Thursday November 12, 2026 Chris Gross & Zhouqin Burnikel

It is my pleasure to review this duet from two of our own, Chris Gross and Zhouqin Burnikel, better known around here as Chairman Moe and C.C. Our hostess is very generous with her talents, and has constructed numerous puzzles with folks from the Corner, including myself. Chris often works solo, and his crosswords have appeared in several major publications. Together, they are a formidable team.

The revealer tells all:

37. With 40-Across, salad staple, or what a black square creates in rows 3, 5, 11, and 13 of this puzzle?: CHOPPED ⬛ LETTUCE. Hidden inside each of four pairs of theme answers are the names of common LETTUCE varieties, "CHOPPED" (BISECTed!) by a black square. Thursday appropriate with no circles - thanks, guys!

With what are essentially five grid-spanners, it chopped up the rest of the fill into small pieces. I guess that's the price you pay for going green. Sometimes when we get a puzzle such as this, the theme is only realized after the fact. This time, however, it helped with the solve. I temporarily skipped the GOBI part of ALOO GOBI, but when I filled in BBC ONE, I saw the double Bs. Theme to the rescue, I divined BIBB and back-tracked for the win. Good fun.

Lettuce not delay endive right in. Chop-chop! Don't worry, it won't make your head spin. 

Across:

1. Snatch suddenly: GRAB.

5. Spot protected by a sun hat: NAPE. 

9. Coding shortcut: MACRO. A MACRO is a saved sequence of commands or keystrokes that can be played back with a single trigger to automate repetitive tasks.

14. Home of the "American Gothic" house: IOWA. Grant Wood's 1930 painting depicts an IOWA farmer and his daughter standing before a house with a Gothic-arched window. Because the expression on their faces is emotionless and severe, viewers can never quite tell if Wood is celebrating these rural figures or quietly mocking their lifestyle. This ambiguity has made it iconic (and won the artist a $300 prize).

Wood used his sister and his dentist as models.

15. Woes: ILLS.

16. Filmmaker Coen: ETHAN. ETHAN, along with his brother Joel, have written, directed and produced such classics as Fargo and The Big Lebowski.

ETHAN (left) and Joel Coen winning Oscars for No Country for Old Men in 2008

17. First experience with screen sharing?: FILM DEBUT. 1st half of BUTTER lettuce. Fun clue. The Coen brother's FILM DEBUT was Blood Simple in 1984.

19. Semesters and quarters: TERMS. 

20. Turned into: BECAME. My youngest son BECAME an amateur magician (true!). He once turned my car into a driveway (sorta true!).

21. Multnomah Falls st.: ORE. On one of our family jaunts to the Pacific Northwest (our son lives in Seattle), we climbed to the top of Multnomah Falls in Oregon. Our reward was spectacular views of the Columbia River Gorge just east of Portland. The pedestrian bridge in the background is about halfway up.

The hat looks like it's keeping my brain from getting rusty!

22. Heads or tails, e.g.: CHOICE. 1st half of ICEBERG lettuce.

25. Citrus flavor in Earl Grey tea: BERGAMOT. Not my cup of tea, but learning new things is one reason I love crosswords (as long as they're fairly crossed as here). A BERGAMONT orange is a fragrant, natural hybrid of sour orange and lemon. 

29. Owns: HAS. We own mango and avocado trees, but have no oranges. 

30. GPS heading: SSE. South-SouthEast is a random compass point, yes, but preferable the direction between two unknown places, such as from Springfield to Centerville.

32. Encouraged: URGED.

33. Writer/actress Rae: ISSA. Additionally, ISSA Rae is an advocate for civil rights and women's rights movements. She's been listed twice in the annual Time list of the most influential people in the world.

35. World's largest peninsula: ARABIA.

37. [theme]

40. [theme]

44. Cut in half: BISECT.

46. One-named New Age singer: ENYA. She's a popular gal in xword land. With 80 million records sold, she's also popular with everyone else. That's why she can live in a castle.

ENYA's Manderley Castle near Dublin, Ireland

47. Guarded areas in soccer: SHINS. Winner: Best Clue. 🏆

49. Condo management gp.: HOA. Home Owner's Association aka "Condo Commandos."

51. German article for neuter nouns: DAS. Equivalent to "the" in English.

52. Curry dish with potatoes and cauliflower: ALOO GOBI. 1st half of BIBB lettuce. ALOO GOBI  is a simple Indian vegetarian dish made with potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi), along with spices and herbs.

54. The U.K.'s oldest TV network: BBC ONE. The flagship channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation. 

57. Ballerina's hairdo: BUN. They wear their hair in a BUN for safety, balance and unobstructed vision. The identical hairstyles also keep the audience's eye focused on group symmetry rather than individual distractions.

58. Venue for shucked oysters: RAW BAR. As you'd expect, there are some great ones on the water down here in South Florida. 

The ever-popular Southport Raw Bar in Fort Lauderdale.

60. Scent: AROMA. 1st half of ROMAINE lettuce.

63. Comment after a big meal, perhaps: I NEED A NAP. Especially on Thanksgiving in a few weeks!

67. Small bouquet: SPRAY. Now available in cans*.

* not recommended for prom dates.

68. Site for artisans: ETSY.

69. Common mixer: COLA.

70. Shiitake Happens nail polish brand: ESSIE.

It'll make your nails look like shiitake!

71. Suits: FITS. This clue gave me FITS!

72. Understood: KNEW. But this one I KNEW. 

Down:

1. Animated pic: GIF. Graphics Interchange Format for short, looping animations. I was thinking CEL. 

2. King, in Marseille: ROI. Return On Investment? It's good to be the king! Unless you're in France, that is.

3. Tool used in manual lockstitch sewing: AWL. The lockstitch sewing manual says, "AWLways use the pointy end."

4. Thumper's deer friend: BAMBI. Punny clue!

Thumper with his "dear" friend Bambi.

5. Some reunion attendees: NIECES.

6. Jessica of "Machete": ALBA. Jessica is an actress, entrepreneur, and advocate for health and wellness.

7. Pipe pro: PLUMBER. Nice alliteration.

8. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE. ESTÉE and her husband Joseph founded the beauty company in 1946.

9. Sat: MET. I needed to add "with" to figure this one out. Sat with or MET with. 

10. Put away: ATE.

11. Safari alternative: CHROME. Two popular web browsers.

12. Muzzle-loading aid: RAMROD. During the American Civil War, well-trained infantrymen using standard muzzle-loading rifles were expected to complete a full loading and firing cycle in 15 or 20 seconds. That's amazingly quick for a soldier under fire.

13. First wave: ONSET.

18. Mo. for Advent calendars: DEC. Advent calendars count down the days of December leading up to Christmas. They often have little doors that are opened each day to reveal a surprise.

I'm starting my Santa wish list early...

22. In vogue: CHIC.

23. Resolve, with "out": HASH.

24. __ buco: OSSO. An Italian dish traditionally made with veal shank.

26. __ Goldberg machine: RUBE. RUBE Goldberg was American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. He created drawings of complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in convoluted ways.

Here's his pencil sharpener.

27. Tenacious quality: GRIT. It's true!

28. Banded rock: AGATE. Rock band: AGATE.

AGATE is a progressive rock band from Norway.

31. One-named smooth jazz singer: SADE. The Nigerian singer/songwriter is one of the most successful British female artists in history.

SADE proved to be a Smooth Operator with this hit release in 1984.

34. HS class covering genetics: AP BIO. A high school Advanced Placement Biology class.

36. Silicon Valley city Palo __: ALTO.

38. Signal: PING. A PING is a notification in chat platforms. It's also a test signal sent by a computer network to an individual computer.

39. Canadian gas brand: ESSO. The regional name derived from S.O., the initials for Standard Oil, following the 1911 U.S. Supreme Court breakup of John D. Rockefeller's monopoly.

They now call it Exxon, but it's still the same old gas.

41. Walk back: UNDO.

42. One shade in the CMYK color model: CYAN. CYAN, Magenta, Yellow and Key (a term used for the black plate in traditional printing).

43. Lack of difficulty: EASE.

45. Tuscan red: CHIANTI. As we learned last week, CHIANTI is made from Sangiovese grapes. 

47. Noisily enjoys soup, say: SLURPS. It's also a great way to eat oysters at a RAW BAR.

Some add a drop of lemon juice and a dash Tabasco. 

48. Pays tribute to: HONORS.

50. Homes for brothers or sisters: ABBEYS.

52. Cut down to size: ABASE.

53. To the point: BRIEF. This is a terse answer.

55. Like moldy food: BAD. Try these sandwich bags if someone is stealing your lunch at work!

56. Sound from a bat: CRACK. Sound from my bat: WHIFF.

59. Dominic of "The Wire": WEST. Dominic is an English actor, director, producer, and musician.

As Detective Jimmy McNulty in HBO's The Wire

61. Juin preceder: MAI. May and June in Marseille.

62. "Yes, sailor!": AYE. "Hello, sailor...": EYE.

64. Persona __ grata: NON.

65. Taproom pour: ALE. 

66. Bear hand: PAW. Another fun clue.

Kudos to Chairman Moe and C.C. for their soulful ballad. I mean bowlful salad!

Be good. RB

Thursday November 5, 2026 Emily Biegas

We last saw Emily Biegas on a Saturday in August. Today she has me seeing RED.

56. Many a house wine, or what can be found in each set of circled letters: RED BLEND. A RED BLEND is a domestic wine that is made from a range of grape varieties. It also reveals that each of the following themers features a RED wine inside circled letters that have been BLENDed (scrambled).

17. Destination for a team bus: AWAY GAME. GAMAY is an easy-drinking wine that’s light and refreshing.

25. Hair product that often contains cornstarch: DRY SHAMPOO. SYRAH is a robust red wine with intense fruity flavors.

34. Dried or fried fruity snacks: PLANTAIN CHIPS. CHIANTI is a dry, medium-bodied red wine made from Sangiovese grapes, Italy's most widely grown variety.

47. Extremely terse voicemail message: CALL ME BACK. MALBEC is a hearty wine that pairs well with meats.

Note: CHIANTI is made from the Sangiovese grape.

Unfortunately for Emily, I'm a teetotaler and wasn't familiar with most of these. I know they will be second nature to our oenophiles (wine connoisseurs) out there, but I only deciphered CHIANTI without help. The whole gist of this puzzle revolves around familiarity with wine, so all it's grapes are in one basket. I did an informal poll of friends during the week. MALBEC seems to be fairly common, and there was some familiarity with SYRAH, although a few confused it with Petite Sirah, which is different (See? I'm learning about wine!). But there was almost no recognition of GAMAY.

Sorry about whining today, but this one took way to long to unscramble after FIR. GRR! I had to dig into the Google to find these wine varieties, which wasn't fun. It just may be sour grapes, but this seems like an example of clever for the constructor doesn't equal pleasure for the solver. I'm sure others will find this more to their taste.

Let's pour over the rest:

Across:

1. "So mad!": GRR. 

4. Fill up: SATE.

8. Curses: DOOMS.

13. Filmmaker Ang: LEE. This Oscar-winner's name is a favorite in the Crossword Hall of Fame.

14. Mosque leader: IMAM.

15. Hosts: EMCEES.

17. [theme]

19. "Don't panic": BE CALM. 

20. Italian city with a big Fashion Week: MILAN.

21. Significant phase: ERA.

23. Pico de __: GALLO. Favorite salsa of Ernest & Julio?

But please don't drink and drive!

24. Proper partner: PRIM.

25. [theme]

27. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" writer David: SEDARIS. David SEDARIS is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor.
 

29. Faux follower: PAS. Literally a "false step," a faux PAS is a socially awkward or embarrassing act or remark - like ordering red wine with fish. The horror!

30. Furrow: RUT.

31. Ad __ committee: HOC.

32. Corral: PEN.

33. Anya's "The Queen's Gambit" role: BETH. Usually Anya is the answer, not the clue, because of the useful xword letters in her name (REFER to Ang LEE and Bobby ORR).

Anya Taylor-Joy

34. [theme]

38. Some pub pints: ALES. 

39. "20/20" network: ABC. The American Broadcasting Company.

40. "Yikes": OOF. ACH!

41. Vietnamese New Year: TET.

42. "Give __ try!": IT A. OOF.

43. Bike alternative: SCOOTER.

47. [theme]

50. Show up: COME.

51. Central Plains people: OTOES. The tribe is simply the OTOE. In plural it means two or more of their members.

52. German "Bah!": ACH.

53. Sasha Obama's sister: MALIA. They're all grown up!

Sasha (27, on left) and Malia (25).

54. Emmy-winning drama with primarily Japanese dialogue: SHOGUN. This REFERs to the newest version of James Clavell’s 1975 bestselling novel. The 1980 mini-series starring Richard Chamberlain also won Emmys. 

1980 vs. 2024

56. [theme]

58. El __ tequila: TESORO. El TESORO is "The Treasure" in Spanish. All these unknown alcoholic beverages today made this puzzle more difficult.

59. "Bugonia" actress Stone: EMMA. EMMA likes quirky characters, and so does the Academy. She's taken home two Best Actress Oscars.

Emma plays a CEO suspected of being an alien in Bugonia.

60. Mama deer: DOE. Not to be confused with Mommie Dearest!

Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in 1981.

61. Direct (to): REFER. 

62. Min. parts: SECS. Seconds are minute parts of minutes. 

63. Bruins great Bobby: ORR. The Hall-of-Famer is also in the Crosswords HOF for "Most Popular Hockey Name."

Down:

1. Stays in a heated yurt, perhaps: GLAMPS. I wanted SWEATS, but it turns out that GLAMPS is a portmanteau for "glamorous camping."

2. Alter, as neural pathways: REWIRE. I think I'll sign up for this.

3. Passport alternative for U.S. domestic travelers: REAL ID. A REAL ID is a federally compliant driver's license or state-issued identification card. A passport is still required for international travel.

4. Talk with one's hands?: SIGN. As one using ASL, American SIGN Language.

5. Reddit session with a celeb guest: AMA. Ask Me Anything.

6. Some big animal handlers: TAMERS. Here's the MGM lion being filmed for their classic movie intros. I hope TAMERS were nearby.

Open a little wider...that's it. Now give me a big roar!

7. Nail file material: EMERY.

8. Food blogger Perelman: DEB. DEB Perelman is a New York City-based writer and cook behind the beloved and unpretentious food blog, Smitten Kitchen. 

I'll bet she knows her RED BLENDS.

9. Some fatty acids: OMEGAS.

10. Thinker with a "razor": OCCAM. The first metal razors appeared around 3000 BC. I think.

11. Cook for the week ahead, say: MEAL PREP. MEAL PREP is the practice of planning, cooking, and portioning meals ahead of time. I was thinking MEAL PLAN at first.

12. People accused of losing artistic integrity: SELLOUTS. Artists allegedly become SELLOUTS when they change their style or sound to appeal to a mainstream commercial audience. But the economic reality of  making a living or shifting personal creativity often drives these changes.

16. Slick: SMOOTH.

18. Some motorcycles and keyboards: YAMAHAS. I'm impressed that YAMAHA can produce such a diverse line of products, including guitars, and they are all generally excellent.

22. Setting of the annual Food & Wine Classic: ASPEN. More wine! I almost wrote EPCOT, where their annual International Food & Wine Festival is a fun time, even for non-drinkers.

25. Use voice-to-text technology: DICTATE.

26. "Round Midnight" Oscar winner Herbie: HANCOCK. A child prodigy, Herbie has written numerous jazz standards, played with every jazz great, and has won every major award. He is a monster on keyboards. Looking him up today, I learned he graduated with degrees in music and electrical engineering. Amazing. No wonder he was an early adopter of synthesizers.

Herbie's 1973 jazz fusion record Head Hunters was instrumental in shaping my musical tastes.

28. Baseball analyst Darling: RON. Hawaiian-born RON Darling is a former Major League Baseball pitcher (Golden Glove in 1989) and a longtime Emmy Award-winning broadcaster.

32. Quick snapshot: PIC. "Quick" because the answer is an abbreviation of "picture."

33. Like some lenses: BIFOCAL.

34. Vegan-friendly fabric: PLEATHER. Another portmanteau, this time Plastic meets Leather. PLEATHER is synthetic material made from PVC, but if you're against cruelty to animals, why would you buy something that fools people into thinking you're wearing the real thing?

35. Blow off steam: LET LOOSE.

36. Addis __, Ethiopia: ABABA. Addis ABABA is the capital and largest city in Ethiopia. 

37. "Oh, boo-__!": HOO.

38. Without markup: AT COST. I occasionally sell something to a customer AT COST. As a rule, that's not a successful business strategy, but sometimes it's worth the goodwill it creates.

42. "No doubt in my mind": I'M SURE. 

43. Plot: SCHEME.

44. Lake Erie port: TOLEDO. 

45. Key related to G major: E MINOR. Both keys share the same key signature with one sharp (F#). They just start on different places on the keyboard.

46. Bookworm: READER.

48. __ lamb: LEG OF. In the words of the immortal Splynter, this is a twurd. 

49. Griffith Park's 4,210+: ACRES. Griffith Park, home to the Griffith Observatory, is famous for being one of the largest municipal parks and urban wilderness areas in North America, as well as a major cultural and film landmark in Los Angeles.

The iconic Hollywood Sign is inside the park

53. Wharton degs.: MBAS. A Master of Business Administration degree was once the springboard to an executive career, but it's automatic return on investment has declined due to high costs and shifting job markets, especially in the tech sector.

55. Neither partner: NOR.

57. Rap trio Run-__: DMC. Considered one of the most influential acts in the history of hip-hop, Run-DMC was created from the stage names of its founding members: Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels). Their third member was Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) who didn't get in on the title for some reason.

The angry one is Jay - because they didn't include his name?

Fun way to get your own rap name: Combine "Lil" + the last thing you ate. I'm Lil Banana. What's yours?

Be good. RB