February 4, 2026

Title: ALL BUT ONE (Freestyle)

Constructor: Boaz Moser

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

ALL BUT ONE (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a themeless, or freestyle, puzzle. The title is a nod to GENTLEMAN'S SWEEP (17A: Best-of-seven series won by a final score of 4-1).

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• GENTLEMAN'S SWEEP (17A: Best-of-seven series won by a final score of 4-1) This is a new sports term to me. The idea of a GENTLEMAN'S SWEEP is that the team that ultimately wins the series "lets" their opponents win one game.
• JORGE (21A: "Bumblebee" actor Lendeborg Jr.) Bumblebee is a 2018 science fiction movie based on the character of Bumblebee, a fictional sentient, self-configuring robot in the Transformers franchise. JORGE Lendeborg Jr. portrays Guillermo "Memo" Gutierrez.
• SPARKLER SEND-OFF (Flashy farewell at a wedding) I'm currently not in a stage of life where I attend many weddings, so I didn't know about a SPARKLER SEND-OFF. It's exactly what it sounds like, wedding guests are given sparklers to wave about while the happy couple makes their exit. As I was reading about SPARKLER SEND-OFFs, I read a piece of advice that if you choose to do a SPARKLER SEND-OFF, make sure you have a sober person in charge of it. I'm thinking that's a good idea...
• OAK (43D: First tree type introduced in Minecraft) Minecraft is a popular video game in which players can explore the environment and create items. Although I've written about Minecraft before, I've never played it, so I just let crossing answers fill in which three-letter tree was the first to be introduced.
• RIG (45D: High-performance gaming computer) I wasn't familiar with this term in reference to a gaming computer. Crossing answers for the win here.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MAIDS (1A: Some "Downton Abbey" workers) The British historical drama Downton Abbey is set in the early 1900s. The show centers on the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants, some of whom are MAIDS. 
• HAMS (22A: Steamed ___ (burgers, in a classic scene from "The Simpsons")) In the last three months, we've seen a reference to the steamed HAMS scene from The Simpsons once a month. I learned about this scene from the December 22, 2025 puzzle (and wrote about it in detail then if you are unfamiliar). We saw steamed HAMS referenced again in the January 3, 2026 puzzle. 
• OTTER (31A: Mammal with fur pockets under its armpits) An OTTER may use its fur pockets to store a favorite rock (useful for cracking shellfish) or to stash a snack for later.
• KOREA (39A: South ___ (country with 71 athletes competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics) Are you planning on watching the Winter Olympics? The opening ceremony is February 6. 
• BASSOONS (42A: Sources of some low blows?) The question mark in the clue alerts solvers to expect some trickiness and wordplay. BASSOONS are double-reed woodwind instruments that produce sounds in the tenor and bass ranges. These low sounds are produced by blowing in the instrument.
• LOKI (50A: Thor's adopted brother) In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) LOKI is the adopted brother of Thor. LOKI was raised by Thor's biological parents, Odin and Frigga, and it was Frigga that taught LOKI to use magic. The MCU character of LOKI, played by Tom Hiddleston, is based on the Norse god of the same name.
• LIVE UP TO THE HYPE (62A: Meet high expectations) This is a fun grid-spanning answer. I'd say that a team completing a GENTLEMAN'S SWEEP could definitely be said to LIVE UP TO THE HYPE.
• ACE (65A: Card with a low value in cribbage) In the card game cribbage, an ACE is worth one point.
• OLAF (69A: "Frozen" sidekick) OLAF the snowman was first introduced in Disney's 2013 animated movie Frozen. The character of OLAF is voiced by Josh Gad. When I read this clue, I had the thought that the clue could also work as [Frozen "Frozen" sidekick]. Maybe I should have saved that thought and used that clue in one of my puzzles. Oh well!
• DUTY-FREE STORE (4D: Place where shopping is less taxing?) That's not less taxing as in easier, but rather a DUTY-FREE STORE where no tax is added to sales.
• GAS (9D: Substance in a stellar nursery) A stellar nursery is a name for a molecular cloud in interstellar space where stars are formed. These clouds contain GAS (primarily hydrogen and helium) and dust. When conditions are right, dense regions of these stellar nurseries collapse and form stars.
• RON (24D: Mustachioed "Parks and Recreation" character) RON Swanson is a character played by Nick Offerman on the mockumentary Parks and Recreation (2009-2015). Although I haven't watched this show, my daughter used to watch it on her laptop while sitting in our dining room or kitchen, so I absorbed this knowledge peripherally.
• LOU (26D: Jazz pianist Mary ___ Williams) Mary LOU Williams (1910-1981) was a jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote and arranged songs for many jazz artists, including Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. She learned to play the piano when she was four years old.
• EMILY (32D: Poet Dickinson)  Although EMILY Dickinson (1830-1886) wasn't well-known during her lifetime, she has come to be regarded as an important American poet. Of the nearly 1,800 poems EMILY Dickinson wrote, only 10 were published while she was alive. Her sister Lavinia published the first volume of EMILY's poems four years after EMILY'S death.
• IMHO (53D: "ngl, i think...") ngl = not gonna lie and IMHO = in my humble opinion 
• UNO (63D: Card game with a "Show 'Em No Mercy" variant) As you might guess from its name, UNO: Show 'Em No Mercy is a ruthless version of the game. It includes Wild Draw 6 and Wild Draw 10 cards as well as other "show no mercy" cards and additional rules. One of those new rules is the Mercy Rule, which says if you have 25 or more cards in your hand, you get kicked out of the game. Yikes!
• ERS (64D: Medical drama sites (Abbr.)) ERS is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as ["The Pitt" and "Grey's Anatomy" settings].

I learned a lot from this puzzle, and that was fun. I especially enjoyed adding the term GENTLEMAN'S SWEEP to the sports knowledge I've learned from crossword puzzles. Thank you, Boaz, for this splendid puzzle.

One more thing today: Last week, I told you about the ORCAS Awards for crossword folks. I wanted to follow up and let you know that voting for the ORCAS is now open to everyone. You can still purchase a puzzle pack that includes many of the nominated puzzles, but that's not required in order to vote. You can also submit a vote in some categories and not in others. Voting is open until Thursday, February 19. The ORCA Awards ceremony will be broadcast online on February 23 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.