Tuesday, February 24, 2026 Matthew Luter

Shake Your Booty.

17-Across. Performer who might play finger cymbals: BELLY DANCER.

25-Across. Easily frightened sort: SCAREDY CAT.  Think shaking with fear.

36-Across. Furry red "Sesame Street" toy: TICKLE ME ELMO.

53-Across. Hardware store device that makes custom colors: PAINT 

MIXER.

And the unifier:

62-Across. "How goes it?," or a question that could be answered by 17-, 25-, 36-, and 53-Across: WHAT'S SHAKIN'.

Here's the Grid:

Across:

1. Direction in the name of only one U.S. state: WEST.  West Virginia became the 35th state in June 1863.  The state separated from Virginia during the Civil War due to political, economic, and geographic differences, including opposition to secession from the Union. 

5. News network that changed its name in 2025: MSNBC.  Since November 2025, network became known as MS NOW.  Enough said.

10. Story that spans generations: SAGA.  Ken Follett (né Kenneth Martin Follett; b. June 5, 1949) writes wonderful sagas.  His most recent addition to the Knightsbridge series is The Armour of Light, which takes place during the Napoleonic era.  It's on my TBR list.

14. Writer Wiesel: ELIE.  Elie Wiesel (né Eliezer Wiesel; Sept. 20, 1928 ~ July 2, 2016) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  Much of his writing is about the Holocaust and human rights.  In 1986, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

15. Spanish nana: ABUELA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  The Hebrew word for grandmother is Savta (סבתא).  The Yiddish word for grandmother is Bubbe.

16. Large primates: APES.

19. Baseball glove: MITT.

20. "But that's not why I __ ... ": CALLED.

21. Cassette: TAPE.

23. Australian bird with secondary eyelids: EMU.  The emu is Australia's largest native bird, and the world's second largest bird (the ostrich is larger).  It is a tall, flightless bird known for its speed, shaggy brown feathers.  They are omnivores, eating plants and insects, and use their powerful legs and three-toed feet for defense and running up to 31 mph.  Did you know emus are also strong swimmers?  The birds are also a national symbol and are featured, along with the kangaroo, on the Australian coat of arms.

24. Fennel flavor: ANISE.  Fennel is an aromatic herb in the carrot family, known for its sweet, licorice-like flavor.

28. "The Simpsons" tavern owner: MOE.

29. Plausible explanation: THEORY.

31. Leather with a fuzzy finish: SUEDE.

32. Blog feed initials: RSS.  As in Real Simple Syndication.

34. Sort: ILK.

35. "Shiny Happy People" band: REM.

41. Small eggs: ROE.  Fish Eggs, followed by 42-Across. Very small eggs: OVA.

43. Guffaw: YUK.

45. __ hair pasta: ANGEL.  Its formal name is Capellini.  It is a very thin, long-cut Italian pasta made from durum wheat semolina and the name means Little Hairs.

48. Echoing guitar effect: REVERB.

51. Bar bill: TAB.

55. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA.

57. Feel poorly: AIL.

58. Breakaway group: SECT.

59. Actress/inventor Hedy: LAMARR.  Hedy Lamarr (née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; Nov. 9, 1914 ~ Jan. 19, 2000) was an amazing woman.  Her father sparked her interest in technological inventions.  In the early 1940s, she met composer George Antheil (né George Johann Carl Antheil; July 8, 1900 ~ Feb. 12, 1959), and together they co-invented a radio guidance system designed to allow torpedos find their targets.  They obtained a patent, however, opted not to utilized the system.  The principles in this system, however, were later utilized for secure wireless networking.

60. Sheet music symbol: CLEF.

65. Listen to: HEAR.

66. Connected: LINKED.

67. Hawaii's state bird: NENE.  This bird used to make frequent appearances in the puzzles back in the 1980s when I began doing the crosswords in earnest.

68. Small whirlpool: EDDY.

69. __ Hall: New Jersey university: SETON.  Seton Hall University is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey.  The school was founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley (Aug. 23, 1814 ~ Oct. 3, 1877) and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (Aug. 28, 1774 ~ Jan. 4, 1821).

70. "My stars!": I SAY!

Down:

1. Online video tool: WEBCAM.  Technology is a wonderful thing until it isn't ...

2. Roosevelt who was first lady for 12 years: ELEANOR.  Eleanor Roosevelt (Oct. 11, 1884 ~ Nov. 7, 1962) was the the longest-serving First Lady because her husband was elected for 4-terms as President, but she a political figure in her own right. 

3. Most inane: SILLIEST.

4. Rats (on): TELLS.

5. Exec's degree, often: MBA.  As in the Master of Business Administration.

6. __-dried tomatoes: SUN.  Yummers!

7. Hummingbird food: NECTAR.

8. Like sleep-deprived eyes: BLEARY.

9. "__ diem!": CARPE.  Today's Latin lesson.  

10. Actor Waterston: SAM.  Sam Waterston (né Samuel Atkinson Waterston; Nov. 15, 1940) is a versatile actor, but is probably best known for his portrayal of Jack McCoy, the Assistant District Attorney on Law and Order. 

11. Each: APIECE.

12. Grow angry: GET MAD.

13. Insightful: ASTUTE.

15. Sum up: ADD.

18. Toss aside forcefully, in slang: YEET.  Apparently, this is a Gen-Z term.

22. Ford that flopped: EDSEL.  It does look rather ugly.

25. Peddle: SELL.

26. Cola choice: COKE.

27. Delish: YUMMY.

30. Go backpacking: HIKE.

33. Warning wail: SIREN.

35. Raise, as kids: REAR.

37. Young male horses: COLTS.

38. Checkers turn: MOVE.  Which is older, Chess or Checkers?

39. "Best. Day. __!": EVER.

40. Blooper reel bits: OUTTAKES.

44. Hurricane in Jesmyn Ward's novel "Salvage the Bones": KATRINA.  I haven't read this book, but I did live through Katrina.

45. Navajo neighbors: APACHE.

46. Did exactly right: NAILED.

47. "The Handmaid's Tale" setting: GILEAD.  The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood (b. Nov. 18, 1939).

48. Lionel of the Commodores: RICHIE.  Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. (b. June  20, 1949) is probably the best know member of the Commodores.

49. Still around: EXTANT.

50. Meh: BLAH.

52. Fred's friend in Bedrock: BARNEY.

54. Whimpers: MEWLS.

56. Muscat citizen: OMANI.  Muscat is the capital of Oman.

59. Acid rock's acid: LSD.  Short for lysergic acid diethylamide, a complex organic molecule with the formula as follows:

61. Word after waffle or curly: FRY.  Waffle fry didn't immediately come to mind.  Are they really chips?

63. Boxing ring ruling, for short: TKO.  As in Technical Knockout.

64. One of a D.C. 100: SEN.  As in Senator.  Each state has two Senators.  The number of Representatives depends upon the population of each state. 

That's all for this week.

חתולה

Saturday August 30, 2025, Brian Callahan & Matthew Luter

 Saturday Themeless by Brian Callahan & Matthew Luter

I had a very quick liftoff on Brian and Matthew's puzzle but there were a few, "Gary, we have a
problem" events that took some in-flight adjustments. Eventually, "Crossword base here, the puzzle has landed!" Too much space? 😀

Brian and Matthew are shown below l -> r.

 

Across:

1. Jimmy who plays Senator Bail Organa: SMITS - Five letter Jimmy actors are few and far between. Jimmy joined the Star Wars troupe

6. Luge, e.g.: SLED - 80mph on a lunch tray? Yikes!

10. Focus of a theme park that began in Billund, Denmark: LEGO.

14. Like the Igbo language: TONAL A dialect heard in Nigeria. One word can mean many things

15. Upbeat greeting: HI YA and 24. Upbeat greeting: HEY. Sup?

16. Brute: OGRE.

17. Unstable: ROCKY.

18. One reading supertitles, maybe: OPERA GOER - Translations projected above the stage.

Oh, that's what they're singing.

20. "Voyage to India" singer: ARIE and 7. "New Rules" singer Dua: LIPA - Both are often in concert in our puzzles.

  
 

21. Aggressive headspace: BEAST MODE.

22. Places for boxers to be washed: PET SPAS 😀

25. One who is a pro at getting into people's heads?: ENT - This one got me started on CPAP

27. Loved ones: DEARS.

28. Currency of Ont.: CAD - A Big Mac costs #7.81 CAD ($5.66 USD)

29. Emotion that leads to suffering, per Yoda: HATE.

30. Felt for: PITIED.

32. "Def!": TOTES - Using TOTES for totally and Def for definitely is cringy slang for me

33. "What bizarre behavior!": WHO EVEN DOES THAT.

37. Adjust, as a lock: REKEY.

38. Flap on a zebu: DEWLAP - Under his neck

39. "The Demon of Unrest" author Larson: ERIK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

40. Apple platform: IOS - My iPhone uses IOS and my MacBook uses OSX

41. Plagiarizes: CRIBS - Cheating by any other name is still the same

44. Winter libation: NOG.

45. "Yo te __": AMO.

I love you more!
No, I love you more!

46. Dupe: MISLEAD.

48. Letters in the sand?: BEACH READ 😀

51. New York stadium namesake: ASHE - I had to anagram SHEA to get to the correct fill
 
52. Doesn't travel far for fare: EATS LOCAL.

53. Plagiarize: STEAL - Plagiarize redux

54. Small deviation: BLIP.

55. "Crying in H __": Michelle Zauner memoir: MART ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

56. Numerical prefix: TETRA - Carbon TETRAchloride has four chlorine atoms bonded to one Carbon atom.

57. Short diner orders: BLT'S.

58. Amazon Handmade alternative: ETSY.

59. Literature exam component: ESSAY.

Down:

1. Guitar attachment: STRAP - Some are personalized.

2. Tied fast: MOORED - Fast is an adjective here

3. Provoke: INCITE.

4. Looks between one's fingers, perhaps: TAKES A PEEK.

5. Artful: SLY.

6. They're usually around two feet: SHOES 😀

8. Palette array: EYE SHADOW.

9. Flitted: DARTED.

10. Trademarked image: LOGO.

11. Phase of self-surrender in Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: EGO DEATH ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

12. Mochi option: GREEN TEA.

13. Whitman's "Gliding __ All": OER.

19. Acker of "The Gifted": AMY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  She's on the right

21. Keep moist, in a way: BASTE.

23. Head outside?: PRIVY 😀 A bathroom on a ship is called a head but I doubt if they are outside like this one. 

26. __ cricket: TEST - This is the most prestigious form of cricket. I don't understand that or the game at all.

28. Gives up: CEDES.

29. Baking exercise?: HOT PILATES - The same exercises done in a hotter room. 

31. Family member with a window to the world: INDOOR CAT - The tags on our Lily are superfluous now because she is a strict INDOOR CAT.

32. Pre-1917 rulers: TSARS.

33. Architect Christopher: WREN - A lovely two-minute bio

34. Flashy moves from a selfish hoopster: HERO BALL - A basketball player is said to be playing HERO BALL when he selfishly tries to take over the game especially at the end. I always think of James Hardin.

35. "Fine, you made your point!": OK I GET IT.

36. Castilian hero: EL CID.

40. Text after a long journey: I'M HOME.

42. Plagues: BESETS.

43. Bogart film set in the desert: SAHARA - 1943 vintage

45. Knee pt.: ACL - Tearing it has ended many athletic careers

46. Like brown ale: MALTY - Sounded right

47. Push back: DELAY.

49. Hieroglyphic animals: ASPS.

50. Hearing things: EARS 😀

52. Subside: EBB.

53. Fr. title: STE - An abbreviation. for a female saint