Thursday October 29, 2026 Mat Holmes

Mat Holmes is back and preparing us for Halloween...and it's "scary!" I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.

62. Punctuation that expresses skepticism, or what the answers to the starred clues may be called?: SCARE QUOTES. SCARE QUOTES are quotation marks placed around a word or phrase to signal that the writer is using it in an ironic, skeptical, or derisive way, e.g., She conveniently "forgot" to send the invitation.

18. *"The Shining": HERE'S JOHNNY.

27. *"Frankenstein": IT'S ALIVE.

39. *"The Sixth Sense": I SEE DEAD PEOPLE.

53. *"Saw": GAME OVER.

I CONCUR! I caught on early to the famous lines from scary movies, but the revealer explained why they're there. Mat used a slightly wider 16-column grid to accommodate the quotes. All of these are iconic and conjured an image in my mind. Super fun and well done (except for two names in the NW). Here's looking at you, kid!

I'm a horror film (but not slasher) fan. Let's see what other scary movies I can conjure up:

Across:

1. "__ luego": HASTA. Spanish for "See you later." Or, as the Terminator would say, "HASTA la vista, baby."

6. Cold plunge preceder, sometimes: SAUNA.

11. Starboard's opposite: PORT. Starboard (from Old English steorbord, or steering side) meant the right as most people are right-handed and used an oar to steer. The opposite, larboard (ladebord, or the side facing the dock for lading) was replaced by PORT to denote the same thing but without the rhyming sound confusion when shouted in wind or battle.

15. "Stolen Car" singer Beth: ORTON. Beth who? This one is pretty weak as "Stolen Car" came out 27 years ago and only made it to #34 on the UK Singles Chart.

16. Fast-food item celebrated with multiple farewell tours: MCRIB. McDonald's McRIB is a restructured boneless pork patty shaped like a miniature rack of ribs, but contains no rib meat - or anything else edible.

17. Basic geometry calculation: AREA.

18. [theme]

20. Circle: RING.

21. Burma's first prime minister: U NU. Who knew? U NU. But I didn't know. 

U Nu on the cover of TIME August 30, 1954.

22. Roused from sleep: WOKE.

23. Wolfgang Puck restaurant: SPAGO.

25. Large agricultural knife: MACHETE.

27. [theme]

30. Toffee candy bar: SKOR.

31. Formula One event: RACE. A Formula One (F1) RACE, officially called a Grand Prix, is considered to be the pinnacle of motorsport. The word "formula" in the name refers to the set of rules all participant cars must follow. 

33. Chatty starlings: MYNAS.

34. UFC sport: MMA. Mixed Martial Arts is the combat sport while the Ultimate Fighting Championship is a production company that organizes and broadcasts the events.

36. Ever so: VERY.

38. "The Simpsons" creator Groening: MATT. Mat even gave himself a shout-out! Portland, Oregon native MATT Groening has won 14 Primetime Emmy Awards. The Simpsons has been in constant production since 1989, making it the longest running American sitcom.

39. [theme]

43. Laryngitis docs: ENTS. Ear, Nose & Throat doctors, formally titled otolaryngologists. Hence ENTs.

44. Tubular pasta: ZITI.

45. Tire gauge meas.: PSI. Pounds per Square Inch.

46. Inbox party notice: EVITE.

48. South African currency: RAND. A gold coin introduced in 1967 was the KrugerRAND, and it became the first choice of investors worldwide. 

50. Back talk: SASS.

53. [theme]

55. Formal agreement?:  I CONCUR.

58. One of music's Allman Brothers: DUANE. Could've been his brother Gregg, who also has five letters. DUANE Allman is considered one of the best slide guitarists and reached the peak of stardom. Sadly, he was killed in a motorcycle crash at age 24. Today is the anniversary of his death in 1971.

Duane used an empty glass Coricidin medicine bottle for a slide.

59. Stipulation for some parties, briefly: BYOB. Bring Your Own Bottle (Beer, Booze, Beverage).

60. Metallic lode: ORE.

61. Combine: MELD.

62. [theme]

66. Rock's Mötley __: CRUE. Mötley CRÜE is an American heavy metal band that loves umlauts. I güess.

67. Pisa landmark: TOWER. 

68. Pizza part: CRUST.

69. Cold War initials: USSR. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

70. Crock-Pot concoctions: STEWS.

71. Hops-drying ovens: OASTS.

Down:

1. Stale: HO HUM. Ironically, this is the first one down, but it was my last fill because ORTON and UNU were unknowns. 

2. Big concert venues: ARENAS.

3. Word with love or thunder: STRUCK.

4. Tot's piggy: TOE.

5. "Say something!": ANSWER ME.

6. Barbecue apparatus: SMOKER.

7. Ibuprofen target: ACHE.

8. Catering container: URN.

9. Diarist Anaïs: NIN. Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira NIN y Culmell was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Her given name is very long, but on the plus side, it has an umlaut. Perhaps she inspired Mötley Crüe.

10. Bottomless pit: ABYSS.

11. Elite wheelchair rugby player, maybe: PARALYMPIAN.

12. Fresh: ORIGINAL.

13. Get ready to flip, perhaps: RENOVATE.

14. Size indicator: TAG.

19. Put (down): JOT.

24. Nonstick spray brand: PAM.

26. One with a self-sufficient lifestyle: HOMESTEADER.

27. Stranded until a thaw: ICED IN.

28. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP. The university's athletic teams are called the TERPS. They're named after the diamondback terrapin, a turtle native to the Chesapeake Bay.

29. Approximate fig.: EST.

32. Online representative: AVATAR.

35. Woodworking tool that resembles an axe: ADZ. An ADZ (usually spelled ADZE) is like an axe except the blade is at right angles to the handle. It is used to scoop out or smooth wood.

37. "Reckon so": YEP.

39. Space trailer of the 1970s and '80s?: INVADERS. Trailer because INVADERS follows Space in the game's name. An Atari 2600 was our first home video console, and Space INVADERS was the hit game. However, it wasn't long after that I tired of video games and I don't play them at all now. Somehow, they grew into a multi-billion dollar industry without me.

40. Agent that produces a reaction: STIMULUS.

41. Word on Irish stamps: EIRE. 

42. Dish whose name means "bone with a hole" in Italian: OSSO BUCO. "I'll have the bone with a hole, please."

43. Brain test letters: EEG. As we learned a week ago, I should use an ElectroEncephaloGram to see if I have any electrical brain activity. I sure hope so.

47. Long, long time: EON.

49. Handy types: DIYERS. Do-It-Yourselfers.

51. Fed. bench nine: SCOTUS. The Supreme Court Of The United States.

52. Most certain: SUREST.

54. Confers, as authority: VESTS.

56. __ au vin: COQ.

57. Takes a breather: RESTS.

59. Cauldron concoction: BREW.

61. CGI-heavy superhero franchise: MCU. Movies in the the Marvel Cinematic Universe use a lot of Computer-Generated Imagery. I know, you're surprised that it's not all real.

63. Hotel bonus bed: COT.

64. Fill with wonder: AWE.

65. __ pro nobis: ORA.

Hope you enjoyed going to the monster movie matinee! In the meantime, I think I'll slip into my handy Halloween costume. 

Trick or treat!

Be good. RB

Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Mat Holmes

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap of a Wednesday puzzle by Mat Holmes.  Mat has had puzzles published previously in other venues (The Atlantic, Universal, Defector) but I believe that this is his LAT debut.  Congratulations, Mat and welcome to the asylum (er, community).

This morning's puzzle offering is perfect for those of you who are always looking for new ways to get your kicks.  Now, despite the "spoiler" above, you might be thinking something along the lines of:

Paul Revere and the Raiders - Kicks

Or, perhaps:

Asleep At The Wheel - Route 66

Or, perhaps, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes or even a couple of Nissan automobiles.

But, no.  KICKS here is used in the slang connotation of athletic shoes (Silver Kicks?).  Perhaps not as much fun as any/all of the above but it works very well for the puzzle.  Let's start with the unifier:

59 Across:  Trusted companions, or what the sets of circled letters in this puzzle literally are: SIDEKICKS.  

At five places in the grid Mat has place brand names for sneakers/tennis shoes/athletic shoes.  These are referred to as KICKS in contemporary slang and each name abuts a side of the puzzles.  Get it?  Side kicks.  To help us out, or to irk those who profoundly dislike them, circles have been utilized to help us see what is fairly obvious once the theme is grokked. . . if one is familiar with the brand names involved.

Here are the places where the gimmick is employed (deployed?):

16 Across:  Mark Twain lad who falls in love with Becky Thatcher: TOM SAWYER.

22 Across:  Exclamation in "Tommy Boy": HOLY SCHNIKES.  This solver was not familiar with this exclamation.  "Tommy Boy" is a 1995 buddy flick starring Chris Farley and David Spade.

32 Across: Some family vehicles: MINIVANS.

40. Wonder Woman publisher: DC COMICS.

47 Across:  Talk to: CONVERSE WITH.  When this solver was in Junior High School, CONVERSE All Stars were the cool (neat, bitchen) shoe to have.

This is how everything lays out in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Opera star Nellie with a peach dessert named for her: MELBA.  Nellie MELBA (Helen Porter Mitchell) took the pseudonym Melba from her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

6. Commercial flop: DUD.  Edsel was too long.  So was BOMB.

9. Outer layer: RIND.  As on a watermelon.

13. Celestial hunter: ORION.  The constellation.

14. Squeeze bunt result: RBI.  A baseball reference.  Run Batted In

15. "Same here": ME TOO.  We all got this one.

18. English derby town: EPSOM.  Those of you who watched Rocky & Bullwinkle might remember this:

19. U.K.-based global bank: HSBC.  All You Might Wish To Know

20. __ Lingus: AER.

21. Seat of power: THRONE.  Both figuratively and literally.  Also slang for toilet.

25. Big name in BoSox history: YAZ.  

28. Chance to stand for a spell?: BEE.   Spelling BEE.

29. Keep out of sight: HIDE.  If you HIDE well enough then folks will find neither hide nor hair of you.

30. Cover story: ALIBI.  Not as in the cover story of, say, Time Magazine.  A CYA story.

36. "The Biggest Little City in the World": RENO.  Self-proclaimed.

37. Umami, for one: TASTE.

39. Furry Endor denizen: EWOK.  A Star Wars reference.  Specifically a reference to the fictional planet Endor.  EWOKs aren't meant to be left outside......they're Endor pets.

42. Japanese beer brand: ASAHI. KIRIN would also have fit the allotted space.  Sapporo was too long.

43. Topple (over): KEEL.  The phrase "KEEL over" originates from nautical terminology, referring to a ship capsizing or rolling so far on its side that its keel is visible.

44. Ocean Potion no.: SPF.  Number is abbreviated as no. in the clue, so . . .   A Sunscreen reference with a rhyming clue.  Do we have a motion to salute that notion?

46. __ Kippur: YOM.  The Day of Atonement.  All You Might Want to Know

52. Chances for a hit: AT BATS.  Another baseball reference.

53. Actor Kingsley: BEN.  Actor #1

54. Facility: EASE.  In 1953, Tom Lehrer used the word FACILITY in a similar context in the lyrics of this song:

58. "If __ Street Could Talk": film based on a James Baldwin novel: BEALE.

61. Pianist Schnabel: ARTUR.  All You Might Want To Know

62. Scrape (out): EKE.

63. Elba of "Cats": IDRIS.  A frequent visitor.  Actor #2

64. In real time: LIVE.

65. Meditative discipline: ZEN.  What did the ZEN master say to the hot dog vendor?  Make me one with everything.

66. Connect with: TIE TO.

Down:

1. Grown-up silkworm: MOTH.

2. Greek Cupid: EROS.

3. Life partner?: LIMB.  Not your soulmate.  As in the expression:

4. KitchenAid alternative: BOSCH.  Maybe not the first name to come to mind.  Amana and Miele would both have fit the space.

5. "Blonde" star de Armas: ANA.  Actor #3

6. Visine target: DRY EYE.

7. Rides with surge pricing: UBERS. 

8. S, SW, or SSW: DIR.  DIRection

9. Temporary stays: REPRIEVES.

10. Gentle reply to an apology: ITS OK.  Several not-so-gentle replies come to mind.

11. Terrible turnout: NO ONE.  The turnout cannot get much more terrible than this.

12. Geodesic structures: DOMES.

Buckminster Fuller

15. Body art that uses henna: MEHNDI.  New to this solver.  Thankserps.

17. Corduroy rib: WALE.

21. Yours, once: THINE.  This above all....

23. __-Wan Kenobi: OBI.  Another "Star Wars" reference

24. Debit slip: CHIT. 

25. Football unit: YARD.  An American Football reference.

26. Sir __ Guinness: ALEC.  Actor #4

27. Nutrient in oysters: ZINC.  The crossing YAZ helped.  If y0u did not know that one then perhaps you tried IRON?

31. Car seller's concern: BOOK VALUE.

32. Ed.'s stack: MSS.  Abbreviation for ManuScriptS

33. Not home: AWAY.

34. Nabe in L.A. and NYC: NOHO.  Nabe = neighborhood.  Abbreviated clue.  Abbreviated answer.  NOrth of HOuston Street in New York City.  NOrth HOllywood in Los Angeles.

35. Take a little off the top: SKIM.  Not a haircut reference (TRIM).  A monetary (or milk) reference.

37. Ranking groups: TIERS.  There can't be a TIER list for knots because they would all be tied.

38. Knee parts commonly viewed with MRIs: ACLS.  Abbreviated clue . . .   Plural clue . . .

41. Limo driver in the airport, e.g.: MEETER.  Cute.  Someone who meets someone at the airport.  For some reason, MEETER made me think of greeter which led me to think of this Tim Hawkins song:

42. Astern: AFT.  A nautical reference.

44. Norway neighbor: SWEDEN.  It had to be either SWEDEN, Finland or Russia.

45. Evergreen tree: PINE.

47. Plotting group: CABAL.  What do you call a secret CABAL of strippers who surreptitiously control the adult entertainment industry?  The Illumi-naughty.

48. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.  Five letters, three of which are vowels.  A constructor's friend.  Actor #5

49. Channel for hoops fans: NBA TV.   Hoops being a slang term for the game of basketball.

50. Motorized ride: E-BIKE.

51. Supermodel Klum: HEIDI.  Actor #6

55. Farm unit: ACRE.  1 ACRE of land for sale, no house.  That’s a lot.

56. Funny sketch: SKIT.

57. Canadian gas brand: ESSO.  Derived from the initials of Standard Oil.  S O 

59. "__ who?": SEZ.  Oh yeah?

60. Footballer's uniform: KIT.  In the soccer world (or football as most of the world outside the USA calls soccer) KIT means the uniform that they players wear.  So, the answer to this clue is "by definition" once one figures out the global nature of the clue.

Well, that will wrap things up for today.  As it is a Wednesday, and not a Tuesday or a Thursday, I can take a day off from this:

_____________________________________

MM Out