Saturday, February 28, 2026 - A FEDORA in the grid? Now *that's* class! 😀

Welcome to Gene and Mike to the New York Times crossword. Hi, I'm Gene and I'm Mike and today we are doing the crossword for Saturday, February 28th, 2026.

So on what I believe is the cusp of March. The cusp.

The cusp of March? Yes. Yeah. Did you find this to be a cutting edge Saturday crossword? I did. Good. I did. What do you think?

I found it to be a lot of fun, not impossible, although it took me a while to sort of get started. Me too.

But actually, it wasn't as bad as I as it could have been. Let's put it that way.

Like, one across. You know, if I can look at a clue and immediately have an idea of an answer, I consider that to be pretty good for Saturday.

Yeah. Like one across said, unambitious goals. I went for low bar. Me too. Really? Yeah. Uh-huh. As opposed to the correct answer of aim low. Aim low.

Mm hmm. One right underneath it. I thought I had an answer for Tolkien ring bearer. So I went for Bilbo and I went for Frodo. Yes. Me too.

I was going to go for Samwise because it seems to me at some point he was carrying it. Uh-huh. But it was Smeagall. Smeagall.

Yeah. Well, we've tried Gollum because Gollum was the one who had it originally. That's true. But his, his, I guess, real name was Smeagall. Yes. Uh-huh.

Oh, yeah. So, um, you know, just some fun clues there. Uh-huh. The one right next to it. Sixteen across. That was, let's see once again.

Precious person, dear one. Mm hmm. Do you ever call anyone a dear one? Yes. Oh, okay. Uh-huh. Hello, dear one.

Yes. That sounds like, I don't know, the name of an airplane that dear would fly on. We're on dear one. Uh-huh.

Or something like that. Mm hmm. I love, I love seventeen across. Precious, you might say while pointing at a photograph. That's me.

Mm hmm. Yeah, I had. Does that make me look fat and then had to trim that down? I like that. Well, I thought it was who, who's that or, you know, um, something like that question.

But it was, that's me. I like how it crossed two down, which is I'm here. So you had that's me crossing I'm here. That's right.

Um, although two down, the, the actual clue was call at a roll call. I'm here. Mm hmm. Yep.

Or present, I suppose. Mm hmm. Drink often sipped is latte. Do you often sip your latte? Uh, I don't drink latte that much.

Okay, I'll think that'd be a no. But when I do, I sip it. Mm hmm. Yes. Five down rap pioneers, a slangally was O.G.

O.G. As in original gangsters. That's right. Or sometimes just originals, I guess. Uh-huh. I did not know that. Oh.

But our daughter did. So good thing. Right. Otherwise, I don't know if he would have gotten that corner filled out.

One next to it was fantastic. Six down space to develop as a person. Boom. Yes. Uh-huh.

And I'm embarrassed. So 15 down gain nightlife spot with address requirement.

I headed starting off with low. And I thought, oh, it's going to be some sort of a French name.

And so I had it all filled in. And I'm like, Lee a tear bar. What is that? And then I was, oh, it's leather. Yes.

I made a whole lot more sense than a tear bar. Um, you know, sometimes I'll look at words and I can, I can.

I know what the answer is and I can parse them in a funny way just for fun. This, this though, I was, I was just parsing it wrong.

Yeah. It was going down. I have, you know, more trouble with parsing words going down.

Oh, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Eight down was awesome. That was school houses. Reef. Yes.

See, I wanted that to be frats. Oh, uh-huh.

But we had seven across one playing beer ball. Perhaps fried boy. Yep.

So I thought you can have fried boy crossing with frats. Yeah. That would not do.

No, that wouldn't work. Did you have fried boy originally for that one?

Yes. Really? I knew that one right away.

I went for frat bro. Oh, uh-huh. No, I did boy.

Okay. Well, well chosen.

Yep. Yep. That's about the only one we got up at the top there for a while.

Mm-hmm. And, and so finally, we got some on, uh, well, we got frat boy.

And then that helped, you know, get some of the others.

Of course. 22 across two was when we got right away. Part of a Blues Brothers outfit, Fedora.

So we had that R and F of briefs.

So we got that filled in and then seven down.

I love that clue. In brief to whom Grover Cleveland once said,

I am making a strange wish for you that you may never be president of the United States.

And it was FDR. I thought that was funny.

But anyway, so we had, you know, several of them that we were pretty sure were right.

And so we got that corner in and then we went back to the first corner.

Her daughter said, why don't we just go with where we're getting, getting them.

So that's what we did. We went down to the middle. Then we went all the way down.

And finally worked our way back up.

Yeah. The big climb to the top.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh. But then, you know, when we got to the middle, that was not easy either.

There were a lot of empty spaces there in our puzzle for a long time.

So did that raise your 33 across pressure gauge stress level?

Stress level. Stress level, yes.

Uh-huh. Okay.

I like the one beneath it. 35 across past colloquially was before times.

That's right. I need to use that more in casual conversation.

Before times. Before times we used to do this.

Or maybe you have to say in the before times because you'd say in the past.

I have to work on the usage here.

The one beneath that, that was a give me for me.

Symbols used to block so computer code, curly braces.

Yes. We did not know that.

Actually, I called them curly brackets, but I was able to.

Well, that's what we wanted to call.

But curly fitted and sometimes the braces, sometimes the brackets, I think.

Uh-huh.

Did you know 31 across the innermost moon of Neptune, NAD?

No. NAD, I guess NAD.

Not at all.

But we got it through the crosses.

How about 31 down like the line killed by Hercules, Namyun?

Namyun, yes. I did know that.

I sort of knew the Ian part, but I didn't.

And then I was thinking like Cerulean or Turulean?

No, Namyun. Namyun.

Namyun, yes. Well, I know that now.

I learned that from the crossword.

Really? It's not that I read that story or anything.

I learned that from the crossword.

Because they use Namyun.

They've used that quite a few times.

Well, I'm sure I must have read the story at one time.

Who hasn't read the story of Hercules killing the lion?

Me.

What?

I saw it in the movie.

It doesn't count.

You have to read it in the original Latin or whatever language is written there.

Perhaps Greek.

You Spanish?

I think Greek.

Yeah, okay. It's probably got translated into Latin.

Perhaps.

Let's see. What else do we have?

We had 35 down.

The sort of, well, not really risque.

But acting like a sore loser informally butthurt.

Yep. I did not know that.

That's not a phrase I use every day.

No, I've never used to say, but our daughter knew it.

So that's good.

The one next to that.

Blank counter.

So that could be anything.

I went for kitchen.

Which fitted quite nicely.

It had nothing to do with the correct answer of calorie.

Calorie counter.

Right.

Yeah, I was at the time of night that I was doing this.

I was inventing as usual all sorts of words that don't exist.

I started like, do that.

Boy, 56 across.

Musical sample added for excitement.

Air horned.

Yes. I thought that was funny.

I was not expecting that.

No, not at all.

And in that area, 47 down looked some unmoisturized skin.

Ashy.

Yes.

Is that what they call it?

Well, you know, it's funny.

Our daughter suggested that one right away.

I said, oh, it's not ashy.

But yes, it was ashy.

She kind of gloated about that.

See, I thought it was like flaky.

Yeah, I wanted to put, you know, rough or, you know, something.

Yeah, flaky would have been good too.

Let's see.

We had French relative, was Friday honor for brother.

Right.

I could not.

I actually couldn't summon that out.

I was sort of like, okay, I've got, you know, I thought I've got oncla.

And I've got taunt.

And that's it.

Those are the only two relatives I could think of.

I could only think of frer.

Really?

Frer, frer, frer, frer, frer, frer.

I was able to say the way I knew it.

So you got that right away.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

Let's see.

58 across.

Enter the gain.

I had re-imput.

Oh.

But it was re-tapped.

re-tapped.

Yes.

Worked better that way.

Mm-hmm.

So, yes.

This was a fun crossword.

It was the fourth by Adam Lavav.

Very nice.

Since January of 2025.

So it's been just four in a year.

That's pretty good.

Yes, excellent.

And I think that is it for today.

Okay.

Thanks, everyone, for listening.

Yeah.

Thanks for helping make this be one of the most popular podcasts

about the New York Times crossword to come out of Northeast Wisconsin.

And we will be back again with our cutting-edge analysis of Sundays crossword on March 1st tomorrow.

Bye-bye.