Saturday Themeless by Dr. Ed Sessa
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It has been over two years since I have had the privilege blogging one of Dr. Sessa's Saturday themeless puzzles. He is a master constructor and even the obscure fill of today had plenty of help to complete. Here we see him with his late puppy Tug. As you know, Dr. Ed was displaced from his idyllic Sanibel Island by Hurricane Ian and after searching for new quarters wound up on the Florida mainland just across from his old digs on Sanibel.
Across:
1. Bee team: SWARM 😀
6. One who handles liner notes?: 😀 PURSER - One of many jobs a PURSER handles on a cruise liner.
12. Gorillagram get-up: APE SUIT.
14. Individually: APIECE.
15. [yawn]: BLAH BLAH - Read the room!
17. Northernmost capital on the Mississippi: ST. PAUL - Just across the river from C.C.
18. Need for some kiddie pools: AIR.
19. Bit of Springfield graffiti: EL BARTO.
21. Actress Wray: FAY - She'll always be remembered for this role
22. Orhan Pamuk novel featuring a blizzard in Turkey: SNOW - All you'd ever want to know
24. Choir section: ALTOS.
25. Carpentry joint: DADO.
26. Lab burners of old: ETNAS - I wasn't teaching when they were called this: in my lab we called them Bunsen burners
28. When day is done, to Donne: EEN - Poetic contraction for evening
29. "The Newsroom" creator Sorkin: AARON - AARON is on the front right
29. "The Newsroom" creator Sorkin: AARON - AARON is on the front right
30. Wielder of a Neutrona Wand: GHOSTBUSTER - A model of Peter Venkman with one. "Who ya gonna call?"
33. Number cruncher: BEAN COUNTER.
35. Some consoles: SEGAS.
36. Tent stake: PEG.
37. Lives like a queen?: RULES - We have one at our house.
42. Get ready, in a way: TEE UP - Fore!
44. Slow roller from first to third?: TARP - Yes, it rolls out slowly and covers first base to third base, but don't be too slow and get caught under it.
45. High point of a Ricola commercial: ALP.
46. Places with some good deals: CASINOS - 😀 After years of resistance, Nebraska has finally legalized CASINOS. Temporary ones have already generated millions in tax revenues while big new facilities are being constructed like this one in Lincoln.
48. Orange County airport, on luggage tags: SNA - SNA is the airport code for this airport in Santa Ana, CA.
49. Plug: STOP UP
51. QB stat: TD PASSES.
53. Blow one's horn: TOOTLE - This sounds like something Jeffrey Wechsler might author.
54. "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical," for one: YOGIISM - Ya gotta love #8, YOGI Berra!
55. Name of the pig on "Green Acres": ARNOLD - ARNOLD Ziffel to be exact
56. Parking ticket issuer: VALET - 😀 You get a ticket so your VALET can retrieve your car
Down:
1. Support after a break, perhaps: SPLINT 😀
2. Start to aggravate: WEAR ON.
3. Volcanic fallout: ASH - From the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens
4. Unsophisticated sort: RUBE - Lil Abner leapt to my mind
5. Jovovich of the "Resident Evil" films: MILLA - Hollywood has a penchant for scantily attired, young women toting weapons
6. Personal histories: PASTS.
7. Until: UP TO.
8. Letters set in stone: RIP - Rest In Peace
9. Plymouth voyager?: SEAFARER - Puritan was one letter short. Those who did make the 66-day trip in 1620 were indeed SEAFARERS.
10. Country named for its location: ECUADOR - ECUADOR is Spanish for equator. ECUADOR is one of the few places on Earth where the 0o line of latitude goes through Ciuad Mitad del Mundo, which is a few miles north of Quito. Some say it is off by 250 yds but on March 21 and September 21 they have no shadow there.
11. Need: RELY ON.
12. Put down: ABASE.
13. Artistic settings?: TABLESCAPES - Probably too fancy for a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.
12. Put down: ABASE.
13. Artistic settings?: TABLESCAPES - Probably too fancy for a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.
16. "Such a shame": HATE TO SEE IT - An instate boy was a huge disappointment!
20. Fictional news anchor who ended broadcasts with "You stay classy, San Diego!": RON BURGUNDY.
23. Equal Pay Day issue: WAGE GAP - I've never taught at a school where there was a WAGE GAP between men and women teachers. Nor was there one between great and mediocre ones.
25. Bread sold in cans: DATE NUT.
27. Pahlavi dynasts: SHAHS - The SHAH had his shortcomings but after he left...
29. Up: ASTIR.
31. Maple Leafs prov.: ONT - The Maple Leafs play in the Scotiabank Arena, 40 Bay St., Toronto, ONT M5J 2X2, Canada
32. "__ cerveza, por favor": UNA - One beer please in Español
33. Hip hugger?: BIG SPOON - 😀
34. One who moves a lot?: REALTOR - REALTORS in our neighborhood are trying to move building lots for $75,000 apiece
35. Peak in the Cascade Range: SHASTA - C.C. and I did a puzzle 9 years ago that had the names of peaks in The Cascade Range differently clued.
38. Dog star: LASSIE. Not Sirius
39. "A Lesson Before Dying" writer __ J. Gaines: ERNEST.
40. Unavoidable jerk: SPASM - We have an unavoidable jerk in our golf league.
42. Cordoned (off): TAPED.
43. American vodka brand with a Russian name: POPOV.
46. Gather selectively: CULL - My MIL had to periodically CULL the non-laying hens out of her flock
47. Extensive account: SAGA.
50. Sick days, personal days, etc.: Abbr.: PTO - Paid Time Off
52. Part of RSVP: SIL - Voulez-vous S'IL vous plaît commenter l'énigme du Docteur Sessa? (Will you please comment on Doctor Sessa's puzzle?)
34 comments:
As a relative newcomer here, I don’t have the familiarity with Dr. Ed Sessa that the rest of you do, but I will say his reputation for fairness and wit in constructing crossword puzzles seems well deserved. I’m not familiar with “date nut” bread but the rest of the puzzle seemed pretty straightforward to me. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Never met one of Dr. Ed's puzzles that I didn't like. This was no exception. Went wrong here and there with roPED/TAPED (2) and harrypotTER/GHOST BUSTER (only 8 bad letters). D-o thinks of the DADO as the groove rather than the joint. That N in ERNEST was a sensible WAG, and was my final fill. Thanx, Dr. Sessa and Husker. (Be grateful you have only one.)
It took me 43:30, but this was a rare, very rare, Saturday FIR for me. A fun puzzle and a great start to the weekend.
I remembered that Bart was the Simpson's kid thus ELBARTO made some sense
Ah yes, she was Kong's best squeeze(not so tight big fella)
Seeing obscure pop-cul on a Saturday seemed to be piling on but Ed tossed some baseball(and FB) to make up
PILGRIM was a letter short, too
Aha, that kind of BIG SPOON
Did 50D break a rule with the rep of "Personal"(time off)?
This was a TITT if I ever saw one but I don't quit. A little extra CBD gummy, P&P and voila, FIR. Avoided the One Box Wilbur curse
It helped that Ed provided some LHF
WC
First, D-O is correct: the dado is the groove, not the joint. Other than that, a tough (it IS Saturday) CW that took me 47 minutes to FIR. DNK DATENUT. W/O SFO:SNA. Dopey me first spelled it EQUADOR, but that was there for, like, 5 seconds before I “Tsk”ed myself. A difficult but fine CW, ES, thanx. 30A, 33A, and 34A were easy wags which were tremendously helpful in filling the perps. Thanx too to HG for the wonderful write-up, your time and effort is appreciated. Today in SOFLO we are looking at 97*F with typical SOFLO humidity giving us a “feels like” temp of 110-112. Oy. This old man hasta stay inside all day.
I finally managed to FIR today. I always like Ed's puzzles that don't have that much A&E clues and fills as the others. EL BARTO and RON BURGUNDY, were unknowns but easy ones to get; MILLA, well that was not but I left it. SNOW made sense as the blizzard fill.
TABLESCAPES- never heard that term.
DATE NUT bread- never seen a can of any bread
POPOV- another unknown
RIGHT AS RAIN- it's been raining everywhere around here except my house. The last rain was early June when I had to have a leaking chimney repaired. It needs to rain so I can see if the leak was fixed.
SNA- John Wayne airport; only knew it because we flew there in May. DW and I laughed when three girls who had phony 'service dogs' that kept trying to fight each other and really laughed when one girl had a 'service CAT' on a leash. The cat moaned all the way to Phoenix.
Plymouth "Voyager"- no longer around. Twin of the Dodge Minivan, also no longer around. They are all named Chrysler Pacifica.
FIR. I take exception to dado as a joint. As a cabinet maker in my pre-retired work life, I know it to be a groove. Took a WAG at el Barto and tarp, both working out thanks to perps. And I can't believe I remembered Arnold the pig!
FLN, Jayce,
Sorry, I got up late, have not done anything yet except read last nite...
Jayce, full page ads?
You have malware on your device!
I don't know what platform you are using, apple/Microsoft, or browser, chrome/safari,
But you need to get and run a virus scan. Many are free, but depend on what platform you are on for their effectiveness.
So,
In rushing to get here and throw in my two cents, I raced thru the blog with my eyes closed (haven't done the puzzle yet....)
And clicked on the link to the comments,
AND UP COMES A FULL PAGE AD FOR AN ADBLOCKER!!!
AAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!
whatever you do, don't use an adblocker you didn't pick yourself...
Whenever I get a pop up ad, I wouldn't even click on the "X" to get rid of it.
(I may be paranoid, but I think that's how they download malware...)
If I get a full page ad, (rarely) I just shut off my browser and restart...
First, unclefred is wrong. The dado is both the groove that has been cut and the type of joint.
Second, KS, you can take exception if you want, but you would be wrong. Dado is the name for both the groove that is cut, and for the name of the type of joint.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joinery#Types_of_wood_joints
FIR, but erased mas (cerveza) for UNA. One beer - is that a thing? 24 cans in a caja de cerveza, 24 horas en un dÃa! Also scrubbed pundit for PURSER, risen for ASTIR, and hand up for roped for TAPED.
I only know that ST PAUL is on the Mississippi from reading about Lucas Davenport's exploits.
When I first started at GTE, the union contract had different pay for different genders. For example, Frame Maintainer - Female was a lower pay scale than Frame Maintainer - Male. Ironically, females were better at that job than the guys, at least from what I observed.
I seem to remember that POPOV was cheap vodka, like <$10 for a 1.75 liter jug. I called it "mother-in-law" vodka. The best vodka I ever had was when I lived in Dallas. It was imported from Russia and was made from potatoes. We used to serve it freezer-cold in glasses that had round bottoms so they couldn't be set down unless they were empty.
Isn't that the same BIG SPOON couple as the last time the fill appeared in a puzzle? If he hasn't learned the correct hand positions by now, he should TITT.
Thanks to Ed for another fine puzzle. Had I not seen his name I would have given up early. My favorite was "parking ticket issuer" for VALET. Zoё loves Ft. Meyers, especially joining us for an outdoor lunch at the little Italian restaurant called La Motta's. She also enjoys Twin Peaks and Amore. Hope they survived the 'cane. And thanks to H. Gary for your usual fun explanation.
Good Morning:
I have often said how much I miss Barry Silk’s Saturday puzzles. Well, today’s offering came as close to a Silkie as possible: challenging but doable; tricky, delightfully devious misdirection cluing but fair perps; fresh, sparkling fill; no dreck; no esoteric/obtuse C/As; and a clean grid with only 11 three letter words. There is nothing more gratifying in solving a puzzle than feeling admiration and appreciation for the constructor’s talents and, for the solver’s great satisfaction and enjoyment. Today’s checked all the boxes, IMO. I went astray at Awake/Astir and Roped/Taped, and Stoli/Popov, not knowing my Vodkas. There were a few unknowns, El Barto, Ernest, etc., but perps, as I said were fair.
Thanks, Dr. Ed, for a wonderful Saturday solve and thanks, HG, for an equally wonderful review. Your visuals, as always, were eye-catching and grid-relevant and today’s Best In Show Award goes to Darling Lily, the Queen of the Schlapfer Kingdom!
WC @ 7:49 ~ No rule broken as the P stands for Paid. 😉
FLN
sumdaze, hopefully, after the exterminator’s treatment, my fly swatter will remain in retirement. 😂
Have a great day.
IM, I'm pretty sure there must be an even number of 3-letter words.
PTO also stands for Paid Time Off
DO @ 10:23 ~ You’re right as I just recounted and found the stray 12th. Thanks for the heads-up. However, I’ve see instances in the past where there were uneven numbers, probably due to an unorthodox grid layout. I’m not knowledgeable about grid symmetry, so I just rely on my eyes. Usually, on Sunday, I do my count from CC’s write-up which I find easier than perusing the over-sized grid. 😉
It is satisfying to keep working at a puzzle and little by little saying eureka when a light bulb goes off. Certainly this CW fit that bill. Now, that doesn’t mean I FIR. I had Costcos instead of CASINOS and roped off for TAPED, and since I don’t know TED BURGUNDY, I had a few blanks.
I remembered SEGA from yesterday I believe, lucky stroke. Several unknowns that filled in regardless like DATE NUT, EL BARTO, DADO, POPOV. The pig’s name popped into my head out of the blue.
I’ve read most of Orhan Pamuk’s novels.
I agree with others, neat clues and misdirections.
Playing with Nintendo or SEGA
You're putting yourself into a SAGA!
Exploring a tunnel,
Fighting a rumble,
Leading a galactic starship armada!
A fuzzy fellow in EQUADOR
Often stood with his head on the floor.
"I'm not sure, I fear,
I'm in which hemisphere,
So keeping upright is a chore!"
{B, A-.}
Greetings! I don’t mind getting a little help from Google on a Saturday which I needed at about the 2/3 point. Perps were not helpful for the unknowns today. But, thanks, Ed, for a very interesting and enlightening puzzle.
I grew up with always a can of B&M Boston Brown Bread in the cupboard. A slice slathered with cream cheese – YUM!! I was not aware there were other steamed breads available, but DATE NUT sounds as good.
Fine and Dandy again – just like a Hard Candy Christmas..!
Loved the Yogiism. Another one was, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it He lived on a circle road. 🤣🤣
Poster Norm Abram – of This Old House, carpenter extraordinaire!! I watched your shows for many years on PBS.
Fav: LASSIE & TOODLE. Old time saying for goodbye: TOODLE-loo.
Thanks H. Gary for a fun recap.
We are back from three weeks of travel! I will say more later. But one highlight was to fly over an erupting VOLCANO. I hope to have a photo or video to share soon.
On our way, we stayed in Los Angeles and my nephew AARON took us out to Manhattan Beach. He is finishing his PhD at Stony Brook in New York. Which is why he is in Los Angeles. I don't get it, either, but it was great to see him.
Here we were with my nephew AARON at Manhattan Beach before our VOLCANIC experience!
Never heard of that other AARON or RON BURGUNDY, MILLA or ERNEST. I was sure that BREAD was a misdirection of something with money. Who ever heard of BREAD in a can?
I was sure that DATE NUT was wrong, along with TABLESCAPES, SNOW and TARP. Was sure that UP would not appear more than once. Wrong about all of that. FIR after almost two hours.
From July 1:
Jinx Thank you for your kind words and thoughts regarding my post about the ACLU and the PATRIOT ACT. I totally agree with your comment: "being open-ended makes it a threat to our very way of life. Scary times."
Whoops, sorry, poster is not THE Norm Abram of This Old House. My bad. off by one letter.
Also, punctuation error above, ARRRRGGG!! "... take it." He lived on a circle road.
Thanks, HG and Cornerites! I was close, but no cigar. PURSER, EL BARTO, DADO, MILLA ... just a few too many unknowns to finish.
Note to crossword constructors: THIS is how you do it! Great clues, clever misdirection, and a plethora of V-8 moments. Thanks, Dr. Ed!. St. Paul was a gimme, my dad's folks were from there. Many a vacation spent at the families long-gone five flat on Selby Ave. With visits to Como Park and Minnehah Falls. Liked seeing Lassie, but let's not forget some of the other "dog stars" of the day: Rin-Tin-Tin, Yukon King, and Bullet! A rare Saturday FIR for me today.
Hola!
Wow! I must be way off my game. This took too long even for a Saturday but I finally finished and I'm not embarrassed to say I LU a couple of fill. SNOW is completely unknown to me and though I read "A Lesson Before Dying" it was a very long time ago.
Bunsen burner was my first thought before ETNAS emerged.
RIGHT AS RAIN is never said around here! However, 'BRIGHT AS SUNSHINE" is a favorite.
UNA VEZ would be my thought since I never drink CERVEZA.
CSO to my nephew AARON.
And speaking of REALTOR, a unit in our complex just sold for $300,000! That is unbelievable! South Scottsdale just isn't in that range. At least it wasn't before that sale!
SIL to me means my daughter's husband.
AARON Sorkin is more familiar to me as the creator of "The West Wing".
SHASTA is also a soft drink.
I hope you are all enjoying a very pleasant Saturday.
Ta ta for now.
Okay, thx IM etal on PAID Time Off. Makes mucho sense
WC
RoseE, In my ute we ate B&M baked beans often. I always thought they were appropriately named.
Like many others, I love seeing Ed Sessa’s name as constructor, knowing I’m in for a workout but a fair and fun one. Today did not disappoint! Loved YOGIISM. Managed to FIR with a great sense of satisfaction. Thanks, Dr. Ed. Thanks too, HG for the lovely tour.
FLN, Husker G, I laughed out loud at the Seinfeld clip!
FLN, MM - why the Trib? If you are a former Chicagoan, are you a Sox or a Cubs fan?
Can someone please ‘splain TITT??
Desper-otto - 😂😂
Wendybird – TITT – Throw In The Towel
Could someone explain why there is a question mark in 37A - "Lives like a queen?“
Hi All!
Wonderful to see Dr. Ed's by-line this morning - it kept me playing until I couldn't (looking at you Sirius).
Thanks HG for the extra nudge(s) so I could finish the grid with _some_ satisfaction.
Fav: YOGIISM. Neutrona Wand was fun too.
{B+, B}
Ah, yes - EL BARTO not Eat My Shorts.
@3:38 - HG's pic of Lily (his cat, IIRC) helped me understand 38a - the cat rules the house and is fed on her schedule. Lives, like a queen, that cat does.
Welcome back Picard. I'm looking forward to traveling vicariously through your photos.
Lucina - I don’t know what you paid for it - but where you going to move if you take the money? During the bubble last year, our house was rated at $200k more than we'd paid for it. But all the other houses were also ridiculously priced - no place to go! ;-)
//we did buy another house and kept the old one as a rental. So far, so good.
Cheers, -T
I loved this puzzle! Superb, masterful craftsmanship by Ed Sessa.
Thanks, Dr. Ed for your clever cluing on an attractive grid. I finished but had too many WAGs so it's either a TITT or a FIW.
FAV: SHASTA and bonus points for crossing with ALP.
Welcome back, Picard!
Thanks for your excellent Tour, H-Gary. FAV: Lily (of course!) Also, thank you for enlightening me on TABLESCAPES. I bet no cat lives in that house.
CrossEyedDave @8:19 AM, thank you for advising me to run a virus scan. I did and Windows Defender found two "low" level threats which it removed. Unfortunately, I didn't get the names of the threats, but they had something to do with "App and browser control." For your information, I run Windows 10, I use the Edge browser, and my virus protection is Windows Defender.
By the way, in order to get to this page so that I could post this message, I ran into exactly the same ad again.
Thanks again.
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Dr Ed and HuskerG.
It took me this long to get here, but I finished with only a couple of Google helps. This Canadian did not know St Paul, but I did know ONT (those Maple Leafs just keep disappointing us).
Too late to say much, but I did note several UPs - UP TO, TEE UP, STOP UP. is that breaking any CW rule?
Good to have you back Picard.
Good night all.
AnonT
No, I have no intention of moving but my daughter and her husband might want to sell when they inherit it. It just astonishes me that people sell for those prices and others are willing to pay them. Our townhouses are really simple with none of the amenities that newer ones have. Of course, I have no idea what improvements those neighbors made. Scottsdale has a very good reputation so perhaps people simply go by that. Also, we are located with close access to the freeway, good schools and only a few miles from ASU. It's also very quiet and safe here. The only amenity we have is a nice swimming pool which is a necessity here. Even our clubhouse is small and quite simple.
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