Wednesday, November 11, 2026, Robbie Cottom

  Theme: Southbound.

The reveal:

11 Down. Following the path of a snowbird, perhaps, or what the answers to the starred clues are, in two ways: SOUTHBOUND.

Obligatory musical interlude...

CrossEyedDave here,  I found the puzzle fairly simple, with one speed bump. (See 38 across). But having this visual impediment (I.E.: Mentally CrossEyed...) I find I have great difficulty in visualizing vertical crossword answers. So, when the reveal stated, Southbound "in two ways," I was very much relieved to think, "oh, that's easy! the theme answers are vertical, starting at the top, and heading South!" But when it came time to explain the second way they were Southbound, I was completely dumbfounded... yes I could see they all started with S, and ended with TH, but there wasn't a complete, or even repeating partial southbound anywhere... so eventually, I texted my family, thinking, one of the four must see what's going on here.

This was their response...

So in desperation, I texted CC for help. She responded with, "In the 4 Down slots, SOUTH bookends each theme entry. so they are bound by SOUTH. This is also a 16x15 grid, so it has 81 words." 

Well, I would have seen the grid size eventually, and even the 17 three letter words. But I still think horizontally, and bookends surround books in a shelf, so I went looking in the wrong direction,

Text #2: um, I still don't get it..,

So here is the explanation, direct from C.C. herself:

"The middle one has 16 letters, that's why this grid is a 16x15 grid. Each theme entry has S*OUTH or SOU*TH pattern. So  each theme entry is bound by SOUTH. And the theme entries are placed in the down slots for visual effects."

4 Down. *Manhattan Ingredient. SWEET VERMOUTH.

7 Down. *Personal asset during a crisis: SOURCE OF STRENGTH.

23 Down. *"Zip it!": SHUT YOUR MOUTH.

36 Down. *Recording studio space: SOUND BOOTH.

Personally, I think it was that there were no continuous or repeating SOUTHs that made it invisible to me. And I am hoping that I am not the only one that had so much trouble as I did in visualizing this.

So, to borrow from 56 down, and sum this up, SOUTH bounds (or bookends) each theme answer by (one) S*OUTH, or (two) SOU*TH.

But hey, wait a sec,, if you include my original guess being vertically read in its entirety from top to bottom as being read southbound, WOULDN'T THAT BE THREE WAYS???

Oh well, onward! (Or should I say Southbound....)

Across:
1. Draconian: HARSH. (Sorry,  nothing funny about this...)

6. Yoga pose: ASANA. 

11. With 73-Across, semiaquatic mammal that uses rocks as tools: SEA.

Who, me?

14. Gawking, perhaps: IN AWE.

12 minutes of this, but very funny Sulu bit near end.

15. Spy's assumed identity: COVER.

16. Bozo: OAF.

17. New York City's "Crossroads of the World": TIMES SQUARE.

Having lived in NYC, I would avoid this like the plague.

19. G7 member: USA.

20. "Gotcha": I SEE.

21. Belonging to us: OUR.

22. With less delay: FASTER. When one of my Daughters was in Grammer School, some one got the bright idea to put in speed bumps all through the pick up area. Well meaning, but not thought thru. They were 2 inch by 2 inch strips, hard plastic. So I told the Principal they were incredibly uncomfortable to crawl over, but no problem of you drive really fast... (they were gone the next day.) kind of redundant since the pick up area was a square of 90 degree turns.

24. Camping shelter: TENT.

25. "I like it!": NICE.

27. Sibilant "Zip it!": SHH.

28. Most expansive: VASTEST.

6 hours of aerial panoramas for your viewing pleasure.

31. Ultra-: UBER.Ubers who pimped their rides...

34. "Booped" body parts: NOSES. Normally, I would post a cute "Dog" video here. But things have a habit of winding up backwards... I am reminded of the (irreverent) movie Dogma, where God, (played by Alanis Morrisette) when asked "why are we here," simply "boops" the questioner on the nose.

It has an all star cast!

The entire movie is now available on YouTube, free with Ads.

Do not watch if you don't want to be "booped."

37. Not bad, not great: SO SO.

38. Zipped along: TORE. I automatically inked "sped" before erasing it for "tore." (My speed bump.) Crosswordese #3,141 - you will not trip me up again... (wait, is that Pi? Ack! It goes on forever!)

39. Unprincipled: AMORAL.

41. Sworn enemy: FOE.

42. Glamping shelter: YURT. I have followed Girl in the Woods for about ten years now. If you don't know what to cook in the woods, check out her month long cook in the woods challenge, where she went out every day in February, and showed how to cook a different meal every day! 28 days, 28 meals!

Of course, with age, sleeping in a makeshift wooden shelter with your dog can get a little tiresome...

43. "The Wizard of Oz" creator: BAUM. L. Frank Baum

44. Meditation sounds: OMS. Why Om, and not some other sound...

46. With less delay: SOONER.

48. Cry of dismay: OH NO.

49. Solemn vow: OATH.

51. Red in the face: RUDDY.

52. Singer Erykah known as the "Queen of Neo-Soul": BADU. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Follow this link for more info...

53. Seattle MLB player: MARINER. Major League Baseball.

55. "Mic Drop" K-pop band: BTS. Learning experience: What BTS stands for...

57. Ultra-: MEGA.

58. Office dispatch: MEMO. 

62. Greeting between dudes: BRO HUG. Just be sure your Manssiers dont get in the way...

65. British medical sys.: NHS. National Health Service.

66. Patron saint of Norway: OLAV. Believe it or not, both Olaf, and Olav are acceptable spellings.

67. "The Bear" Emmy winner Edebiri: AYO. 

You may know her as "this character..."

68. Engineer from a Cambridge sch., e.g.: MIT GRADUATE.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

71. Airport arrival: JET. 

The First One?

72. Come together: UNITE.

73. See 11-Across: OTTER. 

74. Barbecue residue: ASH. 

75. Long and winding roads, e.g.: PATHS.

76. Trunk: CHEST.

Down:
1. "Let's rock!": HIT IT.

2. Carrot family plant: ANISE.

3. Instant noodles option: RAMEN.

4. [theme]

5. Chaps: HE'S.

6. Finds not guilty: ACQUITS. 

7. [Theme.]

8. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA. More info here...

9. Brand of spongy toys: NERF.

10. Spaces: AREAS. Meh?

11. [Theme Reveal]

12. Slide (into): EASE.

13. Way out there: AFAR. 

18. Family boys: SONS.

23. [Theme]

26. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO.

29. Quick __ wink: AS A.

30. Small digits: TOES. (Not ones...)

32. Made a mistake: ERRED.

33. Second attempt: RETRY.

34. Big shot: NABOB. One definition: 

Another definition...

35. Nebraska home of the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium: OMAHA.

36. [Theme]

40. Weaving machine: LOOM. 

45. Title of respect: MA'AM. (If you want to use respect, you must include the apostrophe.)

47. Metal-bearing material: ORE.

50. Like some screens, for short: HIGH RES. (high Resolution.)

54. Mars rover org.: NASA.

56. Provide an overview: SUM UP.

59. Exhilarate: ELATE. 

Elate = you missed your Zoom meeting...

60. Partners: MATES.  (Unless you are Co-Owners in a business...)

61. For all to see: OVERT. 

62. __ Fresh: Tex-Mex chain: BAJA.

63. Marbled loaves: RYES. 

Catcher in the Rye?

64. Actress Lollobrigida: GINA. Images:

69. __ for tat: TIT.

70. "What's up, __?": DOC.

Bugs Bunny Southbound...

The 15x16 Grid

CE:D down and out...

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 - Ricky J. Sirois

 

 Theme: "Scary-go-round"

 

First off, my apologies for this recap being as brief as it is.  I have been traveling across the country to meet with family and friends and had just a fleeting moment to throw this together before today ...

Puzzling thoughts:

Ricky J Sirois is no stranger to the followers of the LA Times Crossword Corner as he has had several puzzles published here as well as @ NY Times, and perhaps others.  Not much out there on him via Google, but if you'd like to know how much $ he made as an assistant director of Library Sciences, please click on the hyperlink above

Today's puzzle is somewhat timely as the autumn provides many explorers and adventurers the opportunity to engage in exploring a corn maze, for example.  And a corn maze may be considered a form of a:

52-across. Mysterious patterns in fields, or what 15-, 22-, 31-, and 44-Across are?: CROP CIRCLES

All of today's entries combine a kind of crop and a type of circle 

15-across. Pungent breakfast choices: ONION BAGELS.  This one works, as [according to Wikipedia] "Onions are a widely cultivated vegetable crop, produced in the second largest quantity after tomatoes. In 2021, the top global producers of onions were China, India, United States, and Turkey ..." and Bagels (while generally thought of as being round, like a circle) are geometrically known as a torus 

22-across. Aids in makeup removal: COTTON BALLS.  Cotton is often referred to as an "and crop" because a single harvest yields multiple commercial products—primarily textile fiber, alongside cottonseed oil for food and feed for livestock; top global producers include China, India, the United States, and Brazil [cottontoday dot com].  Balls are generally circular although YMMV

31-across. Alternatives to cinnamon buns: COFFEE ROLLS. Coffee is one of the world's largest produced crop - my AI computer identified these attributes:

Key Facts About Coffee as a Crop

Botanical Source: Coffee grows on woody, evergreen shrubs and small trees belonging to the genus Coffea and the family Rubiaceae.
The Fruit: The plant produces red or purple stone-fruit berries called coffee cherries.
The "Bean": What people call a coffee bean is actually the seed found inside the coffee cherry.
Global Scale: According to NOAA Climate.gov, coffee is one of the most valuable tropical export crops in the world, cultivated on over 27 million acres across more than 70 to 80 countries
.
Specialty Crop Designation: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) explicitly classifies coffee as a specialty crop

Rolls are also generally round in shape unless it precedes the word "-Royce"

44-across. Car parts that may be repurposed as swings: RUBBER TIRES.  As a crop "natural Rubber is an elastic polymer harvested mainly as milky latex sap by tapping the inner bark of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, which thrives in tropical climates across Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America" [Wikipedia].  But given the global demand for the use of rubber-based items, synthetic rubber is more widely produced.  Tires are generally known to be round, except of course, when one goes flat

 

Here is the grid: 

 

Thanks Ricky for the puzzle - and to honor you for your effort may I offer the following "Moe-ku":

        Onions, cotton, joined

        Rubber, coffee, socially;

        Formed a crop circle 

 

On to the rest of the clues and words!          

Across:
1. Shot in the dark: STAB.  A much gentler clue for this word, perhaps?

5. News story intro, in journalism jargon: LEDE.  I imagine that many people misspell this word; according to [Webster's] the full definition is: "the introductory section of a news story that is intended to entice the reader to read the full story" - it goes on to say that it is an alteration of "lead story" and was first used in 1947

9. Secondary social media acct.: ALT.  According to AI, the number one reason for using an ALTernative account for social media is for "posting candid thoughts, joining niche communities, or venting without connecting the activity to a real-life identity"; maybe why we have so many "anonymous" users here

12. Drive: URGE.  As a golfer, I was thinking of something else but TEE-OFF was too long to fit into 4 squares

13. Judy of "Scrubs": REYES.  First time for me:  I will count the proper names in today's puzzle - this is #1

14. Caviar: ROE.  

[entry]

17. Time for many countdowns, briefly: NYE.  Had Ricky chosen "TV Scientist Bill" instead, this would have been proper name number two - instead, he went for an abbr. for New Year's Eve

18. Making out while out and about, for short: PDA.  Public Display of Affection

19. Like some columns: IONIC.  It was either this or DORIC

20. Great Lakes diving bird: LOON.  My first sighting of a LOON was at one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes

21. Carol contraction: 'TIS.  

[entry]

25. Mouths off to: SASSES.  

27. February 29: LEAP DAY.  I personally know just one person who was born on LEAP DAY but I have never asked him if he chooses to celebrate on February 28 or March 1 on the off leap years

28. Ablaze: LIT.  

29. Grammy winner Estefan: GLORIA.  Proper name #2

[entry]

35. Songs of praise: PAEANS.  Moe-ku:

        Group of laborers

        Performed in their church choir;

        Peons sang PAEANS 

36. Calendar divs.: MOS.  

38. Poor rating: ONE STAR.  This doesn't fit my rating for today's puzzle; I think it deserves at least ⭐⭐⭐and 1/2 ⭐s

41. Subtle difference: NUANCE. Moe-ku:

        Dad's brothers went through

        A gender change; "old uncles"

        Are now called NUANCE 

[entry]

47. Tax-efficient fund, for short: IRA.  Once again, Ricky chose the abbr. rather than use another proper name

48. Pinkberry rival: TCBY.  This tells you how "out of touch" Moe is; I know of The Country's Best Yogurt but had no idea about Pinkberry

49. Home of the College World Series: OMAHA. Sort of a CSO to Husker Gary

50. Court divider: NET.  Neither the word "LIBERAL" or "CONSERVATIVE" fit here ...

51. Ivy League nickname: ELI.  Proper name #3, and a Moe-ku:

        Harvard grads never

        Play Three Dog Night. Who wants to

        Know, ELI's Coming??

[reveal]

55. Intro to Xer, Yer, and Zer: GEN.

56. With passion: HOTLY.  See 46-down for a similar clue/entry

57. Signify: MEAN.

58. Multinational insurance co.: AIG.  American International Group

59. In need of a massage, say: ACHY.

60. Trees whose wood is used for lutes and bows: YEWS.

Down:
1. Old timer?: SUNDIAL. Key to this clue is the lack of a hyphen between old and timer.  And for the record, if you ever wondered how these are "adjusted" for daylight savings time ...

 

Speaking of clocks ... my alter ego had a puzzle published this past Friday.  Click on the link and chose October 30 for the date to solve ... the title is: It's That Time Again"

Newsday Crossword Puzzle October 30

2. Period during which mammals first appeared: TRIASSIC.  Rumor has it that these mammals all had three rear-ends

3. In the past: AGO.  

4. "No fighting!": BE NICE. 

5. Bona fide: LEGIT.

6. Disparate features of someone with heterochromia: EYE COLORS.  

7. Rehoboth Beach's st.: DEL.  Located in the map below.  As I kid I used to go to either Rehobeth Beach, Bethany Beach, or Ocean City, MD for my shore trips

8. End of most plural words: ESS.

9. "The Neighborhood" actress Tichina: ARNOLD.  Proper name #4

10. Common name for a Jesuit school: LOYOLA. [Loyola Marymount Univ. website] "The name Loyola most commonly refers to private, Catholic, Jesuit universities in the United States named after Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits)".  Loyola University Chicago has the largest enrollment of the four primary Loyola colleges

11. Itty-bitty: TEENSY.      

13. Leave a scathing review, perhaps: RANT.  No rants from me today; maybe one of our posters will, though

15. Makes a selection: OPTS.

16. Responses to bad calls: BOOS.  We aren't that far removed from either the World Series or Halloween to have heard a fair number of these.  And another Moe-ku:

        One thing I can’t stand:

        A ghost, three sheets to the wind,

        Who can’t handle BOOs

20. Home of Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands: LA PALMA.  This seems like the kind of clue that would require more than casual knowledge to solve without perps (closest to a RANT)

23. Fictional sleuth Wolfe: NERO.  Proper name #5

24. Take off: BAIL.  

26. Visits: STOPS BY.

29. Clockwork bit: GEAR TOOTH.

30. NFL Hall of Famer Dawson: LEN. Proper name #6

32. Lot: FATE.  Not THIS Lot

33. Cause of some tremors: FEAR.

34. Kin by marriage: SON-IN-LAW.  I visited my s-i-l on this trip; along with daughter and grandson

37. Multitude in a multiplex: SCREENS.

38. "Wednesday" actress Jenna: ORTEGA. Proper name #7

39. Microbiology research centers?: NUCLEI. 

40. On the decline: EBBING. 

41. Classic soda brand: NEHI. Radar O'Reilly's favorite drink was a Grape NEHI

42. G.I.'s org.: U.S. ARMY.  Radar was a corporal in the U.S. ARMY

43. Puts away: EATS.

45. Get at: IMPLY. 

46. R-rated, say: RACY. See 56-across for a similar clue/entry

52. The Hornets, on a sports ticker: CHA.  As in, CHArlotte

53. Retinol Correxion maker: ROC.

54. Middling grade: CEE.  Or, a 2.0 on the GPA scale

A closing limerick (aka, Moe-'lick) for a final grin:

        Sea cow sought a place that is turnkey

        Where he hoped to spend eternity.

        Help from skilled volunteers

        Built his home; so now here's

        A habitat for Hugh Manatee

See ya in December 

Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Sala Wanetick

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a puzzle by Sala Wanetick.  Today, Sala offers us four themed-answers with a unifier that seems to this solver to be a little bit of a stretch (or, perhaps, I just did not understand the jargon):

62 Across:  Discussing business, or a punny description of the answer to each starred clue: TALKING SHOP.

The first word of each two-word answer conjures up the use of language, or if you will, TALKING.  The second words are evocative of places (but not really shops).  To this blogger, the theme would, perhaps have been "punnier" if TALKING SHOP had been part of the clue and an eleven-letter version of something along the lines of Business Discussion (or Discussing Business) had been the answer.  In any event the following are the four establishments where talking is what it is all about.

17 Across:  *Place to take an oral exam: LANGUAGE LAB.

24 Across:  *Program that hones public speaking skills: DEBATE CAMP.

38 Across: . *Spot for a "Good Hang" recording, say: PODCAST STUDIO.  A "good hang" refers to being a pleasant and enjoyable person to be around, especially in social or work situations.

53 Acros: . *Destination after speaking to a bot, perhaps: CALL CENTER.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. One of the Musketeers: ATHOS.  The names of the three musketeers are Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. They are joined by the main character, d'Artagnan, who aspires to become a musketeer himself.

6. Midrange choir voice: ALTO.  A friend of mine auditioned for The Sopranos... 

Unfortunately, she was an ALTO and didn't get the part.

10. Old Prizm maker: GEO.  An automobile reference.

1990 - 1992 Geo Prizm

13. Superfluous bits: FRILLS.

15. Bit of bait: WORM.

16. Under the weather: ILL.  

The phrase "under the weather" originates from nautical slang, referring to sailors who would go below deck to avoid rough weather and seasickness. It is a shortened form of the term "under the weather bow," which describes the side of a ship facing the storm.

19. Get 10/10 on, say: ACE.  Used as a verb.

20. Toronto's province: ONTARIO.  Canadian, eh?

21. Condiment drizzled on a taco: CREMA.  Not the first taco topping that came to mind.

23. Obama-era legislation, for short: ACA.

28. Béret spot: TETE.  Une des leçon des français d'aujourd'hui. A beret (hat) is worn on one's TETE (head).

30. Mined finds: ORES.  The dentist said that he could knock me out with gas, or he could use a big metallic rock.  I said ether/ORE.

31. Soul singer Redding: OTIS.  Perhaps best known for this song:

32. Kind: ILK.  Kind, in this case, is not meant as nice or caring.  Sort, type, ILK.

34. Basilica recess: APSE.

37. Letters that may end with a bang?: TNT.

42. Track that fills the dance floor: BOP.  Track as in a piece of recorded music.

43. Goes green?: DYES.  A bit of misdirection.  Not a reference to ecology.

44. Notable span: ERA.  What ERA is a musician in when he has no money?  Baroque.

45. Sad: BLUE.  The word "blue" was first used this way by Chaucer in about 1385, in his poem, Complaint of Mars. Washington Irving is credited with having first used the term "the blues" in 1807, as a synonym for sadness

47. Diaper bag item: WIPE.

49. Housekeeping staffer: MAID.  I suspect that my maid is stealing money from my drawer, but she won’t admit to it.  I just want her to come clean.

56. French article: UNE.  Encore une des leçons de français d'aujourd'hui

57. Club hit, perhaps: REMIX.  A REMIX, also sometimes called re-orchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph can be remixes. The only necessary characteristic of a remix is that it appropriates and changes other materials to create something new.

58. Breakfast spot: DINETTE.

61. Freight unit: TON.  

65. Editorial "Wasn't me!": SIC.  SIC is derived from the Latin adverb sīc, meaning "thus" or "so." It first appeared in English around 1856 and is used to indicate that a quoted text is reproduced exactly as it appears in the original, including any errors.

66. End of an ultimatum: ELSE.

67. Angler's exclamation: GOT ONE.  A fishing reference.

68. "__ to the Mets": The Strokes song: ODE.   We have seen ODE many, many, many times but I do not recall seeing it previously clued this way.

69. Gobsmack: STUN.  What do you call two false statements that are so bad they STUN you?  - Paralyze

70. Philosopher Kierkegaard: SOREN.  Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855) was a Danish philosopher, Christian theologian, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. 

Down:

1. Above water: AFLOAT.

2. EDM genre with hypnotic melodies: TRANCE.  A reference to Electronic Dance Music.  Not sure why that was abbreviated in the clue.

3. Drop clues about: HINT AT.

4. Aunt in Pixar's "Elio": OLGA.

Olga Solis

5. Fail to enunciate: SLUR.

6. Feeling when overlooking a grand vista: AWE.  Fair enough.

Photo By MM

7. "Hehe": LOL.  Laugh Out Loud

8. Plot of land: TRACT.

9. Color technique for hair and nails: OMBRE.  Ombré color is a gradual blend of one color hue into another, usually shifting from light to dark (or dark to light).

10. "The Holdovers" actor Paul: GIAMATTI.

11. Classic Chevy: EL CAMINO.  Another automobile reference.  The El Camino was car-like pickup truck adapted from the standard two-door Chevrolet station wagon platform and it integrated the cab and cargo bed into the body. 

1969 El Camino

12. Spanish cheer: OLE.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.

14. Gave the green light: SAID OKAY.

Red Light . . . Green Light

18. Concert or movie ending: GOER.

22. Mode on some washing machines: ECO.  More often a feature of some automobiles.

25. Skedaddles: BEATS IT.  We could have gone with Michale Jakson's "Beat It" here but we'll go with the send-up instead.

26. North African cobras: ASPS.  Snakes frequently found in crossword puzzles.

27. Vegas winter hrs.: PST.  Pacific Standard Time.

29. Ramadan ender: EID.  Eid is a festival or feast in Islam that marks the end of a fast or pilgrimage.

33. Rock's __ Soundsystem: LCD.  LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York.  A sample:

35. Self-driving car's task: STEERING.  Among other tasks.

36. Italy's cont.: EUR.  Continent has been abbreviated in the clue so EURope has been abbreviated in the answer.

38. Photo that might be shaken: POLAROID. Actually, you should not.

39. Champagne lifestyle, e.g.: OPULENCE.

40. Stitched up: SEWN.

41. Beaver-built structure: DAM.   I just watched a program about beavers. It was the best DAM program I've ever seen.

42. "The Graham Norton Show" airer: BBC.  

Here With John Cleese

46. Stately tree: ELM.  How can you tell a dogwood tree from an ELM tree?  By the bark.

48. Short spa service?: PEDI.  Short for PEDIcure.

50. Name on a byline: AUTHOR.

51. Chant: INTONE.  Did anyone here solve the 22 October NYT puzzles where the construtor slipped OM into the middle of the themed answers?  As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, the reveal was No Chance which, in this case, was a homonym and had to be sounded as No Chants.

52. Intensify: DEEPEN.

54. Refers to: CITES.  What happens when two bibliographies go on a date?  Love at first CITE.

55. Put on a pedestal: EXALT.

59. CARE and WWF: NGOS.  Non Governmental OrganizationS

60. This, in Spanish: ESTO.  Otra de las lecciones de español de hoy.

61. General with a chicken dish: TSO.

63. Tiger Stadium sch.: LSU.  Louisiana State University

64. Filmmaker Burns: KEN.  Too many credits to list here.  But not here:  Ken Burns Films

That's all the shop talk for today.  I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.

__________________________________

Talking Shop
MM Out