Saturday, November 15, 2025, Rebecca Goldstein, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rebecca Goldstein and Rafael Musa

I had a mostly pleasant slog through Rebecca and Rafel's puzzle. The right side went quickly but the rest took some real mental gymnastics. Getting one decent fill in an area seemed to unlock large portions around it. I finished at the middle of the left side where a lot unknowns, ambiguities and oh so clever fills resided. 

Here is lovely interview of Rebecca and Rafael. You can choose as much or as little as you would like of this 37 min video that is full of a lot of great cwd constructing info (skip the chatty 3-minute opening by the interviewer).

Use hot link in the paragraph
above for interview video

Across:

1. Game that involves drawing: LOTTO - I thought of a drawing game like Pictionary or draw poker but no, it is the state-sponsored regressive tax.

6. VGK org.: NHL - It had to be but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Saturday cluing for NHL

9. Network airing 6-Across games: ESPN - We stream YouTube TV and until they and Disney negotiate a settlement we will be without ESPN and ABC which is are Disney properties. 

13. City known as the Rubber Capital of the World: AKRON.

14. Roll-call call: HERE or Yo!

15. Eagle sport: GOLF.

16. Common threads?: GROUP TEXTS - Our family finds these very useful

18. Part of a dark cloud: GNAT.

19. Piece of holiday party attire: SANTA HAT 🎅

20. Check all the boxes, say: OPT IN.

22. Light rain: SPIT - _ _ _ T seemed to call for MIST instead of this unpleasant metaphor

23. Floor beneath the roof: ATTIC 😀

24. Local greens org.: CSA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Jefferson Davis' 1861 group was not clued here.

27. Environment that reinforces existing biases: ECHO CHAMBER.

A nifty slogan that
did not work in 1964

31. On-site: AT WORK.

33. Near miss: CLOSE ONE.

34. "Veep" actor __ Scott: REID ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Seen below with star Julia Louis-Dreyfus 

35. Sounds of sympathy: AHS - OHS/AHS coin flip

36. Korma side: ROTI - I've never eaten ROTI or naan but they are served frequently in cwds. A korma is a rich, aromatic curry originating from the Mughal empire in Indian and Pakistan, know for it mild creamy, gravy made with your, cream and ground nuts like cashews or almonds. You're welcome.

37. Cake, for one: BAND NAME - I encountered this a few Saturdays where the bands Cream, which I knew, and Cake, which I did not, were featured in a clue for BANDS. So I get two brownie points for remembering the latter one.

40. Dudes whose gender identity aligns with their sex assigned at birth: CIS MEN.

42. It may be full of baloney: SLICED BREAD - I got BREAD quickly and then struggled to make the adjective fit with the other clues in this area. Getting SLICED helped a lot in this part of the puzzle.

44. Commencement attendees, for short: SRS.

45. "Ditto": SO AM I - Having ME TOO first was, uh, not helpful

46. Release: DROP - A famous one

48. Nobel-winning physicist Wolfgang: PAULI - I'd tell you why he got the prize but I don't have a real grasp of it either.

49. Double-breasted outerwear: PEA COATS.

53. Stare, to a Brit: GAWP - GAPE, GAWK and GAWP? The last one sounded the most British.

54. Record holders?: TURNTABLES 😀 - Grampa, what are records and TURNTABLES?

56. Not good at all: EVIL.

57. Goddess depicted with an ankh: ISIS - Two cwd friends

58. Like Mars and Jupiter: ROMAN.

59. "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Leakes: NENE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

60. Tariff, e.g.: TAX.

61. Fact checks?: EXAMS - Rote learning can serve as fact checks but not necessarily concept checks

Down:

1. Wrinkles in time: LAGS - When I want to listen to the Omaha radio based broadcast of a Husker game on TV, there is always a LAG between that narration and the network video.

2. Bhindi masala pod: OKRA - Okra is technically a seed pod, and in Indian cuisine (where it is called bhindi), the entire pod is the primary ingredient in the popular dish Bhindi Masala. The dish name translates literally to "okra with spices" You're welcome.

3. Beta follower?: TRON - Seriously, you want to know more?

4. Talks up: TOUTS - A fun song from Guys And Dolls about TOUTS. Ya gotta love Stubby Kaye! 

5. Theoretically: ON PAPER - It looked good ON PAPER, but, uh, it didn't quite work out. C'mon, Cracker Barrel 39. "Be honest!": ADMIT IT- It was a big mistake.

 

6. Line line: NEXT 😀

7. Perimenopause Rx, for some: HRT Perimenopause

8. Country surrounded by South Africa: LESOTHO.

9. They may wind up in the kitchen: EGG TIMERS 😀

10. High-speed crashes?: SONIC BOOMS 😀

11. "What's the __?": PLAN.

12. Crypto asset, for short: NFT - Non-fungible token ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

14. Desolate landscape: HEATH.

17. Foggy, in a way: THICK 😀 THICK headed or a THICK fog?

21. Fundraising gps.: PTAS.

23. Tissues commonly examined by MRIs: ACLS - Athletic careers have been slowed or ended by injuries to Anterior Cruciate LigamentS 

24. Energy-providing macros: CARBS.

25. Take second, say: STEAL 😀 - In 2024, Shohei Ohtani became the first MLB player to both hit at least 50 home runs and steal at least 50 bases. When coupled with his outstanding pitching record, some think he may be the best to have ever played the game

26. Victory speech?: A WIN IS A WIN - Usually said when a win is an ugly one

28. Earth tone: OCHER.

These are all variations
of OCHER

29. "Door's open!": ENTER.

30. Metaphor for control: REINS.

32. Strange bedfellows?: ODD COUPLE 😀

35. Both, at first: AMBI.

From Australia

38. YouTube CEO Mohan: NEAL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

40. Unit equivalent to 200 mg: CARAT - A one carat diamond weighs exactly 200 mg.

41. "Really, this matters to me!": I DO CARE.

43. Utopias: EDENS.

47. Numbered dest.: PO BOX - In my small hometown, our PO BOX number was 24

48. Smooth (over): PAVE.

49. __ fixe: PRIX - The price is fixed

50. Latin for "nourishing": ALMA - ALMA MATER - Nourishing Mother

51. Lorde's second Top 10 hit: TEAM ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

52. U.S. IDs: SSNS.

53. __ X: GEN.

55. Letters on Sha'Carri Richardson's top: USA.

Saturday, November 8, 2025, Kelly Morenus, Erik Agard

 Themeless Saturday by Kelly Morenus and Erik Agard

Kelly and Erik have provided an enjoyable challenge that was a challenge where I never felt out of it. Let's see what they had for us. 

 

Across:

1. Advice to someone who's about to blow?: MAKE A WISH 😀

10. Applications: USES.

14. Good-looking?: IDEALISTIC.

16. Patriots quarterback Drake: MAYE - He has led the NE Patriots resurgence this year.

17. It's the thought that counts: MENTAL MATH - I can at least approximate this very quickly. 

18. Card dealer?: AMEX - Pick a card, any card

19. Caribou relative: ELK.

20. Number in brackets: SEED - In an 8-team tournament, the team with the best record will be SEEDED #1 and will play the team with the worst record who is SEEDED #8 in the first round.

21. Like Santa Fe, among U.S. capitals: OLDEST - Santa Fe, NM was founded in 1610 and is the oldest capital city in America.

23. Ran out of juice: DIED.

25. Oil formations: SLICKS - I had spills first

27. Tool in a shed: HOE.

28. Biblical son of Seth: ENOS.

30. Drew: LURED and 38. Draw (into): SUCK.

31. Dendriform Tolkien character: ENT.

32. Choose: OPT.

34. Challenges for students and senators: MIDTERMS.

36. Toast types: GONERS 😀

39. Exercise named for a physiologist: BURPEE.

40. Get even: LEVEL OUT - Airplanes use an artificial horizon indicator

42. Fan's request: PIC.

43. Suffix with origin or liquid: ATE.

44. "__ gusto": "Pleased to meet you": MUCHO.

46. Ceremony: POMP and circumstance 

49. Dwelling for some modern nomads: VAN - RVS did not work

50. __ price: ASKING - Does anyone pay this?

52. Slander, e.g.: TORT.

54. Eurasian weasel: ERMINE.

56. Snitch: NARC - A NARC can NARC on someone.

58. Former capital of Brazil: RIO.

59. Type of PED: ROID - Short for Performance Enhancing Drugs like steroids which can lead to

60. Asset turned liability?: ROGUE AGENT.

63. Bit of critique: NOTE - TV shows and movies routinely get NOTES from producers and others that suggest changes.

64. Structure installed to annoy a neighbor: SPITE FENCE.

65. Ambulance team: Abbr.: EMTS.

66. "Absolutely relatable behavior right there": AS ONE DOES.

Down:

1. Performed silently: MIMED.

2. Most widespread species of penguin: ADELIE.

3. Puzzle invented by Tetsuya Miyamoto: KENKEN - How to play

4. Celebrate Eid al-Fitr, e.g.: EAT - Following Ramadan fasting 

5. "Sadly ... ": ALAS.

6. Bits of trickery: WILES.

7. "Please tell me the shower's available": I SMELL.

8. Show place: STADIUM.

9. Word with single or home: HIT - A song can be a HIT single or something can really HIT home with you. No baseball here. 

10. Question from a troll: U MAD.

11. "Twinsies!": SAME HERE.

12. Gander-herding call?: EYES ON ME - Don't be gandering!

13. Volleyball teams, e.g.: SEXTETS - Here a Nebraska VB SEXTET playing in front of 92,000 fans last year. 

15. Overcome, in a way: CHOKED UP.

22. Experience that might include hallucinations: LSD TRIP.

24. Lorna __: DOONE.

26. Home, informally: CRIB.

29. Alma mater of Stacey Abrams: SPELMAN.

33. Formal bottoms: TROUSERS - Yeah, for both genders

35. Park with a reproduction torii gate and stave church: EPCOT - One is in the Japan pavilion and the other is in the Norway pavilion. 

 

36. Comment when things are heating up: GET A ROOM.

37. Protection when things are heating up: OVEN MITT.

40. Cox of "Orange Is the New Black": LAVERNE -  I knew of this character but not the character's name

41. "About that ... ": THING IS.

45. Mindlessly: ON AUTO 😀

47. "One Day at a Time" star: MORENO - The Netflix reboot and the original cast

48. Royals prospect?: PRINCE 😀

51. Light that never stops?: GREEN 😀

53. Bags often given as swag: TOTES.

55. Time to beware: IDES.

57. Feature of some bookstores: CAFE.

61. Celebratory Greek cry: OPA.

62. Goal for some night sch. students: GED.