Saturday, May 16, 2026, Karen Steinberg

Saturday Themeless by Karen Steinberg 

Karen and David
Steinberg

Hi Gary,

I'm the mom of crossword constructor and editor David Steinberg; I'm also a writer and psychologist, even though in high school math was my favorite subject and an occupational interest test told me I should become a computer programmer (!).  As a teenager I solved crosswords in magazines and logic puzzles in books but stopped when I got to college.  I didn't start up again until more than 35 years later, when David began constructing.

As for this puzzle, ZILLENNIAL was the seed entry—as soon as I heard the term, I wanted to make a puzzle using it.  I listen to many podcasts and watch many (too many!) reality TV shows, so I'm constantly hearing new words and expressions and writing them down.  I was lucky that some other good long entries (especially ZETTABYTE and BELLY BUTTON RING) worked well with the grid.  Despite all the great new words these days, though, I'm trying to focus more on themed puzzles now.  I do have a couple of other themelesses I'm working on too, however, so we'll see which I end up finishing first! 

Best,

Karen

On a sadder note, Karen told me that her husband Paul passed away in 2023. Losing someone like Paul is heavy, but there’s something genuinely powerful in what Karen said—“the puzzles go on.” It speaks to continuity, legacy, and probably something they shared deeply as a family.

Karen, Paul and son David had the first
 "Family Puzzle" in the NYT on 5/22/22

Across:

1. Studies: GAZES AT 

8. Google Play download: APP GAME - Subway Surfers is said to be the most downloaded APP GAME numbering over 3 billion. 

15. Woodcutter in a tale told by Scheherazade: ALI BABA.

16. Went by yacht: CRUISED.

17. Navel brass?: BELLY BUTTON RING - Karen supplied a very gettable grid spanner.

19. Patisserie treat: ECLAIR.

20. Cocktail whose color comes from grenadine: PINK LADY.

21. Winter hrs. for most of western Indiana: EST.

22. Relieve (of): DIVEST.

23. "Milk" director Gus Van __: SANT - You may have to blow up the image to see Gus's name below the title.

25. Sector: ZONE.

26. Not discourteous: CIVIL - CIVIL discourse is as desirable as it is rare in some venues

30. The CW predecessor: UPN - United Paramount Network. CW stands for the parent networks CBS and Warner brothers.

31. "Ooh, burn!": ZING - I stuck with DING too long

32. "The Tale of __ Puddle-Duck": JEMIMA - You can get this 1908 first edition for $650.00

33. Winless racehorses: MAIDENS.

35. Apple cultivar that dates to American colonial times: WINESAP - Some say WINESAP apples came to America as seeds from Europe and some say they are native to our country.

36. Euchre kin: ECARTE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Here it is as an APP GAME

37. Oscilloscope display: WAVE - This Heathkit oscilloscope is the same model I used in my physics classroom for years. 

38. Sch. in Athens: UGA - The University of Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA have had 11 bulldogs name UGA for their mascot. Here is number 10.

39. Sparked again: RELIT - Grilling in a wind might require this action

40. Connection point: NODE.

41. Barbaro's role in "A Complete Unknown": BAEZ - Monica Barbaro played Joan BAEZ in this biopic about Bob Dylan.

Joan Baez.                      Monica Barbaro

42. Pyle player: NABORS - Jim NABORS was supposed to be a "one off" character in The Andy Griffith Show but was an immediate hit, became a regular  and eventually got his own spinoff series 

 

44. Berkeley, familiarly: CAL.

45. Kodai Senga's signature pitch: FORK BALL - The pitch is thrown with fingers forming a fork around the ball

48. Yoga pose that alternates between arching and rounding the spine: CAT COW.

 

51. Beyoncé challenge in the song "Energy": EVERYBODY ON MUTE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

53. Shows some major respect?: SALUTES.

54. Mythical hunter transformed into a stag: ACTAEON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Google this gruesome story if you must.

55. Cunning: SLYNESS.

56. Lunar event: MOONSET - Today the Moon will rise at about 6:00 am and set at about 7:30 pm. The Moon is in the Waning Crescent phase and will be so close to the Sun that it will be invisible for all practical purposes. My students were always amazed that the Moon is not visible every night.

Down:

1. Kapler who was NL Manager of the Year in 2021: GABE.

2. Obi-Wan player: ALEC - Sir ALEC Guiness played the role in the 1977 Star Wars but said this about it

3. Microgeneration of the 1990s: ZILLENNIAL - The group that spans the gap between Millenials and Gen Z's and a seed entry for Karen. 

4. Marketing method: EBLAST - An EBLAST (email blast) is a one-time mass email sent to a large group of recipients simultaneously, often to promote, announce or inform 

5. "Just tell me!": SAY IT.

6. Dict. tag: ABBR.

7. __ cross: TAU.

8. On the move: ACTIVE.

9. Tending (to): PRONE.

10. Anticonformist subculture: PUNK SCENE.

11. Some brunch dates: GIRL TIME 😀

12. China setting: ASIA.

13. Make better: MEND.

14. Anxious: EDGY.

18. Halloween prank: T-PING - A leaf blower and toilet paper is a great demo of Bernoulli's Principle

22. Puts on: DONS.

23. Ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates: SUMER.

24. Quickly: APACE.

25. Niche mag: ZINE - A magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter”.

27. Facial expressions, e.g.: VISUAL CUES - Read the room!

28. PR concern: IMAGE.

29. Bolivian cultural center: LA PAZ.

31. One sextillion memory units: ZETTA BYTE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

32. Speak unseriously: JIVE June Cleaver (Barbra Billingsley) speaks JIVE

34. Mid-party errand: DRINK RUN - Getting low on liquor so...

35. Balls (up): WADS.

37. Macrocosm: WORLD.

40. "We can manage without them": NO LOSS.

41. Superhero star of a Lego movie: BATMAN.

43. Sweets: BABES ❤️

44. Epic poem division: CANTO.

45. Admit, with "up": FESS.

46. Like a kumquat: OVAL.

47. Depend (on): RELY.

48. 2025 French Open winner Gauff: COCO.

49. __-Missouria Tribe: OTOE - A familiar cwd tribe 

50. Bounced: WENT.

52. Vegetable related to lilies: YAM.

 

Saturday, May 9, 2026, Sarah Sinclair and Erik Agard

 Saturday Themeless by Sarah Sinclair and Erik Agard

Agard alert, Erik is back co-constructing. This time he pairs up with Sarah Sinclair and the product has what seems to be some Agrardian entries like the fill for Super Duper which I'll discuss later. 

About Sarah:  I currently live in Seattle where I work as a product manager for Microsoft. I also freelance as a crossword puzzle constructor and have had puzzles published in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, and the Universal Crossword.

One added note: On the day that Sarah had this picture taken, she wore a dress that she made herself! Cool!

Across:

1. Catalyst: IMPETUS - Caitlin Clark was a true catalyst who 8. Prompted: SPURRED - many changes in her sport.

15. Generational tendency to delay speaking on video recordings: MILLENNIAL PAUSE - New to me. The "millennial pause" is a habitual, brief hesitation, often accompanied by a thoughtful gaze, that many millennials make at the start of a video before they begin speaking. Originating from early, slower video technology like Snapchat or Instagram, it serves as a self-assured check to confirm recording has actually begun.

17. Something taken by a teller?: DRAMATIC LICENSE - Fred Hayes was one of the actual astronauts on Apollo 13 and he told our group, "The director, Ron Howard, said we are going to have to punch some things up or we won't sell any popcorn!!" Astronaut Jim Lovell actually said, "Houston, we've had a problem here." The screenwriters changed it to the more dramatic line below:

 

18. Hosp. areas: ORS.

19. Settings: LOCALES.

20. Like pitching machines and dinner guests: FED 😀 Pitching machines do indeed have to be FED!

21. "Ya es suficiente": NO MAS - Roberto Duran is reputed to have said this when he quit against Sugar Ray Leonard.

23. 2015 NL Rookie of the year Bryant: KRIS - He was a big factor in breaking the Cubs' 106 year World Series drought.

24. Sole: LONE.

25. Focuses of some museums: ERAS - A beautiful but, in one sense, sad museum in Kansas City

26. Start to some health consultations?: TELE - T E _ _ led me to believe a TEST might start a medical consultation 

27. __ of nature: FORCE - Continuing with my sport's references.

28. Fencing defense: PARRY - Deflect your opponent's attack. 

30. Call into question: BELIE - The facts BELIE. your story.

31. Rigs: FIXES.

32. Angular: GAUNT.

33. Traps, in a way: MIRES.

34. Place that has rooms and a board: CONDO 😀 - A CONDO has rooms and usually a CONDO board that makes and enforces policy.

35. Garments often adorned with metallic thread called zari: SARIS.

36. Big name in comfort footwear: TAOS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

37. "As if": PFFT.

41. "What she said": AMEN.

42. Hit the runway: LAND.

43. Stiller's partner: MEARA - I remember this husband and wife act on The Ed Sullivan Show and then reunited to be in the King Of Queens sitcom.

  

44. Software vehicles, once: CDS.

45. "Hello __": classic barbershop song: MARY LOU - This will always be Ricky Nelson's song from the 60's but I love barbershop too.

47. Garage occupant: CAR.

48. When one might find a blowout sale?: HAIR APPOINTMENT 😀

51. Pulitzer-winning play chronicled in the oral history "The World Only Spins Forward": ANGELS IN AMERICA - The Connection

52. Headspring?: RINGLET -This is really "out there"! A headspring is an acrobatic move to switch from a head stand to springing into standing up. Sarah and/or Erik and/or Patti switched this to RINGLETS of hair springing from a head.

  

53. Feature of the logos of Heineken and Macy's: RED STAR.

Down:

1. Finish line: I'M DONE.

2. Source of a good self-image: MIRROR 

3. Composition of most of the observable universe: PLASMA More

4. West __: upscale furniture store: ELM.

5. Some dabbling ducks: TEALS 😀

6. __ itself: UNTO.

7. Candy named for a Mars family horse: SNICKERS.

8. Big name in loans: SALLIE - SLMA - Student Loan Marketing Association 

9. French dips?: PLIES 😀

10. Short lines at the register?: UPCS 😀 They spelled the doom of this clerk's machine 

11. "Diet Pepsi" singer Addison: RAE shrug The only mention in the song is 

Break all the rules 'til we get caught
Fog up the windows in the parking lot
Summer love (ah, ah), sexy
Sitting on his lap sippin' Diet Pepsi

12. Scram: RUN FOR IT.

13. Magazine whose first editorial director was Gordon Parks: ESSENCE - Gordon was also the first black photographer for Life Magazine

  
 

14. One of the Ramones: DEE DEE.

16. Miranda Cosgrove sitcom: I CARLY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

22. Popular tablet: ASPIRIN - I have an iPad tablet and when I was 8 I had a Big Chief tablet 😀

24. "Haha, u wish": LOL NOPE 😀

26. Chic accessory?: TRES - Here or in Paris I would never be described as being TRES chic. 😀

27. Bitter rivalry: FEUD.

29. Pair o' graphs?: AXES - We math people use them a lot

30. Prohibits: BANS.

31. Sagittarius, for one: FIRE SIGN - My belief in astrology is lower than minimum.

32. Super duper?: GOOD LIAR - Someone who dupes people by lying could be called a duper. If they are really good at it, they'd be a super duper.😳

33. Zohran who walked the length of Manhattan on June 20, 2025: MAMDANI - NYC's current mayor.

34. Gorge: CANYON.

35. "Holes" novelist Louis: SACHAR.

36. Trinidad's Pitch Lake, for one: TARPIT.

38. "Be honest with yourself": FACE IT.

39. Lingua __: FRANCA - A common language for people who do not speak the same language. English is the most common and all international airline pilots are required to speak English 

40. __ sauce: TARTAR.

42. Coverage issue: LAPSE.

43. Subtle, as colors: MUTED.

45. King of Prussia attraction: MALL - The King Of Prussia, PA MALL has over 450 stores

46. Statement after putting down a card: ON ME.

49. On the __: chronically, casually: REG - "On the reg" is an informal phrase meaning regularly, frequently or consistently. My Saturday blogging is on the reg.

50. Title for some spouses: MRS.