Thursday June 18, 2026 Zachary David Levy

The prolific ZDL strikes again! This time, he's imparting some of his hard-won knowledge for our solving pleasure.

60A. "Say 'aye' forcefully and project confidence," e.g.: PRO TIPS. I didn't notice that this was the revealer at first. PRO TIPS are useful pieces of advice, supposedly from someone with experience in the matter. They are often called "life hacks" on the internet, so you know they must be true. 

Don't believe everything you read!

7D. "Hug the shore until you reach the ocean," e.g.: SOUND ADVICE. The clued directions tell how to go around an inlet, i.e. ADVICE to walk along a SOUND.

29D. "Pair it with thyme or rosemary," e.g.: SAGE WISDOM. Just add parsley to the mix and the SAGE WISDOM would be like Paul Simon's "Scarborough Fair."

31D. "The cinnamon version tastes better than the original," e.g.: LIFE LESSON. LIFE cereal comes in several varieties, but the LESSON I've learned is that the original always tastes best.

A TIP of the hat to Mr. Levy

I liked this puzzle. All three of the phrases work in place of PRO TIPS as they stand (vertically!). But their TIPS (the bottom ends: ADVICE, WISDOM and LESSON) are also synonyms of TIPS by themselves. A double dipper! That all the themers were puns was icing on the cake.

And that was just the TIP of the iceberg!

Across:

1. Completely smitten: GAGA. Just like Lady GAGA's fans - the Little Monsters.

5. Iraq port city: BASRA.

10. Policy chief: CZAR. Thought WONK, at first.

14. Like some history and hygiene: ORAL. Thought words that start with "H" ?

15. Cacophonous: AROAR. Thought NOISY, at first. I'm doing a lot a thinking on this puzzle...most of it wrong.

16. Sharpen: HONE.

17. Kiss, in Cancún: BESO. A Spanish kiss!

18. Piano composition: ETUDE. Not EBONY or IVORY which are the composition of the piano keys. An ETUDE is a short piece designed as a practice exercise.

19. Tiny amount: IOTA. The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet is the smallest one to write, just one little stroke of a pen, thus it eventually came to reference tiny things.

20. Email option since 1997: YAHOO. Yeah, who?

22. Genetic messenger molecule: RNA. RiboNucleic Acid. 

23. Big name in the school supply aisle: ELMER. 

Oops! Wrong Elmer!

24. Exercise that may wind up in a playground: FIRE DRILL. When I saw "wind up," my first thought (oh boy, here we go again) was how I used to twist and spin on a swing.

27. Core muscles: ABS. Body anatomy, part 1.

30. Longtime Buick model: LE SABRE.

31. Acid rock's acid: LSD. It's how you get far out, man.

34. Neck wrap: BOA. He probably meant a feather BOA.

35. Share an office workstation: HOT DESK. I guess it's HOT because whoever arrives first gets to sit there in the accompanying HOT seat. Or is that in the boss's office?

36. Debt letters: IOU. This means I. O. U. which is shorthand for, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday..."

37. "Casablanca" star, affectionately: BOGIE. Humphrey Bogart was above par as an actor, but below par as a golfer. Just kidding. He was single-digit handicap player, and was considered one of the best golfers in Hollywood's Golden Age.

39. Egg cells: OVA.

40. Minor disagreements: TIFFS.

42. Realm: ARENA.

43. Cars singer Ocasek: RIC. RIC Ocasek, lead singer, songwriter and oldest member of the Cars was over 30 (ancient in pop music terms) when the band struck it big. He wore a wig to fit in.

44. "What's Your Country Song" singer Thomas: RHETT. Thomas Rhett is a Grammy-nominated country music singer and songwriter who blends contemporary country with rock & roll.

45. In need of a towel: WET.

46. Tourism prefix: ECO.

47. 20-Across alternative: AOL. I haven't used WAHOO or AOL this century. 

48. Gymnast's move: FLIP. They do this to see who goes first.

50. Current fashion: TREND.

52. Chest muscles: PECS. Body anatomy, part 2.

55. Exactly: JUST SO.

57. Winter fishing tool: ICE SAW. I saw you fishing on a frozen lake.

59. Anxiety-related med. condition: OCD. Amongst other letters, I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder tendencies. I used great restraint in not fixing this problem:

How could someone leave it this way?

60. [theme]

64. "Chandelier" singer: SIA. SIA is an Australian singer and songwriter known for her powerful voice...and bizarre wigs.

65. Ipanema's city: RIO. Ipanema is a neighborhood in RIO de Janeiro, Brazil.

66. Medicine derived from the bark of the willow tree: ASPIRIN.

67. Sphere: ORB.

68. Flow stopper: DAM.

69. A few: NOT MANY. I figure this is the number of you crossword solvers who also do Sudoku. 

70. Sudoku figs.: NOS. Figures are numbers. So, how many of you also solve the Sudoku?

Down:

1. Prefer to be called: GO BY. The great Asian desert prefers to be called Gobi.

2. Region: AREA.

3. Nasty wound: GASH.

4. Cool and distant: ALOOF.

5. Sweetie: BAE.

6. Professional who specializes in oil cleanups?: ART RESTORER. Winner: Best Clue.

7. [theme]

8. Blip producer: RADAR BEACON. The government recently declassified sealed UFO files, and now we can all see fuzzy pics of blurry objects. 

9. "__ you sure?": ARE.

10. Put on ice: CHILL.

11. Google Meet alternative: ZOOM.

12. Opening payment: ANTE.

13. Backup camera's view: REAR. 

21. Output of some furnaces: OIL HEAT. The output is just HEAT, regardless of the fuel source.

23. Marvel assassin played by Jennifer Garner: ELEKTRA. In spite of her 2005 movie getting a dismal 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, she reprised her role in other Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

25. __ Speedwagon: REO. The most popular classic band car in crosswords. It is an ancestor of the pickup truck.

This 1926 Model G is 100 years old!

26. E-file org.: IRS. Internal Revenue Service.

27. "Mamma Mia!" band: ABBA. ABBA is also common crossword fodder. "Here we go again..."

28. Obnoxious one: BOOR.

29. [theme]

31. [theme]

32. Out of shape, say: SOFT.

33. Sign of disuse: DUST.

38. Lacking skill: INEPT.

41. "Wouldn't that be nice!": I HOPE.

48. Scandinavian inlet: FJORD. Before I looked at this clue, I had FJ_R_ and my rusty brain immediately went to "F-JARS." Anyone got change for a $5?

49. Saint __: Lesser Antilles island: LUCIA.

50. Body part with 27- and 52-Across: TORSO. Body anatomy, part 3.

51. Use, as a ladle: DIP IN.

53. City southeast of Alexandria: CAIRO. It looks nearly due east to me.

Oh, that Alexandria.

54. Ear cleaners: SWABS. Ear cleaners: Q-TIPS.

56. Spread: SPAN.

58. "Teach Your Children" gp.: CSNY. In only their second live show ever, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young delivered a legendary performance at Woodstock in 1969. 

"This is the second time we've ever played in front of people, man. We're scared s—less!"

61. Choose: OPT.

62. Actor Meadows: TIM. TIM logged ten seasons at SNL before branching out into movies.

63. 401(k) kin: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

Be good. RB

Friday, May 29th, 2026 ~ Zachary David Levy

CASEICULTURIST

Not MY job - I'm just a cheesy blog writer

I had the "up" words Z-D-L puzzle in January and RB handled his last crossword back at the start of May.  Today our consistent constructor gives us a "redefinition" of what one's career might entail, but with a humorous twist (~?) - I have mixed feelings about this one; I found it Friday challenging, and therefore enjoyable, but as it's been said at The Corner in the past, the juice maybe not be worth the squeeze; YMMV.   Another over-sized 15 x 16 grid, chunky 9-letter corners, several, and some obscure, names, twenty-two 3LWs, and ALOT of Twurds.  The themers, followed by the centrally located reveal;

18. Photographer?: CHEESEMONGER - a one-word professional who selects, cares for, cuts and sells cheese; I linked a "How It's Made" episode on cheese making back in March

26. Police officer?: TICKET AGENT - I've never gotten a speeding ticket; I have, however, had two DUI arrests, one arrest & ticket for lapse of insurance, and two for operating a commercial vehicle in the HOV lane & illegally crossing the HOV buffer "line".  Sheesh.  This is what drinking cost me; once I stopped, so did the tickets - go figure . . . 

I was never THAT drunk . . . 

52. Carpenter?: FLOOR TRADER - in my carpentry work days of yore, I have done several ceramic tile floors, and a couple of Pergo ones - one could argue I "traded" the old linoleum for something better

Floor Cheese

63. Realtor?: STREET VENDOR - It's true, in a sense - David Cook, my Realtor here in CT, sold me a house while we were on the "street" I now call home . . .

The cheese on the street . . . 

38. "That's someone else's problem," or an apt title for this puzzle - NOT MY JOB - As a retail manager in the home improvement industry, I heard employees say the reveal far too many times.  For those who read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the clue is a different "thing" altogether . . . 

But Wait - There's More Cheese~?

ACROSS:

1. Like some temples: MASONIC - Dah~!  I wanted to fill this in, hesitated

8. Epiphany trio: MAGI - I do the Downs first, already had the "G" in place

12. Maker of Sticking Point press-on nails: OPI - Nailed it, but this is a crossword staple

15. Tennis period since 1968: OPEN ERA - my one mistake; I had openerS at first

16. Make smooth: IRON - ah, the verb - good one

17. NFL Hall of Famer Dawson: LEN - name #1, which I did actually know

20. Pester: IRK

21. Bandleader's command: HIT IT - It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses . . .

"Hit it."

22. Hosp. areas: ERs - Not ORs - that was yesterday

23. Dry Italian whites: SOAVES - filled via perps

Swah-vay

25. Object of adoration: IDOL - this one's protected by the Hovitos . . . if only you could speak Hovitos

The Wiki on the Golden Idol's "history"

28. Sphinx, mostly: LION

30. mRNA vaccine maker: MODERNA - their website

31. Splashes gently against: LAPS AT - Twurd #2

34. Brit's cuppa: TEA

36. "How ya __?": "DOIN'~?"

37. Org. that issues Energy Star labels: EPA

42. Fella: LAD

43. Quayle follower: GORE - VPs in the 90s; name #2

45. Diamonds, slangily: ICE

46. Some big batteries: D-CELLS

48. Retro: OLD-TIME

51. Florida coastal city, informally: BOCA - Raton; Geo name #3

I lived in Jacksonville for two long years

55. Milk source: TEAT - I had GOAT, 50% correct

59. Skiffle singer Donegan: LONNIE - I heard this from my British parents growing up - name #4

"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose it's Flavor~?"

I never heard all the lyrics - it's quite a fun rocker of a song

60. By way of: VIA

61. Jeff Tweedy's band: WILCO - no clue, more here, name #5

62. Vader, as a boy: ANI - Star Wars, Darth Vader né Anakin Skywalker, names #6

66. Hr. division: MINute

67. City west of Tulsa: ENID - Geo name #7

The Pipe Organ company finished this instrument before I started

68. Giggly outbursts: TITTERS - titters and teats in one corner, Hmmm . . . 

69. Sack: BAG - the verb definition "FIRE" was not going to fit

70. Drawn-out tale: SAGA

71. "I need an answer right now": "YES OR NO~?" - Thwurd 

"Let me sleep on it" lyric @ 6:00

DOWN:

1. Rice cake that may be filled with ice cream: MOCHI - new to me

The recipe here

2. Rose pest: APHID - I DID know this 

3. Handle: SEE TO - Twurd #4

4. Actor Ed and food writer Molly: O'NEILLs - I knew of Ed; the Wiki on Molly.  Names #8

5. Place to brood: NEST - didn't fool me

6. Anger: IRE

7. Entered: CAME IN - Twurd #5

8. Capital of Belarus: MINSK - Ah.  This filled via perps.  Geo name #9

9. Uru. neighbor: ARGentina - Geo name abbr

10. Attends: GOES TO - Twurd #6

11. Bit of hard-won progress: INROAD - according to the internet, this is one word

12. Bakery item dotted with kalamatas: OLIVE ROLL - good WAG on my second pass

13. Reliable plant: PERENNIAL - AND - 49D. Purple 13-Downs: IRISES

14. Quaint desk accessories: INK STANDS - I know ink wells, not stands, and ink pots was yesterday

Buy this one here

19. Tolkien baddie: ORC

24. Mature: AGED - the ambivalent tense of the clue made me try "RIPE"

26. Emerald City visitor: TOTO - the dog from the Wizard of Oz, still a name, #10

27. Key of Vivaldi's "Spring": Abbr.: Emaj - I knew the "m" would be correct . . . could have been Amin, etc.

29. "Amsterdam" novelist McEwan: IAN - name #11

31. Roasted entree that may be served with mint jelly: LEG OF LAMB - I knew this; once I had some crossings, the V-8 can flew

Leg of LamP

32. Kotero of "Purple Rain": APOLLONIA - I vaguely remember the movie, released in 1984 - before my HS days, and did not see - not a Prince fan back then - name #12, and a unique fill.  The IMDb

nylons don't do well with those shoes 

33. Letting off the hook: PARDONING - $2 word

34. SHO subsidiary: TMC - no clue, knew we needed a TV abbr - SHOwtime, The Movie Channel

35. __ contact: EYE - I am getting much better at this as I "mature"

39. Level: TIER

40. Fragrance: ODOR - IMHO, I don't think of a fragrance as an "odor"

41. Email covertly: BCC - Blind Carbon Copy

44. Collar named for an elite school: ETON - learned by doing crosswords

47. Erode: EAT INTO - Twurd #7

50. Active volcano in Eur.: Mt. ETNA - Iv'e had this "abbr full fill" once before 

51. Warren who played Dick Tracy: BEATTY - knew it, still name #13

53. Vegan body care brand: AVEDA - name(ish)

54. Fizzle out: DIE

56. Tribal leader: ELDER - Dah~! Not CHIEF

57. Oak tree, once: ACORN

58. Trunk: TORSO - Dah~!  Not CHEST

61. Dampens: WETS

64. 18-wheeler: RIG

65. Try (for): VIE

Splynter

Grid Flow 30.7

Thursday May 7, 2026 Zachary David Levy

Zachary David Levy is a man with a plan. We last saw him here a few months ago in January with "Speak Up," another synonym theme where words spelled upwards on the grid.

The master plan becomes clear with the revealer:

37. "Let's do this thing!," or what can be said about each set of circles in this puzzle: SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN. The circled letters create made-up sound-alikes for words that mean PLAN. They all can fill in the blank, "What is your ____?" 

17. Some tissue in the central nervous system: GRAY MATTER. AYM sounds like AIM.

23. Quantum mechanics phenomenon: SUPER POSITION. PERPOS sounds like PURPOSE. For those of you that aren't physicists, a SUPER POSITION is the principle that physical systems can exist in multiple states, locations, or configurations simultaneously. Got it?

47. Sweet and tart fruit drink: MANGO LEMONADE. GOL sounds like GOAL.

58. Therapeutic canopy for some respiratory ailments: OXYGEN TENT. ENTENT sounds like INTENT.

I don't mind circles, but I'm bad at anagrams. However, the first one was easy, only three letters - either MAY or YAM. Now I'm looking for months or tubers. When I couldn't unscramble PERPOS, I figured it must be some foreign name I'd never heard of. Fortunately, the revealer came up in the middle and saved me from tearing my hair out on the rest of them. No anagrams, just imaginary homophones for synonyms of "PLAN". And you have to use your imagination to see beyond their spelling to hopefully pronounce them correctly. So, this puzzle was OKAY, although like last Thursday, it seems a bit easy for this late in the week.

Let's see how his strategy plays out:

Across:

1. Hajj destination: MECCA.

6. Foxtrot follower: GOLF. Actually, after the Foxtrot came the Charleston. But in this case, the letters "F" and "G" are from the NATO alphabet. 

10. Took off: LEFT.

14. Brilliance: ECLAT. ÉCLAT (pronounced "ay-KLAH") is a French term meaning doing something with great style.

15. Actress Taylor-Joy: ANYA. I liked ANYA in The Queens' Gambit, then was disappointed in The Gorge. She and a single Russian counterpart are tasked with protecting all of mankind from unknown evils that reside in a gorge. With humanity at stake, wouldn't you assign more than two people to do this?

16. Land division: ACRE. Land division: GORGE. 

17. [theme]

19. Brit's trunk: BOOT. Britt's trunk: BOOTY.

Brittany Spears

20. Not to be trusted, in slang: SUS. I SUSpect this sounds SUSpicious.

21. Condo gp.: HOA. HomeOwners Association.

22. Elusive picture book character: WALDO. Hiding in plain sight was a skill he learned as a child when there were chores to do.

Waldo, please take out the trash. Waldo? Waldo!

23. [theme]

28. Frozen gutter problem: ICE DAM. Not a problem in Florida.

30. "Saturday Night Live" unit: SKIT. "Saturday Night Live" is abbreviated SNL. Oh wait, it's usually the other way around.

31. "Ditto": SO DO I.

32. Not great, say: OKAY.

34. Sanskrit title of respect: SRI.

37. [theme]

41. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Mont Blanc, e.g.: PEN.

42. Mystery writer Buchanan: EDNA. In addition to crime novelist, EDNA is a journalist who won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting "for her versatile and consistently excellent police beat reporting."

43. Lego unit: BRICK.

44. Yogurt bowl berry: ACAI.

46. Homes: ABODES.

47. [theme]

52. Not of this world: ALIEN.

53. Messy class, often: ART. I've noticed that many artistic people seem to thrive in organized mess.

54. Uno y uno: DOS. 1+1=2 lección de matemáticas (math lesson in Spanish). 

57. __ diagram: VENN.

58. [theme]

62. Board VIP: EXEC. An EXECutive is a Very Important Person, or so they think.

63. McEntire of country: REBA. REBA, also known as "The Queen of Country," has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. She's had over 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with 25 reaching number one. In spite of all that, she seems very down-to-earth.

She's a real VIP.

64. Italian bowling game: BOCCE. It's like curling without the ice!

65. __ a soul: NARY.

66. Tree of Knowledge location: EDEN.

67. A bit off: ASKEW. Just look up "RustyBrain" in the dictionary.

Down:

1. Gig segments: MEGS. My first thought was SETS, as in a band playing music for the evening. But this is a computer reference to Gigabytes which are made up of 1000 Megabytes.

2. Earth tone: ECRU.

3. Brought elegance to: CLASSED UP. It's what happens when I walk into any joint. So I'm told.

4. Sandy island: CAY. Same as a key. 

5. Outer bank?: ATM. Nice clue. Automated Teller Machine.

6. "Later, __!": GATOR. In a while, crocodile!

7. Ready to go: ON TAP.

8. NaOH, more familiarly: LYE. RightBrain took a break from perfecting sourdough breads and decided to try her hand at Bavarian pretzels. The recipe called for soaking them in LYE (sodium hydroxide), just like bagels. It's highly caustic so she made a baking soda bath instead, but if used, the LYE will break down in the oven. 

The knots were hard to do...but they tasted great!

9. Not walkable, say: FAR.

10. Canadian brewery: LABATT. LABATT is now part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev family.

11. Cause of some food poisoning: E. COLI.

12. Baggins of the Shire: FRODO. This also could have been Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is Bilbo's second cousin, once removed, but Bilbo affectionately considers him a nephew.

13. "Grand" peak visible from eastern Idaho: TETON.

18. "Standing right here!": AHEM. "You know I can hear you, right?"

22. Mario Kart platform: WII. WII was a popular Nintendo gaming console discontinued in 2013. It lives on here because it has two "I"s. Like most of us.

24. Soba alternative: UDON. UDON and soba are staple Japanese noodles with distinct differences: Udon is thick, chewy, and white (wheat-based), while soba is thin, earthy, and brownish (buckwheat-based).

25. No longer in arrears: PAID.

26. Port city east of Kobe: OSAKA.

27. __ terrier: SKYE. SKYE Terriers were originally bred in the 1600s on Scotland's Isle of Skye to protect farms and livestock by hunting and killing predators, such as foxes and badgers. Their low-slung, sturdy bodies,, tough, long double coats, and fierce, intelligent nature allowed them to tackle prey and thrive in harsh, rocky Scottish weather.

28. Actress Rae: ISSA. ISSA Rae is an Emmy-nominated actress, writer, producer, director and entrepreneur. And she has lots of usable letters in her name.

29. Refrigerate: COOL.

32. Tune rarely played on Top 40 radio: OLDIE. Unfortunately, every song I used to listen to on Top 40 radio is now an oldie. I wonder what that says about me?

33. Family: KIN.

34. PowerPoint file, essentially: SLIDE DECK.  I wanted SLIDE SHOW.

35. Zoom: RACE.

36. Signs, as a contract: INKS.

38. Animal that goes with the floe?: SEAL. Winner: Best Clue.

39. "Fernando" band: ABBA. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden, and 400 million albums later...

ABBA won singing "Waterloo"

40. Egg on: PROD.

44. Ability to shape one's own future: AGENCY.

45. Fleece: CON.

46. Poker stake: ANTE.

47. Whiz: MAVEN.

48. Wrestler Bliss known as "Five Feet of Fury": ALEXA. What made her furious was her Amazon Echo that answered every time someone called her.

49. West Coast NFLer: NINER. The San Franciso 49ers, named after the thousands of prospectors who flocked to Northern California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. "Dwelt a miner, forty-NINER..."

50. "It's always possible": MAYBE.

51. Church fixture: ORGAN. I love the massive sound of a pipe organ in a large church. And if one ever breaks, call 1-800-SPLYNTER.

55. __ in a while: ONCE.

56. Hearty bowlful: STEW.

58. Seam contents: ORE.

59. Crossed (out): XED. "X" is often used as shorthand for "cross," as in xwords.

60. Org. for Jazz quintets?: NBA. The Utah JAZZ from the National Basketball Association. Basketball is played with five players on each side.

61. Talking-__: TOS. And in the "terrible twos," the tots talk back!

Be good. RB