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

Friday Jan 2nd, 2026 ~ Nate Curry & Kevin Curry

 Café Au L.A.(IT)

or, the Times Crossword with your Morning Joe~?

Hi there~!  Splynter here, commencing my new day blogging.  Our first Friday puzzle of 2026 is a crossword from constructor Kevin Curry (alliteration), a regular, and what I gather is one of his three kids, Nate, who is 10(ish) yrs old - he and younger sister Kaela created a puzzle that made the NYT.  Today's grid, an oversized 15x16 to accommodate the center spanner, consists of four themers that drop, or "knock off" the I & T at the end of common phrases to create punny new ones.  A few too many names for me, a whole SLEW of abbrs, no circles, and a balance of 26 3LWs compared with the 24 five-letter ones.  The themers and the reveal; 

18. Warning on a note passed in a seminar?: NOT FOR PROF(IT)

more here

25. Crystal ball consulted atop Mount Everest?: HIGH EARTH ORB(IT)  - A.K.A. Geosynchronous Orbit

37. The discovery of the Lucy fossils, for one?: SIGNIFICANT DIG(IT)

52. Beauty school treatment?: LEARNER'S PERM(IT) - I got my learning-to-drive permit at 16yrs old

61. "Cut that out!," or an apt title for this puzzle: "KNOCK IT OFF~!"

Two other thoughts:

Unruly CanadianEh!~? - Bad Hab(IT)

Robinson with his musicians~? - Smokey and the Band(IT)

But Wait~!
There's More~!  ( all good, -T - Onward~! was my Saturday sign-in )

ACROSS:

1. Charges: BILLS - the contractor "charges" $$ for his time

6. During: AMID

10. House shower?: CSPAN - I wondered if this was "shOU-er", or shOH-er; I finally figured out it was the latter, with the channel that shows Congress, the US "House" of Representatives & Senate

15. More slick: ICIER - 'tis the season~! - I've cleared my driveway three times so far

16. 2024 NBA All-Star Game MVP "__ Time" Lillard: DAME - name #1, and I had "G-ame", since that made more sense at first, but I knew my "AD" at 6D. had to be correct - more about him here

17. In the loop: AWARE

20. Sew loosely: BASTE - I knew this 'cause my mom was a sewing master

21. Not gross: NET - weights and measures, as opposed to icky over sterile

22. Some Duracells: AAs - I'm an "AA" as well, but not a battery

23. Like many fiddle-leaf figs: POTTED - I had p-I-tted, which made sense at first - but figs have seeds, not pits - sigh.  

All(IT)eration

24. Land south of Eur.: AFRica

28. Hawaiian for "white": KEA

29. Highest seed: ONE - as of this writing, the Denver Broncos are the #1 seed in the NFL

30. Regret: RUE

31. Marble __: RYE

32. Up and about: ASTIR - if you have to ASTIR, you might need AWHISK - found at 60A.

34. Mother with a Nobel Peace Prize: TERESA - even if we all know who this is, still name #2

42. Agree: ASSENT - all(IT)eration

43. Soccer star Sergio who scored more than 100 goals for Real Madrid: RAMOS - no clue, name #3

45. Audible sighs: "AHs"

48. Long. crosser: LATitiude, the grid of the globe - all(IT)iteration

49. "Rugrats" dad: STU - name #4, learned doing crosswords

51. Tiebreaker periods, for short: OTs - OverTimes

56. Opposite of oui: NON - yes/no - ah, my first Friday Franwche fill - all(IT)eration

Oui~!  Oui~! Très Oui~!

57. Release: LET OUT - "who let the dogs out~?" woof, woof

58. Singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE - name #5, we see her a lot in crosswords

59. Paramount+ partner, briefly: SHO - SHOwtime, streaming services - all(IT)teration

60. Batter beater: WHISK - what a whip~! - all(IT)eration

65. Like déjà vu: EERIE

66. Cry of dismay: "OH NO~!"

67. Leaves for dinner: SALAD - my first thought was the leaf sections when expanding the dining room table, but it's the 'other' leaf - lettuce, romaine, etc.

68. Freezing temps: TEENS

69. Large number: SLEW - Hercules "slew" a whole slew of heads off the - - -

70. Monster with regenerative heads: HYDRA

The 1960 movie "Hercules vs. the Hydra" - all(IT)eration

DOWN:

1. Recycling container: BIN - my blue recycling bin goes out every other week - my garbage, rarely once a month

2. Admission of guilt: "I CONFESS."

3. Well-read individuals: LITERATI - filled via perps

4. Not right?: LEFT - I am a LEFTY, so I nailed this one

5. Sold-out letters: SRO - crossword staple, Standing Room Only

6. Magazine income source: AD PAGE - I had figured it being "AD" something . . . .

7. Swampy habitat: MARSH - I had BAYOU to start; been reading a lot of James Lee Burke books that take place in Louisiana, so this 'hab(IT)at' was on my mind; I did get a David Weber Sci-Fi book, "Off Armageddon Reef", and finished "Hail Mary" from Andy Weir; great book - thank you all for the reading suggestions

8. Texter's qualifier: IMO - In My Opinion

9. Pt. of HDTV: DEFinition; High and TeleVision were too long

10. Novelist Meg: CABOT - name #6, had no clue, learned she is the author of "The Princess Diaries", and the "O" does seem more likely than the "I" that I had from p-I-tted

11. Broad strip: SWATH - as in a swath of destruction laid down by a tornado

12. Tacos al __: PASTOR - never heard of this, so the NE corner was messy; name (ish) - the Wiki

13. Aorta, for one: ARTERY

14. (If) necessary: NEED BE - in hockey playoffs, games 5,6 and 7 may be "if necessary"

19. Picnic spoiler: RAIN - I pondered "ANTS" first

23. Groom feathers: PREEN

24. Pseudonym preceder: A.K.A. - Also Known As

25. Features of orchestras and rhinos: HORNS - clever

26. Upright: ERECT

27. Spiritual glow: AURA - it was either HALO or AURA, and I guessed correctly

33. Four-time French Open winner Swiatek: IGA - name #7, learned doing crosswords

34. Window shades: TINTS - slightly meh; I think windows GET tinted - OR - treatments like drapes, curtains, blinds, shades, etc.

35. Play guitar: STRUM - well, that is part of the mechanics - there's also picking, fretting, tapping, bending, sliding - did I miss anything~?

Eddie would have turned 71 on Jan 26th

36. Org. for orthodontists: ADA - American Dental Assoc.

38. Key: ISLET - That kind of key

39. Dread: FEAR

40. Comment from someone listening to elevator music, perhaps: "I'M ON HOLD."

41. Push beyond acceptable limits: GO TOO FAR - "you've gone far, Ted" was a classic Benny Hill gag

44. ID with two hyphens: SSN

45. Totally wrong: ALL WET - I had heard this phrase before, usually from my mother

46. [Giggle]: HEE-HEE - I had TEE-HEE, so 5/6ths correct - and technically, our Monday dupe~!

all(IT)eration

47. Many a mockumentary: SATIRE - this ROCK-umentary comes to mind

49. Manatee, e.g.: SEACOW - Awww, this puzzle shoulda been blogged by MM~!

50. Taxing trip: TREK - All(IT)eration

53. Gymnast's gripping aid: ROSIN - Dah~!  Not CHALK

54. Zaps: NUKES - Ah.  I use this term all the time when referring to the microwave

55. Susceptible (to): PRONE - as in "prone to lying down while sleeping" 😜

59. "Don't go!": "STAY~!"

61. MMA stat: KOs - Mixed Martial Arts, a sport I do not watch, and Knock Outs

62. Kraken's realm, briefly: NHL - the 'briefly' should have clued me in to the abbr, but I went with "SEA" - yet this is also correct , as the Kraken of the National Hockey League hail from SEAttle

63. "Or so": "ISH." - I'll be over about nine"ish"

64. HHS agency: FDA - Health & Human Sevices, and the Food & Drug Administration; here's the hierarchy on the website

Splynter

Grid Flow 29.9

Thursday January 1, 2026 Jill Rafaloff & Michelle Sontarp

Happy New Year! It's RustyBrain kicking off 2026. Starting today, I'll be your host every Thursday. NaomiZ, who always did a fabulous job on Thursdays, is moving to Mondays to take over from sumdaze who is retiring after an incredible run. Big shoes to fill all around (not to imply they have big feet!). Moving on before I get in any more trouble this year...

Jill Rafaloff and Michelle Sontarp have me at a disadvantage here. I never got into women's clothing, so I didn't know most of the designers. We picked the wrong day for Naomi to move! That being said, the perps were fair so the solve went smoothly. All the themers are compound nouns for everyday things, but one or more of the words is also an article of clothing. Let's try them on for size:

17. Crossover design from Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Fürstenberg?: BUBBLE WRAP. Our fashion show begins with two models on the catwalk: Westwood's BUBBLE skirt and von Fürstenberg's WRAP dress. Iconic looks from their signature designers that should never be worn together.

29. Creative team behind Lilly Pulitzer's signature frock?: SHIFT WORKERS. Pulitzer's bright, colorful clothes were very popular and worn by the likes of Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. She rose in prominence when her original SHIFT dress, a simple loose-fitting garment that allowed a women to "shift" around, was photographed on Jackie Kennedy.

47. Item in Giorgio Armani's 50th anniversary collection?: BIRTHDAY SUIT. The devil wears NADA! I know Armani also makes SUITs for men, as I have a closet full. Not. 

62. Line of Mary Quant's trademark skirts?: MINISERIES. I'm familiar with Quant creating the MINIskirt only because of crosswords (I swear, honey, I never even looked at one!).

So, everything fits but this puzzle didn't have anything to do with the New Year. Not the constructors' fault as puzzles are created months in advance, but I'll see if I can work some magic for you!

Across:

1. Complete failures: BOMBS. BOMBS can also be explosives, just like the fireworks used to ring in the New Year over Sydney Harbour.

6. "Now!": STAT. I wrote ASAP at first, but I was too quick.

10. A couple of bucks?: DEER. Fun clue!

14. Oak tree, once: ACORN. This little fella has a secret ACORN stash.

15. Words of dismay: OH NO.

16. New Age artist who often sings in Irish: ENYA. ENYA is Irish, but I'd like to hear her sing this old Scottish favorite:

17. [theme]

19. Suds: BEER. Hopefully you didn't overdo it last night!

20. Former quarterback Manning: ELI. Peyton's younger brother, Archie's son and Arch's uncle.

21. __-Caps candy: SNO. Is your maple syrup candy SNO-Capped on January 1st?

22. Give a damn?: CURSE. Fie on you!

23. __ gel: contents of "Do not eat" packets: SILICA. Interestingly, SILICA gel is non-toxic. It's the packets themselves that may pose a choking hazard to children and pets.

26. On the decline: WANING.

29. [theme]

33. Liturgical vestment: STOLE. Sorta related to the women's fashion theme. 

36. Really, really enjoy a joke: ROAR.

37. Madre's sister: TIA. Your mother's sister is your aunt.

38. Greek cafe: TAVERNA.

40. Alive and __: KICKING. I'm happy to be here!

43. Viking weapon: AXE.

44. Pinnacle: ACME.

46. Affection from a dog: LICKS.

47. [theme]

51. Patterned fabric woven on Jacquard looms: DAMASK. The fashion show continues. DAMASK is woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. This creates a fabric that when flipped over makes a mirror image of the often intricate pattern. 

52. Orates: SPEAKS.

56. __ shorts: CARGO. You probably won't find these hanging in a fashionista's closet. Then again, you might. Everything I know about fashion would fit in a thimble.

58. Be in debt: OWE.

60. Briny: SEA.

61. Vaping device: ECIG. Electronic Cigarette.

62. [theme]

66. Place for pews: NAVE. These congregants in the central NAVE of a church in Chicago are celebrating the Lunar New Year, an ancient tradition in Chinese and other Asian cultures. It typically falls between January 21st and February 20th.

67. Legend: ICON.

68. Wet bars?: SOAPS. Another fun clue!

69. Even: TIED.

70. Keyboard locale: DESK.

71. Really hard to see: EENSY.

Down:
1. Innocents: BABES. 

2. Circular openings in domes: OCULI.

3. Synergy Supreme+ gasoline retailer: MOBIL. Pegasus was part of the MOBIL logo for many years.

4. "Putting my phone down a sec": BRB. Be Right Back in textspeak.

5. Weekly skit show, for short: SNL. Saturday Night Live.

6. Scattered: SOWN.

7. Target in a game of catch: THROW TO. I thought "target" was a noun at first and went through a list of people one could THROW TO.

9. Blouse: TOP. And yet another fashion reference.

10. Expose as false: DEBUNK.

11. Peppy: ENERGETIC.

12. Seeing things: EYES.

13. Redder than medium: RARE. Unless we're talking about your EYES on the morning after a NYE party!

18. Actor Morales: ESAI.

22. Round fig.: CIR. A CIRcle is the roundest of FIGures.

24. Remote getaway spot: ISLE. Remote getaway spot: SOFA. 

.
25. "Moonstruck" Oscar winner: CHER.

27. Faces the day: AWAKES. This is the perfect time to try something new.

28. Musubi seaweed: NORI.

30. Brawl: FRACAS.

31. Playing surface surrounded by boards: RINK. 

32. Droops: SAGS. Just like these banners!

33. Try: STAB.

34. Call with a raised hand: TAXI.

35. State of ramped-up productivity: OVERDRIVE.

39. Zilch: NADA. The number of days left in 2025. 

41. Rate of speed: CLIP. The years seem to go by at a faster CLIP as I get older. It can't be 2026 already?! It seems like only yesterday that Y2K was a problem. Now that's a quarter century ago.

42. Beach toy: KITE.

45. Greek island in the Cyclades: MYKONOS. Known for luxury and high-end tourism, MYKONOS is a great place to greet the New Year...if you can afford it.

48. Caught off base?: TAGGED.

49. Med. plan option: HMO. Health Maintenance Organization is a medical plan option, but you already knew that.

50. Functions: USES. Functions: NYE parties!

53. Nepali, e.g.: ASIAN.

54. Stays fresh: KEEPS. How long will you KEEP your New Year's resolution?

55. "Listen to __": podcast that covers a classic teen magazine: SASSY.

56. Penny: CENT.

57. Berry native to the Amazon rainforest: ACAI.

59. "Don't take me too seriously" indicator: WINK.

62. Prefix with way or wife: MID. MIDway or MIDwife.

63. Raw bar need: ICE. Also a NYE bar need!

64. Language suffix: ESE. 

65. Caviar: ROE.

Thank you, C.C., for this wonderful opportunity to be a permanent part of the smartest and friendliest corner of the web. And for those of you who are frequent visitors but haven't commented yet, here's a New Year's Resolution for you: introduce yourself and join the conversation. We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Wishing all of you a happy, healthy (and Natick-free) New Year! 
Be good. RB

Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - Rebecca Goldstein

CrossEyedDave here... When CC asked me to fill in, it was a Saturday morning, and i thought, "Great! I can do this instead of the Saturday Stumper!"  Well, right from the get go, 1Across just screamed out "Cube!" And with that, my Saturday turned into a Wednesday Stumper... I did finally work my way out of a DNF/FIW/TiTT, and was looking forward to reading the write up for someone to explain it all. (Wait! What! I have to splain this!! Aw nuts and dang it all...)

Well, at least Rebecca provided a title:

16. Intentionally delaying, or a punny title for this puzzle?: PLAYING FOR TIME.

"Playing For Time."

Now unless you can play Tetris blindfolded, i don't want to hear any complaints in the comments about circles. I would still be trying to solve this puzzle, if it were not for these life saving theme circles, that helped me discover all of the "off my wavelength" clue/answers that tripped me up.

The Reveal:

54. Constant reshuffling of one's schedule, or what's depicted in this puzzle's circles: CALENDAR TETRIS

The Calendar items circled included: Gala, Game, Work, Yoga, Call, Date, and Trip. You could possibly turn this into another puzzle by trying to find "another" calendar item that wasn't circled. Please let me know if you find any, I'm already too exhausted by Rebecca's offering to even try...

Here is a short Bio:

Link

Across:
1. Sugar serving: LUMP. My horse sense told me this should be "Cube." I mean, you don't give a horse a lump of sugar, you give him/her a sugar cube! Which led to disastrous stabs at the early downs.

5. Crockery flaw: CHIP.

Hmm, i wonder what was wrong with the kid "before" the spell?

9. Paper or plastic items: BAGS.

13. Microbiology lab gel: AGAR.

14. "__ that the truth!": AINT.

15. "At your earliest convenience," less politely: ASAP. (Not STAT!)

19. Error message?: SIC. Latin, literally ‘so, thus’. used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original.

20. NYC nabe near the Bowery: NOHO. (Not SOHO, or South of Houston, but North of...)

21. Added to the team: HIRED.

22. Kicking sport: SOCCER.

24. Actress Palmer: KEKE. The second K was a personal Natick with 9 Downs Batik, and caused and alpha run ending to this almost DNF/FIW/TiTT...

25. The Queen of Pop: MADONNA.

27. Network featured in "Good Night, and Good Luck": CBS. (3 letters awaiting a perp)

30. Low voices in a women's choir: ALTOS. (Really?)

33. Lav: LOO. (What?  Not Water Closet? Hmm, which reminds me...)

34. Sailor's assent: AYE.

35. Shabby: WORN.

36. Rare opening in 54-Across: SLOT. (A Clecho! Or Clue Echo...)

37. Screen writing?: BLOG.

38. Squeak (out): EKE.

39. Tom, Dick, and Harry, for example: MEN. (Not "anybody"...)

40. Name after peach or before toast: MELBA.

41. Mom, to Auntie: SIS. (I don't know why I wanted "Tia" here...)

42. "Be glad to": SURE CAN. Or put another Glad Bag in the Trash Can...

44. Image file format: JPEG.

46. Like the pick of the litter?: CUTEST.

49. Beefy, casually: SWOLE. Learning moment, i can't complain if it's legit...

51. Move like a hummingbird: DART.  (Not flit)

52. D-backs, in box scores: ARI. (A crossword fill staple...)

54. [Theme Reveal]

57. Shawkat of "Search Party": ALIA. (Either you know her, or you dont. Perps to the rescue...)

58. Team with a red-tailed hawk mascot named Swoop: UTES. (If you say so...)

59. California county with a wine train: NAPA. More info here:

60. Ran in the wash: BLED.

61. "__ there, tiger": EASY.

62. Gender-fluid pronoun: THEY. (Could have been Them, I could blame Them. But I can't blame They...)

Down:
1. Slurps (up): LAPS.

2. Uniq fruits: UGLIS.

3. Body shop franchise: MAACO. I must have misread this clue, because Maaco with lump and laps turned this corner into a nightmare...

4. Ask too much, say: PRY.

5. Paddled about: CANOED.

6. One regularly experiencing bettor days: HIGHROLLER. Not familiar with this, I wonder why...

7. IT part: INFO. (New to me)

8. Vacay from work: PTO. Paid Time Off (another tricky clue/answer)

9. Patterned fabric that originated in Indonesia: BATIK. I'll let A.I. explain this Learning Moment

10. "If memory serves": AS I RECALL. (Without the spaces, reminds me of nothing...)

11. Up for a challenge: GAME.

12. Went a mile a minute, maybe: SPED.

17. Quechua speakers who didn't have a written alphabet: INCAS. Not entirely true They used ropes!

18. Seehorn of "Pluribus": RHEA. (If you say so, but I say its just a smaller Emu from a different country)

23. "Please be serious": CMON. (I am serious about the Rhea/Emu's)

24. Twist into a pretzel: KNOT.

26. "Sounds like a you problem": NO ONE CARES.  (Ouch!)

28. Notation on an invite: BYOB. Bring Your own Bottle/Beer.

29. Sonic the Hedgehog developer: SEGA.

30. Leaves speechless: AWES.

31. Norse god of mischief: LOKI. Around long before The Marvel Universe took over his image on the internet. And is now invading politics?

32. "Ooh la la!": TRES JOLIE. It's French...

36. Self-satisfied: SMUG.

37. Good start?: BENE. Italian. Curiously, when I went to research, 

IT WASN'T Bene Nota?

(I get this confused with Bella Notte.)

40. Low-gloss: MATTE.

42. Checked out: SEEN. This nose wrinkle really gave me angst crossing 49A. Swole

43. Bow alternative: CURTSY. (Not bow,,, bow...  AhNuts!)

45. Be appealing?: PLEAD. (Cute)

47. One of the Torah's four matriarchs: SARAH. (Perped in, because i always leave off the H.)

48. Type of offal: TRIPE. (Anyone want a picture?) Offal is the internal organs and parts trimmed off an animal for food, although tripe has other meanings as well...

49. Sign of healing: SCAB.

50. Muralist's canvas: WALL.

51. Target of some mining: DATA.

53. "My word": I SAY. (Sounds kinda British to me, an I do say so myself...)

55. Expected any minute: DUE.

56. Explosive used in some mining: TNT.

Well, that about does it for this year. On to the next!

Happy New Year!

CE:D Out...