Saturday, January 24, 2026, Rafael Musa, Geoffrey Schorkopf

  Themeless Saturday by Rafael Musa & Geoffrey Schorkopf 

I had these collaborators on September 6, 2025 and had much more luck with that puzzle than I did with this one. I had to get help on a few cells and had an honest-to-goodness Natick at IRE_A/A_AND. The cluing left me out in the dark and some of the fill were not in my vocabulary. All in all it was a slog for this solver and came in the "close but no cigar" category.

As the graphic shows, Rafael (A software engineer for Airbnb in S.F.)  and Geoffrey (a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta) had a lot of unique fill. The gentlemen had 104 open squares and only 28 blocks.

Rafael

Geoffrey

 

Across:

1. Emerge from the ashes, say: RISE AGAIN - Until last year, Indiana Unverstiy's football team had more losses (over 700) than another college program. But with the hire of coach Curt Cignetti they went to 16 - 0 and won the National Championship in 2026.

10. Violin stroke: UPBOW - We guitar players often use an upstrum stroke

15. Mammal with a protective shell: ARMADILLO - This easy 9-letter fill portended an easier solve than it turned out to be

16. Letizia, por ejemplo: REINA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I didn't even know Spain had a King and Queen and no idea what the Spanish word for a queen was either.

17. Drafty places?: BEER HALLS 😀 Perhaps the most famous BEER HALL was the  Löwenbrau's Bürgerbräukeller in Munich where in 1923 Hitler attempted his famous putsch to oust the Weimar Republic.

18. 17-Across option: LAGER - Löwenbrau certainly made a LAGER beer even then

19. "Winners Take All" author Giridharadas: ANAND ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  and 2. Polish humanitarian Sendler: IRENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  The makings of my Natick.

     

20. Wife of Osiris: ISIS.

22. Drooping: LIMP.

23. Sea dogs: TARS.

24. Caterpillar counterparts: DEERES - This John DEERE starts at $1.2M before options

26. Dandy: FOP.

27. Following a pattern, perhaps: ORDERLY.

28. "Sorry, did I overshare?": TMI.

29. End one's Dry January, say: IMBIBE.

33. Rational process?: MEAL PREP - Rational meal prep combines smart planning (stocking up, mapping meals, focusing on protein/leftovers) with efficient cooking, often using technology.

35. Demeanors: MIENS - I see MIEN and its lovely vowels here more often than anywhere else

36. Potential reward for a top-seeded team: BYE - The top four rated teams get a BYE in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. In the last two years those teams with a week off have  a 1 - 7 record.

37. Danish fruit: PRUNE 😀 - That is only one filling option for the pastry known as a danish. They are so named because Danish bakers brought them to America. In Denmark they were known as wienerbrød (Vienna Bread).

 

38. They may trick or treat?: PLACEBOS 😀

40. Excel at another company?: SHEETS 😀

41. Guitar legend Paul: LES.

42. Tangy ramen toppers: SOY EGGS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. NYC setting: EST.

45. Fill a flat?: SUBLET - 😀 I abandoned any use of the word air quickly 

46. The "A" of NATO: ALFA - Putting AMER first did not help. Once I changed that mistake the whole SE corner filled in.

50. Note givers: ATMS.

52. First U.S. president to own a car: TAFT -The 1909 Model M is at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, Massachusetts.

 

53. Clear as day: PLAIN.

54. Like a flue: SOOTY.

56. "I'm dead serious!": NO FOOLING.

58. Over: ENDED.

59. Parts in two?: DUAL ROLES - I had a huge crush on Haley Mills in her DUAL ROLES in 1961

60. Considers: DEEMS.

61. Works outside?: STREET ART - Works is a noun here. ART came first in the fill for me.

Down:

1. North African capital: RABAT - Casablanca was the movie but RABAT is the capital of Morocco. Anyone else put Cairo first?

3. Bad mark: SMEAR.

4. Brings in: EARNS.

5. Med. condition treated with Vyvanse: ADHD.

6. "The Last Showgirl" director Coppola: GIA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

7. Together: ALLIED.

8. Comment after a bad joke: I'LL SEE MYSELF OUT 😀

9. Folksy denial: NO SIRREE.

10. Short address: URL.

11. Toll: PEAL 😀

12. "That would break the internet!": BIG IF TRUE 😀 If Abe had really said this...

13. "Be right with you": ONE MOMENT.

14. Mario Bros. transports: WARP PIPES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

21. Ward in movies: SELA - How old am I? I put Ward BOND first.

24. Beats by __: DRE

 

25. Spirits of the air: SYLPHS.

27. Go deep, say: OBSESS.

29. "That makes me happy": I'M PLEASED.

30. Solid foods for a baby, e.g.: MILESTONE - The "potty trained" MILESTONE is monumental!

31. Competitive athletic state, colloquially: BEAST MODE - We had this a few Saturdays ago.

32. Business end?: INC.

34. School opening?: PRE.

36. Focus of the 2024 miniseries "Dirty Pop": BOY BANDS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

39. Spell: BOUT - I had a 10-day BOUT with a cold around Christmas 

40. Mil. rank: SGT - I had to muster out CPL, CAP and COL

43. Win at life: GET FAR.

46. Divvy up: ALLOT - The end of every family get together is the "divvy up" session for leftovers

47. Boxer Ali: LAILA - Here with dad.

48. Less coarse: FINER.

49. Inner turmoil: ANGST.

51. Academic acronym: STEM.

53. Toner target: PORE.

55. Passing concern, for short?: YDS - I, uh, passed on INT and TDS

57. Estádio do Maracanã cheer: OLE - The Estádio do Maracanã stadium is in Rio and OLE celebrates soccer goals rather than bull fighting success.

Saturday, December 20, 2025, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa

Rafael is a frequent constructor from Patti's coterie (how 'bout that word?) and is often seen paired with Rebecca Goldstein who had a nice Thursday puzzle this week. Rafa is a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco.

I could stare at that red cell below until the proverbial cows come home and would never get it, so I'll take one bad cell and, as Taylor Swift would sing, Shake It Off.

Across:

1. Florentine political dynasty: MEDICI - The MEDICI family were the main patrons of Galileo and supported much of his work.

7. Posters that are usually ignored: SPAMBOTS.

15. Transfer: IRON ON - Mom IRONED ON a big Superman IRON transfer for 10-yr-old me and it was my favorite shirt for many years.

16. Music genre that originated in 1930s Shanghai: MANDO POP - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A mix of Mandarin and Western music.  Origin and an example of it today.

17. Confection: BONBON.

18. Cold look: ICY STARE.

19. Put away: STOW.

20. Bajo opposite: ALTO - I always think of Baj(a) California (lower california) and Palo ALTO (tall stick), CA.

21. Meathead: CLOD.

22. Federal holiday since 2021: JUNETEENTH.

25. Secondary account, informally: FINSTA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  You might create a FINSTA (fake instagram account) along with your RINSTA (real instagram account) to share more freely with a small group of friends. It's a way to post silly memes, inside jokes, and unfiltered thoughts without worrying about your public image. 

26. Revolutionary outcomes, often: NEW ERAS - Mao's Cultural Revolution brought a NEW ERA to China and he tried hard to eliminate Mandopop and other "Western cultural trash". BTW, Taylor Swift has a huge following in China today.

30. Stick around the TSA line: WAND 😀

31. Meddle: PRY.

33. In profile: SIDE ON - You might have some miles on your tires to recognize this famous profile. (*answer at bottom of write-up). BTW, I don't anyone who knew FINSTA would get this famous profile.

34. Cancel: NIX.

35. Vegan baking ingredient made with ground seeds: CHIA EGG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Egg substitutes 

37. __ Jayawardenepura Kotte: urban area near Colombo: SRI - This suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka is usually just referred to as Kotte. Be sure to get a tee shirt at the gift shop.

                                           

38. Scrub Daddy competitor: BRILLO.

40. Greeting often followed by "Como vai?": OLA - "How are you?" and "Hello" in Portugese 

41. Smith of "House of the Dragon": MATT - I wonder if Rafa even knows the name Gunsmoke's MATT Dillon

42. Flabbergast: ASTOUND.

44. Tame __: "The Slow Rush" band: IMPALA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  but it just kept filling itself in

46. Find peace: FEEL AT EASE.

48. Abbr. in some titles: ASST.

51. Workers' residence: HIVE 😀

52. Crash site org.: NTSB - The National Transportation Safety Board examines a damaged aircraft in Philadelphia

54. Like some hair products: TWO IN ONE.

56. Amused sound: TEE HEE.

58. Thing that's handled badly: MISNOMER - A handle can be called a name for something so a misnomer could be Koala Bear (is a marsupial not a bear), a peanut is a legume (not a nut), lead pencils (they use graphite), etc.

59. Wading birds with powder down: HERONS - Not EGRETS this time

60. Exhaustive analysis?: SMOG TEST.

61. New money?: CRYPTO - 😀 What I know about CRYPTO could be put in here

Down:

1. Sci-fi franchise starring Will Smith: MIB - Men In Black

2. Cherubic deity: EROS.

3. "You'll bring us bad luck!": DONT JINX IT.

4. Like some rush-hour traffic: INBOUND.

5. Shares responsibility, in a way: COOWNS.

6. Stonewall __: INN - The site of a 1969 riot that launched the gay rights movement 

7. Katy Perry album with the single "Cry About It Later": SMILE.

8. Old name of a gp. that now has two members: PAC TEN - All the schools left and only lOregon State and Washington State remained

9. Impossible to call: ANYONE'S GAME - Tie score in the ninth inning...

10. Physical performers, for short: MDS 😀

11. Made a mess of: BOTCHED.

12. Gem for a Libra: OPAL - Ruby is the only other 4-letter birthstone

13. Sushi bar cut: TORO.

14. Tore: SPED.

20. Game company that released a 50th anniversary bundle in 2022: ATARI.

23. Classic movie line uttered while pointing out the window: ET PHONE HOME.

24. Bit of kindling: TWIG.

25. The Big E et al.: FAIRS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

27. Old stock market: RESALE SHOP.

28. Left ventricle outlet: AORTA.

29. Foul mood: SNIT.

30. Dream realm?: WNBA.

32. Former Rocket Ming: YAO - His wife is 6' 3" but he is 7' 6"

35. Fingerprint, maybe: CLUE.

36. Select few: ELITE.

39. Hitting up: LOFTING - That'll get them away from the net

41. Proficiency: MASTERY.

43. Tackling groups, for short: D-LINES - a famous one played in Pittsburgh in the 70's

45. Saag __: spinach dish with cheese: PANEER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'll bet you can get this in Jayawardenepura Kotte

47. Stave off: AVERT.

48. PIN-points: ATMS.

49. Make waves, say: SWIM.

50. Shrugworthy: SO SO.

53. Dog-eared, say: BENT - Don't let the librarian catch you 😊

55. "__ cool!": NOT.

56. Compound in some edibles: THC - The hilarious day everyone in Grey's Anatomy ate cookies that were laced wtih marijuana (active ingreint is  (Tetra Hydro Cannabinol) (5:58)

57. Spanish pronoun: ESO -  Paul Anka's ESO Besso (Ooo That Kiss) always saves me. here.

*That famous SIDE ON profile is of Alfred Hitchcock and was used at the start of his 60's TV show

Jess Rucks, a crossword constructor, whose puzzles I have blogged many times, contacted me via FaceBook to meet in Lincoln for dinner on Friday night as she was driving from Colorado Springs to her hometown in Minnesota. We met at Lazlo’s Restaurant and had a very pleasant evening. Here is a picture of me and Jess. As you might imagine from the picture, she played D1 volleyball at New Mexico but not so obviously she later served as an Urdu translator for the Air Force. Besides being brilliant, she also has a wonderful sense of humor!