Thursday January 15, 2026 Michael Hobin

Let's catch some Zs! 

Michael Hobin''s third LAT crossword uses an oversized 16x15 grid to accommodate four long themers plus a reveal.

39. "We're dressed the same!," or a phonetic feature of 18-, 25-, 51-, and 62-Across: TWINSIES. The homophone of the revealer is TWIN Zs, as in a pair of Zs, which all the themers have in common. Here's a pair of TWINSIES who also happen to be identical "cuzzins!"

18. Humvee or motor home, typically: GAS GUZZLER. Vehicles that get few miles-per-gallon, or even gallons-per-mile like this M1 Abrams tank driving through a neighborhood on its way to a gas station.

25. Cookies-and-cream Dairy Queen treats: OREO BLIZZARDS. Different sort of way to sneak our old fav OREO in to the puzzle, but I'll bet it tastes good!

51. Exciting points in time?: BUZZER BEATERS. These are successful last-second shots, usually in basketball, where the ball leaves the player's hands and time expires while it's traveling in the air.

62. Pi Day celebration, perhaps: PIZZA PARTY. Pi Day is March 14th, sometimes written 3.14, which happen to be the first three digits of the irrational number π. So, I guess PIZZA pies are in order (or on order!).

Pretty straightforward puzzle and all those Zs made for some interesting crosses without making me sleepy! Huzzah!

Across:

1. Pitiful cry: MEWL.

5. Treaty: PACT.

9. "__ the bag!": IT'S IN. Sometimes, these are "famous last words."

14. Many an April baby: ARIES. I'm an ARIES from late April in the cusp of Taurus, known as the Cusp of Power. I am all powerful! RightBrain says, "Great. Can you also unclog the sink?"

16. Dubliner's home: EIRE. EIRE is the Irish Gaelic name for Ireland.

17. Awaken: ROUSE. 

18. [theme]

20. Fruit in a fritter: APPLE. A fritter is a portion of meat, fruit or vegetables that have been battered and deep-fried. 

21. Caterer's heat source: STERNO.

22. Ace stat: ERA. An ace baseball pitcher has an Earned Run Average under 3.0. The league average is 4.50 based on the number of runs allowed during 9 innings, so the lower the better.

24. Listen to: HEED.

25. [theme]

29. Ski lodge drink: COCOA. Perfect for warming up après-ski.

32. Believes (in): HAS FAITH.

33. Golfer Jon who won the 2023 Masters Tournament: RAHM. Jon RAHM Rodríguez is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf League. He also won the 2021 U.S. Open.

34. [Finger over lips]: SHH. 🤫

35. Capt. Kirk crewmate: LT. SULU. Captain is abbreviated, therefore Lieutenant is too. I just saw George Takei on the Star Trek float in the Rose Bowl Parade celebrating 60 years since the first voyage of the Starship Enterprise. It drizzled in Pasadena, so he deployed an old-fashioned force field to stay dry.

38. Sashimi choice: AHI. AHI tuna.

39. [theme]

42. Smith and Jones sci-fi film: MIB. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones play the main characters in the science fiction film Men In Black, Agent J and Agent K, respectively. They could've used the common aliases Smith and Jones instead. 

43. Ball State University city: MUNCIE.

45. NBC founder: RCA. The National Broadcasting Company established the Radio Corporation of America as a subsidiary in 1926.

46. Willing: GAME.

47. Huge storage unit: TERABYTE. I wonder how many TERABYTEs this huge storage unit could hold?

50. Patron: DONOR.

51. [theme]

54. Home to billions: ASIA. But New York City is home to the most billionaires.

55. Four-sided figs.: SQS. Squares are four sided figures.

56. Obviously a fan of needlework?: TATTED. Great misdirect meaning tattooed, playing on the use of needles in tatting, which is making lace.

60. Many new drivers: TEENS. Like 28D: Jeremy in ZITS.

62. [theme]

65. Egypt's Mubarak: HOSNI. HOSNI Mubarak was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st prime minister from 1981 to 1982. 

66. Meeting proposal: IDEA.

67. Nobility: ELITE.

68. Execution key: ENTER. 

69. Half a salad grabber: TONG. I initially wanted a fork or spoon.

70. Oath of old: EGAD.

Down:

1. Periodicals, briefly: MAGS. Remember when all magazines were printed?

2. The "E" of QED: ERAT. From the Latin phrase Quod ERAT Demonstrandum meaning "that which was to be demonstrated" or proven.

3. Learned: WISE.

4. First-class feature: LEGROOM. I enjoy extra LEGROOM on planes, but seatbacks that reline into "my" space are a buzzkill.

5. Treat from a dispenser: PEZ. It is estimated that over 1500 unique designs were made. Collect them all! 

6. Feel unwell: AIL.

7. Angler baskets: CREELS. Wicker baskets for carrying fish.

8. "Totes fab!": TERRIF. One bad slang leads to another...

9. Tax efficient fund, for short: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

10. Headgear for Jiminy Cricket and Scrooge McDuck: TOP HATS. Jiminy Cricket and Scrooge McDuck famously interact in Disney's Mickey's Christmas Carol, where Jiminy plays the Ghost of Christmas Past.

11. All-powerful: SUPERHUMAN. Me, as a result of being born during the Cusp of Power! Muahaha!!

12. Marooned, perhaps: ISLED. I never used this as a verb, and neither did Gilligan.

13. "Who __ them?": NEEDS. I do!

15. The Arkestra jazz band leader: SUN RA. SUN RA was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy and prolific output.

19. "Lioness" actress Saldaña: ZOE. The constructor needed someone with pizazz.

23. "Fancy" artist Iggy: AZALEA. And someone with frizzy hair.

26. Surprised greeting: OH HI.

27. German route: BAHN. Their AutoBAHN is equivalent to our interstate system, except some sections have no speed limit.

28. Comic strip about a high schooler: ZITS. ZITS centers on teenager Jeremy Duncan as he endures the insecurities, hormones and hilarity of adolescence.

29. Study feverishly: CRAM.

30. Honolulu locale: OAHU.

31. Most tacky and cheap: CHINTZIEST. It's definitely not snazzy!

34. Takes an oath: SWEARS.

36. Prom rental: LIMO. Prom is short for promenade while limousine is long for LIMO.

37. Company that succeeds by driving its customers away: UBER. Good one!

39. Hankook product: TIRE. Hankook is a major South Korean TIRE manufacturer.

40. Sp. miss: SRTA. A senorita is a Spanish miss.

41. "The Coldest Rap" rapper: ICE T.

44. "The Card Players" painter: CEZANNE. "The Card Players" is a series of five oil paintings by the French artist, one of which sold in 2011 for $250 million. Got any 5s?

46. Age badly, in a way: GO STALE.

48. Grill master's spot: BBQ PIT. A place to sizzle!

49. "That's true about me": YES I DO. I wanted YES IT IS.

50. Hang over: DRAPE.

51. Get into hot water: BATHE. Fun clue.

52. Apply to: USE ON.

53. GPS calculation: ETA. The Global Positioning System can provide an Estimated Time of Arrival.

57. Subj. where teachers go off on tangents?: TRIG. In the subject of TRIGonometry, the tangent function relates the angles and sides of a right-triangle, as seen in this simple diagram:

58. Blues Hall of Famer James: ETTA. 

59. Like the Chicago River on March 17: DYED. That's St. Patty's Day so I wanted "green," but it didn't fit. 

61. Round Table title: SIR.

63. __ garden: ZEN. A little Z word.

64. Take a turn?: ZAG. And a final Z.

The quizzing has ended. Were you dazzled, or did this fizzle? 

Be good. RB 

Thursday January 8, 2026 Laura Dershewitz

Laura Dershewitz has published several children's books but is a relative newcomer to the crossword game. I believe this is only her second solo puzzle in the LAT.

This theme is rather dense (or I am!). It took a paragraph to explain it and it still wasn't clear to me. In the end, I think this is just a list of kinds of SPACEs, and the THIRD one happens to be in the position foretold by the revealer. Any of them could have landed in that slot and made no difference. I tried to sequence them into some sort of "series," but that was a red herring.

56. Gathering place that's neither work nor home, or an apt description of 36-Across in the series that includes 17-, 24-, and 46-Across: THIRD SPACE. A THIRD SPACE (or Third Place) refers to social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home (first place) and work (second place), such as churches, clubs and gyms. It's often the one that you choose to belong to with people who share your interests, fostering civic life.

17. Leeway: WIGGLE ROOM. → Extra SPACE. This gives one the flexibility to deviate from a plan and make adjustments or allow for errors.

24. Hard-to-find opening on street-sweeping days: PARKING SPOT. → Parking SPACE. A little different from the others as it can only be described by using the same word as in the clue.

36. Low Earth orbit, for one: SATELLITE LOCALE. → Outer SPACE. This is also the THIRD themer about SPACE per the revealer.

46. Period of quiet reflection: TIME TO THINK. → Head SPACE. A person's current emotional state, often implying a need to eliminate mental clutter to process thoughts.

Pretty easy for a Thursday, with lots of short fill and many abbreviations (!) necessitated by the five themers. But I liked learning about the social construct of a THIRD SPACE, so that's a plus.

And now, off to the wide open SPACES:

Across:

1. Some pricey insulated mugs: YETIS. These are very good, but are they that much better than other steel double-walled insulated coffee mugs available at half the price?

6. Juicer byproduct: PULP. 

10. Keeps posted privately: BCCS. Abbrev. #1. Blind Carbon CopieS on emails. 

14. Buzz word?: APIAN. APIAN is an adjective meaning relating to bees. Buzzy bees!

15. Potatoes, in Indian cuisine: ALOO. ALOO is becoming the "Oreo" of contemporary xwords.

16. "No way, no how!": UH-UH. The opposite of UH-HUH.

17. [theme]

19. Title fit for a king: SIRE. Title fit for King: B.B. (aka the Beale Street Blues Boy).

20. Possible title for a B-school grad: CEO. Abbrev. #2. Chief Executive Officers often graduate from Business schools, then suddenly are worth hundreds of times more than the COGs who work there.

21. Cam button: REC. Abbrev. #3. RECord button on a video camera. 

22. Spine-tingling: EERIE. This one is very strange...

23. Hair of the dog?: FUR. Fun clue!

24. [theme]

27. Tickling targets: ARMPITS. ...and there's something funny about this one.

29. Small part of a machine: COG. In 1962, The Jetsons envisioned a future where we all work for a few very wealthy people. Prophetic. 

30. Grease again: REOIL. Odd looking word that isn't used much.

31. Part of WYSIWYG: SEE. This abbreviation is only in the clue, so it gets a pass. Pronounced wizzy-wig, the acronym for "What You SEE Is What You Get" originated with software whose displayed image closely resembled its final user appearance.

32. Graceful waterbird: SWAN.

36. [theme]

40. With sharp resolution: IN HD. Abbrev. #4. IN High Definition.

41. Seer's gift: ESP. Abbrev. #5. ExtraSensory Perception, often called the "sixth sense."

42. Actress Berry: HALLE. HALLE Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2002 for her role in Monster's Ball, making her the first and, to date, only Black woman to ever receive this award.

43. __ Arbor, Michigan: ANN. ANN Arbor is home to the massive (50K+) University of Michigan, the 9th largest university in the U.S.

44. Troublemaker's opposite: GOOD KID. Like my boys, the little angels.

46. [theme]

51. Western treaty gp.: OAS. Abbrev. #6. The Organization of American States is a group of 34 member countries from North, Central, and South America.

52. Project on stage: EMOTE.

53. Alphabet starter: ABC. Three letters, but not really an abbreviation. 

54. Travel stop: INN. Holiday Inns used to be ubiquitous along the highways of America. My parents took us on extended summer trips in our old station wagon (no AC!), often staying there or under the orange roof of a Howard Johnson.

55. Drive-__: THRU. Abbrev. #7. Ad-speak for "through."

56. [theme]

60. Melon covering: RIND.

61. __ bene: NOTA. Latin for "note well."

62. Wickerwork twig: OSIER. A small Eurasian willow that grows mostly in wet habitats.

63. Altar alcove: APSE.

64. Mattress choice: TWIN.

65. Inferior: WORSE.

Down:

1. Swerve off course, as a ship: YAW. YAW, along with pitch and roll, also describes the same motions in aircraft.

2. Fond of fine food and drink: EPICUREAN.

3. Insect with striped wings: TIGER MOTH. My grandmother used to call moths "millers." I always thought it was because they milled around lights, but looking it up now (the internet wasn't available when I was a wee lad) I see it was due to their fine scales that rub off, resembling the dusty flour on millers' clothing.

4. Othello's betrayer: IAGO.

5. "Weekend Update" show, for short: SNL. Abbrev. #8. Saturday Night Live.

6. Apple gadgets: PARERS. I wasn't fooled by the tech misdirect, but still wrote "corers" first.

7. Horseshoe-shaped security device: U-LOCK. A letter-shaped descriptor, like T-shirt, is not an abbreviation. 

8. Bathroom, in Bath: LOO. 

9. Fluffy pup: POM. Abbrev. #9. Pomeranian.

10. School fleet: BUSES.

11. Keyless entry sound: CHIRP.

12. Knickknack: CURIO. A knickknack is bric-a-brac!

13. Paper unit: SHEET.

18. Latin 101 verb: ERAT. ERAT is the third-person singular imperfect tense of the verb esse (to be), meaning "he/she/it was." I knew taking Latin in high school would come in handy one day!

22. What applesauce may replace in vegan baking: EGG. Unsweetened applesauce can be an EGG replacement in many baking recipes, primarily functioning as a binder and adding moisture.

23. Tehran tongue: FARSI.

24. Tablet: PILL. 

25. Frozen treat served with a stroon: ICEE. It's a straw! It's a spoon! It's a STROON!!

26. Yuletide: NOEL. NOEL means Christmas in French, stemming from the Latin for "birth." 

28. Like a calico cat: PIED. PIED describes an animal having two or more colors.

31. Fuel additive brand: STP. Abbrev. #10. Scientifically Treated Petroleum.

32. Whole bunch: SCAD. Usually used in plural as in "SCADs of abbreviations."

33. Feel euphoric: WALK ON AIR.

34. Close associations: ALLIANCES.

35. Must-haves: NEEDS. 

37. TV host Jay: LENO. Nowadays, he's noted for his vast automobile and motorcycle collection. And to think RightBrain says I have too many guitars! Just kidding, she lets me have my toys because they don't take up garage space.

38. "That __ true!": ISN'T. Abbrev. #11. Is not.

39. "Now I understand": OH OK. OK is oddly not an abbreviation. Okay came later, OK?

43. Was full of beans, maybe?: ATE. "Full of beans" usually means one is lively and enthusiastic.

44. "The Prophet" author Kahlil: GIBRAN. "The Prophet" is a 1923 poetry collection where different people in a town ask a prophet his opinion on anything: marriage, death, love, generosity, etc.

45. Like many audiobooks, once: ON CD. Abbrev. #12. ON Compact Disc. Some people debate whether listening counts as reading. I say yes, what do you think?

46. Colorful aquarium fish: TETRA.

47. "Got it, dude!": I'M HIP. Abbrev. #13. I am HIP.

48. Daybreaks, poetically: MORNS. Abbrev. # 14. Short for MORNings. 

49. Piano student's assignment: ETUDE. An ETUDE (French for "study") is primarily a musical composition for practicing a technical skill, such as rhythm or dynamics. Here's a simple exercise for beginners by Chopin to help build finger dexterity.

50. Creole-speaking nation: HAITI.

54. __ facto: IPSO. That's a fact!

56. Demo stuff: TNT. Abbrev. #15. TriNitroToluene is a powerful explosive sometimes used in demolition.

57. "Please explain": HOW.

58. Female pig: SOW.

59. Afore: ERE.  

And now we're out of space!
Be good. RB

Thursday January 1, 2026 Jill Rafaloff & Michelle Sontarp

Happy New Year! It's RustyBrain kicking off 2026. Starting today, I'll be your host every Thursday. NaomiZ, who always did a fabulous job on Thursdays, is moving to Mondays to take over from sumdaze who is retiring after an incredible run. Big shoes to fill all around (not to imply they have big feet!). Moving on before I get in any more trouble this year...

Jill Rafaloff and Michelle Sontarp have me at a disadvantage here. I never got into women's clothing, so I didn't know most of the designers. We picked the wrong day for Naomi to move! That being said, the perps were fair so the solve went smoothly. All the themers are compound nouns for everyday things, but one or more of the words is also an article of clothing. Let's try them on for size:

17. Crossover design from Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Fürstenberg?: BUBBLE WRAP. Our fashion show begins with two models on the catwalk: Westwood's BUBBLE skirt and von Fürstenberg's WRAP dress. Iconic looks from their signature designers that should never be worn together.

29. Creative team behind Lilly Pulitzer's signature frock?: SHIFT WORKERS. Pulitzer's bright, colorful clothes were very popular and worn by the likes of Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. She rose in prominence when her original SHIFT dress, a simple loose-fitting garment that allowed a women to "shift" around, was photographed on Jackie Kennedy.

47. Item in Giorgio Armani's 50th anniversary collection?: BIRTHDAY SUIT. The devil wears NADA! I know Armani also makes SUITs for men, as I have a closet full. Not. 

62. Line of Mary Quant's trademark skirts?: MINISERIES. I'm familiar with Quant creating the MINIskirt only because of crosswords (I swear, honey, I never even looked at one!).

So, everything fits but this puzzle didn't have anything to do with the New Year. Not the constructors' fault as puzzles are created months in advance, but I'll see if I can work some magic for you!

Across:

1. Complete failures: BOMBS. BOMBS can also be explosives, just like the fireworks used to ring in the New Year over Sydney Harbour.

6. "Now!": STAT. I wrote ASAP at first, but I was too quick.

10. A couple of bucks?: DEER. Fun clue!

14. Oak tree, once: ACORN. This little fella has a secret ACORN stash.

15. Words of dismay: OH NO.

16. New Age artist who often sings in Irish: ENYA. ENYA is Irish, but I'd like to hear her sing this old Scottish favorite:

17. [theme]

19. Suds: BEER. Hopefully you didn't overdo it last night!

20. Former quarterback Manning: ELI. Peyton's younger brother, Archie's son and Arch's uncle.

21. __-Caps candy: SNO. Is your maple syrup candy SNO-Capped on January 1st?

22. Give a damn?: CURSE. Fie on you!

23. __ gel: contents of "Do not eat" packets: SILICA. Interestingly, SILICA gel is non-toxic. It's the packets themselves that may pose a choking hazard to children and pets.

26. On the decline: WANING.

29. [theme]

33. Liturgical vestment: STOLE. Sorta related to the women's fashion theme. 

36. Really, really enjoy a joke: ROAR.

37. Madre's sister: TIA. Your mother's sister is your aunt.

38. Greek cafe: TAVERNA.

40. Alive and __: KICKING. I'm happy to be here!

43. Viking weapon: AXE.

44. Pinnacle: ACME.

46. Affection from a dog: LICKS.

47. [theme]

51. Patterned fabric woven on Jacquard looms: DAMASK. The fashion show continues. DAMASK is woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. This creates a fabric that when flipped over makes a mirror image of the often intricate pattern. 

52. Orates: SPEAKS.

56. __ shorts: CARGO. You probably won't find these hanging in a fashionista's closet. Then again, you might. Everything I know about fashion would fit in a thimble.

58. Be in debt: OWE.

60. Briny: SEA.

61. Vaping device: ECIG. Electronic Cigarette.

62. [theme]

66. Place for pews: NAVE. These congregants in the central NAVE of a church in Chicago are celebrating the Lunar New Year, an ancient tradition in Chinese and other Asian cultures. It typically falls between January 21st and February 20th.

67. Legend: ICON.

68. Wet bars?: SOAPS. Another fun clue!

69. Even: TIED.

70. Keyboard locale: DESK.

71. Really hard to see: EENSY.

Down:
1. Innocents: BABES. 

2. Circular openings in domes: OCULI.

3. Synergy Supreme+ gasoline retailer: MOBIL. Pegasus was part of the MOBIL logo for many years.

4. "Putting my phone down a sec": BRB. Be Right Back in textspeak.

5. Weekly skit show, for short: SNL. Saturday Night Live.

6. Scattered: SOWN.

7. Target in a game of catch: THROW TO. I thought "target" was a noun at first and went through a list of people one could THROW TO.

9. Blouse: TOP. And yet another fashion reference.

10. Expose as false: DEBUNK.

11. Peppy: ENERGETIC.

12. Seeing things: EYES.

13. Redder than medium: RARE. Unless we're talking about your EYES on the morning after a NYE party!

18. Actor Morales: ESAI.

22. Round fig.: CIR. A CIRcle is the roundest of FIGures.

24. Remote getaway spot: ISLE. Remote getaway spot: SOFA. 

.
25. "Moonstruck" Oscar winner: CHER.

27. Faces the day: AWAKES. This is the perfect time to try something new.

28. Musubi seaweed: NORI.

30. Brawl: FRACAS.

31. Playing surface surrounded by boards: RINK. 

32. Droops: SAGS. Just like these banners!

33. Try: STAB.

34. Call with a raised hand: TAXI.

35. State of ramped-up productivity: OVERDRIVE.

39. Zilch: NADA. The number of days left in 2025. 

41. Rate of speed: CLIP. The years seem to go by at a faster CLIP as I get older. It can't be 2026 already?! It seems like only yesterday that Y2K was a problem. Now that's a quarter century ago.

42. Beach toy: KITE.

45. Greek island in the Cyclades: MYKONOS. Known for luxury and high-end tourism, MYKONOS is a great place to greet the New Year...if you can afford it.

48. Caught off base?: TAGGED.

49. Med. plan option: HMO. Health Maintenance Organization is a medical plan option, but you already knew that.

50. Functions: USES. Functions: NYE parties!

53. Nepali, e.g.: ASIAN.

54. Stays fresh: KEEPS. How long will you KEEP your New Year's resolution?

55. "Listen to __": podcast that covers a classic teen magazine: SASSY.

56. Penny: CENT.

57. Berry native to the Amazon rainforest: ACAI.

59. "Don't take me too seriously" indicator: WINK.

62. Prefix with way or wife: MID. MIDway or MIDwife.

63. Raw bar need: ICE. Also a NYE bar need!

64. Language suffix: ESE. 

65. Caviar: ROE.

Thank you, C.C., for this wonderful opportunity to be a permanent part of the smartest and friendliest corner of the web. And for those of you who are frequent visitors but haven't commented yet, here's a New Year's Resolution for you: introduce yourself and join the conversation. We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy (and Natick-free) New Year! 
Be good. RB