Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Brian Russell, Zouqin Burnikel

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here . . . and, yes, you read that correctly . . . . with a recap of a Wednesday puzzle.  As C.C. mentioned late last year, I have gone from recapping on alternate Fridays to recapping the final Wednesday puzzle each month.  Call it semi-retirement or a new adventure . . . or both.  As the fates would have it, for this, my first Wednesday foray, we get a puzzle co-constructed by C.C.  I have reviewed something like 125 puzzles here on the corner and this is first C.C. puzzle I have had the privilege to recap.  To make things even more special, C.C's co-constructor is our own Brian "Rusty Brain" Russell who is making his debut.  What a nice way to enter the Wonderful World of Wednesday.

Let's start with the unifier:

63 Across:  Impromptu jazz performance, or an apt title for this puzzle: JAM SESSION.  In this case a JAM is a group of musicians playing together more or less making it up as they go along.

At four places in the grid, C.C. and Brian have asked us to come up with answers that riff on the word JAM in its various forms

17 Across: Filled pastry: JELLY DONUT.  Jelly, marmalade, confiture, etc.  In other words - JAM.

24 Across:  Office machine: LASER PRINTER.  We are all familiar with printer jams.   Bottleneck, congestion, stoppage.  In other words - JAM.

39 Across:  High-flying NBA All-Star event: SLAM DUNK CONTEST. Stuff, push, cram.  In other words - JAM.  A basketball reference.  A slam dunk is also called a "jam" and that formed the basis of a successful electronic game:

51 Across:  Rush hour gridlock: TRAFFIC SNARL.  AKA a traffic jam.  This one could have referenced a musical moment by Steve Winwood and Dave Mason.

Here is how it all appears in the grid:

. . . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Violin players: BOWS.  Not the musicians.  What they often hold in their hands.

5. Discussion site: FORUM.

10. Omelet need: EGGS.

14. Potatoes, in Indian dishes: ALOO.   This has become a crossword staple.

15. Remove from memory: ERASE.

16. Young stallion: COLT.  By definition.

19. Clarinet kin: OBOE.  Frequently heard in our puzzles.

20. Promotional cost: AD FEE.

21. Field expert: REF.  A REFerence to a REFeree (on, for example, a football field).

23. Night before: EVE.

29. __ Martin cognac: REMY.

32. Charlottesville sch.: UVA.

33. Slow-cooked dish: STEW.

34. "Peace" shape: VEE.

35. Camera component: LENS.

37. "Gotcha": I SEE.

44. Keep a sauce from congealing, say: STIR.

45. Screw feature: SLOT.  Oh, the noun.

46. __ sequitur: NON

47. Tech in key cards: RFID.

49. Prove human, in a way: ERR.  A misstep frequently occuring in our puzzles.

50. Attention-getting hiss: PSST.  A sound often heard in our puzzles.

55. Gut punch reaction: OOF.

56. Sheridan of "Ready Player One": TYE.  Unknown to this solver.  Thanks, perps.

57. Tree that's tapped: MAPLE.

61. Ride-hailing company whose cars once featured big pink mustaches: LYFT.   From Wiki: "The Lyft pink mustache was a large, fuzzy icon that drivers attached to their cars to identify themselves as part of the Lyft ride-sharing service. It was replaced in 2015 by a smaller, glowing dashboard version called the "glowstache" to create a more subtle appearance."

67. In __ land: LA LA.  Slang for being out of touch with reality.

68. Acting award won by Ke Huy Quan in 2023: OSCAR.  For his role in "Everything Everywhere All At Once".

69. Patch up: MEND.  How do you mend a broken Jack O'lantern?  With a pumpkin patch.

70. Winter slider: SLED.  People ask me why I keep bringing my sled to places like yard sales and flea markets.  I tell them the answer is simple...Toboggan!

71. Rosary components: BEADS.

72. Mount Olympus figure: ARES.  One of twelve.

Down:

1. Mexican peninsula, informally: BAJA.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  BAJA California.

2. Screen on some handheld games, for short: OLED.  Organic Light-Emitting Diode

3. Canine in some fairy tales: WOLF.

4. Exclusively: SOLELY.  I hear that Google is set to come out with a new browser that manages search results based SOLELY on your DNA.  The browser is going to be called Google Chromosome.

5. Provided with kibble, say: FED.

6. El Dorado building material: ORO.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  El dorado is the legendary city of gold.  ORO is gold in Spanish.

7. Legged it: RAN.

8. Take illegitimately: USURP.

9. Units of length: METERS.  So many to choose from.  Thanks, perps, for narrowing things down.

10. Earth-friendly prefix: ECO.

11. Intermediaries: GO BETWEENS. Liaisons.

12. Baseball fielder's need: GLOVE.  MITT was not long enough.

13. Take the wheel: STEER.

18. Vote of approval: YEA.  We never know if it will turn out to be AYE or YEA.  At least there's not a three-letter word with the same letters that begins with E and means a vote of approval.

22. Mesh with a group: FIT IN.

25. Chekov colleague: SULU.  Not a Russian novelist reference.  A "Star Trek" reference.  Pavel Checkov and Hikaru SULU.

26. Makes level: EVENS.

27. Irritates deeply: RANKLES.

28. Cheep digs?: NEST.  Cheep not cheap.

29. Campers on wheels, briefly: RVS.  Recreational VehicleS

30. Slippery swimmers: EELS.  What a shocker!

31. Fundraising event where one can win a round: MEAT RAFFLE.  Round as in a round roast.  From Wiki:  "A meat raffle is a tradition of raffling off meat, often in pubs and bars in Australia, in some areas of Britain and the US, and in Western Canada."  New to this solver.

36. Treat with contempt: SCORN.

38. Those, in Havana: ESOS.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  The language of Havana, Cuba is, of course, Spanish.

40. Annoy slightly: MIFF.

41. Train of thought: DRIFT.  As in "Do you catch my DRIFT?"

42. __ vez: again, in Spanish: OTRA.  Una de las lecciones de español de hoy.  Literally, another time.

43. Blasting material: TNT.

48. Home project done solo: DIY JOB.  Do It Yourself

50. Blood bank supply: PLASMA.

51. Charges on roads: TOLLS.

52. Fit for a queen: ROYAL  Add an E and we get:

53. Stop: CEASE.

54. Suite divs.: RMS.  RooMS

58. Place to dock: PIER.  I never wanted to go to the docks, but after my friends pestered me for an hour I finally gave into PIER pressure.

59. Unaccompanied: LONE.

The LONE Ranger

60. Stops: ENDS.

62. Little bit: TAD.  The teacher asked, "Name three famous Poles!"  Tommy proudly answered, "North, South and TAD."

64. Former Lynyrd Skynyrd label: MCA.   This solver did not know the label but it was pretty clear, after a couple of perps, that it was going to be either RCA or MCA.   And, since it's been teed up:

65. Like lyrics full of heartache: SAD.  One of the saddest:

66. Critical-care hosp. areas: ERS.  Emergency RoomS

Well, that will wrap things up for this Wednesday.  Have a great day, everyone.

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