Saturday, January 3, 2026, Dr. Kyle Dolan

  Saturday Themeless by Dr. Kyle Dolan

This is the 21st themeless Saturday puzzle by Dr. Dolan I have blogged. As per my usual M.O. for Saturday puzzles I struggled with some small fills until the very gettable long entries shouted, "C'mon, Gary, you know this." This reduced Kyle's puzzle to manageable  proportions.

Across:

1. 2013 memoir that was followed in 2025 by "Finding My Way": I AM MALALA - The true story of Malala Yousafzai, the girl who survived an assassination attempt after standing up to the Taliban over education. More on this heroic woman.

10. Passing muster?: AWOL - Muster is when troops are assembled and if someone has 38. Left: GONE, he's AWOL. 

14. Interns, at times: FREE LABOR.

15. Birds whose collective noun is chime: WRENS - A group of wrens is called a chime. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

16. Shared pleasantries: SMALL TALK - Confidently filling in GREETINGS was my first, but not the last, misstep in Kyle's puzzle.

17. Sank, in a way: HOLED - Success in golf in when the ball is HOLED. In pool, it's when the  ball is pocketed. 

18. Olive often found with spinach: OYL 😀 This toon usually featured Olive being saved by her boyfriend Popeye who has "hulked out" on Spinach.

19. Word on a green helmet: JETS - The entire helmet was not green when the JETS won their only Super Bowl.

                                 

                        1969

 

2025

 

20. Without restraint: MADLY.

21. Essential: CORE.

22. Destiny: LOT.

23. Brio: PEP.

25. Haterade: FLAK - Haterade is a pseudo-word (a play on Gatorade) for what is said by mean people who give others FLAK

27. Two pieces?: DUETS - Hey, I loved the Everly Brothers but this is magic

29. Thai's neighbor: LAO.

30. Physical location: CLINIC 😀 The physical location of where you get a, uh, physical 

32. Drops from above: RAIN 😀

33. Fine print, e.g.: ART.

34. Question asked by a fan?: HOT ENOUGH FOR YOU? 😀 A fine example of anthropomorphism

37. Wonder: AWE.

39. Prepares (oneself): STEELS.

40. Big mo. for florists: FEB.

41. Top-tier: A-LIST.

43. Rundgren in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: TODD - He's now 77 years old.

44. Be wrong: ERR.

45. First perfect number: SIX - The next two are 28 and 496

46. Olympic archer?: EROS.

48. Pop by: VISIT.

50. Giveaway: TELL - Dr. Winchester of M*A*S*H got cleaned out because he starting whistling every time he had nothing.

51. "Fancy!": OOH.

54. Saw: DATED. 😀

55. Scenario just before a board takeover?: MATE IN TWO - The solution is at the bottom of the write-up. 

57. Volunteer's offer: USE ME.

58. Sharp kicks?: ICE SKATES - 😀 Kicks are slang for footwear and skates are sharp so...

59. From South Asia, perhaps: DESI - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Originating from the Sanskrit word desa, meaning "land" or "country," desi historically meant "local" or "indigenous". 

60. Namesakes of some days in English: NORSE GODS - Not so for Saturday

Down:

1. "In that case ... ": IF SO.

2. Theater group?: ARMY - Several divisions of the U.S. ARMY fought in WWII's European Theater of Operations.

3. Series of courses: MEAL 😀 

4. Former "The Great British Baking Show" co-host Giedroyc: MEL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Mr. Ott sits the bench today

5. "Seriously ... ": ALL JOKING ASIDE.

6. Down the road: LATER.

7. Let up: ABATED.

8. Chuckles at a gif, say: LOLS.

9. Sanctuary: ARK.

10. Nickname of the slugger who holds the MLB record for most career grand slams: A-ROD - I thought this was a very interesting chart

11. "Clever": WELL PLAYED.

12. No longer a foal: ONE YEAR OLD.

13. Drug needed for some trips: LSD 

15. Rhetorical expression of approval: WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE - A lovely puzzle by Kyle

20. Characteristic patterns: MOTIFS.

21. Support staff?: CANE 😀

22. "Queen of Creole Cuisine" Chase: LEAH. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

24. C in C: POTUS - This filled in automatically and then I eventually saw Commander in Chief

25. Spot for getting one's buds together?: FLOWER VASE.

26. Classic toys with colorful pegs: LITE BRITES - I spent many an hour with our girls playing with this

28. Pushes: URGES. Goads, dares, prods

30. Rub the wrong way?: CHAFE 😀

31. "Simmer down!": COOL IT.

35. Early operating system: UNIX.

36. Some vintage cars: REOS.

42. Rock: TEETER.

47. Like May through August: R-LESS - This is not necessarily so these days.

49. 50% up front?: SEMI - 😀 I guess that presumes the other 50% is behind

50. Birria order: TACO.

51. "The Simpsons" character whose surname is Mann: OTTO.

 
52. Due: OWED.

53. Informal ride: HOSS - Also Ben Cartwright's son 

54. Lemon: DUD.

55. Hr. division: MIN.

56. Hound: NAG - Persistent reminding?

* White queen to F5

* Black pawn to H5 is black's only move

* White queen takes pawn at H5 and it is checkmate