Monday, July 13, 2026, Mark Tomek

Theme:  Say your piece.

Constructor Mark Tomek appears to be rather new to crossword authorship, and today marks Mark's debut in the Los Angeles Times!  Congratulations!  I finished this puzzle thinking, "I love Mondays!"

The four theme answers are common phrases that mean "speak at length."

18-Across. Ramble at length: PRATTLE ON.

23-Across. Chat at length: CHEW THE FAT.

41-Across. Blather at length: TALK A BLUE STREAK.

54-Across. Jabber at length: BABBLE AWAY.

The reveal:

65-Across. Hidden bar of the Prohibition era, or an apt title for this puzzle?: SPEAKEASY.

The theme answers, together with the reveal, occupy symmetrical spaces in the puzzle, and 41-Across spans the grid.  Just lovely.

The rest of the grid is nice, too.  But don't let me prattle on.  Let's have a look.

Across:

1. Not together: APART.

6. Nile cobra: ASP.

9. Adjust to one's surroundings: ADAPT.

14. Printer cartridge: TONER.

15. "The Producers" filmmaker Brooks: MEL.  Mel Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his 1967 film The Producers.  His theatrical adaptation of The Producers ran on Broadway from 2001 to 2007 and won 12 Tony Awards, and then he adapted the theatrical version as another film in 2005.

Mel Brooks as Hitler.
Comedy is an enemy of fascism.

16. "The Hunchback of __ Dame": NOTRE.  The 1831 novel by Victor Hugo is set in 15th century Paris.  It has been adapted many times, notably as a 1923 silent film with Lon Chaney, a 1939 sound film with Charles Laughton, a 1956 film with Anthony Quinn, and a 1996 animated film with Tom Hulce.

Lon Chaney as The Hunchback of Notre Dame

17. Perennial with yellow flowers: TANSY.  Native to Europe and Asia, the tansy is invasive where it has been introduced to other continents, and is considered a noxious weed.  It's toxic, too.

Tansy

18. [Theme clue]

20. Most chilly: ICIEST.

22. Struggling at bat, say: IN A SLUMP.

23. [Theme clue]

25. Fluffy lapdog, familiarly: POM.  The Pomeranian is a toy dog breed descended from the German Spitz.

Pomeranian dog

26. Catch some rays: SUN.

27. Actress Mendes: EVA.  Eva Mendes is a retired American actress with a long list of film credits.  She has two daughters with Ryan Gosling.

Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling

30. Woeful word: ALAS.

34. Make fun of: MOCK.

37. Figure __: skater's pattern: EIGHT.

41. [Theme clue]

44. Brooded: MOPED.

45. French cleric: ABBÉ.  The French word for "abbot."

46. Risk-taker's hashtag: YOLO.  You only live once.

47. Try to win over: WOO.

49. "Now I've seen it __!": ALL.

51. Theater chain letters: AMC.  AMC Theatres (originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema) was founded in 1920 and was pivotal in promoting multi-screen theaters from the early 1960s onward.

AMC theater lobby

54. [Theme clue]

61. __ Springs, New York: SARATOGA.  A city of about 30,000 people, Saratoga Springs is noted for its mineral springs and a horse racing track.  There's a Disney resort there, too.

Spring water in downtown Saratoga Springs

64. IV drip solution: SALINE.

65. [Theme clue]

67. Signals of hunger: PANGS.

68. Notification: ALERT.

69. Round Table title: SIR.  There were twelve knights at King Arthur's round table, including Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad, and Sir Tristan.

70. Comedy show host: EMCEE.

71. Pound sounds: YELPS.  POMs are noted barkers, too.

72. Letters from a polite texter: PLS.  Texting abbreviation for "please."

73. Active types: DOERS.

Down:

1. Storage space that often has a slanted ceiling: ATTIC.

2. Eggs Benedict recipe instruction: POACH.

3. "__ Get Your Gun": ANNIE.  Annie Get Your Gun was a 1946 Broadway musical based on the life of Annie Oakley.  It featured hit songs by Irving Berlin including "There's No Business Like Show Business."  A 1950 film version followed.

Ethel Merman as Annie Oakley
in the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun

4. Fix again, as a torn seam: RESEW.

5. Clandestine meetings: TRYSTS.

6. Musician's sound booster: AMP.

7. Letter embellishment: SERIF.  A serif is a decorative stroke added to letters in traditional typefaces.  A modern font without serifs is "sans serif."

Sans serif on the left; serif on the right.

8. First-choice tactic: PLAN A.

9. Picnic pests: ANTS.

10. American Girl product: DOLL.

11. Gobbled down: ATE UP.

12. "Coming soon" ad: PROMO.

13. Evening news hr.: TEN PM.

19. London art gallery: TATE. The Tate Gallery opened with a single site in 1897 and now includes Tate Britain (in London), Tate Modern (also in London), Tate Liverpool, and Tate St Ives (Cornwall).

Staircases inside Tate Britain (on the left) and Tate Modern (on the right).

21. "Green" digit for a gardener: THUMB.

24. Sherlock's sister, per three Netflix films: ENOLA.  The character of Enola Holmes was created by American author Nancy Springer for her young adult novels, The Enola Holmes Mysteries.  When the first film was released in 2020, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle filed a lawsuit against Netflix for misrepresenting the character of Sherlock Holmes.  The lawsuit was dismissed since most of the Sherlock Holmes stories were already in the public domain, and the rest have entered the public domain since then.

Starring Millie Bobby Brown

28. Nov. honoree: VET.  Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11.

29. Spacious, in a way: AIRY.

30. 20s source: ATM.  You can get $20 bills at an Automated Teller Machine.

31. Language spoken in Vientiane: LAO.  Lao is the official language of Laos, of which Vientiane is the capital.

32. European peak: ALP.

33. Distort, as data: SKEW.

35. Chicago MLBer: CUB.  The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. 

How today's blogger really feels about the professional sports stuff.

36. Shish __: KEBAB.

38. Prefix with thermal: GEO.

39. Sci-fi computer villain: HAL.  From the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke, a noted science fiction author.  Here's a 54 second reminder.  (It loops.)

40. Boxing ref's ruling, for short: TKO.  Technical Knockout.  A decision that one of the boxers can no longer safely continue the match.

42. Brouhaha: ADO.

43. Flies off the shelves: SELLS.

48. Orchestra woodwind: OBOE.

50. Bounded: LEAPED.

51. Analyze for purity: ASSAY.

52. Baseball bat wood: MAPLE.

53. Fishing basket: CREEL.  My father was a fly fisherman and carried a creel like this one:

If Daddy was going to keep a fish to eat it,
he killed it with a sharp blow to the head and popped it into the creel.

55. Audibly stunned: AGASP.  Killing creatures leaves me AGASP.  Hence, vegetarian.

56. Pizza Margherita herb: BASIL.

57. Avis rival: ALAMO.

58. React to a cringey faux pas: WINCE.

59. Emotion voiced by Lewis Black in the "Inside Out" films: ANGER.  Lewis Black does anger well.

Lewis Black

60. Positive responses: YESES.

62. Senior advocacy group: AARP.  American Association of Retired Persons.

63. Times Sq. sales booth: TKTS.  The TKTS Discount Booth in Times Square offers same-day and next-day matinee Broadway and Off-Broadway tickets at a discount.

66. Calendar divs.: YRS.  Calendars divisions are years.  Could have been wks or mos, but it wasn't.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Did you utter YESES out loud when reading the answers here today?

Or did you WINCE if you discovered you had gone awry?

YOLO.  Take a chance on sharing your reactions in the comments.

-- NaomiZ

Monday, July 6, 2026, Katie Hale

Theme:  Gravity brings me down!

Katie Hale, assistant crossword editor of the Los Angeles Times and today's constructor, starts the week on a grounded note, with a very down-to-earth puzzle.  The big reveal of the theme occurs here:

54-Across. Fashion house release with autumnal colors, or what the ends of 20-, 34-, and 41-Across are: FALL COLLECTION.  This reviewer is familiar with the cycle of seasonal fashion collections, but the answers referenced here contain a collection of synonyms for a different kind of FALL -- the kind where you plummet to earth.

20-Across. Official clearance to miss class: PERMISSION SLIP.  I remember needing this type of note from the teacher if I had to be in the hallway after the bell rang.  But like so many words in English, SLIP has another meaning -- it's a synonym for FALL.

34-Across. Perform dramatic flips down a sprung track: POWER TUMBLE.  A sprung track is an elevated runway with flexible fiberglass rods or steel springs beneath a padded surface to provide the rebound necessary for the multiple high-speed flips and twists of power tumbling.  (Congrats if you knew this!)  And TUMBLE is another synonym for FALL.

41-Across. Outdoor family getaway: CAMPING TRIP.  I don't go camping with my mom anymore, but I did make a TRIP to the ER with her a couple of weeks ago when she TRIPped.  You will have noticed that TRIP is another synonym for FALL.

As we get older, FALLing is our Kryptonite.  Steady on your feet, there, Solvers!  Let's make our way carefully through the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Stylish and classy: CHIC.

5. Olivia Rodrigo album with the hit "Vampire": GUTS.  If you say so!  Solved with perps (perpendicular entries).  Here's the official video (with some language not for kids):

9. PD boss: SARGE.  A Sergeant (SARGE) supervises Detectives and Uniformed Officers, but ranks beneath a Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, Deputy Chief (or Assistant Chief), and the Chief of Police.  Your Police Department may vary.

14. Nike's Swoosh, for one: LOGO.

15. Fairy tale brute: OGRE.

16. "Stop the launch!": ABORT.

17. Wall St. investment opportunities: IPOS.  Initial Public Offerings.  These are the moments when private companies transition to publicly traded entities by selling shares on a public stock exchange.  This is also when early investors in the private companies can recoup their money and get out.

18. "The Keep" novelist Jennifer: EGAN.  Ms Egan's 2006 gothic horror thriller was a national bestseller.

19. Makers of mysterious footprints in the Himalayas: YETIS.  You remember Yeti; he's the Himalyan counterpart of our North American Bigfoot (AKA Sasquatch).

Yeti and Bigfoot

20. [Theme clue]

23. Little hellion: IMP.

24. Basketball three-pointer: TREY.  "Trey" is basketball slang for a three-point shot.

25. Happens: OCCURS.  Stuff occurs.

28. "As you wish": SO BE IT.

33. NHL great Bobby: ORR.  A retired champion of the National Hockey League, who is still a favorite in crossword grids.

Bobby Orr, 1970

34. [Theme clue]

37. CBS military law drama: NCIS.   This series portrays a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.  I delegate the watching thereof to DH.

39. Small battery size: AAA.

40. Nintendo consoles with balance boards: WIIS.

Life is but a dream ... or a video game.

41. [Theme clue]

46. Actress Dennings: 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).

Kat Dennings in 2 Broke Girls

47. Madrid's nación: ESPAÑA.

Madrid is magnificent.

48. Happened after: ENSUED.

50. Boast: BRAG.

53. Bowling pin count: TEN.

54. [Theme clue]

61. Amazon basin bean: CACAO.

Cacao pods and beans

62. Trash: RUIN.  As a verb, "trash" means to throw away, destroy, or severely criticize something.  DH and I once suffered through a night in Reno when the hotel guests in the room next to ours trashed the place, and security personnel seemed loathe to interfere.  Staff members were removing broken furniture from that room when we ventured out in the morning.

63. Org. with a "Know Your Rights" handbook: ACLU.  The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the U.S. constitution.

64. Opener: INTRO.

65. __ off: angry: TEED.  Everyone seems to agree that this expression came from golf, but it's hard to understand how.  The nearest I can come is that when you take a hard swing at someone or something -- even if you use your words! -- you're pretty angy.

66. Bog material: PEAT.  A bog is a wetland where partially decayed plant matter accumulates over thousands of years, forming PEAT.  The water in a bog comes almost entirely from rainfall, and is acidic.  Specialized plants thrive in the low oxygen bog, and their remains trap vast amounts of carbon, helping to regulate the global climate.  Ireland has famously harvested peat for centuries as an energy source, but is now closing its commercial peat bog operations to slow climate change.

Soaring oil prices have contributed to individuals harvesting peat, 
even while commercial operations are closed by the government.

67. Black tea variety: ASSAM.

68. Puts in: ADDS.

69. Ice cream brand: EDY'S.  We never see EDY'S in L.A.  The same company is called Dreyer's here.

Down:

1. Trim, as fingernails: CLIP.

2. "Fingers crossed" feeling: HOPE.

3. "The Rite of Spring" composer Stravinsky: IGOR.  Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a composer and conductor.  His ballet "The Rite of Spring" caused a near-riot at its Paris premiere in 1913 due to its modernist music and choreography.

Igor Stravinsky

4. Astronomical: COSMIC.

5. Becomes a paid athlete: GOES PRO.

6. Fluffy winter boots: UGGS.  "Ugg boots" have a long history in Australia, and have been commercially manufactured there since the 1930s, but the UGG brand was founded in Santa Monica, California in 1978 and primarily marketed to surfers, who were the main users of ugg boots in Australia. I bought Darling Daughter's first pair in a surf shop in L.A. -- but I did once visit New Jersey and see groups of tween girls wearing them in the mall in the winter.

UGG boots in their natural habitat

7. Characteristic: TRAIT.

8. Mister, in 47-Across: SEÑOR.

9. "Well, that's not what I think": SAYS YOU.

10. Eve's second son: ABEL.  

Abel and Cain

11. Indian flatbread: ROTI.

12. Customizable part of a tennis racket: GRIP.

13. Non-earthlings, for short: ETS.  Extraterrestrials.

21. Post-alarm utterance: I'M UP.

22. Wasp's home: NEST.

25. Two-tone ocean predators: ORCAS.

26. Pinch closed, as pie crust: CRIMP.

Basic crimping technique

27. __ bag: party favors: SWAG.

29. Audi competitor: BMW.

30. Chargeable transport: E-BIKE.

31. Homeric saga about the Trojan War: ILIAD.

32. Evaluate: TEST.

33. "In the past ... ": ONCE.

35. Have dinner: EAT.

36. Not often seen: RARE.

38. Mud wrap venue: SPA.

42. Like a flower garden during spring: IN BLOOM.

43. Drug cop: NARC.  Narcotics officer.  Baby boomers also used NARC as a verb meaning to snitch on someone, especially in regard to drug use.

The tee shirt says "Don't be a narc."

44. Means (to): INTENDS.

45. Fraction of a min.: PSEC.  A picosecond is a unit of time equal to one trillionth of a second.  

49. Take off a certain adhesive: UNTAPE.

51. Major artery: AORTA.

52. Put on a certain adhesive: GLUED.

54. Ardent supporters: FANS.

55. Performs in a play: ACTS.

56. Video game archaeologist Croft: LARA.  Lara Croft is the main protagonist of the video game franchise Tomb Raider.  She made the leap to film in 2001, portrayed by Angelina Jolie.

Lara Croft as she appears in the video games

57. Wasn't honest: LIED.

58. Frosted, as a cake: ICED.

59. Regenerist brand: OLAY.

Being a woman requires specialized lotions for various body parts.

60. Snack bowl filler: NUTS.

61. Spy org.: CIA.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

I DNK (did not know) "The Keep" novelist Jennifer EGAN, the basketball three-pointer TREY, what a sprung track is or the POWER TUMBLE that takes place thereon, or actress KAT Dennings, even though I've covered her in a previous blog post.  I found the middle east block pretty tough, where TUMBLE and KAT both lived.  I'd say that Katie's puzzle was challenging for a Monday!  On the other hand, I FIR (finished it right), thanks to perps (perpendicular entries) and the occasional WAG (wild ass guess). 

How about you?  Were you FANS of this puzzle?  Were you NUTS about it?

Or did you go down to RUIN and defeat, and get TEED off by the exercise?

BRAG about it in the comments!

-- NaomiZ

Monday, June 29, 2026, Zachary Edward-Brown

 Theme: So many greens!

I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be

When winter comes without a spring that I shall ever see.

For still there are so many things that I have never seen:

In every wood, in every spring, there is a different green.

-- Bilbo Baggins in Book II, Chapter 3 of The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Glacier National Park -- photo by NaomiZ

Zachary Edward-Brown is back and this time he's contemplating the many shades of green in the theme clues and answers, which are:

16-Across. *University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina: WAKE FOREST.

24-Across. *Hall of Fame wide receiver who was drafted by the Vikings in 1998: RANDY MOSS.

49-Across. *Person looking for employment: JOB HUNTER.

60-Across. *Major coin producer in Colorado: DENVER MINT.

And the big reveal, smack in the middle of the grid:

37-Across. Strive to reduce one's carbon footprint, or what the answers to the starred clues do?: GO GREEN.

Forest green, moss green, hunter green, mint green ... here are samples:

Hopefully these green hues put you in a relaxed mood to explore the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Tapioca pearls in some tea: BOBA.  Boba tea is a choking hazard!  Remove the tapioca pearls for young children and serve them in a bowl with a spoon.  You can remove mine, too!  Blech!

Boba tea

5. Trades jabs in the ring: SPARS.

10. WNBA stat: Abbr.: PTS.  NBA players also earn PTS.

13. Forget to mention: OMIT.

14. Cut equally: HALVE.

15. Spoiled kid: BRAT.  

16. [Theme clue]

18. Norse god of mischief: LOKI.  All I know about Loki, I learned from watching Vikings on the History Channel.

Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok in Vikings

19. "That's all __ wrote": SHE.  "That's All She Wrote" is a song written by Jerry Fuller, and recorded by various artists including Ernest Tubb, Johnny Mathis, and Ray Price.

Dearest baby may I thank you for being a friend of mine

And while you're reading these words I'll be gone like a bird in the winter time

And I'm taking with me the few sweet memories we made as my souvenirs

And it's a shame that the laughter couldn't outweigh all the tears

That's all she wrote

Everything that I own in a small envelope

Leaving me so alone that I wanted to die

The momеnt that I read her note

That's all shе wrote

20. Mountaintop: APEX.

21. Forty-__: NINER.  A prospector in the California gold rush of 1849, or a member of the San Francisco Forty-Niners, a professional football team.

22. Dry as a bone: ARID.

24. [Theme clue]

27. Name of 12 popes: PIUS.

29. Production amount: OUTPUT.

30. Nearly five billion people: ASIANS.

33. Rugged ride, briefly: ATV.  All-terrain vehicles have agricultural, military, and recreational uses.

ATVs

34. Stanley Cup org.: NHL.  The championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff champion.

Evolution of the Stanley Cup

36. Yoga roll: MAT.

37. [Theme clue]

40. Corp. head: CEO.  Chief Executive Officer.

41. "Thx" counterpart: PLS.  "Thanks" and "please" in text-speak.

42. Cherry center: PIT.

43. Handouts at a spa: TOWELS.

45. Nonreflective finishes: MATTES.

48. "Hey, over here!": PSST.

49. [Theme clue]

51. "Othello" villain: IAGO.  In Shakespeare's play, Iago is a soldier under Othello's command, and is very much trusted by Othello.  Iago is jealous when he is passed over for promotion and manipulates Othello into killing Othello's wife and commiting suicide.  Nasty guy.

Othello and Iago

54. Like new candles: UNLIT.

55. Italy's capital: ROME.

57. Astonishment: AWE.

59. __ queen: DRAG.  A drag queen uses extravagant clothing, wigs, and makeup to celebrate and exaggerate female gender attributes.

A drag queen in and out of a green costume

60. [Theme clue]

63. Talk effusively: GUSH.

64. Fire sign of spring: ARIES.  As the first sign of the astrological year, Aries represents creative spark, passion and initiative.  Isn't fire more destructive than creative?  Anyway, astrology ...

Aries

65. Load to bear: ONUS.

66. Middle-earth's Treebeard, for one: ENT.  J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings again!  Ents are giants who resemble trees, and Treebeard is their leader.

Treebeard in the green woods

67. Put on clothes: DRESS.

68. Athletic award: ESPY.  Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards produced by ESPN.

Down:

1. Gift toppers: BOWS.

A green bow

2. Nebraska city: OMAHA.

3. Motorcyclist: BIKER.

4. Grabbed a bite: ATE.

5. Boutique: SHOP.

6. Small kitchen knives: PARERS.

The paring knife is the little one at bottom.

7. Apple : Siri :: Amazon : __: ALEXA.

8. Motor homes, for short: RVS.  Recreational vehicles.  Jinx, is your rig moving with you?

9. Tennis match part: SET.

10. Sound out, as a word: PRONOUNCE.

11. Admits defeat, informally: TAKES THE L.  "Take the L" means to accept a LOSS.  I'm glad I solved 34-Across. Stanley Cup org.: NHL, because I would have had to take the L on this answer otherwise.  "Cup" in the Across clue had me thinking about sailing competitions instead of hockey.  Nearly sunk me!

12. Keeps from sticking to the pot, perhaps: STIRS.

15. Goodyear airship: BLIMP.

I took this photo from my front garden!

17. Growing dim: FADING.

21. Empire St. paper: NYT.  New York Times.  Famous for challenging crossword puzzles.

23. Hoppy beer letters: IPA.  India Pale Ale.

25. Post-it __: NOTE.

26. Bed covers: DUVETS.  I grew up ignorant of duvets.  Now I spend a good part of my life underneath one.

This duvet is ready for its cover.

28. Last Grand Slam event of the year: US OPEN.  Tennis tournament.

30. Concert device: AMP.  Amplifier.  Rusty, show us yours!

31. Upstream migration that feeds grizzly bears: SALMON RUN.

Unlucky leap

32. "This party rocks!": IT'S A BLAST.

33. Museum display: ART.

35. __ Angeles: LOS.  I had the home team advantage on this one.

38. Main point: GIST.

39. More meddlesome: NOSIER.

44. Tour gp. for Coco Gauff: WTA.  Cori "Coco" Gauff is an American professional tennis player.  She made her Women's Tennis Association Tour debut in 2019.

Coco Gauff on a green court

46. Quadriceps locale: THIGH.

47. "Tsk!" kin: TUT. Clicking tongue sounds of reproof.

48. Shows beyond doubt: PROVES.

49. Courtroom decision-maker: JUDGE.

50. Orange Muppet who sings "When Bert's Not Here": ERNIE.

Bert and Ernie with a green background

52. Obtains: GAINS.

53. Admit (to): OWN UP.  Take the L, perhaps?

56. State of disarray: MESS.

58. Site with vintage items: ETSY.  Known for handmade items, you'll find some vintage things as well.

60. Stereotypical teller of terrible jokes: DAD.

61. Make a goof: ERR.

62. Barkeeper who is a frequent target of Bart's prank calls: MOE.

Bart Simpson loves to prank call Moe.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Did you ERR anywhere?  Did you find yourself FADING?  Did you throw in the TOWEL?

Or would you say of this puzzle that IT'S A BLAST and your flawless grid PROVES it?

GUSH all about it in the comments!

-- NaomiZ