Saturday, August 29, 2026, Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa

Rafael

Geoffrey

This is my 3rd collaborative puzzle I have had with these transcontinental constructors. I was very pleased to earn a "got 'er done" and really enjoyed some of the cluing and fill. 

Birds of a feather: Rafael is a software engineer for Airbnb in S.F.  and Geoffrey is a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta. 

Across:

1. Chance to refuel after a run: APRES SKI - Oh, APRES (after) a SKI run! 

9. Cruelty-free target of poaching: PEAR. 😀

13. Contributes to: GOES IN ON.

14. Ncuti who plays the Fifteenth Doctor: GATWA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15. Mobile vendor?: APP STORE. 😀 The vendor is not mobile, the device for which it is intended is mobile 

16. Extravagant: WANTON.

17. Chiang Mai residents: THAIS - Chiang Mai is the name a city in NW Thailand that is also the capital of the Chiang Mai province.

 

18. Bath bomb component: EPSOM SALT.

20. Place that's all abuzz: HIVE.

21. The Refined Feline purchase, perhaps: CAT TREE.

22. Did brunch, say: ATE.

23. Like crosswords, hopefully: FUN.

24. Vicuòa kin: ALPACAS.

28. Folks who are so last yr.: SRS 😀

29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America 

30. Pilots on the air: SERIES PREMIERES - Can you name these pilots that became regular SERIES after this PREMIERE. * Answer at bottom

34. Conflict involving customs: TRADE WAR.

35. Y as in Yucatan?: AND - One of my all time favorite clues! The letter Y is Spanish serves as the conjunction AND and Spanish is certainly spoken in Yucatan. 

C.C. Y yo somos amigos desde hace años. (C.C. and I have been friends for years). Even after I had AND filled in, it took a small bolt of lightning for me to get it! DOH!

36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.

37. On point: APT.

38. Deg. from Goizueta: MBA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

41. Causes a scene?: DIRECTS - He directed many a memorable scene.

43. Snippy: CURT.

44. Physical procedure?: BLOOD DRAW 😀

47. Husk-steamed fare: TAMAL - Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal (plural: tamales ). The English "tamale" is a back-formation from tamales. You're welcome.

Here is a TAML on a plate with 
some tamales in the background

48. Freshens, in a way: REDOES.

49. New York university: COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA is about 4 miles north of Ground Zero

51. Swears: AVERS.

52. Cutesy name for the squishy parts of a paw: TOE BEANS.

53. Trash: DISS.

54. High-minded one: IDEALIST.

Down: 

1. Name on a literary award: AGATHA - The Agatha Awards are annual literary prizes named after AGATHA Christie and present by Malic Domestic Ltd to honor traditioanal "cozy" mystery and crime fiction. These are books featuring no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence. 

2. Chart-topper: POP HIT.

3. Fix a lot, say: REPAVE - Uh, perhaps a parking lot

4. Polish brand: ESSIE.

5. Takes a load off: SITS.

6. __-Cat: SNO.

7. Like gochujang and jjimjilbang: KOREAN - The former is a culinary item and second is a bathhouse. 

  

8. Bumbling: INEPT.

9. With a crispy crust, say: PAN-SEARED.

10. Piedmont blues guitarist Baker: ETTA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

11. Unaccounted for, for short: AWOL.

12. Tirade: RANT.

14. Important part of a set: GAME POINT - Unusual tennis scoring for a game is 15, 30, 40, GAME POINT. You win the set if you win 6 games (7 games if there is OT). Tennis peeps will understand this scoreboard:

16. Country homes?: WORLD MAPS 😀

19. Played out: STALE - Same old, same old

21. Swears: CUSS WORDS - Producer David O. Selznick fought the censors hard in 1939 to get this word into one of the most famous lines in film history. 

23. Full scholarships, informally: FREE RIDES.

25. Mercury or Saturn: CAR.

26. Gator tail?: ADE.

27. Short cry for help: SOS.

28. Means of indirect access: SIDE DOORS.

29. Stray: ERR.

30. Femme canonisée: Abbr.: STE - The abbr. for a French female saint (Femme canonisée) is STE

31. Hesitant sound: ERM.

32. Art form that originated in the Bronx: RAP.

33. Knife block insert: PARER.

37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.

 

38. Capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra: MUMBAI - Originally MUMBAI, Portuguese Bombain, British BOMBAY, Back to MUMBAI to get rid of all British influence in 1995.

39. Processing centers?: BRAINS - Some process better than others.

40. "About dang time!": AT LAST - Nobody does it better than our cwd friend Etta James.

42. Sustainable landscaping options: CACTI.

43. __ Up: board game with a desert motif: CAMEL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. Slender fastener: BRAD.

45. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI - Of all their great tunes, this is my fav.

           LEVI

46. Some Olds works: ODES - Sharon's ODE to Dirt

47. Polka horn: TUBA.

50. Suni honored with the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025: LEE.

 

*Friends     Big Bang Theory     Golden Girls     Seinfeld

Saturday, July 11, 2026, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa

Rafa, a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco. is a frequent constructor and collaborator. I started out looking for an on ramp and found several in the west columns and before I knew it, the entire west side was done. From ther, I was able to get up to speed and his lovely puzzle was done. I'll comment on some of Rafa's more clever entries as I blog. 

Across

1. Bernardine Evaristo's "Girl, Woman, __": OTHER - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Published in 2019, exploring identity, race, class, sexuality, and the history of modern Britain across multiple generations.

     

6. Selfish kinds: HOGS.

10. "Get lost!": SCAT.

14. "Fingers crossed!": I HOPE SO TOO.

16. Not one __: IOTA.

17. Where classes proceed on a case-by-case basis: LAW SCHOOLS 😀

18. "Oh, fudge": RATS.

19. Strong showing from 2012 to 2022, for short?: SNL - 😀 Capitalizing strong as the first word of the clue did not give away that it was a name.

Cicely Strong

20. Hole up: HIDEOUT.

22. Hissed admonishment: SHH.

23. Aired: RAN.

24. Southern brew: SWEET TEA.

26. Revenue metric: AD SALES - This ad, thought to be one of the best ever, announced the release of MacIntosh computers. It aired during the 1984 Super Bowl and generated huge initial sales. This entire 1984 ad

30. Matters of course?: MEALS 😀

31. Area most people can't stand to be in: CRAWL SPACE - Yeesh!

34. Handy accessory?: MITT 😀 - Early baseball players were considered to be "unmanly" if they wore a glove or mitt. Modern players now wear fielding, batting and sliding gloves.

36. Cares for: TENDS.

37. Foofaraw: ADO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Island west of Maui: LANAI.

39. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE.

40. Ding, maybe: E-MAIL ALERT 😀

42. Exams that begin with a Chemical and Physical Foundations section, for short: MCATS - My grandson passed his with flying colors but his roommate failed twice.

44. Ends up behind: LOSES TO.

45. Fried Mexican dishes: CHALUPAS.

48. "Yellowstone" star Bentley: WES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

49. Todos __ días: every day, in Spanish: LOS - Hago el crucigrama todos LOS días. (I work the crossword everyday.)

50. Rep who is also the parent of a child star, perhaps: MOMAGER - Rosalind Russell played one of the first ones in this wonderful movie.

52. __ Fridays: TGI.

55. Lincoln, e.g.: AUTO - Here's the Lincoln Lawyer in one. One story arc concerned a dead body found in the trunk of that Lincoln.

57. Major annoyances: ROYAL PAINS.

59. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo: ISLA.

60. Defend aggressively: TRIPLE TEAM.

Steph Curry getting TRIPLE TEAMED

61. Convene: MEET.

62. Solidifies: SETS.

63. Creates a cozy home: NESTS.

Down:

1. Works in a museum: OILS - Our wonderful puzzle constructor Jeffrey Wechsler was an art curator who worked in a museum curating works therein. 

2. Comparison word: THAN - A beautiful Peruvian folk melody with lyrics by Paul Simon. Enjoy!

3. React to a riot, maybe: HOWL - A great comedian can make you do this

4. Short releases: EPS - Elvis made several with four songs on each.

5. Pool areas?: REC HALLS 😀

6. Under the __: HOOD.

7. Missouri River people: OTOES.

8. Play dirty: GO LOW - There are penalties in football for blocking below the waist 

9. "What are you gonna do about it?": SO SUE ME. 😀

10. Title for David Attenborough: SIR.

11. Areas affected by current events: COASTLINES.😀

12. Initially: AT THE START.

13. Gospel singer Cobbs: TASHA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

15. Lights up: SHINES.

21. Top choice: TEE - Many of my tops are TEE shirts with the NASA meatball on them

23. Short end of the stick: RAW DEAL.

25. Traditional Christmas fare for some Latinos: TAMALES.

26. Panto units: ACTS - Panto is short for pantomime 

27. Three-story abode in Barbie pink: DREAM HOUSE.

28. Structure affected by current events: SAND CASTLE 😀

29. Musubi meat: SPAM - A Hawaiian snack. It revealed itself.

32. Statute mandating curb cuts, for short: ADA.

33. Feature of type 4 hair: COIL - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

35. Bandleader Puente: TITO.

38. Pocket-size pointer: LASER PEN - I used mine a lot in my "lectures"

40. Field for a competitive Valorant player: E-SPORTS.

41. Former mill town in the Boston metro area: LOWELL.

43. Belly: TUM.

45. Progressive request: CLAIM 😀

46. Subject for Elena Ferrante: AMORE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A pseudonym for an Italian author who prefers anonymity

  

47. "Stop beating around the bush!": SAY IT.

51. Concerns for some orthodontists: GAPS.

52. Connections: TIES.

53. Minor annoyance: GNAT.

54. Belief systems: ISMS.

56. __ latte: OAT.

58. Put away: ATE.

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to CanadianEh!, one of our longtime blog family members. She's been with us since 2012. I hope your day is filled with fun, laughter, and all your favorite things. Thank you for the kindness, insight, and thoughtful contributions you've shared with us over the years!