L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Jul 29, 2026

Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Sala Wanetick & Dena R. Verkuil

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here with the recap of a Wednesday puzzle by Sala Wanetick and Dena R. Verkuil. This is two-in-a-row for me recapping a puzzle by Sara and Dena and three-in-a-row for me blogging a puzzle by Sara. Sara and Dena, we really have to stop meeting like this. Or maybe not. It's been a whole lot of fun. Perhaps we'll do it again.

In today's puzzle, Sala and Dena riff on common activities during which we use our eyes to search, or LOOK, for things. The straight-forward unifier comes at:

61 Across: "Gotcha!," and what can be said about the answers to the starred clues: MADE YOU LOOK.

The gimmick is employed at these four places:

18 Across: *Book series with a character in red-and-white stripes: WHERE'S WALDO. In the books, readers LOOK for Waldo. Can you find him on this ski hill?

26 Across: *"Olly olly oxen free" game: HIDE AND SEEK. Children LOOK for one of their own who is hiding. "Olly olly oxen free" is a catchphrase used in children's games such as hide and seek to indicate that players who are hiding can come out into the open without losing the game.

37 Across: *Presentation tool that doubles as a cat toy: LASER POINTER. The cat clearly LOOKs at the dot or, closer to the mark, in its intended use, the LASER tool points to things that we need to LOOK at.

52 Across:. *Document in some pirate stories: TREASURE MAP. The MAP shows you where to LOOK for the TREASURE.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and responses. Please note that a reference to an answer as "often seen in our puzzles" (or similar) is not intended as a criticism. In fact, without these "usual suspects" a Wednesday puzzle would likely solve more as if it were a Saturday offering:

Across:

1. Daytona 500 org.: NASCAR. An automobile racing reference. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. Perhaps it should be NASCARL.

7. Poetic measure: IAMB. IAMB is a metrical foot consisting of one short syllable followed by one long syllable or of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

11. Hushed "Hey!": PSST. Frequently whispered in our puzzles.

15. Musical interval: OCTAVE. Imagine a piano. On it, the keys on the left are lower than the keys on the right. If you are pressing the white keys, starting from C, from left to right, the sequence will follow: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. From C to C is one OCTAVE.

16. Enunciate poorly: SLUR.

17. Stratford-__-Avon: UPON. Because it is the birthplace and burial place of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, Stratford UPON-Avon is a popular tourist destination

20. Café or thé lightener: LAIT. Leçon de français d'aujourd'hui. Cafe = coffee, thé = tea and LAIT = milk. On first glance, this solver was wondering what the heck was the lightener.

21. "When pigs fly!": NEVER. A colloquial expression.

22. Gender-specific pronoun: HIM.

23. Florence of Florence and the Machine: WELCH.

25. Stage award: OBIE. TONY would have fit. OBIE derives from Off-Broadway.

29. More spent: WEARIER. Spent as in "I'm spent" meaning out of energy.

31. R&R provider for GIs: USO. United Service Organizations

32. Steamed bun: BAO. A treat often consumed in our puzzles.

33. Play-__: Fun Factory maker: DOH. DOH is often clued with reference to Homer Simpson.

34. Tally: ADD. Tally, used here, as a verb. As in the classic Harry Belafonte song:

36. Garment worn with a choli: SARI. A choli is an upper body garment (blouse or bodice). A SARI is a draped garment frequently donned in our puzzles.

41. Nautical call: AHOY. AHOY is derived from the Middle English cry, 'Hoy!'. The word fell out of use at one time, but was revived when sailing became a popular sport. AHOY can be used as a greeting, a warning, or a farewell

43. Decide (to): OPT. A choice frequently made in our puzzles.

44. Ecol. monitor: EPA. Abbreviated clue - ECOLogy / Abbreviated Answer:

45. Gun, as an engine: REV.

46. Actress Thurman: UMA. A frequent visitor.

48. "Spoon River Anthology" poet Edgar Lee __: MASTERS. No, not a Henry Mancini reference.

56. Radar image: BLIP.

57. Proprietor: OWNER.

58. Diarist Anaïs: NIN. A frequent visitor.

59. Orchestral pace: TEMPO.

60. Kristen of "Bridesmaids": WIIG.

64. Cozy quarters: INNS. Quarters, in the clue's context, could have been either single or plural making this one a bit more challenging.

65. Japanese noodle: UDON.

66. "That's a lie!": UNTRUE. That's a fact.

67. Put through the paces: TEST.

68. Petty quarrels: ROWS. The word ROW has several meanings (polysemy). Among them: Things in a line. To propel a boat with an oar. A succession without a gap. . . . and, here, a SPAT (no, not the kind you wear with a shoe).

69. Goes back to zero: RESETS.

Down:

1. "There, there": NOW NOW. Nice repetition in clue and answer.

2. "Things Fall Apart" novelist Chinua: ACHEBE. Unknown to this solver. Thanks, perps.

3. Aspartame alternative: STEVIA. Sugar substitutes.

4. Opportunity for students to consider their futures: CAREER DAY.

5. State definitively: AVER. This solver often pauses over whether it will be AVER or Avow.

6. Hi-__ monitor: RES. HIgh RESolution

7. "To repeat ... ": I SAID. Do we really need to go over this again?

8. "I'll take complete credit, thanks": ALL ME. Time to pass on the obvious.

9. Mess around a sty: MUD. Mess in a sty?

10. Cleveland team: BROWNS. A football reference. Named after the original coach and co-owner, Paul Brown.

11. Drawer handles: PULLS. KNOBS would have fit.

12. Long key: SPACE BAR. . . . on a keyboard (typewriter or computer, not a piano keyboard)

13. "That's the word on the street": SO I HEAR.

14. Demolition letters: TNT. What do you get when you cross a dinosaur with TNT? Dino-mite

19. Sound like a fan: WHIR. See also 38 Down (clever).

24. Tokyo, long ago: EDO. A place visited frequently in our puzzles. EDO was renamed in 1868.

26. "lol": HE HE. Laughter

27. A5 and Q5 automaker: AUDI. As the clue says, an automotive reference.

28. Colorful carp: KOI. When I returned from a trip to Japan about a year ago my son asked if I had seen any KOI fish. I said no, the fish there were actually pretty sociable.

30. Safari platform: IOS. An Apple Computer reference.

34. Mobile download: APP. As in mobile phone.

35. Polka __: DOT. All You Might Want To Know

36. Vehicle safety devices: SEAT BELTS.

37. LGBTQ+ rights slogan: LOVE WINS. Also the title of a song by Carrie Underwood.

38. Sound like fans: ROAR. See also 19 Down (clever).

39. Quarter-moon tide: NEAP. NEAP tides occur in puzzles far more often than do SPRING tides.

40. Covers with sheets?: TPS. Not bed sheets.

41. __ deco: ART. Shouldn't deco have been capitalized? From Wkikpedia: "Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished internationally during the 1920s to early 1930s, through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including clothing, fashion, and jewelry. Art Deco has influenced buildings from skyscrapers to cinemas, bridges, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects, including radios and vacuum cleaners."

42. Princess Leia, e.g.: HEROINE. A Star Wars reference. Why didn't Princess Leia have a boyfriend? She kept looking for love in Alderaan places.

46. Word before "force" or "the Force": USE. The second part of this clue is also a Star Wars reference.

47. Cooing sound: MURMUR.

48. Quite a few: MANY.

49. Blues guitarist __ James: ELMORE. For many of us, the reference by George Harrison on the Beatles recording of "For You Blue" might have been the first we had heard of ELMORE. For others, the Grateful Dead cover of It Hurts Me Too may have provided the introduction. The blues aficionados among us, of course, have known all along.

50. Remove, as knitted stitches: RIP OUT.

51. Rods in bike wheels: SPOKES. Radii, as a clue, would have made it even easier.

53. High anxiety: ANGST. MOVIE would have fit the allotted space....but anxiety would have to have been capitalized in the clue.

54. Supply funding for: ENDOW.

55. Attitudes: MIENS. I before E except after C (note that this comment was written before C.C.'s puzzle ran last last Sunday. Small world).

59. Song: TUNE. "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", for one:

60. Wisdom partner: WIT. As in the many book titles that begin The WIT and Wisdom of ...

62. Fuss: ADO. A common commotion in our puzzles.

63. Possessive word: OUR. OUR time, this morning, is now drawing to a close.

Whatever it is that you are looking for today I hope that you find it.

_________________________________________________

Jul 28, 2026

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 Kevin Shustack

Spy vs. Spy. During the Cold War, the concept of a saboteur changed from traditional physical destruction of factories and bridges to high-stakes espionage, covert operations, and behind-the-lines disruption carried out by elite military units and secret intelligence defectors.

19-Across. "Gravity's Rainbow" novelist: THOMAS PYNCHON. Spy. Gravity's Rainbow is a 1973 novel that takes place at the end of World War II. It's a long and intimidating novel that I have never felt the desire to read.

24-Across. Art technique also known as French embossing: GLASS ETCHING. Asset. An asset is a person who provides secret information or help to an intelligence organization. An asset is not a regular employee of the spy agency, but rather an outsider who is managed or paid to gather secrets.

38. "That's my intention": I PLAN TO.

45-Across. Act with chivalry: BE A GENTLEMAN. Agent.

And the Unifier:

53-Across. Psychological cause of personal failure, or a feature of 19-, 24-, 38-, and 45-Across: INNER SABOTEUR

Here's the Grid:

What other assets are found in today's puzzle?

Across:

1. Ginger cookie: SNAP. Yummers! According to the Museum of the American Revolution, Gingersnaps were named from the German or Middle Dutch word snappen, meaning "to seize quickly."

5. Cyan shade: AQUA. Hand up if you first tried Blue.

9. Oven setting: BAKE.

13. Document with an executor: WILL.

14. Coffee cups: MUGS.

15. Speaks foolishly: JIVES.

16. Drag Defense Fund org.: ACLU. As in the American Civil Liberties Union. It has been around for over 100 years.

17. Frying liquids: OILS.

18. Get down __ knee: ON ONE.

22. Tuned to, as a radio dial: SET AT.

23. Chapel Hill sch.: UNC. As in the University of North Carolina.

32. On the house: FREE.

35. Bert who played the Cowardly Lion: LAHR. Although it was in many movies, Bert Lahr (né Irving Lahrheim; Aug. 13, 1895 ~ Dec. 4, 1967) is best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz.

36. Everglades wading bird: HERON. Herons can be found all along the Gulf coast, not just the Florida Everglades.

37. Chuckle in a DM: LOL. Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud.

40. Egg cells: OVA. A crossword staple.

41. Photo book: ALBUM.

43. Et __: and others: ALIA. Today's Latin lesson. This phrase, which means And Others, is often abbreviated to Et Al. because the addition of the last 2 letters of alia is too much to write.

44. Med school subj.: ANAT. As in Anatomy.

48. Energizer size: AAA. A crossword staple.

49. Stuffed grape leaf: DOLMA. Yummers! Eastern Mediterranean food.

58. Pop icon Lauper: CYNDI. Cyndi Lauper (née Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper; b. June 22, 1953) was big in the 1980s. She is known for her flamboyant style, catchy songs, and four-octave vocal range!

Taylor and Cyndi

60. Irish currency: EURO. The Irish Euro features the Celtic harp.

61. "Don't __ me, but ... ": HATE.

62. Diet food phrase: NO FAT.

63. MC or Visa alternative: AMEX.

64. Like the score at the start of overtime: EVEN.

65. Midday: NOON.

66. Little bouquet: POSY.

67. Take it easy: REST.

Down:

1. Slaps (at): SWATS.

2. Wall recess: NICHE.

3. Portion out: ALLOT.

4. Bird's feathers: PLUMAGE.

5. Singer-songwriter Tori: AMOS. Tori Amos (née Myra Ellen Amos; b. Aug. 22, 1963) is a classically trained musician. She was a child prodigy and entered the the Peabody Institute's preparatory division at five.

6. Witty remark: QUIP.

7. Not easy on the eyes: UGLY. The Jamaican tangelo is probably better known as the Ugli fruit.

8. Org.: ASSN. An Organization may also be an Association.

9. Juliette of "The English Patient": BINOCHE. Juliette Binoche (b. Mar. 9, 1964) is a French actress who has starred in many films. She was awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing a nurse in 1996 film The English Patient.

10. Cosmetics giant that started as the California Perfume Company: AVON. Ding Dong! The Avon Company got its start in 1886.

11. "Jazz" documentarian Burns: KEN. Jazz is a deep-dive documentary look into the origins of this music genre. Ken Burns (né Kenneth Lauren Burns; b. July 29, 1953) has created numerous historical documentaries and television series that generally chronicle US history and culture.

12. WNW's opposite: ESE.

15. Sulu player in recent "Star Trek" films: JOHN CHO. John Cho (né John Yo-han Cho; b. June 16, 1952) was born in Seoul, Korea.

20. Hartsfield-Jackson airport code: ATL. This airport in Atlanta, Georgia is a hub for Delta. It is one of the busiest airports in the world. Whenever I fly, I usually end up going through Atlanta.

21. Use scissors on: CUT.

25. Swiss peak: ALP.

26. Ritual prayer of Islam: SALAT.

27. "We __ Overcome": SHALL.

28. "Ghostbusters" actor Hudson: ERNIE. Although he has been in a number of films, Ernie Hudson (né Earnest Lee Hudson; b. Dec. 17, 1945) is best known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters.