Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson
Our Wyoming native who went to college in Minnesota is now doing great work for a startup group called BetterFi, a nonprofit working to end predatory lending in Tennessee. The last puzzle of AJ's I had was on9/24/23 and like that puzzle, this one was
full of fun word play. If a clue seemed too simple, I knew I had to rethink what else he might be getting at and was never disappointed by the fill!1. Light touch from a decorator: ACCENT LAMP 😀
11. Zabaglione base: EGGS - Talk about yer Saturday cluing!
15. "That's what my intuition was telling me": I HAD A HUNCH that 11 Across might be hard for some
16. Wolfe of "Black Orchids": NERO - Saturday cluing for a familiar fill but Wolfe was a tipoff for me
17. Game-changing: MONUMENTAL - This was the theme of Susan Gelfand's 5/26/23 puzzle.
18. Old autocrat: TSAR.
19. Floating junk: SPACE WASTE - Also called space junk or space debris. It's all going thousands of miles per hour
20. Cutest of the litter, maybe: RUNT - My wife would seek out the RUNT
21. Noise: ADO.
22. Secretive group?: GLANDS 😀 - Yes, add an "e" and secret becomes the verb secrete and glands do secrete useful chemicals
21. Noise: ADO.
22. Secretive group?: GLANDS 😀 - Yes, add an "e" and secret becomes the verb secrete and glands do secrete useful chemicals
24. Jazz drummer Blakey: ART.
26. City on the James River: RICHMOND - McClellan's ill-fated attempt to take RICHMOND in 1862 took place on the peninsula with the James River on the south and the York River on the north
30. Boxer's mouth piece?: SQUEAK TOY 😀 I had to suss out what AJ wanted for the dog
32. Gender option on some surveys: OTHER - When I started teaching in 1968, we asked the kids to put down their gender, religion and race.
35. One committed to an orderly society?: NUN - 😀 The NUNS at my daughter's school are in the order of School Sisters Of Christ The King
36. Of no help: USELESS - Some hilarious "You're as useless as..." lines. ...ejection seats in a helicopter made me laugh out loud.
38. French summer: ETE - Hmmm... Not a Nice summer.
39. Race-ready, in a way: LANED - If you look closely, you can see the Jamaican women LANED in 3, 4 and 7 got the gold, silver and bronze in this 100m final.
41. Classical piece that's the basis of the 1965 hit "A Lover's Concerto": MINUET IN G - Here are both of them
43. Biometric reading: IRIS SCAN - This iPhone allows you to charge a purchase using an IRIS SCAN
45. GPS prediction: ETA.
46. Last stop before leaving for vacation, perhaps: KENNEL - Joann would leave me at the KENNEL before she would leave Lily
48. Racket of lamb: BAA 😀
50. Fad: RAGE.
51. Doug Wright's "I Am My Own Wife," e.g.: ONE MAN SHOW - More info. Last Saturday we had Robert Morse's ONE MAN SHOW in Tru
46. Last stop before leaving for vacation, perhaps: KENNEL - Joann would leave me at the KENNEL before she would leave Lily
48. Racket of lamb: BAA 😀
50. Fad: RAGE.
51. Doug Wright's "I Am My Own Wife," e.g.: ONE MAN SHOW - More info. Last Saturday we had Robert Morse's ONE MAN SHOW in Tru
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58. Some fluffy slippers: UGGS - At one time, Tom Brady was their spokesman.
59. Dolphin kin: PILOT WHALE - They can be docile or aggressive with humans, so...
60. Source of smoky notes in whiskey: PEAT.
61. Uplifting historical figure?: ELISHA OTIS - He did not invent the elevator. He simply made it safe for passengers with his safety brake.
62. Cornstarch brand: ARGO - A box from 1919
63. Mythological swimmer: SEA SERPENT - Uh, we're gonna need a bigger boat
Down:
1. Targets: AIMS.
2. Veal cut: CHOP.
3. Veronese's "The Wedding Feast at __": CANA - Where it is said Christ changed water into wine
4. Train conductors, say: EDUCATE - Train is a verb and not an adjective for conductors
5. Tagged: NAMED.
6. All available options: THE WORKS.
7. __ Bar: nutritional snack: LUNA.
8. Myrmecologist's study: ANTS - From the Greek for ANT: Murmex
9. Exam for future residents: Abbr.: MCAT - These residents are of course doctors
10. Physiological humor believed to cause sluggishness: PHLEGM - 😀 Oh, that kind of humor
11. Competitor: ENTRANT - Ya gotta be in it to win it
12. Response during allergy season: GESUNDHEIT - Gesundheit was borrowed from German, where it literally means "health"; it was formed by a combination of gesund ("healthy") and -heit ("-hood"). Wishing a person good health when they sneezed was traditionally believed to forestall the illness that a sneeze often portends. You're welcome
13. Majestic: GRAND.
14. Out of __: SORTS.
23. Like some change: LOOSE - I never carry any coins any more
24. Cerulean kin: AQUA - This color
 |
| Cerulean colored clothing |
25. Calvin's increasingly outrageous snow art, in "Calvin and Hobbes," e.g.: RUNNING GAG -
27. Objects: ITEMS.
28. Baby ailment: COLIC.
29. Pet for Harley Quinn: HYENA - Harley is in the DC Comics stable and her two HYENAS are named Bud and Lou. I'll bet most of us get that reference, but if you don't, see the bottom of the write-up.
30. Ego Nwodim's show, for short: SNL.
31. Journalist Cornish: AUDIE.
33. Italian volcano: ETNA.
34. Rule, for short: REG.
37. Go for the bronze?: SUNBATHE - Very different from the sprinter in Lane 7 above.
40. Miranda whose case inspired the Miranda warning: ERNESTO - ERNESTO's conviction got thrown out by the Earl Warren Supreme Court because of what they judged to be a coerced confession. He was retried and convicted with other evidence.
44. Pitches: SLOPES - The pitch of a roof might depend on how much snow your area gets
46. Gene dubbed the "Founding Father of the Modern Drum Set" by Modern Drummer: KRUPA.
47. Avid: EAGER.
49. Nobelist Sadat: ANWAR - ANWAR Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin
52. African flower?: NILE - 😀 AJ chose to use flower as a noun from the verb flow.
53. Kazan with an honorary Oscar: ELIA - Many remembered how ELIA had named 8 people who had joined the communist party to the HUAC committee in the 50's and refused to stand or applaud when he got this award
54. Flowerless plant: MOSS - FERNS also do not have flowers (the blooming kind)
55. Spike Lee's "She __ Me": HATE - In Spanish
56. "Chocolat" actress: OLIN.
57. __ Point: WEST.
34 comments:
ELIA and ELISHA had a bet
On which one could prophecy the best.
Elia said, "I HAVE A HUNCH..."
Elisha said, "That's just your lunch."
Then Noah chimed in and said, "You're both all wet!"
It's ALLERGY SEASON, for some it's quite light,
For others this time of year is a fright!
Dere nodes are stuffed,
Dere eyelids are roughed,
-- *Achoo*! --
And all you can say is GESUNDHEIT!
{B, A.}
I’m not sure what to say about this puzzle. It wasn’t easy; that’s for sure. As Gary mentioned, there was a lot of typical Saturday misdirection in this puzzle, starting from the first clue. I did have one advantage, however; I actually live in Richmond! I vaguely remembered a few things, such as the drummer Gene Krupa and the fictional detective Nero Wolfe. But some things, like the name “Elisha Otis,” required many perps to solve. My final fill was “hate” because it was grammatically incorrect, but I took a WAG and got it. Anyway, FIR, so I’m not only happy, I’m relieved!
Good morning. Thank you, Adrian and thank you Husker Gary.
I solved this while watching the Coronation. My progress was slow but steady, and I finished before the Coronation was over. In fact... it's still going on.
One error. I spelled GESUNDHEIT with a Z.
I liked so many of the clues that gave me such a sense of satisfaction at figuring them out and why they worked.eg Train conductors.
Some real head scratcher clues in there. ERNESTO wasn't one of them. Nor was ELISHA once I had OTIS.
Back to the Coronation
DNF. Filled 19, 12 correctly. RICHMOND was easy. My sister lived there some 50 years ago. To get downtown she had to cross the James over a toll bridge. When it opened the toll was $0.05, and the bridge was called "the nickle bridge." They raised the toll to $0.10, and locals called it "the two-nickle bridge." It took a few years, but most folks adopted the name "the dime bridge."
Historically, the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown, was established on the river. Also, the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack was fought at the mouth of the James.
In today's world, the James is important because it is the "birthplace" of all the USA's magnificent aircraft carriers, and a significant number of our submarines as well.
On to Sunday!
A FIR for me today, but I'm still amazed I got it. I found the long puzzle sections daunting but with helpful perps I filled them. Thanks to an alphabet run, I finally got the G in GLANDS, solving my trouble spelling PHLEGM. That was my last square. Thanks Adrian for the challenging start to our day. It is Saturday after all!
Thanks Husker Gary for explaining it all so clearly in your review. I had managed to understand everything but EDUCATE by the time I read it, so I am making progress.
Hope everyone has a good weekend!
Good morning. As with most Saturday puzzles, I was slow off the mark before finishing it; NW was the last to fall. Saturdays always take many WAGs and today's was no exception. With clues that one has 'no clue' about, containing unknown people and things, it just takes a WAG. Doug, Wright, Cornish, Myrmecologist, Harley Quinn, Zabaglione base, The Wedding...;, Miranda's first name- those took a WAG?
Fern or MOSS; Tofu or Agar or EGGS; Bone or IRIS, Blue or Teal or AQUA (just knew it was a blue color), Croup or COLIC were toss ups for me.
41A- Bach's MINUET IN G-MAJOR. That was an easy piece to play on the 88's. But my version didn't have the few grace note's in the YouTube example.
ART Blakey, Gene KRUPA-- Adrian left out Buddy Rich to make it a drummer's trio.
Gender option? XX or XY weren't long enough. Neither were M or F. Patti might have a "Bud Lite" problem if she continues with certain clue types.
CANA, LUNA, PHLEGM, RUNNING GAG (Calvin & Hobbes was never a comic strip in our local paper), HYENA, AUDIE, She HATE Me- didn't know any of those but got 'em.
Jinx, I remembered that from high school history, but did not know that the aircraft carriers and some submarines are made there. Richmond was a gimme for the James River clue. I spent two months just outside of Richmond in Petersburg, at what was once named Ft. Lee. Ft. Lee was just renamed in late April to Fort Gregg-Adams. Fort Lee to be redesignated as Fort Gregg-Adams.
Thank you Adrian! You must be getting soft in your old age, as this is the first time I can remember that you have not outwitted me.
And thank you Husker for another informative and well illustrated review, and for your remarkable prescience in sussing the theme of Susan Gelfand's 5/26/23 puzzle. 😁
A few favs:
3D CANA. This was Jesus' first miracle, and after that things would never be the same. While the wine steward isn't explicitly named in the Gospel of John 2:1-25, in the series THE CHOSEN he is depicted as the man who later become the Apostle Thomas.
4D EDUCATE. Bernstein was a great trainer of conductors. The young woman shown in your picture Gary is Marin Alsop, who was formerly the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and is is now its MAESTRA EMERITA.
7D LUNA. Had LARA, which is not so nutritious, but probably more delicious than the clue bar.
12D GESUNDHEIT. The alternative "God bless you!" is an exclamation to restart the heart, which was formerly believe to stop whenever someone sneezed.
30D SNL. Ms Ego was Balmer born and bred.
Cheers,
Bill
Took 21:57 today.
I also misspelled gesundheit with a "z" originally. You know how I feel about foreign words (and circles) in my crossword puzzles.
I liked the tea shop and sun bathe clues, and I absolutely fell for the train conductor ploy. I also absolutely thought the answer to 41A was "minueting" (and I will continue to think so).
Good puzzle, mostly, but still too many proper names (for example, the obscurity for the clue for eggs). I didn't know Krupa, Ernesto, or Audie. "Running gag" was a lucky guess, with only 2 or 3 crosses in places.
FIR, but what a workout. Couldn't remember Gene Krupa for the life of me. And I still don't get phlegm? Lots of tricky cluing, and Saturday CW for sure.
It was fun to discover the many clever clues in todays puzzle. My only nit is that you need to know the answers to realize how clever they are... (hmm, sounds a lot like life...)
Jinx@7:02
You remind me of a road near me called "Shunpike." Turns out it was named shortly after the building of the toll road called The Turnpike, as an alternate, toll free route...
The amount of toll bridges and roads near me is staggering. We New Jerseyans just call them "rip-offs."
( or cash cows...)
Waseeley (& others,)
The Chosen has been brought up several times in the past weeks. I wanted to see it and learn more about it, and I am sorry I looked at the reviews before actually watching it myself. It seems to have created a lot of controversy that I cannot discuss here, but it is definitely worth a look and discussion.
All I can say here, is that The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy took an irreverent look at how aliens viewed religion, and how one species in particular were glad to speak Gods name out loud... "Achoo!"
Good Morning:
I have no complaints whatsoever about this puzzle. IMO, it had the perfect balance of difficulty level and solvability, outstanding cluing, lively, fresh fill, no junk, and a piddling 8 three letter words. What’s not to like? It required effort and thought but the perps were fair and the long fill provided many footholds for any unknowns which, for me, were Running Gag, Ernesto, and Hyena. I think my only w/o was Fern/Moss and, like SS, I saw Minueting which made no sense, but Minuet In G did.
Bravo, Adrian, for a most enjoyable and challenging solve and thanks, HG, for the sparkling visuals and concise overview. I doubt that Joann would leave either you or Darling Lily in a kennel! I forgot to mention how impressed I was with the lady from Nebraska who raises Alpacas and uses their fleece to make really gorgeous hats.
FLN
Anonymous T ~ No leftover chowder, much to Tante Nique’s chagrin! 🤭
I recorded the Coronation which I’ll watch later.
Have a great day.
Wasn't on my wavele ngth today. Got a foothold in the SW and proceeded from there, but no joy. Too many unknown references. Didn't know who Doug Wright was nor journalist Cornish. The NE opened with filling NERO and RUNT. Tried tsAR but perps changed it. AIMS got the NW started but with only CHOP and MCAT nothing followed. Had no idea what a Myrmecologist did.
With a few lookups, I filled in the rest. Learning moments abounded.
Nope. But I agree with Anonymous@9:15 and IM about "Minueting."
I did not give up the ship and FIR. Phew! What a fun workout. Thank goodness for kind perps.
I really liked all the clever misdirections: GLANDS, SQUEAK TOY, EDUCATE, etc.
Instead of KENNEL, I wanted bathroom but it didn’t fit. I had Kind bar instead of LUNA. I wondered what MINUETING was until I read HG’s explanation.
At first I misspelled KRUPA.
I’ve been listening to AUDIE Cornish on NPR for many years.
All in all great CW and recap.
Finally finished it, but most of the credit goes to Mr. Google. Some very clever misdirection, but a lot of weak clues. LANED for race ready and ADO for noise did not ring my bell and EDUCATE for train conductor did not punch my ticket until HG 'splained it. I don't mind the difficulty, but would prefer less obscurity for obscurities sake.
Loved the clues for SUNBATHE and GLANDS. I immediately knew that "boxer" was the dog and that got me TOY, the Q from AQUA was enough to get SQUEAK. Very fun answer.
"Train conductors, say" has me torn between "genius misdirection" and "overly specific just to make the wordplay work". Sam Ezersky clued MENTOR in a similar way in a NYT Saturday puzzle earlier this year ("Train workers?") and the clue got a question mark even on a Saturday.
What others said about incorrectly parsing MINUETING as one word.
Other fill highlights: IHADAHUNCH, GESUNDHEIT, RUNNINGGAG, ONEMANSHOW.
Hola!
Whew! Typical Saturday workout I'm happy to say. Interestingly my first fill was PHLEGM. In the 60s I read a book about the Four Humors. Obviously it was a dated perspective but I learned many new words!
ERNESTO Miranda was from Arizona I'm not proud to say.
CSO to my brother ART. And another CSO to my niece's granddaughter, LUNA.
How I used to love to SUNBATHE. As soon as I came home from school I would head out to the pool and stay until time to prepare dinner. I'm lucky I don't have skin cancer!
I guess AUDIE Murphy is too dated for this crowd. And as much as I listen to NPR I've managed to miss AUDIE Cornish.
There are no adequate words to say how much I dislike UGGS. Ugh will do.
Great clue for NUN.
Gary, you really are a SPACE traveler! September already!
Thank you, Adrian and Gary!
Have a lovely day, everyone!
Thank you Irish Miss,
I forgot about that one...
Minueting? (minuet in G...)
(Parsing is everything...)
So.proud of myself, finally didn't get trapped into to the "flower" as a plant and not a river clue 😊...but I give up, too nice a day. The NW and SW thus left incomplete.
Thought "floating junk" was gonna be misdirection for an Asian sailboat. Held on to din for ADO. Ain't the "last stop" the bathroom?? 😃
"Secretive group", cool clue. We used to call the 50-60's TV game show "I've Got a Secret"..."I've Got to SECRETE".. 😄. Besides porpoises and orcas it hadda be some kyna WHALE. A "boxer" chewTOY too short.
I'm assuming it wasn't Carmen Miranda
"You have the right to remain silent.. Please stop singing...You have the right to wear fruit in your hat....if you don't have one, a produce seller will be appointed for you."
RICHMOND eluded me for a bit , God bless me but spelt GESUNDHIET WITH A T.
"Light touch from a decorator" minimalism was tempting but wouldn't perp. Held off on SEAmonster as well
Studier of a famous Ethel's singing style...MYRMecoligist
Going from deer to bear hunting season ...GAMECHANGING
Doing an elegant 18th century dance...MINUETING
70s.. finally ....."Along came the sun and dried up all the rain" Happy weekend
I got a (very basic) drum kit for Xmas when I was 13 and my stepdad said “In a year you better play those things like Gene Krupa”
“Who?”
The SE corner came together as if I’d constructed the puzzle myself and I knew just enough of the proper names to get a foothold. The NW corner was a slog so I did what I do on many Sat puzzles. I put it down and took a nap. When I awoke and started again it fell easily into place. Weird how that works…
Ray - O @1:16 PM Did the "eensy weensy spider climb up the spout again?" 😁
Fun Saturday toughie, many thanks, Adrian. And your commentaries are always a pleasure, as I've often said, Gary, thanks for this one too.
Well, I always like looking for animals in puzzles, and was on the alert as soon as I saw EGGS. But ANTS are not favorites of mine, so I kept hoping for something cute, like that little RUNT. As "the cutest of the litter," he'd be much more welcome in my KENNEL. The HYENA not so much, although a lamb that says BAA might be okay. But, no, I wouldn't want a PILOT WHALE or a SEA SERPENT in my backyard pool--if I had a backyard pool. Let them find a home in the NILE.
Have a fun weekend, everybody.
Not so tough for a Saturday PZL. Thank you, Mr. Johnson!
Lotsa clever misdirections. I particularly enjoyed 22A "Secretive group" and 52D "African flower." 30A "Boxer's mouth piece" was pretty good too.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Two diagonals, one to a side.
Of the near side anagram (13 of 15), what can we say?
Perhaps there is a secret book they circulate among themselves, to know in advance where they will be welcome.
Where else would fakers feel comfortable staying overnight?
But in...
"CHARLATAN INNS"?!
Interesting Ray-O,
Floating junk, is crossword clue fodder...
(Not to be confused with Sampan...)
Beautiful puzzle, great review. Thanks, Adrian and Gary!
Terrific job, Adrian!
DNF but I enjoyed the misdirections I did sort out. Thanks to Husker Gary for helping me with the rest!
Excellent write-up, Gary.
I’m late to the party, but wanted to thank Adrian and HuskerG for the fun today.
I nearly threw in the towel when I saw the unknown to me names, and the long fills. But I persevered and things started to fall into place.
Only the SW corner was a problem. I did not know Krupa (I Googled him), and I can never remember that American cornstarch. (I dare somebody to put our Canadian Fleischmann’s in a CW). Anyway I got ‘er done so I’m happy.
Good night all.
The 149th running of the KY Derby is in the history books ... here were my pre-race predictions (from Friday blog):
For what it's worth, my choices (narrowing it down from the field of 20 horses set to run down to 5 horses I would wager a bet on) are: Tapit Twice, Two Phil's, Forte, Mage, and Angel of Empire
Forte was scratched from the race. Of the four picks I made, Mage was first; Two Phil's second; Angel of Empire third. Not too shabby ...
You must have made a fortune, C-Moe
LoL
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Adrian & Gary for a challenge & good info.
I heard Ernesto Miranda on another game show recently, but didn't remember more than it started with E & ended with O. That helped.
I was up all night watching the coronation. Didn't enjoy it but couldn't seem to turn it off & go to bed until it was over. All that marching about to the drumbeats is hypnotic.
I was afraid Charles was going to have a coronary and not live thru all that unnecessary rhetoric before they put the crown on his head. He looked so pained. But he held up to the end.
Camilla just looked scared until the crown was lowered onto her head. Then she had a little smile like, "Haha all you detractors. I made it to the top."
The English sure invented some doozies for hats for their warriors. I wonder how much those big furry toppers weighed after riding around getting wet in the rain all morning?
Hope all those troops got well paid. Wonder what the total cost for the big day came to.
Hi All!
I started the crossword earlier and then got on with chores. I got the NE w/o issues and I HAD A HUNCH & RICHMOND filled just from the clue and one perp - so I got that going for me.
Reading the expo, I'm in awe of Adrian's word-play though I agree about ADO's clue.
Lucina - Us olive-skin'd folks don't burn and methinks skin cancer is the least of our worries. DW is fairly pale and can't understand why I don't (won't?) wear sunscreen. I'm sure there are some olive-folks that get melanoma but I think butt cancer will get me 1st (did Gramps).
C, Eh! - I use Fleischmann’s yeast. Didn't know they were a Canadian Co.
C. Moe - Impressive pony picks!
Cheers, -T
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