Saturday, July 25, 2026, Mike Graczyk

 Saturday Themeless by Mike Graczyk

A fun solve on what appears to be Mike's initial LA Times puzzle. My trek started in the NE with my Greek wife's least favorite salad and expanding out from there.

Across:

1. "Who's interested?": ANY TAKERS - Knowing the real issues for this trip, this NASA guy knows all the perils and is a hard no! 

NOT ME!

10. Saw: ADAGE.

15. "Do I know you?": HAVE WE MET.

16. Historic site in Jordan known as the Rose City: PETRA - One of the new seven wonders of the world

17. Eggs-cellent breakfast spot: 😀 OMELET BAR.

18. "Door's open!": ENTER.

19. "You bet!": YES.

20. Pinch-hit: STEP IN - What we subs do during the school year

22. Next: THEN.

23. Hardly pusillanimous: BOLD.

24. Bears named for an Alaskan archipelago: KODIAKS.

26. Call it a day: GO HOME.

29. People who pay flat rates?: TENANTS - I think we all know what an apartment is called in the UK

30. Wistful words: I HOPE.

31. Went to court?: WOOED - 😀 Court is a verb here.

32. One who loves ewe very much: RAM.

34. Migrators in the Maasai Mara's Great Migration: GNUS.

35. Brook swimmer: TROUT.

36. Brand of shapewear: BALI.

37. Brief alarm: SOS.

38. Essence: POINT.

39. Test versions: BETAS.

40. Takes back: RECANTS.

42. "You bet!": SURE DO.

43. Ouster: DEPOSAL - Ouster : Oust :: Deposal : Depose 

44. One thing after another: LIST.

45. Campus building: HALL - My home for two years

46. Connecticut governor Ned: LAMONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. Rugby ball prop: TEE.

51. Taco truck option: ASADA.

53. Places to break some records?: RAGE ROOMS - or break most anything else

55. Hammer and anvil, for two: BONES.

56. "I wish wearing flat-irons on our heads would keep us from __": "Little Women": GROWING UP.

57. IV part: INTRA.

58. "No prob": EASY PEASY.

Down:

1. "Hello, sailor!": AHOY.

2. Appellation: NAME - For wine: An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated,

3. __ Rocher cosmetics: YVES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

4. Office no.: TEL.

5. "Way cool!": AWESOME - In my opinion, this is the most overused adjective used today

6. Boiling point?: KETTLE 😀

7. War zone journalist: EMBED.

8. Bring in: REAP.

9. Go down swinging, perhaps: STRIKE OUT.

10. Mimic: APE.

11. Tooth component: DENTIN.

12. "If we stayed on such a road ... ": AT THAT RATE - Ten minutes/hole. AT THAT RATE we should be done in three hours.

13. Dish with feta and Kalamatas: GREEK SALAD.

14. Brings in: EARNS.

21. Largish combo: NONET - Nine, count 'em, nine

23. Catchy tunes, informally: BOPS.

25. Pops: DAD.

26. Some play dates?: GIGS - My grandson will be taking his years of experience, his Master's Degree and connections to NYC to play some GIGS.

27. "Just wondering": OH NO REASON - Yeah, right...

28. Leaves for one's residence?: HOUSE PLANT.

29. Pluto and others: TOONS.

31. Plain to see: WRITLARGE.

33. Soup often served with gyoza: MISO.

35. Like some languages: TONAL.

36. Muppet who loves pigeons: BERT.

38. Faux finish?: PAS - I have made many a faux PAS in my life.

39. Way to travel with class?: BUS TRIP - I travelled the 1,400 miles to KSC with 23 classes with airplanes but never on a BUS. 😳

41. "You're even farther now ... ": COLDER - The opposite...

42. Muscular: SINEWY.

43. Abu __: DHABI - The silent "H" threw me for a while 

44. Screen icons: LOGOS.

47. "Matilda" star Wilson: MARA.

48. Caesar wrap?: TOGA. 😀

49. Cassowary kin: EMUS.

50. Award for top plays?: ESPY - ESPN's yearly awards for top sports plays 

52. Butterfield of "Sex Education": ASA.

54. Number worn by Oscar Robertson: ONE.

Wednesday June 1, 2022 Mike Graczyk & Christina Iverson

Hahtoolah is traveling this month, so yours truly has been yanked off the bench to pinch hit on a Wednesday. Why Wednesday when Hahtoolah normally blogs on Tuesdays? I don't understand it, either. 

 

We've got a mid-week collaboration from Patti Varol's assistant editor and Mike Graczyk, who could be the assistant soccer coach at Notre Dame, or the Texas AP reporter who's witnessed more than 400 executions, or one of the other 88 Mike Graczyks in Spokeo's database. Who would've guessed there could be so many? Mike's byline has appeared in a number of crossword venues, but I don't recall seeing him in the LAT previously. Of course, I've been wrong before. 

 

The theme was easy to understand -- take four in-the-language phrases and clue them humorously as specialized enthusiast groups, then let the chuckles (or groans) ensue. As an added bonus, there was no reveal for certain solvers to miss. There were quite a few proper names (surprise, surprise). But the perps were kind for the ones I didn't recognize. No foul. 

 

Themers: 

 

17A. Group for cardboard toy enthusiasts?: PAPER DOLL OUTFIT. Not paper clothing, but a group of folks who like paper dolls. [Yuk, yuk.]

34A. Group for Roomba enthusiasts?: VACUUM PACK. Seems like it should've been PACKED, but no matter. It's a group of folks who just love their robotic vacuums. [Chortle.]

44A. Group for big-rig enthusiasts?: SEMI CIRCLE. Macks who just love way their Peterbilt is built. [Guffaw.]

Finally... 63A. Group for Merriam-Webster enthusiasts?: WORD ASSOCIATION. This one could also refer to the corner denizens. [Smile.]

 

 

And on to the rest of the fill:  

 

Across:

 
1. Get all mushy: MELT. Was thinking of treacle.

5. Promising location: ALTAR. "I do."

10. Jewelry designer Peretti: ELSA. No idea.

14. "Then again," in tweets: OTOH. On the other hand...

15. "How nifty!": NEATO. Not heard by anyone since the Valley Girls turned 40.

16. Just the best: TOPS.

20. "My Brilliant Friend" novelist Ferrante: ELENA. No idea. I do remember the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher.

21. "Breathe Me" singer: SIA. No idea.

22. Back in style: RETRO.

23. Gasteyer of "Wine Country": ANA. No idea.

25. eBay sale condition: AS IS. Caveat emptor.

27. Capital of Japan: YEN. The money, not the city.

28. Imminent: IN STORE. Coming soon to a theater near you...

32. Filing tool: RASP. Oh, that kind of filing.

37. Livens (up): PEPS.

40. Forestall: AVERT. Not to be confused with the first "Super Carrier." It suffered a major fire while I was still in boot camp, killing 134 sailors. 

41. UFO crew, probably: ETS. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. 

 

42. Gem weight: CARAT. I'm never sure if it's Carat, Caret, or Karat, but pretty sure it isn't Carrot.

43. "Little Girl Blue" singer Simone: NINA. I've heard of Nina, but not the song. 

 

46. Misfortunes: ILLS.

48. Quaint school dance: SOCKHOP. I served as DJ for our high school Sockhops, yea those many years ago. Sockhops were so called because they were held in the gymnasium, and no street shoes were allowed on the polished floor. Incidentally, the key to our school's P.A. cabinet also unlocked the trampoline, but that's another story.

49. Defense advisory gp.: NSC. National Security Council.

51. Road-trip stops: INNS. In olden times, in addition to a meal and a bed for the night, an inn offered food and stable for the traveler's horse. Today there's not much to distinguish an inn from a hotel or motel.

54. Obi-__ Kenobi: WAN. Star Wars. The Original

55. Inbox filler: EMAIL. It if were only four letters, it'd be SPAM.

57. Fútbol fan's cry: OLÉ. "Fútbol" gives it away.

59. __ & Gabbana fashion house: DOLCE. No idea. 

66. Yoga pose that requires balancing on one foot: TREE. If it's not ASANA, it's a mystery to me.

67. San Diego's __ Park: PETCO. BALBOA was too long. PETCO must be a stadium. Right?

68. Part of an EGOT: EMMY. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

69. Wet septet: SEAS. Not a runny nose.

70. Pallid: ASHEN. Would a grayish white hotel be a Pallid Inn?

71. Noodle that may be served in dashi broth: SOBA. If it's not UDON, it must be SOBA

Down:

 
1. Sulk: MOPE. Pout.

2. "And so forth" abbr.: ET AL. I thought ET AL meant "and others."

3. Easy stride: LOPE. In my case, more like an amble.

4. Baseball film featuring a bat named "Wonderboy": THE NATURAL. 

 

5. "Your point is?": AND?.

6. Signs of summer: LEOS. Is there more than one?

7. "Rocky" actress Shire: TALIA. And that's pretty much the extent of what I know about the "Rocky" franchise. Yo, Talia.

8. Book of maps: ATLAS.

9. Milne joey: ROO. From Winnie the Pooh.

10. Novel ending?: ETTE. Old timey cw clue.

11. High vantage point: LOFTY PERCH. My first thought was CATBIRD SEAT. Wite-Out, please.

12. Skyline standout: SPIRE.

13. __ Martin: "Skyfall" car: ASTON. 

18. Went on a quick errand: RAN OUT. Why? Because she ran out.

19. Major in astronomy?: URSA. Minor, too.

24. Blazer sleeve: ARM. Can you spot a sleeve in this photo?
 

 

26. Needle: IRK. Needle me, and I may become IRKed. But are they really synonyms?

28. Director Reitman: IVAN. No idea. LIU. He directed National Lampoon's Animal House, Meatballs, Stripes, Ghostbusters, ad nauseum.

29. Blue-skinned race in "Avatar": NAVI.  

 

30. Picture-perfect spot: SCENIC AREA. Good spot to take a picture.

31. Fencing category: EPEE. Basket-weave and picket are others.

33. Online source of study guides: SPARKNOTES. People of a "certain age" probably remember Cliffs Notes. Apparently, you need a subscription for SparkNotes. 

 

35. PIN point?: ATM. The place where you enter your PIN.

36. Several CBS forensic dramas: CSIS. The TV franchise that refuses to die. Methinks the similarly named NCIS franchise may have gasped its last this past month.

38. __ Alto, California: PALO. "Tall stick." A coastal redwood tree is known as El Palo Alto.

39. Recipe part: STEP. STIR? TBSP?

42. Insect with a 17-year life cycle: CICADA. 2021 was supposed to be "the" year. Don't think we saw (or heard) any in our neighborhood.

44. Nine-digit ID: SSN. At least the guvment finally assigned a different number to identify Medicare recipients. Better late than never.

45. Bearer of good moos?: COW. Punny.

47. Country singer McCann: LILA. No idea.

49. Pond critters: NEWTS. FROGS or TOADS could've worked.

50. Gooey treat: S'MORE.
 

52. Snouts: NOSES.

53. Slow-moving creature: SLOTH. Hand up if you tried SNAIL first. 

 

56. __ of March: IDES. Beware.

58. Latin "Behold!": ECCE. Pontius said it in the pilot.

60. Long way to go?: LIMO. Har-de-har-har.

61. Grooming tool: COMB. I still carry one for my wayward locks.

62. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. I like this piece of hers better: Boadicea.

64. Pampering place: SPA.

65. Charged particle: ION.

And here is where C.C. will magically make the grid appear. D-o, hanging up his designated hitter hat and signing off for a few weeks.