Saturday, July 4, 2026, Doug Peterson and Sam Donaldson

 Saturday Themeless by Doug Peterson and Sam Donaldson

Two veteran constructors give us this very nice puzzle on this very special Fourth of July! The two song references were not in my knowledge bank but they did come to heel eventually. I will mention all the devious cluing in my write-up.

Across:

1. Scratch pads?: CAT TREES - Here's a deluxe model. Our lily has CAT TREES but none this elaborate.

9. Coastal region along the Santa Lucia Mountains: BIG SUR.

15. Backspin producer?: REAR AXLE 😀 A car's REAR AXLE does make its back wheels spin

16. Coffee drink made with a frother: FRAPPE.

17. Coldplay hit co-produced by Avicii: A SKY FULL OF STARS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I had to nurse this answer along as the cells filled. Avicii??

19. Low digit?: TOE.

20. Brand whose logo adorns Argentine soccer jerseys: ADIDAS.

21. Lake just south of London: ERIE - Oh, London, Ontario! An old cwd fill dressed up in fun new cluing!

22. Market openings, briefly: IPOS.

24. Heroic poetry: EPOS. - Yeah, I stayed with EPIC for a long time. The difference

25. Fig. in a background check: SSN.

26. Like Pluto, once: NINTH.

28. Hook's boatswain: SMEE.

30. Germ: SEED.

31. Series opener: GAME ONE - This 1903 World Series ticket to GAME ONE between the Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates is worth $270,000 today.

33. School zone sign: SLOW.

35. For the first time: NEWLY - Some NEWLY hired teachers feel they must be very 36. No-nonsense: STERN.

39. Socket set: EYES 😀

41. Platform for content creators: PATREON - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Patreon is a media and community platform where creators give their biggest fans access to exclusive work and experiences.  More

43. Bracelet component: BEAD.

46. Towering: TALL.

48. Not perfectly round: OVATE - Pluto's extremely OVATE orbit is one of the reasons it is not considered to be a true planet. 

49. NYC setting: EST.

50. Football coach Pederson: DOUG - Coaching has its highs and lows 

52. Gouda alternative: EDAM.

53. Alexa device: ECHO.

55. Like 56-Down: FANGED and 56. "Hotel Transylvania" protagonist: DRAC.

57. Purple yam used in desserts: UBE.

58. "Seven Nation Army" band: THE WHITE STRIPES - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Jack White has stated that the song's lyrics tell the story of a man who discovers people gossiping about him in his hometown, which forces him to leave, only to return later out of loneliness

61. "Vacancy" singer Ari: LENNOX ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

62. Trattoria tubes: RIGATONI - The third item down on this Trattoria lunch menu. 

63. Apples in the trash, e.g.: E-WASTE - After using Apple products for over 30 years, I'd have a big pile of E-WASTE. I wish I still had my old AppleII+

64. Fourth of July treats: SNO CONES 😀

Down:

1. Packing: CRATING - Packing can involve using a crate

2. Using coded language: AESOPIAN.

3. 1980s hit whose video drew a lot of attention?: TAKE ON ME - Very unique use of live performances and pencil drawings.

4. Tax: TRY - Hard times can be said to be very taxing or TRYING

5. Rival of The Djoker and Fed Express: RAFA  - Tennis great Novak Djokovic has the nickname of The Joker and another great, Roger Federer has the nickname of The Fed Express. They both had great matches against Rafael Nadl whose nickname is RAFA.

Federer             Nadal                Djokovic

6. Ooze: EXUDE.

7. Shape with minor and major axes: ELLIPSE.

8. Hardly ever: SELDOM.

9. Ride-or-dies, for short: BFFS. 😀

10. Org. whose first commissioner was former treasury secretary George S. Boutwell: IRS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ He was appointed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862 to establish the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, which was renamed the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, in 1918. 

11. Flight board info: GATE.

12. Few and far between: SPARSE.

13. Revolt: UPRISE.

14. Email again: RESEND.

18. Palm springs?: OASES.

23. Worried: STEWED.

27. "__ guacamole!": HOLY.

29. Queen who appears at Epcot's Royal Sommerhus: ELSA.

                          Anna            ELSA

30. Sharp turn: SWERVE.

32. Russian refusal: NYET.

34. 2022 title role for Tom Hanks: OTTO - A premise that is very similar to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino 

37. Learn by the book?: READ UP ON - Maybe you should do some more reading.

38. Latin attention-getter: NOTA BENE - "Note well" in Italiano. abbreviated N.B. "N.B. All applications must be submitted by Friday at 5:00 PM.

40. Anwar who wrote "Revolt on the Nile": SADAT.

41. Connects: PLUGS IN.

42. Itchy, to Scratchy: NEMESIS.

43. Grown-up grub: BEETLE - Not food for adults 😀

44. Refrain from: ESCHEW.

45. Zeus's brain child?: ATHENA - According to the myth, she literally burst forth fully grown and armed from Zeus's forehead (or skull). 

47. Solitary sorts: LONERS.

51. Onset: GET GO.

54. __ up to: OWNS.

55. Prix __: FIXE - A fixed or set price for the entire meal 

59. Mild alternative: HOT 😀

60. Olympian Midori: ITO.

Saturday June 27, 2026 by Zhouqin Burnikel

 Saturday Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel

Solving C.C.'s clever puzzle had me following a familiar pattern. I searched for a solid foothold which came up at the grid-spanning PLEASE BE PATIENT/AND YET HERE WE ARE and everything grew out from there. I had a very pleasant 29-minute exercise where C.C.'s construction skills always made me feel I would never COME UP DRY. Another lovely feature was that she only used six 3-letter words.

Across:

1. Early revolutions: WARM UP LAPS 😀 Tradition at the Indy 500 has a pace car leading the cars around for the last WARM UP LAP.

1964 Indy 500

11. Exam with a max score of 180: LSAT.

15. Only shopped at farmers markets, perhaps: ATE ORGANIC.

16. Set in stone: ETCH.

17. Help in obtaining top-shelf products: STEP LADDER 😀

18. "Educated: A Memoir" writer Westover: TARA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

19. Homes for some queens: HIVES. 😀

20. Instrument invented by Hermes: LYRE.

21. Bamia or sambar: STEW. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

22. Frosted: ICED.

23. "Fore!" site: TEE 😀

24. Bundles: WADS.

26. Earring parts: POSTS.

28. Ending of "Oedipus": SIGMA - Oedipus is spelled Οιδίπους in Greek. The last letter is the lower case Greek letter SIGMA

31. Put on a bashful front: ACT COY.

35. Overdrive: HIGH GEAR.

37. Line for waiters: PLEASE BE PATIENT - All these peeps are in line and waiting to get to the top of Mt. Everest

39. Cannes Film Festival prize: PALME D'OR - Golden Palm

40. Prankster with opposable thumbs: MONKEY.

41. Aisha of "Archer": TYLER.

42. Oman neighbor: YEMEN.

44. Go, to the dogs: MUSH - 😀 The comma in the clue made this my fav clue.

46. General concern: WAR.

47. Material for some biodegradable bags: HEMP.

51. Kitchen work: PREP.

53. St. __ Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub: IVES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

55. "Brave" studio: PIXAR - It netted a $350 M profit at the box office

56. Zest source: RIND - I loved orange marmalade before I knew it was zest from the RIND that gave it such a distinctive flavor

57. "Great, now we're pouting": REAL MATURE.

59. Smell: ODOR.

60. Messages that something's gone wrong: ERROR CODES.

61. Word in skin care ads: DEWY.

62. One who has seen it all: EYEWITNESS.

Down:

1. Paper used in origami: WASHI ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

2. Unfinished story, perhaps: ATTIC 😀 Oh, the top story of a house

3. "Still Me" memoirist Christopher: REEVE - My favorite movie portrayer of Superman wrote this after his horse riding accident left him paralyzed.

4. Wore a long face: MOPED.

5. Addresses with dots: URLS. 😀

6. Org. with many excellent drivers: PGA - Fore!

7. Big scoops: LADLES.

8. "... somehow nothing has changed": AND YET HERE WE ARE.

9. Huntington Beach landmark: PIER.

10. Item that's often turned in: SCREW 😀

11. "Our food's getting cold!": LET'S DIG IN.

12. One who might crunch numbers for fun: STATS GEEK - Uh, I might be guilty 

13. Orchard unit: ACRE.

14. Spring break?: THAW.

23. Trifled (with): TOYED.

25. Running back Jeanty who was runner-up for the 2024 Heisman Trophy: ASHTON.

26. Tough puzzles: POSERS.

27. Nurse: SIP.

29. Thick hair: MANE.

30. Like some indie movies: ARTY.

31. Cal. entry: APPT.

32. Roland Garros surface: CLAY - The CLAY court in Paris is named for WWI air hero Roland Garros who died in combat in 1918 but never played tennis.

 

33. "I can't wait for an answer!": TELL ME NOW.

34. Left empty-handed, in a way: CAME UP DRY - In this state that depends heavily on irrigation this can be a big problem

36. Fortnite streamer, e.g.: GAMER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  An online streaming game

38. Little dude: BOY.

43. Psychologist who created a notable hierarchy: MASLOW - I'm sure I memorized this list when I got my M.A. in Counseling.

45. New team member: HIREE.

47. Suddenly come up with: HIT ON - Dick Fosbury HIT ON the idea of high jumping with his face up and completely changed the sport.

48. Radiate: EXUDE.

49. Some stable parents: MARES 😀

50. Iron: PRESS.

51. Nudge: PROD.

52. Wheels: RIDE.

54. VIP member?: VERY 😀

55. Formal agreement: PACT.

58. Scan that may diagnose a torn ACL: MRI - “An MRI has confirmed that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes sustained a torn ACL in his left knee in today’s game. Patrick and the club are currently exploring surgical options.”