Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Rick J. Sirois.

Theme? To finish this puzzle, you must climb the MESA, or BUTTE, or PLATEAU, to arrive at the TABLELAND.

4 Down. One who switches sides: TURNCOAT.

Turn table

11 Down. Basic flotation device: POOL NOODLE.

Pool Table

21 Down. Brewery vessel?: COFFEE POT. (Maybe in Starbucks, but the clue seems out of place in your kitchen...)

Coffee Table

29 Down. Purse at a boxing match: PRIZE MONEY.

Prize Table

40 Down. Soccer pitch boundary: SIDELINE.

Side Table

55 Across. Like some game night games, or a feature of 4-, 11-, 21-, 29-, and 40-Down: TABLE TOP 

Because all the themers were Downs, the reveal indicates that the tables can be found on top...

Across:
1. Sticky and stinky sealant: TAR.  ( for turncoats, add feathers...)

4. Yank (on): TUG.
Carol Burnett

7. Agrees to: ACCEPTS.

14. Purple yam from the Philippines: UBE.
The Ube.

15. Game with red, yellow, blue, and green cards: UNO. And purple Ube chips on side for snacks...

16. Steel mill material: IRON ORE.

17. Barbecue choice: BEEF RIB. I wanted Baby or Back, but that would be Pork.

19. Find and remove: ROOT OUT.


20. "Across the pond" pond: ATLANTIC. A British euphemism for The Atlantic Ocean, because they would not want to make a tempest out of a teapot...

22. __ in comparison: PALES.

23. Hotel amenity: ICE.

24. Chooses to participate: OPTS IN.

27. Help desk techs: I.T. PROS. Stands for information Technology Professional, This field covers the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for processing and distributing data.

30. Bank charge: FEE. Do not cross go, Do not collect $200-

31. Got the highest score in golf, say: LOSTThe average par for a standard 18-hole golf course is 72 strokes, which consists of a combination of par-3, par-4, and par-5 holes. For most newbies playing whack-a-mole, breaking 100 would be a good day...

34. Jazz pianist Chick: COREA.
Chick Corea

35. Execs focused on the bottom line: CFOS. Chief Financial Officers 

36. 10th grader, briefly: SOPH.  Sophomore. As opposed to Freshman, or Senior.

37. Singer-songwriter DiFranco: ANI. Name #2

38. Special skills: TALENTS.

41. Kaitlin's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" role: DEE. Technically names #3 and #4, because to know this, you must know one is real, and the other fictional... The A.I. Overview

42. Totally dismantle: RAZE.

44. California-based candy company: SEES. This name #5 must have been filled in by kind perpage, because if I saw it, I am sure I would have complained it was too regional. Unless you tossed me a candy...
(I can be swayed easily...)  Another A.I. Overview

45. Five Pillars religion: ISLAM. The 5 core acts are Faith, Prayer, Alms, Fasting, and Pilgrimage.

47. Grade sch.: ELEM. Elementary, 
Apparently, that's as far as Watson got...

48. Alternative to sparkling: TAP. (As in water, as in restaurants.)

49. Stick: ADHERE.

50. Fine wool: MERINO.
No comment

52. Summer sign: LEO.

53. Love, in Firenze: AMORE.

55. Theme Reveal

60. Some park employees: RANGERS.

63. Common oatmeal cookie ingredient: RAISINS.

64. First Amendment word: FREEDOM.

65. Place to spend the night: INN. (This could also have been out, as opposed to in...)

66. One-on-one chats on soc. media: DMS. DM stands for Direct Message...

67. Agrees: SAYS YES.

68. Easter egg need: DYE. (And rabbits for some strange reason...)

69. Up to now: YET.

Down:
1. Bulky horn: TUBA. Bulkier horn: Sousaphone 
Yep, definitely bulkier...

2. Stand watch for, say: ABET. Yeah, but as a grandparent, watching a grandchild, would you say I was abetting?

3. Instagram feed feature: REELNot familiar with this...

4. Theme

5. Fuses together: UNITES. Strange clue for Unites. You would think unites would be a voluntary thing, where fuses, sounds kinda forceful...

6. Mongolian for "waterless place": GOBI.

7. Atmosphere: AIR.

8. __-Magnon: CRO.

9. Henhouses: COOPS.

10. Necessitates: ENTAILS.

11. Theme

12. "Good point": TRUE.

13. Hardens, as concrete: SETS.

18. Word with laissez or savoir: FAIRE. (Frawnch...) Should not be in an English puzzle, maybe a better clue would be Olde English Festivities.

21. Theme

25. Low-level workers: PEONSA.I. Overview (of course, A.I. is not one of those...)

26. Trial: TEST.

27. "You matter to me": I CARE. (If A.I. ever says this to you,,, RUN!)

28. Like many Chinese dialects: TONAL.

29. Theme

32. Piece of fishing gear: SPEAR. Hmm, singular, 5 letter, could have been creel. But I find this unfair, because who ever heard of a singular piece of fishing gear...

33. Motif: THEME.

35. G-rated: CLEAN. (In the eyes of "who.")

39. Prosecco kin: ASTI. Sparkling wine that cannot be called Champagne...

40. Theme

43. Pops up: EMERGES.

46. Vans or Crocs: SHOES. Crocs I knew, Vans? Not so much, 
Apparently, these things I used to call "boat shoes."

49. Empire State capital: ALBANY.

51. Like a clarinet's sound: REEDY. (Really?)

53. Pet sounds: ARFS. (Or a great Beach Boys Album...)

54. Rooney of "Women Talking": MARA. (Name #,,, I dunno, I lost track...)

56. Like the 6-Down: ARID.  (6 down was Gobi Desert, if you lost track...)

57. Spruce (up): TIDY.

58. "I'm buying!": ON ME.

59. Hushed summons: PSST.

61. Blini topping: ROE. Apparently, a Blini is some sort of crepe, or thin pancake, that you could top with practically anything. So, why not Roe?  Hmm, what would you top your thin pancake with? I'm thinking cream cheese, bacon, scallions, and jalapeño, but I have an iron stomach...

62. Texting format initials: SMS. Short Message Service (limited to 160 characters) useful in customer service responses where they don't want you to complain too much...

And here's the Grid.


CE:D out...
≽(•⩊ •マ≼


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