Sunday, July 26, 2026 ~ Zhouqin Burnikel

"9 to 5"

Hi All!
Today we get a letter-substitution puzzle from our very own C.C.. Each themed clue is straight forward but the fill seems a bit of(?).  Let's dig in and see what she has in store.

23. *Command to turn: FACE LIFT. In the Army, it was "LEFT, FACE." //Drill gave the direction first to give us a moment to remember our left from our right :-)

He Flunked Flanks

29. *Recovers somewhat: FEELS BITTER. FEELS BETTER. If you've only somewhat recovered from defeat, you may still feel bitter.

45. *Flourishing: LIVING WILL. LIVING WELL - yeah, I'm doin' alright.

49. *Perform a daring act: BILL THE CAT. The expression "BELL THE CAT" derives from a fable about mice agreeing that putting a bell on the cat is a great idea. The hitch - it's a great idea if someone else is dumb enough to try - so no one does.

Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County's Bill The Cat

70. *Makes explicitly clear: SPILLS OUT. SPELLS OUT. #Snitch :-)

94. *Person who works a lot?: AUTO DIALER. An AUTO DEALER works the car lot a lot.

96. *Ink-filled tool for illustrators: DRAWING PIN. A PEN for DRAWING pictures.

112. *Places to drop envelopes: LITTER BOXES. Put your post in a LETTER BOX.

Letters go here -- dogs, maybe, but not cats.

123. Start of a spelling rule, or a rule to keep in mind while answering the starred clues: I BEFORE E.

I before E except after C (unless it sounds like an A as in neighbor and weigh (unless the word is just weird)).
//I found this silly sentence on Reddit: I before E except when your "foreign neighbor Keith receives eight counterfeit beige sleighs from weird feisty caffeinated weightlifters."
One can always count on the internet for giggles.

Ahem.

I forgot to read the Sunday Title first. As I came upon 29a, I thought, "What's the theme?"
I read "9 to 5" (?) and thought, "I'll title the puzzle 'I Before E.'"
Then I got to 123a, and realized that's where C.C. was already going.  Alas.

But wait, what is 9 to 5? Simple, it's like a substitution cipher. Take the 9th letter of the alphabet and put it where the 5th letter goes. 9 to 5. Cute. But it gets better...

Everything's better w/ Dolly

Across:

1. Do something: ACT.

4. Career fair haul: SWAG.

Cybersecurity SWAG for the bath.

8. Claim forcefully: ASSERT.

14. Insert, as a link: EMBED. I was thinking a chain's LINK b/f an HTML hyperLINK.

19. Prepping period: LEAD TIME. The more lead time, the more you better prepare.

21. Mammals with big calves: WHALES. Ha!

22. Stains with ash: SOOTS.

23. [See: Theme]

24. Winter cap feature: EARLAP. LAP or FLAP? I looked it up: Earlap - A flap connected to headgear to protect the ear from cold or physical harm. From Old English ēarlæppa.

25. Jam: SNARL. Think traffic, not preserves.

26. Clarifying phrase: AS IN. PAT - P as in Pterodactyl, A as in Aisle, and T as in Tsunami. //Thanks RustyB!

27. Too sure of oneself: SMUG. Can you think of a three letter donkey-related word for this trait? I can ;-)

29. [See: Theme]

31. Coup target: ETAT. French: coup is "blow" or "strike" and état is "state."

33. Small camping shelter: PUP TENT. A small triangular shelter fit more for a dog than humans. In the Army, you & a buddy carried half-shelters.

They're pretty small

35. Slowpoke's place: REAR.

36. "Despacito" singer Fonsi: LUIS. A Puerto Rican singer.

39. Part of LAPD: LOS.

40. Nonprofit org. with a school for aspiring moviemakers: AFI. American Film Institute (which named Blazing Saddles the Funniest Film of All Time on Brooks' 100th Birthday //thanks Ray-O!).

42. Infatuated: GAGA. Is Lady GAGA infatuated with herself or ladies?

45. [See: Theme]

49. [See: Theme]

52. Dedicated poem: ODE.

53. Tudyk of "Firefly": ALAN. I've never seen Firefly, but Alan was great in Resident Alien. [TV-MA]

Alan Tudyk

54. Emulate Alysa Liu: ICE SKATE.

Alysa won gold in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic games

56. Bark beetle target: ELM.

57. Fancy-schmancy: POSH. If you get too fancy in our hacker Discord channel, someone will inevitably post this:

Ooh La La

59. Previously: ONCE.

61. Relaxed sigh: AHH.

62. Novel at the center of Bloomsday celebrations: ULYSSES. Bloomsday is a commemoration of James Joyce.

64. Westernmost city in Texas: EL PASO. I did Basic there [Ft. Bliss] in '88... In July!

66. McIntosh or Macintosh: APPLE. Cute - the fruit and computer, respectively.

68. Poison Ivy, to Robin: ENEMY.

She debuted in '66's Batman #181

69. Seasoning for kimchi: SALT.

70. [See: Theme]

72. Insects in a colony: ANTS.

75. Apex predators of the sea: ORCAS.

77. New York City's __ Place: ASTOR. The WikiP.

78. Baseless: UNTRUE. Alternative facts?

80. Vidal of hair care: SASSOON. If you don't look good, we don't look good. #Tagline

83. Vader's childhood nickname: ANI. Star Wars franchise.

84. Southernmost Ivy: PENN.

86. Party leader?: HOST. Ha!

87. Software-driven F/X: CGI. Computer Generated Images create the special effects (F/X).

88. Improviser's concluding phrase: AND SCENE.

Colbert

91. Fat-heavy diet: KETO.

93. "Look what I found!": OHO.

94. [See: Theme]

96. [See: Theme]

99. Org. running many missions: NASA.

100. Snack for a frog: FLY.

101. Of vital importance: KEY.

102. Speak unclearly: SLUR.

103. Ione of "La Brea": SKYE.

Ione Skye

105. Lions and tigers: FELINES.

109. Gets the picture: SEES.

112. [See: Theme]

115. High-five sound: SLAP.

118. Starts to work together: GELS.

120. In flames: AFIRE.

121. Make public: EXPOSE.

123. [See: Theme]

125. Spot of land: ISLET.

126. Lower in fat: LEANER. Opposite of KETO.

127. Trial spin on a bike: TEST RIDE.

128. Parts in a play: ROLES.

129. Daisylike flowers: ASTERS.

A Purple Daisy - Gregor [98d], you have some 'splain' to do.

130. Tuck away: STOW.

131. Telepath's ability: ESP.

Down:

1. __ Romeo: motorsport brand: ALFA.

'86 Alfa Spider

2. Discontinue: CEASE.

3. Implicit: TACIT.

4. Busiest airport in MO: STL. St. Louis, Missouri's Lambert International Airport. When visiting Pop, we'll sometimes opt for STL instead of connecting into SPI through ORD.

5. Nintendo consoles that debuted in 2006: WIIS.

6. Switch on the radio?: AMFM. Amplitude Modulation/Frequency Modulation are methods of imposing information onto a carrier wave.

7. "Rise and shine!": GET UP.

8. Dazzle: AWE.

9. Vertical passages: SHAFTS.

10. Draped wedding garment: SAREE. I looked it up - sari and saree are both acceptable spellings of the same dress.

11. Discovery astronaut Ochoa: ELLEN.

She was the director at JSC, Houston.

12. "I'm gonna be straight with you ... ": REAL TALK.

13. Cough syrup amts.: TSPS.

14. OPI rival: ESSIE. Youngest uses Holo Taco.

Her Starry Night Nails

15. Sequence of film cuts: MONTAGE.

16. Regattas: BOAT RACES.

17. Raison d'__: ETRE.

18. High-end camera initials: DSLR. Digital Single-Lens Reflex.

20. National park north of Anchorage: DENALI. Before and after it was Mt. McKinley.

28. Shorebird with webbed feet: GULL.

30. Easily broken: BRITTLE.

32. Salade niçoise fish: TUNA.

Yummers!

34. __-sci: POLI. Political Science.

37. Nome dome home: IGLOO.

38. Bird with a long neck: SWAN.

41. Display flagrantly: FLAUNT. Should I EMBED [14a] Brooks' The Producers' [2005] Uma? Heck yeah!

43. Destructive wind: GALE.

44. Bank lobby devices: ATMS.

45. Leisurely gait: LOPE.

46. Subjects of fan clubs: IDOLS.

47. "Roman Holiday" scooter: VESPA.

Hepburn & Peck on a Vespa

48. Like some heated posts: IN CAPS. e.g. I'M YELLING AT YOU!!!!

49. Command: BEHEST.

50. "Kinda": ISH.

51. "What's up, bro!": HEY MAN. The opening lyric to...

Suffragette City

55. Reports by hotline: CALLS IN.

58. Head lights?: HALOS.  Cute - a ring of overhead light.

60. Prefix with graph or gram: EPI.

63. Electronica instrument: SYNTH.

Geddy's Steampunk-themed Synth (it's a mini-MOOG underneath)

65. Hybrid thoroughfare with frequent access points: STROAD. A portmanteau of Street and Road. Trying to figure out what stroad means took me down a traffic engineering labyrinth. Google at your own peril.

67. Smoothing tool: PLANER.

68. Shout of discovery: EUREKA.  What Archimedes famously shouted when he realized he could calculate the volume of any shape by putting it in a bath (with rubber duckies, I presume).

70. Open-toed shoe: SANDAL.

71. Alley-__: OOP.

73. Scouting unit: TROOP.

74. Gimbap alternative: SUSHI. Gimbap is Korea's take on sushi. WikiP has the History of the dish.

Looks good (& the fish is cooked :-))

76. Cypress, for one: CONIFER. Needled trees.

78. Up to: UNTIL.

79. Ian Fleming's alma mater: ETON. A POSH school.

80. Glance over: SCAN.

81. Amazon contents: AGUA.

82. Quits fidgeting: SITS STILL. Yeah, not my strong suit. #ADHD

83. Card with a single pip: ACE.

85. Front page material: NEWS.

89. Cunning folks: SLY FOXES.

90. Garden with forbidden fruit: EDEN.

92. Responsibility: ONUS.

95. Home for a squirrel: OAK TREE. Which is, famously, not a conifer.

97. Some deli loaves: RYES. Ok, no!, C.C., you can't get away w/ RYE w/o me mentioning

Ziggy's Reuben

98. Genetics pioneer Mendel: GREGOR. Of crossbreeding pea [and daisies?] fame.

101. Piehole: KISSER. Your maw, yap, trap, mouth.

104. Throws, in slang: YEETS. What the kids say when wanting to forcefully dispose of something. E.g. "Yeet it off the balcony."

106. Kiwi in Kyoto, say: EXPAT. LOL! A New Zealander in Japan.

107. Sierra __, Africa: LEONE.

108. Features of some skirts: SLITS. Where's Splynter when we need him? :-)

110. Quietly unnerving: EERIE.

111. Snow day rides: SLEDS.

112. Dragon's place: LAIR. When I played video games, Dragon's Lair cost $1 whilst the other games were $0.25. Ergo, I only watched arcade buddies blow $$$ just to die at this scene (again).

Dragon's Lair - a LaserDisc "cutscene" video game.

113. "In that case ... ": IF SO.

114. Grammy-winning banjoist Fleck: BELA. Not Steve Martin? Ok, let's hear him.

Bela's Youtube Channel

116. Help out on a heist: ABET.

117. Cozumel coin: PESO.

119. Ooze: SEEP.

122. Workplaces for some RNs: ERS. Some Nurses work the Emergency Room.

124. Texter's "Victory!": FTW. For The Win! we get The Grid.

The Grid

WO: last -> REAR (35a)
ESPs: LUIS, ASTOR, SKYE, SAREE, STROAD
Fav: I really enjoyed the alliteration in IGLOO's clue.

I hope y'all found a LINK or two in the expo for a nifty diversion this Sunday morning.

Cheers, -T

Saturday, July 25, 2026, Mike Graczyk

 Saturday Themeless by Mike Graczyk

A fun solve on what appears to be Mike's initial LA Times puzzle. My trek started in the NE with my Greek wife's least favorite salad and expanding out from there.

Across:

1. "Who's interested?": ANY TAKERS - Knowing the real issues for this trip, this NASA guy knows all the perils and is a hard no! 

NOT ME!

10. Saw: ADAGE.

15. "Do I know you?": HAVE WE MET.

16. Historic site in Jordan known as the Rose City: PETRA - One of the new seven wonders of the world

17. Eggs-cellent breakfast spot: 😀 OMELET BAR.

18. "Door's open!": ENTER.

19. "You bet!": YES.

20. Pinch-hit: STEP IN - What we subs do during the school year

22. Next: THEN.

23. Hardly pusillanimous: BOLD.

24. Bears named for an Alaskan archipelago: KODIAKS.

26. Call it a day: GO HOME.

29. People who pay flat rates?: TENANTS - I think we all know what an apartment is called in the UK

30. Wistful words: I HOPE.

31. Went to court?: WOOED - 😀 Court is a verb here.

32. One who loves ewe very much: RAM.

34. Migrators in the Maasai Mara's Great Migration: GNUS.

35. Brook swimmer: TROUT.

36. Brand of shapewear: BALI.

37. Brief alarm: SOS.

38. Essence: POINT.

39. Test versions: BETAS.

40. Takes back: RECANTS.

42. "You bet!": SURE DO.

43. Ouster: DEPOSAL - Ouster : Oust :: Deposal : Depose 

44. One thing after another: LIST.

45. Campus building: HALL - My home for two years

46. Connecticut governor Ned: LAMONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

48. Rugby ball prop: TEE.

51. Taco truck option: ASADA.

53. Places to break some records?: RAGE ROOMS - or break most anything else

55. Hammer and anvil, for two: BONES.

56. "I wish wearing flat-irons on our heads would keep us from __": "Little Women": GROWING UP.

57. IV part: INTRA.

58. "No prob": EASY PEASY.

Down:

1. "Hello, sailor!": AHOY.

2. Appellation: NAME - For wine: An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated,

3. __ Rocher cosmetics: YVES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

4. Office no.: TEL.

5. "Way cool!": AWESOME - In my opinion, this is the most overused adjective used today

6. Boiling point?: KETTLE 😀

7. War zone journalist: EMBED.

8. Bring in: REAP.

9. Go down swinging, perhaps: STRIKE OUT.

10. Mimic: APE.

11. Tooth component: DENTIN.

12. "If we stayed on such a road ... ": AT THAT RATE - Ten minutes/hole. AT THAT RATE we should be done in three hours.

13. Dish with feta and Kalamatas: GREEK SALAD.

14. Brings in: EARNS.

21. Largish combo: NONET - Nine, count 'em, nine

23. Catchy tunes, informally: BOPS.

25. Pops: DAD.

26. Some play dates?: GIGS - My grandson will be taking his years of experience, his Master's Degree and connections to NYC to play some GIGS.

27. "Just wondering": OH NO REASON - Yeah, right...

28. Leaves for one's residence?: HOUSE PLANT.

29. Pluto and others: TOONS.

31. Plain to see: WRITLARGE.

33. Soup often served with gyoza: MISO.

35. Like some languages: TONAL.

36. Muppet who loves pigeons: BERT.

38. Faux finish?: PAS - I have made many a faux PAS in my life.

39. Way to travel with class?: BUS TRIP - I travelled the 1,400 miles to KSC with 23 classes with airplanes but never on a BUS. 😳

41. "You're even farther now ... ": COLDER - The opposite...

42. Muscular: SINEWY.

43. Abu __: DHABI - The silent "H" threw me for a while 

44. Screen icons: LOGOS.

47. "Matilda" star Wilson: MARA.

48. Caesar wrap?: TOGA. 😀

49. Cassowary kin: EMUS.

50. Award for top plays?: ESPY - ESPN's yearly awards for top sports plays 

52. Butterfield of "Sex Education": ASA.

54. Number worn by Oscar Robertson: ONE.