Thursday May 7, 2026 Zachary David Levy

Zachary David Levy is a man with a plan. We last saw him here a few months ago in January with "Speak Up," another synonym theme where words spelled upwards on the grid.

The master plan becomes clear with the revealer:

37. "Let's do this thing!," or what can be said about each set of circles in this puzzle: SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. The circled letters create made-up sound-alikes for words that mean PLAN. They all can fill in the blank, "What is your ____?" 

17. Some tissue in the central nervous system: GRAY MATTER. AYM sounds like AIM.

23. Quantum mechanics phenomenon: SUPER POSITION. PERPOS sounds like PURPOSE. For those of you that aren't physicists, a SUPER POSITION is the principle that physical systems can exist in multiple states, locations, or configurations simultaneously. Got it?

47. Sweet and tart fruit drink: MANGO LEMONADE. GOL sounds like GOAL.

58. Therapeutic canopy for some respiratory ailments: OXYGEN TENT. ENTENT sounds like INTENT.

I don't mind circles, but I'm bad at anagrams. However, the first one was easy, only three letters - either MAY or YAM. Now I'm looking for months or tubers. When I couldn't unscramble PERPOS, I figured it must be some foreign name I'd never heard of. Fortunately, the revealer came up in the middle and saved me from tearing my hair out on the rest of them. No anagrams, just imaginary homophones for synonyms of "PLAN". And you have to use your imagination to see beyond their spelling to hopefully pronounce them correctly. So, this puzzle was OKAY, although like last Thursday, it seems a bit easy for this late in the week.

Let's see how his strategy plays out:

Across:

1. Hajj destination: MECCA.

6. Foxtrot follower: GOLF. Actually, after the Foxtrot came the Charleston. But in this case, the letters "F" and "G" are from the NATO alphabet. 

10. Took off: LEFT.

14. Brilliance: ECLAT. ÉCLAT (pronounced "ay-KLAH") is a French term meaning doing something with great style.

15. Actress Taylor-Joy: ANYA. I liked ANYA in The Queens' Gambit, then was disappointed in The Gorge. She and a single Russian counterpart are tasked with protecting all of mankind from unknown evils that reside in a gorge. With humanity at stake, wouldn't you assign more than two people to do this?

16. Land division: ACRE. Land division: GORGE. 

17. [theme]

19. Brit's trunk: BOOT. Britt's trunk: BOOTY.

Brittany Spears

20. Not to be trusted, in slang: SUS. I SUSpect this sounds SUSpicious.

21. Condo gp.: HOA. HomeOwners Association.

22. Elusive picture book character: WALDO. Hiding in plain sight was a skill he learned as a child when there were chores to do.

Waldo, please take out the trash. Waldo? Waldo!

23. [theme]

28. Frozen gutter problem: ICE DAM. Not a problem in Florida.

30. "Saturday Night Live" unit: SKIT. "Saturday Night Live" is abbreviated SNL. Oh wait, it's usually the other way around.

31. "Ditto": SO DO I.

32. Not great, say: OKAY.

34. Sanskrit title of respect: SRI.

37. [theme]

41. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Mont Blanc, e.g.: PEN.

42. Mystery writer Buchanan: EDNA. In addition to crime novelist, EDNA is a journalist who won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting "for her versatile and consistently excellent police beat reporting."

43. Lego unit: BRICK.

44. Yogurt bowl berry: ACAI.

46. Homes: ABODES.

47. [theme]

52. Not of this world: ALIEN.

53. Messy class, often: ART. I've noticed that many artistic people seem to thrive in organized mess.

54. Uno y uno: DOS. 1+1=2 lección de matemáticas (math lesson in Spanish). 

57. __ diagram: VENN.

58. [theme]

62. Board VIP: EXEC. An EXECutive is a Very Important Person, or so they think.

63. McEntire of country: REBA. REBA, also known as "The Queen of Country," has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. She's had over 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with 25 reaching number one. In spite of all that, she seems very down-to-earth.

She's a real VIP.

64. Italian bowling game: BOCCE. It's like curling without the ice!

65. __ a soul: NARY.

66. Tree of Knowledge location: EDEN.

67. A bit off: ASKEW. Just look up "RustyBrain" in the dictionary.

Down:

1. Gig segments: MEGS. My first thought was SETS, as in a band playing music for the evening. But this is a computer reference to Gigabytes which are made up of 1000 Megabytes.

2. Earth tone: ECRU.

3. Brought elegance to: CLASSED UP. It's what happens when I walk into any joint. So I'm told.

4. Sandy island: CAY. Same as a key. 

5. Outer bank?: ATM. Nice clue. Automated Teller Machine.

6. "Later, __!": GATOR. In a while, crocodile!

7. Ready to go: ON TAP.

8. NaOH, more familiarly: LYE. RightBrain took a break from perfecting sourdough breads and decided to try her hand at Bavarian pretzels. The recipe called for soaking them in LYE (sodium hydroxide), just like bagels. It's highly caustic so she made a baking soda bath instead, but if used, the LYE will break down in the oven. 

The knots were hard to do...but they tasted great!

9. Not walkable, say: FAR.

10. Canadian brewery: LABATT. LABATT is now part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev family.

11. Cause of some food poisoning: E. COLI.

12. Baggins of the Shire: FRODO. This also could have been Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is Bilbo's second cousin, once removed, but Bilbo affectionately considers him a nephew.

13. "Grand" peak visible from eastern Idaho: TETON.

18. "Standing right here!": AHEM. "You know I can hear you, right?"

22. Mario Kart platform: WII. WII was a popular Nintendo gaming console discontinued in 2013. It lives on here because it has two "I"s. Like most of us.

24. Soba alternative: UDON. UDON and soba are staple Japanese noodles with distinct differences: Udon is thick, chewy, and white (wheat-based), while soba is thin, earthy, and brownish (buckwheat-based).

25. No longer in arrears: PAID.

26. Port city east of Kobe: OSAKA.

27. __ terrier: SKYE. SKYE Terriers were originally bred in the 1600s on Scotland's Isle of Skye to protect farms and livestock by hunting and killing predators, such as foxes and badgers. Their low-slung, sturdy bodies,, tough, long double coats, and fierce, intelligent nature allowed them to tackle prey and thrive in harsh, rocky Scottish weather.

28. Actress Rae: ISSA. ISSA Rae is an Emmy-nominated actress, writer, producer, director and entrepreneur. And she has lots of usable letters in her name.

29. Refrigerate: COOL.

32. Tune rarely played on Top 40 radio: OLDIE. Unfortunately, every song I used to listen to on Top 40 radio is now an oldie. I wonder what that says about me?

33. Family: KIN.

34. PowerPoint file, essentially: SLIDE DECK.  I wanted SLIDE SHOW.

35. Zoom: RACE.

36. Signs, as a contract: INKS.

38. Animal that goes with the floe?: SEAL. Winner: Best Clue.

39. "Fernando" band: ABBA. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden, and 400 million albums later...

ABBA won singing "Waterloo"

40. Egg on: PROD.

44. Ability to shape one's own future: AGENCY.

45. Fleece: CON.

46. Poker stake: ANTE.

47. Whiz: MAVEN.

48. Wrestler Bliss known as "Five Feet of Fury": ALEXA. What made her furious was her Amazon Echo that answered every time someone called her.

49. West Coast NFLer: NINER. The San Franciso 49ers, named after the thousands of prospectors who flocked to Northern California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. "Dwelt a miner, forty-NINER..."

50. "It's always possible": MAYBE.

51. Church fixture: ORGAN. I love the massive sound of a pipe organ in a large church. And if one ever breaks, call 1-800-SPLYNTER.

55. __ in a while: ONCE.

56. Hearty bowlful: STEW.

58. Seam contents: ORE.

59. Crossed (out): XED. "X" is often used as shorthand for "cross," as in xwords.

60. Org. for Jazz quintets?: NBA. The Utah JAZZ from the National Basketball Association. Basketball is played with five players on each side.

61. Talking-__: TOS. And in the "terrible twos," the tots talk back!

Be good. RB

Thursday April 30, 2026 Joseph A. Gangi

We interrupt our regularly scheduled puzzle for this special coverage. Joseph Gangi has been constructing for several years now, and this time he has delivered our morning paper with headlines that become attention grabbers to hook readers.

17. "Local Couple Makes a Commitment," e.g.: EXCLUSIVE REPORT. When a couple decides to be EXCLUSIVE, it means they won't be seeing other people. It's a stepping stone between casual dating and a committed relationship.

27. "China Falls From Top Spot," e.g.: BREAKING NEWS. My favorite themer with a fun play on words with that country being in the NEWS all the time. Here, "China" is dishware BREAKING when dropped on the floor. 

48. "Final Finalist Finally Arrives," e.g.: LATEST UPDATE. LATEST as in the last one time-wise.

63. "Photographer Embraces Traditional Darkroom Techniques," e.g.: DEVELOPING STORY. DEVELOPING pictures the old-fashioned way.

A fun outing where most of the names were very common instead of obscure, and no reveler was needed. For a Thursday, this was pretty easy...plenty of "E"s but no "Z"s - almost a pangram! At first, I thought all the"X"s would play into the theme, but that was incorrect.

Let's see what's in the rest of the paper:

Across:

1. Gimli's weapon in "The Lord of the Rings": AXE. Grimli is a dwarf warrior, and a major character in Tolkien's fantasy trilogy.

4. Mine passage: SHAFT. Some miners get the elevator, others get the SHAFT.

9. Healthy side: SALAD. Unless it's loaded with excessive toppings and high-calorie dressings.

14. __ lunch: BOX. I don't remember having a lunch BOX. I guess we were a brown bag family.

15. Peninsular Arab state: QATAR. One of the few answers with a "Q" not followed by "U". These words are usually anglicized from other languages that do not use the English alphabet.

16. Act with feeling: EMOTE.

17. [theme]

20. Nephew of Donald Duck: LOUIE. Huey, Dewey and LOUIE are the triplet nephews of Donald Duck and grand-nephews of Scrooge McDuck, 

Huey (red), Dewey (blue), & LOUIE (green)

21. Word with tea and toast: TEXAS. TEXAS tea always reminds me of the theme song to The Beverly Hillbillies.

22. Diner slice: PIE.

23. Meat product with a museum in Minnesota: SPAM. I keep getting unsolicited emails to go visit it.

25. July's namesake: CAESAR. Julius CAESAR. His great-nephew CAESAR Augustus got the following month.

27. [theme]

32. Civil rights leader Wilkins: ROY. ROY Wilkins led the NAACP as executive secretary and director for over 20 years (1955–1977).

33. Emotionless: STONY. Emotionless: STOIC.

34. Olympic skater Cohen: SASHA. Not to be confused with Sacha Baron Cohen. 

Skater vs. Jester

38. Lotion additive: ALOE.

40. Carriers powered by pantographs and overhead lines: TRAMS. A pantograph is a roof-mounted apparatus on electric trains, TRAMS, and trolleybuses used to collect electricity from overhead wires.

42. Early operating system: UNIX. My dear RightBrain was an early UNIX programmer who developed accounting software for small businesses. The real brain in the family!

43. Drink carelessly: SLURP. Meanwhile, I just SLURP and make a mess.

45. Puts one foot in front of the other: STEPS. And pretty soon, you're walking!

47. Conduit shape: ELL. Having worked with electrical conduit most of my life, I thought it's a tube shape, not how it is bent.

48. [theme]

51. Video meeting need: CAMERA. But not pants.

54. Cozy alcove: NOOK. A good place to curl up with an e-book.

55. Prefix with meter: ODO. ODO (by itself) is probably the weakest answer in the grid. An ODOmeter measures distance traveled.

56. "The Three-Body Problem" genre: SCI-FI. The Three-Body Problem is the first book in Cixin Liu's Hugo Award-winning Remembrance of Earth's Past science fiction trilogy. Volume 1 has been made into a TV series on Netflix.

60. "Cannot __": slangy expression of mock horror: UNSEE.

63. [theme]

66. Flared dress style: A-LINE. As the name implies, it's a dress that flairs like the letter “A” -otherwise known as "a dress" to me. I'm a modemuffel, a German colloquial term for someone who disregards fashion, typically wearing whatever they want, focusing on comfort, or having no interest in current trends.

67. Timed perfectly: ON CUE.

68. Cone-bearing tree: FIR. Cone-wearing dog - with fur. 

69. Disreputable: SEEDY.

70. Tandem pair: SEATS. On a bicycle built for two (unless you have a toddler).

71. Start of a giant recital?: FEE. This clue was my FAVE. 

The giant from Jack and the Beanstalk

Down:

1. Genesis brother: ABEL. Funny how all these early guys have 4-letters in their names.

2. Love letters?: XOXO.

3. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?": EXCUSE YOU.

4. Rodent proof?: SQUEAKS. Fun clue. Rodent-proof (with a hyphen) is something completely different.

5. Gives birth to: HAS. 

6. Bumping heads: AT IT.

7. Bestest: FAVE. Words like "bestest" are my least FAVE.

8. Predatory dino: T-REX. Dino is short for dinosaur, and T-REX is short for Tyrannosaurus REX, just like its arms. That's why it has trouble playing the piano. 

9. Goes back and forth: SEESAWS.

10. Psych (up): AMP.

11. Cereal shapes: LOOPS. They also make other shapes.

12. Open-air rooms: ATRIA.

13. Try to stop: DETER.

18. "Radical Optimism" singer Dua: LIPA. Dua LIPA is an English singer and songwriter who describes her style as "dark pop."

Best New Artist Grammy in 2019

19. 5K, for one: RACE. A five kilometer RACE is just over three miles.

24. Baker's protection: MITT.

26. Genesis twin: ESAU. Almost a Biblical clecho.

27. Some undergarments: BRAS.  Some other undergarments: BVDS.

28. $2 worth of nickels, e.g.: ROLL. It costs the U.S. Mint 13.78 cents to produce and distribute a single nickel, thus this roll of 40 is worth $5.54. A penny for your thoughts?

29. Like Vikings: NORSE.

30. Swarming pests: GNATS. 

31. Citi Field MLBer: NY MET. From Major League Baseball's New York Metropolitan Baseball Club.

35. Leaves unnoticed: SNEAKS OFF.

36. Dagger handle: HILT.

37. Wheelbarrow part: AXLE.

39. Dashiell contemporary: ERLE. Dashiell Hammett and ERLE Stanley Gardner both wrote hard-boiled crime novels. They were egg-cellent.

41. Twirled: SPUN.

44. Pesto option: PARSLEY.

46. Marriage partners: SPOUSES.

49. Folded fare: TACO.

50. Word of warning: DON'T.

51. Musical endings: CODAS.

52. One-named singer whose surname is Adkins: ADELE. 

Who's your Grammy?

53. Theater showing: MOVIE.

57. NYSE investment opportunities: IPOS. An Initial Public Offering from the New York Stock Exchange.

58. "Whatever": FINE.

59. Highlander of ancient Peru: INCA. Highlander of ancient Loch: NESS.

61. Cleveland's lake: ERIE. Speaking of lakes, they never ask about the other Cleveland area lakes, like Wallace, Coe or Shaker Lakes. 

62. Brontë governess: EYRE. Jane EYRE from the novel by Charlotte Brontë.

64. Frame : bowling :: __ : curling: END. And a split END may result from curling.

65. Tear down to the studs: GUT.

Be good. RB

Thursday April 23, 2026 Jeffrey Wechsler

Jeffrey Wechsler made a triumphant return to the LAT with a fun Sunday puzzle just last month. While I know he has no control about when these are published, I think this one came out of the oven a bit too soon.

Golly Gee! For all you fans out there that love proper nouns, this is the puzzle for you. All five themers are peoples' names, both real and fictional, and they all end with GG. 

17. "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" novelist: FANNIE FLAGG. She was also a frequent panelist on the Match Game.

30. Rapper featured on the Dr. Dre song "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang": SNOOP DOGG. That SNOOP is mentioned in a song with a "G" in the title, is the closest thing I found to a deeper theme.

37. Circumnavigator in a Jules Verne novel: PHILEAS FOGG. As a boy growing up on Verne, this was the one answer I filled in without hesitation, except I thought he was PHInEAS with an "N". 

41. English actress who played Emma Peel on "The Avengers": DIANA RIGG. DIANA RIGG as British spy Emma Peel in the 60s TV series was everything a young boy could hope for (when not reading Verne).

58. "The Road to Wellville" role for Anthony Hopkins: JOHN KELLOGG. "K-E-double L, O-double Good, Kellogg's best to you!" Whee! Are we having fun yet?

The real Dr. John Harvey Kellogg

I like the majority of the puzzles I do, but this one didn't excite me. I kept waiting for something to happen, a clever reveal, maybe something to do with movie Gigi, but it never materialized. It's just a list of names that end in GG. 

Across:

1. Revels (in): BASKS.

6. Kremlin cash: RUBLE.

11. Part of the DHS: TSA. The Transportation Security Administration is a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

14. Like sparrows and swallows: AVIAN.

15. One of several mistakes in a Shakespeare comedy?: ERROR. Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest and shortest plays, known for its farcical humor, slapstick, and mistaken identity, revolving around two sets of identical twins separated at birth.

16. Ashen: WAN.

17. [theme]

19. See 34-Down: ORA. Rita ORA.

20. Naval groups: FLEETS.

21. Fresh start?: NEO. From the Greek meaning "new."

22. Govt. figure: POL. POL is short for a government politician.

23. Whispery: LOW. LOW as in volume, not in tone. Cows LOW to communicate hunger or distress.

Psst! The grass is greener on the other side.

24. Observed furtively: SPIED.

27. Florence's river: ARNO.

28. One-named singer from Donegal: ENYA. ENYA has sold an estimated 80 million albums worldwide and now lives in a castle.

30. [theme]

33. Warble: TRILL.

36. Custardy desserts: FLANS. This is rarely seen in the plural, unless we're talking about the all-girl group from Mexico.

37. [theme]

39. Greek island in "The Two Faces of January": CRETE. The Two Faces of January is a 2014 thriller film set in Greece. Also see 29D.

40. Stay put, in Paris: RESTE. French lesson. It's interesting when a foreign word looks like a English word with a different etymology, yet has a similar meaning. "Rest" has Germanic roots.

41. [theme]

43. Fret (over): STEW.

47. eBay caveat: AS IS. I buy and sell often on eBay, and have had surprisingly good interactions with people. Especially gratifying are fair resolutions when something doesn't go quite right on either end.

48. Opposite of o'er: NEATH.

51. Lille pal: AMI. A little more French.

52. Oz. and mg.: WTS. Ounces and milligrams are WEIGHTS.

53. "The View" airer: ABC. The View is a daytime talk show hosted by women, now in its 29th season.

55. Driver's lic. with an added star: REAL ID. Starting on May 7, 2025, a REAL ID license or authorized alternative (like a passport) is required for U.S. domestic flights, entering secure federal buildings, and military bases.

57. Born: NEE. And even more French.

58. [theme]

61. Round topper for a scepter: ORB.

62. Part of the Dutch Caribbean: ARUBA. ARUBA is an island off the coast of Venezuela.

63. Netflix category: GENRE. 

64. Vane dir.: NNE. I'm glad more recent xwords have started cluing compass points this way rather than directions between two random cities.

65. Satisfy, as a debt: REPAY.

66. Good point: ASSET.

Down:

1. Perplex: BAFFLE.

2. Island where Excalibur was forged: AVALON. "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government." 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

3. Trim and muscular: SINEWY.

4. "Citizen __": KANE. Played by Orson Wells in 1941.

5. Pique performances?: SNITS. Fun clue.

6. NFL employee: REF.

7. Brief address: URL.

8. Corleone player: BRANDO. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

The Godfather

9. Theater section: LOGE.

10. Therefore: ERGO.

11. Like many electric plugs: TWO PRONG. This guy's a victim of a TWO PRONG attack.

12. Some Malaysian attire: SARONGS.

13. Like Big Ben's clock: ANALOG.

18. Dubious ability: ESP.

25. Michigan's __ Royale National Park: ISLE.

26. Make bigger: ENLARGE.

27. Maxims: ADAGES.

29. Greek city in "The Two Faces of January": ATHENS. Almost a clecho. See 39A.

31. Trade-__: compromises: OFFS.

32. Gardener's parcel: PLOT.

34. With 19-Across, "How We Do (Party)" singer: RITA. RITA Ora.

35. Robert of "The Sopranos": ILER. I don't remember this young man, and he's already quit acting, but misspelling the cross of PHInEAS with an "N" sunk me.

37. "Hallelujah!": PRAISE BE.

38. Video game giant: SEGA.

39. Collector of rainwater: CISTERN.

41. Suddenly hit: DAWN ON.

42. Increase slowly: INCH UP.

44. Claws: TALONS.

45. New citizen, perhaps: EMIGRE.

46. Doohickey: WIDGET.

49. Otto meno cinque: TRE. Now we switch to Italian for a math lesson. Eight minus five equals three.

50. Hägar the Horrible's wife: HELGA.

53. Slightly open: AJAR.

54. Offer no amusement to: BORE. Zzzz.

56. Tavern quaffs: ALES.

59. Bulls org.: NBA. The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association.

60. Big name in jewelry: KAY. Winner - Best Slogan: "Every Kiss Begins With KAY."

Well, was Jeffrey a good eGG or did he lay one?

Be good. RB