Saturday, June 21, 2025, Alan Massengill, Doug Peterson

 Themeless Saturday by Alan Massengill & Doug Peterson

Today is the first full day of Summer as the Solstice occurred at 9;42 pm (CDT) last night when the sun was directly over the Tropic of Cancer. We will have the greatest amount of daylight and, as you see at the left, this is where you will see the sunrise on this day at Stonehenge. For us here in Nebraska, the grackles will soon be moving on from our feeders and will not be missed.

Today's puzzle by Alan (left below) and Doug has a nice wide-open grid with only 27 blocks and 102 open squares. The long grid-spanners were very "gettable" and clever fill added to the fun. Hanging on to LEGIT too long was a speed bump. My potential Natick was at _AVI/_ONCE and for some reason, NONCE made some sense for one-off and the Congratulations window came up.

 

Across:

1. Ocean spray?: SEA SALT.

8. Sings the blues: ACTS SAD - I chose Buck's version over Ringo's.

15. Flurry: HUSTLE AND BUSTLE.

17. Particulars from behind closed doors: INTIMATE DETAILS - She should know.

18. Capital of Cambodia: RIELS - A Big Mac in Phnom Penh, the uh, capital of Cambodia,  costs 23,938 REILS

19. States: AVERS 20. __ service: LIP - He AVERS that he will back me up but it turned out to be LIP service when I needed him.

21. Space that may be kind of a lot: ACRE 😀

22. Signs: OMENS - Get to the basement!

23. Numbers game: KENO.

24. Really chill: ZEN.

25. Highlands estate owner: LAIRD.

26. One duo and two trios: OCTET 😀 (1 x 2) + (2 x 3) = 2 + 6 = 8

27. Works from home?: BATS 😀

28. Command performances?: SALUTES - What a private has to do to a general or...

QEII and the lads
after a command performance

30. Nancy, to Fritzi Ritz: NIECE - 1944 edition

32. Surveyor's support: BIPOD.

33. Game for pick-y people: LOTTERY.

35. CLE team: CAVS.

36. Final challenge, perhaps: ESSAY 😀 I always liked multiple choices better but knew there would probably be an ESSAY question near the end

37. Spark joy in: ELATE.

39. NL players since 2022: DH'S - The National League finally started using it 49 years later.

42. Groks: GETS - We solvers grok and suss

43. No-hit performance?: B-SIDE 😀 - Hanging onto LEGIT too long and not knowing BRITE left me starting at _ S E D E for a while. Richie Valens' La Bamba was once a B-SIDE.

44. Drink choice: NEAT - We veterans here remember Tinbeni who refused to have ice in his scotch 

45. "How To Triumph Like a Girl" poet Limón: ADA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  The poem

46. New York minute: TRICE.

47. One-off: NONCE 

48. "It came back to me so easily!": LIKE RIDING A BIKE.

51. "Let me worry about that": I'VE GOT IT COVERED.

52. Signified: DENOTED.

53. Text-style workers: EDITORS - A fun play on the word textile

Down:

1. Red selection: SHIRAZ - I picked up on the clue for red wine but this wine naif needed a lot of help for this variety 

2. Carol Burnett character: EUNICE - Eunice and her Mama had issues

3. Toward a paddle wheel: ASTERN.

4. Steps over a wall: STILE.

5. Element of the Third Pillar of Islam: ALMS.

6. Green span: LEA.

7. Tea ceremony surfaces: TATAMIS.

The mat is called a TATAMI

8. Plus ones?: ADDENDS - This math teacher deserves a time out for trying to see this as someone who is taken as date to an event instead of...

9. Many semi pros: CBERS - I quickly saw semi as a tractor/trailer combo, good buddy!

10. Sounds of contempt: TUTS.

11. Retirement income org.: SSA.

12. Lift provider on a runway: STILETTO - I'll admit my first thought was of supportive underwear.

Can be hazardous

13. Only Top 40 hit for actor/singer Jack Wagner: ALL I NEED - It reached #2 behind Madonna's Like A Virgin

14. Tyrants: DESPOTS.

16. "Give up?" comeback: NEVER - General McAuliffe had a different way to respond to a German demand to give up in 1944.

22. Western: OATER.

23. Trademarked pods: K CUPS - I use them everyday but can't find any strong enough  

25. Chabert of "Mean Girls": LACEY - She's on the left below. I did not know her name but her face was instantly familiar as my lovely bride is a big fan of her much different persona as Hallmark's Queen Of Christmas.

 

26. Fruit in caponata: OLIVE - Yeah, I guess it is a fruit but I usually don't thionk of it as one.

Caponata 

27. Almost-ready versions: BETAS.

29. Ease up: ABATE.

30. Plummet: NOSEDIVE.

31. "Don't sit there": IT'S TAKEN - Not a pleasant chore

33. Passport, for one: LEGAL ID.

34. "Guilty as charged": YES I DID - Saying "Guilty as charged" can defuse a tense situation

35. Rhythmic flow: CADENCE - A fun way to keep it.

38. Permissible: LICIT - As I said, I had LEGAL here for way too long.

39. "Taxi Driver" Oscar nominee: DENIRO - His famous line from that movie

40. Cyberwarrior, sometimes: HACKER.

41. Lipizzans, e.g.: STEEDS - Horse lover General George Patton was instrumental in saving a large number of Lipizzans from the advancing Russians in 1945.

43. "Rainbow __": classic cartoon that inspired collectible dolls: BRITE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

44. "Check": NO BET - The player can either say "Check" or tap the table

46. Turkey __: TROT - A jerky dance of the 20's is now a name used for Thanksgiving Day fun races like this one in our town.

47. Blue species native to Pandora: NAVI - I have never seen the movie Avatar

49. Comedian Nwodim: EGO - I'm getting used to her name

50. Ragnarok figure: GOD ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Saturday, June 14, 2025, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson

                    

Our Wyoming native who went to college in Minnesota is now doing great work for a startup group called BetterFi, a nonprofit working to end predatory lending in Tennessee.

This face below represents how surprised I was when DOLMA and ANARCH turned out to be correct and I got the congratulations message!

                   

Across:

1. Longtime Harmon role: GIBBS - Watching Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon as GIBBS on the left below) on NCIS is a guilty pleasure of mine. The good guys always win, there is a lot of technology and some very quirky but attractive characters.

6. Solutions-oriented support group?: LAB TECHS - They prepare chemical solutions and can provide solutions to problems. 

14. "The Misfits" star: MONROE - Her husband Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay for his wife Marilyn but her marriage and life fell apart during the shooting of this last film for her and Gable. More about this troubled film

15. Emphatic phrase in an accusation: I MEAN YOU.

16. Raise, in a way: UPTILT - An unfamiliar word to me whose meaning is obvious

17. Course layout: SYLLABUS.

18. Timepiece useful in lunar gardening: MOON DIAL - If you believe the success of your garden depends on what the phase of the Moon is when you plant...

20. Reach: ACCESS.

21. Pandora selection: SONG.

22. Opposite of pos.: NEG - Does anyone remember Erik Agard's "Negative post/PRE" from a few Saturdays ago?

24. Image on the Lebanese flag: TREE.

25. Showing gumption: FEISTY.

28. "The Low __ Theory": A Tribe Called Quest album: END ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

31. Bankroll: WAD.

32. "Shame": THAT'S TOO BAD - Standard sarcasm on Seinfeld 

35. Banker who fills and empties pockets?: POOL HUSTLER - Oh, those pockets that can be targets of banked shots! A classic, gritty b/w 1961 film that got 94% on the Tomatometer!

36. "Tell the truth": DON'T LIE TO ME.

37. Clear dishes: BUS.

38. Brief, for short: Abbr.: SYN - Meta clues are always a challenge. Brief is a SYNONYM for short

39. Disorder organizer: ANARCH - From Greek an- "not" + arkhon "ruler," meaning "leader of leaderlessness," a paradoxical term used since the 1660s for "anarchist"

42. Source of some plant-based milk: OATS.

44. Shock-absorbing component of some running shoes: GEL.

46. Branch of Islam: SHIA.

48. High winds: FLUTES.

51. Disorder organizers: NEATNIKS - A Hawkeye line from M*A*S*H

54. Liquidation event: FIRE SALE.

56. Some bees: DRONES.

57. Family time at the Y: OPEN SWIM.

58. Chestnut kin: AUBURN.

59. "Alas ... ": SAD TO SAY.

60. Outdoor tables?: MESAS 😀

Down:

1. Disappear suddenly: GO POOF.

2. Chant: INTONE.

3. "Challenge accepted!": BRING IT ON - You can be pretty 4. Willing to accept a challenge, perhaps: BOLD  from the balcony.

5. "Are we alone?" org.: SETI - A trailer for a fav movie of mine, Contact, about the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence 

6. Hosiery thread: LISLE - LISLE is a type of finish that was applied to obtain smooth and even yarns. More

7. "The Backyard Bird Chronicles" writer/illustrator Tan: AMY.

8. New Grass Revival icon Fleck: BELA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

9. One on the Mohs scale: TALC.

10. Put into law: ENACT.

11. Offensive actions online: CYBER WAR.

12. Promotion from within: HOUSE AD - A HOUSE AD refers to advertising content that a website or media outlet uses to promote itself for its own offering rather than external products or services.  

13. Figured (out): SUSSED - A skill we solvers must have

14. "__ the word": MUM'S.

19. "Updates to share?": ANYTHING.

23. Age poorly: GET STALE.

26. Takes on set: SHOTS.

27. Running figure: TALLY.

29. Off: NOT ON.

30. Stuffed dish from Turkey: DOLMA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Stuffed grape leaves

33. Perkins who co-hosted "The Great British Baking Show": SUE - Not only had I never heard of Ms. Perkins, she is no longer with the show. In the picture below, SUE is on the left.

34. People with strong opinions on draft picks?: BEER SNOBS.

35. Copped an attitude: POSTURED.

36. "Radical Optimism" singer: DUA LIPA - She, and her helpful vowels, have been on our cwd playlist for quite a while now.

37. West End smashes: BOFFOS - Indicates a big hit in London's West End theatre district

40. "Things Fall Apart" novelist Achebe: CHINUA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

41. Folks who walk on the wild side?: HIKERS 😀

43. Surgical tube: STENT.

45. Foe: ENEMY.

47. Professional gp.: ASSN.

49. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO.

50. Maxims: SAWS.

52. DeVine of "The Righteous Gemstones": ADAM - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

53. "Can't argue with that": TRUE.

55. "Weetzie Bat" writer Francesca __ Block: LIA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯