Saturday, February 28, 2026, Zhou Zhang & Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Zhou Zhang & Rafael Musa

There was a lot to like and struggle with in Zhou and Rafa's wonderful puzzle that features pinwheel stacks of 8. My solving experience started on the SE edge of the pinwheel and rotated clockwise to the NE  where incredibly clued  BRA PAD and GOT OPEN finished the solve.

We have seen Rafa here quite often collaborating with others, especially Rebecca Goldstein. 

1. Superdome player: SAINT - I felt that knowing the Superdome is the home of the New Orleans SAINTS to be a good omen

6. Energy crisis?: BAD VIBES 

14. Some belly buttons: INNIES.

16. Result of doomscrolling, perhaps: BRAIN ROT - New to me but makes sense

 

17. Perform precisely: DO TO A T - 🤔 That hid for quite a while 

18. Maintain one's dignity: SAVE FACE.

19. Sanctions: ENABLES - Sanctions is a contronym where one definition can mean the exact opposite of another

21. Had no defense?: GOT OPEN 🤔 I assume this is when a football receiver GOT OPEN because the defense did not cover him.

22. Buggy site: DUNE.

23. SEC-regulated events: IPOS.

25. Farm worker: ANT.

26. M-W alternative: OED 🤔 - The Oxford English Dictionary can be an alternative to the Merriam-Webster version.

27. Surname of both founders of the fashion label The Row: OLSEN - They came to mind pretty quickly

29. Appears to point to: BODES - Seeing Rafa's name on a puzzle BODES that this could take some time!

31. Pan handler: OVEN MITT.

33. Animal with a white rump: ELK.

34. "A Court of Thorns and Roses," for one: ROMANTASY SERIES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  A portmanteau of ROMANce and fanTASY- Bill Maher did a recent monologue about this where he posits that the popularity of these books—which often feature intense, protective, supernatural male characters—stems from a sense of sexual or romantic unfulfillment among women in the modern world.

39. Apple product: PIE - It would be easier if clued this way: An apple product.

40. "You wanna fight!?": COME AT ME - 😡

41. Composer with a namesake horn: SOUSA

44. Ignored a scarecrow, perhaps: CAWED 😀

45. Take (down): JOT 😀

46. Reactions to stubs: OWS - Nothing to do with tickets 

47. Automaker Karl: BENZ.

48. Simple shelters: HUTS.

49. Left over, in a way: UNEATEN.

52. Pretend: ACT AS IF.

55. Pico de gallo, e.g.: RED SALSA.

57. Short person?: DEBTOR 😀 - If you're short of funds...

58. Suddenly gave way: CRUMPLED - We studied this bridge that eventually gave way and CRUMPLED into the Tacoma Narrows in physics class

59. Solution for wounds: SALINE.

60. Ingredient in carajillo and affogato: ESPRESSO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

61. En __: MASSE - East Germans exited en Masse when the Berlin Wall fell.

Down:

1. Something that might be right up one's alley: SIDE DOOR - A slight variation 

2. Nochevieja follower: ANO NUEVO - Spanish: 

Nochevieja (December 31st, Old Year's Night) is directly followed by Año Nuevo (January 1st, New Year's Day).

3. As one: IN TANDEM.

4. Weeping mother of Greek myth: NIOBE - I've planted a few of these NIOBE Weeping Willows.

5. Charlotte Hornets color: TEAL.

6. Not-so-big shots: BBS 😀

7. Catalonia neighbor: ARAGON.

8. Swiss host of the World Economic Forum: DAVOS.

9. "The Sympathizer" Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen: VIET ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Skinny: INFO 😀

11. Push-up form?: BRA PAD.

12. Epoch whose name means "new dawn": EOCENE - The term highlights the "dawn" of modern mammalian fauna like horse, bats and whales around 40 million years ago following the extinction of the dinosaurs. You're Welcome. 

13. Artery inserts: STENTS.

15. Office building subdivision, for short: STE - Suite

20. Queen Latifah's "Nature of a __": SISTA.

24. Imaging technique: PET SCAN - Positron Emission Tomography

27. __ vincit amor: OMNIA - A proclamation in ink that Love Conquers All

28. Lo-cal: LITE.

29. Run: BLEED.

30. National vegetable of Pakistan: OKRA.

32. Quick outings?: NAPS 😀

33. "Hanna" star __ Creed-Miles: ESME - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Beautiful, young women with guns are standard TV and movie tropes these days.

35. "Holy cow!": YOWZA.

36. Unsatisfying response to "why?": IT JUST IS.

37. Love and hate: EMOTIONS.

38. Releases: SETS FREE.

41. Point of origin: SOURCE.

42. People with good deeds to their names?: OWNERS - This is a famous deed for a home in Memphis.

43. Finished: USED UP.

44. Perfumes during a rite: CENSES.

47. Quintet in London's Elizabeth Tower: BELLS - Big Ben is the largest of these five

48. "Se __ inglé": HABLA - English is spoken.

50. Video genre that may cause chills, for short: ASMR - Experience as much of this 3-hour example of eerie 

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

 as you like.

51. Box closer: TAPE.

53. S&L options: CDS.

54. Bears, e.g.: TEAM - They are threatening to move

56. Flap: ADO.

Friday, September 19, 2025, Zhou Zhang

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, back from the Rocky Mountains with a recap of a puzzle by Zhou Zhang.  Hmm, both of our names are alliterative.  That and five dollars will get you a cup of coffee.

Let's jump right in with the unifier:

66 Across:  Fueled up before a big race, or a description of the answers to the starred clues?: CARBO LOADED.

Each of the following four theme answers references a form of carbohydrate:

19 Across:  *Earnings for a restaurant with a tandoor?: NAAN PROFITS.  FROM NON PROFITS.  With this erudite crowd there's no need to explain what NAAN is.

25 Across:  *Bun that's a really big hit?: STARRING ROLL.  From STARRING ROLE

43 Across:  *One who eats the same brand of corn flakes every morning?: CEREAL MONOGAMIST.  From SERIAL MONOGAMIST

55 Across:  *Ciabatta Chihuahua or pumpernickel Pomeranian?: PURE BREAD DOG.  From PUREBRED DOG.

This is how the completed grid looks:

... and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. __ second: LEAP.  Hand up for first thinking something along the lines of NANO second.

5. Percussion troupe since 1991: STOMP.

10. Prickly plants: CACTI.

15. Cream alternative: ECRU.  Not a reference to a dairy product.  Not a reference to a super group band.  Not slang for trouncing.  A reference to a color.

16. Eaglet's home: AERIE.

17. Astronaut Ochoa: ELLEN.  All You Might Want To Know

18. Tons: A LOT.

21. Handles: NAMES.  Handle, in this case, being slang for, well, NAME.

23. Bill: NOTE.  As in "C-note" or banknote

24. Each: A POP.  Slang for apiece.

29. Japanese artist and peace activist: ONO.  A frequent visitor.

30. Fuss: TODO.

31. Crocheter's stash: YARN.

33. Yearning: ITCH.

36. Large mammals in matrilineal groups: ORCAS.  "Large mammals" would have sufficed.

40. Paint option: MATTE.  Gloss.  Semi-gloss.  Flat.

46. Ages: YEARS.  It makes more sense in French.  Par exemple:  Quel age avez vous?  J'ai soixante-quinze ans.

47. Panache: STYLE.

48. Wasabi __: PEAS.  Tasty

49. Heroic deed: FEAT.  Finding Bigfoot would be no small FEAT.

51. Upfront stake: ANTE.  As in a poker game.

53. Beloved rock, e.g.: PET.  Remember the fad from the 1970's ?

62. Actor Idris: ELBA.  Another frequent visitor.

64. __ bean: LIMA.  Might have been clued as ____ , Ohio . . . or _____ Peru.

65. ID on a map: IDAHO.  Not a reference to identification.  A state's abbreviation.

70. Kiwi-shaped: OVAL.  Technically, OVOID.

71. Gobbled down: ATE UP.  Nice word play with down and up.

72. Backsplash installer: TILER.  The five florists I called earlier today knew absolutely nothing about laying carpet or tile.  And yet I’m the idiot....

73. Kite flyer's need: WIND.  If there's no WIND you must WIND up your kite string.

74. Grown efts: NEWTS.  Frequent amphibian visitors, both.

75. With a wink: SLYLY.

76. Confidentiality docs: NDAS.  Non Disclosure AgreementS have become a crossword staple.

Down:

1. Tends (toward): LEANS.

2. Pizzazz: ECLAT.

3. Feature of a rose garden in full bloom: AROMA.

4. "Shake on it": PUT 'ER THERE.

5. __ Diego: SAN.  It could have been DON Diego (de la Vega).

6. Leaves that might be red or read: TEA.  Nice word play with red and read.

7. Chimp kin: ORANG.  Chimpanzee / ORANGutan

8. Like a key that may evoke sadness: MINOR.

9. __-Bismol: PEPTO.

10. GM's Mary Barra, for one: CEO.  Mary Teresa Barra is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer of General Motors since January 15, 2014. She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker.

11. Italian auto, familiarly: ALFA.  ALFA Romeo.

12. Neckwear suitable for a young child: CLIP ON TIE.  

13. Western Wyoming county: TETON.  How The Grand Tetons Got Their Name

14. Insta browsing goal, perhaps: INSPO.  INSPIRATION.  Meh . . . or maybe I am just of the wrong generation.

20. Depend (on): RELY.  

22. Sign of a packed house: SRO.  Standing Room Only

26. Adored celebrity: IDOL.

27. Benchmarks: NORMS.  If Al Yankovic wasn't weird he'd be called NORM Al.

28. Tibetan monk: LAMA.

32. Decreased: RAMPED DOWN.  Much more frequently used as RAMPED UP

33. Distant: ICY.  ICY what they tried to do here.

34. Wardrobe staple: TEE.

35. Concoction that might be pint-sized: CRAFT BREW.  Literally, pint sized.

37. Tent bed: COT.  If you sin 90 times, you'll only get caught 50% of the time because sin 90 = cot 45.

38. Vague amount: ANY.

39. Like a system that's revolutionary?: SOLAR.  A bit of a stretch but not completely off base.

41. PreCheck org.: TSA.

42. GRE org.: ETS.

44. "Stat!": ASAP.  As Soon As Possible

45. Inheritance factor: GENE.

50. Rock's Jethro __: TULL.  Fronted by Ian Anderson

52. __ chi: TAI.

53. Louisiana's state nut: PECAN.  Think pralines.

54. Overjoy: ELATE.  We are often ELATEd in our puzzles.

56. Hilarious folks: RIOTS.  An idiom that is often seen in our puzzles.

57. Username, often: EMAIL.

58. More than anything: BADLY. 

59. Naturalist Attenborough: DAVID.  Sir DAVID Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer.

60. Family, in Hawaiian: OHANA.  A straightforward definition.  Lilo and Stitch have popularized the word.

61. Gym chain that began in Venice Beach: GOLDS.  

63. Be next to: ABUT.  What does the seat of your pants ABUT?

67. Special __: OPS.

68. Fish that swims by generating waves: EEL.

69. Not sweet: DRY.  A wine reference.

. . . and always be sure to use an appropriate glass.

. . . Not a bad idea.  Cheers, everyone!

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