Wednesday, September 9, 2026 Rena Cohen

 

Theme: Soccer positions.

I tried out for Soccer once,

They gave me this T-Shirt...

20 Across. Soccer player who shares every little detail online?: PUBLIC DEFENDER.

A defender is an outfield player whose main job is to stop the other team from scoring goals. 

Types of Defenders

Center-backs (CB): Play in the middle of the defense right in front of the goal. They win high balls and block shots. 

Full-backs (LB/RB): Play on the left and right sides of the backline. They stop opposing wingers and run up the sidelines to help on offense

Wing-backs (LWB/RWB): An aggressive type of full-back. They focus heavily on running up and down the field to support attacks

Sweepers (SW): A rare, deeper defender who plays behind the main defensive line to clean up loose balls. 

Key Skill

Tackling: Winning the ball cleanly from opponents

Positioning: Standing in the right place to block passing lanes

Aerial ability: Heading away crosses and long balls

Communication: Organizing the backline and talking with teammates.

38 Across. Soccer player from a Florida archipelago?: KEEPER OF THE KEYS.

A keeper (short for goalkeeper) is the designated player on a soccer team whose primary job is to stop the opposing team from scoring by preventing the ball from crossing the goal line.

Key Responsibilities and Rule

Handball Privilege: The keeper is the only player on the field allowed to use their hands and arms, but they can only do this inside their own designated penalty area.

Last Line of Defense: They act as the final barrier against shots and direct the outfield defenders during plays and set pieces.

Distinct Uniform: To easily tell them apart from everyone else, the keeper must wear a jersey color that is different from both teams and the referee.

Starting Attacks: Beyond stopping goals, modern keepers often use kicks or throws to launch fast counter-attacks for their team.

51 Across. Soccer player who doesn't pull their weight?: CARRIED FORWARD.

A forward in soccer is an outfield player who plays closest to the opposing teams's goal with the primary job of scoring and creating goals.

Main Roles of a Forward

Center Forward / Striker: Plays through the middle as the main goalscorer and focal point of the attack.

Winger / Wide Forward: Plays on the left or right side to stretch the defense, dribble past defenders, and cross the ball into the penalty box

Second Striker: Plays just behind the main center forward to link the midfield and attack

False Nine: A forward who drops backward into the midfield to pull defenders out of position and create open space for teammates. 

Core Responsibilities

Finishing: Shooting and heading the ball into the net to score goals

Creating Space: Making smart runs off the ball to open passing lanes for teammates

Holding the Ball: Using physical strength to keep possession under pressure from defenders until help arrives

Pressing: Applying early pressure on opposing defenders when the other team has the ball.

Onward! To the coin toss, and kickoff!

Across:
1. Insensitive: CRASS.

6. Not out: SAFE.

10. Apple variety: GALA.

14. __ Productions: media company founded by Oprah: HARPO. (Oprah backwards.)

15. West Coast sch. that joined the Big Ten in 2024: UCLA.

16. Team with a lot of pull?: OXEN.

17. All over: AGAIN.

18. Birds whose oil is used in Aboriginal medicine: EMUS.

19. Super Serum seller: OLAY. (Note: Olay does not sell Emu Oil...)

20. [Theme.]

23. __-di-dah: LAH.

24. Blubber: FLAB. Emu oil is made by harvesting, melting, and refining the thick layer of fat found on the back of an Emu.

25. Accident report?: OOPS. 😬 

28. "What a gimme!": EASY.

31. Mail: POST.

34. King topper in a game of war: ACE.

35. Singer Halliwell: GERI.

Also known as Ginger Spice...

36. Leave in a fit?: CLOTHE. (To make sense, you must read this 3 times...)

38. [Theme.]

41. Like steak, but not cake: SAVORY.

42. Reasons to go to extra innings: TIES.

43. Jazz (up): AMP.

44. Rookie gamer: NEWB. Also Newbie, or Noob...

45. Speck on a map: ISLE. 

46. Sign: OMEN.

47. Long fish: EELS.

49. "Truthfully" initials: TBH. (To Be Honest.)

51. [Theme.]

58. Lean: THIN.

59. Within reach: NEAR.

60. Eaglet home: AERIE.

61. Avant-garde style: DADA. Examples can be found here...

62. Small bird of prey: KITE. Again, examples can be found here...

63. "You almost guessed it!": CLOSE. No examples here,  because you missed it...

64. Staircase part: STEP.

65. "Now!": STAT.

66. Respected leader: ELDER. 

Down:
1. Fella: CHAP.

2. Robusto! sauce brand: RAGU.

3. Many an Eid celebrant: ARAB. More info here...

4. Lets the cat out of the bag: SPILLS. 

5. Ketanji colleague: SONIA. 

Clue/answer refers to these guys.

Since there is no politics on the Blog,

I will not be naming them...

6. Sought compensation: SUED. (See below:)

7. Height: ACME. 

A scene from Coyote Vs Acme.

8. Nickname for comedian Gabriel Iglesias: FLUFFY. 

9. Stand for artistic freedom?: EASEL. 😀

10. Bible: GOOD BOOK.

11. Wheel spinner: AXLE.

12. Father of Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia: LEAR. William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy King Lear. 

Quick Facts:

Written: Between 1605 and 1606

First Performance: December 1606

Plot: An aging king divides his kingdom among his daughters, leading to tragic consequences and madness.

13. Flexible amount: ANY.

21. Joyful: CHEERY.

22. Italy's third-largest city: NAPLES.

25. National trees of the United States: OAKS.

26. Place where people cruise through life?: OCEAN.😏

27. Get to: PEEVE.

29. Preferring platonic relationships, for short: ARO. Aro is short for aromantic, which describes a person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others.

30. Searches (through): SIFTS.

32. Iron output: STEAM.

33. Herb in jerk seasoning: THYME. 

35. Company with an annual search for a spokesbaby: GERBER.

36. Flamin' Hot puff: CHEETO. 

People are serious about their Cheetos...

37. "College GameDay" network: ESPN.

39. Short time out: POWER NAP.

40. From dawn __ dusk: TIL.

45. Finder's cry: I SEE IT. 

Finders cry: Mine!

46. "Such is life": OH WELL. 

48. Spot for a tee party?: LINKS. ❤️

50. Knee protector: BRACE.

51. Small talk: CHAT.

52. Deputy: AIDE.

53. Spreadsheet input: DATA.

54. Guitar ridge: FRET. My 50 year old guitar is getting worn grooves in its frets.

(I fret about my frets...)

55. Yankee nickname of the 2000s: AROD.

56. "__ and shine!": RISE.

57. Lots of bucks: DEER. 

58. Some 37-Down highlights: Abbr.: TDS. (Touchdowns.)

The Grid.

7 three letter words, 6 people names, and only one abbreviated school name. Not bad!

A Link to Rena Cohen July 20 Crossword Writeup

Describing this lovely Constructor...

Sorry for the deep dive into splainin' Soccer positions, but I know little about the game and had to do much research to do this write up, and, you know I hate to suffer alone...

CE:D out...

≽^• ˕ • ྀི≼

Wednesday, September 2, 2026 - Guilherme Gilioli

 

Theme:  Order in the Court!

 

It was so ordered; until it wasn't ...

 

 

 

Perhaps you'll like this video instead? (for anyone who's a Boomer or older)

 

Puzzling thoughts:

Chairman Moe here.  Today's constructor Guilherme Gilioli (the link will take you to his last appearance at the Crossword Corner) has been featured as a constructor @ the LATimes a total of four times now.  He also has 3 published puzzles @ NYT and has his own webpage for crosswords (in his native, Portuguese) - very impressive

Today's puzzle has the dreaded circles (side-eye shout out to SS); however, without them I am not sure that you would have noticed the reveal:

59 across. Judge's directive, or a feature of each set of circled letters?: COURT ORDER. 

The reveal is supported by the following entries; I highlighted the circled letters in red text:

17 across. 1990s grunge icon: KURT COBAIN.  There is far too much to write about him to fit into this blog. I'm pretty sure that he was quite polarizing, but then again, aren't we all to some degree?  When I read his biography @ Wikipedia I noticed this fact about him, straight away: he died at the age of 27 (this link will provide the names of the other iconic rock stars who passed at this specific age, which began the use of the term, "27 Club")

23 across. Some street food vendors: TACO TRUCKS.  These are quite popular here in the desert SW but I hear that they are becoming popular in more and more places across the country, not just in Arizona or other states that border Mexico.  Does your city have one?  Do tell!

 

This is one that we frequent

37 across. Going the faster way, hopefully: TAKING A SHORTCUT.  This brings back some not so fond memories of taking road trips with my parents and sister.  Earliest memory probably was at the age of 6 or so.  Dad was "infamous" for trying to find a shortcut rather than stick to the beaten path.  I guess that he swore by the adage that the shortest distance between two spots is a straight line.  Well, often that "straight line" that dad drove resulted in a dead end.  Many times at a farm house!  My mom had an expression for his shortcuts and called them "two-mile roads", as we always seemed to drive two miles in and then two miles back out

48 across. Easy A's: GUT COURSES. [from AI] "A gut course is college slang for an easy, undemanding academic class. The term arose in the early 20th century from the older slang notion of a "feast" or "belly-full"—implying a course so simple that a student could easily "swallow" or consume it without mental strain. Campus slang dictionaries and historical references (such as the Online Etymology Dictionary) note student use of "gut" for an easy class emerging around 1916, though some major lexicons trace its widespread recorded use to the mid-20th century."  I did not know this

After solving the puzzle and revisiting the circles, I noticed that the "order" of the letters in the word COURT were correct in only 3 of the four entries.  37 across (TAKING A SHORTCUT) was the exception, and the added T next to the circled letters felt "odd".  I suppose that is a nit but when I do my recaps and rate the puzzles I take everything into account; I WANT ORDER!! 🤨

To his credit, Guilherme used very few three-letter words; the entries were quite fresh; and he used 55 letters for the reveal and entries (that's a lot). Overall, I rate this ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐.   Bom trabalho!

Here is the grid: 

 

On to the rest:

Across:
1. Rascal: SCAMP.

6. With 30-Across, FIFA women's powerhouse: TEAM (30 across. See 6-Across) USA.  [from AI] "Team USA women hold elite historic milestones across sports, highlighted by the soccer team's 4 World Cup titles, basketball's dominant Olympic streak, and a record-breaking 12 gold medals for female athletes at the 2026 Winter Games"

10. Rip-off: SCAM. Moe-ku:

        A Generic brand

        Ripped-off Hormel with canned meat.

        It was a Spam SCAM 

14. Green growth in a pond: ALGAE.  Moe-ku: (this one will test your knowledge of soul music)

        Hi Records star Green

       ("Let's Stay Together") 

        Has homo-phonic nickname 

        I think it's ALGAE

15. Rotating shaft: AXLE.

16. Salt-N-Pepa, e.g.: TRIO. Soul music was what I grew up with; the next generation was into Hip-Hop (I think!).  Salt-N-Pepa was formed in 1985 in NYC.  Salt (Cheryl James) Pepa (Sandra Denton) and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper) are the trio [Wikipedia].  Their website

[entry #1]

19. Learning tools: AIDS.  Anyone remember these?

 

20. Manatee habitat: SEA. But the Malodorous Manatee's habitat is here, at the Crossword Corner!

21. Ray of McDonald's history: KROC. Moe-ku: (this will test your knowledge of TV sitcoms)

       "New Girl" actor Max

        Played McDonald's founder Ray;

        That's a Kroc of Schmidt 

22. General locations: AREAS.  As opposed to "Dollar General" locations: everywhere! 

[entry #2]

26. VEX creations: ROBOTS. Perps helped solve this one

29. Make a choice: OPT.

[see above @ 6]

33. Azerbaijan neighbor: IRAN. Today's geography lesson

34. Right-hand page: RECTO. Today's Latin lesson.  Recto in Spanish, though, means "straight" (as in straight ahead)

36. Only word spoken in "Silent Movie": NON.  Ironically spoken by famed mime artist Marcel Marceau

[entry #3]

41. Former quarterback Manning: ELI.  Eli and his NY Giants Football Team won two Super Bowls: Super Bowl XLII and XLVI - both versus the New England Patriots.  Not sure if this video will load, but the highlight of SB 42 was this catch:

 

42. 1/16 of a pound: OUNCE. 

43. 2026 "Legally Blonde" prequel: ELLE. Any fans here of this movie or its prequel?

44. Taxpayer ID: SSN. Entered as a nine-digit number: xxx-xx-xxxx.  It helps to remember your last four digits

45. "Sweet!": RAD. The word "rad" became popular in the mid-1980's.  My generation used the word "cool"

46. Make a value judgment: ASSESS. 

[entry #4]

52. Result of haste, in an adage: WASTE.  

54. Colossal: VAST.

55. Prefix with -tainment: EDU.  Hand up for trying CON first?  

Learning moe-ment: [from AI and Wiki]: "Edutainment is a blended word combining education and entertainment. It means media or activities designed to teach people while keeping them amused and interested. This approach turns learning into a fun experience instead of a chore".  So is this a portmanteau?

58. So much: A LOT.  Would "very" much have been A TON??

[reveal]

62. Junction point: NODE.  Moe-ku:

 

        The energy flow

        Was all catawampus, but

        The NODE knowed the way

63. Hayride seat, say: BALE.  Why I chose LOFT first befuddles me; I was on a hayride, not on a "ride in the hay" 😂😂😂

64. "All sales are __": FINAL.

65. Beloved: DEAR.

66. Scrabble board symbol covered in the first play of the game: STAR.  It also is a Double Word symbol.  Helps to get off to a good start.  The image below was a game I played against another person (you'll notice the score for the "Chairman".  The word RALPHED was my star-ter.  I also made a few Triples

67. Young horses: FOALS. Very young horses.  Newborns

Down:
1. Fifth Avenue retailer: SAKS.  

2. Game with secret passages: CLUE.  Colonel Mustard, in the kitchen, with a knife

3. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.  Moe-ku:

 

        Magicians say this

        Magic word in India:

        AGRA-cadabara 

  

4. Yoga surface: MAT.

5. Eat like a bird?: PECK AT.  These birds know

6. Frowned upon: TABOO.  I've always instructed people not to wear cologne or perfume at wine tastings, so I guess THIS would also be

7. Spot-on: EXACT.

8. Legend in the ring: ALI.  Father or daughter?? 

9. Big boys: MEN.

10. Severely plain: STARK.  But not THIS Stark:

11. Throws in the towel: CRIES UNCLE.

12. Verdi opera: AIDA.

13. Green growth in a terrarium: MOSS.  Are you one who believes that moss only grows on the north side of a tree?  That sounds a bit shady, to me

18. Middle-earth monsters: ORCS. 

22. Many a Hollywood Walk of Fame honoree: ACTOR.

There are exceptions though 

23. "Un-Break My Heart" singer Braxton: TONI.

24. Swiss pharmaceutical giant: ROCHE.  [Wikipedia] "F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company headquarters are located in Basel.

25. As many as: UP TO.  There may be up to six Moe-ku's today

26. Ceremonial events: RITES. And one Moe-l'ick, for a change ... and the rite is probably well-known to our Jewish cornerites:

        After birth, couple's son had his Bris

        
But just wait 'til you hear about this!

        The Mohel arrived drunk;

        Then butchered baby's junk.

        Looks like something's become quite a Miss.

27. Spoken exams: ORALS. 

28. Science fair volcano ingredient: BAKING SODA.  [From AI]: "A classic science fair volcano uses baking soda and vinegar to create a fizzy, foaming chemical reaction"

The video below is a tad juvenile but it's still pretty cool 😎😎

 

31. Spiritual essences: SOULS.

32. Pays to play: ANTES.  Today's grammar lesson:  Why would you say ante versus antes? "Ante is the base form of the verb used for I, you, we, they, or plural nouns in the present tense, while antes is the third-person singular form used for he, she, it, or singular nouns.  Did I say this correctly??

34. Total stranger: RANDO.  [AI explanation]: "The slang word "rando" comes from shortening the word "random" and adding the suffix -o (similar to words like weirdo or sicko). It first appeared in American youth slang during the 1990s and 2000s before becoming mainstream in the 2010s"

35. Key near F1: ESC.

38. America del __: Mexico's continent: NORTE.  North America

39. Green dip, briefly: GUAC.  I make a mean guac if I do say so myself.  My recipe includes (besides avocados) fresh cilantro, chopped red onion, diced Hatch chili peppers (when in season) or jalapeño peppers, lime juice, and low-sodium tajin.  I put everything into a food processor and puree, maintaining just a bit of "chunkiness" 

40. Model/activist Holliday: TESS.  Ryann Maegen Hoven, known professionally as Tess Holliday and formerly known as Tess Munster, is an American plus-size model, blogger, and make-up artist based in Los Angeles - she is unknown to me

46. Helper: Abbr.: ASST.  One of the other nits I had with today's puzzle was the number of abbr's

47. Trigger, as an alarm: SET OFF.  

49. Total: UTTER.  

50. Throat dangler: UVULA.  This was one from Jim Davis that was a bit surprising ... 

51. More uncommon: RARER.

52. Steam __: latte-making gadget: WAND.  

53. Sunburn treatment: ALOE.

55. "Giant" novelist Ferber: EDNA.

56. "Works for me!": DEAL.

57. Web addresses: URLS.  Moe-ku #6

        Websites in Russia

        Are all named after mountains:

        The Urals' URLs 

 

(hey, they can't all be winners ...)          

59. "48 Hours" airer: CBS.  I always thought that "60 Minutes" was all I could watch in one sitting.  "48 Hours"?  My attention span now lasts for maybe 30 seconds ... 😉

60. Breakfast bit that might soak overnight: OAT.

61. Home of Sugarloaf Mountain: RIO.  Here is a fun fact:  There are no less than 450 mountains, hills, and rock formations named Sugarloaf worldwide, with over 200 located in the United States alone.  Bet you didn't know THAT!  

Now, when it comes to rock bands named Sugarloaf, the one featured in the video below is the Chairman's favorite - not sure when in 1970 that this one became a "hit"; either before I graduated HS or after I became a freshman in college.  But I still like this song (Green-Eyed Lady) some 56 years later ...

  

See you next month - my carpal tunnel surgery on hand number two is manaña