Orthorunics: Friday, Feb 20th, 2026 ~ Benjamin Panico

RECIDIVIST

Offender Criminal "Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog" - and, yes, he's NSFW insulting

No Comment. Alas, I must comment - it's the "krow" I do here at the Corner - and I am going to "crow". This was just too much of a stretch to be enjoyable, and the solve itself was fraught with ALOT of meh/vague/cringe. It looks to be the author's debut LA Times crossword; I found one other, I believe, a NYT here, and a blog review of said puzzle. Methinks he is a very cerebral constructor. Names slowed me down, and unlike last week, getting any "?" themer did not necessarily help me elsewhere in the grid. A scarce nine 3LWs, and no circles, at least. The themers, and reveal;

20. *Aircraft marshaling?: PROJECT RUNWAY - "Runway Project" - but this clue~? Meh. "Tarmac resurfacing" - now that's more like it. The actual fill is about this show

The Wiki of the show

34. *Lifeguarding?: LABOR POOL - this is the only themer that makes sense, too me - "Pool Labor". The actual fill is "the source of trained people from which workers can be hired"

40. *Bounty hunting?: JOB SEARCH - "Search Job" - i.e., "skip trace"; Cletus Purcell, a character in the Dave Robicheaux books, does this sort of work as a P.I. The actual fill is, well, a job search

54. Advice to a problem solver, or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: WORK BACKWARDS - and the title of a self-help, motivational, life-affirming book as well

The website is here

Did I miss some deeper meaning~?

But Wait, unfortunately, There's More

ACROSS:

1. "Catastrophe" writer/star Delaney: ROB - speaking of catastrophe, name #1 - not a good start, but I begin by doing the DOWN clues, so that I might have some perps for the themers - didn't help today. His IMDb

4. Power unit: WATT - a measure established by James Watt who adopted "horsepower" to compare to his steam engine, which improved on the existing design; more here

8. School assignment: ESSAY - I want you to write . . . a "theme" Awww

A Chrstmas Story

13. Filter target: SPAM - my NW was a mess; I had SMOG

15. 2025 Pixar film about a boy who meets aliens: ELIO - name #2, never heard anything about this movie

16. Hollers: YELLS

17. Nix: VETO - my vote.

18. Big pig: BOAR

19. Windows shopping: eTAIL - Ah. a subtle play on "window" shopping - OK, a good one

23. Grammy winner Baker: ANITA - name #3, but we see her frequently in crosswords

24. Thus far: AS YET

25. Lara Croft target: TOMB - the "Raider" from the video games, and movies; name(ish)

27. Taoism founder: LAO TZU- name #4 - more here

31. Couch surfer's spot: FUTON - Ugh. Even IF you accept this definition of couch surfing, still makes me cringe as a clue/answer

37. Ore. neighbor: IDAho - it seems that the Cornerites are not fond of three-letter state abbrs

38. Pressed sandwich that's part of a friendly rivalry between Miami and Tampa: CUBAN - too local to be a fair clue/answer, IMHO, but here's a newsletter/blog for your perusal

39. Quaint quarters: INN - it's Friday; the slight mismatch of singular/plural is a bit meh.

43. Accordion-heavy music: POLKA

45. Latin for "as originally positioned": IN SITU

"Hey, what is that~?"

46. One on the Mohs scale: TALC - The mineral talc rates a low "1" on the hardness scale - I don't have to tell you what this crossword rates on the Moe's scale

48. Spills the beans: TELLS

51. "Let's maybe take it down a __ or two": NOTCH - can we maybe bring it UP a notch~?

57. Country singer Rimes: LEANN - name #5

59. Lemon-shaped: OVAL - when the LA Times gives you lemons . . .

60. Choose yea or nay: VOTE - Nay.

61. Bright and airy courtyards: ATRIA

62. Relocate: MOVE

63. Icicle locale: EAVE - I see just one icicle hanging from my gutters - blessed with no ice dams

64. Streisand film with the song "The Way He Makes Me Feel": YENTL - name #6

65. Imp: BRAT

66. Scolding sound: TSK

DOWN:

1. Choose yes or no: RSVP - Ugh. Vague

2. Place for binoculars: OPERA - I tried VISTA - like this

James Bond using them in "The Living Daylights"

3. Track and field handout: BATON - handout~? Ugh . . . better = hand OFF

4. Zoom lens?: WEBCAM - Zoom, the internet meeting app; we used it for AA meetings during COVID

5. Bundles: A LOT - Atwurd

6. Quinceañera crown: TIARA - good WAG on my part; the Español part, which refers to a 15year-old girl's passing into womanhood, was 'irrelevant'; I ran with a crown synonym

7. Doughnut shape: TORUS

8. Monocle, for one: EYEWEAR - that it is, I guess; so spectacles & glasses are EYES wear~?

9. Put on: SET ATOP - No comment; technically, it's a unique fill

10. "You __ me!": "SLAY" - Friday vague

11. Actor Mahershala: ALI - I'll have to add this name, #7, to the Muhammad / Laila list - and a Tuesday dupe

12. Fashion monogram: YSL - Yves Saint Laurent, a double whammy abbr/name, #8

14. Cocktail garnished with mint: MOJITO - I tried GIMLET first; but that's a lime garnish - Gimlet showed up on Tuesday, too

A different kind of "spirit" from Minnesota~!

21. __ collar: ETON - Dah~! Not BLUE

22. Synthetic fabric: NYLON - goes without saying . . .

26. Fuzzy memory: BLUR - I tried HAZE

28. Slog away: TOIL - like during this solve

29. Pass (out): ZONK - Ah. Another clever clue; I was in DOLE/METE mode

30. Fibula counterpart: ULNA - leg-to-arm bone comparison; semi-deceptive, but four letter bone~?

I like the other leg pic . . .

31. Pacific nation that exports water: FIJI - I did not know that this was the actual case; some interesting environmental info here; I'll stick with the 5gal jugs from BJs - and geo-name(ish)

32. Nagoya noodles: UDON - crossword staple

33. Pop-top tops: TABS - I found several pieces of art made from these, including "chain mail"...