Thursday August 6, 2026 Mark Axel

Mark Axel commented on his last crossword here (a challenging Saturday grid in January) that his next puzzle would be "themed and much easier." Well, here we are, and he's delivered on his promise. Has the pendulum swung too far?

Starting with the reveal:

56. Wildly successful, or what three black squares in this puzzle literally are: GANGBUSTERS. Each of the following pairs contains a "hidden" synonym for GANG, busted apart by a black square:

17. "I want all the juicy details!": SPILL THE TEA + 19. Was introduced to: MET = TEAM.

27. Features of some old socks: HOLES + 29. Figure skating jump that has only been landed in competition by Ilia Malinin: QUAD AXEL = SQUAD.

43. Makes a clutch putt, perhaps: SAVES PAR + 46. Key mistakes?: TYPOS = PARTY.

As Mark alluded to earlier, this is about as straightforward as it gets. A very easy puzzle for a Thursday made even easier by circles. As I worked my way down, I saw TEAM and SQUAD (and REF) and thought "sports". Then PARTY struck rather jarringly, as I was expecting something like CLUB to keep the sports theme going.

Let's see the rest of the line-up:

Across:
1. "To __ their own": EACH. 💁

5. One with a supporting role?: PILLAR. 🗑

11. Giggle syllable: HEE. 🤭

14. Potatoes, in Indian dishes: ALOO. 🥔

15. Nutty Italian cheese: ASIAGO. 🧀

16. Verbal fillers: UMS. 🤔

17. [theme]

19. [theme]

20. Tightens (up): TENSES. 🥨

21. "If I had to bet ... ": ODDS ARE. 🎲

23. "Use your umbrella!": STAY DRY. ☔

26. "Aladdin" figure: GENIE. 🧞‍♂️

27. [theme]

29. [theme]

31. Feature of some old socks: ODOR. 🤢

32. Replay reviewer: REF. Referee. 🦓

33. First aid pro: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.🚑

34. With 37-Across, place for a pawdicure: PET. A PET SPA. 🐾

35. Emoji from one who's down: SAD FACE. It's "Emoji Day" at the Corner! I remember when it was just :(  Now it's fancy: 😢 What an age we live in!

37. See 34-Across: SPA. ⬆️

40. Fitting: APT. 🧩

41. "Gross!": ICK. 🤮

42. Inner workings: GUTS. 🌣🌣

43. [theme]

46. [theme]

47. Heart chambers: ATRIA. 🫀

48. "Want to play again?": ONE MORE. ☝️

50. Global spirits giant that began as a rum maker in Cuba: BACARDI. BACARDI USA built two iconic office buildings for their headquarters in Miami: a tower (1963) and an adjoining annex (1973). The annex is covered with hammered-glass mosaics.

The landmark Bacardi "Jewel Box"

52. Oscars, e.g.: AWARDS. Because GROUCHS didn't fit.

55. Pretend: ACT. 🎭

56. [theme]

59. __ lodge: SKI. ⛷️

60. Like loose laces: UNTIED. 👞

61. Pulitzer-winning novelist Jennifer: EGAN. Her novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. I haven't read it, but judging a book by it's cover, it looks award-winning to me!

62. "Exit full screen" key: ESC. Escape. ⌨️

63. Get cozy: NESTLE. 🧸

64. Cries noisily: SOBS. 😭

Down:
1. Direction that plays first in mahjong: EAST. East is a player, not a compass position.🀄

2. Mont Blanc, par exemple: ALPE. As Splynter would say, "From the Frawnche" (apologies for copying from your paper). 😂

3. Place that welcomes change?: COIN SLOT. Winner: Best Clue. 🏆

4. Wild West costume accessory: HOLSTER. 🔫

5. Easy mark: PATSY. 🐐

6. Kinda sorta: ISH.  ≈

7. Falsehood: LIE. 🤥

8. "Stay the Night" singer Jackson: LA TOYA. This 1980 single from La Toya's poorly received second album peaked at #31, and was soon forgotten. Why we should know about it 46 years later is anyone's guess.

9. Like 15-Across: AGED. ⌛

10. Occasion to wear away uniforms: ROAD GAME. 🎽

11. Compassionate: HUMANE. 🫶

12. Celebrity chef with a flagship restaurant in New Orleans: EMERIL. In 2022, EMERIL Lagasse was named as the Chief Culinary Officer for Carnival Cruise Lines. So, now he's made a mess on a new flagship!

13. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE. 💄

18. Grassy expanses: LEAS. 🖼️

22. Message one may wish to open in private: SEXT. 🫣

24. Kicked out of a competition, briefly: DQED. Disqualified, because they liked Carvel better.

25. Scoundrel: RUFFIAN. 🦹🏻‍♂️

27. Word with bell or bar: HOP. 🦘

28. Lines of praise: ODE. 🪶

30. Dealer's handful: DECK. 🃏

32. "Aw, shoot!": RATS. 🐀

35. Free diver's weapon: SPEAR GUN. 🦯(this is a blind man's cane, but it kinda looks right)

36. Unit of farmland: ACRE. 🚜

37. Id counterpart: SUPEREGO. For more, talk to you therapist. I'd tell you, but then Id have to charge by the hour.

38. Vacation hrs.: PTO. Paid Time Off. As a small business owner, I've never had this. 🗓️

39. Pack animal: ASS. 🫏

40. Nike rival: AVIA. 👟

42. Takes turns?: GYRATES. 💫

43. Library area: STACKS. 📚

44. Powerfully cold: ARCTIC. 🥶

45. Score units: POINTS. 🎯

46. AAA offerings: TOWS. American Automobile Association.🪝

47. Take down a peg: ABASE. 👎

49. Apatow of "Euphoria": MAUDE. MAUDE struggled to find roles until she remembered that she has famous showbiz parents.

51. Copenhagen native: DANE.

53. Lacking pizzazz: DRAB. 🫒

54. Form W-2 digits: SSNS.  Social Security Numbers. 💸

57. "Scram!": GIT. 👉

58. __ canto: BEL. Italian for "beautiful singing." 𝄟⃝💞

Be good. RB 😎

Saturday, January 31, 2026, Mark Axel

 Saturday Themeless by Mark Axel

My OCD refused to let me give in and I got a hard earned "got 'er done"! The colored grid here shows that Mark had a plethora of unique fill, two 10-letter horizontal stacks or three,  two vertical 9-letter stacks of three and two very unique grid spanners. The informal horizontal grid spanner was fun and the impossible vertical one revealed itself one letter at a time.

Across:

1. Orbit City mom: JANE JETSON.

11. Throw (together): SLAP.

15. Home page?: AMAZON ECHO - As an iPhone user, I would page SIRI but PC users page ECHO

16. Crop from which the word "luau" originates: TARO - Four-letter Hawaiian food, what else?

17. Budget rentals: MOVING VANS.

18. Vegas team: ACES - WNBA

19. Fiber source: BRAN.

20. Nautical adverb: ALEE - In sailing, "ALEE" (or "leeward") refers to the side of the boat sheltered from the wind.

21. Terrarium pet: NEWT.

22. Tennis great who won three consecutive French Opens in the 1990s: SELES - Her first was when she was 16.

24. Boyos: LADS.

26. Sedge-friendly habitat: FEN.

27. "Preach!": SING IT.

30. 2024 LPGA Tour Player of the Year Nelly: KORDA - seen here with another pretty good golfer

32. Donkey: ASS.

35. Casual Japanese expression of thanks: DOMO.

36. Take hold again: REROOT.

37. Start of some casual advice: YOU'RE GONNA WANNA.

40. Big name in boxed mac and cheese: ANNIE'S ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

41. Dish often prepared with Maui onions: POKE - Ahi Hawaiian POKE with Maui onions

42. No. on a store awning: TEL.

43. Profile detail: HOBBY.

44. "Les Misérables" role: JAVERT.

Jean Valjean                       JAVERT

46. Tony winner Hagen: UTA.

47. Nobel Prize subj.: ECON.

49. Satirist Baron Cohen: SACHA.

53. Makes moves: ACTS.

55. Fundamentals: ABC'S.

57. Spiced tea: CHAI  - 

Chai tea, more accurately referred to as 

masala chai ("mixed-spice tea"), is a traditional South Asian beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture or aromatic spices, milk and sweetener. While "chai" simply means tea in Hindi, in the West, it has come to represent this specific, spiced, and often creamy drink. You're welcome.

58. Home of NYC's Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art: SOHO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  It mainly collects, preserves and exhibits visual arts created by LGBTQ artists or art about LGBTQ+ themes, issues, and people.

59. "Forgive the imposition ... ": I HATE TO ASK.

62. Like many intramural leagues: COED.

63. Streaming accessory with a purple tag: ROKU REMOTE - I was stumped until I looked down in my hand.

64. "M*A*S*H" star: ALDA - One episode of M*A*S*H featured three ALDA's: Alan, his half-brother Antony and his dad Robert

65. Period of unchecked criticism: OPEN SEASON.


Down:

1. Vertical supports: JAMBS - The meaning of “door jamb” literally comes from the French word jambe, which means “leg” - a fitting name, since the jambs support the door like legs.

2. Italian endearment: AMORE - Cue Dean Martin...

3. Part of NCIS: NAVAL - NAVAL Criminal Investigative Service was a star vehicle for Mark Harmon and has engendered many spinoffs 

From Season One 2003

4. Some mags: EZINES.

5. "Garfield Minus Garfield" character: JON - JON Arbuckle

6. Lang. of Sierra Leone: ENG - The “official” language of Sierra Leone is English, but most of the population here can’t speak it. This is a nice allegory displaying how disconnected the government’s policies are from how people live here. Speaking English is a sign of wealth and aristocracy, and the locals will speak (usually poor) English to display their high level of education. You're welcome.

7. Maker of Tirra Sport hiking sandals: TEVA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

8. Pajeon or cong you bing: SCALLION PANCAKE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Pajeon (Korean) and Cong You Bing (Chinese) are both savory scallion pancakes. Pancake filled in and then I got SCALLION letter by letter.

9. "Look at that!": OH NEAT - OH SNAP was my first choice.

10. Edged (out): NOSED.

11. Fervent supporter, informally: STAN - Fervent supporters can be undesirable. STAN is a portmanteau for STalker and fAN. Yikes!

12. Like some natural wigs: LACE FRONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  It had to fill itself in 

13. "Anything else?": ARE WE DONE.

14. After birth: POST NATAL.

23. Subtle disapproval: SIDE EYE.

25. Kebab need: SKEWERS.

28. Eggy quaffs: NOGS.

29. Del Monte's Pinkglow pineapple, e.g., for short: GMO.

31. __ pro nobis: ORA - Pray for us

32. Brew in some healing ceremonies: AYAHUASCA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  From the Amazon region

33. Totally uncalled-for: SO NOT COOL.

34. Went for the bronze: SUNBATHED 😀

36. Part of a fall clearance event: RAKE 😀 A fun clue/fill

38. Rack unit: RIB 😀

39. Native American Heritage Mo.: NOV.

44. Change positions often: JOB HOP - A former relative has been dismissed by every architect firm in Lincoln 

45. Toyota pickup: TACOMA - The TAC in Seattle's SEATAC airport

48. Capital north of Memphis: CAIRO - Uh, that's not Tennessee 

50. "We adore __ because we love to produce order": M.C. Escher: CHAOS - This picture hung in the front of my room for years.

51. Can't refuse: HAS TO - Steve Martin in the wonderful movie Parenthood

52. Singer whose fans are called Claymates: AIKEN.

54. __ bread: SODA - Uses baking SODA instead of yeast

56. Floor: STUN.

60. Backpedaling sounds: ERS - ER, what I meant to say was...

61. "Fore!" site: TEE - Still at least two months away. My former partner has about given up the game and so I get to play league with a new person.