Saturday, June 20, 2026, Craig Stowe

 Saturday Themeless by Craig Stowe

Here's a nice note from Craig about this fun puzzle:

Hi Gary,

Thanks for reaching out, it's been a while!  I haven't been as constructive as of late mainly because I don't have as much free time these days.  For your Canadian solvers I have a couple of puzzles at thewalrus.ca if anyone is interested in checking them out.  It has a fun (and free) crossword section similar to the LA Times or Universal in terms of difficulty.

As is often the case I was staring at a blank grid wondering how to start when I heard the phrase AS THE KIDS SAY on tv.  I typed it in and let the puzzle reveal itself.  The fun of making themeless grids is solving the puzzle as you go, making changes to the grid when necessary and learning new words - ANNOYWARE, for example, is something most of us have experienced but probably didn't have a name for.  Hopefully the crossing are fair enough that solvers can figure it out without too much difficulty.

 Happy solving!

Craig

p.s. Slight update, I'm still at the hotel but I work in finance now. 

  

Across:

1. Iodine source: KELP - Since Craig is in Canada, he may pronounce this EYE oh deen 

      

5. Kenny Chesney hit about living in the moment: HERE AND NOW 

A lot of people dreamin' 'bout a one day

Somedays waitin' just around the bend

I used to be one, wonderin' when they'd come

But now I'm livin' in (But now I'm livin' in)

Here and now

15. "Toodles": CIAO.

16. Birthstone for many Pisces: AQUAMARINE.

17. Genesis preposition: UNTO.

18. Splurges, in a way: RUNS UP A TAB.

19. Coevals: PEERS - Our school administrator once had us evaluate our colleagues/PEERS and it really did not go well.

21. Quite a stretch: AGES.

22. Bowler's edge: BRIM - Liza wore one well

23. Take third, say: STEAL 😀- Here's my current fav ball player Bobby Witt Jr. doing it

25. Bulb choice: LED - How do you decide?

27. MDW alternative: ORD - O'Hare International Airport in Chicago is an alternative to Midway

28. Comment after using a new expression: AS THE KIDS SAY - Craig's seed entry. Isn't it obvi you just totes adorb the new expressions? 😀

32. For sure: DEFINITE.

33. __ pudding: PEASE - The chant for PEASE porridge (aka pudding) hot, PEASE porridge cold clapping song we all did growing up (picture is a little old!)

 

37. Actor Arkin: ALAN.

38. Queens player: NY MET.

41. Cut: SNIP.

42. "Roots" actress Sinclair: MADGE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Some of us seniors might remember this MADGE.

44. Splurging: ON A BINGE.

46. Top-notch: SECOND TO NONE.

49. Nerve center: HUB.

52. Fa follower: SOL.

53. Uncool in a cool way: NERDY - My NERDY high school classmate became pretty cool when he became a tech multimillionaire. 

54. French 101 verb: ETRE.

56. Storage structure: SILO - Harveststore is a big name around here

58. Critters that can regenerate limbs: NEWTS.

61. Start again: REACTIVATE.

64. British noble: EARL.

65. "... any time, really": OR WHENEVER.

66. Three, in Kindergarten: DREI 😀 Kindergarten is a German word so...

67. Photography collection subtitled "Mathematicians and Their Chalkboards": DO NOT ERASE. I love the irony of this picture I saw last year while subbing.

68. Throw, 28-Across: YEET - As the kids say...

Down:

1. Coffee option: K-CUP - Part of my daily routine

2. A on a German test?: EINE - The title below is A Little Night Music. Sample as much of this beautiful music as you like

3. This week's TikTok trend, e.g.: LATEST FAD - Some can be very dangerous

4. Oscar-winning film based on an Alasdair Gray novel: POOR THINGS.

5. Chuckle syllable: HAR - Ralph Kramden did it the best!

6. Goal of many civil rights organizations: EQUALITY.

7. Step up or down: RUNG 😀

8. Stands in a studio: EASELS - Stands is used as a noun not a verb

9. Tickles: AMUSES.

10. Quick recharge: NAP - Ten minutes and I'm good to go!

11. Uninspired: DRAB.

12. Coffee option: NITRO - Coffee infused with Nitrogen gas

13. Live in a studio?: ON AIR. 😀

14. Site with health advice: WEB MD - Check it out

20. "I feel __": SEEN.

24. Related: AKIN.

26. Big name in caulk: DAP.

28. Driver in Hollywood: ADAM.

29. "Homesick: A Memoir" writer Ward: SELA.

30. Inner being?: DEMON - We all have 'em

31. "For sure, for sure!": YES INDEEDY.

34. Application with persistent pop-ups: ANNOYWARE - Annoyware is software that continuously shows reminders or pop-up windows to remind users to perform a particular action, such as registering or buying 

35. Ink: SIGN - ink as a verb not a noun

36. Olympic event since 1900: EPEE.

39. Thesis section: END NOTES.

40. London home of many works by Louise Bourgeois: TATE - Her work is displayed in London's TATE museum

43. Some RPI grads: EES - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

45. "I was __ ready!": BORN.

47. Secant reciprocal: COSINE - COSINE is a common trig function and its inverse is called a secant.

48. "Where Is Love?" musical: OLIVER.

49. Judean king known for ambitious building projects: HEROD.

50. In __: UTERO.

51. Might: BRAWN.

55. Bounce back: ECHO.

57. Mountain flower: LAVA - 😀 A flower is something that flows as well as a plant

59. Fig or olive: TREE.

60. Paper cut: SLIT.

62. Holiday celebrated with banh chung: TET - Hmmm..., a three letter Asian holiday... 

63. "I'll see thee damned __ I call thee coward": "Henry IV, Part 1": ERE - Along with a translation into, uh, English. 😀

Friday, Juneteenth, 2026 ~ Elizabeth Duker-Gold

CARYATID

 Or, if you want to get in touch with the Dread Pirate Roberts: Elwes, CARY@ID.com

I did a cursory Google search for Elizabeth Duker-Gold, and found her on LinkedIn and Facebook, but with no clear indication that I had the correct person; I can tell it's her LA Times debut, and if this is her overall first publication, then double congrats~!  I loved the clever theme of this puzzle - varied common words/phrases with a & t, or "@", in the middle, restructured to resemble an email address, and nothing related to today's bank holiday.  Very cool, but some of the people may not be that common - I did know all five of them, partly from doing crosswords.  There was some Friday fill, to be expected, and a few that had alternate answers - see below - plus one or two "meh" ones, maybe~?  Standard grid, no circles, 19 3LWs, just 6 names - excluding the ones intended for the theme.  The five themer email "addresses", no reveal [ BTW, the text format of the crossword screwed up my blogging due to the use of < and >, which are html code separators ];

18. To: Comedian Michael, bedding salesman [.com] - CHE(AT)SHEETS - Michael Che @sheets.com, which I think is a valid website . . .  yup

24. To: Athlete Jackson, lawn products salesman [.com] - BO(AT)YARDS - Bo Jackson @yards.com - Bo of both major league baseball and football fame, and 'yards' would be a good website/email address for lawn products - it does come up as a website, but no content

36. To: Broadcast journalist Anderson, surgical supply salesman [.com] - COOPER(AT)ORS - Anderson Cooper @ors.com - "Operating RoomS" but not a real site - and not my buddy Cooper the Australian Shepherd - see 58D.   Here's Anderson being interviewed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

I'd play the segment, but NSFW

50. To: Actor Cheadle, chemistry lab supply salesman [.com] - DON(AT)IONS - Don Cheadle @ions.com - I know Don from his role as "Basher" in the Ocean's Eleven, et. al. heist movies - and a valid website for the TV channel Ion

57. To: Singer Bruno, bulletin board salesman [.com] - MARS(AT)TACKS - my favorite break out ( if not my personal choice in music artists, but our host likes him 😁) - Bruno Mars @tacks.com - and this one led to a "non-secure" go back~! link ( I wrote this while still down on LI, so I was on my brother's network )

Hey Tom, it's "not unusual" to find Martians invading Earth . . . 

That's twice in a week for him~!

But W@ it theresmore~!.com

ACROSS:

1. Jaguar or Charger: CAR - I do the Downs first, had two wrong fills to start; I knew this was either NFL - two teams in the national football league - or two automobiles

Trevor Lawrence, and, uh, well, that's not Justin Herbert, and #19 ( on the helmet ) was retired

. . . thanks, A i ~!

4. Orchard basket: BUSHEL - so my "AMASS" at 7D was wrong . . .

10. Gillette brand: ATRA

14. Bullpen stat: ERA

15. "Reckon maybe, yeah": "I S'POSE..." - slang for "I suppose" - I am feeling ambivalent about this fill; it's valid, but is it a Twurd~? Is it 'meh'~?

16. Urge on: GOAD

17. Part of a journey: LEG

part of a "legs" journey

20. Jazz great James: ETTA - Crossword staple, name #1

22. Cropped up: AROSE

23. ThirdLove purchase: BRA - not that I "knew" this, but I had _R_, and it sounded like a lingerie website - so what are the first Two Loves~? I could take a guess . . . 

27. Like a best-case scenario: IDEAL

29. "Love it!": "SO GOOD~!"

30. Queerplatonic orientation, briefly: AROACE - short for aromantic asexual - the Wiki, if you care to know more - aah, Friday . . . 

31. Dirge: LAMENT - ELEGY did not fit

35. Bills replaced by coins in Canada and Australia: ONES - tell us more, CanadianEh!

39. Mil. no-show: AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave - oh, SNAFU - now that's FUBAR . . . 

41. Haberdashery purchase: TIE PIN

42. People in the background of a selfie, perhaps: RANDOS - Ah.  Right.  "random person" in 21st century-speak; I had the last two letters, so I went with WALDOS - hey, I could see that working . . .

I found him~!

44. Dillydally: LINGER

49. Juvenile eel: ELVER - Learning moment for me; more here

53. Pub pour: ALE

54. Beloved, in Bordeaux: CHERI - Frawnche

56. Set that might have an OLED screen: HDTV - Organic Light-Emitting Diode,  and High Definition; 'Set' threw me at first - a TeleVision set, which, now that I think of it, is kinda weird . . . it's a set of electronic tubes, circuits~?  And I did not know what the "O" stood for, even knowing what an LED was

61. Taste: SIP

62. Show opener: ACT I - Ha~!  Had this last Friday, too

63. Leash: TETHER

64. Part of a rock band?: ORE - Clever -  new way to clue the old fill - a 'band', or stratum in geology

65. Smart home system by Google: NEST - I bought a "smart" thermostat for my house, but the furnace uses just two wire leads - so it's useless; the furnace tech I needed to call two weeks ago told me not to bother with a smart device - he is if the mindset that the most efficient way to heat/cool one's house is to "set it and forget it" - thanks Ron Popeil~!

66. Grooms, as feathers: PREENS

67. Homer's neighbor: NED - Pffft - Ned . . .  Name #2

DOWN:

1. Red carpet VIPs: CELEBS - Dah~!  Not A LISTS

2. Defiant reply: "ARE TOO~!" - Dah~!!  Not I AM NOT

3. Motley: RAGTAG - I toyed with CALICO, which we had last Saturday

Definitely "ragtag" - Mötley Crüe

4. Pen name: BIC - another clever clue - literally, the 'name' of a pen maker, ergo, name #3

5. See to a seat, casually: USH - more 21st century-speak for "ushering"

6. Pickle serving: SPEAR - I guess in the 21st century, it's 'one syllable easier' than to ask for a pick-le

7. Stockpile: HOARD - Dah~!!! Not AMASS

8. These, in Spanish: ESTOS - and yet I nailed the Español word . . .

9. "__ is more": LESS - well, more or less, I guess . . . 🙄

10. Number that's always positive: AGE - Ah.  True.  Mine is getting further along on the spinny-wheel thing on websites these days

11. Cutesy name for paw pads: TOE BEANS

12. Unpleasant routine: RAT RACE

13. Media revenue source: AD SALES

19. Trust-worthy figure?: HEIR

21. From __ Z: A TO - three out of four two-word answers in a row

25. Texter's encouragement to try something new: YOLO - You Only Live Once - but maybe in multiple universes~? - ooooh . . . trippy

26. Assimilates: ADAPTS - I wanted adOpts

28. Portal: DOOR - into another plane of the multi-verse . . .

30. __ the Hun: ATTILA - he lived an "active, outdoor lifestyle", per George Carlin; name #4

32. __ fun: noodle dish: MEI - never heard of this - the "E" came from knowing the themer that crossed

33. Bard's before: ERE - poetic

34. Suede quality: NAP - Sleep quality; NAP time

36. New fans: CONVERTS - CON-verts, the noun, not the verb

37. Like a quaint shoppe: OLDE - ye olde quaynte shoppe

38. "I got this!": "ON IT~! - Dah~!  I had ON ME, like the check/tab

39. Local guy in The Onion headlines: AREA  MAN - this was a total unknown for me - an example

40. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" poet Stevens: WALLACE - name #5, no clue - the poem, sort of a Zen-like "what is the sound of one hand clapping" mental exercise

43. Antarctic predator: ORCA

SE(ri)AL killer

45. Research org. with facilities in Bethesda: NIH - National Institutes of Health - filled via perps on my second pass - the website, if you care

46. Jake Gyllenhaal, to Jamie Lee Curtis: GODSON - huh.  I tried COUSIN, which sort of helped, as the "O", "S" and the "N" actually worked; name(ish)

47. Complete: ENTIRE

48. Answered, in a way: RSVP'ed - I like it, but YMMV

50. Put off: DETER - Not DELAY, and not DEFER, so I didn't understand the crossing themer at first

51. Provide an address: ORATE - the "speechify" version of address, like Lincoln's Gettysburg

52. Not wide-ranging: NICHE - ah.  Good one.  I knew what we were looking for, but needed perps

55. URL intro: HTTP - the "other" kind of address; http//www.crosswordcorner.blogspot.com

58. Gather dust: SIT - gather pet fur; dog-sit - Cooper is so bad in the summer, my clothes were covered

we stopped to "smell the flowers"

59. "KPop Demon Hunters" voice actor Jeong: KEN - no clue, name #6 - his Wiki

60. Former jrs.: SRs - school classes

Splynter

Grid Flow a low 25.8

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