Tuesday October 28, 2025 ~ Samuel A. Donaldson

Ordinary Ordinals

It doesn't take a SIXTH SENSE to figure out this puzzle's theme.

Today, Samuel presents an ordered list of ordinal numbers.

If you're not familiar with number nomenclature, cardinal numbers, such as One, Two, Three, indicate quantity. Ordinals, used in this puzzle, indicate position or rank but not quantity. Numbers such as single, double, and triple are called multipliers. Nominal numbers are used as a name - e.g. Number 42 [Jackie Robinson].

Enough of that. Let's get on with it.

15. Spendy flying option: FIRST CLASS.

23. Dating option not recommended by Madonna in "Express Yourself": SECOND BEST.

In case you forgot the song.

33. Topic to avoid, metaphorically: THIRD RAIL. The third rail is the electrified middle track used in mass transit systems and, like a topic to avoid, you don't touch it.

49. Imaginary barrier that might be broken by a stage actor: FOURTH WALL. The fourth wall is an imaginary barrier between the performers and the audience. The audience sees through this wall to observe the play/movie/show but the performers presumably can't. Breaking the fourth wall is when a performer acknowledges the existence of the audience.

59. Double date tagalong: FIFTH WHEEL. When not speaking of RVs (or trailers in general) pulled by a hitch in the bed of a pickup, fifth wheel means useless or superfluous -- such as a fifth wheel on a wagon [Moby Dick, 1851 (cite)].

Having beat the theme into submission, let's explore how Samuel filled the rest of the grid.

Across:

1. "Later, gang!": SEE YA. Caio.

6. Winter ailment: FLU. I got my vaccine. You?

9. Chats online, briefly: IMS. Instant MessageS.

12. At a distance: APART.

13. Pull a pre-final all-nighter: CRAM.

14. Cabbage-based side: SLAW.

15. [See: Theme]

17. __ to self: NOTE.

18. Ga. airport code: ATL.

19. Arts and crafts, to a grammarian: NOUNS. Cute.

20. "Oppenheimer" or "Anora": MOVIE.

21. Corner chess piece: ROOK.

Chess Humor

23. [See: Theme]

25. "Sheesh, what a day!": I'M BEAT.

27. St. Francis of __: ASSISI. Patron saint of animals and founder of the Franciscan order.

Statue at Xavier University

28. Drips through slowly: SEEPS.

29. Picked up the tab: PAID.

32. Concert souvenir that may list tour stops: TEE.

33. [See: Theme]

37. LLC alternative: INC. Limited Liability Company / INCorporated.

40. Scrap: TOSS.

41. Peony part: PETAL.

45. Danish or Swedish: NORDIC.

48. Vietnamese sandwich: BANH MI.

There's no shortage of good Bahn Mi in Houston!

49. [See: Theme]

53. The "D" of NYPD, for short: DEPT.

54. Start: ONSET.

55. Celebrity's hotel check-in name, perhaps: ALIAS. Checking into hotels, Sir Paul famously used the alias Paul Ramone. The alias was used by the punk band The Ramones as an homage.

57. Sandwich with three key components: BLT. Bacon, Lettuce, & Tomato.

58. Moreno with an EGOT: RITA.

Rita's Wikipedia page.

59. [See: Theme]

61. Like many dorms: CO-ED.

62. Raison d'__: ETRE. French for "Reason to be."

63. Disparage: ABASE.

64. Finish: END.

65. Lingo suffix: ESE.

66. Some dessert wines: PORTS. Why is it called port? Here's what Quora says.

Down:

1. African expeditions: SAFARIS. On your Mac, take a virtual one with your Safari browser.

2. Textbook example: EPITOME.

3. Piercing place: EARLOBE.

4. Soph and jr.: YRS. SECOND and THIRD years of high school or college.

5. Memo header abbr.: ATTN.

6. Swiss currency: FRANC. Sweden has not adopted the euro.

7. Rodeo ring?: LASSO.

8. Gap-filling sounds: UMS.

9. "What a wonderful gift!": I LOVE IT.

10. French painter Henri: MATISSE.

11. Honey bunny: SWEETIE.

13. Board game with weapons, suspects, and rooms: CLUE.

14. Supercilious types: SNOBS.

16. Price to pay: COST.

20. GPs, e.g.: MDS. General Practitioners / Medical Doctors.

22. Retained: KEPT.

24. Zip: NADA.

26. Volcanic residue: ASH.

29. Whiz: PRO.

30. Streaming annoyances: ADS.

31. Org. featured in the book "Many Unhappy Returns": IRS. Internal Revenue Service. The subtitle of the book is "One Man's Quest to Turn Around The Most Unpopular Organization in America." Apparently, it's non-fiction by IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti.

34. Bug bite symptom: ITCH.

35. Craft beer letters: IPA.

36. Extend credit: LEND.

37. Legally effective: IN FORCE.

38. Request from a diner concerned about bad breath: NO ONION. Took a second for this not to parse as NOON ION.

39. Like many baked goods: CRUSTED.

42. Jeremy Allen White series featuring the oft-repeated line "Yes, chef!": THE BEAR.

I've not seen it but heard it was good.

43. Most bountiful: AMPLEST. Ooof. Any port in a storm, I guess.

44. Children, slangily: LITTLES. Ooof again? Anyone refer to kids that way, ever?

46. Feeling of foreboding: DREAD.

47. Cousin in "The Addams Family": ITT.

Cousin Itt

48. "Borrrring": BLAH.

50. Stays on hold: WAITS.

This American Life tracked down Cisco's hold music composer.

51. Emmy winner Woodard: ALFRE.

Alfre's Wikipedia page

52. Lo-cal label word: LITE.

56. Trade: SWAP.

59. Transaction charge: FEE.

60. "Euphoria" airer: HBO.

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: Loan -> LEND; EPITOMy [sic]
ESPs: ALFRE
Fav: I'll go with SNOB for the clue - supercilious is just a fun word.

There you have it folks. Were you in SEVENTH HEAVEN after finishing the grid? Did you think Samuel's offering was the EIGHT WONDER?

Me? I thank Samuel for the enjoyable puzzle and I hope y'all enjoyed the NINTH INNING wrap-up.

It's now up to you to provide the TENTH AMENDMENT.

Cheers, -T

Monday October 27, 2025 Guilherme Gilioli

 

Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. Our Saturday blogger, Husker Gary, introduced us to today's constructor on February 24, 2024. Today's puzzle is Guilherme's second LAT publication.

Theme:               

...went upstairs to kiss a fellow. How many fellows did she kiss?
One, two, three, four, ....
(Did you play this jump rope game at your school?)

Each of the three themed answers contains the letters R, O, P, and E with just one letter between them -- a very specific requirement. The circles highlight how the R's, O's, P's, and E's line up vertically in the grid. Wow! I'll insert it now, in case you missed Guilherme's fancy footwork.  

20 Across. Cornucopia: HORN OF PLENTY.  In Latin, cornu  means HORN and copiae means PLENTY or "abundance".

Notice that the basket is HORN-shaped.

28 Across. "Can't Fight This Feeling" band: REO SPEEDWAGON.  This one gets a slight ding for the extra E immediately following the P. Nevertheless, it was a fun change to see REO's full name in a grid. Here is that 1984 song (with lyrics):  

45. Device for inflating tires: AIR COMPRESSOR.  

The reveal ties everything together:  

52 Across. Cord in some cardio workouts, or an apt description of each set of circled letters in this puzzle: SKIPPING ROPE.  The letters R, O, P, and E literally SKIP.

This is an 8:19 min. compilation of choreographed jump rope videos.

Watch until you've had your fill. (I could not turn it off.)

Let's move on to the remaining clues.  

Perhaps this wise BIRD OF PREY will help guide us?

Across:

1. Puff of smoke: WISP.

5. Veer off course, as a ship: YAW.  Def.:  (intransitive verb) of a ship:  to deviate erratically from a course (as when struck by a heavy sea); especially: to move from side to side.

8. Morales who becomes Spider-Man in the "Spider-Verse" films: MILES.  Miles Morales is a comic book character created in 2011. I am going to over-simplify this and say that he is not replacing the other Spider Man. Rather, he is from an alternate universe. Perhaps a true fan can tell us more....

13. Love, in León: AMOR.  

14. App Store patron: USER.

16. Joker, to Batman: ENEMY.  

17. Feng __: SHUI.  Def.:  (noun) a Chinese geomantic practice in which a structure or site is chosen or configured so as to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it.

also : orientation, placement, or arrangement according to the precepts of feng shui.  

This is a 1 min. video on how to use feng shui to arrange your office.

Note: This guy talks fast so you might need to read the subtitles. He has a lot of good

Feng Shui videos. Find him on YouTube @DearModern.

18. Curly cabbage in the mustard family: KALE.  

Kale is a good source of vitamins C & K, magnesium, calcium, and potassium.

19. Software extension: ADD-ON.  This is a piece of software that enhances existing software without having to start from scratch.

23. Beatles opener?: THE.  The question mark hints that we might not be talking about the opening song from a Beatles performance. Similar to The Who, not "Who", they were "The Beatles", not just "Beatles".

Please Please Me was their debut studio album, released in 1963. Can you guess what was the opening song off that album? I'll give you just seventeen guesses.    

Notice that in this video The Beatles do not yet to "own" the stage.

24. NNW reversal: SSE.  Think "compass".

25. Animation frame: CEL.

32. Chatted on WhatsApp, briefly: IMed.  Instant Messaged.  (Hi C.C.!)

34. Overtime cause: TIE.  This clue references sports -- not work hours. A tie score will throw a game into overtime.

35. Quarrel: ARGUE.  Quarrel is a verb here. 

36. Quick snooze: NAP.

37. Nile reptile: ASP.

38. Bought by us: OUR.  

Our House     ~     Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young     ~     1970

IIRC, D-Otto has two cats in his yard. 🎵🎵

40. Hoppy pub pick, for short: IPA.

41. Zagreb native: CROAT.  CROAT is the demonym for the ethnic group native to Croatia. A "Croatian" is from Croatia but not necessarily an ethic CROAT.

43. Media with reflective sides: CDs.  

You can hang them in your garden to keep the birds out of your strawberries.
...but then who will eat the slugs?

44. Podiatry focus: FEET.  

Click to enlarge.

49. Gobbled up: ATE.  

a wild turkey gobbling up insects

50. Cristo Redentor's city: RIO.  CSO to our Brazilian constructor!  

aka Christ the Redeemer

51. Floppy rabbit part: EAR.  

A lop-eared rabbit refers to any rabbit with ears that droop.
I'm not sure if being super-cute is also a requirement.

58. Formal "Me too": AS DO I.

61. Volcano near Sicily's east coast: ETNA.

62. Paradise: EDEN.

63. Lard Lad treat on "The Simpsons": DONUT.  

Does Lard Lad remind you of anyone?

64. Like an old cotton blanket: SOFT.  

65. Family dinner rule, maybe: NO TV.  Dinner is the only time DH and I turn on our TV. It's just the two of us so we call it "dinner theater".

66. Paver option: SLATE.  

39 seconds

67. Short story writer Edgar Allan __: POE.  six Edgar Allan Poe story suggestions just in time for Halloween

68. Deuce topper: TREY.  A three tops (beats) a two for "high card".  

Down:

1. Use soap on: WASH.  

2. Texter's "As I see it": IMHO.  In My Humble Opinion

Some people are now speaking with texting initialisms IRL!

3. Tart-tasting: SOUR.  

4. Not handwritten: PRINTED.  This one made me laugh a little because printing is one form of handwriting.  

PRINT (top) & cursive (bottom)

5. Laugh riots: YUK FESTS.  YUK is slang for laugh and FEST is short for FESTival.

6. "... and make it snappy!" letters: ASAP.  

YUK! YUK!

7. "Maybe, maybe not": WE'LL SEE.  These are magic words for a parent.

8. Shepherd's pie filling: MEAT.  The usual MEATs are beef or lamb.

9. Racing body with an annual "500" event: INDY CAR.  This clue plays with the definition of body. A car body is the main structure of a car, excluding the mechanical components.<cite>  Law Insider has a more detailed definition. Also, this Car and Driver article classifies the various car body styles.

10. Showed the way: LED.  

Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein (1974)

"Walk this way."  (1:42 min.)

11. Punk subgenre: EMO.

12. Antonym's opposite: Abbr.: SYN.  SYNonym

I looked up "synonym" in The Synonym Finder. Ironically, it was not listed. However, It does have these words for "synonymous":  equivalent, equal, even, parallel, twin, corresponding; same, similar, like, alike, identical, exact; correlative, comparable, exchangeable, transposable; reciprocative, reciprocal.

15. Witherspoon of "Big Little Lies": REESE.  This is an HBO MAX series based on a novel by Liane Moriarty. It was primarily filmed in Monterey County (some of the filming locations). This is a video of the opening credits for Season 1 (2017):

21. "Caught you!": OHO.  Def.:  (interjection) used to express various emotions (as taunting or amused surprise).

22. Actor Beatty: NED.  [1937-2021]  his IMDb page

26. Like shortcake, compared to shortbread, usually: EGGIER.  This word strikes me as a difficult one to clue. Eggs can be used to make recipes fluffier.  

strawberry shortcake        and        Scottish shortbread

27. Gem examiner's tool: LOUPE.  Wow, wasn't that heist at the Louvre gutsy??!!

28. School assignment: REPORT.  

29. Domino dot: PIP.  We use the same word for dice dots.

30. Tug-of-__: WAR.  

31. Not messy: NEAT.

32. Andean empire: INCA.

33. Ave __: Catholic prayer: MARIA.  

Luciano Pavarotti     ~     Ave Maria (Shubert)

37. From __ Z: A TO.

38. Verse of praise: ODE.

39. Upper chamber in Amer. politics: US SENATE.  American is abbreviated, so is United States.  

42. Gets the best of: ACES OUT.  like a TREY over a deuce

43. Shirt that shows off one's abs: CROP TOP.  

44. Landlord's sign on an empty property: FOR RENT.

46. Hosp. scan: MRI.  I have not had one of these.

47. Plumbing components: PIPES.

48. Yield to gravity: SAG.

53. Lightweight toy flyer: KITE.  

In Geometry, a KITE is a four-sided polygon where two pairs of sides
that touch at a corner are the same length.

54. Facts and figs.: INFO.  figures and INFOrmation

55. Strong smell: ODOR.  Losing all sense of smell is called anosmia.  Some famous people with this condition include Jason Sudeikis of Ted Lasso, Ben of Ben & Jerry's, and Bill Pullman of Independence Day.

56. Folk icon Seeger: PETE.  Click on the image below to hear Pete perform a well-known folk song, This Land is Your Land, written by another famous American folk singer, Woody Guthrie:    

57. Green with __: ENVY.  

58. YouTube interruptions: ADS.

59. Note after fa: SOL.  

60. Crime lab evidence: DNA.  

This is an excerpt from Humble Pi:  When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker (p. 56):

Between 1993 and 2008, the police in Germany were searching for the mysterious "phantom of Heilbronn," a woman who had been linked to forty crimes, including six murders; her DNA had been found at all the crime scenes. Tens of thousands of police hours were spent looking for Germany's "most dangerous woman," and there was a €3000,000 bounty on her head. It turns out she was a woman who worked in the factory that made the cotton swabs used to collect DNA evidence.

Have a great week, everyone! Here's one more for the road:  

Sunday October 26, 2025 Adam Landau

Theme: "FOUR OF A KIND" - Each theme entry contains four words that share a same ending sound. 

22. Expensive streaming ad error?: RICH TWITCH PITCH GLITCH.

36. Carrier for casino winnings?: BLACK JACK BACK PACK.

56. "Apparently, it's better not to dye your hair"?: THEY SAY STAY GRAY.

82. "Masala tea is getting so expensive," e.g.?: SKY HIGH CHAI SIGH.

96. Tie-dyed quilt?: DEAD HEAD BED SPREAD.

117. Shooting star?: QUITE BRIGHT NIGHT LIGHT.

I think this is Adam Landau's LA Times debut. Congrats, Adam! 

It's been a while since we saw this type of full-on rhyming theme. A tough feat to pull off cleanly with fun clues.

Across:

1. Palindromic address: MADAM.

6. Around: ABOUT.

11. Taylor-Joy of "The Queen's Gambit": ANYA.  She also voices Princess Peach in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie".

15. Prelude to a kiss?: I DO.

18. Classic Camaros: IROCS.

19. Beatles drummer: RINGO. Sir Richard Starkey.

20. Appearance: MIEN.

21. Ghost calls: BOOS.

26. Northern Nevada city: ELKO.

27. Carded at a club, casually: ID'ED.

28. The Emerald Isle: EIRE.

29. Dwelling for una familia: LA CASA.

30. Knitter's medium: WOOL.

32. Oft-fried vegetable: OKRA.

33. Father: SIRE.

34. Edebiri of "The Bear": AYO. It means "Joy" in Yoruba.

44. Ballet studio support: BARRE.

46. Feels bad about: RUES.

47. LAX info: ETA.

48. Actor Astin: SEAN.

49. Streetwear designer Marc: ECKO. He wanted ECHO in the first place.

50. Ingredient amt.: TBSP.

51. Change beds?: RE-PLANT. Garden beds.

55. Guatemalan gold: ORO.

59. Playground retort: AM NOT.

61. Wander: TRAIPSE. Aimlessly. 

62. Duplo maker: LEGO.

63. Rifts: SCHISMS.

65. Meadow: LEA.

66. Sault __ Marie: STE.

68. Digital art hosted on a blockchain: Abbr.: NFT. Non-Fungible Token. 

70. 84-Down edge: RIM. 84. Basketball target: HOOP.

71. Attracted by: DRAWN TO.

75. Lhasa __: APSO.

77. Albuquerque minor leaguer: ISOTOPE. Learning moment for me.

81. Like some wine barrels: OAKEN.

86. Mario Kart avatar: MII.

87. Most sore: ACHIEST. I got jabbed five times the past 3 weeks. The first was the worst, the spot got swollen immediately. The infusion nurse then took a mulligan. That spot remained purple for over 2 weeks.

89. "I heard you! Enough!": OK OK.

90. Plot measure: ACRE.

91. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA.

93. Solo's son: REN.

94. One who walks the walk: DOER.

95. Slightly off: ASKEW.

102. Tagging symbols: ATS.

103. Cones' counterparts: RODS.

104. Travel option: RAIL.

105. Fall pile component: LEAF. Just had some rain. Most of the pretty leaves in our neighborhood are gone.

107. Charcuterie meat: SALAMI.

110. Bad habit: VICE.

111. Big __: Red Sox nickname: PAPI. He was just David Ortiz when he was a Twin.  

114. Corleone played by Marlon Brando: VITO.

121. Liberate: FREE.

122. Hunger (for): LONG.

123. Abated: EASED.

124. Fantasy Football domain: YAHOO. I like this new clue angle. 

125. Caribbean vacation souvenir?: TAN. Ha. 

126. Manchego sources: EWES. From Wikipedia: It's a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. It is aged between 60 days and 2 years. 

127. Takes in a text: READS.

128. __ nous: ENTRE.

Down:

1. Bog down: MIRE.

2. Pomegranate seed: ARIL. I always love arils on all the Thanksgiving dishes.

3. Waterfront laborer: DOCKWORKER.

4. "Gesundheit" prompt: ACHOO.

5. Colorado hrs.: MST.

6. Lacking precipitation: ARID.

7. More than a nibble: BITE.

8. Like most recorded music from the 1990s: ON CD.

9. "Hate it!": UGH.

10. Midwest capital: TOPEKA.

11. California Zephyr operator: AMTRAK. Scenic.

12. "Love it!": NICE.

13. Slangy assent: YEH.

14. Like St. Paul's Cathedral: ANGLICAN.

15. Itty-bitty bit: IOTA.

16. Ob-gyns and ENTs: DOCS.

17. Org. concerned with employee well-being: OSHA.

21. Curl targets: BICEPS. Someday Splynter will show his. 

23. Estate document: WILL.

24. Texter's qualifier: IIRC.

25. Morning songbird: LARK.

31. U.K. honor for Naomie Harris: OBE. Order of the British Empire. She's been in a few Bond movies.

32. 60-Down, minus the champagne, for short: OJS. 60. Bottomless brunch drinks: MIMOSAS.

33. Skewered Thai dishes: SATAYS.

34. Help a bad actor: ABET.

35. Luxury boat: YACHT.

37. "We have the meats" chain: ARBY'S.

38. Swears: CUSSES.

39. Didn't throw away: KEPT.

40. Lugosi of "Dracula": BELA.

41. Forever and a day: AEONS.

42. Ricochet, in billiards: CAROM.

43. Nautical speed units: KNOTS.

45. Majestic pronoun: ROYAL WE.

50. Knock softly on: TAP AT.

51. Deli bread: RYE.

52. Festive beverage: EGGNOG.

53. Undergrad lecturer: PROF. 113. 53-Down degs.: PHDS.

54. Surfing site for the 2024 Olympics: TAHITI.  It's part of France. French Polynesia.

57. Toyota minivan: SIENNA.

58. First Hebrew letters: ALEPHS.

64. [I'm a frog]: CROAK.

67. "Ariel" voice actor Diggs: TAYE. He made his debut in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back".

69. Heart: TICKER.

71. Like the Capitol building: DOMED.

72. Confident poker action: RAISE.

73. Curly-tailed guard dog: AKITA.

74. Irish-themed casino on the Vegas Strip: O'SHEA'S.

76. Heed the theater warning bell: SIT.

78. "Jersey __": MTV reality show: SHORE.

79. Stir up conflict: PICK A FIGHT. Great fill.

80. Everglades wader: EGRET.

83. Granola bar brand: KIND.

85. Chops down: HEWS.

88. Trustworthy: CREDIBLE.

92. Around $8 million, for the Super Bowl: AD RATE. Imagine the money Budweiser has spent on Super Bowl ads.

94. ISP option: DSL.

95. Gator follower: ADE.

97. Where the heart is, proverbially: HOME. Our home is the only home I've lived in the US.

98. Myers-__ personality tests: BRIGGS.

99. A pop: EACH.

100. Keto adherent, perhaps: DIETER. Both Bill and Margaret were on Keto for a while. Then Margaret's blood sugar dropped too low. 

101. Landed: ALIT.

106. For the birds?: AVIAN.

107. Room meas.: SQ FT.

108. Vibe: AURA.

109. Bank claim: LIEN.

110. Bygone video app: VINE.

111. Leaning tower locale: PISA.

112. Like good balsamic vinegar: AGED.

115. Asgardian Avenger: THOR.

116. Plains people: OTOE.

118. Excel line: ROW.

119. Scot's "I'd rather not": NAE.

120. Soap-making chemical: LYE.

C.C.