Vegas is SIN City but are you familiar with Den City?  Mass over volume.

9. Picnic race bag: SACK.

13. + or - particles: IONS.  I went online and ordered some atoms but received IONS  instead.  They replaced them free of charge.

14. Need ibuprofen, say: ACHE.

15. Stash: CACHE.  The juxtaposition with ACHE is interesting.  Should CACHE be pronounced like CAKE?

18. Salsa ingredient: ONION.

19. Music genre with Jamaican roots: SKA.  A genre with which most regular solvers are quite familiar. . . at least in name.

20. Japanese currency: YEN.

21. Began gradually: EASED IN.

26. __ Allen furniture: ETHAN.  All You Might Wish To Know

28. Dog's warning sound: SNARL.

29. Animation frame: CEL.  Back in the day when cartoons were hand drawn the movement was achieved by drawing and then photographing a series of individual, slightly altered hand painted CELs.  Now it's all computer generated.

30. Sharp-witted: KEEN.

31. Short time?: SEC.  Shortened form of SECond

32. Break a fast: EAT.  Sometimes you can get two points on a fast break.

40. Buckeyes' sch.: OSU.

41. Way cool: RAD.  80's slang.  Bitchen.  Far out.  Groovy.  Boss.

42. __ vera: ALOE.  A plant that seems to thrive in our puzzles

43. Six-pack muscles: ABS.  ABdominal MuscleS

46. "Jurassic World" actor Chris: PRATT.  Thanks, perps.

48. Demon: FIEND.

52. Let go: RELEASE.  Ever hear Eddie Izzard riff on this guy's name?

53. Meh, slangily: MID.  New to this solver but it does make sense.

54. Viper in 43-Down: ASP.  How's your ASP been? (a skier's joke).

57. Volunteer's phrase: I WILL.

61. Long for: COVET.  As in "Thou shall not COVET."

62. Door fastener: HASP.

63. Important cards in solitaire: ACES.  Important in many card games.

64. Santa __: hot California winds: ANAS.  Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry winds that blow from inland desert areas across coastal Southern California, often bringing hot, dry conditions and very low humidity.

65. "Furthermore ... ": ALSO.  See ALSO 1 Across.

66. Small salamander: NEWT.

Down:

1. Domino spots: PIPS.  By definition.

2. "Check this out": LOOK.

3. Like dirty dishes: UNWASHED.

4. NNW opposite: SSE.  A direction/navigation reference.

5. Curved fencing sword: SABER.

6. "Down in front!": I CANT SEE.

7. Anaheim Ducks' org.: NHL.  National Hockey League

8. Gomez of "Only Murders in the Building": SELENA.

9. More rational: SANER.

10. Not basic, in chemistry: ACIDIC.

11. Beef grade below prime: CHOICE.

12. Animal shelter shelter: KENNEL.

15. Dress up at a fan convention: COSPLAY.  From COStume

17. Olympic swimmer Lochte: RYAN.

22. "I was thinking the same thing": AGREED.

24. Dramatic ballroom dance: TANGO.

25. LLC alternative: INC.  Forms of business organizations.

26. __ out a win: EKE.

27. Square root of 100: TEN.

31. Blue cartoon characters: SMURFS.

33. Creator of Finn and Sawyer: TWAIN.

35. Parking lot surface: ASPHALT.

36. Supermodel who is a contributing editor for British Vogue: KATE MOSS.

37. Refinement: ELEGANCE.

38. Anderson Cooper, to Gloria Vanderbilt: SON.

39. Apple TV's "__ Lasso": TED.

41. GPS suggestion: RTE.  RouTE

43. Continent with the most countries: AFRICA.  There are 54 countries in Africa according to the United Nations.

44. Tried to cool down, as hot soup: BLEW ON.

45. DNA sample source: SALIVA.  SWAB was too short.

47. Soul legend Franklin: ARETHA.

48. Classic dog name: FIDO.  

The name FIDO comes from the Latin word "fidus," meaning "faithful." It became widely associated with dogs due to President Abraham Lincoln's pet dog, Fido, who was well-known during his time.

50. 1990s tennis star Monica: SELES.

51. Zilch: ZIPPO.  Slangy

55. Hearty meal: STEW.

56. Quiet "Hey!": PSST.  A summons frequently heard in our puzzles.

59. "The __-Mart Effect": 2006 economics book: WAL.

60. Bond novelist Fleming: IAN.

Well, there are only two more points to make today . . .

__________________________________________

That's Manatee, M. Manatee
MM Out

Wednesday, August 26, 2026, Zachary Gallardo

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Wednesday puzzle constructed by Zachary Gallardo.  Zachary recently had another LAT puzzle recapped here (on 24 May 20226).  

In today's puzzle, Zachary stacks the names of bands on top of types of seagoing ships.  In each case, the name of the band stands alone while the letters forming the type of vessel are consecutive parts of longer answers.  The reveal is both clever and playful:

59 Across:  "Everyone in the water!," or when parsed differently, what can be found in each set of circled words: ABANDON SHIP.  Or, in this instance, A BAND ON SHIP.  To help us recognize what the constructor and editor are up to, the grid contains those ever-polarizing circles.

It is also worth noting that the reveal does double duty as part of one of the four themed (pairs of) answers.

Here are the four places where the gimmick is employed:

15 Across:  Camel's watering hole: OASIS (a British rock band) and 17 Across:  Programming problem: ENDLESS LOOP.    SLOOP (A sloop is a single-masted sailing vessel typically rigged with a fore-and-aft configuration)

25 Across:  Enclosed rhyme scheme in Petrarchan sonnets: ABBA  (the Swedish pop quartet) and 30 Across:  Clinton secretary of state: ALBRIGHT.  BRIG (a ship with two square-rigged masts)

Madeline Albright

41 Across:  "Exactly right!": YES, (an English band perhaps best known for the song "Owner of A Lonely Heart) and 45 Across:  Bible Belt state: ARKANSAS.  ARK  Ahoy, Noah!

54 Across:  Yellow brick road terrier: TOTO (formed in Los Angeles in 1977) and 59 Across:  "Everyone in the water!," or when parsed differently, what can be found in each set of circled words: ABANDON SHIP.  SHIP (in this case, generic)

The completed grid looks like this:

Here are the other clues and answers:

Across:

1. Emerged: AROSE.  Emerged not from an eggshell or from hiding.  More like an issue that came up.

6. Korean-American grocery store: H MART.  Per Wikipedia, the chain was founded in 1982 and there are now 98 locations.

11. Dim sum brew: CHA.  IIRC, Dim Sum being Chinese dumplings and CHA being tea.       

14. Little solo break: ME DAY.  Hand up for first trying to think of something music-related.

16. "That'll leave a mark!": OOF.  Meh.

19. Scand. country: NOR.  Abbreviated.  Had to be NOR, DEN, SWE, or FIN.

20. Proboscis: NOSE.  By definition.

21. Feature of Canada's flag: LEAF.

22. Nove minus uno: OTTO.  Lezione di italiano di oggi.

23. Suspicious: SHADY.  Suspicious is used, here, as an adjective.

27. Turkish peak: ARARAT.  Often visited in our puzzles . . . and where the ARK came to rest.

34. Olympic gymnast with five moves named for her: BILES.

Simone Biles

35. 2025 Best Picture Oscar winner: ANORA.

36. Letters of liability?: IOU.  Liability as in a debt to repay.

37. Dongle, e.g.: ADAPTER.  A computer hardware reference.

39. Synagogue singers: CANTORS.  CANTORS lead the congregation in singing.

42. __ Sports Bureau: stats giant: ELIAS.  IIRC, I learned about this one from Vin Scully

44. "Punch-__ Love": Paul Thomas Anderson film: DRUNK.

47. Shelters: HOUSES.  From the general to the more specific.

48. Altar site: APSE.

49. Change: COINS.  Used as a noun.  Not as in the verb "to alter".  Loose, or spare change.

51. Prometheus's gift: FIRE.

53. "See ... ": WELL.  Something someone might say . . . and mean.

58. Aussie hopper: ROO.

62. Nocturnal bird of prey: OWL.

63. __ Gras: MARDI. 

64. Unlike the rest: OTHER.  With your kind indulgence, I will pass on a Kendrick Lamar video at this point.

65. Young lady: GAL.

66. Clique: POSSE.  POSSE has expanded from its context in old westerns to now indicate with whom one hangs out.

67. Vociferous: NOISY.  Due to noise complaints, they passed a law in Hawaii that you are no longer allowed to laugh above a certain decibel.  Now you can only use a low hah.

Down:

1. "Exactly right!": AMEN.  Why do they say AMEN instead of awomen in church?  Because they sing hymns instead of hers.

2. City north of Carson City: RENO.

3. Probabilities: ODDS.

4. Service promoter: SALES REP.

5. Cyclone center: EYE.

6. Swindled: HOSED.  Either way we've been had.

7. __ bear: Southeast Asian forest dweller: MALAYAN.

Photo by MM

8. Since: AS OF.  A time reference.  Not "because".

9. Animated film about Spix's macaws: RIO.

10. Baker's shortening?: TSP.  Shortened as in TSP for teaspoon.

11. Like laughter, sometimes: CONTAGIOUS.

12. 62-Across call: HOOT.

  Me: I don't wanna alarm anyone, but I think someone in this room might be an owl.

  Grandkid: Who? WHO?

  Me: gasp Oh no, it's worse than I thought!

13. Curly hairstyle: AFRO.

18. Bed frame board: SLAT.

22. Japanese sash: OBI.  Frequently worn in our puzzles.

24. Picks up the pace: HASTENS.

25. Pokémon that ultimately evolves into Alakazam: ABRA.

26. Jason's "Beverly Hills, 90210" role: BRANDON.

27. Modest Muslim robe: ABAYA.

28. Bus passenger: RIDER.

29. Sushi bite topped with salmon: ALASKA ROLL.

31. Hairstyle that may begin with comb coils: LOCS.  New to this solver.  Thanks, perps.  Seems to be a form of the word Dreadlocks.

32. "Stormy Weather" singer Lena: HORNE.

1943

33. Elephant pair: TUSKS.

35. Operatic solo: ARIA.

38. If-then-__ statement: ELSE.

40. Leaves in the care of: TRUSTS TO.  Often, ENTRUSTS

43. Climbs: ASCENDS.  What was it called when all the good dinosaurs ASCENDED to Heaven before the meteor struck.  The veloci-rapture

46. Big galoot: APE.

47. Big Island county seat: HILO.  A bit of Hawaiian geography.

50. Throwback hit: OLDIE.

51. Amphibious hopper: FROG.

52. Corn Belt state: IOWA.

53. Major conflicts: WARS.

55. "Didn't see you there!": OH HI.

56. Knots: TIES.  Which country is known for manufacturing TIES?  Tieland.

57. The Grand Ole __: OPRY.

59. Metal box?: AMP.  A reference to "Heavy Metal" music.

60. Dim sum bun: BAO.  See also 11 Across.

61. Persona __ grata: NON.

Well, perhaps, this reviewer has overstayed his welcome and become a Persona Non Grata (unwelcome).  So, this Manatee will now abandon ship.  One parting comment, however:  It was interesting to travel the world (sail the seven seas?) with this puzzle's references to Sweden, Arkansas, Korea, Africa, Norway, China, Japan, Canada, Turkiye, Australia, New Orleans, Malaysia, Reno, Hawaii, Alaska, and other places.

_____________________________________

MM Out

Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Sala Wanetick & Dena R. Verkuil

  

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Wednesday puzzle by Sala Wanetick and Dena R.  Verkuil.  This is two-in-a-row for me recapping a puzzle by Sara and Dena and three-in-a-row for me blogging a puzzle by Sara.  Sara and Dena, we really have to stop meeting like this.  Or maybe not.  It's been a whole lot of fun.   Perhaps we'll do it again.

In today's puzzle, Sala and Dena riff on common activities during which we use our eyes to search, or LOOK, for things.  The straight-forward unifier comes at:

61 Across:  "Gotcha!," and what can be said about the answers to the starred clues: MADE YOU LOOK.

The gimmick is employed at these four places:

18 Across:  *Book series with a character in red-and-white stripes: WHERE'S WALDO.  In the books, readers LOOK for Waldo.  Can you find him on this ski hill?

26 Across:  *"Olly olly oxen free" game: HIDE AND SEEK.  Children LOOK for one of their own who is hiding. "Olly olly oxen free" is a catchphrase used in children's games such as hide and seek to indicate that players who are hiding can come out into the open without losing the game.

37 Across: *Presentation tool that doubles as a cat toy: LASER POINTER.  The cat clearly LOOKs at the dot or, closer to the mark, in its intended use, the LASER tool points to things that we need to LOOK at.

52 Across:. *Document in some pirate stories: TREASURE MAP.  The MAP shows you where to LOOK for the TREASURE.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and responses.   Please note that a reference to an answer as "often seen in our puzzles" (or similar) is not intended as a criticism.  In fact, without these "usual suspects" a Wednesday puzzle would likely solve more as if it were a Saturday offering:

Across:

1. Daytona 500 org.: NASCAR.  An automobile racing reference.  The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC.  Perhaps it should be NASCARL.

7. Poetic measure: IAMB.  IAMB is a metrical foot consisting of one short syllable followed by one long syllable or of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

11. Hushed "Hey!": PSST.  Frequently whispered in our puzzles.

15. Musical interval: OCTAVE.  Imagine a piano. On it, the keys on the left are lower than the keys on the right. If you are pressing the white keys, starting from C, from left to right, the sequence will follow: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C.  From C to C is one OCTAVE.

16. Enunciate poorly: SLUR.

17. Stratford-__-Avon: UPON.  Because it is the birthplace and burial place of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, Stratford UPON-Avon is a popular tourist destination

20. Café or thé lightener: LAIT.   Leçon de français d'aujourd'hui.  Cafe = coffee,  thé = tea and LAIT = milk.  On first glance, this solver was wondering what the heck was the lightener.

21. "When pigs fly!": NEVER.  A colloquial expression.

22. Gender-specific pronoun: HIM.

23. Florence of Florence and the Machine: WELCH.

25. Stage award: OBIE.  TONY would have fit.  OBIE derives from Off-Broadway.

29. More spent: WEARIER.  Spent as in "I'm spent" meaning out of energy.

31. R&R provider for GIs: USO.  United Service Organizations

32. Steamed bun: BAO.  A treat often consumed in our puzzles.

33. Play-__: Fun Factory maker: DOH. DOH is often clued with reference to Homer Simpson.

34. Tally: ADD.  Tally, used here, as a verb.  As in the classic Harry Belafonte song:

36. Garment worn with a choli: SARI.   A choli is an upper body garment (blouse or bodice).  A SARI is a draped garment frequently donned in our puzzles.

41. Nautical call: AHOY.   AHOY is derived from the Middle English cry, 'Hoy!'.  The word fell out of use at one time, but was revived when sailing became a popular sport. AHOY can  be used as a greeting, a warning, or a farewell

43. Decide (to): OPT.  A choice frequently made in our puzzles.

44. Ecol. monitor: EPA.  Abbreviated clue - ECOLogy  / Abbreviated Answer:

45. Gun, as an engine: REV.

46. Actress Thurman: UMA.  A frequent visitor.

48. "Spoon River Anthology" poet Edgar Lee __: MASTERS.  No, not a Henry Mancini reference.

56. Radar image: BLIP.

57. Proprietor: OWNER.

58. Diarist Anaïs: NIN.  A frequent visitor.

59. Orchestral pace: TEMPO.

60. Kristen of "Bridesmaids": WIIG.

64. Cozy quarters: INNS.  Quarters, in the clue's context, could have been either single or plural making this one a bit more challenging.

65. Japanese noodle: UDON.

66. "That's a lie!": UNTRUE.  That's a fact.

67. Put through the paces: TEST.

68. Petty quarrels: ROWS.  The word ROW has several meanings (polysemy).  Among them:  Things in a line.  To propel a boat with an oar.  A succession without a gap.  . . . and, here, a SPAT (no, not the kind you wear with a shoe).

69. Goes back to zero: RESETS.

Down:

1. "There, there": NOW NOW.  Nice repetition in clue and answer.

2. "Things Fall Apart" novelist Chinua: ACHEBE.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

3. Aspartame alternative: STEVIA.  Sugar substitutes.

4. Opportunity for students to consider their futures: CAREER DAY.

5. State definitively: AVER.  This solver often pauses over whether it will be AVER or Avow.

6. Hi-__ monitor: RES.  HIgh RESolution

7. "To repeat ... ": I SAID.  Do we really need to go over this again?

8. "I'll take complete credit, thanks": ALL ME.  Time to pass on the obvious.

9. Mess around a sty: MUD.  Mess in a sty?

10. Cleveland team: BROWNS.  A football reference.  Named after the original coach and co-owner, Paul Brown.

11. Drawer handles: PULLS.  KNOBS would have fit.

12. Long key: SPACE BAR. . . . on a keyboard (typewriter or computer, not a piano keyboard)

13. "That's the word on the street": SO I HEAR.

14. Demolition letters: TNT.  What do you get when you cross a dinosaur with TNT?  Dino-mite

19. Sound like a fan: WHIR.  See also 38 Down (clever).

24. Tokyo, long ago: EDO.  A place visited frequently in our puzzles.  EDO was renamed in 1868.

26. "lol": HE HE.  Laughter

27. A5 and Q5 automaker: AUDI.  As the clue says, an automotive reference.

28. Colorful carp: KOI.  When I returned from a trip to Japan about a year ago my son asked if I had seen any KOI fish.  I said no, the fish there were actually pretty sociable.

30. Safari platform: IOS.  An Apple Computer reference.

34. Mobile download: APP.  As in mobile phone.

35. Polka __: DOT.  All You Might Want To Know

36. Vehicle safety devices: SEAT BELTS.

37. LGBTQ+ rights slogan: LOVE WINS.  Also the title of a song by Carrie Underwood.

38. Sound like fans: ROAR.  See also 19 Down (clever).

39. Quarter-moon tide: NEAP.  NEAP tides occur in puzzles far more often than do SPRING tides.

40. Covers with sheets?: TPS.  Not bed sheets.

41. __ deco: ART.  Shouldn't deco have been capitalized?  From Wkikpedia:  "Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished internationally during the 1920s to early 1930s, through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including clothing, fashion, and jewelry. Art Deco has influenced buildings from skyscrapers to cinemas, bridges, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects, including radios and vacuum cleaners."

42. Princess Leia, e.g.: HEROINE.  A Star Wars reference.  Why didn't Princess Leia have a boyfriend?  She kept looking for love in Alderaan places.

46. Word before "force" or "the Force": USE.  The second part of this clue is also a Star Wars reference.

47. Cooing sound: MURMUR.

48. Quite a few: MANY.

49. Blues guitarist __ James: ELMORE.  For many of us, the reference by George Harrison on the Beatles recording of "For You Blue" might have been the first we had heard of ELMORE.  For others, the Grateful Dead cover of It Hurts Me Too may have provided the introduction.  The blues aficionados among us, of course, have known all along.

50. Remove, as knitted stitches: RIP OUT.

51. Rods in bike wheels: SPOKES.  Radii, as a clue, would have made it even easier.

53. High anxiety: ANGST.  MOVIE would have fit the allotted space....but anxiety would have to have been capitalized in the clue.

54. Supply funding for: ENDOW.

55. Attitudes: MIENS.  I before E except after C (note that this comment was written before C.C.'s puzzle ran last last Sunday.  Small world).

59. Song: TUNE.  "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", for one:

60. Wisdom partner: WIT.  As in the many book titles that begin The WIT and Wisdom of ...

62. Fuss: ADO.  A common commotion in our puzzles.

63. Possessive word: OUR.  OUR time, this morning, is now drawing to a close.

Whatever it is that you are looking for today I hope that you find it.

_________________________________________________