Saturday, September 27, 2025, Doug Peterson and Samuel A. Donaldson

Saturday Themeless by Doug Peterson and Samuel A. Donaldson

I had a collaborative puzzle by these two veterans a year ago. This one was just as much fun as that one. This beautiful grid only had 29 blocks amid the 98 open squares comprising a lot of white space. Symmetric grid spanners adds to the puzzles skill level. I got a hard-earned a "got 'er done" 

Sam Donaldson

Doug Peterson

Across

1. Technique employed by funk artists: SLAP BASS.

9. Many group chat texts: MEMES

14. Garbage genre: ALTERNATIVE ROCK - Garbage is an alternative rock band. Their  incorporates elements of electronic rock, electropop, trip hop, post-grunge and industrial rock.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

17. "What are you even saying?": MAKE IT MAKE SENSE - What I would say about the description of the music played by the group above.

18. On Signal, say: IMING - Internet MessagING on a private messaging service known as Signal

19. Ketanji colleague: ELENA and 28. Ketanji colleague: SONIA - Amy Coney Barrett, SONIA Sotomayor,  Ketanji Brown and ELENA Kagan,

20. Processed food: ATE.

21. Salon offerings: TANS.

22. Google crossword clues, some say: CHEAT - If you Google (verb) a crossword clue, it is not a CHEATING, it is learning. Constructor Malaika Handa said, "Also, when you’re solving, look up entries that you don’t know! It’s a game, not a test."

23. Gazebo board: SLAT.

24. Count ender?: ESS.

Violet Crawley the Dowager
COUNTESS of Grantham

25. 25-Down, in Toledo: TRES 25. 25-Across, in Toledo: THREE The first one applies in Toledo, Spain. The second one is in Toledo, Ohio. 😀

26. Like most Iraqis: SHIITE.

28. Wiring problem: SHORT - An electrical SHORT in the Service Module provided the spark for the explosion on Apollo 13.

29. Norse pantheon: AESIR.

30. Launch-related stress: G-FORCE - Jet pilots launched off an aircraft carrier go from 0 - 140 mph to two seconds and feel 3-4 G's of FORCE.

32. Tool used to go suck a lemon?: CARVAC 😀 I use a CARVAC in my non-lemon car ! My last fill!

34. Queeg's ship: CAINE - Was Queeg mentally ill?

35. County, across the pond: SHIRE - Robin Hood "lived" in NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

36. Jumps on board?: OLLIES.

38. Hard to grab hold of: EELY.

39. Lotion letters: SPF.

42. Jessica of "Sin City": ALBA.

43. Coward's offerings: PLAYS 😀

45. 2020 Pixar film: SOUL.

46. Act excused with crossed fingers: LIE.

47. Working stiff: PROLE.

48. Atlantic capital: ACCRA.

49. Negotiation assets: BARGAINING CHIPS - One mom's opinion

52. Free pass from a manager: INTENTIONAL WALK - The pitcher no longer has to throw four balls. The manager can just choose to put a batter on base via an INTENTIONAL WALK

53. They may get thumbed: NOSES 😀

54. Royalty figure: NET SALES - Noel Coward accumulated millions in royalties on NET SALES of his work before his death in 1973 and his foundation administers that income now.


Down:

1. Silky fabric that dates to the Middle Ages: SAMITE.

2. Characters in Anna Dewdney books: LLAMAS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

3. Big name in middle management?: ATKINS 😀

4. Hammer heads?: PEENS.

5. Ocean cooler: BRIG - 😀 I finally saw that cooler was another word for jail which on a boat on the ocean it is called a BRIG.

6. Colony toiler: ANT - The city name of Accra comes from Akan word Nkran meaning ant because of all the ant hills in Ghana.

7. "Ditto": SAME HERE.

8. Most like a chestnut: STALEST.

9. Home of Arizona's idea Museum: MESA.

10. Afore: ERE.

11. Work in the Louvre's Salle des États: MONA LISA 😀 - I loved this clue/fill once it became obvious. The MONA LISA is in the Louvre's "States Room"

12. Stoked: ECSTATIC.

13. Pesky little sucker: SKEETER - I had some on the course recently and I put on my Absorbing Jr and they were gone.

15. Shopper's "maze with meatballs": IKEA.

16. Lets off steam: VENTS.

22. Gator kin: CROC.

23. Mesh in the kitchen: SIEVE.

27. Styles with many cuts: HARRY - The old common/proper noun switch for the many coifs of singer HARRY Styles

30. Vanilla liqueur: GALLIANO.

31. Hazelnuts: FILBERTS.

32. Dull Knife's people: CHEYENNE.

33. Feels off: AILS.

34. Container for seamy material?: COAL BIN 😀 Coal is found in seams in the Earth 

35. Beach barker: SEA LION.

37. Mast attachment: SPRIT.

39. Phishing target, informally: SOCIAL.

40. Crayola's wild orchid, e.g.: PURPLE.

41. Glassware in labs: FLASKS.

44. "The Real" co-host Love: LONI - Second from the left

45. Either side of Alaska?: SCHWA 😀 Ə las kə

47. Parts of a balance scale: PANS - The most famous ones are held by a lady with a blindfold.

48. Bands that may be strained on courts, briefly: ACLS.

50. [low whistle]: GEE.

51. Noir piece: GAT - The man below in this film noir scene is wielding a GAT or rod

 

Saturday, September 20, 2025, Zhouqin Burnikel

Saturday Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel

The only really hard name for me was a soaper star but C.C. gave me every letter I needed. C.C.'s penchant for clever word play definitely was part of this fun puzzle.

As you can see in the grid, the center of the puzzle was dense with unique fill. Very impressive! C.C. told me this is his lowest themeless word count she has ever achieved. She aims to have only 70 - 72 words and this one only has 62!! WOW!

Across:

1. Dress to impress: GLAM UP - We've seen GLAMPING and GLAM ROCK and this phrase fits that pattern. 

                 

7. Hit up quickly: PINGED.

13. Muralist on some Mexican 500-peso notes: RIVERA - $26.74 in Nebraska! The Rivera mural shown hangs in The Mexican National Palace.

                                                                                 

14. Citrus hybrid: TANGELO - A tangelo is a hybrid citrus fruit that is a cross between a tangerine and a pomelo or grapefruit. The name "tangelo" comes from combining the names of the parent fruits.  

15. Track unit: ONE LAP.

16. Left out words?: WHY NOT ME.

17. Place to go for a drive?: TEE. 😀

18. Mosslike organisms: LICHENS.

20. Only Canadian NBA city, for short: TOR.

21. Something that may be a little fishy: TANK 😀

23. Valley known as the "Garden of France": LOIRE.

24. Tricks: CONS.

25. Montana motto: ORO Y PLATA - I learned here that this is "gold and silver"

27. Fighting chance?: BOUT - Over 70,000- people filled the Alegiant Stadium last week to see Terence "Bud" Crawford of Omaha become the first boxer to hold undisputed crowns in three different weight classes. Some say he is the best "pound for pound" boxer in history.

28. Pocket money: LOOSE CHANGE.

30. Dis-illusioned?: DOWN TO EARTH - All that glitters is not gold.

31. "Something just occurred to me": HERE'S AN IDEA.

32. At any time: EVER.

33. "Days of Our Lives" actress on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills": LISA RINNA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Talk about GLAMED UP!

37. Put on a happy face: GRIN.

38. Small porch: STOOP - From the Dutch word stoep meaning step or platform brought to America by Dutch settling in the Hudson Valley. You're welcome. 😀

39. Grant consideration: NEED.

40. "Details later" letters: TBA.

41. "I'm not buying it": C'MON NOW.

43. Tom yum __ soup: GAI - Thai dish: Tom (to boil), Yum (to mix) and Gai (chicken)

44. Judged events for pedigreed and companion animals: CAT SHOWS - Yeah, even I put DOG first

46. Start of a rumor: I HEARD - When I first HEARD this, it became a mission of mine to take on anyone who believed it. 

48. Ravaged by time: AGE WORN - My old Chucks had to be falling apart before I pitched them

49. Snapple rival: NESTEA.

50. Fly-by-night operation?: RED EYE 😀 We left Honolulu at 11 pm to arrive in LA at 5 am. It was New Year's Eve and so they turned on the cabin lights for ten seconds over the Pacific where it was midnight and wished us a Happy New Year. 

51. Sturdy woolens: TWEEDS - Professor Henry (Indiana) Jones wore TWEED

Down:

1. Spelunking site: GROTTO.

In the Timberline GROTTO in Colorado

2. Flat, in a way: LINEAR - Well known for us math peeps

3. Active Naturals brand: AVEENO.

4. Airport code in Victoria: MEL.

5. Eurasian border range: URAL.

6. Toy spaniels: PAPILLONS - Also know as Continental Toys

7. Stewart who won the U.S. Open twice in the 1990s: PAYNE - He was very popular, known for his colorful outfits and died far too young at 42.

8. Trip stops: INNS.

9. Many a charitable gp.: NGO.

10. Bring the hammer down: GET TOUGH - Mahler also called for this during his sixth symphony

11. Los Angeles suburb: EL MONTE - A 19 minute drive.

12. Busy bodies: DOERS.

14. "And they're off!": THE RACE IS ON.

16. Hot dog option: WHITE ONIONS.

19. Beach resort locale: COASTAL TOWN.

22. Padmé Amidala's grandson: KYLO REN - Halloween is just around the corner

24. Hold: CONTAIN.

26. It might be lost in a storm: POWER - It happened to us for three days in March.

27. More minimalist: BARER - Most of us can remember our dorm room

29. Wasn't talking nonsense: HAD A POINT.

30. Strayed: DEVIATED.

31. Grass and such: HERBAGE.

34. Cancel out: NEGATE.

35. Closed in on: NEARED.

36. Athletic brand based in Bavaria: ADIDAS - Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. They have supplied Husker gear for years

 

37. Aston Martin DB12, for one: GT CAR - Grand Touring. Those Europeans always get their abbreviations backwards. 😀

38. Three-ingredient treat: SMORE.

41. Baby bok __: CHOY.

42. Cry of relief: WHEW.

45. Nor. neighbor: SWE.

47. Tip of the tongue?: ESE - Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Maltese, Burmese, Sudanese...