Saturday, May 23, 2026, Rafael Musa

  Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa

Rafa, a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco. is a frequent constructor and collaborator. 

Across:

1. Sudoku diagrams: GRIDS.

6. Snap: PIC.

9. Rib: TEASE.

14. Iconic part of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird": OUTRO - Song beginning: Intro :: Song ending : OUTRO. Depending on the tempo, the OUTRO lasts about half as long as the entire 9 minute song.

15. Admirable sorts: CLASS ACTS - There's this blogmistress in Minneapolis I know...

17. Piano part: PEDAL.

18. Store for a little while?: POPUP SHOP.

19. "La Classe de Danse" painter: DEGAS - Even I can translate this title

21. Tale designed to tug at one's heartstrings: SOB STORY.

22. Parade locale since 1890: PASEDENA

24. Approves: OKS.

25. Seuss character who lives in a pond on Sala-ma-sond island: YERTLE.

26. Greek goddess of discord: ERIS.

29. "Use your inside voice": DON'T YELL.

31. Challenging direction to sail: UPWIND.

35. __ Bauer: EDDIE - Not a chance for Hank

36. Not well: ILL.

38. Cartoon hero with a blond bob: HE-MAN.

 

39. Hudson Valley college chartered by a brewer in 1861: VASSAR.

41. "Hola" follower, perhaps: COMO ESTA.

43. "__ bon!": TRES.

45. Packaged meals that might contain tamagoyaki: BENTOS.

46. Big Mac rivals?: PCS. 😊

49. Requirements for some brick buildings: LEGO SETS - This LEGO SET has a titanic price of $929.

51. Water wings?: SEA PLANE 😀

54. "The Social Network" Oscar winner Sorkin: AARON.

56. Urban prowlers: ALLEY CATS.

58. Jeopardy: PERIL.

60. Small digit: LITTLE TOE. 😀

61. Outerwear option: PARKA.

62. Shot not allowed in some pool halls: MASSE.

63. Chemistry suffix: ENE.

64. Warm compress targets: STYES - _ _ _ E S was not ACHES

Down:

1. RNC group: GOP.

2. Wished undone: RUED.

3. "Maybe": IT DEPENDS.

4. Queen, maybe: DRAG ARTIST.

5. Way out?: SO LAST YEAR.

6. Main doc: PCP.

7. Words of resignation: I LOSE.

8. Graham's "Boardwalk Empire" role: CAPONE.

Al CAPONE                   Stephen Graham

9. Qt.'s 192: TSPS.

10. Right way?: EAST - On a map

11. Sound before some blessings: ACHOO 😀

12. Wading bird that communicates with bill clattering: STORK An annoying 25 second example

13. Awards for top plays: ESPYS - Last year it was Saquon Barkley's hurdle effort.

16. Car company that hosts Share the Love community events: SUBARU.

20. Counter offer?: SALE 😀

23. Spot with a sandwich board: DELI.

25. Jedi of Dagobah: YODA.

27. Safari and others: IPHONE APPS - I use the Safari browser on my MacBook and iPhone

28. Pick-me-up indulgence: SWEET TREAT.

29. Coder, colloquially: DEV - Isn't it obvi? Totes adorb!

30. Bus. type: LLC - Limited Liability Company

32. "My bad!": I'M SO SORRY - This is close enough to post this great emo song of my yute

33. D.C. team: NATS.

34. Cellular plan?: DNA 😀

37. University of New Mexico mascot: LOBO.

40. Adjust, as a corset: RELACE - I'll bet you can name this character whose corset is being RELACED.

42. Table outside?: MESA 😀

44. American century: SENATE - The less common second definition from Merriam-Webster

46. Song of worship: PSALM.

47. "La Vida Es un Carnaval" singer Cruz: CELIA - Even I could translate this.

48. Cures, in a way: SALTS.

50. Board: GET ON.

52. Some rescues: PETS.

53. Singing crocodile voiced by Shawn Mendes in a 2022 film: LYLE.

55. Largest company headquartered in Oregon: NIKE - Makes sense

57. "Capisce?": SEE.

59. "__ Mañanitas": LAS - Translation

Saturday, February 28, 2026, Zhou Zhang & Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Zhou Zhang & Rafael Musa

There was a lot to like and struggle with in Zhou and Rafa's wonderful puzzle that features pinwheel stacks of 8. My solving experience started on the SE edge of the pinwheel and rotated clockwise to the NE  where incredibly clued  BRA PAD and GOT OPEN finished the solve.

We have seen Rafa here quite often collaborating with others, especially Rebecca Goldstein. 

1. Superdome player: SAINT - I felt that knowing the Superdome is the home of the New Orleans SAINTS to be a good omen

6. Energy crisis?: BAD VIBES 

14. Some belly buttons: INNIES.

16. Result of doomscrolling, perhaps: BRAIN ROT - New to me but makes sense

 

17. Perform precisely: DO TO A T - 🤔 That hid for quite a while 

18. Maintain one's dignity: SAVE FACE.

19. Sanctions: ENABLES - Sanctions is a contronym where one definition can mean the exact opposite of another

21. Had no defense?: GOT OPEN 🤔 I assume this is when a football receiver GOT OPEN because the defense did not cover him.

22. Buggy site: DUNE.

23. SEC-regulated events: IPOS.

25. Farm worker: ANT.

26. M-W alternative: OED 🤔 - The Oxford English Dictionary can be an alternative to the Merriam-Webster version.

27. Surname of both founders of the fashion label The Row: OLSEN - They came to mind pretty quickly

29. Appears to point to: BODES - Seeing Rafa's name on a puzzle BODES that this could take some time!

31. Pan handler: OVEN MITT.

33. Animal with a white rump: ELK.

34. "A Court of Thorns and Roses," for one: ROMANTASY SERIES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  A portmanteau of ROMANce and fanTASY- Bill Maher did a recent monologue about this where he posits that the popularity of these books—which often feature intense, protective, supernatural male characters—stems from a sense of sexual or romantic unfulfillment among women in the modern world.

39. Apple product: PIE - It would be easier if clued this way: An apple product.

40. "You wanna fight!?": COME AT ME - 😡

41. Composer with a namesake horn: SOUSA

44. Ignored a scarecrow, perhaps: CAWED 😀

45. Take (down): JOT 😀

46. Reactions to stubs: OWS - Nothing to do with tickets 

47. Automaker Karl: BENZ.

48. Simple shelters: HUTS.

49. Left over, in a way: UNEATEN.

52. Pretend: ACT AS IF.

55. Pico de gallo, e.g.: RED SALSA.

57. Short person?: DEBTOR 😀 - If you're short of funds...

58. Suddenly gave way: CRUMPLED - We studied this bridge that eventually gave way and CRUMPLED into the Tacoma Narrows in physics class

59. Solution for wounds: SALINE.

60. Ingredient in carajillo and affogato: ESPRESSO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

61. En __: MASSE - East Germans exited en Masse when the Berlin Wall fell.

Down:

1. Something that might be right up one's alley: SIDE DOOR - A slight variation 

2. Nochevieja follower: ANO NUEVO - Spanish: 

Nochevieja (December 31st, Old Year's Night) is directly followed by Año Nuevo (January 1st, New Year's Day).

3. As one: IN TANDEM.

4. Weeping mother of Greek myth: NIOBE - I've planted a few of these NIOBE Weeping Willows.

5. Charlotte Hornets color: TEAL.

6. Not-so-big shots: BBS 😀

7. Catalonia neighbor: ARAGON.

8. Swiss host of the World Economic Forum: DAVOS.

9. "The Sympathizer" Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen: VIET ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Skinny: INFO 😀

11. Push-up form?: BRA PAD.

12. Epoch whose name means "new dawn": EOCENE - The term highlights the "dawn" of modern mammalian fauna like horse, bats and whales around 40 million years ago following the extinction of the dinosaurs. You're Welcome. 

13. Artery inserts: STENTS.

15. Office building subdivision, for short: STE - Suite

20. Queen Latifah's "Nature of a __": SISTA.

24. Imaging technique: PET SCAN - Positron Emission Tomography

27. __ vincit amor: OMNIA - A proclamation in ink that Love Conquers All

28. Lo-cal: LITE.

29. Run: BLEED.

30. National vegetable of Pakistan: OKRA.

32. Quick outings?: NAPS 😀

33. "Hanna" star __ Creed-Miles: ESME - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Beautiful, young women with guns are standard TV and movie tropes these days.

35. "Holy cow!": YOWZA.

36. Unsatisfying response to "why?": IT JUST IS.

37. Love and hate: EMOTIONS.

38. Releases: SETS FREE.

41. Point of origin: SOURCE.

42. People with good deeds to their names?: OWNERS - This is a famous deed for a home in Memphis.

43. Finished: USED UP.

44. Perfumes during a rite: CENSES.

47. Quintet in London's Elizabeth Tower: BELLS - Big Ben is the largest of these five

48. "Se __ inglé": HABLA - English is spoken.

50. Video genre that may cause chills, for short: ASMR - Experience as much of this 3-hour example of eerie 

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

 as you like.

51. Box closer: TAPE.

53. S&L options: CDS.

54. Bears, e.g.: TEAM - They are threatening to move

56. Flap: ADO.