Sunday July 12, 2025 Rebecca Goldstein

Theme:  "Sultans of Swing" - The last word of each theme entry is Major League Baseball team player. The first word are all synonyms of "great".

22. Massive, luminous body larger than the sun: SUPER GIANT.

28. Mighty Morphin figure of 1990s television: POWER RANGER.

42. Senior position at a taproom: MASTER BREWER.

68. Pickpocket in "Oliver Twist": THE ARTFUL DODGER.

96. Easy charge for a babysitter: PERFECT ANGEL.

112. High-voltage fish: ELECTRIC RAY.

122. Athlete in the Midsummer Classic, or what can be found six times in this puzzle?: MLB ALL- STAR.

We've seen many baseball themes in the past. None with such tightness, hallmark of Rebecca's puzzles. Three from each league, nicely balanced.

The fill are also outstanding. We don't often see pair of 13s as fill. 

Across:

1. Call back?: ECHO.

5. Fake gems: PASTE. It's a type of glass used to imitate gemstones, especially diamonds. Learning moment for me.

10. Sorts: ILKS.

14. __ white: espresso bar order: FLAT.

18. Lose: DROP.

19. Ramadan faith: ISLAM.

20. Hi-fi sound: MONO.

21. Turn red in the face: BLUSH.

24. Futurist: SEER.

25. Salary bump: RAISE.

26. Eat by candlelight, maybe: DINE.

27. Show that celebrated 50 seasons in 2025, for short: SNL.

30. __ Geo Wild: NAT.

32. Nepal neighbor: TIBET. Momos are popular there. Steamed dumplings.

34. Chemical in pretzel-making: LYE.

35. Evening, in ads: NITE.

36. Colorful pattern: TIE DYE.

39. Tuna roll seaweed: NORI.

40. Wasting time: IDLE.

44. Final stretches of a race: LAST LEGS. Also loved: 94. "Love that!": VERY COOL. 10. Words said with a yawn: I'M SO TIRED. 13. "Well, excu-use me!": SORRY I ASKED 14. Warm button-ups with checkered patterns: FLANNEL SHIRTS. 43. Source of some dirt: RUMOR MILL. 44. Big wheel on the Thames: LONDON EYE. 54. Lucky numbers, maybe: LOTTERY TICKET. 

48. Reddit Q&A: AMA.

49. __ Dhabi: ABU.

50. Six in a million?: ZEROS. 1,000,000.

52. Makeup mogul Lauder: ESTEE.

53. Area: REALM.

56. Urban haze: SMOG.

59. Musty: DANK.

60. Maui's __ Highway: HANA.

61. Selling points?: AD COPY. Ah, OK, selling points of a product.

63. Cincinnati's state: OHIO. 

65. Thought: IDEA.

67. Article: ITEM.

72. Hoist: HEFT.

75. Sneaker brand named for a big cat: PUMA. Loving my Asics Versablast. Light and comfy. 

76. Typical college applicant: TEEN.

77. Groups of eight: OCTETS.

81. Merriness: GLEE.

82. Force: DINT.

84. Double Stuf cookie: OREO.

86. Actor Davis: OSSIE.

87. Princess topper: TIARA.

89. Homeric epic: ILIAD.

91. Decade's 10: Abbr.: YRS.

93. St. known for spuds: IDA.

101. Oven setting, briefly: TEMP.

102. Airline whose name comes from the Book of Hosea: EL AL. Didn't know this trivia. 

103. New York PWHL team: SIRENS. Professional Women's Hockey League. Our team is Minnesota Frost, the champion last year. 

104. __-glace: rich sauce: DEMI.

107. Clicking sound?: AHA. 129. Class struggle?: TEST. Won't mislead our regulars. 

109. Grannies: NANAS.

111. Lip: RIM.

115. Sir McKellen: IAN.

117. Ages and ages: AEON.

120. Common sound at Oktoberfest: POLKA.

121. Main role: LEAD.

125. Decided: OPTED.

126. "You are something __!": ELSE.

127. "__ beaucoup": MERCI.

128. Sports commentator Andrews: ERIN.

130. Depletes: SAPS.

131. "25" and "30" singer: ADELE.

132. Den fixture: SOFA.

Down:

1. MS reviewers: EDS.

2. Gunk: CRUD.

3. Arizona Natives: HOPI.

4. Opportunity to score: OPEN NET.

5. "Some __": message in "Charlotte's Web": PIG. From Wikipedia: When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered, Charlotte writes messages in her web praising him, such as "Some Pig", "Terrific", "Radiant", and "Humble", to persuade the farmer to spare his life. Some Pig, Splynter!

6. "Take it or leave it" warning: AS IS.

7. Tilt: SLANT.

8. Beach body feature?: TAN LINE. Another great clue.

9. AED user: EMT.

11. Cinematic surname: LOEW.

12. Use a prayer mat, e.g.: KNEEL.

15. Mario's brother: LUIGI.

16. Plus: ASSET.

17. Word after a final touch: THERE.

21. Wireless support, maybe: BRA.

23. Apt surname for a librarian: READE.

28. Rosie of "The Flight Attendant": PEREZ.

29. Wine menu heading: REDS.

31. Supermodel Banks: TYRA.

33. Acknowledge a standing ovation, maybe: BOW.

36. Under control: TAMED.

37. Designer Mizrahi: ISAAC. He had some great collections with Target for a few years.

38. Falls back: EBBS.

41. Wireless std.: LTE.

42. Rooney of "Carol": MARA.

45. Coup d'__: ETAT.

46. Chromosome unit: GENE.

47. Jeans line: SEAM.

51. Las Vegas athlete: RAIDER.

55. Highway letters: MPH.

57. Two-way player nicknamed "Shotime": OHTANI. Boomer had his rookie card.

58. Many a moving meme: GIF.

62. "Mm-hmm": YEP.

64. One of six in an inning: OUT.

66. A long time __: AGO.

69. Good listeners?: AUDIOPHILES. Great fill/clue also.

70. Virgo preceder: LEO.

71. Prefix with tourism: ECO.

72. "Property Brothers" network: HGTV.

73. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE.

74. Dread: FEAR.

78. Endorse digitally: E-SIGN.

79. Water ways?: TIDES.

80. Shut tight: SEAL.

83. Some tapas spreads: TAPENADES. Never had this. 

85. Middle-earth monsters: ORCS.

88. King topper: ACE.

90. Hold up: DELAY.

92. Mix: STIR.

95. Actor Epps: OMAR.

97. Took off: RAN.

98. Moved like an inflatable air dancer: FLAILED.

99. Standard font: ARIAL.

100. Sworn rivals: NEMESES.

104. Bus base: DEPOT.

105. Complete a private merger?: ELOPE.

106. Cheesy sandwiches: MELTS.

108. Amtrak option: ACELA.

110. Buffalo skater: SABRE.

113. Skosh: TAD.

114. Croak: RASP.

116. Chemist's salt: NACL.

118. Other, in Spanish: OTRO.

119. Inexperienced sort: NAIF.

122. UFC sport: MMA.

123. Tell tales: LIE.

124. Molecule in some vaccines: RNA.

C.C.

 

Saturday, June 7, 2025, Rafael Musa & Rebecca Goldstein

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa & Rebecca Goldstein

I skated around with gradual success and then I wound up with one empty cell which you can see

in red at the right. I wrestled with what letter would work in that cell that began two unkown-to-me words and correctly guessed the L. I was so pleasantly surprised to get the congratulations message. I'll take a "got 'er done!"

These puzzles make me abandon my concrete ideas about language and force me to interchange nouns for verbs or vice versa.We solvers also have to access less common definitions for words. That is part of the frustration fun!!

Across:

1. Option for keeping travel plans on track?: TRAIN - Plan B leapt to my mind before "track" made the correct fill obvious

6. Band: GANG and 13. Band: POSSE.

10. Influential lobbying org.: AARP.

14. Goat rodeo: HULLABALOO - A goat rodeo is a slang term for something going totally, unbelievably, disastrously wrong, and there's nothing left to do but to sit back and watch the trainwreck.

16. "See ya!": CIAO.

17. "Seems legit": I BELIEVE IT.

18. Dip targets, for short: TRIS - His TRICEPS are pretty easy to see!

19. __ ed: SEX.

20. Dens: LAIRS.

21. Stop and yield: SIGNS - Usual verbs become nouns

22. Scary stories?: HAUNTED HOUSE - This one has three stories 😀

24. Amusement park ride: GO KART.

27. Téa of "Madam Secretary": LEONI.

28. __-garde: AVANT - On clearance at Kohl's 😀

29. Try something new: SHAKE IT UP.

33. Get the band back together?: WELD - If your band is broken...

34. Luxury fashion house founded in Madrid: LOEWE - The eponymous shirt below goes for $990!

35. Starchy element in some bubble tea: TARO.

36. Season openers: PREMIERES - That last E was a speed bump.

38. At a loss for words?: TERSE.

39. Wassail ingredient: CIDER.

40. First sentence of a book written with only 50 distinct words: I AM SAM.

41. Chicken: SCAREDY PANTS.

45. Features of some loyalty programs: TIERS.

46. Inapt rhyme for "first": WORST 😀 The Royals first World Series win was in 1985 after many years of being usually WORST 

47. "Hilarious": HAH and 30. Part of a giggle: HEE.

50. Further: ALSO.

51. When many abandon ship: SHORE LEAVE 😀 - In Honolulu just before heading out to fight the Japanese during WWII

53. Exclamation from someone refusing to buy something: LIAR 

54. Move that can plump accent pillows: KARATE CHOP 😀

55. Feature of some Disney headgear: EARS - Some other EARS can be found in Disney's famous Hidden Mickeys around the properties.

56. Minute: ITSY - Yeah, I put TINY first.

57. "The Goldfinch" novelist Tartt: DONNA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

Down:

1. That isn't it: THIS 😀

2. Goldberg who won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning: RUBE.

 

3. "Call Her Daddy" podcaster Cooper: ALEX - She signed a contract with Spotify for $60M

4. Not 100%: ILL.

5. Some digital displays: NAIL ART - Oh, those digits!

6. First name in California politics: GAVIN.

7. At the ready: ALERT.

8. Public hearing guidelines?: NOISE LAWS - For Arlington, VA

9. "A Song of Ice and Fire" show, colloquially: GOT.

10. Meeting points?: ACTION ITEMS - AGENDA ITEMS? Not so much.

11. Imaginary instruments: AIR GUITARS 😀

12. Causes delays, perhaps: RAINS.

15. Stunner: BEAUT.

21. Something dropped in an idiom about inevitability: SHOE 😀

22. Portable self-checkout devices?: HAND MIRRORS 😀

23. Wild maneuver?: DEKE - Now this is a wild DEKE!

24. Stare stupidly, to a Brit: GAWP 

gawp

/ɡôp/

verb

INFORMAL•BRITISH

1. stare openly in a stupid or rude manner.

   "what are you gawping at ?"

   
   

25. Completed: OVER.

26. Salad whose main ingredient may be massaged: KALE CAESAR - The massage helps break down the tougher parts of the raw KALE

 

29. "Excuse me!?": SORRY WHAT.

31. Astronomical bear: URSA.

32. Sapphic work: POEM - Sappho was an influential ancient Greek poet from the island of Lesbos whose passionate, emotional lyric poetry about intimacy between women led to the term “sapphic” and the island itself becoming associated with female homoeroticism. More about this

34. Green building cert.: LEED - Leadership in Energy and Enviromental Design ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

37. Portentous day: IDES.

38. Told a grown-up, say: TATTLED.

40. Like Alaska, often: INSET.

41. Left out overnight, maybe: STALE.

42. Fine hairs: CILIA.

43. Standard partner?: POORS.

44. Data structure in computer science: ARRAY - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In computer science, an array is a data structure consisting of a collection of elements (values or variables), of same memory size, each identified by at least one array index or key, a collection of which may be a tuple, known as an index tuple.  Yeah, I knew that! 😀

47. "Agatha All Along" star Kathryn: HAHN - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

48. River associated with Shakespeare: AVON.

49. __ filter: HEPA.

51. Common sight at oversized baggage pickup areas: SKI.

52. Prefix with hotel or tourist: ECO - Ion Adventure Hotel, Iceland. Taking up residence in an abandoned building of the nearby geothermal power plant, the hotel was sustainable from inception and continues to be today. With sinks made from old tyres and furniture from recycled wood, it repurposes materials in an eco-friendly way.