Saturday, October 24, 2026, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Must

Rafa, a software engineer at Airbnb in San Francisco, is a frequent constructor and collaborator. Although it took some time, I was delighted to receive a “got ‘er done” badge. Typically, there are clues or fills that can unlock a part of the puzzle, but it seemed like whenever I needed one, I was blocked by my lack of knowledge in areas where Rafa is much more knowledgeable. His FreshnessFactor Percentile was 97.3%.

Across:

1. Garage equipment: CAR RAMPS - $99 at Wal Mart

9. One who takes things the wrong way?: ROBBER 😀

15. Ancient Egypt's "plant of immortality": ALOE VERA - The plant was presented as a sacred gift at the burials of pharaohs and placed inside tombs to accompany rulers into the afterlife. Heck, all we want is some relief from a sunburn!

16. How donburi is served: ON RICE.

17. Parent who seems to do it all: SUPER MOM.

18. Umami-rich snack: TEA EGG - A TEA EGG is a Chinese savory food commonly sold as a snack, in which a boiled egg is cracked slightly and then boiled again in tea, and sauce or spices.

19. Audrey Tautou film: AMELIE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

20. Admits: SEES IN - This is a hoot!

22. RSVP part: SIL.

23. Chaps whose business is picking up?: BUSMEN - A very famous one from 50's TV

24. Habitat for some gnomes: LAWN.

26. Groups with routine practice sessions: DANCE CREWS.

30. "Over there," in Portuguese: ALI - "Vá ficar ALI" (Go stand over there)

31. Small bluff: CRAG.

32. Dough: MOOLAH.

33. Billboard entries: SINGLES 😀 Here is the top of Billboard's Hot 100 SINGLES on April 12, 1964.

35. "Tell the truth!": DON'T LIE.

36. Proceeds without a pause: SEGUES 😀 - Nobody did them better!

37. Common tamale ingredient: LARD - It's not labelled below, but I think you can see it in the little black pan.

38. "__ help!": IT'D.

39. Ephemeral post, colloquially: INSTASTORY - INSTAGRAM STORIES are said to disappear after 24 hours but does anything really disappear from the web?

41. Terrarium growth: MOSS.

42. Pen: ENCAGE.

43. Go unused: SIT.

44. Porowski of "Queer Eye": ANTONI ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

45. Place to enter a security code: PIN PAD.

48. Jumped out of one's skin?: MOLTED 😀 - Two weeks ago, August Miller gave us 6. Drop down?: MOLT 

50. What files can help with: NAIL CARE.

52. Preferring platonic connections, for short: ARO ACE.

53. University founded by Booker T. Washington: TUSKEGEE.

54. Reacts to a riot, say: LAUGHS 😀

55. "Sure, hon": OKAY DEAR.

Down:

1. Isabel Allende's "La __ de los espíritus": CASA - Even I could see this translates to The House Of The Spirits.

2. Grad: ALUM.

3. Means of access for some watering holes: ROPE SWINGS - A lot of the images were violent fails!

4. Attract: REEL IN.

5. "Complicated" singer Lavigne: AVRIL.

6. Part of a viral load?: MEME - If an internet posting goes viral, it can become a MEME

7. Maven: PRO - Not a common synonym for me but...

8. Korean company whose name means "three stars": SAMSUNG.

9. Capacity built via repetition: ROTE MEMORY 😀

10. "Be right with you!": ONE SECOND.

11. Low-quality internet content: BRAIN ROT.

12. Word in Spanish 101 and French 101: BIEN The play was well done. In Spanish: La obra estuvo BIEN hecha. In French: La pièce était BIEN réussie.

13. Diagnostic test, for short: ECG.

14. Bylaw, for short: REG - REGulations 

21. Key part of an exit strategy: ESC.

23. "Be right with ewe!" sounds?: BAAS 😀

24. Drink that may be topped with cardamom: LASSI.

25. Strange: ALIEN.

26. Style guides?: DRESS CODES - Fair?

27. "Gaycation" co-host: ELLIOT PAGE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

28. Stands by: WAITS - BTW, Godot never shows up.

29. Saw places: SHEDS 😀

31. Green transport, gray water recycling, etc.: CLEAN TECH.

  
 

34. "Yo!" de Cologne?: GUTEN TAG - What a fun clue! Good day in Cologne, Germany. 

35. "Just do it," e.g.: DARE.

37. Access, in a way: LOG INTO.

40. "Saving Fish From Drowning" novelist: TAN.

41. __ oath: MINCED.

43. Like flan: SILKY.

44. Six-time MLB All-Star Moisés: ALOU.

45. Tuscan city known for a campanile: PISA - Of course, a campanile is a bell tower and very common in Italy. However in PISA...

46. Painter's calculation: AREA.

47. Sacred animals in Nara, Japan: DEER.

48. __ educado: rude, in Spanish: MAL - MAL means bad in Spanish, so...

49. Pop singer Rita: ORA - We had a nice reference to RITA Hayworth yesterday.

51. North Sea bird: AUK.

Friday, Oct 23rd, 2026 ~ Winston Emmons

UNDERSTAND A BLEAT

🙄

This is Winston's LA Times puzzle #15, and the first one I've had to blog - Chairman Moe had ths last one, here, back in April 2024.  This one kinda fizzled on me; even owning up to a single cell mistake, I found the construction & theme to be bland - in fact, 30D. is not even a unique crossword answer.  The rest of the fill contained little to make me go "RAH~!"; YMMV, but again, I think the editor is more to blame on this one - and not the first time I felt that way this week.  Standard grid, no circles, no outlier letters, far too many proper nouns ( names ) & "foreign"clues, and the same count of 3LW to 5LWs.  The Across themers and Down reveal:

18. Gospel music?: PRAISE BEAT - "Praise Be" being the base phrase; the addition of the "A T" does not really result in a 'punny' or 'alternate' themer, IMHO

The Yellow & Black attack of

Christian rockers Stryper, "To Hell with 9A."

30. Really, really sticky situation?: HONEY COMBAT - Honeycomb, a better redefining themer

46. Brag obnoxiously after winning a swabbing contest?: MOP AND GLOAT - Mop & Glo, the floor cleaning product

That'll work . . .

59. Generous Volkswagen promotion?: FREE PASSAT - Free Pass - I have a "free" VW Jetta in my backyard if you'll give me $1500 to get rid of it . . . 😜

48. "Finally!," or what can be found in 18-, 30-, 46-, and 59-Across: AT LAST - The theme answers all end with the additional letters A & T, or "at, last".  I see Mr. Emmons was able to slide "ETTA" into the grid as well "@" 31D.

But@ Wait@ There's@ More@~!

ACROSS:

1. "Ring out the thousand __ of old": Tennyson: WARS - no clue, tough way to start a puzzle - the poem

5. Hat holders: PEGS

9. Figure in a Faustian bargain: SATAN - A.K.A. Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles

14. Name on a former lake in Central Asia: ARAL - Geo name #1, even if it's a crossword staple

15. Sandwich title: EARL - the Earl of Sandwich, credited with the "invention" of the meat-between-bread fare that now bears his name . . . and name(ish)

Wiki backs it up

16. __ keyboard: EMOJI - I do the Downs first, had E - - - I, so I got it, but didn't really "get it"

All I can say is 😝 or maybe 😖

17. Hayworth of "The Strawberry Blonde": RITA - name #2

20. Slogans: MOTTOS - If Nike came out with crossword apparel, the slogan would be "Just Clue It" 🙄

22. Ring topper: STONE

23. Screening org.: TSA - Transportation Security Administration

24. Chart-topper: HIT

26. High cloud: CIRRUS - made my "TRES" at 28D. wrong

34. Fiver: ABE - seen this before in crosswords; money, not moniker, but still, name (ish)

Hey, that's not Abe . . .

35. Uncomfortably honest: TOO REAL

36. Pulitzer winner James: AGEE - Popular in crosswords, still name #3

37. African language family: BANTU - "foreign" fill, first of many . . .

40. __ Atleos: big name in ATMs: NCR - Dah~!  Didn't get my "ta-DA~!", could not find my mistake - I had ECR, yet I am familiar with this company, as they made cash registers, initially - in fact that's what "N C R" stands for - National Cash Register - the history

41. Oscar, but not Big Bird: AWARD - two Muppets, one trophy - very clever clue / answer

42. Vicinity: AREA

43. Tenor Pavarotti: LUCIANO - Italian, name #4

45. Molecule in some vaccines: RNA

50. Gymnast Olga with four Olympic gold medals: KORBUT - Belarusian, name #5

52. 128 oz.: GALLon

53. Colorado Plateau Native: UTE - Indigenous, name (ish)

54. Model/actress Kate: UPTON - American Michigander, name #6

That's hubby Justin Verlander, retired WS-winning baseball pitcher

57. Mortar's partner: PESTLE

63. Panache: ÉLAN - Frawnche

64. Mexican meat: CARNE - Español

65. Period after Shrove Tuesday: LENT - Christian 😉

66. Toy (with): MESS

67. Break the rules: CHEAT - not a themer, as in Che AT . . .🙄

68. Eight, in combinations: OCTO

69. Minuscule: ITTY - AND - 49D. Minuscule: TEENSY - straight clecho

DOWN:

1. Affection: WARMTH - another great single-syllable fill

2. Oratorio solo: ARIOSO - Italian, and a Sunday dupe

3. Material for some patio furniture: RATTAN - South Asian, another Sunday dupe

4. Board on some patio furniture: SLAT - Not a "sl AT" themer, either . . . 🙄

5. Gatorade owner: PEPSICO - Twice (25D.) this month that a "Pepsi" phrase has made the crossword

6. Orecchiette shape: EAR - Italian again, for "little ears" - nailed it, but knew it from doing crosswords

7. Foie __: GRAS - Frawnche again, heard of it, never actually knew it translates as "fatty liver"

The image's connected website

8. Buttonhole, e.g.: SLIT - SLAT & SLIT in the same grid

9. Veto on movie night: "SEEN IT."

10. Cautionary color: AMBER

11. Spot for a metti: TOE - South Asian Indian, learning moment - the Wiki

12. Two-time WNBA Finals MVP Wilson: A'JA - name #7, coulda been clued as a Steely Dan album

13. Picky criticism: NIT - I had a fair number of  name "nits" in this grid today

19. Golden St. region: SoCal - Southern California - I am East coast, so this did not come readily to mind, but this song did after it filled in - I'd heard it growing up, but would've never guessed the artist

Albert Hammond

21. "Silly goose!": "OH YOU~!" - Oh, Twurd~!

25. Distraught: TORN UP - Dah~!  I simply did not see the option of the past tense version of this phrase, and I blanked on the crossing ECR not being correct - I'll take the one-cell hit on this one . . .

27. Sitar piece: RAGA - Asian Indian - You don't want to go raga . . . 

28. Very, informally: ÜBER - German - Dah~!  I tried TRES

29. Pomegranate bit: SEED

31. "__ Is Betta Than Evvah!": 1976 album: ETTA - an Easter Egg.  Etta James, crossword staple, and the singer associated with the muscial number that my future ex-wife chose for our wedding herself.  It's certainly a "numb-er" for me - thus, I am not a fan of the "theme"; I wanted "Leather & Lace" which was 'dismissed', but my brother snuck it in during his best man speech.   Name #8

32. Home of the Kaaba: MECCA - Arabic, Kaaba = 'cube', geo name #9

33. Revealing to all: BARING

36. Missing GI: AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave

37. Flavorful part of a cinnamon tree: BARK

38. View from the Uffizi: ARNO - No clue this was an art gallery; Italian again, geo name #10

Bottom center

39. Proximate: NEAR

41. Measurement given in degrees: ANGLE

43. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA - Whole lotta yes, please~!  

Here's a cool story from Rick Beato's YouTube channel

about the recording of the track

44. Fit in with: ADAPT TO - Yeah, but Meh~?

46. Sesame Street denizen: MUPPET - see 41A

47. Current source: OUTLET

51. Lake __ Vista, Florida: BUENA - Español again, geo name #11

55. Capital west of Stockholm: OSLO - attempted obscurity, still got it, still Scandinavian, geo name #12

56. Fraction of a min.: NSEC - SEC was too short, filled it in and waited on perps

58. Big rig: SEMI

59. TV monitor: FCC - I almost went with CRT, but this is the "overseer" kind of monitor

60. Cheer syllable: "RAH~!" - I'm going with "MEH."

61. Poetic preposition: ERE

62. Pantry pest: ANT - we had ANT MAN on Tuesday

Splynter

Grid Flow 32.7