Saturday, April 25, 2026, Greg Snitkin & Amie Walker

Saturday Themeless by Greg Snitkin & Amie Walker 

 

Here's a nice note from Greg: 

Bio: I am a dad with 3 small kids and am an Assistant Controller at a hedge fund in NYC.

Notes: I'm a big fan of Amie's puzzles, so when I found myself on a mission to make a 68-word themeless with clean fill, I approached Amie who graciously joined the cause. When she suggested this fun grid layout with diagonal symmetry I knew I asked the right person! Fun fact - back in 2012 I may have bought a bunch of TWINKIES when I heard Hostess was filing for bankruptcy.

Amie, who is an attorney in Chandler, AZ, added: It's always a delight making grids with Greg, one of the nicest folks in puzzles. I really enjoyed his wordplay clues in this one. Fun fact: I have never actually had a Twinkie!

Across:

1. Award for Attica Locke's "Bluebird, Bluebird": EDGAR - Attica Locke's "Bluebird, Bluebird" won the prestigious 2018 Edgar Award for Best Novel

6. Gala portion: APPLE CHIP  😀- APPLE computers contain many CHIPS but that was not relevant here

15. Duane __: NYC chain owned by Walgreens: READE.

16. Personal compass: MORAL CODE.

17. "Precision Crafted Performance" sloganeer: ACURA.

18. One who really gets people?: PRANKSTER - They might yell, Gotcha! 😀

19. Like a wise guy: SAGELY.

21. Draws: TIES - This game has ended in a draw or TIE because it is black's move and his King can not move into check

22. Apt name for a cinematographer: CAM 😀

23. Visual aids: EYEPIECES - Different EYEPIECES can give different telescope images

25. Soccer great called "O Rei": PELE - Any four-letter soccer player, hmmm...

26. Had the conn: STEERED - Captain Kirk leaves and turns STEERING over to Mr. Sulu. Derived from "conduire" (to conduct) or a "conning tower," the "conn" is not an abbreviation but a nautical term for the station controlling ship maneuvers, separate from commanding the entire vessel. You're welcome!

28. Gospel-singing sister of Aretha: ERMA - The Franklin sisters

ERMA             Aretha                  Carolyn

29. Degree of difficulty?: PHD - 😀 Yes, obtaining that degree is difficult. 

32. Couture letters: YSL.

33. "How fun!": OH NEAT.

35. Features of some cold cases?: EAR ACHES 😀

38. Mark up: NOTATE.

39. Fabric: CLOTH.

40. Part of a Cuban combo: BONGO.

42. Went first: LED.

43. The hills of Rome, e.g.: SEPTET.

45. Parents: FOLKS.

47. Hidden assets: SECRET WEAPONS.

52. Hostess treats: TWINKIES - If kept in their air tight wrapping, they will last 45 days, not forever. 

54. First name in country pop: SHANIA.

55. Voice-activated, say: HANDS FREE - I say, "Siri, call Joann" and she does!

57. Bucks: BREAD - BREAD as slang for money is a frequent Saturday visitor 

58. Chiwere speaker: OTOE.

59. Cheerful tune: LILT.

60. One bit: AT ALL.

61. __ Reader: UTNE. The Current edition

62. Serpentine fish: EELS.

63. Bounce back: RALLY - The Vikings were down by 33 points at halftime.

Down:

1. Wipe: ERASE.

2. Get on with one's half-life?: DECAY 😀  

3. Get a feel for: GAUGE.

4. Campaign managers?: AD REPS.

5. Wake-up calls: REALITY CHECKS.

6. Rock blaster: AMP - I abandoned TNT after some crossers appeared

7. Billy who wore a velvet tuxedo jacket and ball gown to the Oscars in 2019: 

 PORTER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. Speak highly of: PRAISE.

9. Kent co-worker: LANE - In the English County of Kent, a co-worker might be a MATE, but Lois LANE worked in Metropolis with Clark Kent. Somehow Clark's (George Reeves') glasses hid his super identity from Lois Lane (Noel Neill).

10. __ Club: ELKS.

11. Loops into a chain: CCS - Much easier today rather than using Carbon CopieS

12. Breakfast option: HOT CEREAL - Mom always said they would "stick to my ribs".

13. The one, so to speak: IDEAL MATE - As we approach 60 years of marriage, I think we've got this covered.

14. Spread throughout: PERMEATED - Last year, wildfires in Canada PERMEATED the air in several states

20. "Big yikes": YEESH.

24. People person?: CELEB - CELEBS do appear in People Magazine

25. Bottled (up): PENT.

27. Useful connections for networking?: DONGLES - For some reason, Apple did not put in any USB-A or HDMI ports in my current MacBook and so I had to buy (and learn the word) a DONGLE. They have since put them back. My current MacBook with only two USB-C ports is shown on the bottom below.

 

29. Chest day targets, for short: PECS.

30. Lucy of "Pretty Little Liars": HALE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think Lucy is second from the left

31. Surprises with a call: DROPS IN ON - Nobody did it like Cosmo Kramer

34. Place to blow off smoke?: HOOKAH BAR - We love the Rick Steves Travelogues on PBS. While in Turkey he did visit a HOOKAH BAR but said he only "smoked" dried apples.

36. One who shows up: ATTENDEE.

37. Low-pressure approach: SOFT SELL - We've left dealerships when getting the hard sell

41. As we speak: NOW.

44. Layered dessert often topped with syllabub: TRIFLE - A TRIFLE is a classic English layered dessert typically composed of sponge cake shake in sherry, fruit, custard and topped with whipped cream, or, historically, a whipped cream, wine and lemon mixture know as a syllabub. You're welcome.

46. City-state documented by Herodotus: SPARTA.

48. Inducing the heebie-jeebies: EERIE - Our favorite cwd lake takes on another vowel

49. "Inside the NBA" analyst since 2011: O'NEAL - Shaq and his girlfriend at an NBA event

50. Horan of One Direction: NIALL - On the left 

51. "I hate to say it ... ": SADLY.

52. The old you?: THOU 😀 How Great THOU Art might be the greatest hymn of all time

53. Inventor who coined the term "horsepower": WATT - WATT, you want more?

56. "Arrival" arrivals, briefly: ETS - This interesting movie had the ETS arriving in an upright craft.

Notes from C.C.:

Here's a thoughtful initiative from the Minnesota-based constructors Will Eisenberg and Hannah Slovut-Einertson: Midis for Minnesota, a pack of 13 midi puzzles tied to donations supporting immigrant families in need. The puzzles are edited by Will. Contribute to a mutual aid organization, send in proof, and the puzzles are yours. I made the preview puzzle. Give it a solve. 

Friday, Apr 24th, 2026 ~ James Mattina

 LES MISERABLE~?

I do believe this is a debut for author James Mattina; if so, then congratulations~! Composing this construction must have been complicated.  I think the concept is brilliant - it's quite clever, fresh, and required some thinking on my part - but sadly, the "?" clues and proper names just drained some of the satisfaction from it. I ended up "cheating" to find where I went wrong - the truth is, I knew I had TESSA twice, and the instance that crossed five of the theme answers was where I made the mistake; I simply did not know 44D., nor two of three names in that SW corner.  Oh well.  A gimmick, a 14x16 grid, which, as I've pictured, is 'technically' 14x20, a fair balance of 3-, 4-, and 5-letter words, a ridiculous # of names - and not just Twurds, but we have a Thwurd this week - but hey, no circles . . . 😜

Rather than move all "theme" answers to the summary, I have highlighted them "in situ" -  The "reveal";

54. Equestrian style, or, when parsed differently, a three-part instruction for making 19 clues ( not answers ) in this puzzle match their answers: SIDESADDLE - SIDES ADD 'LE' is the "three-part" parsing; in order to "get" the answers on the sides, one needs to 'add' "LE" - once I realized this - and at first I thought it was "SIDES ADDLE" ( which would have been worse ) then the first spanner came clear.  

LEBut LEWait, There'sLE MoreLE~!

ACROSS:

1. Not-so-hot wheels: MONS - LEmons - Used automobiles that have more problems than they're worth

If it smells like a lemon and shows up at "2" on the chart below . . .

5. Recap: SUM UP

10. Range that measures acidity and alkalinity: PHSCA - pH scaLE

15. Seize eagerly, as an opportunity: APAT - LEap at - Having to parse a Twurd that's also missing letters might rattle several solvers today

16. __ acid: AMINO

17. Like clean water: POTAB - potabLE - 7 on the pH scale

18. Theaters that typically don't serve popcorn?: CTUREHALLS - LEcture halls - This one may well have been the hardest to get - starting with the implication that lecture hall = theater, then adding the "?" to the clue, making it far more vague, plus being part of the theme, and therefore missing letters . . . 

20. Court action: DRIBB - dribbLE - I don't care for basketball, so that type of court never occurs to me

21. Singer Halliwell: GERI - I finally recalled she's a Spice Girl, but still a name, #1

Ginger Spice, go figure

22. Baby foxes: KITS - learned by doing crosswords

24. Round bump on a cactus: AREO - areoLE - we used to have a "Crossword Corner" image for this, but I believe it became "taboo", so let's just call it a "ring-like" structure 😁

25. Heavy reptile with a flexible carapace: ATHERBACKSEATURT - LEatherback sea turtLE - the first double-whammy 16 (20)-letter spanner theme fill

Pirates of the Caribbean

29. Economist who co-wrote "Freakonomics": VITT - Steven LEvitt - name, #2, and missing letters, which just doubles the cringe factor - but a good WAG on my part - thanks Jinx~!

30. Mud: JOE - coffee slang; did not occur to me until I had "_ O E" on my second pass, and name(ish)

31. Sink annoyance: DRIP - AND - 32A. Sink annoyances: AKS - LEaks

33. Spring event: THAW

35. Snack topped with cotija: TACO - yada yada snack with Español hint = TACO

36. Antelope that can go without water for long stretches: ORYX

37. Gets the gold: WINS

38. Big spender at a casino: WHA - whaLE - learned this term from Ocean's Thirteen

41. Gadget that has a click wheel: iPOD - I loved the "Apple product" D-Otto produced last Friday - "iDollar Tree" and the Ina Garten DeVito (baby) marriage from Copy Editor . . . wait til you get to 53D.

42. __ velvet cupcake: RED

43. Duo: COUP - coupLE - Duet wasn't going to fly; could not figure out what was going on . . . 

44. Ring leader?: TSGETREADYTORUMB - the catch-phrase from MC Michael Buffer, the other double-whammy 16 (20)-letter spanner, "LEt's get ready to rumbLE".  It's his 'leader' = opening "salvo" at sporting events; as you can see, A I has "announced" how not-so-intelligent it is . . . 

Um, spelled wrong

49. "I Hope You Dance" singer Womack: EANN - LEe Ann - I confused her with LeAnn Rimes.  Without grokking the gimmick, I thought maybe it was spelled Le-An - bzzzzt~!  Name #3

50. Heritage gp. celebrated in May: AAPI - Asian American Pacific Islander - more here

51. Month during which the shofar is blown daily: ELUL - Well, I knew it wasn't EL AL . . . 

52. Person represented by the sunset flag: SBIAN - LEsbian - the flag - that's as far as we'll go 

58. Wright who plays Shuri in the MCU: TITIA - LEtitia - I'm completely uninterested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - too repetitive & CGI for me.  In hindsight, I figured this was the correct spelling, but it's still name #4 - more from IMDb

59. Reorders a draft?: EDITS - as in "first draft" of a novel, or screenplay, script, etc.

60. Make possible: ENAB - enabLE

61. One-pointers in horseshoes: ANERS - LEaners - "Close" only counts in horseshoes & hand grenades - upon reading through several websites, scoring seems to be inconsistent

62. Many, informally: LOTSA - this reminds me of Winston Wolf  "lotsa luck fellas" - WARNING~! Here's the NSFW link to the scene from Pulp Fiction

63. Place to hitch a ride?: STAB - stabLE - again, with a gimmick like this, a "?" clue only makes it that much more difficult . . . IMHO, a horse is usually "hitched" to a post, but housed in a stable

DOWN:

1. Bud: MAC - not PAL, so I was already in the hole before I even started . . . the def at dict. dot com

2. Make a call: OPT - I pondered "UMP"; Tuesday "O" 3LW dupe #1

3. Zeros: NAUGHTS - Brit-speak

4. Crosswalk spot: STREET - phew; Friday vague

5. Hindi honorific: SAHIB - phew; Friday vague

6. Actress Thurman: UMA - phew, Crossword staple - but still a name, #5 

7. Guernsey, for one: MILK COW - good WAG on my part

8. As opposed to: UNLIKE

9. Shares on socials: POSTS

10. Abbr. for a rained-out event: PPD - PostPoneD

11. Fictional captain Hornblower: HORATIO - I am unfamiliar with this character, name #6

12. Foment: STIR UP

13. Giant pole tossed in Highland games: CABER - I knew this . . . 

14. Monastery head: ABBOT - . . . and this, but something was just not working on the crossings . . . 

19. Miscalculate: ERR - I thought I had ERRed, but then I got to the reveal

23. Midsize ride: SEDAN

25. Director DuVernay: AVA - name #7; a web page

26. Kesha's "__ Tok": TIK - seemed likely, but still too name(ish) for me, #8

27. Trojan War warrior: AJAX - actually looking for a proper Greek name, #9, more here

28. Shuttlecock paths: ARCS

33. Relaxed pace: TROT - Dah~! No LOPE

34. Monster slain by Hercules: HYDRA - it's "all Greek to me" part II

35. Neat: TIDY

36. Like businesses with no overhead?: OPEN AIR - meh.  Another vague "?" Twurd clue

37. "Yay, team!": "WE DID IT~!" - "Yes~!" We have the "Thwurd" fill~!

38. "__ you like to know?": "WOULDN'T" 

39. Fire on all cylinders: HUM

40. PD dispatch: APB - Police Dept., All Points Bulletin

41. Light: IGNITE

42. "¡Ándale!": "RAPIDO~!" - Español

43. Refinery inputs: CRUDES - I was thinking ORES, not liquids

44. Seed covering: TESTA - learning moment; the M-W def. here

45. Polio vaccine developer: SABIN - name #10; I wanted SALK, and I was NOT wrong - his Wiki

46. Canvas support: EASEL - Dah~!  Got caught thinking TENT POLE canvas - also like the clue/answer from this past Tuesday - not art canvas

47. Thompson of "Creed": TESSA - name #11 - another MCU character

48. Ipanema greeting: OLÁ - Geo name, Brazil - Tuesday dupe, #2; more here

53. "Hip Hop Is Dead" rapper: NAS - not up on my rappers - name #12; the irony~?  His track samples Iron(y) Butterfly, and the song "In A Gadda Da Vida"- if you care to listen, and the riff is definitely an earworm, then here's the YouTube rap song link

55. Sci-fi beings: ETs

56. Anaheim team, on scoreboards: LAA - The Los Angeles Angels

57. Subside: EBB

Splynter

Grid Flow 19.6, which is low

Thursday April 23, 2026 Jeffrey Wechsler

Jeffrey Wechsler made a triumphant return to the LAT with a fun Sunday puzzle just last month. While I know he has no control about when these are published, I think this one came out of the oven a bit too soon.

Golly Gee! For all you fans out there that love proper nouns, this is the puzzle for you. All five themers are peoples' names, both real and fictional, and they all end with GG. 

17. "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" novelist: FANNIE FLAGG. She was also a frequent panelist on the Match Game.

30. Rapper featured on the Dr. Dre song "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang": SNOOP DOGG. That SNOOP is mentioned in a song with a "G" in the title, is the closest thing I found to a deeper theme.

37. Circumnavigator in a Jules Verne novel: PHILEAS FOGG. As a boy growing up on Verne, this was the one answer I filled in without hesitation, except I thought he was PHInEAS with an "N". 

41. English actress who played Emma Peel on "The Avengers": DIANA RIGG. DIANA RIGG as British spy Emma Peel in the 60s TV series was everything a young boy could hope for (when not reading Verne).

58. "The Road to Wellville" role for Anthony Hopkins: JOHN KELLOGG. "K-E-double L, O-double Good, Kellogg's best to you!" Whee! Are we having fun yet?

The real Dr. John Harvey Kellogg

I like the majority of the puzzles I do, but this one didn't excite me. I kept waiting for something to happen, a clever reveal, maybe something to do with movie Gigi, but it never materialized. It's just a list of names that end in GG. 

Across:

1. Revels (in): BASKS.

6. Kremlin cash: RUBLE.

11. Part of the DHS: TSA. The Transportation Security Administration is a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

14. Like sparrows and swallows: AVIAN.

15. One of several mistakes in a Shakespeare comedy?: ERROR. Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest and shortest plays, known for its farcical humor, slapstick, and mistaken identity, revolving around two sets of identical twins separated at birth.

16. Ashen: WAN.

17. [theme]

19. See 34-Down: ORA. Rita ORA.

20. Naval groups: FLEETS.

21. Fresh start?: NEO. From the Greek meaning "new."

22. Govt. figure: POL. POL is short for a government politician.

23. Whispery: LOW. LOW as in volume, not in tone. Cows LOW to communicate hunger or distress.

Psst! The grass is greener on the other side.

24. Observed furtively: SPIED.

27. Florence's river: ARNO.

28. One-named singer from Donegal: ENYA. ENYA has sold an estimated 80 million albums worldwide and now lives in a castle.

30. [theme]

33. Warble: TRILL.

36. Custardy desserts: FLANS. This is rarely seen in the plural, unless we're talking about the all-girl group from Mexico.

37. [theme]

39. Greek island in "The Two Faces of January": CRETE. The Two Faces of January is a 2014 thriller film set in Greece. Also see 29D.

40. Stay put, in Paris: RESTE. French lesson. It's interesting when a foreign word looks like a English word with a different etymology, yet has a similar meaning. "Rest" has Germanic roots.

41. [theme]

43. Fret (over): STEW.

47. eBay caveat: AS IS. I buy and sell often on eBay, and have had surprisingly good interactions with people. Especially gratifying are fair resolutions when something doesn't go quite right on either end.

48. Opposite of o'er: NEATH.

51. Lille pal: AMI. A little more French.

52. Oz. and mg.: WTS. Ounces and milligrams are WEIGHTS.

53. "The View" airer: ABC. The View is a daytime talk show hosted by women, now in its 29th season.

55. Driver's lic. with an added star: REAL ID. Starting on May 7, 2025, a REAL ID license or authorized alternative (like a passport) is required for U.S. domestic flights, entering secure federal buildings, and military bases.

57. Born: NEE. And even more French.

58. [theme]

61. Round topper for a scepter: ORB.

62. Part of the Dutch Caribbean: ARUBA. ARUBA is an island off the coast of Venezuela.

63. Netflix category: GENRE. 

64. Vane dir.: NNE. I'm glad more recent xwords have started cluing compass points this way rather than directions between two random cities.

65. Satisfy, as a debt: REPAY.

66. Good point: ASSET.

Down:

1. Perplex: BAFFLE.

2. Island where Excalibur was forged: AVALON. "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government." 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

3. Trim and muscular: SINEWY.

4. "Citizen __": KANE. Played by Orson Wells in 1941.

5. Pique performances?: SNITS. Fun clue.

6. NFL employee: REF.

7. Brief address: URL.

8. Corleone player: BRANDO. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

The Godfather

9. Theater section: LOGE.

10. Therefore: ERGO.

11. Like many electric plugs: TWO PRONG. This guy's a victim of a TWO PRONG attack.

12. Some Malaysian attire: SARONGS.

13. Like Big Ben's clock: ANALOG.

18. Dubious ability: ESP.

25. Michigan's __ Royale National Park: ISLE.

26. Make bigger: ENLARGE.

27. Maxims: ADAGES.

29. Greek city in "The Two Faces of January": ATHENS. Almost a clecho. See 39A.

31. Trade-__: compromises: OFFS.

32. Gardener's parcel: PLOT.

34. With 19-Across, "How We Do (Party)" singer: RITA. RITA Ora.

35. Robert of "The Sopranos": ILER. I don't remember this young man, and he's already quit acting, but misspelling the cross of PHInEAS with an "N" sunk me.

37. "Hallelujah!": PRAISE BE.

38. Video game giant: SEGA.

39. Collector of rainwater: CISTERN.

41. Suddenly hit: DAWN ON.

42. Increase slowly: INCH UP.

44. Claws: TALONS.

45. New citizen, perhaps: EMIGRE.

46. Doohickey: WIDGET.

49. Otto meno cinque: TRE. Now we switch to Italian for a math lesson. Eight minus five equals three.

50. Hägar the Horrible's wife: HELGA.

53. Slightly open: AJAR.

54. Offer no amusement to: BORE. Zzzz.

56. Tavern quaffs: ALES.

59. Bulls org.: NBA. The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association.

60. Big name in jewelry: KAY. Winner - Best Slogan: "Every Kiss Begins With KAY."

Well, was Jeffrey a good eGG or did he lay one?

Be good. RB