Thursday October 22, 2026 MaryEllen Uthlaut

MaryEllen Uthlaut is no stranger to the Corner. Today, she takes us from port to port.

20. Port: AVIATOR'S LEFT. The directions and colors were borrowed from boats. 

28. Port: RED DESSERT WINE. Turns out this this is the best way to stain a white tablecloth. Don't ask me how I know.

47. Port: CRUISE STOPOVER. Apologies to cruise fans, but it seems a bit overwhelming when several huge ships descend on a small island.

St. Maarten in the Caribbean

53. Port: COMPUTER SLOT. A port is a place to plug in something external to a COMPUTER, while a SLOT usually means a socket on the motherboard inside that holds various circuit cards.

Ports vs SLOTs

Well, this puzzle started off like a Monday, but ended like a Friday in the south-central area. U-EYS had to change to U-IES, but then I wrote AION instead of PION. There went my Greek poet out the window.

Maserati Quattroporte = 4 doors

No revealer, just four types of ports. The resulting theme answers are all reasonable phrases, which is always appreciated. 

Here's the report on the rest:

Across:

1. Cartoon girl whose best friend is Boots the Monkey: DORA. 

DORA & Boots

5. Brand of body wash: DIAL.

9. Meant but not said: TACIT.

14. Sigh of woe: ALAS.

15. Slip (past): EDGE.

16. Residence: ABODE.

17. Sharp taste: TANG. Ironically, TANG (the powdered drink) isn't tangy - it's over 90% sugar.

18. Russian blues, e.g.: CATS. A cat breed from northern Russia that is blue because it's so cold there. Or maybe it's just because of their thick silver/blue coat.

19. Foldable bed: FUTON.

20. [theme]

23. Kept on teasing: RODE.

24. Isl. with four provinces: IRE. Ireland is traditionally divided into four provinces - Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster.

25. Basic nutrient: FAT. FAT is a macronutrient, like proteins, carbohydrates and water. Needed in lesser amounts are the micronutrients vitamins and minerals.

28. [theme]

32. Wetland ecosystem: FEN. A FEN is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the four main types of wetlands, alongside marshes, swamps and bogs.

33. __ poker: DRAW. You can also paint poker.

34. Holy people: SAINTS.

35. Adapter letters: AC/DC. It converts Alternating Current to Direct Current.

37. "Okey-dokey": YEP. My cousin, who has the voice of an angel, hosts a singing and DJ service called Okey-Dokey Karaoke.

39. Breathing organ: GILL.

40. Moved with haste: RUSHED.

43. Formerly, quaintly: ERST. 

46. Leaves in hot water?: TEA. Fun clue.

47. [theme]

50. Telepathic ability: ESP. ExtraSensory Perception is commonly known as a sixth sense, and is uncommonly known as cryptaesthesia. That just came to me.

51. Part of a pod cast?: PEA. Perhaps the trickiest clue. I had PEE for a while as it's the first letter of pod. 

52. Whodunit game: CLUE. In this case, CLUE is the answer! Just ask Professor Plum.

53. [theme]

58. "Until we meet again, mon ami": ADIEU. "FAREWELL, my friend," in French.

61. Unstable subatomic particle: PION. I wrote AION, which made for an unstable answer.

62. "__ might say ... ": SOME.

63. Cough drop brand: HALLS.

64. Group driven to stay together?: HERD. Unless, of course, they're cats.

65. Neck and neck: EVEN.

66. Talus locale: ANKLE.

67. Mount of Greek myth: OSSA. Twin giants Otus and Ephialtes tried to pile Mount Pelion on top of Mount OSSA to scale Olympus! I couldn't find a photo of either giant. 

68. Give temporarily: LEND.

Down:

1. Facts and figures: DATA.

2. Royal figure in Norwegian history: OLAV.

3. Royal figure in Indian history: RANI. They're the ones who performed the RANI Dance. Sort of. Indians do dance in the rain to celebrate the return of the monsoons which supply three-quarters of the water the country needs.

4. Home of Odin and Thor: ASGARD. It's the Mount Olympus of Norse mythology. No Viking twins, though.

5. Reader of secret messages: DECODER. 

6. "Seems to me ... ": I DARE SAY.

7. Business reps: AGTS. Agents can be business representatives.

8. Nielsen of "Airplane!": LESLIE. There's a fine between movies that are a successful FARCE and ones that are simply inane. LESLIE Nielsen played it straight and made Airplane! a classic.

9. Stiff fabric: TAFFETA. I always thought that TAFFETA was delicate. But then again, most of my knowledge comes from FARCEs. Here's a touching (?) scene from Young Frankenstein.

"Taffeta, darling. The dress is taffeta. It wrinkles so easily."

10. Be against: ABUT.

11. Foldable bed: COT.

12. Promising words: I DO. 

13. Oscar count for 1961's "West Side Story": TEN. This feat was only bested by three movies that won 11 awards: Airplane! Ben-Hur, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 

21. "Hello It's Me" singer-songwriter Rundgren: TODD. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is considered a pioneer of electronic music, music videos, computer software, and Internet music delivery.

Todd playing "The Fool" - a 1964 Gibson SG he got from Eric Clapton

22. Flubs: ERRS.

25. Having measurable limits: FINITE. 

26. Buck topper: ANTLER. 

27. Electrical pioneer Nikola: TESLA. Nikola invented the TESLA coil, an electrical transformer that produces artificial lighting. It's mostly used by mad scientists. 

Another scene from Young Frankenstein

28. Comes up again: RECURS.

29. Turns out to be: ENDS UP.

30. "Awesome!": SWEET.

31. Barrister's head covering: WIG. Horsehair WIGs are traditionally worn as a symbol of authority, and as way to soften individual identity in the courtroom.

32. Absurd situation: FARCE. See Airplane! and Young Frankenstein.

36. Letter between phi and psi: CHI. The Greek letter CHI looks like an English "X". Because it starts the Greek word for Christ, "X" is commonly used as an abbreviation for Christ, such as in "Xmas." Which reminds me, there are only 64 shopping days until Christmas - so I only have 63 days left to think about it.

38. "Time's up" callers: PROCTORS. PROCTORS are persons who supervise or monitor students and test-takers during an examination to ensure rules are followed and to prevent cheating.

Mr. Bean takes an exam in another FARCE.

41. Embrace, as a cause: ESPOUSE.

42. Judge to be: DEEM.

44. Sugar substitute with sucralose: SPLENDA. There are recipes to make TANG at home using SPLENDA, but the sugar-free variety in stores uses aspartame.

45. Series of gigs: TOUR.

48. Lyric poet of Lesbos: SAPPHO. SAPPHO was an ancient Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. She is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. Once again, it's hard to find a photos of ancient Greeks for some reason. Maybe they need new AGTS. 

49. Frigate, for one: VESSEL. In a modern navy, a frigate is a medium-sized war VESSEL primarily used to protect fleets, hunt submarines, and patrol waters.

53. Spreadsheet unit: CELL.

54. Informal reversals: UIES. I had UEYS at first, but made a U-turn and corrected it.

55. Emotion expressed with heart hands, perhaps: LOVE.

56. Gathering clouds, say: OMEN.

57. Lean (toward): TEND.

58. Triumphant cry: AHA. Much better than OHO. Thanks, MaryEllen!

59. Auerbach of the Black Keys: DAN. The Black Keys are an indie rock band from Akron, Ohio. DAN is noted for playing eccentric, budget-priced, and obscure vintage pawnshop guitars. 

Dan with his rusty trusty 4-pickup (!) Tedesco 

60. Sort: ILK.

"May the FARCE be with you."

Be good. RB

Thursday, January 29, 2026 MaryEllen Uthlaut

Today, MaryEllen Uthlaut has given us a Dutch treat, if going Dutch is indeed a treat! The last time she treated us here was on Thanksgiving Day.

This solved as a themeless, which is just as well because after I read the revealer, I still had no idea what was going on. But my fans (?) out there in crossword-land wouldn't want me to give up! So I dug in and eventually everything checked out.

63. With 65-Across, request from some diners, or what a black square creates in rows 3, 6, 8, and 10 of this puzzle: SEPARATE + CHECKS. So, we have SEPARATE CHECKS, where people in a group  each pay for their own meal. The trick is the end of the first answer together with the beginning of the second (the parts that are "separated" by a black square) ideally combine to form a type of "check." 

3rd row = 17A + 18A TARMAC COUNTESS → An ACCOUNT is a financial arrangement with a business entity whereby goods or services may be obtained without outlaying money until a set time later. I don't think she meant a checking ACCOUNT.

6th row = 27A + 30A SATIN VOICED → An INVOICE is a itemized document a seller sends to a buyer requesting payment for goods or services.

8th row = 38A + 40A LOVE SET ABSCOND → A TAB is a running total of what one owes, typically at a bar. 

10th row = 47A + 50A GERBIL LEMON → A BILL is a payment request,,but usually more informal than an invoice.

All pretty clever, but some of these work better than others. When patrons ask for a check, they are often handed a totaled TAB or BILL. They are never handed an INVOICE, at a restaurant at least. And having an ACCOUNT is more of a business dealing, meaning that you will pay later (on ACCOUNT of having no money!). Unless MaryEllen simply intended that all these debts could be paid by check...

CHECK please! I've got a game to catch.

Across:

1. Grape used for sweet wine: MUSCAT. Varieties of MUSCAT grapes have been around since antiquity. Their intense perfume inspired Pliny the Elder to call them "the grape of the bees". Unfortunately, he didn't respond to my email asking why.

7. Ornery sort: CUSS. I had CRAB at first and wouldn't let it go for the longest time. Am I a CUSS?

11. Nev. neighbor: ARI. Nevada is next to ARIZONA and four other states.

14. Colored ring: AREOLA.

15. Like many new recruits: UNTESTED.

17. Airport area: TARMAC. Here's the TARMAC at NARITA, Japan.

18. Noble title: COUNTESS. I entered "dutchess" at first, part of my ornery NE corner.

19. High-five, e.g.: SLAP.

20. HP supply: INK. Formerly known as Hewlett-Packard, HP printers need INK.

22. Airport serving Tokyo: NARITA. NARITA International Airport is in a city on the eastern outskirts of the capital. Not to be confused with Narnia, which is on the other side of the wardrobe.

23. Make changes to: RETOOL. Usually in order to improve something.

26. Buttonlike flower: TANSY. I wrote pANSY, adding to my infamous NE meltdown.

27. Silky material: SATIN.

30. Spoken: VOICED.

32. Novelist Lurie: ALISON. ALISON Lurie won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her 1984 novel Foreign Affairs.

34. The Mustangs of the NCAA: SMU. The Southern Methodist University Mustangs football team play in the NCAA Football Subdivision (FBS) under the Atlantic Coast Conference. Dallas-based SMU, along with California's Stanford, joined the ACC last year even though neither school is anywhere near the east coast. Unfortunately, it makes extremely long road trips for all teams involved with them.

35. Feel sorry about: RUE.

38. Tennis shutout: LOVE SET. Winning a set 6-0. My LOVE, RightBrain, plays in two tennis leagues. Her custom license plate says "ELSKA," which is Swedish for LOVE. She was an exchange student there in high school.

40. Run away (with): ABSCOND.

43. 1980s Formula One driver __ Fabi: TEO. I somehow forgot about this Italian driver who was in his heyday 50 years ago. 

44. North Sea diving bird: AUK.

46. Fill with bubbles: AERATE.

47. Leaping rodent: GERBIL.

50. Edsel, notably: LEMON. The Edsel wasn't really a LEMON, in the sense that it was in the shop all the time. It failed due to styling missteps, poor marketing strategy and bad timing as a recession hit.

A face only a mother could love!

51. Follow, as a tip: ACTON.

54. Ties in knots: SNARLS. Like South Fla. rush hour traffic, or in almost any major city nowadays. Honestly, traffic is my #1 complaint around here.

56. Kin of ad hoc: PRO TEM.

58. Add color to: DYE.

59. Set of circumstances: CASE. As in The Curious Set of Circumstances of Benjamin Button. 

63. [theme]

65. [theme]

67. Perfect examples: EPITOMES.

68. Maintenance job: TUNE UP.

69. Champagne label word: SEC. Despite the name SEC meaning "dry," it is sweeter than Brut and Extra Dry.

70. Transmitted: SENT.

71. Place for mail to accumulate: IN TRAY.

Down:

1. Floor cushions: MATS.

2. Eurasia's __ Mountains: URAL. It's URAL, as usual.

3. "Buona __": SERA. "Good evening" in Italian. "Buona SERA" may be used as both a hello and a goodbye during the evening hours.

4. Be made up of: COMPRISE.

5. Taking after: ALA.

6. Understood: TACIT.

7. Birds that make hourly appearances: CUCKOOS. The CUCKOO'S sound is created by two tiny flue pipes in the clock with bellows attached to their tops. The clock's movement activates the bellows to send a puff of air into each pipe alternately when the timekeeper strikes. That's CUCKOO!

8. Card game with an edition for colorblind players: UNO. When you're down to one card, you must shout, "UNO!"

9. Shock: STUN. When another player asks, "How many cards do you have left?" before you say "UNO!"

10. Legislative century: SENATE.

11. Had DiGiorno, perhaps: ATE IN. Frozen pizza has gotten better over the years, but still can't compete with fresh. "Is this delivery?" said no one, ever.

12. Takes five: RESTS.

13. Emphatic agreement: I'D SAY.

16. Fine fiddle: STRAD. STRADivarius. The difference between a fiddle and a violin is mainly what kind of music is played on it. Folk and country musicians call them fiddles, while classical and jazz players use violins.

21. Veterans Day mo.: NOV. It falls in the month of NOVember.

24. Mireille of "Hanna": ENOS. Who? Of what? I guess I don't watch the right TV shows. 

25. Peruvian metropolis: LIMA.

27. Shaker fill: SALT.

28. __ vera: ALOE.

29. Early DVR: TIVO.

31. Birthplace of 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Randy Arozarena: CUBA. Names can be hard, but you know what's harder? Where they're from.

33. Closely related: NEAR. 

35. Cover a lot of ground: ROAM. 

36. King James preposition: UNTO. UNTO is used many times in the KJV, such as, "For UNTO us a child is born." Surprisingly, it was not in the Golden Rule as written: "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."

37. Garden of delight: EDEN. Here's the most famous panel from Bosch's triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights."

39. Ice cream containers: TUBS. 

41. "Don't __ yourself short": SELL.

42. __ roll: CRESCENT.

45. Most charitable: KINDEST.

47. Insinuated: GOT AT. I see what they are getting at.

48. Año openers: ENEROS. Spanish years begin in Januaries, as do most years. (The plural of January looks weird!)

49. Nonprofessional: LAY.

51. Semicircular recesses: APSES. APSES may also be polygonal.

52. Pancake with frizzled edges: CREPE.

53. Debate assignment: TOPIC.

55. Prefix with linear: RECTI. Rectilinear means consisting of, or moving in a straight lines, unlike this fellow:

57. Broadway "Auntie": MAME. Rosalind Russell played everyone's favorite aunt in both the 1956 play and 1958 movie.

60. Aspire laptop maker: ACER.

61. Predatory seabird: SKUA. Today I learned that SKUAs (pronounced skew-ah) are common in Antarctic and Arctic regions. They've been spotted at the South Pole. (At the North pole, they are striped! 💈 )

62. Catch sight of: ESPY. I ESPY with my little eye...

64. Lost Tribes number: TEN. The TEN Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE.

66. Nomadic invader: HUN. 

Thank you for all the kind words on yesterday's puzzle that I coauthored with C.C. This really is the best Corner of the internet! Be good. RB

Thursday, November 27, 2025, MaryEllen Uthlaut

 Theme: Moving on.

A broken heart is a painful malady, but constructor MaryEllen Uthlaut suggests there's a short path to recovery.  She writes:

61-Across. Terse advice for the brokenhearted, and what appears four times in this puzzle: GET OVER IT.  

Indeed, MaryEllen has placed GET over IT four times in the grid, even in the reveal at 61-Across!  Take a look:

Very clever, MaryEllen!  Now that we've gotten over it, let's get into it!

Across:

1. Christie's "Evil __ the Sun": UNDER.  A novel by Agatha Christie in which Hercule Poirot investigates a murder at a seaside resort.

6. Annual vaccine target: FLU.

9. Secret supply: STASH.

14. Bolsters: FORTIFIES.

16. Natural dye for some brides: HENNA.  Henna designs are applied to an Indian bride's hands and feet for a pre-wedding celebration.

17. Citrus-infused brew: ORANGE TEA.

18. Foodie site with a Dining Out section: EATER.  Eater.com has lots of suggestions.

19. Walk or trot: GAIT.

20. Seuss character who advocates eating green: SAM-I-AM.

Hello.  My name is Sam-I-am.  I like to eat green eggs and ham.

21. Bobby of hockey: ORR.

23. Some Ram pickups: DODGE TRUCKS.

27. A short way from: NEAR.

29. Condiment in Indian cuisine: RAITA.  A side dish or condiment made with yogurt, spices, herbs, and vegetables, that cools the palate when eaten with spicy foods.

30. K-pop rapper: PSY.  Best known for his 2012 hit "Gangnam Style," Park Jae-sang's stage name is PSY.  Click the image below for his viral video:

31. Major export of Côte d'Ivoire: CACAO.  Côte d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer of cacao.  Cacao is the name of the tree and the raw beans.  Roasted cacao beans are ground into cocoa powder.  Chocolate!  Food of the gods!  That's the literal meaning of the tree's scientific name:  Theobroma cacao.

33. Valueless but valuable Scrabble tile: BLANK.

35. Reworks, as text: EMENDS.

37. Couch for sitting or sleeping: DAYBED.  A daybed is a sofa by day, and a bed by night.  Isn't DAYBED a confusing name?  

42. Some characters in "The Hobbit": ELVES.  In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, elves are a race of cool forest dwellers who are immortal -- with limitations.

Elves from the LOTR movies.

46. Needle: TEASE.  More English language confusion.  To needle can be to tease with goading remarks or behaviors.  And yet, there is such a thing as a "teasing needle" used to tear scientific speciments into tiny shreds, or to "tease out" a knot in threads or chains.

teasing needle

47. Siouan people: OTO.  The Oto or Otoe people are a Native Amercan Plains tribe, related to the Sioux language family.

50. Spine-tingling: EERIE.

52. Read hastily: SCAN.

53. Trick-taking spot: BRIDGE TABLE.  The object of the card game bridge is to win tricks.  A trick is four cards, one played from the hand of each player in rotation.  A trick is won by the highest card of the suit that started the round, or by the highest trump. Admittedly, I've never played bridge.  Does it show?

56. Allotted share: CUT.

57. Cleverly skillful: ADROIT.

58. Spanish appetizer: TAPA.

60. Some corporate jets: LEARS.

61. [Theme reveal -- see above]

66. "The Luncheon on the Grass" painter: MANET.  French title:  Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe.  It's a puzzling painting, and was quite controversial when the Paris Salon rejected it for exhibit in 1863.

67. Travel plan: ITINERARY.

68. Winter transports: SLEDS.

69. Capital of Georgia?: GEE.  The capital letter in the word Georgia is a Gee.

70. Discourage: DETER.


Down:

1. Sci-fi craft: UFO.

2. Neither partner: NOR.  "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" -- inscription on New York City's James A. Farley Post Office Building, 1914.

3. Show for queens: DRAG RACE.

4. Mediterranean peak: ETNA.

5. Inflexible: RIGID.

6. In very good shape: FIT.

7. "Da 5 Bloods" director Spike: LEE.

8. Letters on Erin Jackson's uniform: USA.  Erin Jackson is an American speed skater. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, she became the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport, and the first Black American woman to win any Olympic medal in speed skating.  

Erin Jackson

9. Clip wool from: SHEAR.

10. Join forces: TEAM UP.

11. Buffoonery: ANTICS.

12. Hardly aboveboard: SNEAKY.

13. Injures: HARMS.

15. Wretched smell: FETOR.  A strong, offensive odor, usually emanating from a person.  Medical examples include fetor oris (bad breath), fetor hepaticus (where elements of liver failure pass into the lungs), uremic fetor (a urine-like odor on the breath of people with kidney disease), and others.  It can also be used more generally, like "the fetor of decay."  And yet I Did Not Know.

20. Place for witnesses: STAND.

21. Formerly: ONCE.

22. Paper quantity: REAM.

24. Smack-__ in the middle: DAB.

25. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" writer Scott-Heron: GIL.  Gilbert Scott-Heron (1949-2011) was an American jazz poet, singer, musician and author, known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s.  His poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," delivered over a jazz-soul beat, is considered a major influence on hip hop music.  DNK.

Gil Scott-Heron

26. Brief prediction that accounts for traffic and weather: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival.

28. Took to the hills: RAN.

32. Tributary stream?: ODE.  Not the kind of stream that flows into a river as a tributary, but a poetic stream of words of tribute, which constitute an ode.

34. Dennings of "Shifting Gears": KAT.  Kat Dennings is an American actress known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film and television franchise beginning with Thor (2011).

36. Freezing shower: SLEET.

38. Word of affirmation: YES.

39. Casino card game: BACCARAT.

40. Biblical twin of Jacob: ESAU.

41. Lasting impression: DENT.  

43. Evaluate: VET.  A veterinarian, or vet, examines an animal.  Over the course of time, vet became a verb meaning to scrutinze a person or thing, or to examine for flaws.

44. Pitching stat: ERA.  Earned Run Average.

45. Blood relation, for short: SIB.  Sibling (brother or sister).

47. Difficult experience: ORDEAL.

48. Capital of Albania: TIRANË.  That's the Albanian spelling.  English spelling is Tirana.

49. Fragrant: ODORED.  Fragrant means having a pleasant smell, unlike fetor.

51. Taron's "Rocketman" role: ELTON.  Taron Egerton played Elton John in the 2019 film.

53. Some essential oils: BALMS.

54. Main ideas: GISTS.

55. Like chalet roofs: EAVED.

59. French father: PÈRE.

61. Club date: GIG.

62. Summer in Paris: ÉTÉ.

63. Form an attachment: TIE.

64. Wrath: IRE.

65. Norse war god: TÝR.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful:

• to the crossword constructors who challenge us with these wonderful puzzles; 
• to C.C., who created this Corner where mysteries of the puzzles are explained by dedicated bloggers, and who gave me the opportunity to join their ranks; 
• to all who read the blog, and especially to those who comment; 
• to DH, who smiles upon this activity and who proves that if the first marriage doesn't succeed, you should GET OVER IT and move on to something better.

I hope that Thanksgiving brings comfort to all of you.  Several of you have suffered great losses in the past year.  May you find thanks for what you had, and for what you still have.  Peace to all.

NaomiZ solving the puzzle a couple of Sundays ago.

-- NaomiZ