Saturday, May 2, 2026, Zhouqin Burnikel

Saturday Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel

The coded grid shows that C.C. had a lot of fresh fill that included delicious looking Asian cuisine. She also seems to have a Kentucky Derby mini-theme on this first Saturday in May. As usual her cluing was amusing without being "too far out there".

                 

Here's what she had to say when I asked her about a mini-theme and American, where she excels, and Chinese slang.

Hi Gary,

Yes, there's a mini theme on the Saturday grid. 

Chinese works quite differently. Much of its richness comes from characters and tonal nuances rather than the kind of wordplay we often use in English puzzles. Mandarin has four tones, while Cantonese has nine, which adds another layer to how meaning is conveyed.

C.C.

The horses are in the chute and ready to run, so let's go!

Across:

1. Branch of Islam that includes Zaydism: SHIA - I only know SHIA and SUNNI so...

5. KJ of "Riverdale": APA - I recognized Riverdale as being the high school from Archie comics which I read in my misspent yute. KJ plays Archie in a CW series.

8. Growing concern?: FARM.

12. Brand with TV ads featuring Garfield: IAMS.

13. Half of all integers: EVENS - This got a chuckle from this math teacher

15. "2 funny": LMAO.

16. Galileo Galilei Airport city: PISA.

17. Place for fans to show support: MERCH BOOTH - Taylor Swift MERCH booths usually set up days before her concerts. It is estimated that her MERCH sales were over $400 M while tickets generated over a billion dollars.

19. Kentucky Derby moniker: RUN FOR THE ROSES and 50. Racetrack with twin spires: CHURCHILL DOWNS This is always decided today, the first Saturday in May

21. Narrow passages: STRAITS - One particular one has been in the news a lot lately 

22. Feature of thioacetone: ODOR.

Yikes!

23. Do groundbreaking work?: HOE.

24. Intake plans: DIETS.

26. "He has my whole heart": I'M HIS - The Spanish version: 62. Part of a basic Spanish conjugation: ERES - ERES el amor de mi vida. (You are the love of my life.) 

30. Brian who scored "The Lovely Bones": ENO.

31. Crumb: IOTA.

32. Patronizing person: CLIENT.

33. APR reducer: REFI.

35. Heading up?: NORTH - On most maps

37. Pop singer Alessia: CARA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

38. Figures in quotes: PRICES.

40. Corner: TRAP.

42. "Corduroy" writer/illustrator Freeman: DON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

43. Bloom in a fall bouquet: ASTER.

44. Anne who had a recurring role on "The King of Queens": MEARA - Anne is shown after being reunited with her longtime husband and comedy partner, Jerry Stiller.

45. Post __: HOC - A clever example (1:27)

46. Grammy winner Winans: CECE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. "My guess is ... ": I ASSUME.

54. Make it big: RISE TO FAME.

55. GPS listings: ETAS.

57. Bean sprout?: IDEA.

58. Stalking cats: PUMAS.

59. Skillful: DEFT.

60. Stretch in office: TERM.

61. Go out for a bit?: NAP 😀

Down:

1. Bit of suction: SIP.

2. Treatments for locks: HAIR TONERS.

3. Positive thinker's comment?: I'M SURE OF IT - A famous example: QB Joe Namath guaranteed his underdog NY Jets would win Super Bowl III over the heavily favored Colts and everyone thought he was crazy. Check out the score.

4. Happy baby, for one: ASANA.

5. Not a fan of: AVERSE TO.

6. Smart-alecky: PERT.

7. Pozole peppers: ANCHOS.

8. Amplifier for tap dancers, perhaps: FLOOR MIC.

9. "Spark" singer Tori: AMOS.

10. Put on a scale, say: RATE - example 11. Scale name: MOHS - A mineral hardness scale seen here often.

13. Pride and joy: EMOTIONS.

14. Storage unit: SHED.

18. Use a salamander: BROIL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

20. Wall Street's nabe: FIDI.

21. Himalayan ethnic group: SHERPA.

25. __ Tatin: TARTE.

27. Specialist in executive orders?: HEAD HUNTER - If an executive orders you to find a certain employee, "Who Ya Gonna Call?"

28. Temporary repository: IN ROOM SAFE.

29. Position: STANCE.

32. Guessing game: CHARADES - You've got to have some miles on your tires to remember this 50's TV show.

                     

34. Frappe ingredient: ICECREAM.

36. National Park Service handout: TRAIL MAP.

39. Standing upright: ERECT.

41. __ Robles, California: PASO - A GPS can tell the correct RTE to PASO Robles using the right 56. GPS listings: STS. and even your ETA.

44. Rice vermicelli: MEI FUN.

47. Do some kitchen prep: CHOP.

49. Nobel, for one: SWEDE - His final home

50. Brief review: CRITique or CRITIcism

51. "Take cover!": HIDE - We lived pretty close to SAC Air Base and so we did this drill in the 1950's

52. __ error: USER.

53. Priest in "Lost Horizon": LAMA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

 

Friday, May 1st, 2026 ~ John Michael Currie

 MAY  MAYDAY~!

"May Day~? Why, that's the Russian New Year~!"

And the Frawnche reason for the emergency distress call

Happy first of May~! John Michael Currie is a regular here at the LA Times crossword, but it's been  while; his last appearance was in Nov 2024.  Today we have a calm, gimmick-free puzzle compared to last Friday, but alas, "Ah me", we have a dozen names again.  55 theme squares of the total fill, or about 30% of the construction, the theme is basically a simple 'self-regarding' play on words/abbrs, half clever, half not so much.  A standard 15x15 grid, a balance again of 3-, 4- & 5-letter words, no circles, too many names, and a couple of twurds; the themers;  

20. Color commentator's remark about a zebra on the field?: REF REFERENCE - typically an NFL slang term, 'zebra' refers to the REFeree

29. Pickling, canning, headspace, annealing, etc.?: JAR JARGON - I understand pickling and canning, but I had to look up headspace, and annealing in reference to jars

37. Like clockwork, e.g.?: ANALOG ANALOGY - The clip below is too funny - and too sad

Can you tell me what time it is~?

45. Pressing the "permanent press" button?: IRON IRONY - It does seem to be Ironic

The 'perm press' setting is in the center

56. "Words are but wind"?: META METAPHOR - oooh, trippy . . . 

Wait, But More There Is . . .

ACROSS:

1. Departing word: CIAO - Italian lesson

5. "Of course," in Oviedo: CLARO - Español lesson, technically means "clear"; Oviedo is this city in Spain ( geo name #1 ) - see also map at 18A.

10. Chevrolet model until 2019: VOLT - really rough way to start the first row of  Across fills; foreign word/foreign word/name - sheesh, can we get an English words puzzle~?

The Wiki for those who are curious

14. Address letters: HTTP - website address, that is

15. Bleachers shoutout: "HI MOM~!" - this twurd has made 36 other crossword puzzles

16. Biblical plot: EDEN - plot as in land, not story arc

17. Dramatic sigh: "AH ME..."

18. St. Teresa's birthplace: AVILA - geo name #2 - more here

Dos cuidades

19. Succeeding: NEXT

23. Created hazardous driving conditions, perhaps: SLEETED - uh-huh . . .

24. Two-digit sign: PEACE - my parents, both born in the UK, made it clear that "palm in" was a far more vulgar version of the sign . . . 

The origins of the "V" for Victory ( peace ) sign

28. Org. that promotes vegan leather: PETA - Tuesday Dupe

33. Quaint affirmation: "'TIS"

35. Sticky stuff: GOO

36. Abnormal: ODD

42. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, for one: DUO - names #3 - the Wiki, and a tie-in to 4D.

43. Comedian Wong: ALI - name #4; see also the last Down clue

44. Prefix with binary: NON

49. Swim/bike/run races, briefly: TRIs - meh, a semi-abbr for triathlon

52. Growing alarm: PANIC - "Not only is it slightly cheaper, it has the words DON'T PANIC printed in large, friendly letters on its cover"

The Hichhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

53. Lifeblood: ESSENCE

60. Place to find one's credit history?: IMDb - the Internet Movie Database, and film credits

63. Home of Creighton University: OMAHA - filled via perps, geo name #5

64. Net: EARN - think paycheck

65. Tarot figure carrying a bindle: FOOL

From the Rider-Waite Deck

66. Program broadcast from Rockefeller Plaza: TODAY - good clue/answer for this fill; I didn't know it

67. Gastropub pours: ALES - a WAG

68. Maker of Inzone gaming gear: SONY - got most via perps; name (ish)

69. Presents inaccurately, as data: SKEWS

70. Try out: TEST

DOWN:

1. Nears burning: CHARS - I got it, but it seems slightly 'off ' - I mean, the outside is burned . . . 

2. Geek Squad offering: IT HELP - this has appeared in seven other puzzles

I can't see the problem . . .

3. Charge for cash: ATM FEE - this has appeared in twenty other grids

4. Gilbert and Sullivan work: OPERETTA - filled via perps; I recognize the names, but not their legacy

5. Abrade: CHAFE - not SCUFF

6. Club record holder?: LIVE DJ - not a unique fill

7. "The Kite Runner" boy: AMIR - a name, #6, a book, and a movie - it's IMDb

8. Part: ROLE

9. Yemen neighbor: OMAN - geo name #7

10. Deceptive layer: VENEER - I suppose "deceptive" refers more to a persona, than, say, furniture

11. Amanda Gorman's "An __ We Owe": ODE - the poem, here; name (ish)

12. Latin law: LEX - oops, not RES; I can't remember a 'thing' 🙄

13. Boom operator's need?: TNT - har-har; trying to be fresh with a stale fill

21. Cybercommerce: eTAIL

22. Audit firm exec: CPA - Certified Public Accountant, CW staple

25. Spellbound: AGOG - Dah~! Not AWED; only 25% correct

26. "Dirt Cheap" country singer Johnson: CODY - the sentimental YouTube music video, name #8

27. Terminus: END

30. "From the top": AGAIN

31. Kim Possible sidekick __ Stoppable: RON - name #9 - Here's a family tree I found - I also noted that the Downy in-wash scent booster "Unstopables" product is spelled wrong . . . 

Coor's Artic Ice ( missing the inner c ) is another example

32. Cusack of the "Toy Story" franchise: JOAN - I tried John, her brother, just one letter off, but still Bzzzzt~!  name #10

34. Skyrocket: SOAR

37. Lighting effect: AURA - I tried HALO . . . 

38. Lunch hour, for some: NOON - neither ONE PM nor TWO PM would fit

39. Mop & __: GLO - More product spelling trickery - from founders John Mop & Tom Glo 😜

I don't use Mop & Glo, but I do have the spin bucket

40. "__ luck!": LOTSA - two Fridays in a row with this answer

41. How viral videos might be played: ON REPEAT - also not a unique fill

42. Short decline: DIP - I notice the price of gasoline spikes, but only "dips" back to its previous level

46. With quick movements: NIMBLY

47. Clinch: ICE - like a playoff spot

48. Rodeo cry: "YEEHAW~!" - has made two other crosswords

50. Half of a meditative refrain: INHALE - Exhale . . . Omm . . .

Eddie Van "Inhalen"

51. Film compositions: SCORES - Ah.  I filled in FRAMES; well, they are composed of frames . . .

54. Collar supports: STAYS

55. Dada pioneer Max: ERNST - name #11, but I learned this from doing crosswords - bizarre stuff

57. Fries alternative: TOTS - I got flak from my gym class people because I made my shepherd's pie "wrong" - tater tots are not the "same thing" as mashed potatoes 🙄

...and then my trainer says "It does look good~!"

58. Out of control: AMOK

59. Not natural: MADE - I guess . . . Friday vague

60. Hypotheticals: 'IFs' - A Pulp Fiction quote two weeks in a row . . . here's the NSFW clip with Jules on the phone to Mr. Wallace

61. Ranch sound: MOO - take your guess; BAA, MAA, "GIT~!" 😜

62. Put on: DON - "on" and "on" in clue & answer, a bit weak . . . but then again, the alternate is a name

Splynter

Grid Flow 22.7